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How can there be any positives? Well, this has given us all time to reflect and evaluate our lives

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Five Postive Effects of Covid-19

Let me just start by saying that I am not glorifying Covid-19 or the horrific situation we have all faced in these last six months. These have been the darkest of days for so many people, for so many different reasons. It is a virus that has affected everyone in the worst possible way.

So how can there be any positives? Well, this has given us all time to reflect and evaluate our lives. It’s through this time of reflection we have gained a greater perspective on what really matters to us. 

Covid-19 has taken away so much from us, the one thing I have kept saying throughout this is “I’m not in control of my life anymore”. Once you know you can’t control something you are forced to think of other positive ways you can control your life. So you focus your life on the things you can control and your mindset changes. 

So here are my five reasons why we as wedding professionals have found the positive in these dark times.

1. Gained Perspective

This has been the case for both couples and suppliers. Couples have been forced to move their wedding. Some couples have moved their wedding three times, which must be heart breaking. 

I know right now everyone feels really anxious about weddings. In the main the wedding industry has been forced to the bottom of the pile for the government to look at. The means a 10 billion a year income has been left in tatters. Right now we have more questions than answers. The recovery process for our industry has been painfully slow. Speaking personally we haven’t completed a booking since March 7th and I honestly don’t know when our next booking will be. 

Our diary changes daily with bookings being constantly moved. Then you start to see how much work you have to complete next year and it feels incredibly overwhelming. Then you stop to think. As I mentioned earlier, there is nothing I can do to change this and sadly there is nothing the couples can do to change this either. You begin to gain perspective.

All I can do is treat each booking as fairly as I can and move it to the new date and not worry about the amount of work I have. The wrong thing to do is look at this as a huge mountain to climb. The right way to look at it would be to say I can only complete one booking at a time and make steps to ensure I do every I can to make that booking the very best possible. 

For couples, this has given them time to evaluate their big day and what is really important to them. When the big day does come around they will look forward it so much more. Those attending will be there without the worry and restrictions in place. All the worry will have gone and your just left with the very best day, the day you always dreamed off. 

2. Rest & Relaxation

This has been the biggest positive for all wedding suppliers. We never have any time off once the wedding seasons kicks in. Our normal working week would be planning for the weekend, then completing the bookings themselves. So in the height of summer these weeks are incredibly busy. 

Here we are at the end of July without a booking in sight. I can’t lie it’s taken a bit of getting use to.  I have really enjoyed spending this time with my friends and family. Days out and evening drinks have been much needed and given me that perspective I spoke about earlier.

I have also taken on new projects which include starting a Podcast, a lot of new marketing ideas, I’ve continued writing blogs and creating YouTube videos. I’ve done all of these things with a clear mind which helps with my productivity. 

3. New Love For What We Do

So with this new perspective, being relaxed and rested with a clear mind gives you a new love for what you do. 

For any business owner you work so hard to achieve all the goals you set yourself, your business becomes a labour of love which needs constant attention. The rewards aren’t always financial, the best feeling is when you receive a wonderful review or testimonial from a happy couple. These mean more to you than money, they give you a warm fuzzy feeling which can’t be explained.

In these starnge and uncertain times when your business has effectively been taken away from you realise why you love what you do so much. I miss being at an evening reception, seeing guests laughing, drinking, dancing and being happy. I miss seeing couples having their first dance, I miss seeing tears of joy during the father-daughter dance. I miss summer evenings doing the one thing I love most, playing music and the wonderful effects music has on people. 

"In these uncertain and strange times when your business has effectively been taken away from you realise why you love what you do so much".

4. Relationships Between Couples And Suppliers Have Become Stronger

I’ll start with the negative before moving onto the positive which in turn relates to the lack of control. Financially Covid-19 has been crippling for many business owners especially those within the wedding industry. The nice part we’ve been given the six months off for summer, but it comes at a cost. If we don’t work we don’t get paid. Many businesses will cease trading if this continues. Which is heart breaking because your business, the only thing you love most, are most proud of, your biggest achievement is taken away by no fault of your own. This is another casualty of this horrific illness. 

The long term effect is huge. All the bookings which move to next year, mean we lose out on another year of bookings. Couples who plan to get married in 2021 will find it difficult to find a venue or suppliers to help them. So the lose becomes not just these last six months or the next twelve months it’s in fact the next twenty four months. It will take at least two years for this to resolve itself and we can settle back to normality. That’s without the fear of a second spike. 

I have been fortunate, the couples who have booked me and asked to moved dates in the main have all been accommodated. As I said earlier I have moved some bookings three times. Couples understand that we as a business are in a difficult situation and we as a business want to do everything we can to ensure the impact isn’t felt by the couple. It really has been the very best of a bad situation. 

I said at the very beginning of this, I wasn’t going to focus on my loses and the what might have been. I can’t control them. I can control how I deal with the situation and I have, in the main, been fairly positive. I have to say the same can be said for the couples, they know this situation is out of their hands, they have dealt with this in the best possible way. I am sure there have been many tears along the way, but those tears will be replaced with tears of joy when the big day comes along.

5. Couples Are Looking Forward To An Even Better Wedding

Couples have had to endure a very bumpy and uncertain journey these last six months. Sadly no one has been able to offer them an answer or any guarantees. To have the day you are looking forward to most clouded by confusion and uncertainty must be awful, especially  when you have been planning this day for the last eighteen months. The only solution has been be to postpone and hope next year this will have or cleared up. 

I always offer this piece of advice when speaking to couples about postponing their wedding. Think back to when you were planning your big day, think about that long list of things you wanted, then crossed out because the budget wasn’t there. Well now you have another 6-12-18 months to save up for those items that were out of your reach. Maybe a nicer Honeymoon, a 5 Star Hotel, a more lavish car to get to the church in, maybe more people can attend now, maybe a band you liked but couldn’t afford, maybe a photo booth you particularly liked.

Maybe you didn’t get married this year as planned but maybe now you can have an even better day with more of what you wanted in the first place. On top of that, when the big day comes it will be made even more special without all the restrictions and worries in place. 

Isn’t it true…the best things are worth waiting for.