No bride should have to endure the pain of a pandemic. A national health crisis, a closure of life as we knew. The times when we planned to celebrate love and partnership stolen away in what seems like a split second.
February 29th, 2020 the Captivate Beauty teams completed some of the last weddings for awhile.
On that day my co-worker Tina and I had an early start a 6 am call time. I don’t mind early morning weddings because I am naturally a morning person, however that morning I felt like I needed an extra cup of coffee. Now 8 weeks later any early start time be welcomed and the time or location would not matter! A lot of our team misses working, doing what we love and helping our brides feel beautiful.
No hairstylist or makeup artist could have ever known that no work was ahead. Our year was shaping up to be one of the most promising yet. We were expanding, growing and helping more and more people through beauty. Yet here we are at a stand still.
My coworker Tina shared with me that she thinks back to that last wedding we did together. She vividly remembers the conversation about coronavirus that I was having with my bride. I said, “Well it’s pretty scary because it can potentially kill you.” Tina mentioned that was the moment it felt real to her because she thinks I am realistic on when to worry.
As I type I think back to my bride. How lucky she was to be able to get married right before a global pandemic. Luck based on a date that her fiance pushed for. Leap day. As I thought about Lauren I reached out and she updated me about married life. She said, "Who would have thought that the first trial as a married couple would be a pandemic." Haha. Maybe the couples who aren’t married yet can get insight on relationship strength. How are you handling challenging times? True colors shine when hardship is present.
Lauren was fortunate to have her special day, but she didn’t get her honeymoon. As an ICU nurse she was needed and travel is not safe. Postponing was the only option for the health and safety of themselves and others. I hope they get the long awaited honeymoon. Every single person has been affected in one way or another.
Each day an email maybe two or three would come through canceling or rescheduling due to COVID-19. The first several brought me to tears. Heartbreak that this is happening to our brides. Heartbreak that our team is losing their lively hood. Heartbreak that this is out of our control. Now this pattern is becoming the new normal. Venues are closed. No large gatherings are allowed. A 200 person celebration has become a potential hosting ground for the spread of the virus.
As I chatted with some brides my understanding about exactly what they have been going through. The stress and sadness is trickling. Many brides who had hoped that their early summer wedding would be happening are now seeing that it won’t be possible because of enforcement of orders from the government.
Many brides feel heartbroken because they planned for more than a year, spent a lot of money, time and now have to cancel or postpone. They want to get married but this situation is out of their control. It is important that loved ones are there to celebrate and support yet no one can travel. Grandparents and elderly are at risk. Remember you are in control of one thing. Your mindset. This sucks. Let's be real. This is a cluster that I now call the pause button on life. We don’t know if we should move forward or wait or cancel or quit. It is all on pause. Just know it will be okay. You will get through this. My hopes and wishes are that you can take this time and truly evaluate what's important to you.
Some couples have had an intimate ceremony between the two of them. They want to start their lives together now. They have gone outside taken a few photos, read vows to one another, signed the marriage license and celebrated by eating their favorite pizza. The situation made the couples closer and more connected. Some couples have mentioned that they plan to have a celebration later, but happy they married now. Stress is gone. Here is one experience one of our brides had:
"After our venue canceled due to the coronavirus we moved our wedding to August, but we still wanted to get married on our original date! Initially we wanted to try to do an elopement style shoot in the Springs with our photographer and still get dressed up with a first look. Then with the Colorado wide shelter in place order we couldn't do that either. So we ended up just doing it in our living room and did a group video chat with just our immediate family. It was really sweet and simple and actually turned out to be pretty incredible given everything else." -Cassie
Here are some tips if you are have to cancel, reschedule or postpone. Review contracts with vendors that are not flexible? Most should be because I have never seen global pandemic in a wedding contract. Our team is transferring deposits to new dates if your postpone or reschedule. You should not have fees and your vendors should be willing to work with you. If not you should be reading fine print on contracts and contacting an attorney. It can be frustrating but be resourceful and do what you can control.
We are starting to transition in Colorado to offer services. Our team will keep you safe while we work in direct contact with you. We will be there to support you through this process. It is our promise to you. Reach out, connect, know you are not alone, always sending love, hope and positive vibes!