Lockdown weddings. Not exactly something that was a concept only a mere twelve months ago. And yet a reality at this point in time. In 2020 I photographed a handful of weddings. In fact, my first wedding was in August. I can’t recall a longer break between weddings ever. I was ecstatic to get back into it. Though tentative at the same time. My main concerns skirted around what would the mood be like? How would I approach this? How will anyone approach this? Given the reduction in the number of guests from 50, then to 25, it crossed my mind that it would even be easier to for couples to cancel their nuptials. Which is more to do with the overall state of mind than anything else. A couple of weddings I photographed had 9 guests.
With cancelations and postponements the name of the game from March onward in 2020, it was easy to get into that mindset.
But no. What I had left as bookings would go ahead. And quite frankly, I was delighted. Happy to get back into work mode, meeting people. As well as chatting with others in the business. Plus earning a few quid was important too. Obviously.
And on looking back on that handful of weddings, they all went well. There was plenty of enjoyment and plenty of fun. All venues that I worked at were superb. Very clear in the protocols required. Without being overly pedantic. Constant hand washing aside.
And this is a must. Because when all is said and done, a wedding should have a high-level fun of and enjoyment. Excitement. A sense of escape to a degree. Just complete enjoyment on the day for the couple. Which in turn filters down to the guests.
And despite constant government doom and gloom (even the snow of 2018 triggered their misery🙄 ), this is what I experienced. So, it saddens how the industry has more or less been shut down wholesale. For nearly a year now. We have seen zero leadership from the government. Zero. But why would we expect better? Their constant ineptitude is mind blowing. No direction. No concept of a plan. Instead it is constant negativity. Constant hand wringing bullshit. It is a worrying time for the industry. And like anything else, while politicians go round in circles, clueless, it will be up to the rest of us that get things going. As usual. The rest of us will get things moving. And I have little doubt that it is us who will once again get the ball rolling.
When the banks went to the government and screwed us over and pushed this country into a recession, which was not so long ago, it was an anecdote that I would hear on a very regular basis. That it was the wedding industry that kept things moving. And in my view, there is certainly a fair bit truth to that.
But anyway, with just a handful of weddings to my name, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable time despite being lockdown weddings. When chatting with one couple late evening on that first wedding back in August, at Liss Ard House, the bride said me “I’m absolutely delighted we went ahead with it”. They had a blast. And absolute blast. And that was par for the course for every wedding I photographed in 2020.
