2020 Event Season Recap and 2021 Look Ahead
Now that the wedding season is over for A Piece of Harmony Events and before we really start getting into the Christmas season, I thought it would be a good time to talk about this crazy year of 2020 and look ahead to hopefully bluer skies of 2021.
The beginning of this year started out very positive. There were several big, beautiful weddings on the books and already a few corporate dinners. I even had a couple early season weddings to look forward to that I typically don’t have. I crushed it with the couple of bridal trade shows that we have in our area, gaining a few additional day-of coordinating contracts. Ultimately, 2020 was looking good for the business!
On the personal side, my husband and I had been trying to start our family for over a year and just one short week before everything turned upside down we found out that was finally going to happen for us! We were overjoyed (and still are) and I couldn’t wait for the next several months to fly by… then a couple of things happened. First, I got extremely sick. Morning sickness is no joke guys. Second, everything started to shut down and I was having to deal with very hurt couples, postponements, and cancelations. I suddenly realized that everything I thought 2020 was going to be was no more and I had to completely change my mindset, both for the business and for what I envisioned with my pregnancy. After we reached the point of feeling ready to tell the world about our little miracle, it felt like all of a sudden everyone was announcing their own little miracles and we started getting grouped into the “Coronavirus Baby Boom” and the “Quarantine Babies”. I felt like I wanted to go around telling everyone that we have been trying for this for over a year, but then I also felt like it was none of their business. It was a weird mental state to be in for a while.
Back on the business side, after things started shutting down I was trying my best to stay hopeful as I spoke with couples about what it would look like to either postpone immediately or ride out the wave a little and see what was going to happen, because this quarantine stuff couldn’t last longer than a month or so, right? Clearly… wrong! Within what felt like just a matter of a couple of weeks my full 2020 calendar dwindled further and further, my heart broke more and more for all the sweet couples I am/was working with who were dealing with something so unprecedented, and I still couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel for my morning sickness. It was getting harder and harder for me to stay positive, but I also had to keep telling myself that so much of what was happening was simply out of my own control.
Almost 8 months later, we are still dealing with a lot (if not more) of what we were dealing with back in March/April, but I am striving to feel more positive about it and let me tell you why. The world has not imploded nor is it likely that it ever will. As crazy as it seems right now, things will get better and one day this crazy year will all be a very, VERY distant memory. Yes, in the world, Coronavirus cases are still rising and with winter in the Inland Northwest just getting started my guess is that those numbers will continue to go up. But, the medical community is learning more and more about this virus every day and the thing that is not so publicized is that our mortality rate is not growing at the same rate as positive cases. However, it can be hard to see that when we are continually inundated with daily counts - something that has never been done to this degree before in our history. There is so much that is still unknown about this virus and why it manifests in some so different than it manifests in others, but what is clear is that for the vast majority of us, it is not a death sentence. Personal and community responsibility is not just about wearing masks. As helpful as that is, we also know it is not a “cure all”. Ultimately, you only get one meatsack in this life, so you need to take care of it. Go outside (yes, even if it's cold), drink that Emergen-c or Airborne, take those vitamins, GET EXERCISE, most importantly stay positive mentally! Our bodies encounter some gross stuff everyday that we naturally fight off and don’t even think about. If we take care of ourselves and are smart about our health, in turn, our bodies will do what they have to do in order to keep us running at such a fast pace.
The other reason I can still feel so positive is because, within the wedding industry, if this year has taught us anything it is that LOVE IS NOT CANCELED! No doubt, all these restrictions and changes, late nights and heartache have been extremely tough, but it has also reiterated the real reason behind weddings… to marry the person you love most. Through all the challenges I have been so blessed and honored to be part of some truly amazing weddings this year and I can’t thank those couples enough for not only asking me to help, but for also being the best “roll with the punches” humans. It may not have been the day that they originally had envisioned, but it certainly will be a day that they, and their close family and friends, will never forget.
Looking ahead at 2021 I can’t help but continue to feel excited and hopeful. The event calendar is looking busy (fingers crossed it will be able to stay that way), I will have a new little munchkin to cuddle, and after this year, we are all different people and I know, I am really looking at my priorities list through a new lens. As I am (finally) nearing the end of my pregnancy and we get ready to welcome our daughter into this world, I want to be in the mindset that there is a bright future out there for her to grow up into. No one has a crystal ball. No one can tell you what is going to happen after that clock strikes midnight on this year, but everyone deserves to have something that makes them look forward to tomorrow.
If you found this article enticing and want to chat further (whether that is about your upcoming wedding or just the world in general), head on over to the services page for my packages and pricing information. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or leave a comment below!
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