COVID-19 came out of nowhere and knocked prior plans upside down. In the midst of the uncertainty that we all face I’ve adapted to ensure that I’m serving all of my clients with the best experience possible!

 

What I’m doing for current clients

This is such a difficult time for so many of you and I am doing my best to SHOW UP and support YOU!! While you may have had to reschedule, your wedding day will contain memories that you will cherish for a lifetime, and there’s no WAY I’m going to let a virus stop me from capturing those moments. I have already reached out to my 2020 wedding clients and I’m working closely with each one to individually tailor a plan that best suits their needs. I’m staying updated on developments about the virus and Minensota’s stay-at-home orders, AND I guarantee preemptive and consistent communication to all my clients. 

The hope is that you won’t have to reschedule your special day, but I will be here to support you either way!! If you have to reschedule and I’m not available on your new day, I have several highly skilled associate photographers on deck. All of my associates are trained by me and are ready to give you an incredible experience on your big day. I will still personally edit all of your photos in my style so you’ll hardly know I wasn’t the one who took the picture! 

I know that planning or rescheduling a wedding in this uncertain time can be STRESSFUL, so make sure you are doing lots of self-care and taking lots of deep breaths. You aren’t in this alone!! I got you! Check the bottom of this post for some additional resources.

 

What I’m doing for new clients

Planning a wedding during COVID is likely not something you ever dreamed about when you imagined getting married!! I know this process can be tricky and I want to be there to support you every step of the way.

I’m offering a few things to make your planning process as easy and stress-free as possible:

• Lower deposit. While I typically require a 25% deposit to secure your date, for the foreseeable future I will be allowing all 2021 couples regardless of your final package to lock in your date with a $500 deposit. I know this is a scary time to be putting down lots of non-refundable money and I want it to be as easy as possible for you to lock in your date!
• Vendor referrals! Planning while social distancing is hard because you don’t actually get to meet with any of your potential vendors in person!! In my years in this industry I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many amazing folks that I know will take great care of you! I’d be happy to pass along my best recommendations.
• Custom packages. As always I want to make sure I’m serving you with packages that fit the unique needs of your day! After you inquire, we’ll hop on the phone or a Zoom chat so I can hear all the details you’ve got planned and then I’ll craft a few completely custom packages that will be specifically suited to you, bae, and your big day. 

 

Coping with the uncertainty

We are living in unprecedented times. If you’ve been dealing with unprecedented levels of stress, that’s soooo normal!

Some things I’ve been up to that have helped me deal with these changing times:

• Going on walks. Woah, if you’re in Minnie you understand why this time of year is sooo dang magical. This weather is amazing!! Getting outside is so healing for me. 
• Morning Routine. Creating structure for myself when things are particularly haywire in the world is my favorite little life hack. It’s something we can control when everything else seems so out of control. Having a solid morning routine that I can look forward to every morning is a major game changer for me.
• Date nights! Social Distancing isn’t necessarily the mooost compatible with date night, but my boyfriend Andrew and I sure have been trying anyway! Planning intentional time together is something that we can look forward to amidst the whirlwind. Check out my instagram post here where I talk about three of our favorite quarantine date night ideas.
• Journaling. Just writing stream of consciousness often helps me just get the scrambled thoughts out of my head so I can move forward feeling refreshed and not bogged down with relentless intrusive anxious thoughts.
• Meditating. This one is a game changer for me!! Meditation is scientifically backed to help improve basically everything in your life, haha. But especially anxiety!! Check out my post here to read more about why I’m obsessed with this self care hack.

 

What’s most important to keep in mind is that this is an abnormal time! There is no such thing as an abnormal reaction when something so disruptive and traumatic happens. It’s okay to be sad and mourn the celebration or planning process you thought you’d have. All feelings are valid! Try to be patient and kind to yourself.

Resources

How to get started rescheduling your big day

A step by step guide on wedding postponement

How to tell your guests you’re postponing the wedding

 

Is COVID-19 giving you extra time to get allllll the planning done? Check out my blog post on 5 tips to plan your perfect wedding timeline.