coronavirus update
VENUe
When you pull into the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, you drive past this sign. We did that last weekend, to shoot what we knew would probably be our last wedding for a while (it was also one of the greatest of all time, but more on that later). That night, all the bars got shut down in Palm Springs, and back up in LA, too.
The next day was spent trying to convince a three-year-old to get out of the suitcase so we could pack for a flight we weren't sure was still taking off – the US travel ban on the UK kicked in on the day we were due to fly to London and Virgin announced they were cancelling the majority of flights. No one slept much, except the baby (four months old now, and overdue for vaccinations I wasn't sure he'd be able to get). Our flight turned out to be one of the few that WASN'T cancelled, but was jam-packed; I spent a good 12 hours at LAX, Heathrow and in mid-air wondering if coronavirus could live in your hair, etc. Then both kiddos screamed the whole way home in the taxi (how often are taxi baby seats cleaned?). We've been tripping over half-unpacked suitcases ever since. In short, it's been a bit of a week.
I can't imagine how stressful it is to be planning your wedding right now (I was so tense in the run-up to our nuptials that I threatened to stab someone in the eye with the straw from my iced coffee, and that was without a pandemic happening in the background). When I finally got laptop access again today and watched all the worried coronavirus update emails flood my inbox, I felt so heartbroken for everyone's unmade plans and uncertainty. I know it doesn't help all that much, but we're very eager to work with couples on rescheduled dates! (There's no fee, obvs.) And, we have a few handy tips on how to reschedule your wedding.
I can very much imagine how stressful it is to be one of our colleagues: fellow photographers, planners, florists, stylists, venues, synchronised swimmers, et al. I think we're all losing most of our 2020 income. I haven't come up with any answers yet, but we will. Right now I'm just a jetlagged mess with no childcare and an overwhelming sense of existential dread. But at least we know we're not alone.