There is no way that we can sum up the huge and profound impact that last few months have had on all of us. There is no way that we can, however much we’d so dearly love to, tell you when weddings will be back in the way we remember.
We don’t have all the answers, we don’t know the right things to do and we don’t, unfortunately, have access to a secret source of information that will let us give everyone what we so want to be able to give. It breaks our hearts, every single day, to see people we love, couples and suppliers, grieving for the life they thought they were going to have.
But, know this – we see you.
Over the last two months, we’ve heard from hundreds, possibly thousands, of suppliers and couples. We’ve talked, Zoomed, emailed and got in touch with as many people as we can. We’ve listened to the stories, to the fear and to the love and we’ve just tried to be there, as insufficient and insignificant as that sometimes feels.
So, this is an acknowledgement of all the stories. All the stories we never wanted to tell but can’t possibly ignore. The stories of now.
To everyone who had planned a beautiful, fabulous and amazing wedding day, we see you. We see the sadness, the anger, the frustration and the grief. We see your positivity, your hopes for the future and the love, the love that’s keeping you going right now and letting you smile on those ‘nearly wedding days’ when things should have been so different.
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To everyone who should have been playing a role in those beautiful, fabulous and amazing wedding days, we see you too. We see the sadness, the worry, the frustration and the fear. We see you working hard to help your couples through times that no one had ever imagined and we see the love that you have for your work and for your craft. We hear the worry in your voice when you talk of your business and we know that you’re giving it everything.
To everyone, suppliers, venue owners and couples alike who have had their life’s trajectory thrown off course, we see you. Plans for lives, for starting a family, for adventures and for simple pleasures have all been put on hold. We know that hearts are breaking when IVF has been cancelled and when plans to move house or change job have been held. We feel it too. We’re all grieving for what should have been and sometimes, it’s beyond painful.
To everyone who’s scared for the future, we see you. Individuals and small businesses who’ve worked all the hours to grow a business, we know how fearful you are. If you’re a couple worrying about wedding bills and loss of income, we understand. If you’re worried about your children, your wider family and your friends, we send you huge waves of support. The unknown is scary and we’ve never faced anything more unknown than this.
To everyone who’s reached out over the last two months, we’re here, you’ve been heard and you’re not alone.
But, we see so much more than this too.
We see people being brave, we see people adapting, making changes, charting a new course and taking a different path to get to their goal. We see immense pleasure in the small things and the real things that perhaps we were missing before.
We see collaboration, support, assistance and more love than we knew was possible. We see lots of people, at their very best, and it’s moving beyond words.
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So today, to you all, we say you’re not forgotten and you’re not invisible. Your story really matters, you matter and we acknowledge everything you’re going through.
We’re all in this together but we’re all individuals and each journey through this won’t be, can’t be, the same. So we can extend compassion and understanding and we can try to see the view that others have. Now is the time to be more human than we’ve ever been because it really, really matters, in ways you can’t imagine.
We’ll finish by sending love and strength to you all, couples, suppliers and anyone else reading this. We see you.
And when the time comes to celebrate, to re-start that life you planned and dance slightly drunkenly until the small hours, we 100% want to see you then too.
Love always, Annabel and Tamryn x