Lets face it 2020 has been shit if you work in the wedding and events industry. The past month has probably been the toughest for us all, just as we thought the tide was changing, the rug gets pulled from under us. The icing on the cake has been the suggestion that our businesses (that we have built from scratch with love and passion) aren’t viable. Not worthy of support and The Business Secretary even dared to suggest we should get Better Jobs!
It is so hard to not be angry at everyone especially those making the decisions that effect all of our lives. After months and months of fighting to keep a business going to then basically be kicked down either further, it is hard to keep swimming and fighting every day to keep a business you love alive. Our businesses are more than viable, we are probably the only industry guaranteed to succeed with 2021 and 2022 bookings scheduled into our diaries. We just need a little help to get to the other side.
With all that said this post isn’t an angry one! It’s a joyous one!
After picking myself up off the floor I went back to the reason I started this little biz! A biz that keeps my daughter in nursery, puts shoes on her feet and allows us the little treats in life we all live for.
That reason is that I BLOODY LOVE WEDDINGS!
You can’t work in the wedding industry if you’re miserable, we are a glass half full gang, we deal in joy! We bring families together, put smiles on peoples faces, fill rooms with laughter and capture peoples hearts. We produce once in a lifetime moments… that is our job!
I have been growing my Venue Styling business in Bedfordshire for over 6 years, I have seen small DIY weddings, I have seen 6 figure weddings, I have styled weddings in Italy and they all have one thing in common. A celebration of Love! True love cannot be forced or bought! The Government maybe prioritising financial institutions and ‘traditional’ sectors, it may feel like they are restricting us, neglecting us and casting us aside but they will never be able to break the spirits of the wedding industry! We get up every day because the very nature of our work gives people a reason to keep on going. Yes we may not be saving lives but we give people hope, we create events and we provide escapism from the day to day world that weighs so heavily on our shoulders.
Throughout our lives we are all noted in history one of three times, when we are born, when we die and if we choose to marry. That date is forever recorded as a symbol of 2 families joining together. Forever providing a date for future generations to track back to, a date that says, THIS IS US and WE WERE HERE.
A wedding unites families that would have otherwise been strangers, it brings everyone you love together in one space. There are very few times in life when that genuinely happens. A wedding is a day you wish will never end and you will always reflect back on and hold dear. The day you make your public declaration of love to the person who makes you smile everyday and picks you up when you are down.
Yes there are those who view weddings as expensive for just one day and those people are relishing the demise of the big celebration right now. But this is one day in your whole life, a day you will (hopefully) never get to repeat, this is your day. I believe the cost of a wedding is fully justified. The industry is full of talent and skill, businesses that have spent years and thousands of pounds learning and evolving. No one challenges ‘traditional industries’ on their costs. The wedding industry is self sufficient never having asked for government support we have kept our heads down and worked hard. We are our own little ecosystem with each wedding feeding a whole plethora of industries from big multi million pound well oiled machines to solo kitchen table businesses, all of them building each other up with each new booking. All with one thing in common… a genuine passion for their job.
Everyone deserves their ‘Cinderella Moment’ a chance to stand proudly at the top or bottom of the aisle and say ‘This is me, This is Us!’ A moment to cast aside their day to day, to be more than their job title, to be more than a daughter or a son, to be more than their social media makes them feel. For one day to feel like they are the luckiest person in the world, with everyone there for them and them alone.
The people I work amongst are fighters, they are hard working, they are determined. They are full of strength and passion, with smiles constantly on their faces, refusing to give up. Constantly putting their customer first even though their whole livelihood is falling apart. Many of us work alone but it never feels that way, the guys and gals I am lucky enough to work with have become my closest allies and the best of friends!
Nothing else matters in a wedding apart from the celebration of love, the chance to share your life with someone, to declare that you will forever walk the path ahead with the person who stands beside you. If we cannot celebrate that, than what can we celebrate? Love will always win and weddings will always continue and we will still be here to give you the best day of your life!
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