Well – 2020 wasn’t quite the year that any of us expected was it!
In a year that we all know will go down in history for sure, for me it’s been a real year of highs and lows. I began my 2020 with one of my busiest years booked and raring to go with a full calendar of incredible weddings of incredible people. I couldn’t wait to get started! Things got off to a great start in January with what turned out to be my only full day wedding of the calendar year at the amazing Coltsfoot Country Retreat, for Vicky and Andrew. (The images from their lovely wedding stick out like a sore thumb in my gallery below, just because of the number of people stood in close proximity to one another!).
I was excited, after a busy winter, to have a couple of months off to focus on the business bits that I’d neglected during a busy season, with the launch of my new brand and website at the end of January (thank you to the amazing Becky Lord for this!) and no more weddings in the diary until April.
And then the world went crazy.
I watched as one by one, all my bookings for the year postponed or cancelled. Sat at home with my toddler I suddenly became a full time mum when nurseries closed, and found myself with no time to focus on the many opportunities that other small businesses seemed to be making the most of – finally time to do that training or learn that new skill!
More and more couples moved their dates, and slowly but surely, during lockdown, my calendar cleared. I felt so desperately bad for all my amazing couples who had been so excited to celebrate their wedding days but had had their plans totally thrown by Covid 19.
It’s certainly been a bleak year for the wedding industry, and for my amazing couples who have been so resilient throughout so much uncertainty and so many ups and downs.
Just before Covid hit, I found out I was expecting my second baby, due in November. Benjamin was born in the middle of November and has been a lovely light in what was otherwise a pretty crap year.
Slowly but surely, weddings started up again – not as we’d once known them, but still, they were weddings! I was lucky enough to be invited to capture some amazing moments with some lovely couples and to document their love stories despite plans perhaps not being as they’d initially been intended. In total in 2020, I captured 8 wedding days.
The resilience of our industry is amazing and so many suppliers have pulled together to keep creating, even in the bleakest of times. I’ve been a part of several beautiful styled shoots this year, something I’d never normally have much time to do, especially in the summer months, and you’ll see some shots from these below. Thank you to all my lovely friends in the industry for all your support and friendship over what has been a really hard time for us all.
So this post won’t be quite the same as my usual end of year review and round up! However, I wanted to look back at all the weddings that were this year, and share some of my favourites! Have a look below to see some of my 2020 work.
As I write this we’re now in the early weeks of 2021, and back in lockdown. Back when this all started I don’t think anyone expected that almost a year later, we’d be where we are now, and things are certainly looking a bit bleak for the next few months and potentially into the summer too, particularly for weddings. One thing’s for sure – once this is really all over, weddings will be some seriously EPIC parties!
My 2022 calendar is rapidly filling, both with new weddings and postponements. If you’re interested in booking me to capture your big day then please do get in touch, as I’d love to chat about your plans!
