Last year's weddings and 2020...well, there weren't many of them but what we did manage to work on were amazing and joyful. I'm in awe of so many couples who were faced with changing their wedding dates over and over again and keeping a positive spin on it all
My couples have coped with their particular situations in several different ways. Some managed to go ahead on a different date, some postponed - I'm very lucky in that I've had only one cancellation in the whole of 2020 and in the end they actually went ahead and did get married in the end! - and then some decided that even though the numbers were reduced and reduced again, they just wanted to get married and that's exactly what Charlotte and Pete did
Way back in early 2019, I met up with Charlotte and Pete to talk over options and flowers for their May 2020 wedding at Pembroke Lodge... we were full of Spring ideas and blush tones... peonies, sweet peas, garden roses and lots of scent and texture
Well you know how that went, don't you?
In early spring 2020, we talked and plotted and finally they picked a date in October to move their wedding. We all seriously felt that by then the worst of Covid would be over and we'd be out the other side... yea, well!
This lovely couple were determined to get married and not move again... they'd already had the upheaval of moving guests, changing and sending out more save the dates, negotiating with the lovely Pembroke Lodge about future dates and numbers and really wanted to get on with their lives.... a line I get from most of my couples now in the same situation
So across the summer, we watched as weddings were on and then off, up and then down, numbers for receptions were changed and changed again... I remember Charlotte emailing me when the numbers were set at 30 for weddings and receptions, 'We are going to stick with the same date and just reduce'... Okay I said
Then we were brought down to 15... another email from Charlotte, 'We are going to proceed no matter what - masks and all' I think I may have said the last bit but you get what I mean!
Well I take my hat off to them both... they were determined to get married and make sure it was the best wedding possible under the circumstances, and I have to say it was one of the loveliest weddings from 2020... actually there weren't many weddings last year and they were all lovely, but the forward looking attitude from these two lovely souls was incredible!
Yes we looked at the floral brief again and decided to add some warmth to the flowers and bring a little autumnal 'stuff' into the mix, gorgeous dahlia, skimmia, beech just on the turn and delicate details like sanguisorba and chocolate cosmos bringing a little edge to an otherwise soft and refined palette
We added gorgeous Ester & Erik taper candles, bronze bowls full of lovely flowers and copper tea lights to add to the Autumn feel and little touches like sprigs of olive on the place settings to reflect the beautiful bronze framed table names
But basically Charlotte was one of those lovely brides who said 'We've booked you, we love your work and we trust you'... I'm slightly paraphrasing but you get what I mean!
So when couples I'm now talking to and booking in for 2021 and 2022 talk about numbers... I say, work on what we think we may be possible now, low numbers for both ceremony and reception and allow (hope!) that we can increase nearer the time. I think that is better than working on 150 and having to cut a guest list to 50/60 months down the line
Don't forget that your wedding photos are what you will be looking back at over the course of your married life, they are what you will show your children and grandchildren, they will be framed and put by your bed, on shelves and you want them to show the joy of getting married, not the heartache behind or the people who couldn't attend... have joyful, happy photos of an amazing day x
Photography Benni & Carol
Venue Pembroke Lodge
Note to venue searching couples... Pembroke have a fabulous Intimate Wedding package which is definitely worth checking out!
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