Love in the time of COVID-19: Postponements, tiny weddings & HOPE
While the daily Coronavirus task force briefing plays in the background, my emotions run the gamut. They range from sadness (for my ahhmazing bride and groom this Saturday, who had to postpone their wedding until April of 2021), to guilt (my family and I are hunkered down together, and we are all well while many are not), to panic (will my husband lose his job? will my son return to university in the fall? are we ill now and don’t even know it? will my business of 28 years survive this?). These are really hard times, but I remain cautiously optimistic.
Wait…hold up…did you say “my business of 28 years”?! Yes, I started Black Sheep Filmworks 28 years ago this April (when I was a baby, for those of you who want to do the math :). You could say we have ‘staying power’. We have been through a lot; recessions, 9/11, family losses, natural disasters, and every time, we have landed on our feet and continued to tell our clients’ stories, and love every minute of it. This “great pause” that we are in now will not be the end of your wedding dreams, as it is not the end of HOPE. Hope is what makes you keep going, knowing that with every difficult step, every hard decision, every sacrifice, you will come out the other side. Things may look different on that side, changed, but change can be incredible. I recently had a couple contract me for their wedding in late September of 2020. The bride works in health care in New York state. To say she and her beloved were overwhelmed is an understatement. After a few questions about postponing or rescheduling if we were still in this pattern in the fall, they came back asking to leave a full retainer to secure their date. I almost cried, as it was such an act of hope. They said they just had to look forward, to plan, and if things need to be changed, made smaller etc…they were okay with that…they needed a date, in beautiful Tucson, to get married.
Speaking of Tucson, oh my, we have SO many ahhmazing places to elope/tiny wedding it up! Want to get married in the towering, cool pines with a boho vibe?…Mt. Lemmon it is! Desert chic with a great view of the Catalinas? We have lots of resorts that would be happy to treat you like royalty, and make your wedding dreams come true! Balmy days and blue skies and dinner for two at a sweetheart table under the stars…ummm…Yes, yes, yessss!!! An intimate ceremony and reception alfresco with your closest family and friends, while you socially distance…we can do this!!!
So, if your wedding needs to be postponed, it will be more than okay, it will happen and it will be perfect. If you don’t want to wait, have a micro wedding, or an elopement, and have a larger reception later. Tiny weddings are gorgeous, so romantic, as it’s just the two of you, an officiant, a few friends and family, and your wedding rockstars (hair and makeup, filmmaker, planner, photog, musician and florist, for a start) who are all in the background. We will be unobtrusive, putting small lovely details where they need to be, setting the tone, and letting the two of you have your wedding, just the way you want it. When I film elopements, it’s just me, no teams, no second camera shooter (unless you really want it, and then, let’s do it!). We keep it low key, easy and fun, while still capturing your story. Zoom lenses, tiny microphones, appropriate PPE and social distance and we are all set! And if you do have a larger wedding and/or reception later, you will have an amazing wedding film and fantastic photos of your tiny wedding to share.
Feeling hopeful? Want to Tiny Wedding it up? I’m happy to help! Contact me at stepheny@blacksheepfilmworks.com and I will get you all the details.
Need help designing and coordinating your Tiny/Micro wedding? My friend and incredible event planner Meagan Crain recently founded Arizona Elopements. She’s fab and at the helm of this great idea, in less than ideal times.
Please be well, stay safe, keep up the social distancing and I will see you, and your beloved at the end of the aisle, wherever that might be. Let’s capture this adventure!
Here is some pretty for you to watch. We will do our best to keep that wedding inspo coming at you, one film at a time. xoxo
p.s. That gorgeous couple, that’s Brittany and Conner. She’s a nurse and he’s in the military. They are my heroes, like all of the nurses, doctors, military and first responders who are out there working to keep us safe. This is their beautiful wedding, that was postponed once, due to Conner’s deployment. One year later, this magic happened. So, even with delays or changes, dreams do come true 🙂
Read more →