COVID Wedding Trauma Part 1.
COVID WEDDING TRAUMA PART 1.
How COVID has affected Brides, Weddings and the future of the wedding industry.
COVID Wedding Trauma
I’d like to talk about something that might seem a little unusual. Trauma. And maybe you’re thinking. It’s just a wedding. In the grand scheme of things when people are dying, sick, lost loved ones, been in quarantine and isolation, is losing the wedding of my dreams really a source of trauma? But when I think back on 2020 and 2021 I think there are many forms of trauma and one of those is wedding trauma. May that be in losing the wedding of your dreams; for wedding clients, or wedding trauma for vendors who went through a series of cancellations and loss of income last year.
For many of my clients 2020 started off as a normal year, excitement abounded as they got ready for a wedding year ahead. They purchased their wedding dresses and planned their bridal parties. They began to see what a beautiful year it was going to be and then March hit with all its chaos. Suddenly we were in a phase of uncertainty where no one knew if they could have a wedding. We were rescheduling weddings left right and center. Some cancelled, some rescheduled and others turned theirs into small weddings with masks. The future of weddings was a complete unknown and we were working in unchartered waters. Suddenly the dreams these brides had came to a complete halt.
And the worst part for many. They weren’t allowed to feel any of it. They weren’t allowed to be upset about the cancellations, they weren’t allowed to wallow and cry and make a big deal about the wedding of their dreams coming to an end because people were dying and that would seem selfish. So these brides picked themselves up and moved on and made the best of it. But 2 years later, 1 year later… how are they doing?
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking what’s the big deal it’s just a wedding? But to me it’s not. Because in my line of work it’s Dads walking brides down the aisle and best friends having dance parties as they get ready for the last big party before they marry off their person. Its “cha cha chaing” in a room with all your friends and crying your eyes out when you see your grooms eyes watering as you walk down the aisle to meet them there. It’s parents giving you away and smashing cake in each others faces, its stolen kisses and bouquet tosses and cute little flower girls walking down the aisles. It’s celebrating with your favorite people in the entire world, and absolutely none of that should be done over zoom calls.
If you’d like to share a little bit about your wedding story and how COVID affected your wedding plans I’d love for this to be an open place for sharing. Because peoples stories MATTER. And even though we can’t undo the events that happened we are still able to give a space to talk about them. You’re welcome to share them with me here or join my Facebook group and share in there. This post is just part 1. I’ll be sharing more about my thoughts on wedding trauma and other peoples stories as they come to me.
Thanks for reading
-Adele Clare-Talbot
www.photographybyadele.com