Hiya,
First of all, I am so excited about being part of your day and so grateful that you’ve picked me to capture your day. I can’t wait to be part of it.🤗
However in light of the fast paced developments around Coronavirus (COVID-19) I wanted to answer some of the most common questions.
HOW COULD CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 AFFECT OUR WEDDING? Ok, so with this new Coronavirus COVID-19, it’s only natural to be a bit apprehensive, but I’m going to try to put your mind at ease as best I can. Understandably you’re worried about your wedding plans and the health and safety of your family and friends. None of us know what’s going to happen, so the best we can do is try to find our way through this unprecedented situation together.
WILL YOU STILL PHOTOGRAPH OUR WEDDING? The short answer is yes.
On the day of writing this post, and based on the Government’s advice, there is nothing stopping me from being there and photographing your wedding as planned.
I’ll be washing my hands more often and may use hand sanitiser when I can’t get to a sink as frequently, and I hope you understand that this is to protect you, your guests and my future couples and their guests too.
WHAT IF YOU CATCH COVID-19? According to the government, they estimate that around 80% of us here in the UK will get COID-19. Not something to relish, but they are also saying that most of us will have mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all.
Obviously, if I do catch Coronavirus right at the time of your wedding, I won’t come and risk putting anyone in danger.
Instead, I will try to do my best to find a replacement photographer for your wedding straight away. I’m in regular and close contact with a large network of amazing photographers and we have all agreed to support and cover each other if need be at this time of uncertainty.
WHAT IF WE HAVE TO POSTPONE OR CANCEL OUR WEDDING? We all have a responsibility to stay fit and well right now, both you, and me as your photographer.
Let’s do what we can to keep COVID-19 at bay and wash our hands frequently, eat well, take our vitamins, use contactless payment, shop online, and limit our social contact with people unless it’s absolutely necessary. It all adds up and will hopefully see us through the worst of this worrying time.
But should you need to postpone or cancel your wedding, your first point of call should be your wedding insurance. They should be able to talk your through their position is specifically to your policy if the government declares a lock down, or if the wedding has to be postponed or cancelled due to Conoravirus. They will also let you know your next steps, which will help when you chat to your suppliers.
My strong preference would be to work together to find a date where all can still be a part of it.
WHAT IF WE HAVE TO MOVE THE WEDDING BECAUSE WE OR ONE OF OUR CLOSE RELATIVES GETS ILL? Fingers crossed it won’t come to this, but if it does your wedding insurance will hopefully cover you. It’s worth checking with them now what would happen in this case.
Most vendors would stipulate in their contracts that you would still be liable for all fees, but hopefully your wedding insurance would cover it.
Although contractually it would be the same for me, my first preference would be to move the wedding to another available date at no extra cost and in accordance with the original T&Cs.
Hopefully all will be well between now and your wedding date and you won’t have to move or cancel it, nor drastically change any of your plans.
As hard as it can be, try not to get sucked into the Coronavirus overwhelm through the information overload on the internet, radio or office rumour. And if you’re like me and you’re an lbc addict, I strongly recommend turning it off and rediscovering podcasts and audiobooks at this time instead.
This is a situation that none of us wanted or expected to be in, and all I can offer is to work with you to find a solution for your individual situation.
GOV COVID-19, last update from 11th May 2020: "There’s no change at this time, but we have set out our intention to enable small wedding ceremonies from 1 June. We understand the frustration couples planning a wedding must be feeling at this time. As with all the necessary coronavirus restrictions on register offices, places of worship and other venues, we will look to ease them as soon as it is safe to do so. We will work closely with faith leaders and local government over the coming weeks to go through the practicalities."
Also this morning I have received my CERTIFICATE of TRAINING AND UNDERSTANDING OF PROPER SANITATION AND DISINFECTION PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT HIGHEST INDUSTRY STANDARDS. And if you’re at all worried about COVID-19 or just want to talk it through, give me a call and let’s talk.
Jiri xx
