January of 2020 was supposed to be the start of an amazingly busy year. Instead, it came to an abrupt halt after our March 7th wedding that year. I don’t think I have to go into too much detail as to what was happening, so I’ll just cut to the nitty gritty.
I’ll preface all of this by saying I know things were rough for EVERYONE, and some didn’t make it through like we did. We are VERY grateful to still be in business, even 3 years later. The purpose of this post is not to brag about that. The purpose is to get you to understand how we pivoted the business to what our clients needed at the time.
By April 2020, almost all of our spring and summer weddings were postponed. Thankfully, we only had 1 wedding that canceled. The entire summer was just one long waiting game. Couples and everyone in the wedding industry were waiting on pins and needles to hear what the governor was going to announce next. By August, we were able to have up to 100 guests outdoors. Many couples were pivoting their plans to host an outdoor wedding either in a backyard or a tent at their venue. Luckily, we had tons of outdoor wedding planning experience, but the catch was that it had to be done in a few short months! Our team rocked them all, just sayin. 🙂
So, what did we do all summer while we literally just sat around waiting to hear the next announcements for CT? We thought…
…and we thought some more…
…and we networked…
…and we planned…
…and we pivoted…
What the heck does that mean?
It means we paid close attention to what we were allowed to do at the time and what our clients NEEDED. They were in a difficult position where a lot of time and money were at stake. What were their options? Lucky for them, it’s literally in our job description to think fast and solve problems.
For one, we tried to keep our clients and social media followers as updated as we could. We tried to keep everyone calm and told our clients we had it all under control. Did we? That depends who you asked, but all that mattered was that our clients felt at ease when we spoke to them.
This is where all the years of networking with amazing vendors came in handy. Next, we gathered a handful of local vendors that we trusted and created a “Micro Wedding” package. This consisted of a venue, officiant, photographer, florist and planner to create a one-stop planning experience for those who had to replan, postpone and replan again. We even created a “Minimony” service where we promoted 4 couples getting married on one day with a ceremony and limited reception.
Lastly, we paid attention to the shifting trends during this time. We were seeing many couples have very small ceremonies in 2020 and then planned to have a larger reception later the following year. We improvised and revamped our Wedding Day Management service so that we could help clients with their ceremony now and then the reception later. So it was basically the same service, but split.
Elopements were also popular in 2020. We created an elopement service that helped those who wanted to elope, but still make it special. This made it possible for the couple to focus more on themselves and their love for each other rather than showing off for a fancy party. Couples were doing more of what they wanted and things that made it unique and special to them.
I think the most important thing that COVID taught us was that weddings aren’t as much about the wedding, but more about the marriage. If a relationship (and business!) could survive what 2020 brought on, I’d say there’s a good chance they will last a long time.
If you’re looking to see how you can pivot your business or just want to switch things up a bit, let’s chat!
Schedule your discovery meeting today!
