COVID-19 And Your Event

Hello there. Did you know that I haven’t blogged in over 2 years? Why? Well life got in the way for one. My husband had major brain surgery (he is fine now thank god) and I guess that took a toll on me. All I could think about was him, my kids and my clients. Blogging was just something I couldn’t wrap my head around at that time. Fast forward and wow…2 years have passed. I asked myself the other day, “Well if I’m going to start blogging again, what should I begin with? How about all the crazy that is going on in the world?”

So here I am. Here you are. 2020 has truly thrown a wrench into everyone’s lives, hasn’t it? But when people say to me “Wow, this sucks doesn’t it?” I respond by kindly saying, “Well, I don’t know about sucking but it certainly is a major inconvenience for sure. But think of it this way…you have cable and high speed internet. We have iPads, smart phones, and a host of other technological luxueries! We can have food delivered as well as most essentials. We can FaceTime and zoom. I have been saying that 2020 is the welcome return of the phone call but now with technology, it’s more like the Jetsons! Some people are lucky enough that they can still go outside, take walks as well as other things with the right precautions (I’m talking about masks people!) We have DVR and countless luxuries that 20/30 even just 10 years ago we didn’t have to make this sucky situation a little less sucky”. I think when you break it down that way, it puts things in perspective. I mean, think about if this was the 70’s or 80’s. Yeah, now that would suck way more.

But I digress.

What I really want to talk about is how you can move forward safely when it comes to your wedding/mitzvah or large event. As far as shooting families, headshots and even some editorial, that can be done if precautions are taken. But large events…not so much. Or can they? Yes, they can but things may not be has you originally envisioned it. And that’s ok. You need to remember that right now, things are not just about you. They are about everyone. They are about your older relatives. They are about your guests…AND they are about the people that work for you, like your photographer (hi there) and your other vendors that are doing everything they can to accommodate you for your big day. So let’s chat about this a bit shall we?

WEDDINGS

Be about a marriage, not a wedding. Elope! For some reason these have been called “micro weddings”. I personally think it’s a hipster, trendy way of saying elopement. But I have shot elopements with up to about 15 people in attendance so to me they are still an elopement. ( this was before COVID-19) I have had a few clients this year that had big weddings scheduled that were forced to postpone. But they really wanted to be married more than anything. So instead, they eloped. Some had small backyard weddings with about 10 guests. Some just had a justice of the peace and then we spent an additional hour playing around with photography somewhere in the woods. They postponed their big day for next year…some even into 2022. These couples were more about their marriage, not a big wedding at the end of the day. I’m all in for that. My moto when new couples approach me is “No matter how big your budget it, if you are about a marriage and not a wedding, I’m your girl”.

This has never been truer now. These smaller weddings will hopefully put things into perspective for couples. It will force them to decide what is important right now. I always say, “Remember the only things you are gonna take with you at the end of of the day is your dress, the photos, video, memories and each other. Everything else is a luxury in the big picture. Keep your wedding to immediate family only for now. You can party later, I promise. But for now, not so much. Here are some samples of three weddings that turned into small intimate celebrations where everyone followed the rules. Some of my brides opted for not wearing their fancy dress for their covid wedding, some did. One of my brides agreed to actually get dressed in the woods! I was not comfortable photographing indoors so I told her, “Hey so if you want photo of you getting into your dress, you have to drop trow in the woods and do it there. Are you ok with that"?” She didn’t even flinch and said yes right away! Hooray for chill brides! I was chatting with my buddy Meg from Margaret Belanger Photography and she had a wonderful idea that I told her I would share on this blog post. Why not have your ceremony and then maybe on another day, hire a hair and make up person to come and glam you up. Then put on the dress, have the groom put on his suit/tux and spend an hour or two just taking beautiful portraits of just the two of you? What’s great about this idea is that you won’t have to worry about a time frame in terms of getting to cocktail hour or the reception because all you have is time. Your photographer can set up lights and really play around without any pressure. It’s genius!

BAR AND BAT MITZVAHS

Be about the service and not the party. Honor the Bar/Bat Mitzvah tradition. If you are having a mitzvah, consider having the service on your original date but having the party later in the future. This is what many of my clients are doing. Some are forgoing their parties all together but still doing their service. We will also do as many family formals and fun stuff after the service as you want too. Did you ever watch the brilliant show on Amazon, Transparent? In the final episode (click the link to see it) shows one of the main characters, Alex, played by the brilliant actor Gabby Hoffman, deciding to have her Bat Mitzvah in the woods! How’s that for different and beautiful? Right before the world shut down, I photographed a bat mitzvah in Philadelphia and the family live streamed the entire thing on YouTube through their temple. The best part about this for me was I could share it with everyone via social media. So many of my followers on my biz page and friends actually tuned in. Many of them had never been to a Bat Mitzvah before so it was a learning experience from a far for them. It was a really wonderful.

Still want to do it in a big way? Please reconsider for everyone’s sake. While this part may sound harsh, it’s a fact you can’t ignore.

Don’t you want to be relaxed during your celebration? Do you want to spend your entire day constantly worrying your event with be THAT event? You know the one that ended up being the super spreader? Wouldn’t you rather postpone your wedding, mitzvah or event than not be able to hug and celebrate in the way you want instead of worrying that one person that was hugged or kissed and ended up in the hospital…or…God forbid, dead? Because that COULD happen. It more than likely will happen to people who just refuse to be flexible. I realize that’s harsh but it’s the reality we live in at the moment. I know I would rather postpone than have to live with that memory that has now become a reality.

So with that being said, here are some examples of a few intimate weddings I did over the past few months. I have also included the last Bat Mitzvah I photographed back in the beginning of March before the world shut down. The family moved quickly and did what they needed to do and it worked beautifully. A HUGE shout of to Rodeph Shalom, in Philadelphia for moving so quickly to help Emily and her family create her service in a way that was safe and relaxed. Emily’s Bat Mitzvah was the very first service live streamed on their FB page too.