... And Then The World Changed
The last wedding I have performed at was on March 15, 2020. It was an outdoors event, everyone having fun whether it was dancing, playing Cornhole or catching up with family members and longtime friends.
Me, being a hypochondriac germaphobe (thanks Mom and Dad!) and somewhat of a news junkie, had just heard that the first case of COVID-19 had made it's way into Alabama. On the way to the wedding, I decided that I was not going to be doing the normal shaking of hands or hugs with happy brides that I normally would do. The entire 90 minute drive there, I tried to come up with a polite way of avoiding handshakes without recoiling in horror every time someone approached me. And while the end result probably came off as stand-offish (I offered to bump elbows with everyone instead), no germs were spread as a result.
The next day, the calls started coming in. Some cancellations of events, some postponements. Some wanting their money back, some saying hold on to it as they'd be using me in the future.
This virus struck all of us wedding vendors at arguably our busiest time of the year ... springtime in Alabama. I had several weddings booked, a few class reunions, a couple of community events and even a prom. None of those took place.
Like you and every other person in the world today, I had to make some decisions. Did I stick with the "rules" in my contract and demand payment on events that were cancelled due to this virus? Or did I work with my clients to find solutions that would best suit them?
Ultimately, I would rather have a happy client over an easy payday. And all but one client agreed that we'd be postponing their events until a future date.
I am so fortunate to have the clients that I have. Many of whom I work with every year to provide entertainment for their events.
And while the world is topsy-turvy right now and we all want this madness to end so that we can go back to our lives, we also must stop and count our blessings. Many of us have been affected by this virus ... whether it's infected loved ones, caused us to lose our jobs or worse or depleted our bank accounts ... we still need to count our blessings.
I'm still here to write this.
And you're still here to read it.
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THE BOTTOM LINE IS ... I'm still taking bookings and meeting with clients. Every date scheduled right now is a tentative date. My couples know this and if the date keeps getting postponed due to COVID-19, I'm okay with that. But each date is first come, first served and we all have to be flexible at this point in life.
Please stay safe and healthy and be patient. We may never go back to life as we used to know it but we WILL get back to a sense of normalcy in time.
