Things will never be the same. When wedding ceremonies restart many will do so with smaller groups of guests and, despite whatever legislation allows, with some people too nervous to attend. The grandparent generation might even be disallowed or discouraged.
Web conferencing is already playing a part to help solve these challenges and this technological assistance will grow.
As far as the toastmaster / celebrant is concerned, he or she will need to perform the roles of advisor, planner, scriptwriter, producer, choreographer, coordinator, performer and enabler – and many of the current job protocols and rituals will evolve accordingly. For example, I have events in the pipeline where I am scripting the wedding ceremony as I would in my celebrant role – and (via web conferencing) making family members able to perform it.
For this new world, I will need to revamp my websites and my marketing literature; I’ll still use the titles ‘toastmaster’ and ‘celebrant’ but I’ll also describe my potential contribution with a phrase like ‘your wedding day planner, co-ordinator, choreographer, director, performer and Zoom-Master’
That doesn’t yet feel quite right and is still work in progress so please feel free to comment.
We might not have wanted this new world but we’re going to have to live in it..
Helping you through uncertainty
At the time of writing, we’re all living through this awful Coronavirus crisis. Everyone in the wedding industry, I’m sure, extends heartfelt good wishes to wedding couples and their families who have been, and are being, impacted. It must be unsettling and upsetting for you.
Every supplier in this industry is juggling dates and doing their best to accommodate any new arrangements that you, the client, wants. Disruption to our respective businesses is insignificant, of course, to the emotional impact on you and to people suffering poor health.
Please talk to your suppliers / potential suppliers and we will do the best we can to offer solutions, to reschedule and to support you in every way we can.
'About planning your wedding; don't worry, it not going to last forever'
I’m talking about the dreaded lurgy that’s going about and disrupting events and activities. Even when Covid-19 has faded into something manageable, it, or one of its nasty friends, is bound to strike us sometime in the future.
That’s the nature of the world today.
At the time of writing this, hotels are cancelling events and asking couples to reschedule. Government advice may be a bit vague (for all sorts of political and economic reasons) but travel restrictions limit foreign visitors.
So what should a couple do? Take a chance and stick to current plans? That’s probably unwise in the short to medium term. If you planning from scratch, it’s worth thinking long and hard about the kind of event you want and how you can build in safeguards and options. If you are rescheduling, it’s worth reviewing your options and alternatives as all suppliers might not be able to fit your new schedule.
Are you separating the ceremony and the celebrations? Are they even on the same day and, indeed, do you want them to be? Could you perform your legal ceremony by videolink?
You might not want to do any of these things but I recommend to take the time to review your options.
I also recommend you look at my ebook ‘Wedding Planner Starter Kit’. A great investment for only £1.99. Cheaper than a cup of coffee – assuming we’re still allowed to buy them.
