Starting a wedding business during a global pandemic...

Some might call it madness to try and start a service-based business in the wedding/events industry at a time the world is experiencing unprecedented restrictions in living life during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Family celebrations in particular have been hit hard, with weddings in the UK being cancelled during the first lockdown, then restarting with major restrictions on the numbers who can attend, then entering lockdown again as cases rose in the autumn.

So, of course, here I am, in a somewhat changed world, doing the above. But far from being disheartened, I look forward with a sense of optimism - no mean feat for my often pessimistic self! While frustrating for those families and couples who have had to make the heartbreaking decision to postpone or cancel altogether, holding a small intimate celebration instead of the large party envisioned, it does give me two things as an Independent Celebrant: The gift of time, and that of availability for those now planning beyond the next uncertain 12 months or so we face.

Being an independent celebrant also means I can help you with the big celebration part at a later stage. At present, the kinds of ceremony I offer are not legally binding, in that you have to complete the legal bit first (though this may all change given the current review being carried out by the Law Commission, which would see the biggest changes to UK marriage laws in more than a generation). However this then means at a later date you can hold the big day you envisioned, with all your family and friends in attendance, and have a personalised symbolic ceremony in front of them, as part of this celebration. The same can be said for Child Naming Ceremonies. You can name your child legally as normal, completing the paperwork within the timeframes given by your local registry office, and hold a naming day at a later date which contains a symbolic ceremony tailored to you, your child and wider family.

This year has been a challenge for so many, in different ways. So let’s keep it positive around the happy times, the milestones in life we all dream of - you can and WILL have the day you always wanted with the people you hold dear. This too, shall pass.