2020 | A year of small weddings

I went back and forth on whether I should post this blog as this year has been one that many will want to forget. It’s a year where so many hearts have been broken, plans changed, postponed or cancelled countless times. We’ve all struggled, some more than others and I can’t even imagine the heartache many have gone through. But I want to share a little bit about my year, not to make you feel sorry for me, but in the hope that it might shine a little bit of light on what it looks like to be in an industry brought to its knees by the pandemic.

I should first say that every single one of my wonderful couples have been INCREDIBLE this year. There was no ‘right’ way to handle things but everyone has been incredibly gracious, kind and selfless whether they were postponing until next year, going ahead with smaller plans this year or sadly parting ways with me since arrangements didn’t work out. I’m so grateful for every single one of you!

My year started with two wonderful, big weddings. I had taken three months off from December-March as work is normally quiet over the winter and I wanted to take some time to catch up on myself after a very busy year. When the initial rumblings of Covid started in March I was very quickly thrown in to a side of my business that I had never needed to embrace before. Contracts, risk assessments and hard, honest conversations…the list goes on. As much as I wanted to I couldn’t bury my head in the sand, I had to keep on top of the news whilst seeing a whole year of work disappear before my eyes. When people asked my husband how work was going for me he would often say I was firefighting and that’s exactly how I imagine it felt. It was unrelenting, uncertain, panic inducing but at the same time I wasn’t working for myself - I was working to make sure that my couples were happy (or as happy as they could be) and felt confident in my hands…
It sounds dramatic, but again, I think it’s important to speak a bit of truth while reflecting on the year.

So March somehow turned into June and I had spent my lockdown on the biggest emotional rollercoaster of my life. I was incredibly grateful to old friends and new who kept me entertained, supported and on track. I saw the lovely Caro offering Doorstep shoots in Glasgow and she inspired me to get out of the house and do some doorstep photoshoots of my own. I didn’t expect them to take off but WOW, everyone proved me wrong. I was kept busy doing over 50 shoots on foot all over Edinburgh and loved all of the real talk, laughter and stories I heard.

And here’s when I get to the good bit. The absolute redeeming feature of working in the wedding industry this year. I got to celebrate some of the most beautiful, intimate and heart felt weddings days that I have ever witnessed. From tiny registry office affairs to lofty candle lit barns, many couples embraced the restrictions and brought bags of personality, love and determination to their wedding days. Again, I want to stress how much I respect the decision of those who chose to postpone their wedding celebrations to next year or beyond. Everyone has weddings for different reasons and some are just not able to go ahead without certain loved ones there and I SO look forward to celebrating with you all at some point soon.

So here it is - my 2020 highlights. The wonderful people I’ve been able to photograph this year. These weddings will forever hold a special place in my heart and certainly hold a piece of history in them too.

P.s. All the weddings in the video below took place at different times of the year and all in accordance with the restrictions in place at the time.
Best viewed with the sound on.

Much love, Claire x