By now, everyone has become an expert in how to deal with COVID-19 as a wedding professional. This has to be the oddest experience I have faced as a photographer and one where I am thankful that I have contracts and agreements in place with my clients, but one that makes it tough when dealing with a bride that is in tears due to her wedding day, the day she’s been dreaming about, needing to change because of a virus that is out of control.

This week I’ve had conversations with several clients because COVID-19 has reared its ugly head and caused a pandemic. At the moment, per the CDC gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited, restaurants are close, some restaurants are only allowing carry out, the malls are closed, and the worst part is that this will affect small businesses for months to come.

I sat quiet for a bit to see how I could be the best vendor I could for my couples that were facing changes to their wedding plans. It dawned on me to not go out and do something that wasn’t authentic to who I am as a person and business owner. Instead, I decided to do what I think I would want my wedding vendor to do if I were getting married. Here are a couple of ways I showed up for my clients:

1. I opened the lines of communication once reality started setting in that dates may have to change. I was less than a week away from traveling to New Orleans, LA for my first wedding of the year. I told my bride that if their wedding was still happening then I would be there. Unfortunately, it did get postponed, and I let the couple know that they could reach me whenever they needed to with questions or discuss options of moving forward.
2. I created a Calendly link of all of my available wedding dates. I had several clients looking at new dates, so I felt it would be easier to give them direct access to my availability instead of playing email or phone tag to discuss dates. This allowed everyone, thus far, affected to select new dates with me in less than 24 hours.
3. Once a client selected a new date, I moved all of their payments to their new date without penalty. We also signed new contracts with their new wedding date. This process moved quickly due to the ease of clients finding a new date that worked for their venue and most vendors.
4. I recorded a personal video to each client. While each client received a video, the message in the video was specific to their situation. Of everything that I’ve done, this seemed to resonate the most with them and while I was reluctant to send a casual video, I am so glad that I did.

I think it’s great to seek advice on how to handle unfamiliar situations, but don’t forget to incorporate your “frosting” as a reminder to your clients on why they hired you. Stay safe friends!