In truth, I’d just written 2020 off completely from a wedding point of view. All the couples I had booked in had moved to 2021 or 2022 with plenty of notice which was completely the right thing to do for all concerned. I know early on in the pandemic that some suppliers, particularly venues, were being very difficult about date moves, but I think things have improved on that front. It’s a crap situation for everyone, we need to get through it together, not by screwing anyone else over.

Anyway, 2020 passed, I cobbled together a few income streams from various video and other work and just before the year came to a close I had a message asking to shoot a wedding in London this coming weekend. The couple had already cancelled a May and November ceremony, and now needed to tie the knot for work-visa reasons before the year was out.

They also needed it to be live streamed to family back in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Chile.

And it was at the Goring Hotel.

How could I say no to that.

It was a fantastic day. Just 30 guests, a fraction of what they had planned for May, but a great reminder of the joy, fun and smiles that a wedding entails. There was no dancing, no music and none of what is normally associated with a wedding, but the time for a big party will come. We’re at the stage in this pandemic where we’ve forgotten that masks and social distancing are a bit annoying, and it’s become completely normal.

They also timed it perfectly, slotting the date in when London was in Tier 2. Within 3 weeks we moved to Tier 3, 4 and then national Lockdown.

Hopefully the vaccine roll out will gather pace enough for some normality to hit by the Spring and everyone can have the weddings they want in 2021.

Fingers crossed!