Well honestly, where do I start? I don’t normally blog about where my year has taken me BUT I really wanted to take the the time to write a few lines. 2020 has been the year where we have all had to dig deep and then again even deeper. I don’t think any of us ever imagined it would pan out the way it has.

This time of year I am normally well into reflecting on my year, where my business has taken me and in which direction I want to take it next. So this year I am still taking the time out to reflect, but I thought it would be nice to jot a few things down.

Firstly, the thing I really, really need to get off my chest is this… THANK YOU. Truly, every single one of my clients has just been amazing. Despite the upheaval you have all faced with replanning, rescheduling, compromising and negotiating new dates and new plans, EVERY single one of you has offered amazingly kind words of support. Honestly the power of your kindness has really helped us to push on through.

One of the last weddings of the year with the lovely Hannah - Beauty By Hannah Hennessy

Megan & Jamie’s Micro Wedding October 1st 2020 | Matt Ebbage Photography

When I think back to how naively we all started the year, and how Coronavirus was something trickling down through the news, I mean it seemed so far away and so NOT a problem right? Well… we all know how that panned out!

2020 was set to be a huge year for my business, with 70 weddings booked all over the UK & 5 in Europe it was set to top 2019 (and that was pretty good).

As many of you know, although I have been in the wedding biz a fair while, I only launched JHMUA full time in May 2019, so this year was all about keeping up the momentum that 2019 had built. BUT 2020 had other plans. Out of my 70 weddings I have only fulfilled a total of 4, ironically 2 out of the 4 were February weddings, so way before lockdown was even a thing. The other 2 were lovely micro-weddings like Megan’s. Here are some beautiful photos from her wedding day back in October.

My husband Matt is also in the wedding industry (the guy behind Matt Ebbage Photography). We met working at a wedding (yep, cute!) and we often work together tag-teaming as a duo. We honestly LOVE, LOVE our jobs. Matt jumped to being full time with the camera in February 2019 and honestly out of all the things we listed out as potential curveballs in both being newly freelance at the same time, a global pandemic was not one of them (as I write this I am making a mental note to include “global pandemic” in my next business plan).

The long and the short of it is we truly didn’t expect to ever loose a whole year’s worth of work in a very short space of time. We might have smiled and put on a brave face but gawwwd this year has truly tested us in ways we didn’t think possible.

We both live, breathe and love our work so much. When there isn’t another income to bolster the load and it became clear we neither of us were eligible to receive any government support or funding, we realised it was time to get busyyy.

So together we have had a real eclectic array of jobs over the last 9 months. From cleaning beautiful holiday homes to temping at Tescos (Thank goodness for supply and demand on the food side of things), now we are coming out the other side of this with a glimmer of hope that weddings could be back to normal by the summer of 2021. I have to say I can only be truly thankful for the lessons I have learnt this year.

Beautiful Emma - One of my last weddings of 2020

Quite frankly no other job will ever do … nope, nada! I can’t even begin to express how much I love my work, where it takes me, the clients I have and the people I meet. 2020 has only proved just how much I LOVE my work.
In a creative frenzy I thought I would have a stab at up-cyling furniture ……I never, ever want to up-cylce another piece of old pine furniture ever again … ever.
The kindness of other humans, small businesses’ and random strangers, throughout the whole pandemic, I have seen so much kindness and compassion which honestly warms the soul.

The wedding industry has been absolutely brought to it’s knees this year, but we are a vocal bunch as I am sure you have probably heard from the #whataboutweddings campaign set up by the lovely Annabel from love my dress. The campaign has supported both suppliers (all 250,000 of us) and couples planning their weddings alike. This network has been a real source of support in this turbulent year.

If you want any information on this campaign I will pop the link to this below.

So truly, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for your patience and support. When emails have taken a little longer to reply to than we would have liked, from the smallest gesture of an early payment or offering to buy a voucher, honestly, I can’t thank you enough. The smallest gestures have picked us up no end.

I can’t help but honestly feel optimistic about 2021. I know we still have a way to go but it feels like things are FINALLY going the right way.

I know deep down how much you have all sacrificed. A wedding isn’t just a wedding, it is precious moments shared with your very nearest and dearest and you all deserve that special day you have spent months planning. So rest assured Matt & I will be toasting this New Year in with you all, and very much hoping for a brighter year with so many weddings going ahead as planned.

Wishing you all a healthy, happy and positive New Year.

So much love,

Jess xxxx

Support with postponing your wedding : What about weddings - www.whataboutweddings.co.uk

A Huge Thank you from Moi

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