(COVID-19 and your wedding – updated on 31st July 2020. Further updates as and when there are any changes to government advice/legislation).
Firstly, and most importantly, we hope that you and your families are all safe and well.
We know that there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding weddings (and life in general!) at the moment, and we know it’s hugely stressful.
Small wedding ceremonies are now allowed to take place with up to a maximum of 30 people in attendance (please speak to your venue as they’ll be able to advise how many guests they can actually accommodate, with social distancing). Receptions and parties should still not be taking place, and although we were expecting small receptions to be allowed from 1st August this has now been delayed until at least 15th August.
As of 8th August, there will also be a requirement to wear a face covering in places of worship. This applies to guests (but not the couple) at weddings and civil partnership ceremonies and also includes those taking place in register offices or other approved venues.
Will you still photograph our wedding?
We can currently photograph your wedding ceremony if it’s going ahead and following government guidelines (as well as any localised lockdown measures, for example those currently affecting some Lancashire and West Yorkshire areas). Please note that we are not able to photograph events that will not be adhering to these guidelines as we would not be covered under our insurance.
Nothing else has changed and your contract with us remains the same, with the same payment deadlines–we’re happy to discuss reduced coverage and any other changes to your plans so just drop us a line.
If you do still want to go ahead, please be aware that your wedding day may be very different to the one you had originally planned.
Please also bear in mind that the maximum of 30 people present at the ceremony will also include the officiant(s), any suppliers (e.g. us, or a videographer etc.) and of course the two of you!
What happens if we decide to postpone our wedding?
Please let us know as soon as possible if you are thinking of postponing. We want to do everything we can to work with our couples who want to move to a date when they can have a more ‘normal’ wedding. In the current circumstances we’re happy to move your booking to a new date, providing that we’re available. There will be no additional charges to move your wedding date to a new date in 2021 (please note there may be an additional cost for 2022 dates, due to the increased costs of running our little business each year).
Most importantly, we still want to photograph your wedding, so please (please!) do check our availability before booking a new date, if you’re considering this and want us to be there! (P.S. We really want to be there!)
What happens if the government stops weddings again, or our venue tells us we have to postpone?
We completely understand that this will be a huge disappointment for you both. Assuming that you both still want to get married once any restrictions are lifted, we’ll be happy to transfer your booking to a new date, providing we’re available. Please keep in regular contact with us so we can find a date that suits all of your wedding suppliers’ availability.
Again, there will be no extra charges from us to move to a new date in 2021 (but there may be an additional cost for weddings in 2022).
What happens if you catch COVID-19?
We’re taking all the precautions we can to stay fit and healthy for your big day. However, should the worst happen we will follow the government guidelines by self-isolating and will not be photographing your wedding. Your health, and the health of your guests, is of the utmost importance and we don’t want to put anyone at risk of infection. To be prepared, we already have potential back up photographers (of a similar style to us) to cover your wedding should this happen. In the event of this, we would then edit the photographs from the back up photographer(s) and deliver your final images as normal.
We are part of a very large network of wedding photographers (and other wedding industry professionals) and it has been amazing to see how everyone has been coming together to help each other in the last few months.
Pre-wedding shoots and meetings–let’s stay safe!
We’re now able to go ahead with pre-wedding shoots, if your wedding is still going ahead.
Rather than meeting in a cafe/pub before your shoot, we’re currently conducting all meetings over Skype/video call to make it easier to comply with social distancing. So we’ll chat to you by video some time before or after your shoot to go through all your plans and the schedule for your wedding day.
We’ll all need to adhere to social distancing on the shoot, keeping two metres apart where possible, but the good news is that that shouldn’t affect what we do. Just don’t be offended if we don’t hug or shake hands with you as we usually would!
Of course, please do tell us if you start to have any symptoms before the shoot and need to self-isolate. We need to stay healthy for all of our couples if we can, and let’s face it, none of us want to be ill if we can avoid it! Shoots can always be re-scheduled; it’s not the end of the world.
If you’re considering postponing your wedding, it’s probably a good idea to postpone the pre-wedding shoot as well. We usually do the shoot a couple of months before your big day. That way the experience will be fresh in your mind and it’s a lovely part of the build up to your wedding.
Do we need to book in for our pre-wedding shoot?
If you’ve booked a pre-wedding shoot in your package with us, we’ll be in touch with you around three months before your wedding date. We’ll touch base and see what’s happening with your plans. Just to keep you in the loop, we are now dealing with requests for postponements of August weddings onwards (all of our weddings up to the end of July have now been postponed).
If you’re not quite sure what’s happening with your wedding yet, don’t worry. We have plenty of availability for shoots (especially now that we only have a very limited number of weddings in the next couple of months!) so please be patient for now. If your wedding is able to go ahead, we’ll be more than happy to schedule in a shoot, and at short notice if necessary.
Overall, try not to panic (I know that’s easier said than done!) These are unusual circumstances but you will get through it. You will still get married, and it will be amazing!
Please do get in contact if you have any questions or need to talk about things on a more individual basis. Whatever we can do to help, we will, even if you just want someone to listen. We’re all in this together!
Heather & Colin
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We are wedding photographers in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
For new enquiries, please fill out our contact form – we’d love to hear from you!
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Natural, relaxed, creative wedding photography from a husband and wife team based in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Serving Yorkshire, Lancashire and the UK.
