First off, if your wedding just got cancelled or postponed because of COVID-19 – my whole heart is with you. I’m sure you’re getting bombarded with “What about your wedding?” questions and your anxiety and stress level is peaked. I get it, and I’m so sorry.
To all of our ILC couples- we are here for you. We’re here to help you re-book, reschedule, to plan an elopement, to reformat our late 2020 dates so your needs are met and your wedding still happens. We’re here for a phone call or vent session and to send you coffee and virtual hugs. Whatever you need, just ask. Our main focus these next 8 weeks is serving YOU.
Stress and anxiety significantly decrease when there’s a plan in place, so I’m here to help you think of the best plan B possible. It might not be the wedding day you originally envisioned, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be incredible.
You can keep your original date, vendors, and venue and just cut back the guest list to the closest friends and family. Plan a big celebration for later and have a virtual viewing of the ceremony for guests that can’t attend.
Brandon (my husband) is a licensed officiant and there’s SO many places in the Midwest that make for amazing elopement locations. You can still have your florist make a bouquet, get your hair and makeup done , and we’ll ensure the dress stays as clean as possible. At the end of the day, it’s really about the two of you anyway. You can celebrate with a big party later on this year and still honor your date and original vision.
A few of my favorites elopement spots:
Cataract Falls
Punch Films Warehouse
Turkey Run State Park
Indiana Dunes
Starved Rock State Park
My lakehouse
My backyard
Saturdays might be hard to come by so I can’t stress this enough – explore Friday weddings! Your vendors should be more widely available and you shouldn’t have to do as much back-and-forth to find a mutual available date between all vendors you’ve already booked (you might not find one at all, I hate to say it). Fridays are getting so common – it won’t be weird I promise! At ILC we’re not charging any rescheduling fees for moved dates!
I know you probably want to be married this year and not next year. But if it’s a matter of keeping all of your vendors and the wedding day like you envisioned, and on a Saturday, this might be your best option. The bright side: it gives you more time to enjoy the engagement and budget for your wedding expenses!
We’re doing everything we can to make sure our couples can reschedule and keep their ILC wedding photographer and mitigate losses as much as possible.
I know you’re scared/worried/annoyed and just overwhelmed. But in a decade you’ll look back and just really have a great story to tell and it will seem like such a small insignificant ripple in time. Married is what matters and we’re here to get you to that “I Do” in any way we can.
All the love,
Morgan, Madi, Natalie, and Katty
Midwest based wedding photographers servicing Chicago, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and beyond.