While I definitely have ITES vision boards galore, I've never made one for my dream wedding. In fact, it took me about 6 full months to figure out what kind of bride I wanted to be.  Who knew there were so many aesthetics to consider? Am I a Metropolitan bride? Chic bride? Ethereal bride? Bohemian bride? Luckily by the beginning of March I had finalized my vision just in time to be told I was nothing but a... Corona Bride. 

 

I mentioned in my first blog post that I am a bit of a control freak. I also am a very decisive person. You could ask me to make any business decision and I will do so without looking back or second guessing. Something about making decisions for our wedding was different.  I guess I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure it would be perfect, especially because we would only plan a wedding once in a lifetime. Little did I know, I shouldn't have been so worried because I am most definitely getting to plan this wedding twice, thank you corona.

Interestingly enough, while the stress of being a brand new full time entrepreneur made the stress of wedding planning even more overwhelming, owning my own business gave me a helpful perspective in the process.  I knew off the bat I wanted to work with people who were striving to provide the best service and most importantly wanted to make our day special.  I was looking to surround myself with a team of vendors for the wedding that run their businesses with the same values that I run Island to East Side.  Now, as I embark on the replanning process, I'm humbled to experience how amazing some vendors and fellow business owners have handled these unprecedented circumstances.  For the most part, everyone I've spoken with has been immensely understanding and helpful in terms of cancellations and postponements.  Unfortunately, I have experienced firsthand working with some businesses that have a pretty disgraceful tone about this situation.  It's disheartening to hear and experience this, both as a business owner and as a bride affected whose wedding is impacted by COVID-19.  I hope to be a sounding board for all of you and to help my ITES brides navigate this situation.  I look forward to continuing to shed some light on my own experiences, both favorable and unfavorable.

 

Above all, I'm writing to tell you that I, too, am in the same uncertain boat that so many of you, our customers, unfortunately are in.  Since the start of the pandemic in early March, I have watched hundreds of emails roll in each week from our ITES brides requesting to have their wedding bags remade with new dates inside.  Truth be told, six weeks ago I thought my biggest challenge was going to be sticking to the wedding diet through quarantine. I didn't think I'd eventually be in your shoes, but here I am!  I guess on a brighter note, I don't have to be so worried about the wine I am drinking daily and the explosion of cooking and baking that is happening over here.