March Madness 2023 in the Wedding World

Have you ever read the poem by Rudyard Kipling? “If you can keep your head when all about you" This is the time to think like this.

 “Did you know in the Wedding World the 1st March is National Wedding Planning. The holiday was created by “The Knot” in 2017, and if you are thinking of tying the knot check out their website for ideas. 

Weddings are one of the most joyous celebrations of mankind and traditions vary from culture to culture. However, it is also one of the most stressful events to plan. The planning usually takes a toll on both the bride and groom, bringing them down from the proposal high, especially if there’s no one helping to ease the process. 

I ask myself all the time why I do the things I do? 

I’m just someone who helps brides find the right dress for them. If I haven’t got it “ready to go” then I’ll make it. That’s what I have done for years now and some how we always get there. I’m just someone who left college, wanted to put my heart and soul into making things as a living. Sensible people thought I should be an art teacher. Was that me? 

I’m glad I do what I do!! It’s scary, exciting and rewarding. I meet the most amazing diversity of people. Recently one of my clients is actually an Art teacher. She’s super clever, super sensitive and super at helping her pupils work out what’s good for them. 

One of the things I have learnt about my job is that being good at sewing is not necessarily the most important thing. I have to know when I’m designing for someone what makes them happy, what gives them confidence and how can I help them. 

Another thing I know is in life you are always learning but experience of life helps. 

People often ask where my inspiration comes from, well that’s easy I have always had to my ideas. It’s my clients, the people I come in contact with and the things around me that inspires me. 

Inspiration

These days there seems to always be such tragic news from around the world and the thing that keeps me sane ( if I am sane!! ) is my work. 

On my Twitter feed I noticed that the inspirational Ukrainian people are doing so too !!

I don't know whether my school studies of history (with Miss Mc Cleland at Glenlola School ) of world wars or the fact that my homeland Northern Ireland has had to endure over 30 years of terrorism but I want the Ukrainian people to know they have the support of the sane people around the world who believe in justice and peace. I'm sure on twitter people seeing a simple sewer sitting in Belfast giving a ♡ they are thinking WHY? But I want people to know I CARE.

So while all around you seems to going crazy KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON!! If I can help ask me. 

Tomorrow is National Dress Day 6th March

If you are a bride and you buy a dress from me I will give an agreed percentage to help Ukrainian people and if I can't help you with dress please at least think of buying a dress from a Ukrainian dress manufacturer !! "Actions have consequences"

PS my best tip is write things down.

Oh Yes And here’s what Rudyard Kipling wrote:

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

The latest plea from the Northern Ireland Wedding Industry.

It may be April Fools day but things are getting more serious. 

Northern Ireland’s leading wedding venues are calling on The Executive to provide a clear reopening criteria, starting with indicative reopening dates, following a year of severe loss and devastation.

The wedding industry in Northern Ireland has suffered over 90% loss of business over the past twelve months due to a cycle of lockdowns and restrictions slicing the number of wedding guests and venue capacities.

In pre-pandemic times, the wedding sector contributed £250m to the Northern Ireland economy, with around 8,000 weddings hosted each year. Now, venues and vendors are working at 10% capacity with a cap of 25 guests for ceremony only per wedding. It is hoped that Stage 3 will see the return of receptions as venues open in line with socially distanced capacity.

Industry leaders are now asking The Executive to lay out clear reopening criteria, indicative dates, and to provide information on the necessary data that will inform the size and scale of the opening of venues.

With peak wedding season being the summer, wedding operators and vendors are hoping to see indicative dates that will save this summer’s season and allow for some couples to be wed from May onwards. The industry is calling on a timescale to be published to ensure the right planning and time is afforded to couples planning their weddings for Summer 2021.

 

Sarah Mackie, Joint Owner of the Larchfield Estate in Lisburn and member of The UK Weddings Taskforce said:

 

“Without doubt, this has been the hardest year for our business. We have gone from being booked out and thriving to devastation in the space of twelve months. The wedding industry is currently only operating at 10% of its usual capacity, and this is having a major impact on specialist wedding businesses like ours right down to small suppliers.”

 

“Many exclusive wedding venues that are not within hotels were not eligible for financial assistance from the Government, with some not having received a single penny to date. We ask for parity on this front. This lack of support coupled with the stress and anxiety of emotional couples has put immense pressure upon our sector with 94% of wedding business owners reporting that their mental health has been affected by the situation.”

 

“Clarity on what data is needed for the reopening steps is now urgently required for us to begin to plan out how best to reopen and recover in the safest possible way that would be viable for our businesses.  Weddings take time to plan, and precision is needed to ensure our clients have a memorable day.” 

 

“The speed of the vaccination programme is commendable. Now is the time for the Recovery Plan to kick into action and for businesses like ours to begin trading properly again.”

 

“The Executive now must provide us with some indicative reopening times so that we can begin this process. Much of the summer’s bookings have already been lost or cancelled. We need to ensure this summer’s wedding season can go ahead, and there are no more disappointed couples or suppliers who already are under huge amounts of financial and mental stress.”

 

Emma Donaghy from The Old Rectory added:

 

“The wedding industry has been impacted severely by the pandemic. As a sector dedicated to providing the perfect day to couples across Northern Ireland, to see it so badly impacted by the pandemic is really hard. We are now looking to The Executive to provide some hope and guidance on the next steps for the sector to help map out recovery.”

 

“The industry has reported that around 60% of business has already been lost for this year, with further uncertainty over the viability of large-scale weddings this summer. It is time for support measures to be implemented for businesses which 85% of their income is reliant on weddings. A reopening date would be a start.”

 

“As with many businesses, a clear directive is needed for the reopening of the wedding industry. The industry can no longer wait in hope for reopening dates. We need firm clarity on when we can reopen and how that can be done. Livelihoods and marriages are counting on it.”

 

Colm Shannon, Chief Executive of Newry Chamber of Commerce said:

 

“Spring is also an important time for the wider supply chain market, supporting couples at this important stage in their lives.

 

“Jewellers have a key role to play and are excluded from the click and collect scheme at the moment. There are the many florists, fashion boutiques, hairdressers and men’s outfit shops who depend on the wedding business at this time of year.”

 

Colin Neill, Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster said:

 

“Like the wider hospitality sector, wedding venues and vendors have been decimated by this pandemic and the lack of Government support. The constant cycle of lockdowns and restrictions have meant any real opportunity for business has been virtually non-existent. Wedding venues have also been hit hard by the lead-in time for wedding planning meaning that venues could not sustain when restrictions eased in the summer due to the amount of business already lost.”

 

“A person’s wedding day is one of the most important days of their life. The Northern Ireland wedding industry does a fantastic job catering to a couple’s dream day and ensuring every detail and aspect of their wedding is provided for.”

 

“We cannot wait any longer to begin our long-term planning for reopening and sustaining business. Cash reserves, loans and furlough can only go so far. Now is the time for businesses across the hospitality landscape to begin their reopen journey and build back from the past twelve months.”