Recap of 2020: A Year In Review
Photo by Julie Floro Photography
Well, here we are, at the end of 2020. This has been the longest and fastest year all at once. It was filled with uncertainty, struggle, disappointment and frustration. It was a year of so much change both good and bad. So much re-thinking, adjusting and pivoting. It actually feels weird writing this right now. I feel like I have been living in a really weird and stressful dream or in an alternate universe. It’s strange thinking about this year, how it started, how it’s ending and how we will be entering into a new year.
Like a lot of people, this time last year I was so excited for what 2020 was going to bring for my business and for my personal life. The year just had so much potential. It was going to be my best year yet. The year that everything would take off and would change. Well, it certainly changed things but, not in the way that I had expected. None of us saw this coming.
I had started off 2020 with the most weddings booked for the year then I have ever had and I couldn’t wait to hit the ground running with my first wedding in May 2020. I had been prepping my business in the back end over the early winter months getting things in order to take on all the weddings that were now on the books. I was upgrading services and packages, updating social media and marketing materials, integrating new systems and getting back to actually writing blog posts again all while working diligently on my couples weddings behind the scenes. When we got the news in mid-March 2020 that we were in a global pandemic, everything changed. Weddings began to get cancelled, postponed and reimaged so fast it had our heads spinning in the wedding industry. I’ll be honest, it totally caught me off guard and I got busy right away helping my couples make decisions, adjustments and re-designs as well as adjustments to my policies and procedures. With almost all of my Spring and Summer weddings being postponed, it opened up extra time for me to continue to work on all those back end parts of the business that often times get neglected during busy wedding seasons so, I didn’t hate having that time to catch myself back up with things. Truthfully, the Spring and Summer flew by so fast for me I don’t even remember feeling the change of the seasons. Before I knew it, we were in Fall and I felt like that whole chunk of time had just vanished. It’s really all still a blur.
However, 2020 has certainly had it’s positives. Despite a global pandemic, 11 out of 14 of my beautiful couples still got married this year and I was able to attend and be a part of 7 of their weddings this year and I am so unbelievable grateful for that. I still was able to see all their hard work, love and celebrations happen even though they looked a little different then we had originally planned. With everyone in face masks, limited dancing, smaller guest counts, socially distanced floor plans and hand sanitizer favors weddings seemed like a whole different world but, they were still beautiful. They were still filled with so much love and so much happiness. I am so thankful that we were able to still make these days happen for these couples. Lifting up a broken hallelujah for those little blessings.
This year has also brought along some other positives as well for this business. About a month ago I found out that The Calla Lily Event Planning won Best Of The Knot 2021 which I am beyond thrilled about! My amazing couples helped me achieve that special accolade and I am so appreciative of their kind words, trust and faith in me to help them create their perfect day which as allowed me to even share that announcement! I have also taken on a mentee that I am so excited about and can’t wait to see where our future takes us together. I have met amazing new people, businesses and vendors. Strengthened relationships with my tried and true friends in the industry. I had the opportunity to work on some fun and different projects over the year with amazing people and even bring a vision to life that was just knocking at my heart and soul to create. I’ve made some exciting changes to my business and have seen tremendous growth with this business despite everything that 2020 has thrown at us. So, with all that being said, I am closing out 2020 with a heart filled with gratitude. I am once again excited for a new year and am hopeful for all that 2021 has in store for us. I am looking forward to a new year, a new chapter and a new start for all of us.
We made it through 2020, friends. It’s not all completely over but, I’m proud of you for hanging in there. I see a light at the end of this tunnel. I trust that there are better things ahead. I have faith that things will get better and that we will find ourselves on the other side of this soon. For now, I am sending you a big warm virtual and socially distanced hug and happy wishes for a wonderful Holiday Season!
Love to you all!
Naticia
