2020 has been an unforgettable year, but certainly not for the reasons that we were expecting! Plans were in place for the most amazing wedding season, with weddings in the Cotswolds, London, France, Italy and Portugal. Sadly, our perfect wedding world came crashing down when Covid-19 hit at the beginning of the year and the UK was put into the first of three lockdowns, leaving ourselves, our couples, suppliers and venues devestated. We have been extremely lucky, because each and every one of our couples and clients have postponed their wedding or party celebrations to 2021 or 2022 and like a vast majority of our wedding industry colleagues, we have been patiently playing the waiting game, supporting our couples and praying for this madness to be over as soon as possible!

Two of our couples went ahead and got married, within the strict government guidelines in 2020, one at home with their immediate family, just two days before the initial lockdown in March and the other at Old Marylebone Town Hall in London in September. Both couples have opted to continue with their plans to celebrate in style in 2021 at their family homes in the Cotswolds and Wiltshire.

The #WhatAboutWeddings team have been relentlessly campaigning throughout the year, fighting for our industry to be heard. For those of you who are still unaware, the revenue created by the wedding industry is over £14.7bn per year in the UK and we desperately need a roadmap to navigate our way back to weddings and parties safely as soon as possible. Thank you to their team for their dedication and on going efforts. We are all aware of the complexities of a pandemic and the last thing any of us want to do is put anyone at risk, but there has to be a safe way to get back to doing what we love doing, for our couples and for our industry.

Whilst there has been lots of sadness and frustration for many this year, there has also been lots of joy. I for one feel blessed at being able to spend so much time with my children before they head off to university and to travel the world… I know that it is putting off the inevitable empty nest syndrome, but I am making the most of this additional quality time together!

The annual Cotswolds Awards continued in November 2020 and we were delighted to win Best Wedding Planner in The Cotswolds for the sixth continuous year. Whilst we plan weddings all over the world, the Cotswolds is our home and these local awards are always extra special to the team!

We ended the year doing what we love doing, setting up for an event at The Langley Hotel in Buckinghamshire - it was an intimate pre Christmas dinner and it was fabulous to work with an incredible team, just days before the final lockdown of the year. Thank you to everyone involved in this Christmas event

There is no denying that this year has been a roller coaster - the yes/no, can/can’t, on/off uncertainty of everything has been a challenge for us all, but we are heading into 2021 with the confidence that having experienced three lockdowns, nearly a year of no physical weddings and no travel, we will conquer this together! So, we will keep planning beautiful weddings and epic parties and look forward to some extra special events as soon as we can, because after all, love ALWAYS conquers all!

If you are looking to plan a wedding, call Jane on:

Cotswolds Wedding Planner – 01452 302797

London Wedding Planner – 0203 701 4016

Mobile – 07917 273180