A note from Natalie Lovett, Director of The Whitewed Directory

"I write to you from my new home ‘office’, where around me I have my husband continuing with his architectural designs and my son carrying out home learning and chatting with his friends, and I’m realising just how adaptable we all are.

I’ve been looking back over posts on the Whitewed Member Community Group today and it seems crazy that in the last few weeks we have gone from ‘normal’ to ‘plain weird / scary / unsettling / concerning’ etc. …and yet I don’t know about you, whilst it’s a worrying time for the industry as a whole, actually things seem a little calmer today, we’ve had a couple of weeks to be in our homes and ‘acclimatise’, and actually, it’s not so bad at all.

There’s time to be together, time to relax, time to catch up with people virtually, time to let the mind wander and come up with new ideas, time to get ‘wish list’ stuff done both from a business and personal perspective that we wouldn’t otherwise have had the time to do – so I’m beginning to see this time as a gift.

Of course, I’m not belittling the situation that we all find ourselves in, far from it – and I know that all of us will be wondering what the future holds for us after the next few months BUT I believe it’s a time to feel positive and optimistic, as the way you’ve all pulled out all the stops to ensure your couples are cared for in their postponements and put them before yourselves, especially as we all face very uncertain financial times, has been incredible and shows that you are super resilient. I admire you greatly.

During this time you will all have your highs and lows, and I urge you to give yourself a purpose, a daily task list, a goal – but also take this as an opportunity to unwind, as we’ll be back in a few months working hard to grasp every opportunity and reclaim our business standing.

We cannot recommend highly enough your need to market your business and innovate right now. Those that don’t will disappear. Your existing and potential couples need to see that you’re very much ‘open for business’, that you’re not going anywhere and that you will be available for them. Many couples are worried about planning their wedding right now, so give them the reassurance that they need in order to add to your order book and gain financial stability.

At Whitewed, we are not here to scare-monger or add to the worry, we’re here to be practical, helpful and strategic, and if there’s anything we can do to support you, just get in touch.

Keep strong, remain positive, say safe, stay at home. Each day brings us closer to ‘the other side’, and I don’t know about you, but I feel like planning a big ‘wow, what a relief party! All in all, prepare to re-open with a BANG!

Sending you my very best wishes, Natalie Lovett"