So I had been watching this cruel, incomprehensible disease rage through the World, slowly at first then gaining momentum hoping and praying it would never, surely reach the UK? How wrong was I? On Saturday 21st March, at the end of a very busy day, I remember looking at my girls and thinking, I can’t honestly say for the first time ever, I’ve got your backs, you’re safe with me, I am doing my best for you. I went home that night, knowing I had to make a decision, probably one of the hardest I have ever had to make as a Bridal Shop owner, but sometimes doing the right thing can also be the hardest thing. I knew, that Sunday 23rd March 2020 was going to be our last day of trading for some time.
Coping with Covid-19 as a Bridal Shop
The task ahead was daunting to say the least, with so many brides booked in to try their own dresses on for the first time, so many new brides wanting to come in and have the TDR experience, so many brides booked in for fittings with our seamstresses; All this needed planning, re-planning, debating, decision making, co-ordinating, re-organising, strategizing and a whole lot more; So on my big girl pants went and they’ve enabled me to have the courage to plough through this with an iron will and sheer determination that no TDR bride will be left in the wings. We are in this together.
Our private Facebook group which we started in May 2017, has really come into its own in recent weeks. It’s a safe place where our brides can go to and vent their upset and grief without fear of reprisal. It’s been tough, really tough emotionally, at times but you know, it’s also been heart-warming and soul searching, encouraging and reassuring too. These brides are made of strong stuff, they’ve all been truly beautiful throughout this crisis. They have supported and counselled each other, consoled each other and helped each other to see that there really is a positive to find in all of this. Many brides have said to me how they feel selfish getting upset over a wedding, but that’s just it isn’t it… this is not “just a wedding”. A wedding epitomizes everything that this vicious virus has taken from us all, human contact, family, friends, the need to love and be loved.
I truly believe that weddings will take on a whole new deeper meaning for many in the coming years as people now understand what it is to not have that basic human need fulfilled and many will have gained a more meaningful understanding of what family and ultimately marriage, is all about. It is love
