Weddings & Lockdown
I’ve been meaning to do some blogging for a long while, but life and work seems to have always taken my time. Now that life has been put on hold for a moment I knew that this was the opportunity I’d been waiting for.
I know this is a photography website and blogs on perfectly planned, romantic days is what you came here looking for, but I wanted to start with something a little more personal. To talk about how this crazy start to the year has changed so much around us. (and I promise there will be a good few wedding photographs to look at too.)
It was February 12th that I started to believe all really wasn’t well with the World. I was flying to the uk to visit family and friends and made a mad dash to the pharmacy for face masks. I turned out to be the only one on the flight with a mask and I felt really daft. I also found it very claustrophobic so only managed to keep it on for 20 minutes!!!
Whilst in the Uk the constant narrative was “are we panicking too much or not enough”. Then flights and holidays suddenly started getting cancelled or postponed and I knew it was time to get back to Simon & Mogpog in our Cyprus bubble. The speed at which things were happening was terrifying and the news of so many losing their lives totally heartbreaking.
Schools closed in Cyprus on the 11th March and the airport on the 16th. Only residents or Cypriots would be allowed to enter, and put in a mandatory quarantine at a guarded hotel for 2 weeks. But by the end of March stricter measures were introduced whereby we had to text a government number to get permission to leave the house and you were only permitted to leave once a day. So sadly beach visits and swims in the sea were a distant memory but we are so very lucky that we have this incredible view from our home.
I found food shopping an ordeal and burst into tears the first time I went to the supermarket. I really didn’t like this “new normal”. Reality was now starting to kick in that our wedding season was in for some major delays. Tui and Jet2 constantly changing their dates to resume flying and also no date from the government about when the airports will reopen.
We cannot praise Cyprus enough for keeping us all safe and healthy with their quick, strict measures but the financial implications of it all are now very scary, as it is for so many across the World.
Chatting to our amazing brides has been so difficult and heartbreaking but also amazing as their positivity has been incredible. A lot of couples have managed to postpone their big day to next year. Sadly some have moved but we couldn’t accommodate their new date, and some have found it all too much and cancelled their Cyprus wedding. I know that whatever our couples have chosen to do they will still have their dream wedding, whether here or in the Uk, just a little later than planned.
We have also watched a lot of last year’s couples celebrating their 1st anniversary in ways they never would have imagined. Social media has been amazing for this , allowing us to connect constantly and have a peek into the lives of people we know and love.
Lockdown measures have now eased and we must say how incredibly grateful we are to live somewhere as beautiful as Cyprus, with it’s crystal clear waters, abundant sunshine and laid back lifestyle. We are still not 100% sure what is going to be happening for the rest of the season and if we will do any weddings, but we are very positive and we live in hope with everything crossed.
We do know how blessed we are to have stayed safe, strong and healthy throughout all of this. Out hearts are with everyone who has suffered and we pray for better days ahead.
All our love,
The Hacks xxx