Finding Love Again
I have not posted anything to my Instagram feed in over a week. Like many of you, I have been on an emotional rollercoaster. Not only am I – and the rest of the wedding and events industry – doing more work than I probably ever have, trying to reschedule multiple events, be a support to my clients, and manage my household and adjust to a “new normal,” but my son and I have been self-quarantined since Saturday afternoon.
We are not just “social distancing.” We have not left our homes in four days and are limiting our movements in our home to our bedrooms, one bathroom (yes, I am now sharing a bathroom with a teenage boy), and my home office. We cannot get within six feet of my husband or my daughter. Today is her 18th birthday and hugs are out of the question.
We attended a social event the weekend of March 5th and were informed the following Wednesday that someone we were with was being tested for COVID-19. We were told by top epidemiologists that since the not-yet-diagnosed individual was asymptomatic when we were together, that we should be smart but isolating or quarantining at that time was not necessary.
That changed late Saturday morning when the person who was tested three days earlier finally received their results: they were indeed positive for the virus. Social distancing immediately turned to isolation for my son and me. We feel absolutely fine and hope when the 14 days are up (this coming Sunday – it will be exactly two weeks from exposure) that we can just “social distance” like everyone else.
Believe me, I have plenty of work to keep me busy and I am totally going to start binge-watching “Love is Blind” tonight, but this has really made me look deep inside and figure out just what the hell I’m doing with my life.
Planning parties? Really? Is this helping society? Am I contributing anything to the greater good by managing budgets and timelines, selecting the perfect shade of blush for napkins, or making sure escort cards are perfectly straight?
Then I received an email from one of my close friends and fabulous photographer, Emilia Schobeiri. She sent me the link to the gallery of images from our February 29th wedding at The Langham Chicago. I looked through each and every photo and started sobbing.
Planning this wedding with the bride and her mother was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. I won’t go into too much detail here in order to protect their privacy, but I will say that this may be the last major gathering the family will all be together.
The wedding day could not have been more perfect and from the moment the bride sat in the hair and makeup chair until she and her new husband took the elevator to their suite at one o’clock in the morning, the world stopped for them, their family, and friends. The challenges they have been facing for well over a year faded away and the only thing that mattered was breathing in the joy of the union between two people deeply in love.
The photos beautifully capture that feeling and I finally felt that what I do is important. Knowing that I played even a small part in making that day as perfect for them as humanly possible gives me a sense of purpose that I hadn’t felt in a long time.
It has renewed my passion and drive to continue to advocate for my clients (especially in this uncertain time), forge even more meaningful relationships with my creative partners, and affirmed that celebrating life – in ways big and small – is indeed important.
Thank you M+K for helping find see beauty, love, and light again.
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