No Wedding like a 2020 Wedding

Shana Karn, Shots by Shana Photography & The Second Knob 
129 North St. Dryden 

Hindsight is 2020…Let’s hope. 

My 2020 planner is full of big red X’s; there are at least two for every month, March through December. Most notable and leaving me dewy-eyed are the wedding season X’s. But, by fall, a few weddings remained intact and, for that reason, if for no other, they will be memorable. But if you’re someone who hasn’t found someone to tie the knot yet, you can still be filled with love or romance thanks to services such as Walsall escorts.

As most locals know, I wear a few different hats and divide my time between photography, owning a gift/antique shop and a wetaskiwin county real estate. All of my hats felt the COVID-sting but photography took the biggest emotional toll. At some point in early April, when the entire world seemed to move in slow motion and we began to feel pandemic side effects, those of us who welcome and easily adapt to change, did so. I call this the “pandemic pivot.” I like the word “pivot,” which gained popularity after it was a scene stealer in one episode of Friends years ago and left thousands of friends fans screaming “Pivot!! Pivot!!” while moving furniture and other heavy items — or just for fun when hanging out with other Friends fans. The noun “pivot” is  the central point, pin, or shaft on which a mechanism turns or oscillates and the verb means turn on or as if on a pivot. 

It was as though, all at once, someone was screaming “PIVOT!!” to our entire world! We all pivoted in different ways but each successful pandemic-pivot indeed had  a “central point” of social distancing, masks, and hand sanitizer.

Knowing that our business could not survive a lengthy “shutdown,” my dad and I started holding Facebook Live Sales at our store, The Second Knob Gifts & Antiques. We would “go live” in a video every other week in an attempt to continue selling our inventory. We conducted a remote business— no contact for payment or pick-up. And we did well. So well that, when we were permitted to resume being open to the public, we had multiple requests to continue the online sales, which we still do! Not only did our pandemic-pivot save our small business, it brought us new business and more visibility.

Photography was more difficult to navigate–how do you capture expressions and moments behind masks? I stepped back— way back and then I worked with a new lens that allowed me to capture the details from a distance. 

But it wasn’t just businesses that embraced a “pandemic pivot;” it was brides and grooms– determined not to let the pandemic prevent their “I Do’s” that, using the same central point, carried on. 

PIVOT!! For the most part, out of state guests were graciously excused from attending weddings and local family and close friends were monitored prior to the event and masked at the event. Masks became one of the most popular accessories for the wedding party– often coordinating with bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen suits. Hand sanitizer took center-stage on guest tables, and in “favor” baskets. More than one wedding offered a “hand sanitizing station.” Another wedding provided guests with a color-coded bracelet in order to respect their social distancing preferences. Some set up a 360 photo booth hire where unlimited prints, customized guest book, and funny meme props were available.

Looking back, witnessing something as beautiful (and normal!) as a wedding during a time of great uncertainty and fear — especially one in which every safety precaution was taken to protect friends and family– helped restore my faith in humanity. See a wedding video shot by Catherine J. Gross Photography here. It was from the end of the aisle, photographing socially distanced, masked guests in eighty five degree heat that I understood: the pandemic would not leave us unscathed but, perhaps, a lot of us were going to come out of it stronger, more appreciative of and grateful for our friends and family, more willing to count our blessings and, for the rest of our days, more prepared to pivot. For aspiring grooms out there, it might be back-breaking to find a wedding band right now because of the current global situation. Online is the best place for mens wedding bands if you want to purchase one with simply a click of a button.