2020…what a year. Although many of us want to, it’s one that we will all never forget! What started as a year with so much promise and so many events planned due to the special patterned dates (4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12 all fell on Saturdays), and Leap Year. Plus, who didn’t love the ring of “2020”.
From the devastating loss of SXSW, followed by forced postponements of so many weddings during the heart of Austin wedding season. School proms and graduation parties, non-profit fundraisers, and so much more cancelled. What we thought was a disruption for several months has stretched for the rest of the year. Weddings have thankfully returned, and we’ve seen so many couples finally get to say “I Do.” These celebrations have been scaled down. Party favors now consist of masks and hand sanitizer bottles, but the love is so apparent. These families have gone through so much to finally have their special day. So, these more intimate gatherings have been incredibly touching. We are thankful to be a part of these celebrations at a time we all need something to celebrate.
We are also so thankful for the Austin event community. These trying times have brought us all closer together. Sharing ideas, working through very difficult situations for our clients and ourselves, all while keeping a positive spirit. We’ve witnessed the care and extraordinary effort our local venues, caterers, planners and event professionals have gone to keep us all safe. We are going to have one giant party when it is safe to hug, dance, and be in close proximity!
2020 has added some new words to our business lexicon – like pivot.
It’s not the same pivot as a basketball pivot, but a business change of course. We now offer services like a virtual photo booth, QR code operation of our open-air photo booths, and full-service digitizing. We can preserve your past memories (physical prints, negatives, slides, VHS tapes, 8mm movies, and more). These services have helped us continue to gather safely from the comfort of our living room sofa and smaller-scaled in-person events.
And can we just stop to remember 2020 also brought us murder hornets, toilet paper shortages, monolith mysteries, Tiger King, boat parade mishaps, virtual happy hours, endless memes, and UFOs. In what year would the US government confirming the existence of UFO sightings disappear from the headlines? All in one news cycle!
What is not lost during this reflection is the tremendous toll the pandemic has taken on people’s lives and livelihoods. The lack of human interaction, the inability to see elderly family members of those with compromised immunities, and the list goes on and on. Our wish for 2021 is that it is safe again to gather in person in close proximity, to resume working from an office where we can laugh in break rooms and engage with co-workers, to reduce the enormous physical and emotional toll this is taking on our health care workers and first responders, students can return to school, and life can resume. How often in our past have we wished for “normalcy”? Hopefully, 2021 will be the return to normalcy and we can’t wait to be a part of those celebrations!
Peace out 2020 – we are ready for 2021!
