Sarah will be marrying Rich on 20th June 2021 at Tikitano Beach, Marbella, Spain. Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.
THREE FACTS: (1) Sarah knew Rich was the one when he brought a gift of dog treats for her toy poodle Nuala along to their fourth date! (2) They are crafting an amazing destination wedding weekend in Marbella with beloved Smashing The Glass Recommended vendor optimum weddings as their planner. (3) Sarah is a member of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club!
Since my last blog post a lot has happened! Last month I was busy co-ordinating with my wonderful wedding planner (and now boss!) Dyana to get a third backup date in place for June 2022. I wasn’t sure where we would be Covid wise, but I knew that with the number of new weddings and postponed ones, I didn’t want to leave getting our desired date in place to chance. All of our providers have afforded us incredible generosity and flexibility and I am enormously grateful for that.
Needless to say, I hoped and still do hope that this date is just a cautious formality. November really was a month filled with ups and downs, the world had some great news (a breath of fresh air for 2020) with the election of President Elect Joe Biden and in less exciting news, the UK was plunged into lockdown round two.
A Major Advancement
Yesterday morning I woke up, made a coffee, checked my emails and read the news as I always do. I wasn’t expecting anything exciting where the news was concerned but then I saw it in big bold letters, The Pfizer vaccine has been approved and is being rolled out in the UK from next Monday! I read and then re-read the article at least three times just to make sure that it wasn’t fake news.
Now I know that there is a lot of debate over the safety of this vaccine, whether it was approved too soon and whether or not people want to take it. I have always been very much in favour of taking medicines and having preventative vaccines, but I couldn’t help but think to myself, can this really be deemed safe in the flash of a minute it has taken for it to be approved?
A Personal View
The truth is, that this vaccine has undergone rigorous trials with minimal side effects, but it has been approved for use in record speed. I don’t necessarily think that the hasty speed of the approval from Britain’s medicines regulator, the MHRA is an indication that it is not safe. I truly believe that we are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic where the “norm” when it comes to management and lengthy vaccine development is a luxury which we simply cannot afford.
It is a luxury which could cause further catastrophic loss of life, increasing damage to an already foundered economy, ghastly effects on people’s mental health and irreversible damage to small businesses, including the wedding industry.
We have all put our lives on hold for nearly a year and many people have lost love ones as well as businesses and livelihoods. I think that the need for caution must be balanced against the effect of not having the vaccine. Is any vaccine ever 100% safe? The answer is no. Every vaccine carries an element of risk, hence the vast number of “anti-vaxers”, but some vaccines are quite simply necessary.
I would have liked to believe that we can rely on the common sense of the British public to follow rules of social distancing and the simple rules surrounding wearing a mask in public, but this belief has been well and truly quashed by reality.
People are fed up, people do not want to listen to the government, people’s views on political leaders have influenced their view of implemented safety restrictions and overall the British public just do not seem capable of leaving their opinions behind and following the guidelines.
With the unfavourable truth that Covid-19 is here for the long term and people cannot stick to social distancing, what option do we have other than having this vaccine which, promises a return to normality? Our economy cannot survive an indefinite amount of time hanging on for dear life and no one wants to see their lives on hold for the foreseeable future.
A Hope for Weddings
A month ago, I was braced for the very distinct possibility that we would be postponing our wedding once again. I thought that with a vaccine coming out at some point next year, there was no way that it would be ok by June 2021. With the news of the Pfizer vaccinations starting in under seven days, I now have a glimmer of hope. I am not 100% certain, but it is a welcome bit of respite to have some positivity as opposed to just purely negative thoughts.
I do believe that without this vaccine the big Jewish wedding as we knew it would have had an unknown return date so to speak, due to the close proximity of guests during the exhilarating Jewish dancing. With this vaccine, I think that we have hope that next summer could well be safe for people to dance and hug their loved ones and get married in the way they want to, and for this I am truly grateful.
Obviously, there is no guarantee that other countries will have as comprehensive a vaccine rollout or that they will approve it as quickly and so this does have added complexity for the return of the destination wedding. May I reiterate that by “added complexity” I do not mean impossible challenges, just something we will inevitably get more clarity on in the next month. That said, this news is definitely a positive step in the right direction for the return of all weddings from mid 2021 onwards.
Let’s Come Together
I know that the debate to vaccinate or not is currently a contentious point and will be for a long time. That said, this pandemic has really wedged a divide between us and between society. We have been split into two camps, the non-believers, the avid believers and rule abiders and of course the different levels in between. Regardless of what you think or believe I think it is important that we come together in this unprecedented time.
The doubts surrounding the vaccine might be truly valid, but we should take a moment to applaud the sheer talent and tenacity of the scientists behind these vaccines. No vaccine like this has ever been created in this amount of time and it is truly remarkable how medical research and development has advanced. This breakthrough also paves the way for future breakthroughs with other vaccines.
Regardless of our beliefs, I think it is safe to say that everyone has had enough of 2020 and this pandemic, and so we should unanimously rejoice in knowing that there is an end in sight.
From a personal perspective, I cannot wait to dust my passport off, get on a plane and head back to Marbella to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, feel the sand between my toes and see the waves rolling against the beach. Moreover, I can’t wait to go back and have dinner at our stunning wedding venue, admire the endless coastline views it offers, imagine the restaurant filled with the sound of our friends and family chatting, laughing and dancing, and ultimately just get excited once again and know that at some point in the not too distant future, we will be saying “I do” and having the wedding that we planned and always dreamt of.
So, here’s to positivity and this quite remarkable “Chrismukkah” breakthrough which is giving us some much-needed light and hope for the future.
See you all at my next blog post! X
Click here to read all Sarah’s planning posts to date.
Sarah and Rich’s Wedding Vendors booked so far:
Venue – Tikitano Beach
Photographer – Nani De Perez
Videographer – Antonio De Perez
Wedding Planner – optimum weddings {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Dress – Mirror Mirror London {offers £200 discount for veil and accessory purchases over £400 to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Videographer – Antonio De Perez
Stationery – Simcha Invitations
Chuppah singer – JJ Hodari
Band – One Entertainment
Hair + Makeup – Alex Harrocks and Nicola McGeorge
Welcome Party – at Besaya Beach
Toastmaster – Jamie Paskin
Post Aufruf Lunch Caterer – Karen Harris
Photo Shoot and London Civil Ceremony Photographer – Paul Toeman
Civil Ceremony Venue – The Old Marylebone Town Hall
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club for step-by-step guides, handpicked wedding vendor discounts, Jewish wedding action plans, a free smash glass pouch, Jewish wedding checklists and templates, and SO much more!
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