Ans has quite a bit to say...
I’ve been meaning to write a journal about what we’re doing in the midst of this seeming no man’s land between the two normals and under the threat of this second wave of the virus. The whole thing has been pretty hard to navigate, and we have of course already pointed out the need to keep the business going balanced against the need of each individual couple or client that we have.
Also, the picture keeps shifting like sand and at last this week a light at the end of the tunnel switched on in the guise of a vaccine. The truth is none of us know when we will be able to host weddings and other events here at Elmore in the same way that we used to.
I am hopeful and optimistic that it won’t be that long. Let’s hope I am right.
In the meantime, however, I and the team thought it helpful to spell out what we’re doing now, our thinking and what we have offered our couples next year to help with the uncertainty. We need to keep Elmore alive, the team excited and some cash coming in.
So, let’s talk about the interim events we’re doing
A Cabaret dinner for unlockdown
They our Pandemic Pandemonium and some lovely stuff that’s good for the mind, body and soul.
First of course there are these wonderful pop cabaret, dining and hotel nights we have. THE PARROT CAGE! We did 4 of them at the end of September and early October.
We funnelled all our creativity and experience into them whilst ensuring they were done within all the sensible guidelines to keep us safe from this damn virus. We have seven more of them booked for the month of December and we’re sure they are going to be a great success too.
There are two on the first weekend of December (literally straight after lockdown ends and so will be belting because we’ll so need it right??!) and then five from Thursday, 17th December until Monday, 21st December. With all of them we will refund fully if we are not able to proceed due to lockdown extensions… So, buy a ticket and join us!
You can find out more about it here.
Rewild retreat: Yoga & Meditation
As well as that and despite the hedonism we love so much (!) we also are pretty conscious at Elmore…
We have some amazing yoga retreats in the diary. These are our REWILD RETREATS…. A tie in with the exciting rewilding process that has already begun with the land.
The Gillyflower particularly is a magical space for mindful activities and our kitchen team produce the most delicious food fresh from the gardens.
We need to Rewild our body, mind and soul. Now more than ever. Right? So come and float in…
There are two day retreats and one two night retreat at the moment. They are on Thursday, 10th December, Friday, 15th January and from 20th - 22nd January ... Tickets can be bought here!
These events are crucial for us
Doing these events are crucial for us. As mentioned earlier we need to keep things alive. There has been some criticism in that we have had a few people suggest by doing them we have unfairly distracted ourselves from keeping all our attention on our couples…
Of course, we understand that it is hard for those who’ve had their weddings postponed or feel their dream is under threat and us doing events when people can’t get married is galling. Believe us that it is for us as much as anyone!
However, for us to keep being as brilliant as we can we need to keep breathing as a community and as a business. Something close to mothballing is not an option. We need to keep match fit and feeling positive and this is the way.
Our intention is always to keep our eye on the whole picture and through that we know that we are doing the best for everyone.
I and the team strive to be the best we can be and for everyone who’s chosen us to feel that we do have their best interests at heart.
We recognise the business exists on the back of those important things like love and joy and so being too business like can be a real vibe killer!
Hopefully this is illustrated by what we have been saying to everyone in the near future who has been worried about the impact of COVID on their big day.
Covid weddings
We realise most book Elmore hoping to have a big wedding and party. So being told that we can only do a wedding for 15 or 30 is far from ideal.
Also being forced to have a small wedding and paying the fees that are designed around a much bigger wedding is upsetting. We know of lots of venues that are making people go ahead on that basis but it’s just not OK is it?
All the events and weddings booked are contractually tied in with us and everyone hopefully has read and understood those contracts and I’d never do anything to prejudice them as that would be commercial suicide.
However, we did send an email to all couples booked until the end of October offering them alternative options that we could discuss. We hope that that email helped provide some clarity and certainty for everyone.
A Micro wedding option
We had been offering free wedding postponements at the 2 months point and have now extended that to offering them 3 months away.
We will continue doing so while there are these harsh restrictions in place. We obviously want to avoid cancellations and so far, have been blessed by everyone’s understanding and support…
So, in return now as an alternative to postponement we are offering a special priced micro wedding where the fees are linked to the size of the party, so that there’s help with making it more justifiably affordable should the restrictions not allow the full whammy original plan.
Folks also could do both. Postpone the big one and have a smaller one sooner.
There’s quite a lot more to it and if you click here, you’ll find a whole load of FAQs.
All of this is not an automatic thing and doesn’t replace the existing agreements we have and there’s always a concern that some might take advantage of our goodwill… Some people just try it on!
Here's to the roaring 20's
Anyway, we’re now really hoping this is the last time we really need to remould what we do and how we operate.
We hope and now expect that as we go into 2021 we will be able to relatively quickly get back to doing what we love doing; big weddings, celebration and parties.
It will be back soon.. Just a question of exactly when. But I feel that we’re now on the last lap of all this.. It’s just the lap has some elasticity to it. Boing.
We’re here for you basically. And please come and join us at one of our events in the next few weeks and months. We would LOVE to see you.
Big Love,
Ans & Team E
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