It's certainly been a year to remember for Weddings for all the reasons we certainly couldn’t have predicted.
2020 was supposed to be “THE” year for Weddings, the start of a new decade and the date itself was set for a season to remember.

The start of the year was filled with final details and Menu tasting sessions and Wedding season was just around the corner.
Before we knew it, we were all hit with the news that a pandemic was causing devastation across not only the UK, but the world and we closed our doors temporarily in the hope it would only be for 2-3 weeks at the most (wow how wrong were we!)
One thing that I think all Wedding & Event planners will agree with is organisation and forward planning is the foundation of all that we do, and to have that base of what we do totally taken away with no roadmap of when that would return was a very difficult time.

To support our couples and to provide as much information as possible was our main goal throughout, however the reality was that from March-August, Weddings had no form of roadmap and we were 6 months into postponements, devastation and disappointments.

I can remember the day very well when the news broke that Weddings could now take place with limited numbers, we had 48 hours to turn around a wedding for the day that it would be implemented.

The joy of being able to break that news to a couple was so special after waiting 5 months for their special day it certainly was just that, the sun was shining, and they said “i do” with us on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in August with 15 of their nearest and dearest.

However, this of course was worlds away from any Wedding we had ever done, our first pandemic wedding was marked on the first day that we could officially host a wedding here in Wales and whilst we felt overjoyed to be able to take steps back into wedding world as a venue we had to adapt and adjust quicker than ever to ensure that everything was in place to follow all new guidelines.

Credit to our team and management for setting a fantastic example from day 1 of our re open in July, our PPE game was strong, and our one-way systems and forward thinking made for a smoother transition back into Weddings as it was simply an extension of what we were already practicing.

Just as we thought things couldn’t change, they sure did! Weddings could now take place with up to 30 Guests with a Ceremony & Reception only, following the rule of 6.

Great, we thought. Intimate Weddings were now taking place and short lead wedding enquiries were flooding in with couples taking the plunge to have an intimate Wedding with only a few weeks to plan.

As always, we were busy behind the scenes getting our heads around how this would work, how we would need to adapt our offerings and how we needed to implement our new systems etc to comply with new guidelines.

Then (wait for it) the rules changed AGAIN, we now had local lockdown restrictions here in Wales which meant that we could only welcome guests for a Wedding in a lockdown area for a Ceremony only, no food or drink would be permitted for anyone who lived in a lockdown area.

It certainly become a postcode lottery! Just when we thought there possibly couldn’t be any more restrictions within restrictions, we were wrong!

Local lockdown then hit us here in Vale of Glamorgan and we could now only host a Wedding of 30 for a Ceremony if the couple and guests lived outside of our area OR Ceremony and Wedding Breakfast if they lived within Vale of Glamorgan.
As you can imagine the devastation this caused for not only our couples but across Wales made for more heart-breaking postponements and cancelations.

We now find ourselves at the end of the year, fully into lockdown 3:0 but we remain positive and hopeful that hospitality will reopen in early 2021.

There is an exciting new project happening here at The Bear in our outdoor area and all will be revealed over the coming weeks ahead. Keep your eyes peeled to our socials!

With this year coming to an end, it certainly comes with a lot of anxiety and anticipation for what 2021 may look like for Weddings and one of the most asked questions of course is guest numbers and how may your day look.

On that note we will continue to remain positive and hopeful until any government guidance provides any information otherwise, whilst we appreciate that 2021 is fast approaching unfortunately it is still a little soon to have a full picture just yet.
Whilst we adjust to virtual appointments and tours for January, we have had a fantastic response to this and would be thrilled to hear from you if you are looking for 2021-2023 dates...Lets talk Weddings!!

It's safe to say that 2020 has been a rollercoaster when it comes to Weddings, our warmest wishes continue to go out to every couple who has been affected during this time.

Just remember love isn't cancelled.

Stay safe
Amy