Many thousands of Irish couples have seen their 2020 wedding plans thrown into disarray as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Plans carefully drawn up - sometimes over many years - have had to be discarded as hotels closed and restrictions were imposed preventing gatherings of any size.
Deposits for weddings at home and abroad have been lost, dates have been scrapped and travel plans have been left up in the air. Hotels, suddenly deprived of any source of income, have frantically sought to accommodate couples by offering to reschedule wedding parties for dates far into the future when they hope things will have returned to normal. Whatever normal will look like when the crisis lifts.
Then there are the photographers, the musicians, the hairdressers, the make-up artists, the florists and the cake makers and all the others who offer wedding services who have seen their livelihoods disappear into the fog of uncertainty almost overnight.
But with all the bad news there have been some good news stories too and there have been couples who have re-imagined their dream days and still managed to say I do, albeit in ways they would never have envisioned as the new year bells chimed just a few months ago.
The Irish Times would like to share your stories, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad. If you are a bride, a groom, a best man or a bridesmaid or any one of the many others who are associated with the marriage business in Ireland and would like to tell a story of hardship or happiness in the face of adversity we would love to hear from you.
You can share your story (max 400 words) using this form.
Please include a photograph to go with your submission, ideally of the couple.
Don’t forget to tell us about yourselves - where the couple are both from, where you live now, what you both do, how you met, and your wedding plans.
A selection of responses may be published on irishtimes.com and in the Magazine.
Thank you.
