welcome to my journal

A MESSAGE AND A PRAYER FROM US TO YOU

During these stressful and unknowing times I want to say that I am praying for good health for everyone and for this virus to disappear! Your safety is very important to me and is highly spoken about in my current contract. My commitment is to make you feel safe, clean all my equipment and not expose you to any illness. We all have a choice on how we will act during stressful times and paranoia is not the way to go. 

So I have come up with an action plan for you so that we can all be stress free and safe. Preparation over worry. My goal is to be understanding, easy-to-work-with, and flexible during all this COVID-19 chaos. I operate my photography business with core values of honesty, transparency, and respect. 

I am staying on top of all the advisories. I am actively watching our local news to make sure I understand what it is that our own city is up to.  I am a Mom, wife, daughter and I am doing my best to also prepare our family and making sure we all stay healthy. 

If you or your family members have any unexpected changes to their health then please just keep me informed and we can reschedule. Yes, we can at no fee to you. I will of course notify my families if I experience any of the following: sore throat, cough, fever, diarrhea, or breathing difficulties as listed by the CDC and WHO. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Coronavirus tips and advice

-Don’t panic! We’ll get through this!

-Wash your hands more frequently, for 20+ seconds. And don’t touch your face.

-Be honest with others about your health and travel. Be honest with yourself. Now is not the time to pretend like you are healthy if you are feeling off. Stay home. Reschedule stuff.

-If you are getting married and have event insurance, check to see if your insurance covers anything impacted by the Coronavirus. A lot of insurance companies are sneaky and they will NOT cover stuff. It’s good to know in advance!

-If you are getting married, keep your guests posted about ways you can help them! Post on your wedding website about the virus situation in the wedding location, and tell sick guests to PLEASE stay home. Tell people what precautions you will be taking as their wedding host. Keep them updated with travel plans. Communication goes a long way. Use your wedding website as a tool!

-Include creative COVID-19 precautions during your wedding. Cute hand sanitizers, hand-washing-stations, masks, or gloves for dancing. Maybe rent an extra-large dance floor, so people don’t have to be so close together. Space tables out more. Find ways to be extra hygienic and make people feel safe.

-Get creative about ways to include people who can’t be there. Worried that your grandparents or immunocompromised guests can’t make it? Find a way to live stream your ceremony and as much of the wedding as possible, so they can watch from afar. Or hire a videographer to capture the day for them to see later.

-Communicate with vendors as much as possible if you are considering postponing your event. The worst thing is to cancel last minute! Most of our businesses will take a huge hit this year from the virus, so preparing for slower cash flow is essential. We are trying our best to help clients, but you can help us too by being super candid about everything!

-Be open to having a smaller wedding than you originally anticipated. It could be really special! I love photographing elopements, and I’d be happy to help you plan one instead of a bigger event.

-Remember, we are all in this together. We are all a little scared. We are all getting hit economically and worried about loved ones getting sick. Be kind. Be understanding. It will go a long way!

MY PROMISES TO YOU

-I will wash my hands thoroughly before every Session ( indoor and Out), Weddings and avoiding touching my face during sessions.

-I will be even MORE flexible with you about postponements than it states in my contracts. There are many unknowns right now due to COVID-19, and I want to help make photography one less stressful thing to worry about.

-I am sorry about this one. Those that know me know I always hug or shake hands, so this one is hard for me. I won’t shake your hand or hug you. We can awkwardly wave or do a peace sign.

-I will be disinfecting my camera + lenses for all in-home sessions. I have alcohol wipes that I will wipe down my camera / lenses with. This is the main part that I will be in contact with throughout our session.

-I will not touch you and your little ones, and I will keep a distance if possible during sessions unless you request a specific shot that requires me to get closer. I will choose lenses that let me stay a little further away.

-I will be wearing a mask and gloves to make sure we all stay healthy.

-For new consultations I will give you the option to facetime instead of meet over drinks/dinner in person.

-I will be honest with you about my own health and my travel schedule.

-I will minimize my personal exposure to large events, sick people, and crowded places as much as possible.

-I will be disinfecting my camera + lenses for all in-home sessions. I have alcohol wipes that I will wipe down my camera / lenses with. This is the main part that I will be in contact with throughout our session.

-I will continue to remove my shoes before every session at home. I’ve always done this as that’s how we do in our own home so I am used to it. 

-If a state order is in place for non-essential businesses to close. We are non-essentials, we will be rescheduling your session. No refunds will be given on retainers/deposit but. We will reschedule you to a date when we are all safe.

Coronavirus FAQ for wedding clients

Postponing your wedding due to Coronavirus

I completely understand that you may need to delay your event due to travel restrictions, quarantines, fear for the health of family members, or being sick yourself. If you decide to postpone your wedding to a new date, your deposit will transfer over, as long as I’m not already booked on the new date. Please reach out to me if you need to change dates so that I can accommodate you! I’m here to help.

Canceling your wedding due to Coronavirus

Don’t want to postpone your wedding and need to flat-out cancel due to the virus? I understand. Here are two options:

-Cancel it, and I can give you back 30% of your deposit. If I can re-book your original date, I will refund the rest of your deposit.

-OR, elope! You can have an intimate elopement somewhere in nature, away from the virus and others. You can keep your original date or change it to a new one that I have available, and we’ll transfer the deposit to the new date. We can adjust the package you already booked and create a new timeline. You can invite a smaller number of guests (or none!). I’ve photographed many elopements over the years, and I’m happy to help make suggestions, come up with locations, and guide you through creating a day that is still incredibly special.

What happens if I (photographer) get sick before your wedding

If I feel sick (cough, fever, body aches) before your wedding, I will inform you as soon as possible and ask how you would like to proceed. I vow to be honest with you about my own health so that you can make an educated decision about your event. Here are three options:

-If you still want me to document the event, I will wash my hands frequently, wear a mask, use hand sanitizer consistently, and avoid physical contact with guests. We can discuss exactly what would make you feel the most comfortable.

-If you want me to stay home, I will secure a talented associate replacement photographer to photograph the event in my place. I will still edit all your photos myself in my editing style. I will also give you a 10% discount off your total package to compensate for having a different photographer on the day of.

What happens if I get quarantined before your wedding and cannot photograph it

If, for some reason I am quarantined (in the US or abroad), and unable to photograph your wedding, I will contact you immediately. I will give you two options:

-I can secure an associate replacement photographer to photograph the event in my place. I will still edit all your photos myself in my editing style. 

Coronavirus FAQ for portrait clients

Postponing your photoshoot due to Coronavirus

If you want to delay your photoshoot due to the virus, please reach out, and I can send you a list of new date options. Your deposit will transfer to a new date. 

What happens if YOU get sick before our photoshoot

If you are feeling unwell (cough, fever, body aches) before a photoshoot, please email me, and we can postpone it until you are healthier! Seriously, it’s not a problem at all.

What happens if I get sick before our photoshoot

If I feel sick (cough, fever, body aches) before your photoshoot, I will inform you as soon as possible and ask how you would like to proceed. I vow to be honest with you about my own health so that you can make an educated decision. Here are two options:

-If you’d like, we can postpone the photoshoot by several weeks. The deposit will transfer to the new date.

Communication, information and reassurance can hopefully comfort you in this time so I’m doing my part. If you have any thoughts or suggestions for best practices, I’m open to feedback. You can always reach out to me via social media, my contact form, or my email. If you have a session booked with me you also have my cell. Again, I only want to inform and keep everyone updated with my preventative measures. I’m not putting on a tin hat and banging on my pot in the town square. If there are additional measures you’d like me to take before our session please do feel free to communicate those thoughts to me.

I’m here for you

We’ll all get through this as a community. Best thing is to stay calm as that’ll keep your immune system in peak condition. The purpose of this post is only to ease your minds so that we’ll continue to have a great relationship! Again, never hesitate to reach out and communicate any concerns to me.

Much Love,

Andrea & Tee

Bella Grey Photography

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”[John 14:27]

Update: 4/1/2020

With the recent update from our Governor , our state is in a closing state. Only essential businesses are to remain opened. Photography is not considered essential at this time.

As a business we are taking this very serious because our number one responsibility is to keep you and our family safe. We will be closed for sessions until May 1st or until we receive further notice. I hope you all understand. More than anything I want to be capturing your day and families but unfortunately I can’t. All reserved sessions will be rescheduled and retainers are non refundable.

We are pre-booking for future sessions starting in July. We will also be offering amazing specials.

Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts, for understanding and supporting.