Planning a wedding or large event can sometimes be stressful, but add a global pandemic to the mix and it becomes a real challenge. Faced with these new obstacles, my team and I at neu events shifted from being solely event planners, to both planners and enforcers of the ever-changing coronavirus mandates. We worked to keep celebrations going while also ensuring that our community remained safe. As the governor and mayors continue to ease restrictions and celebrations pick back up, it is imperative we all work together to keep Hawaii healthy.

To do so, we need to make sure we understand, follow and enforce all the evolving new guidelines. For us, it has meant ensuring that our clients’ guest lists don’t exceed any gathering limits set by the government, and checking to certify that each guest is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. While enforcing and navigating mandates seem to be more natural now, the past year-and-a-half has not been without its difficulties. However, these hurdles have only been a small price to pay considering this time last year, my company had no income.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, my business lost more than 80% of its annual revenue. We went from having 22 events already booked for that year, to just the few that happened before the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Hawaii. The mission to prevent us from becoming another COVID casualty began.

We found support through a Facebook group for business owners, and it even led us to come up with the idea to create an interactive, hybrid wedding. The goal was to plan a wedding, just as we typically would, but with fewer than 10 in-person guests. We would stream the wedding to guests using Facebook Live, where they could watch and celebrate the bride and groom from the comfort and safety of their own homes. We even had the idea of sending each virtual attendee bottles of Ketel One with premixed signature cocktails, so they could enjoy the reception virtually with the happy couple and even send some well wishes. There was one problem: We didn’t have any weddings coming up and none of our existing clients — who had been dreaming of their wedding day — wanted to put this hybrid wedding to the test.

Coincidentally, I was engaged to be married at the time. So, my fiancé and I decided to tie the knot despite COVID and in accordance with the restrictions. We tested this hybrid wedding for ourselves. Thanks to the innovation and collaboration efforts of the professional wedding vendors, including two other wedding planners, it was a success. Dozens of our closest friends and family watched our ceremony on Facebook Live and we were able to celebrate our special day without putting our loved ones at risk. That day not only marked my big day; it was proof that love and a little bit of creativity can survive anything — even a pandemic.

As my team and I continue to work through this experience, we find that 2022 is looking brighter. My company has a packed calendar for next year, on par with pre-pandemic levels, and we are already booking dates for 2023. We are looking forward to helping people celebrate life’s greatest moments, leaning on innovation, social media and the power of love to make it happen. We hope that, as a community, we can continue to work toward keeping COVID at bay, so that we can keep making lasting memories together.

Mona Hirata-Sung is co-founder of neu events, an event planning company.