I’m a Florida-based bridal makeup artist. Hurricane Milton has battered the wedding industry and cost me thousands.

• Hurricane Milton devastated parts of Florida, hitting the wedding industry hard during peak season.
• Makeup artist Jennifer Gaffney relies on weddings for her income, but many have been canceled.
• She told BI that it could result in a $10,000 loss for her, impacting her business and family.

This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Jennifer Gaffney, a Tampa-based makeup artist who lost thousands in income due to wedding cancellations caused by Hurricane Milton. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I’m a makeup artist, and my main source of income is doing bridal makeup along the Florida coastline.

I usually make the bulk of my money doing weddings at this time of year, and these earnings usually carry me through the slow winter months until spring, when the wedding season starts to get busy again.

This also makes it particularly stressful when we have wedding cancellations during this period— even more so when they’re widespread and unexpected, like during hurricanes.

Cancellations have cost me thousands of dollars

Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene skirted our coastline near Tampa, damaging about 60% of the wedding venues that I work with. That was the start of it.

But as soon as I knew Hurricane Milton was coming and that it would have a direct impact near Tampa and on the west coast of Florida, I knew the situation was about to get even worse for my business.

I’ve had five cancellations already this week, but I anticipate dozens more.

Three of those cancellations were specifically related to wedding venue closures. Two were because people were evacuated and just weren’t going to be around.

As of this week, I think I’ve already lost just shy of $3,000 in cancellations. I expect to lose close to $10,000, but I’m not sure exactly how much just yet.

I already know that the cancellations mean this wedding season’s earnings won’t tide me over until spring and I’m going to have to find some other means of income to supplement what I’m going to lose and what I have already lost.

I charge a typically nonrefundable security deposit of one-third of the total quoted fee. However, during acts of nature, I don’t feel right keeping that money when someone has been affected just as I have, and I’m not providing that service.

If somebody requests that deposit back, I give it to them. So far, one bride has requested her deposit back.

As a single mom, I’m really concerned

I’ve been fortunate that my business has been successful up until now, and I’ve usually fared well.

But Hurricane Milton has changed things, and it’s going to have a major impact on my business.

It’s not just the lost income from cancellations. In this industry, you have to stay active, especially on social media, by constantly posting about your work, creating content, and so on.

When you’re not working and essentially going silent for weeks on end, you’re not staying fresh in people’s minds; marketing is delayed.

I won’t fully see the effects of that for a few months, but I’m already worried about how this will affect my business and the ripple effects it will have on my life.

As a single mom, I’m really concerned. I have four children — three teenagers and a six-year-old with autism.

This will impact their Christmas. This is usually when I earn the money for their Christmas gifts and the holiday festivities.

I’m also just scared about not being able to put food on the dinner table over the coming months. It’s very scary as a mom.

I’ve had so many friends and family ask how we’re doing, and when I tell them I’m worried for my business, they say, “Oh, why?”

When I explain to them the impact that it will have on our lives, they’re blown away.

Nobody thinks about their local makeup artist during a time like this.