Coronavirus Latest: Ban On Large Gatherings Leaves Delaware Valley Couples Scrambling To Reschedule Weddings
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Another unintended consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic: no large gatherings means no weddings. It's the first day of spring and Rittenhouse Square offered a cascade of floral artistry.
The blooms were not mean for this place though. The arrangements were donated by local floral shops after the large events they were intended for were called off.
"Not in a million years did I ever think that pandemic would be causing us to change our date," RJ said.
Philly couple RJ and Berry had planned to get married on May 15 in Chester County.
"The CDC recommendation for the eight-week ban on large events, ended it would have been the week before our wedding and as soon as the announcement came out I got really nervous," Berry said.
So this week they decided to postpone their day until August.
"At the end of the day, it's just about the people that can be there. If we did this in May and half the people showed up it, wouldn't be the wedding that we wanted," RJ said.
Marlton, New Jersey couple Kaitlyn and Kyle decided this week to move their wedding back by seven months.
"Our decision ended up being made for us as the venue closed or they shut down for a while," Kaitlyn said.
They had everything booked for Apri 11, about three weeks away. They will now get married in November.
"We definitely didn't want to wait that long but it ends up working out because we will be getting married on our exact five year anniversary," Kaitlyn said,
Postponement, it's now a concept that event organizers of all kinds are getting to know.
But how about all of those "save the dates" that were long ago sent out? Well, it seems that "change the date" cards have become quite popular.
"There's one that says, 'All right, let's try this again,'" Kaitlyn said.
Both couples said they had no problems prioritizing the health of their guests. Both couples said they are fortunate that any payments or deposits put down would be honored on their new wedding day.