Bride-to-be Tanya Gonzalez put the two pairs of custom Converse sneakers, which she and her fiancé Michael Sanchez designed together months ago, back in their boxes. The shoes were supposed to be worn at their wedding reception on May 15. But due to the coronavirus outbreak in New York City last month, their plans came to a sudden halt, leaving both Tanya and Michael uncertain of what would happen next.
They decided to organize their wedding together, without the aid of a wedding planner, after getting engaged in late February of 2019. Within a month, the couple had already chosen their hall, Russo’s On The Bay, in Howard Beach. “We knew what we like, so it was pretty simple in that sense. But we were also really eager to start our lives together as a married couple because we didn’t really want to wait,” Tanya said.
When choosing where the ceremony would actually take place, Tanya wanted to get married in her childhood church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) in Sunset Park. “I’ve always pictured myself getting married in that beautiful Basilica,” she commented.
After a long process of working with the church to collect and submit the necessary paperwork, OLPH approved the date of their springtime wedding in January 2020. This late approval, Tanya noted, caused a delay in designing and getting their wedding invitations, which would be sent out to more than 200 guests. The invitations with blue lace were sent out in early March and cost $2,300 – including the $300 fee to have them printed right away. They also added a small insert with the invitations that said, “We are aware of the current circumstances associated with the virus and its impact on our nation. . . . Please RSVP and we will keep you posted on any changes, as we approach the big day.”
When reports began to come out in the following days that there were an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the City, Tanya remained hopeful that her wedding wouldn’t be affected.
“I thought, ‘Our wedding is scheduled for May 15; this is going to pass by then.’ But as time went on and we saw things closing down, we realized this might not even happen,” Tanya said. “We were kind of at a loss. We weren’t sure who to contact first. Do we contact our hall or vendors? Do we contact the church? We hadn’t heard from anybody.”
By March 23, their priest called, saying that all upcoming scheduled events at the church were canceled, including their wedding, which was supposed to take place two months later. Tanya’s bridal party and her sister Nicole, who already had their dresses and were putting the final touches on the bridal shower that was supposed to be held on April 4, had to cancel both the shower and the bachelorette party. During that same week of cancellations, multiple wedding guests reached out to the couple, saying that a postponement was understandable and that these circumstances were out of their control. Though most of Tanya’s family lives here in New York, some of Michael’s family would have been flying in from Nicaragua.
“Questions like ‘Can we change their tickets and will they even be able to make the wedding when we push it back?’ came up. For me, as the bride, it’s very sad because this was the time for my fiancé to connect with his family,” Tanya said. “And it’s honestly not even about losing the money because that doesn’t matter – it’s important for them to be there to support him and see him.”
Since 90 percent of their wedding had already been paid off in advance, Tanya said they have to really look at the fine print of their contracts with the vendors and other involved parties – including asking if they would be available for a new date and if there were any insurance policies. That will mean reaching out to their hired videographer, photographer, florist, DJ entertainment and limousine company – to name a few. Plus, they’re still unsure if their summertime honeymoon plans in Greece, which were also paid in full, will still take place.
For now, Tanya and Michael remain optimistic and are busy trying to coordinate with their vendors in finding a feasible postponement date – which they hope will be sometime this fall. They called Russo’s On The Bay on March 26 and were told that the venue was working with April brides to see if they wanted to reschedule, before getting to the May brides like Tanya. “They seem willing to reschedule, but we aren’t at the top of the list yet,” Tanya said to us later that night. “But I’m hopeful because they sounded very understanding.”
Though this wasn’t at all what they expected when getting engaged a year ago, let alone two months ago, Tanya reflected on the situation. “As sad and frustrating as it is, it’s helped us to refocus as a couple on what it is that what we’re doing because you get lost in the details while planning a wedding. You get lost in the color schemes and the bedazzlement, and it’s really not about that. I think this really helped us to realize that,” she said. “Even if we lost money, the goal is to be safe, healthy and happy.”
Top photo courtesy of Gonzalez
Author
George Fiala has worked in radio, newspapers and direct marketing his whole life, except for when he was a vendor at Shea Stadium, pizza and cheesesteak maker in Lancaster, PA, and an occasional comic book dealer. He studied English and drinking in college, international relations at the New School, and in his spare time plays drums and fixes pinball machines.
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One Comment
It might be the best idea to pus weddings in this corona phase. it’s tough for couples especially one who has sent out wedding invitations online. But what can be done. It’s a pandemic and we need to face it.