For bride-to-be Vanessa Gilbert, planning a wedding during a pandemic means sleep-deprived nights and four different guest lists.
It means holding off as long as possible on hiring a caterer to avoid the possibility of losing a big deposit.
Gilbert, 32, and her boyfriend, Mike Moura, 34, got engaged last February, just as word of a strange new virus was starting to spread. It s been a wild ride ever since, said Gilbert, who s a nurse. I m trying against all odds to plan a wonderful day.
In normal years, brides spend a lot of time fretting about the weather. In this pandemic, they have to deal with an even greater unknown: the spread of COVID-19. Will cases continue to drop or will new strains trigger another surge? How will restrictions on crowds and venues affect plans?