A couple's dream wedding at a Fort Lauderdale resort is getting put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic.
After 11 years together, Nichole O'Neal and her fiancee Neil Oliver couldn't wait to tie the knot next month at the Pelican Grand Resort surrounded by family and friends who were mostly coming from out of town.
"We thought 4-4-2020 would be easy to remember, that's easy enough," O'Neal said. "But we'll always remember, that's for sure. We'll remember that date forever now."
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With new social distancing recommendations becoming more and more strict due to COVID-19, the couple made the difficult decision to postpone the wedding, knowing people's health and safety are more important right now.
"When the CDC came out and officially said 'we don't recommend events with 50 or more people,' that kind of made the decision for us," O'Neal said.
Like many couples across South Florida, Nichole and Neil have been scrambling to un-plan and re-plan their wedding, rushing to coordinate a new date with the venue, vendors and family.
"Some people are very excited about having it postponed because they're nervous and some folks are a little more hesitant to believe that this is a serious issue, so whatever we can do to do our part to make to help contain what's going on, we're happy to do that, disappointment or otherwise," O'Neal said.
Nichole said she has been able to reschedule almost everything, but the couple's wedding bands had already been engraved with the original wedding date.
O'Neal's wedding planner, Joni Scalzo, said she has at least 12 other weddings that she’s having to un-plan and then re-plan.
"It’s very disappointing. It’s very painful. We have brides that call us crying,” said Scalzo.
And the last minute logistics are tough, especially getting another date.
“We have to check all the vendors. Check with the photographer, the florist, the hair and make up people, the videographer and try to come to a date that works for everyone," Scalzo said.
