Kerry couple’s dream wedding on hold (for now)

A KERRY couple living in San Francisco, who were due to be married in Spain in May, have had to cancel their big day at the last minute due to COVID-19.

But disappointments aside, love’s young dream is not to be outdone and they have rescheduled their wedding day for October.

Karen Conway from Tralee and Christy Wallace from Ardfert have been living in San Francisco for the past six years and have invested huge emotional effort and financial expense in the past two years planning their wedding.

The couple are naturally disappointed but realise the magnitude of the situation as countries battle to contain the global pandemic.

Living on the west coast of America while trying to arrange a wedding in Spain is a challenge in itself, but Karen stressed the safety of family and friends comes first.

“We started planning our wedding two years ago, so everything was pretty much finalised,” Karen said.

“There were tears for a full weekend, but we came to the realisation this isn’t going to happen and we needed to postpone it.

“Obviously the health and safety of our family and friends is the most important thing for us. At the end of the day, we still love each other; I still have my friends and family, and we will eventually have the wedding day.”

Karen is a manager working in the travel industry, while Chris is a project manager with an Irish construction company. Given Karen’s job, she was able to see first-hand the impact COVID-19 was having on international travel.

“It opens your mind as to how global the virus is but also how accessible it is to get to every single place in the word. We were conscious when cancelling our wedding that people here, and back home, were temporarily losing their jobs. Job security and health are number one, and it’s a hard time for people.”

Karen also praised her wedding planner in Spain and the hotel for being so accommodating given the COVID-19 catastrophe at present.

“All the suppliers have been super responsive and have been fantastic given what they are going through right now. It’s pretty much exactly how we organised it but on a different date.

“Working back and forth with the wedding planner in Spain, and given the time difference, it was a whole day before I got a response. I was continually stressing out to make sure I had everything right, thankfully it came together,” she said.

Lastly, how is life in San Francisco in a lock-down?

“It’s eerie as people are keeping their distance; everyone fears everyone. Streets are quieter and it takes less time to get to places,” she said.

Karen Conway and Christy Wallace are looking forward to celebrating their big day when the COVID-19 pandemic passes. They were due to get married in Spain in May.