Couples rush to revamp wedding, honeymoon plans

After their August engagement, Greensburg couple Gregory Mertz and Janelle Stayt planned a dream wedding.

They were going to marry March 21 in Montgomery County, host their reception at Stateside Vodka Bar in Philadelphia and then depart on a European honeymoon.

As the fast-spreading coronavirus raced around the globe, the resulting restrictions and closures turned their plans into “a nightmare,” said Mertz, 35.

Montgomery County was among the first and hardest hit by the coronavirus in Pennsylvania.

“I’m a very optimistic person. I kept saying, ‘This is going to get better,’ “said Mertz, a Greensburg city councilman.

The couple worked with the Diocese of Greensburg to plan a small ceremony Saturday at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. Their guest list diminished from 70 to 35, then to 10, as gatherings of more than 10 people were discouraged.

“We are Catholic,” said Mertz, adding that it is important to them to get married in a church and have friends and family attend. “Now, we might be able to have just family.”

The couple was disappointed older family members who live in the eastern part of the state and friends could not travel to attend their wedding.

He credited the local community, from the diocese to the florist to the photographer, with helping as best they could.

They received a refund for their reception venue and hope to rebook their trip this summer.

“I don’t want a wedding where I have to be afraid. My parents are in their 70s. My grandma is 96. She didn’t want to miss it. It’s been so stressful,” said Crock, 50, of Unity. She and Clise, 44, are both marrying for the second time.

Some of her co-workers suggested Key Largo, and she spent a year making plans.

Most vendors have been accommodating, she said, offering refunds or trying to make plans for another date. She is waiting to hear about refunds for the $4,000 in airline tickets she and her family purchased.

Crock said she chose March for her wedding to try to avoid hurricane season.

“It’s hard. You’ve been waiting for this day. We’ve put so much, a lot of money, into this wedding. I wanted my dream wedding on the beach. We don’t know what we’re doing yet,” she said. or Sunday dates. They also are likely to find more vendor availability in the winter months, she said.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Matt Drager and Sharon Stahl pose on their porch holding a sign with the date of their wedding on it- which has now been postponed due to the Coronavirus. They live in Union Township.