Wedding days in peril

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS  Charles Yarnold and Kimberly Carey are receiving great support from family and friends after having to postpone their dream wedding celebration which had been scheduled for April 4 in St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Clifton.

CLIFTON  St. Andrew the Apostle Parish here is a special place for Kimberly Carey, a fifth- and sixth-grade science teacher. She went to the parish school there from kindergarten through eighth grade. She received her sacraments there and she always dreamed of having her wedding in St. Andrew the Apostle Church.

It’s a dream every girl has — an amazing wedding day in which she is wearing a beautiful white dress. Her best friend or sister as her maid of honor. The most special day surrounded by family and friends in her childhood church marrying the man of her dreams.

Like so many couples all around the country and even around the world, that dream has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the state, Gov. Phil Murphy canceled all large gatherings, effective March 21, for the foreseeable future to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Carey and her fiancé, Charles Yarnold have rescheduled their spring wedding, which had been planned on April 4 at St. Andrew’s. Their reception was to be held at Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park. They decided to reschedule their dream celebration for some time in July.

During this difficult time, the couple has found great support from many family and friends. Carey said, “We have felt an overwhelming amount of support from family, friends and our bridal party. Everyone has shown such compassion for what we are going through and given us so much love.”

Like many brides-to-be, who have spent countless months planning their special day, Carey is especially grateful for her fiancé. “It was very devastating for me to have to postpone our wedding but Charlie has been the positive force throughout this whole ordeal,” she said. “He really helped lift me up during this crazy time.”

The couple is just one of many in the Diocese of Paterson who had weddings planned in the next few weeks of early spring, an especially popular time for weddings in the area. In addition, marriage preparation courses have been impacted. In-person classes are cancelled but are available online.

Eniola Honsberger, director of the Office of Family Life at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls in Madison, said, “There are about five parishes that had a Pre-Cana day planned for the months of March and April. I am working on getting their programs online. All parishes will receive a number of online options for pastors who were working with couples to prepare for their marriage.”

The diocesan Office of Family Life has moved all its programs online, which includes marriage preparation courses. The office was already using a platform that couples complete online and then come back for an in-person day. Honsberger said, “So now instead of coming in for the in-person day, the couples are given reflection questions and receive personal feedback.”

Throughout the state, there were reports that several weddings with a large number of guests that were in violation of the state’s ban on large gatherings, were stopped and guests were told to disperse by local police officers. The CDC has officially recommended the cancellation of weddings in the United States until at least mid-May.

“It is unfortunate but understandable given the current situation,” Honsberger said. “I feel for these couples who have spent so much time and energy planning out the most important day of their lives. However, do not despair. As challenging as this time is in our history, God will see us through. The Office of Family Life keeps all those affected by this pandemic in prayer.”

Truly, a time of historic proportions, Carey and Yarnold are looking at the pandemic as a part of their own story. When thinking of future wedding anniversaries, Carey and Yarnold said, “This will be some story to tell our children and grandchildren. This is a time that we will surely never forget and we feel that this will make our relationship stronger in the end.”