There was no doubt in their minds.
Andrea Morrow-Cronin and Matt Cronin would get married March 20, despite the coronavirus pandemic. It was her grandparents' 66th wedding anniversary, and they couldn't think of a better day to express their love for one another.
But the Monday before their wedding, their venue, a winery in Hermann, closed.
Around the same time, President Donald Trump recommended people limit gatherings to 10 or fewer people.
With eight months of planning down the drain, the couple had to prepare a backup wedding in three days.
"As positive and as optimistic as we tried to stay, there was a lot of tears and a lot of wine consumed that Monday and Tuesday leading up to it," Andrea said. "But once we were able to come up with a different plan, as cheesy as it sounds, it was ultimately important that we just wanted to be married."
Several Mid-Missouri couples have had to decide whether to move forward with weddings or postpone them amid the coronavirus pandemic, with both options leading them down roads with numerous hurdles.
Weddings during a pandemic
After their venue canceled their wedding, Andrea scrambled to call vendors, find a new venue and un-invite the majority of their guests.
The couple picked the Green Berry Acres cabin in Jefferson City as their new venue. They called Madison's Cafe to set up catering for fewer than 10 people.
A close friend's mother scoured grocery stores to make a bouquet and boutonnires, while others went to Gerbes to purchase a cake.
Since their original flower girl could no longer attend, the couple fitted a flower girl outfit on their 12-year-old beagle, Betty.
A close friend was ordained for the wedding.
After a little bit of chaos, Andrea and Matt's dreams came true when they got married March 20 in front of their parents, Matt's sister and her fiance, the photographer and hairdresser.
"We were able to turn what could have been a disaster into a really, really good day. I have no regrets," Andrea said.
The newlyweds hope to have their wedding reception this fall.
Amber Rehagen kept her composure through her wedding ceremony April 18, even when she looked out to the church pews and didn't see most of her friends and family.
But when she and her husband, Austin, saw their wedding party doing a surprise drive-by parade, Amber couldn't stop the tears.
"It was good to see our friends and wedding party there," she said. "It was perfect. I couldn't have planned it any better."
The group blocked off part of the road in front of the church in St. Elizabeth, and the newlyweds had their first dance in the middle of the street.
Amber and Austin decided to change their vision for their big day in mid-March, and they started replanning their wedding and reception over the next few weeks.
After un-inviting most of their guests, the couple was married in front of their parents, siblings and the priest.
"Yes, I'm upset I couldn't celebrate on my beautiful day with my friends and family, but you're really celebrating the marriage to your friend," Amber said.
Thirty minutes away, Bonnie and Josh Hood were also getting married April 18 in Marys Home in front of seven guests - their parents, Bonnie's sister, Josh's brother and a photographer.
"It was an incredibly tough decision because my grandmothers were going to be flower girls at my wedding, but then they couldn't even come," Bonnie said.
Ultimately, though, the Hoods wanted to get married, which is why they decided to stick to their original wedding date.
Even though most of their guests couldn't attend, Bonnie said, they managed to make their day special. Her mother sneaked a tree containing notes from all of the guests into the church.
"That was a really nice way to connect with them on our day without getting to see them," she said.
It's no secret that wedding days can be hectic and stressful. But for a few local couples who had their weddings during the pandemic, that was far from the case.
Since their initial reception plans disappeared and the guest lists significantly shrank because of the gathering limit, several brides said their wedding days were more relaxing.
Bonnie and Josh took their time taking photos and went back to her mother's house to eat pecan pie.
Andrea said it was nice she and her husband could sleep at their house the night before. While her husband was getting ready the day of the wedding, Andrea said, she was able to take a relaxing bubble bath, make breakfast and get ready with her mom in her dining room.
"I had pictured it in my mind being one way, but it was still awesome the way it ended up happening," she said.
The Cronins, Rehagens and Hoods plan to celebrate their marriages with friends and families at wedding receptions later this year.
While calling the vendors to reschedule their receptions wasn't too stressful, the brides said, un-inviting guests to their wedding ceremonies was the hardest part.
"People were upset because they wanted to come, and I was upset because I wanted them to come," Bonnie said. "But I think it turned out well in the end."
'Save the date' becomes 'change the date'
Other Mid-Missouri couples decided to postpone their weddings to later this year due to the ongoing pandemic.
Melissa Gassner and her fiance, Craig Bruemmer, were supposed to get married April 18 but decided to postpone to June 27 after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended gatherings be limited to 50 people.
With that limit, Melissa said, not all of their immediate family, let alone the other 400 guests, would be able to attend the wedding safely.
"Being a nurse, I worry about everyone's health, and it's scary because I don't want them to come to our wedding and get it," she said.
After deciding to postpone their wedding, Melissa went through her wedding binder and called all of the vendors, the Lions Hall in Wardsville and the wedding planner to reschedule. Luckily, all of the vendors except for the photographer were available for the new wedding date.
The couple also has to reorder party favors like koozies and napkins since the original ones now have the wrong date.
While she knows they made the right choice, it still didn't make it any easier.
About three days before April 18, Melissa began having second thoughts and called the priest, the venue and her wedding planner.
"They all kind of encouraged us to just wait because it's such a special day, and they didn't always want me to think of corona as our wedding day and not the love we do have," she said. "If it was just about getting married, we would have done that the day after he proposed, but you plan for a day that you want to be special."
When April 18 came, the couple's friends and families tried to make the day feel special. Their parents brought over food while their bridal party did a drive-by parade.
"It's kind of a blessing in disguise," Melissa said. "I really hate to say that because for a whole month all I did was worry and stress and think this is the worst thing, but when April 18 came and seeing how many people care about us meant a lot."
The couple plans to get married June 27 even if they can't have all of their guests at the wedding ceremony.
Abby Gardner and Brandon Brown still made their original wedding date special. The two dressed up the evening of March 28, made dinner and slow danced in their living room.
Abby and Brandon decided to postpone their wedding two weeks before they were supposed to get married March 28.
"I was an emotional wreck for 24 hours, just non-stop crying," Abby said. "As much as I wanted to get married on March 28, I also really want people to be a part of it. The thought of not having most of the people we want there just didn't feel right."
After deciding to postpone, the couple and their parents went to work calling vendors and guests with the new date, July 18.
The pair already had their wedding favors and programs for the March 28 wedding, so now they are deciding what to do with them.
For Katie Heimericks and Albert Krachenfels, the statewide and county stay-at-home orders prevented them from getting everything they needed for their June 6 wedding.
Their families volunteered to help the couple create the flower arrangements and centerpieces, but they decided not to meet due to the stay-at-home orders. The couple also wanted to avoid stores during this time.
Between this and likely having to limit the number of people at the wedding, Katie and Albert decided to postpone their wedding to an unknown date.
"For us, it was a bigger deal to make sure that our family could be there to help us celebrate that because it's a big day for us," Katie said. "It's a little sad, but we understand why because it's better safe than sorry."
Some local couples having their weddings and receptions later this year plan to take precautionary measures, such as hosting most of the receptions outside, offering hand sanitizer, encouraging guests to wear masks and having individuals serve food instead of offering buffets.
As other couples worldwide decide whether to postpone weddings, the local brides advised figuring out what is most important to you - whether it's the date, the venue or who attends.
"If it's really important that your grandmas are at your ceremony or whoever can be there, then postpone everything," Bonnie said. "But if you're really sad because your day looks different than everybody else's day, it could be a blessing."
Regardless of whether they went forward with their weddings or postponed, all of the brides agreed their special days were not worth putting their loved ones at risk.
"Remember why you're doing it - it's better safe than sorry," Katie said. "You want to have a big celebration, but you don't want to take the chance of anybody getting sick or it spreading."