Tying the knot during a pandemic: What you need to know before the big day

TORONTO -- Spring and summer are typically the busiest times of the year for weddings, but that’s not the case this year due to COVID-19. That has left brides and grooms stressing out as they try to make the best of it.

Loveraj Rai of Brampton and Easha Gossain of Mississauga have been planning their wedding for two years. There were to be more than 500 people at their celebration on May 22 and May 23 next month, but now the big party is on hold. 

"We were trying to have a big fat Indian wedding which is multiple days of events, so unfortunately, we have had to cancel all of that because of social distancing guidelines as you are not allowed to have more than five people at a gathering," Gossain told CTV News Toronto.

"We are just trying to focus on what's important which is each other and we want to make sure the wedding happens and that our community and family is safe," Rai added.

Wedding planners say the entire wedding industry has been placed on pause because of the pandemic.

Richha Arora has a company called Arora Events which plans weddings in the Toronto area. "It's been really tough on all our businesses as we have had weddings from April through to June that have been postponed or canceled," Arora said.

Weddings can take years to plan and with short notice to cancel or postpone many couples are trying to see if they can get refunds on deposits or reschedule without having to pay penalties. 

But it really depends on what is written in individual contracts. 

"Everybody is working for the best possible solution for the couple as well as the business side as well," Arora said. 

Rainbow Chan also has a wedding planning business in the Toronto area. Chan said nearly half of their clients weddings have been postponed until late this year or next year.

Even if photographers, venues and limousine companies want to be accommodating there are only so many dates available.

As for Rai and Gossain, they still hope to have a large party next year and are trying to find common ground with wedding venders they’ve given deposits to. 

"We figured we will do the most important thing which is get married and we can postpone the celebration, hopefully at a later time we can have it the way we planned," Gossain said.