ROSWELL, Ga. (CBS46) — Several couples are postponing their weddings because of the coronavirus. While it’s devastating, a local nonprofit is finding a silver lining and repurposing surplus items for charitable causes.
Some brides and grooms have been planning their big day for months — even years. “We’re rolling with the punches as best as we can right now,” Anna Grantham said.
Grantham and her fiancé Nicholas Wilson have been planning their wedding for 14 months. They’ve been together about 10 years. “So pushing it back is definitely kind of affecting us a little bit, it’s a bummer for sure,” Grantham added.
Their wedding was supposed to take place April 4. “Things kind of fell apart slowly, the first thing that really started kind of impacting us was the traveling,” Grantham said.
They had to tell their 120 guests the wedding is postponed. “The City of Ballground decided to go ahead and shut down for the next 8 weeks, so at that point there was no option to move forward with the date we originally picked,” added Grantham.
Their honeymoon cruise was also canceled.
“It’s crushing in the moment, crushing in the moment, but for me I had to find a way to not wallow in it,” Grantham said.
While their wedding coordinator and vendors were able to help them save money and cancel anything in place before it was too late, other couples aren’t as lucky.
“When it comes to food for catering or flowers for weddings that were this weekend, all of that stuff is currently coming in, or is already in, and now there’s no place for it to go,” said Karen D’souza, the Founder of the charity, Cheers For Good.
D’Souza founded Cheers For Good to repurpose leftovers from regularly scheduled events.
“We’d take the food to homeless shelters and to Atlanta Mission, and take the flowers to places like CHOA, and other hospitals around the area, as well as nursing homes,” D’Souza added.
Because of all the cancellations from the coronavirus, they’re waving their usual pick-up fees and giving flowers and food a second life rather than letting it go into the trash.
“It’s like the silver lining in all of this, is that we’re able to do some good, in that people, like brides and vendors, are wanting to do good with the items that were initially supposed to be for their day,” D’Souza said.
“I think that’s wonderful; I think that’s so important right now in the misery and chaos that we’re all experiencing,” said Grantham.
“Spreading some joy during a time where it can be hard to find right now,” added D’Souza.
Story by Melissa Stern, CBS46 Reporter
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We are so thankful to Stylish Stems, Andy Beach and White Wolf Floral for their donations this week!