KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Austin MacDonald had the guest list on his lap, while Kayla Koester sat next to him in the living room, holding pen and paper of her own. The whiskey bottle wasn't far away, either.
This was the night of March 15, just minutes after Mayor Quinton Lucas banned gatherings in KC with more that 50 people. One-hundred-forty-eight guests had been invited to their wedding reception in Kansas City, Mo.
Now, the Overland Park couple needed to trim that to 50.
The couple started alphabetically. One by one, they compiled their "emergency VIP list," crossing off their parents' friends and older attendees and those who might not want to travel.
Just 24 hours later, all the work became unnecessary.
Lucas restricted gatherings of more than 10 people the next day because of the covid-19 outbreak, which led the 29-year-old MacDonald to make phone calls to many of his family members.
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The most emotional was with his grandmother. Within seconds, both were crying on the phone while acknowledging that it would be best for her to stay home in Omaha, Neb.
"Any other things that this week can throw at us," MacDonald said, "it's not gonna be anything harder than this."
The coronavirus pandemic -- and ensuing Kansas City group restrictions -- has impacted far more than just KC workplaces and school districts last week.
It's also had a ripple effect on almost everyone in local wedding commerce, including event planners, photographers, DJs ... and, yes, the couples themselves.
"We are certainly in uncharted territory," said Missy McVicker, sales and event coordinator for the Madrid Theatre in Kansas City. "I have been in the wedding and event industry for almost 20 years and have faced many obstacles and challenges, but none quite like this."
Logistics are the biggest issue. Weddings and receptions potentially can be moved to future dates, but many weekends in the near future are already reserved.
The inexact timeline is also a challenge. Will these group bans continue for weeks? Months? And what about people whose weddings are looming but not here yet?
Andrew Miller and Brenna Dougan from Kansas City, Missouri are part of this demographic.
Their wedding and reception was scheduled for May 31 at Boulevard Brewing Company, and at the moment, they have $6,000 out in deposits to various vendors.
It's not the biggest concern now. The 28-year-old Miller has Type I diabetes, which makes him vulnerable if he caught the virus. And Miller fears that a nodule on Dougan's neck could be cancerous, meaning the two need to get married soon so she can go on his work's more robust insurance plan.
"We don't have the option of waiting until September to get married," Miller said. "We need to do it at that date, even if it's at our house. This is pressing."
Miller also has struggled with his own internal monologue over recent days.
The couple's original plan -- they've been planning this wedding four years -- was to have cake placed on each guest table so that they could cut the dessert at each location to ensure talking with everyone.
In a world where a dangerous virus is best spread through close contact, though ... is that a feasible idea at any point soon?
Now, in fact, a lot of Miller's thoughts have gone into his own personal obligation when it comes to his friends and family.
"Even if we're technically allowed to do it -- even if they exempt weddings or the ban's lifted -- would it be irresponsible of us?" Miller said. "Would we be bad people, essentially, for having our wedding with that many people all together with so many people there who are older or compromised or diabetic like myself?"
Those who work in weddings around the area face similar dilemmas.
Claire Ryser, a wedding photographer in Kansas City, was as frustrated as anyone when Lucas announced his initial group ban. She was also as busy as anyone early last week though, when her clients began reaching out to her in hopes of changing their schedules and peers in the wedding industry looked to share wisdom during a trying time.
"It's difficult, because as far as weddings in the Midwest go, couples book a year out," Ryser said. "All the good weekends are taken. No one loves to have a Thursday wedding, so re-scheduling has been a challenge. We are doing our best, but very few weekends are left and we are all trying to pick up whatever is left."
Ryser said most of her clients that had planned to get married over the usually busy months of April and May have postponed their big days until the summer or fall.
Her usual income will dip in the short term while fewer weddings take place, but she is expecting things to even out if things go back to normal in a few months and her clients get married later in the year.
Some of her friends aren't so fortunate.
Ryser set up an online support group for wedding planners, caterers, florists, photographers and event-space managers to share stories about their current struggles. Some have reported that they are expecting to lose up to $100,000 in expected income as their clients seek alternative wedding options.
Ryser has some suggestions for anyone looking to reschedule their wedding plans. Everyone wants to hold their wedding on a Saturday, but there are plenty of openings for those willing to switch to a Friday or a Sunday. Another possibility: Hold a small wedding and reception now with a small group of friends and family before hosting a bigger event in the summer or fall.
For wedding planners, it's been hectic as well.
Whitney Craig, owner of Confetti Events based in Overland Park, said recent days have been a constant rush to adjust dates and plans. While rescheduling or transferring dates is often the best option, even that can prove difficult, as venues are usually booked a year in advance. That's not even taking into account more popular venues like The Guild and The Abbott, which are already reserved two years ahead.
When Craig usually reschedules events, it's usually one at a time because of an emergency. As weddings are moved around all at once in the area, it's another added wrinkle.
Because of that, Craig says he has waived all rebooking fees.
"It doesn't seem fair to profit off of, essentially, natural disaster," Craig said.
But there are other options, Craig said. If couples are looking to get married as soon as possible for tax or insurance reasons, they could do so with a small gathering. But Craig floated another possibility: live streams.
Craig said she knows of an entertainment and production company that's gearing up to potentially live stream the service to a mass audience.
The immediate future remains uncertain for couples. Miller said he and Dougan, in the interim, will wash their hands, not touch their faces, check their temperatures every day and evaluate the status of their May 31 celebration in two weeks.
Dougan had always wanted a smaller wedding. Miller said maybe this will give them a good excuse for a tiny one -- potentially in the living room of their new house in Waldo.
For MacDonald and Koester, though, things will be happening much faster.
The wedding is still on for Saturday, with a complete list of 10 attendees: bride and groom, four parents, Koester's sister, best man, matron of honor and officiant. The reception, meanwhile, will be rescheduled for a later date.
Coronavirus foiled the best-laid plans. That included the events from a frantic time on Sunday night, which involved the emergency VIP lineup, an initial 148-person guest list and one of the couple's favorite whiskeys: Restless Spirits.
"To see everything that you have planned for the last couple years just ... you're not able to do exactly what you planned on doing is a little disheartening," MacDonald said. "But me and her did it together, and it's going to be a great story we can tell our kids in 10 years."
SundayMonday Business on 03/22/2020