They spent months planning the perfect weddings - fine tuning every detail to make it the best day of their lives.
But scores of brides and grooms from Greater Manchester have been told their ceremonies will no longer go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Events and gatherings are no longer permitted amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Manchester Evening News has spoken to three brides-to-be from our region.
They have been faced with the stress of cancelling or postponing weddings - and the financial uncertainty those options bring.
But they all agree it's for the best - they know the virus is putting lives at risk.
Here, they share their experiences.
'At first we were so devastated at having to postpone the wedding'
Nina Caine, a designer and blogger from Salford, was due to marry her partner Lee Jolley in Lanzarote on May 28.
"After 18 months of planning our wedding abroad, we were so excited for this day to come. Just having everyone we love in Lanzarote together was such an exciting thought", the 27-year-old said.
The wedding date has now been moved to October.
"At first we were so devastated at having to postpone the wedding, but then once the decision was made a weird feeling of relief overcame us.
"Looking back, if the wedding was to go ahead with this pandemic going on I just know it wouldn’t have been the right decision.
"We would have been anxious in the run up to it, worrying about people getting ill, passing it onto older relatives and them not being able to attend. But now we feel a sense of relief that by October (hopefully) all this will have blown over.
"We will celebrate harder than we ever have. The most important thing of all is health and happiness and that you have each other for support."
'It's been a really difficult pill to swallow'
Laura Hull, 31, from Chadderton, Oldham, was due to get married to Ryan Brown on May 8.
The wedding, at Manchester Cathedral, with the reception at the Old Grammar School in Middleton, has been postponed until April next year
Some guests were due to fly over from Australia - they have now lost the money they paid for the flights and won't be able to re-book next year.
"I was really looking forward to it. I'd fine tuned all the details - I'd done everything myself. Everything was at the final stages. It's been a really difficult pill to swallow.
"We have been engaged for three years. We decided last October to book it. We only had a few months. I did a lot of the planning myself. I was due to pick up my dress this weekend."
She has paid around £10,000 so far. The money was spent on things like deposits for the venue and band, rings and outfits. She said everyone involved has been 'really accommodating' in postponing the wedding so she won't be left out of pocket.
But she has lost the money for her flowers, page boy outfits, wedding favours and wedding stationary.
She is concern that small businesses involved might not survive the financial impact of the coronavirus.
Laura has been volunteering for a mutual aid group - she wants to do something positive for the community during the crisis.
She has been helping elderly and vulnerable people get their shopping.
"It's devastating but it's just a wedding. Some people have lost their lives and their livelihoods", she said.
'The hardest part was deciding what was the right thing to do'
Anne Canning, 30, is from Prestwich but now lives in Nottingham. She was due to marry her fiancé Ben Davies on April 4.
The wedding, at a registry office then a village hall, has been postponed until November.
Anne said she got wedding insurance before the wedding was postponed but found the insurers were 'very non committal'.
"They said we wouldn't get our money back unless we could prove that we had coronavirus", she said.
The vendors have been really flexible with the change in date, the only postponement fee she has paid is to her caterers.
"The hardest part was deciding what to do. We were debating it for a long time in the weeks leading up to it. We made the decision to postpone it around March 15.
"I was a bit unsure whether or not we were overreacting - obviously now we know we weren't.
"Once we had made the decision, that was fine, we could get on with it. Some of my close friends who couldn't come in April are free to come in November. It's fine compared to what other people are experiencing (during the coronavirus pandemic).
"To be honest, our families are more upset about it (than us), because it was an opportunity for the family to get together. We don't see each other that often."
