A Sunnyvale couple was all set to exchange their wedding vows on New Year's Day before more than 200 family members, but worries about the COVID-19 omicron variant now have them saying "not yet" instead of "I do."
Kristen Coleman and Charles Matthews had already canceled their wedding plans twice because of COVID-19. Then the omicron variant hit.
"I was very excited, and then, boom, the virus took over," Coleman said.
Coleman said she was already worried. Then she started to get cancellations from guests.
"There were emails, texts and phone calls that people were exposed or they had it," she said. "I got really nervous."
The couple was especially concerned about the risks to their older relatives, so they made the decision to once again cancel their wedding.
"It's just being safe," Matthews said. "We don't want to be a super spreader."
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Coleman said she just couldn't put her friends and family at risk of getting the same virus that she'd just survived.
"I got it, and I'll just say it, I literally almost died," she said. "Making this decision, putting other people's lives in our hands was not something that I wanted to do."
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Coleman said she's relieved her venue in Menlo Park and her vendors allowed her to postpone without losing money.
Coleman and Matthews are already looking at a new wedding date at the same venue in six months.
"If it doesn't happen this time, this next time, I don't know, we'll probably go elope somewhere," Coleman said.