When Naomi Perren decided to shift her wedding from September to April, thinking the pandemic would have improved by then, she could not possibly have known that the new date would turn out to be a mere 24 hours too early.

Last Wednesday, when stricter measures were announced, she not only learnt that the wedding had to be cancelled but that she had missed the possibility of finally getting married, by a whisker.

Her wedding was set for April 10 – the new measures are in force until April 11.

While couples can still get married in church, celebrations must wait until afterwards, with religious functions stopped except for funeral Masses and wedding rites.

Pre-wedding photos of Naomi Perren and partner – now three years ahead of their time. Photo: Testa and Tesmar

One day too early has meant two to three years later for Perren and her boyfriend. They have now decided to wait until then to the tie the knot in church and hold a reception. At this point, they are too unsure of the situation next year.

Invitations to half the original number of guests were sent out just two days before the government announcement and everything had been finalised.

Nevertheless, the 28-year-old is taking the setback in her stride, although she cannot say the same for her boyfriend, who was livid.

Weddings ground to a standstill when the pandemic hit the island this time last year, with many postponing to 2021 in the hope that the virus would be behind them by then.

Summer 2020 saw the birth of the seated COVID-19 wedding – a distant relation of the traditional Maltese stand-up reception – causing anxiety among couples faced with last-minute changes and risking hefty fines due to restrictions that brought on logistical nightmares and spiralling costs.

It was envisaged that people would have so many weddings this year that they would spill into weekdays.

More like 30 days until the end of lockdown... or three years until our next wedding.

But some have found themselves in the same predicament, and in hindsight, may have been better off sticking to their original dates when the situation was more under control.

For Perren, looking back, the original September 26 wedding date – planned two years in advance to coincide with the third anniversary of the couple’s meeting – would have worked out, with a lower number of cases and no fast-spreading UK variant to contend with.

I am probably still slightly in denial that my wedding is not happening in a month’s time

But when the country went into partial lockdown last March, they took the decision to postpone, certain that they were playing it safe with an April 2021 date. Perren never assumed that, a year later, Malta would again shut down.

“I am probably still slightly in denial that my wedding is not happening in a month’s time,” she said, adding that the plan is to go ahead with the civil union in April regardless, and to focus on their marital home.

Meanwhile, they have started planning what they hope will be a third-time-lucky wedding.

The couple has cried and been angry, but “in times these like these, you just have to go with it and move on”.

A resigned approach has also been adopted by Janice Borg, who has postponed her wedding three times since the original November 2020 date.

Janice Borg with her boyfriend and son.

Back when the coronavirus hit Malta a year ago it was first moved to last month, with guest numbers subsequently whittled down and friends knocked off the list. And then it was shifted to Easter Saturday.

The invitations were finally sent out for Borg’s civil wedding, which was meant to be held on April 3 – until restrictions wiped it off the calendar.

She is now considering December, although she is not feeling encouraged to go ahead with fresh plans.

In hindsight, Borg too thinks she would have been better off sticking to the original November date, but she is not crying over spilt champagne.

Instead, she plans to wear her wedding ring anyway and just get it polished before the actual day.

Even Janice's dog had a wedding outfit.

She will, however, go through the third set of bridesmaid dresses, having changed their colour and style according to the seasons and now revert to a winter wedding.

Expecting something to happen in view of the rising positive cases and people’s “negligence”, Borg admitted to being half-hearted and worried about the health risks.

“What if one of the guests was positive and infected others? I would not have wanted that on my conscience just for a wedding. You never know how ill someone can get…”

The 28-year-old, who already has a son with her boyfriend, feels they can wait. “My wedding is not a matter of life and death. Our love is not affected by the marriage. What will it change?

“I know brides-to-be who have been left speechless because of their wedding cancellations. But the truth is they can still get married. Today, it seems the party is more important.”

She is going to lose deposits to caterers and vendors – money she would rather have spent on a family holiday... one day.

Opposition MP Robert Cutajar has filed a parliamentary question asking whether couples caught in such a situation will be given any financial help to cover deposits they have paid. A refund scheme covering such cases had been unveiled last year, following a first COVID shutdown.