Government Shutdown Crushes Wedding Plans Nationwide

Amid a budget impasse, the government shutdown has now resulted in the closure of federally funded monuments and parks across the country. That means couples nationwide are facing potentially crushing changes to their wedding plans.

As of Tuesday, two dozen October weddings scheduled up to a year in advance on the Washington National Mall were canceled due to the government shutdown, National Mall spokeswoman Carol Johnson told the Washington City Paper.

"There are many weddings that take place at the monuments and national parks. It is going to cause a problem," Tyler FitzHugh, vice president of D.C.’s Association of Wedding Planners, told the City Paper.

According to My Fox New York, New Jersey bride Genieve Jeuck's Grand Canyon wedding was canceled due to the closure of their wedding site, a resort in the federally run park. Jeuck said she "felt blindsided."

"We had to have all our guests find different hotels because they were supposed to stay in the national park hotels,” she said. Her fiancé added that it is "completely unfair" that their plans were "considered to be unnecessary."

After months, often years of planning, couples will have to reschedule their weddings quickly -- without knowing when the government-managed locations will be up and running again.