Here comes the bride — coronavirus be damned.
A Staten Island couple threw caution — and a slew of dire government warnings — to the wind Sunday by getting married in front of nearly two dozen people, several of them elderly, at a local Catholic church.
Irene Sanzone and John Fuchs’ afternoon nuptials at Our Lady of Pity Church in the Bulls Head section of the borough raised the wrath of the Archdiocese of New York, which oversees Staten Island’s parishes.
“The wedding was not in keeping with archdiocesan guidelines and should not have been held,’’ archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling told The Post.
A source familiar with the wedding was even more incensed over it.
“It’s terrible,’’ the source told The Post. “You’re putting people in the community at risk. You’re putting the wedding party and guests at risk.
“It’s ‘Corona, in sickness and in health.’ ”
The bride arrived for the ceremony — complete with bridesmaids in red gowns and groomsmen in tuxedos — in a white Rolls Royce. In all, there were 20 to 25 people at the service, which lasted under an hour.
“Now I’d like to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. John Fuchs, Jr.!’’ the priest crowed to those at the ceremony.
The CDC a week ago issued guidelines urging Americans not to attend gatherings of 10 people or more because of the deadly pandemic.
At 8 p.m., a New York state ban on “non-essential’’ public gatherings — which Gov. Andrew Cuomo has described as of “any size for any reason’’ — went into effect.
The governor’s office said Sunday that gatherings in churches are exempt — although the state is “highly, highly encouraging’’ that they and other private groupings, such as those in homes, are limited to 10 or fewer people.
New York now has more coronavirus cases than any state — as its tally increases by the day.
Those particularly at risk include the elderly.
An Our Lady of Pity staffer insisted that according to archdiocese guidelines, a wedding “is allowed. It’s discouraged, but it’s allowed.
“[The archdiocese] just minimized the groups. They didn’t give an exact number.’’
He added that at Sunday’s wedding, “There were maybe three people per pew. People are still being aware of it and distancing as much as possible.”
But Zwilling said, “In this particular case, a wedding should be postponed and not held during this time unless it is an emergency situation, and then with only the bride and groom, two witnesses and the officiant [priest or deacon] present.
“We will be sure that all priests are given clear instructions, including this particular priest.’’
Three uniformed cops and their NYPD supervisor in a white shirt showed up at the church during the service but remained in the vestibule. After the wedding, they briefly chatted with several wedding attendees, indicating that someone had called them to the site.
The bride and groom only offered f-bombs to a reporter after the service.
Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan
