As more parts of New Jersey start to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners of some wedding venues say that they are still waiting on more guidance for how to operate.

Wedding venues have been struggling as couples postpone weddings into next year or cancel them outright. The ballroom at the Community House of Moorestown has been empty for months due to the virus.

“This building is 94 years old. It was built in 1926. We’ve never experienced anything like this,” says event director Joan Brown.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced last week that indoor gatherings can take place with 25% of a building’s capacity or 50 people, whichever is less. But people must social distance and wear masks.

“Even with DJs, we don’t know what the whole dance capacity is now. We don’t have those answers. Can we have a DJ? I think there can be music, but we don’t really know about the dancing,” says Brown.

Brown says that the Community House has been moving tables and chairs around to get an idea of what the future of the ballroom will look like. She says that they are also looking to reinvent themselves to keep up with the changing world.

“We’re looking to go with a trend, so if the trend is a smaller, more intimate wedding, then that’s what we’re going to look for. We are also going to try and maybe have more than one wedding in a day if they’re smaller,” she says.

Brown says that with no timeline from the governor as to when they can reopen or what will be allowed, the venue is stuck in limbo with no revenue coming in.

“Clarity on the numbers would be huge, really, because with us right now it’s a day-to-day basis. We don’t know. One day could be 50 people inside or 10 inside, 25 out and the next day it’s still 10 inside, 50 out and so it’s very hard when I’m trying to take reservations and get back to inquiries,” Brown says.

The Community House of Moorestown is also a nonprofit with a mission of serving groups in their community. The organization has raised $80,000 in the past few months, which has helped to pay the bills while no events were permitted.