A rural church wedding and reception on a beautiful day in the shadow of Mount Katahdin was no doubt a happy day.

Todd Bell of Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford, joined several members of his congregation.

Bell continued to hold services in Sanford and bristled over attacks aimed at him on social media.

An attorney for Bell said the church is encouraging congregants not to wear masks and face coverings are not required at the church's school, Sanford Christian Academy, WGME reports.

On a video, which is no longer public on YouTube, he said he's been "reviled" because of the wedding.

Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control, said the single event has the power to undo much of the state's progress during the pandemic.

The virus can become "the uninvited guest at every single wedding, party or event in Maine," he warned.

None of those who died actually attended the wedding and reception.

"It is spreading in the community in and around York County with remarkable force," he said.

Prior to the wedding, the community had no cases of the coronavirus.

It unfolded on a sunny day in August with a wedding at the Tri Town Baptist Church in East Millinocket and a reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, population 4,400.

In this case, we don't have control over the virus but this pastor absolutely had the choice whether to perform the wedding," said the Rev.

Don't mess with my daughter's wedding less than a month before it," he said on social media.