Selfridges store granted licence to host weddings

Selfridges, the iconic department store on London’s Oxford Street, will host weddings during these Covid times, where the guest list is restricted to 20 members only

Cheated of social experiences by the pandemic, people are craving to connect and celebrate special occasions, spawning out-of-thebox socio-business initiatives

As far as ‘destination weddings’ go, it can’t get much quirkier than this — Selfridges, the iconic department store on London’s Oxford Street, in addition to its retail services, is presenting itself as a ‘social space’ to host non-traditional marriage ceremonies. The famous store has obtained a license to hold ‘micro weddings’ with up to 20 people, said a report in The Guardian.

The long-drawn-out lockdown situation forced an estimated

15,00,000 couples to put their wedding plans on hold, and they now find that they may have to wait for several years before they are able to book traditional wedding venues for their special day. Selfridges said it is offering a new way to “celebrate the special experiences everyone has been missing,” as reported in The

Guardian.

Under the temporary licence the ceremonies will be held in a suite on the fourth floor of the store. The service is also available for civil partnerships. Various packages are offered, starting with a guest-list of just six, and includes an environment-friendly option. Couples can take fashion advice from Selfridge’s stylists and have their hair and makeup done in store too. Addons like the use of a private cinema, fine dining or a four-hour DJ set are also available. There’s no standardised price, given the customisation factor.

The 115-year-old Selfridges and other stores in Central London have been hard hit by the restrictions of the pandemic, which have resulted in a largescale shift to work-from-home mode and the collapse of the tourism industry.

Under the temporary licence the ceremonies will be held in a suite on the fourth floor of the store. The service is also available for civil partnerships. Various packages are offered, starting with a guest-list of just six, and includes an environmentfriendly option