Rules add ‘twist’ to big day as pair tie knot after lockdown
A couple have described what it was like to be among the first to get married at Bath’s Guildhall on the same day coronavirus restrictions on weddings were lifted.
Michael Rogers, 70, and Hilary Kennard, 69, from Bruton in Somerset said they were “delighted” by their special day despite there being an “extreme element” due to ongoing social distancing rules.
The couple got married on Saturday, July 4, inside the Bath landmark – the first day restrictions allowed.
Hilary said: “It was all done absolutely perfectly, all the measures were done very carefully but with a light touch.
“If anything I think it added a bit of fun with a different twist to the wedding.”
Coronavirus restrictions had banned weddings since March 23.
Couples are now allowed to marry but under strict conditions, including having only 30 guests maximum.
The restrictions did not put off Michael and Hilary, who had originally planned to get married on June 29 to coincide with the date they first met six years ago online.
The couple said they just wanted to get married as soon as possible after realising their original date was not going to work.
Hilary said: “I phoned up the registrars’ office expecting there to be a rush of people wanting to get married on July 4 but she offered me loads of times.”
Wedding safety measures in a coronavirus world include advising guests not to sing and for ceremonies to be kept as short as possible.
Hilary explained how things worked inside Bath’s Guildhall.
She said: “There is a one-way system in place inside the Guildhall, so you enter through the side and come out on the steps out front. None of the measures spoiled the wedding at all.
“We had 19 people there, including four of Michael’s children and eight grandchildren. They were sat in their family bubbles and we were socially distanced inside the venue.
“We all washed our hands before and the two registrars wore masks when they had to for the ceremony.
“We also put on masks for the picture outside.”
One of Hilary’s sons couldn’t get back from Copenhagen in Denmark and her 95-year-old mother is shielding in a care home – although they did drop off cake and wave through the window after the ceremony.
Michael and Hilary then went home to have a takeaway dinner by Matt’s Kitchen in Bruton, with Hilary’s daughter joining them.