Pandemic forces couple to postpone wedding day for a third time
IT WAS supposed to be third time lucky but a couple have been forced to postpone their wedding again after their venue was converted into a coronavirus vaccination centre.
Jessica Chappell and Jamie Morris, who live in Porthcawl, have had to cancel their wedding three times this year – initially because of lockdown and now because their venue will be used as part of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
The pair, who’ve been in a relationship for six years, got engaged on New Year’s Day in 2018 and have been looking forward to their big day ever since. The ceremony was originally due to take place in March 2020, but the couple found out their wedding at Margam Orangery in Margam Park was cancelled with just four days’ warning due to the first lockdown.
They rescheduled it first for August this year and then again for April next year.
Jessica, 30, an administrator helping with the Covid-19 response, described it as a “nightmare”.
“Only a month before our wedding in March my other half’s father passed away,” she said. “We were still going to go along with it then people were cancelling and saying that they were too scared – they didn’t know what was going to happen.
“The churches were closing so we couldn’t have our ceremony, then a couple of days later we were in lockdown anyway. We thought we would be okay for August, but we were then going to have the ceremony at the Orangery as well. All of the registry offices were closed so we couldn’t register our marriage. So that had to be cancelled.”
After moving the date to April 2021 the couple received a call recently to say Margam Park had been chosen by Neath Port Talbot council as the location of a new vaccination centre, meaning that it wouldn’t be possible to get married there in 2021 either.
The couple have lost “hundreds” trying to get refunds from suppliers, some of whom have fallen victim to the pandemic themselves.
“We have now had to cancel all of our wedding suppliers as well,” said Jessica. “Now we are trying to get our money back from other suppliers. The DJ company have gone into liquidation so we have lost our money for that.
“We are losing a lot of money even though the Orangery are refunding us in full which is lovely. We have lost an awful lot of money from all the deposits we have paid,” she said.
She described the news as a “total shock”.
“I was really, really upset,” she said.
“It’s difficult because I know deep down that it was a good thing and it’s wonderful we have a vaccine. When I first heard the news that a vaccine was coming I was really excited because I thought that this would mean that I could have the wedding I wanted and I could have more people there.
“I didn’t even think that anything like this would happen – it’s just been a really bad year. It’s just put a massive stop on our lives. We wanted to have a family and everything’s getting pushed back.”
The couple are now getting married at Margam Castle in April 2021 instead although they won’t be able to have a reception.
“We never wanted a long engagement. We always wanted to plan it then get married – now it’s going on way longer than we expected,” Jessica continued.
“It has been really stressful. The Orangery really have been brilliant to be fair, it’s not their decision and they have offered us the castle on the same date in April. We are just going to have the ceremony and we are not going to have a reception at all – I just feel like it’s too late to book somewhere else.
A statement released by the Orangery last week said: “It is with sincere regret that weddings booked for Margam Orangery in 2021 will need to be postponed.
“This decision was not taken lightly as Swansea Bay University Health Board and Neath Port Talbot Council realise the disappointment and inconvenience this will cause couples.
“Margam Orangery will play a crucial role in the Covid-19 vaccination programme for the residents of Neath Port Talbot.”