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ARE INTIMATE WEDDINGS THE FUTURE?
THE coronavirus pandemic has obstructed the walk down the aisle for many brides this year.
The wedding season should be coming to a triumphant end, but never really got started.
The £14bn wedding industry has seen more than 200,000 weddings in the UK being postponed or cancelled.
In July, bride and grooms were able to invite 30 guests to their wedding, but as the number of coronavirus cases began to rise, the Government doubled down on social gatherings.
Couples have had to postpone weddings till 2021 – but is having a small and socially distanced wedding actually a blessing?
Tracey Cook, of Hull, booked her wedding in June this year hoping to celebrate with 15 of her family and friends.
She got a call from her registry office to say it was cancelled because of coronavirus.
Instead of waiting, Tracey and her husband-to-be changed their wedding to October with just four guests.
She said: “Even though we had to move our wedding, it felt so much more close and personal for us.
“I think a smaller wedding is far more special than spending thousands of pounds on one, just for the sake of it.
“It shouldn’t be about what you spend on a wedding, it should be about the love.
“I even put an operation I needed on hold, so Leonard and I could have our special day.
“Some of our friends were a little upset about not being able to watch us get married.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t help what they said, with this awful virus.”
At the Kingston Theatre Hotel, Kingston Square staff have been making sure social distance measures are in place, and couples can still book with them for their chosen wedding location.
Since March, the venue has only had two weddings, with three more booked in for 2020.
General manager Gary Osbourne said: “It will be a very interesting time and a great learning curve for us as a team.
“There seems to be a strong interest in scaling down wedding plans I think this year, down to the uncertainty of if weddings next year will even be able to happen.
“I have recommended a lot of couples to have a plan A and a plan B if it were necessary to scale back plans.
“My advice to couples wishing to get married is to be prepared to adapt at a moment’s notice as this may be the new normal for the wedding industry.”