Four hours to spare
A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE couple managed to tie the knot just four hours before the national lockdown came into effect.
Danielle Speirs, 31, a customer adviser at a Skoda dealership, had planned the wedding for April 4, but that was cancelled one week beforehand due to coronavirus.
She then decided along with fiancé Richard Speirs, 39, a vehicle technician for Volkswagen, to change the date to Saturday, November 7.
But just one week before the Mapperley couple’s big day, Boris Johnson announced the second national lockdown - with no weddings allowed - starting yesterday.
Danielle, 31, said: “It’s been absolutely horrendous. We were honestly considering just cancelling it altogether because we didn’t think we could get everything done. We were mortified when we heard the news on Saturday.”
But, after their vicar phoned them and told them they could be fitted in before the deadline, they decided to go for it.
So, with the maximum of 15 guests allowed at the service, they were eventually married at All
Saints Church in Sawley, with the ceremony starting at 7.30pm, on Wednesday. Danielle added: “It was was absolutely manic! “We were waiting for the suits to arrive, luckily they arrived yesterday morning [the day of the wedding].
“I left the house in the morning to pick up my dress and go to my mum’s in Long Eaton. I didn’t even get the chance to try it on beforehand. I just thought ‘there’s nothing we can do about it!’
“Richard picked up his child up from school. At 3pm I got my hair done, at 4.30pm I was able to get someone to do my makeup - so it worked out quite well in the end!”
Some of Richard’s family managed to travel from Skegness.
The couple were preparing for a big ceremony with all of their friends and family together in April. Sadly, Danielle’s stepdad, who was supposed to walk her down the aisle, passed away in April.
“We just thought let’s have a nice day and marry each other now,” Danielle added. “It’s the same outcome as we would have had in April.
There were 26 weddings scheduled to take place at registry offices across the county on Wednesday.
Hazel Tait, the county registrar, said: “To be honest, no-one is sure exactly how long lockdown is going to be, so there have been a lot of problems from fitting people in, to making sure we can accommodate everyone.
“So it’s been really hard for couples to plan anything. I’m very proud of my staff and that we were able to arrange for couples to be fitted in before Thursday.”