Bride and groom on wed alert
COUPLES due to wed after coronavirus restrictions are eased on Saturday have been told to wash their hands before and after exchanging rings.
Government rules say members of different households must maintain social distancing so fathers won’t be able to walk daughters down the aisle.
Singing, chanting, shouting and the
playing of wind instruments should also be avoided because of the potential for transmission.
After some confusion, officials last night clarified that even those who do not live together before the ceremony would be able exchange rings and kiss, despite the social-distancing rules.
Up to 30 people are allowed at a
wedding or civil partnership ceremony from July 4. While receptions or parties after weddings should not take place, small celebrations – with groups of up to two households indoors, or up to six people from different households outdoors – are allowed.
Bernadette Chapman, director of the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners, said: “Although this announcement is a step in the right direction, we are not quite there yet.”
Meanwhile, religious services will have to be concluded in the “shortest reasonable time”, hymn books must be quarantined after use and organs must not be played so loudly that worshippers have to raise their voices.