From May 17, indoor meeting and eating will be allowed, Boris Johnson announced in a conference on Monday May 10. This means that wedding receptions will be allowed to take place indoors starting next week.
Weddings and civil partnerships are allowed 30 guests in secure Covid-19 venues, and receptions can accommodate 30 people indoors or outdoors. For the first time, this also includes private gardens. These rules are part of Step 3 in the government’s four-step roadmap.
As of May 17, people will also be allowed to hug again, provided they use “common sense,” although social distancing is still the general rule.
Currently, England weddings and civil partnerships can only accommodate up to 15 guests after lockdown restrictions were relaxed on April 12th and receptions must be held outdoors.
However, all of this is about to change as part of the government’s roadmap that is unblocked. Here’s everything you need to know about Covid-safe weddings in the coming months.
What does the new lockdown roadmap for weddings mean?
As of April 12, the rules were relaxed slightly when the UK entered Step 2 of the lockdown roadmap. Weddings are now allowed to accommodate 15 guests with social distancing measures. These ceremonies can take place in Covid-safe locations that are allowed to be opened. Wedding receptions with up to 15 guests are also allowed again. However, these must be in the form of a meal to sit on and are only permitted in Covid-secured locations – not in private gardens or public outdoor areas.
From May 17th, up to 30 guests can attend the ceremony. The receptions can also accommodate up to 30 people and take place either outside or inside in a place secured by Covid. This is step 3 of the four-step roadmap outside the lockdown.
Finally, if everything goes according to plan, Step 4 will take effect from June 21st. At this stage, there are no legal restrictions on the number of guests allowed at weddings or funerals – a welcome return to traditional grand weddings. However, it is unclear whether there will still be social distancing.
“I firmly believe that summer weddings are back,” said Bernadette Chapman, head of the UK’s Wedding Planners Alliance. “But even 2022 will be a boom year for weddings, in which many couples are now booking suppliers and planners.”
All of this is cumbersome, however – and depends on the success of the vaccination program, harmful new strains, and the burden on the NHS.
All events must be Covid-safe and guests must adhere to social distancing guidelines at all times. People must maintain a social distance of two meters and wear face coverings throughout the ceremony. Singing is also prohibited to prevent airborne transmission of the virus.
Read more: How to Plan a Wedding During Coronavirus
Competition for new wedding dates
Due to the restrictions on weddings last year, many have postponed their celebrations. For wedding planner Katrina Otter, over 50 percent of her couples have postponed their weddings to 2022. There are still wedding rooms in 2022, but “peak dates are booked … we look at weddings on Thursday, Friday, Sunday or out of season – April, October, November”.
Otter tells me that a couple wanted to move their wedding, which was due to take place in September 2020, to any Saturday between the beginning of April and the end of October 2021. There was only one appointment that all suppliers could make.
According to wedding planner Matthew Oliver, the lack of data available is partly due to a lack of venues. Many of these venues have booked more weddings than normal in a week and are now reaching “capacity.”
Will there be international weddings in 2021?
International travel is currently banned in the UK. It is now illegal to go abroad without a “reasonable excuse” and anyone who leaves the country could be fined £ 5,000.
However, starting May 17th, people in the UK will be allowed to visit ‘green list’ countries, which means you can technically have a small celebration overseas. However, due to the logistical challenges, it is unlikely that international weddings will take place for some time.
What could the weddings look like when the restrictions are lifted?
According to Oliver, weddings “absolutely” have to adapt in the future.
“I think we need to look at bigger venues,” he says. “For example, if you’re working with a couple who have 150 guests instead of looking for venues with exactly 150 people, we need to look for larger venues.”
This would allow guests to distance themselves socially – which, in his opinion, will remain our mentality even after the lockdown ends. “After this whole situation is over, people will still have that in their way of life – from ‘I don’t want to be around you,” “he says, adding that venues and suppliers could be” more protective “. through their contact with guests.