Frockdown! Happy couples tie the knot as weddings are allowed for first time in three months

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Happy couples have tied the knot today as weddings are allowed for the first time in three months – with a limit of 30 guests at the ceremony and just six at the reception. 

The new relaxed rules on social distancing mean some couples are finally able to say ‘I do’, as weddings are once again permitted in England with safety measures in place. 

Key workers Jennifer and Louise married at one minute past midnight, in what was thought to be the first wedding after the updated Covid-19 guidelines came into force. 

Meanwhile, guests attending Tom and Heather’s wedding at St George’s Church in Leeds were pictured socially distancing and wearing face masks, with the number of people at ceremonies capped at 30. 

Guests at post-lockdown weddings must avoid singing unless behind a screen, not consume any food or drink and avoid playing instruments that must be blown into. 

It follows the Office for National Statistics estimating that 73,400 marriages have been postponed along with 300 same-sex civil partnerships between March 23 and yesterday. 

More than 250,000 weddings usually take place in the UK each year, but most couples have been affected by restrictions that came into force in March.  

Care home worker Jennifer and security guard Louise, both 22, married at the Peace Garden Pergola in the grounds of Runcorn Town Hall, Cheshire in front of 17 close friends and family members.

Ms Wilson said: ‘Last week the registry office rang and asked if we wanted to be the first couple in the UK to marry after lockdown, and we just said yes. We both work nights normally, so the time suited us.’

Louise, who works for lorry firm Eddie Stobart, added: ‘With it having just been Pride month, this felt like something we couldn’t really pass up. 

‘Not just for us but for other LGBT people who haven’t been able to get together to celebrate Pride.’ 

The pair, who have been together for eight years since meeting while Louise was on holiday in Jennifer’s native New Zealand, were due to marry on Friday.

But they cancelled the nuptials when travel restrictions meant Ms Wilson’s parents and brother wouldn’t be able to come over from their home in Australia to attend. 

But when the government announced that wedding venues could re-open today, Runcorn Town Hall contacted the couple to see if they wanted to marry at midnight. 

Louise, a security worker, popped the question to Jennifer in Blackpool as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve 2017. 

Jennifer’s family were able to be part of the big day as they watched on video call from Australia. She said: ‘It felt so great to be the first couple.

‘We had to cancel our wedding plans originally, but when the registry office rang last week to see if we wanted to be the first couple to marry we jumped at it. 

‘We’re a pretty spontaneous couple anyway so we thought it sounded like a great idea. Louise proposed at the same time we got married, 12.01am, so it made it even more special.’ 

Jennifer moved to the UK three years ago and the pair got engaged while staying in Blackpool, where they will go for a staycation on Monday after plans for a honeymoon in Mexico were put on hold.

Jennifer added: ‘It was great that my parents could be involved, they were all dressed u in their suits watching it on the big tv screen in the middle of the room.

‘We were staying with my auntie in Blackpool when Louise proposed and we will stay there again for our mini-honeymoon, so it will be nice to return to where it all started in a way.’

Registration service manager, Andrew Lucas, said: ‘We were delighted to help Louise and Jennifer say ‘I do’ on what we think was the first wedding after the lockdown period, and to help make sure that their special day is one they will remember forever.’ 

Two London paramedics will also be among the first to tie the knot since lockdown began this weekend, as they have managed to keep their original wedding date.

Stephanie Little and Thomas Martin originally planned their wedding for July 4 but never expected the ceremony to go ahead following the coronavirus lockdown, the Evening Standard reported. 

They had rebooked their ceremony but were stunned when the Government announced weddings and civil partnerships could restart – beginning on their original wedding date.

With only a week to go, the couple, who both work at Edmonton ambulance station, knew they had to get married as they ‘don’t know what will happen in the future’. 

Stephanie, 24, said: ‘We contacted our vicar and he said yes, and suddenly we had to plan a wedding in a week – while I’ve been working night shifts. We only got the licence on Sunday.’

They originally planned to have 90 guests but have adjusted their plans to adhere to Government guidance, which only allows a maximum of 30 attendees.

The aisle at St Faith’s Church in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, has also been widened so Stephanie’s father can walk his daughter down the aisle.

Their reception and honeymoon have both been cancelled and Stephanie had to find a new wedding dress, as she was not able to attend fittings for her original gown. 

Meanwhile, despite having hand sanitisers at the entrance to the church, guests on every other pew and a rehearsal only possible via Face Time, Lucy, 25, and her groom James, 28, were delighted just to be able to get married, just four days after getting the the official go-ahead. 

They married in front of 27 guests in the pretty St Michael and All Angels Church in the picturesque hamlet of Ingram in the Northumberland National Park.

The bride’s father Steven was able to walk her down the aisle of the 12th Century church as he had been in her social bubble beforehand.

Retired vicar Rev Marion Penfold was given permission to marry the couple who live in Fawdon in the next valley.

There were cheers from the family and congregation after Mr Bone, a farmer, was officially allowed to kiss his new wife, who is in agricultural sales.

Before the wedding, Lucy said how they had always pinned their hopes on a July 4 wedding date and made all the arrangements in the hope the rules would be relaxed in time.

Their fears mounted as the date got closer, and by Tuesday they thought their chance had gone, until the official guidance changed.

She said: ‘On the Tuesday we woke up, assumed we would have to call it all off, then we heard it could go ahead and it really changed our spirits.’

Before the service, she said was pleased her father could give her away, explaining: ‘It’s such a relief as it will be a nerve-racking time.’

For the Rev Marion Penfold, it was a privilege to be able to conduct the wedding ceremony for such a happy young couple, she said. 

And she praised their patient love during the wedding service. ‘I had told Lucy: “I’m afraid I don’t think the wedding can go ahead”,’ she said afterwards. ‘Then we thought they could only have five in the church, so there wouldn’t really be any family there.

‘There were a few tears on either end of the phone. Then as soon as we heard the church could open, it was like there was a hotline to Lucy with all the calls. It has come to today and it has been a privilege to be able to do this.

‘It has been such a whirlwind, it has been really worth it. Guests stopped for hand sanitiser as they entered the church, and there were no hymns due to a ban on singing in churches.’

The vicar said she also regretted not being able to hug the families, having known some of them for years, but praised all the guests for abiding by the rules.

She joked: ‘It’s people I have known for years so I could tell them off if they weren’t adhering to the rules.’

The couple will hold a big celebration with a blessing next year so all their family and friends can join them.

Terry and Lindsay also tied the knot today at Newcastle-upon-Tyne Civic Centre, while Gary Cheng and Sakiko Honda got married at Marylebone Old Town Hall. 

Receptions at post-lockdown weddings are limited to just two households indoors, or up to six people from different households outdoors. 

The ONS figures are the four-year average of weddings between March 23 and July 3, 2014 to 2017, plus same-sex civil partnerships between the dates in 2015 to 2018.

They do not include residents who got married abroad or same-sex couples who have converted civil partnerships into marriages following legal changes in 2014.

The data does also not include civil partnerships among opposite-sex couples which have been possible from New Year’s Eve last year.  

Couple to reunite for their platinum wedding anniversary after 115 days apart in lockdown as care home plans celebration with cake, flowers and a bottle of bubbly

There will be tears of joy when a lovey-dovey couple aged 92 and 93 reunite for a platinum celebration after 115 days apart in lockdown.

Reg and Eve Wood’s 70th wedding anniversary is on July 15 but coronavirus has left them unable to see each other.

Eve is shielding at her daughter’s house and Reg has been in Cleves Place care home in Haverhill since February 2018.

Since the start of lockdown in March, their only meeting was for Reg’s 93rd birthday on July 2, when staff at the care home arranged a brief, socially distanced visit so they could wave to each other.

On July 15th the care home plans a closer reunion, with cake, flowers and a bottle of bubbly.

Deputy manager Clare Mooney said ‘We are delighted to be able to offer garden visits so Reg and Eve can see each other on their very special day.

‘Originally the plans were for a large family gathering and garden party, sadly Covid-19 stopped this being possible.

‘Most importantly they will see each other on the day and share special memories of their wedding day 70 years ago.’

Eve said: ‘We’ve missed each other so much, so it’s lovely to have the chance to see Reg and tell him again how much I love him.

‘The 70 years have gone in a flash, and he’s been the best husband and father to the girls that I could ever wish for.

‘It won’t be quite the celebration we expected, and I’ll miss having a big family party, but just to see him is the most important thing.’

They married at Ampthill Methodist Church in Bedfordshire in 1950, and have three daughters, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

They moved to the village of Clare in 2001 to be closer to family, living next door to one of their three daughters.

Daughter Val Phillips has been looking after her mother during lockdown as Eve’s carer was no longer able to visit her home.

Val said ‘This has been such a difficult time for Mum and Dad, and they’ve missed each other so much.

‘They’ve been talking on the phone but it’s never the same as seeing one another. We’re so grateful to Cleves for arranging this visit.’