Wedding guests ‘will be limited to 15 under new Covid rules – but 30 mourners allowed at funerals’

Dash to the altar this weekend! Hammer blow for couples tying the knot as wedding guests will be limited to 15 from Monday under new Covid rules – but 30 mourners will still be allowed at funerals

  • Boris Johnson has announced a new cap of 15 people at wedding receptions 
  • Weddings were able to resume in March with a maximum of 30 people attending
  • The PM is announcing new restrictions today to try and stop a second spike
  • Will this disrupt your wedding plans? Get in touch at [email protected] 

Happy couples will have to halve their wedding guests after the number allowed to gather was cut to 15 under new Covid-19 rules – but 30 mourners will still be allowed to gather at funerals.

Boris Johnson has reversed the easing of lockdown today by announcing a series of measures to prevent a second coronavirus spike. 

Pubs, bars and restaurants are expected to come under a new 10pm curfew, while stronger punishments for people breaking the rule of six could also be announced.

Speaking in Parliament this afternoon, Mr Jonson said that from Monday no more than 15 people will be able to attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, in a tightening of the ‘rule of six’. 

The new restrictions could be in place for six months.  

Weddings were allowed to resume in August with a limit of 30 guests – but tighter Covid restrictions could see that figure halve

Funerals were capped at 10 mourners at the start of the pandemic, but that figure has been increased to 30, it is not expected to reduce under today’s announcement

More than 73,000 weddings and civil partnership ceremonies were cancelled after a ban was declared at the start of lockdown in March. 

Last month the Government declared they could resume, but capped the number of guest to 30. 

Addressing Parliament this afternoon, Boris Johnson confirmed wedding guest numbers would be capped at 15.

There are no changes to the current cap of 30 mourners at funerals.  

In March, only 10 mourners were allowed to attend funerals, with guidance stating they were only open to ‘immediate family only’.  

Earlier today Michael Gove insisted the Government was taking ‘reluctant steps’ with the new coronavirus measures, but added that they are ‘absolutely necessary’.

‘There will be more details that the Prime Minister will spell out, and again, one of the points that he’ll make is that no one wants to do these things, no one wants to take these steps,’ he told Sky News.

‘They are reluctant steps that we’re taking, but they are absolutely necessary.

‘Because as we were reminded yesterday, and as you’ve been reporting, the rate of infection is increasing, the number of people going to hospital is increasing, and therefore we need to act.’

‘WE’LL GO AHEAD: WE JUST WANT TO BE MARRIED NOW’

Bride-to-be Felicity Challis, 34, and Leon Davies, 35, had planned to tie the knot with at least 30 of their nearest and dearest and say they're frustrated by the government's latest plans

Bride-to-be Felicity Challis, 34, and Leon Davies, 35, had planned to tie the knot with at least 30 of their nearest and dearest and say they’re frustrated by the government’s latest plans

Will this disrupt your wedding plans?

Felicity Challis, 34, and Leon Davies, 35 were due to wed at St James the Great church in Ruscombe, Berkshire and say they’re ‘frustrated’ that they big day will now be curtailed. 

Says Felicity: ‘It’s so frustrating especially as I work in a college with hundreds of students, and my son attends the local infant school and my daughter the local pre-school.’ 

She adds: ‘There are so many bubbles and yet we can’t have trusted friends and family (who are also part of work and employment bubbles), with us to celebrate our wedding.’

The couple say they ‘just want to be married’ at this point and so will go ahead with their wedding plans with the government’s reduced number.  

Just weeks after weddings were allowed to resume, the Government is set to cap the number of guests at 15

Just weeks after weddings were allowed to resume, the Government is set to cap the number of guests at 15