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
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.
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
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.’
He insisted there is evidence to support the Government’s decision to set the curfew on pubs and restaurants at 10pm.
He told the BBC: ‘There is evidence that the longer venues stay open, the greater degree of social mixing that takes place.
‘So, placing a restriction like this is something that we’ve already done in parts of the country where the virus has been spreading particularly fast.’
It was claimed overnight that Mr Gove and Health Secretary Matt Hancock had pushed for a total shutdown of the hospitality sector.
The Times reported a ‘consensus’ formed around the move last Thursday with members of Sage also on board on the grounds that it would not be possible to predict the impact of a curfew.
Just weeks after weddings were allowed to resume, the Government is set to cap the number of guests at 15
The Prime Minister is said to have initially been supportive of the shutdown plan which sparked concern in the Treasury and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, prompting Rishi Sunak to ask for a meeting with Mr Johnson.
That meeting took place on Friday as Mr Sunak warned of the economic damage a total shutdown of the hospitality sector could do, leading to Mr Johnson changing his mind and pushing forward with the less severe curfew plans instead.
- Will this disrupt your wedding plans? Email [email protected].