Social Distancing Wedding

Explanation 

At this difficult time, there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty going on. Normally about 250,000 weddings take place in the UK each year. We know that some of you have been waiting for a long time for your special day; we are looking forward to life returning to normal and providing you with a memorable experience at Haarlem Hill. We have constantly kept up with advice from the government on what is and isn’t allowed. At the time of writing this article, nothing has changed since the prime minister banned weddings and christenings when lockdown started on the 23rd March, and that guidance is still in effect.   

But there is hope, in the next few weeks, small weddings may be able to take place under the new government guidelines. We are now allowed to increase our interactions as we can now meet up to 6 people in the back garden or in an outside area. This gives us great hope providing the R-value stays at where it is and also decreases over time. The Government is also examining how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings.

  

Will My Wedding Go Ahead This Year?

According to the Church of England, they will be restricting weddings to just five people. This will include the couple, the vicar, and two witnesses. There is also the possibility of registrars being able to perform weddings with a maximum of 10 guests present, this is something that the government should be able to confirm over the next few days. This is something the government have made clear as they are keen to get up and running as soon as possible. Weddings in the UK add an estimated £10bn to the economy.

Will Guests Be Able To Attend?

While we don’t have an answer yet, we can assume that these questions will be answered by the government in the next few days. There is speculation that weddings may be limited to 50 guests when venues are hopefully able to reopen from the 4th of July. We will be following government guidelines and making sure that you and your guests are safe along with our staff and vendors. If you have any questions or concerns then please get in touch with us. We look forward to having you with us and providing you with your dream wedding in a safe environment. 

What Should We Do About Vendors?

We advise that you reach out to all the vendors, musicians, photographers and videographers. See how they feel about working at the wedding. We are sure they will be more than happy to get back to what they love, but it is worth checking. We also suggest that you discuss shielding and social distancing. This will be something that will be in place for many more months to come. So it is important that they can carry out their jobs in a safe manner, but are still able to provide a service that meets your expectations at your wedding. 

Will It Be Legal?

This is something to think about if you are applying for a marriage licence; we must remember the impact of COVID-19 on registrars and churches. For civil ceremonies and civil partnerships, they have been limited by the availability of registrars as their main priority at this moment is registering deaths and births. To get a marriage licence you will need to give a registrar your notice to marry at least 29 days before your wedding. We recommend you check this as it can change depending on the area and the demand. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. 

Our Advice If You Are Worried 

If you have any questions then please reach out to us as we are here for our clients. We are only a phone call or email away and we will share what we know and hope to get back to normal business soon. We also encourage you to reach out to your family and friends as this is something that will really help from a mental health perspective. In times like these we find strength in each other; there will be many other brides and grooms in a similar situation right now. So having a united support group can be really helpful through this time. 

Haarlem Mill 

We hope that you have found this article helpful, we know these are difficult times and we look forward to having you at our venue as soon and as safe as possible. If you have any enquiries about Haarlem Mill and the facilities that we offer, then please get in contact with us today. Call us on 01629 820 253 or you can fill in our contact form

Haarlem Mill