Weddings loophole – How YOU can have the wedding you want with no limit on guests and dancing
BORIS Johnson tonight pushed back the long-awaited 'freedom day' by four weeks - but threw a lifeline to couples waiting to tie the knot.
The PM announced the wedding guest limit will be lifted from June 21, and there are several other ways you can still have a brilliant big day.
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The current rules allow up to 30 people to attend weddings and civil partnership ceremonies.
But this cap will be scrapped from June 21.
Traditional wedding venues will need to carry out their own risk assessment to determine the safe number of guests who can attend.
This means numbers will likely still be limited due to social distancing.
However, couples celebrating their happy day in their own gardens will be free to invite as many guests as they wish as they themselves determine the safe limit.
When it comes to dancing, indoor events will be banned from having dancefloors due to Covid concerns.
But dad dancing will be back on for private receptions thanks to a loophole in the new rules.
Although not officially allowed, having an area dedicated to shaking a leg at home will not be illegal.
But no matter where the nuptials are taking place, newlyweds will be allowed a first dance.
Tables won't need to be socially distanced so guests can sit closer together, but buffets will be banned as table service remains mandatory.
Everyone at the wedding will also have to wear a face mask while walking around the venue.
And guests have been urged to be "cautious" about contact with people outside of their household.
Choirs, bands, and musicians may perform in groups of up to six indoors, or 30 outdoors, but communal singing is not allowed among guests.
That means no hymns or songs are allowed to be sung during the ceremony.
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The measures will affect around 50,000 couples who booked their nuptials for the four weeks after June 21.
Answering a question from a bride-to-be who has twice delayed her wedding, Mr Johnson, who got married in a lockdown ceremony last month, tonight said he was "very, very sorry".
"I'm sorry for all the disappointment that's going to be caused by going a bit slower," he said.
"What we are saying is that weddings can go ahead with more than 30 people. We are lifting that restriction on 30 people from June 21, providing social distancing is observed.
"I'm sorry for the disappointment this will certainly bring to weddings, to many, many businesses, but I think it's a few weeks that's worth it to get those jabs in."
For those looking to tie the knot abroad, foreign travel restrictions remain in place.
International travel is only allowed to a limited number of countries on the green list - including Australia, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.
From Step 4 in Britain's roadmap out of lockdown, the government will remove all limits on weddings, civil partnership ceremonies and receptions.
This was due to take place on June 21, but will now be July 19 at the earliest.
The PM said at a Downing Street press conference tonight it is "sensible" to put back the end of all legal limits on social contact, but insisted he is "confident" no further delay will be necessary.
A decision will be made subject to the outcome of the Social Distancing Review and the Events Research Programme, which includes a series of pilots using enhanced testing approaches and other mitigations to run events of larger sizes.
The pilots have been selected to examine the risks of transmission in a range of settings, venue types, and activity types - seated or not seated, indoor or outdoor.
The findings will inform thinking on the reopening of all large events.
The PM is said to be desperate not to ruin couples’ happy days.
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Health minister Ed Argar said Boris was aware that the last year has been "hugely distressing" for couples who have had to cancel their nuptials.
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He added: ";I know that that is something the prime minister will be very mindful of.
"He’ll be very sensitive to the situation that those individuals or couples find themselves in."