Leeds bride due to marry next week devastated as new rules force her to halve guest numbers

Wedding ceremonies and receptions in England are to be capped at 15 people, as part of new coronavirus restrictions to curb a surge in cases.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the number of people permitted at wedding celebrations is to be halved, in a bid to “tighten up” the current rule of six.

Holly, 29, was due to get married in York on October 3 - having booked the wedding almost two years ago.

Originally, over 90 guests were attending the day with a further 20 expected for the reception.

However when the pandemic hit, government rules forced her and fiance Paul, 29, to whittle down the number of guests to a select 30.

Now - following the latest announcement on Tuesday - the pair face the agonising decision on who can attend the service next week.

Holly said she has lost a large amount of money on items such as printed seat plans, placecard and over items which will now go to waste.

She told the Yorkshire Evening Post she felt 'extremely let down' by the latest announcement.

Holly, from Rothwell, said: "We booked our wedding nearly two years ago in November 2018 to take place October 3rd, 2020.

"Originally over 90 guests were attending the day and a further 20 or so for an evening reception.

"When the pandemic hit, we were uncertain whether or not it could go ahead at all and were extremely worried that our wedding day would essentially be a half an hour ceremony so we were extremely happy when it was announced that sit-down wedding receptions for up to 30 people were allowed.

"Although it meant cutting our numbers down it was going to be a more normal day and we were looking forward to our intimate celebration.

"Prior to the announcement [on Tuesday] we had paid all suppliers in full for services based on the previous guest limit of 30.

"As it stands we are unsure where we stand with getting any of that money back for the services we don't need for the guests we now can't accommodate and we face a stressful time over the next few days making various phonecalls about this, not to mention the difficult task of deciding which of our party of 30 we now have to cut further to comply with the restrictions."

Holly said the new announcement had ruined what would have otherwise been an 'exciting time' in the run up to the wedding.

She said: "We are angry, particularly as we have, like many others due to get married, essentially been isolating for the past few weeks in preparation for the day and so as to protect our guests as best we can, and are upset that we are treated the same as anyone just wanting to go to the pub.

"We have lost money on various things in place for the wedding on the 30 guest limit such as printed seat plans and placecards.

"We were also planning a very covid-secure wedding with face masks and hand sanitiser for each guest, covid-safe guidelines and rules in the programme and distancing planned for photos.

"We could not have been following the rules any better and we feel extremely let down."

Setting out the measures in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson said: “Fifth, now is the time to tighten up the rule of six.

“I’m afraid that from Monday a maximum of 15 people will be able to attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, though up to 30 can still attend a funeral as now.”

Current guidance states that up to 30 attendees are permitted in Wales, while in Scotland, ceremonies and receptions are limited to 20 people, and numbers are dependent on the venue in Northern Ireland.