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Post-lockdown wedding rules ban fathers from walking brides down the aisle

29 June 2020, 16:23 | Updated: 29 June 2020, 17:00

The new English lockdown wedding guidance has been released (stock images). Picture: Getty

Weddings in England will be allowed to take place from this weekend, but will be subject to strict guidance.

Post-lockdown wedding guidance for ceremonies taking place in England has been published by the government.

The rules - which 'strongly advise' against receptions and require the bride and groom to wash their hands before exchanging rings - will come into force when weddings are permitted from Saturday 4 July.

Couples have been told that weddings must take place in a 'Covid-19 secure environment' and be 'kept as short as reasonably possible'.

The bride and groom will have to wash their hands before exchanging rings (stock image). Picture: Getty

Up to 30 people (not including the staff at the venue) will be allowed to attend weddings, but social distancing guidance - which from Saturday will be '1m+ - must be kept to during the day. This means that fathers won't be able to walk their daughters down the aisle unless they live together.

The guidance says that the social distancing guidelines "may require marriages or civil partnerships to be adapted to remove practices that would otherwise have brought people into contact with one another, unless required for the marriage or civil partnership to be legally binding".

"Where this is the case precautions should be put in place to minimise contact and ensure the timeframe is as short as possible", it adds.

Read the post-lockdown wedding guidance in full here.

Fathers won't be able to walk their daughters down the aisle, in line with social distancing guidelines (stock image). Picture: Getty

The guidance states: "any receptions that typically follow or accompany marriages or civil partnerships are strongly advised not to take place".

Guests have also been told to avoid "singing, shouting, raising voices and/or playing music at a volume that makes normal conversation difficult".

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The guidance adds: "Visitors should avoid touching property belonging to others, such as shoes which, if removed, should be placed and collected by their owner while adhering to social distancing principles."

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