Couple plans wedding in two hours to avoid new Covid rules

A British couple have organised their wedding in two hours to make sure they could say ‘I do’ before London went into lockdown.

Chloe Collins, 31, has to be one of the most patient brides in the UK after postponing her wedding to Jamie Collins, 29, three times due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The couple had originally planned their wedding in September inviting 130 guests to a country estate in Watford however plans quickly changed when restrictions limited the number of guests allowed at a wedding, so the pair moved their date to November 22.

After a four week lockdown throughout England was enforced, the wedding was moved again, this time to December 20.

So when Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tier four restrictions across southeast England on Saturday the couple weren’t going to take any chances and decided to get married that night.

"We just started calling people to see what we could do, and the more calls we made the more people said 'yes’,” Mr Collins told the BBC.

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Under tier four restrictions in London weddings are only permitted under exceptional circumstances, including if one partner is terminally ill.

“We got to the stage with this government where we couldn’t keep holding our life anymore for them to keep changing their mind. How long would we be waiting for until we can get married?

“Are we going to wait six months and still only have 15 people?” Mr Collins told the Daily Mail.

Within two hours the resourceful couple had called their suppliers who agreed to help them out, the best man had driven two hours to stand by his best friend’s side and their Rabbi had agreed to perform the ceremony.

"It was a miracle that it just kind of came together. It felt like a dream. Some people take years to plan a wedding, but we did it in two hours,” Mr Collins told the Daily Mail.

The happy couple finally became husband and wife in front of 15 guests and over 100 people virtually celebrating on zoom.

“We felt the love, and it felt like they were there. I've never in my life felt so much love and felt so grateful,” Mrs Collins told the BBC.

The newlyweds are now hoping they can still go on their honeymoon to Dubai and the Maldives, scheduled for the end of January, 2021.

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