'Unlimited' Guests Allowed at Weddings from 21st June, Boris Johnson Announces
The Prime Minister confirmed the 30 person guest limit has been removed, however, the number of guests allowed to attend will now be dependent on social distancing allowance at each individual venue.
Weddings in England will return from 21st June with more than 30 guests allowed at a socially-distanced capacity, the Prime Minister announced on Monday.
The news comes as Boris Johnson confirmed a four-week delay to the final stage of lockdown restriction easing in England.
Speaking at a press conference from Downing Street, Johnson said: "Weddings can go ahead with more than 30 people. We are lifting that restriction on 30 people from the 21st providing social distancing is observed."
This does not mean that every venue will be able to host an unlimited number of guests. Similar to policies in Wales and Northern Ireland, it means the number of guests will be limited by how successfully social distancing rules can be adhered to at the venue.
The social distancing rules currently stand at "1 metre +", meaning the larger the venue, the more guests can attend.
Each couple will need to speak to their venue to find out final numbers that are allowed, but the change in rules means the vast majority of couples marrying after the 21st June will no longer be limited to 30 people.
READ MORE: What Are the Latest Covid Rules for Weddings in the UK?
The Covid wedding rules for England are currently different to the rest of the UK but will be moving in-line with Wales and Northern Ireland where numbers are determined by risk assessments at each venue.
Scotland is expected to move down to Level Zero Covid restrictions on the 28th June, which would allow up to 200 people to attend a wedding.
Social distancing measures will remain in place at English weddings, and guests will be expected to wear masks at all times when not eating and drinking. Dancing is still not allowed, but the couple could safely have a first dance outdoors, and wedding speeches are allowed outdoors.
Nina Beer of the UK Weddings Taskforce said, "We welcome that the weddings sector has finally been acknowledged and there is to be some partial easing of the very harsh restrictions imposed upon us throughout the pandemic.
"Boris Johnson has released the cap on the 30 person number for weddings to social distanced capacity. We understand that there will be other restrictions put in place and guidelines will be updated tomorrow.
"We have a meeting this evening with Ministers to learn the further detail. We will a schedule a IG Live tomorrow to answer as many questions as we can."
Boris Johnson started his speech by stating, "We cannot simply eliminate Covid, we must learn to live with it. Every day that goes by, we are better protected by the vaccines and we are better able to live with the disease."
He said the delay would allow the NHS more time to vaccinate more people, and set a date of Monday 19th July for double jabbing two-thirds of the adult population and all adults being offered their first jab.
He said he hopes that social distancing rules will be able to be lifted entirely by the 19th July, and he is prepared to move the date forward if the vaccine drive proves effective against the Delta variant.
