BY GABRIELLA PERALTA - https://www.chronicle.gi/no-love-lost-as-virus-pandemic-disrupts-wedding-plans/

A wedding day marks a special time in a couple’s relationship, but the coronavirus pandemic has seen many plans postponed or even scrapped, leaving some couples thousands of pounds out of pocket.

The disruption, of course, is relative. The couples are thankful they are healthy and able to rearrange their plans for a later date. But against the backdrop of the day-to-day challenges arising from the lockdown, this is yet another stress to deal with, and often an expensive one. Couples are now facing a dilemma of whether to continue with reduced numbers, or postpone their events and forego honeymoon plans. For Lauren Scott and Nathan Hernandez, their dream wedding in the Dominican Republic was meant to have taken place last month on March 25.

Just days before their 47 guests from the UK and Gibraltar were meant to jet off, the Dominican Republic declared a state of emergency on March 17. Miss Scott told the Chronicle she was “heartbroken” when her wedding plans rst fell apart. “In the beginning I was absolutely heartbroken, but as the days passed we couldn’t be moping around anymore,” she said. “People are losing their lives.”

The couple now look forward to marrying next year. Travel company Tui allowed them to rebook their ights for January, and the venue Hotel Dreams Palm Beach, in Punta Cana has also postponed the booking for the couple at no cost.

But the changes mean the couple will head off on their honeymoon to Australia a month before their wedding takes place. Their hen and stag dos in Leeds and York were unscathed as the events took place two weeks prior to the lockdown, although Miss Scott’s hen do in Gibraltar was cancelled after it was set on the same night bars and restaurants were told to close down. Instead she held the hen do in her house.

The Gibraltar Government recently confirmed some 43 weddings and civil partnerships set to be held at the registry oce between March 22 and April 21 had been suspended with the option for a refund or an opportunity to transfer the booking to a later date. CEO of Hour Weddings Monica Coumbe recommends couples to evaluate their wedding plans closer to their date. Her team is navigating this uncharted territory step-by-step in a bid not to alarm couples. “Our strategy is to only change if it needs t o change,” Mrs Coumbe said.

“If the wedding is in May, we will start looking at it in mid-April. ” She added most venues ha ve been happy t o accommodate date changes without any further charges. She warned this could mean there will be an inux of weddings later in the year. “We need to the ready for that later on in the year,” she said. Mrs Coumbe has had 12 weddings postponed in April, and another three in Ma y, with one couple deciding not to get married. Although she is still receiving enquiries for summer weddings, many of the corporate events she was planning have also been cancelled.

Her daughter Tara Coumbe is set to wed fiancé Andrew Montegriffo this August and both are concerned their nuptials will have to be postponed.

The couple plan to marry in Marbella in a ceremony with 200 guests, but Miss Coumbe feels she is in “limbo” and is waiting to see what unfolds. Her hen party to Milan, in Italy next month has been cancelled due to the lockdown and travel restrictions leaving herself and her friends out of pocket. She also had planned to honeymoon in Europe, including a stop in Northern Italy that has also been cancelled. She estimates the cancellations have cost them around £5,000 to £8,000. As for the wedding she is prepared to reduce numbers, and as many of her family members will be travelling from outside of Gibraltar they have avoided booking flights until restrictions are lifted.

“As long as I get married to Andrew the rest doesn’t matter,” she said. She added: “We are just grateful we have jobs and are healthy and working.” Teresa Chilcott met the love of her life Patrick Deane three years ago in Marbella, having recently moved to Spain from London.

They had planned a bohemian summer wedding in the Alameda Gardens Band Stand and a reception in the Rock Hotel. Some 100 guests from England, Ireland and Spain were meant in watch them wed on June 19, but not wanting to risk travel restrictions the couple are now planning a winter wedding in December. “The situation is out of our hands,” Ms Chilcott said. “We could have waited later, but a lot of our guests are from overseas so we thought it was best to postpone. It takes the pressure off.” The ceremony and reception have both been changed to a December date with no further charges. Ms Chilcott’s surprise abroad hen do was cancelled, and now the couple are unsure if

some of the guests will be able to attend later on in the year. “It will be a lot less than a hundred,” she said.