20 weddings squeezed in before second lockdown in 'exceptional' effort from Northamptonshire Registration Service

Twenty couples were able to get married before the second coronavirus lockdown thanks to the 'exceptional' efforts of Northamptonshire County Council officers.

As many nuptials planned for before Thursday (November 5) as possible were moved to ensure the pairs could tie the knot before stricter rules came into force.

The local authority also helped wedding venues by hosting some of their ceremonies that would otherwise have been cancelled.

Newlyweds Mr and Mrs Coombes said of their big day: “We did it! After another potential postponement, we were able to get married on Wednesday, just before lockdown.

“Sincere thanks to everyone at the Registration Service who helped make it happen. We are so happy to finally be the new Mr and Mrs Coombes!”

Registration Service staff, ceremony officers, the customer advice team and the registrars pulled together to make as many weddings happen as possible.

Sandra Naden Horley, cabinet lead member for corporate and community services at the council, said: “The efforts that everybody in the team has gone to in order to ensure that we accommodate these couples has been nothing short of exceptional.

“This year has been a very difficult one for a vast number of people, and this won’t be the first time that some of these couples have had to move or postpone their ceremonies due to the impact of coronavirus.

“The fact that we’ve been able to help them in some way and provide them with the means to go through with their ceremonies is something that we’re very proud of.”