Normal weddings in Scotland not on the cards for some time, Nicola Sturgeon warns

Couples who have plans to get married in the next few months have been left with further uncertainty after Nicola Sturgeon warned that a return to normality for the wedding industry looks unlikely in the foreseeable future.

She said people coming together in a social situation was one of the most likely ways to spread the virus.

The Scottish Wedding Industry Alliance (SWIA) has called for weddings to recommence with a minimum of 50 guests, with preventive measures in place.

Existing rules in Scotland allow wedding ceremonies to take place with up to five people, including the couple getting married, witnesses and the officiant.

Weddings can currently only have five guests.

A poll by the SWIA found that 50 is the minimum number of guests that most couples say they would be happy to go ahead with and also the number of guests the industry feels is needed to make events viable for businesses.

Ms Sturgeon warned that lockdown easing would be gradual and admitted that social gatherings such as weddings would not be a priority.

She said: “Everybody wants to be the first priority and I absolutely understand that. Every sector I speak to will say ‘we can offer a Covid-secure environment’ and I don’t doubt the effort and hard work and investment that goes into that.

"But we know from experience, with the best will in the world, that when we bring groups of people together, particularly in a social setting, the virus spreads and we ignore that at our peril.

"We’re going to have to be patient with some of this – the government is going to have to continue to support sectors that are still very restricted in what they can do.

"Our top priorities are children and education, care home visiting. Beyond that, people want to see their loved ones. That may be outdoors before it is indoors, these are the order of priorities.

"In the weeks to come we will go through a phased approach of the lifting of the current level four restrictions. When we think we can move back into the levels system, the country may be able to come down to level three again or see parts of the country move down to level three. That will be when more economic opening up may be possible.”

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