"Our ordeal has been nothing short of a nightmare": The Preston couple who lost their Vegas dream and thousands of pounds on their wedding due to pandemic

Lauren and Sam have been engaged and planning their big day since 2018, they fear it may now not go ahead as planned

The pandemic has proved a challenging time for many, but for engaged Preston couple Lauren, 27 and business development manager Sam, 29, they have witnessed their wedding plans fall to ruin time and time again.

In May this year, they had planned to tie the knot on a trip-of-a-lifetime in Las Vegas which crumbled before their eyes when travel giant Thomas Cook collapsed.

After rebooking their American dream wedding with another company in 2019, those plans were also cancelled after the country-wide lockdown was introduced in March, two months before their original date, also throwing away Lauren's plans of the hen party that she had booked in Benidorm.

Their dream of a Vegas wedding has been stripped from them as they now face a special day with just 15 guests

Making the decision to lose almost £1,000 and cancel their plans for Vegas, the couple then opted for a small wedding at Brockholes Nature Reserve for 30 guests on November 5.

Lauren, 27, said: "It was disappointing but with 30 guests we knew we could make the most of it because everyone who would've been there would have really mattered and been the most important to us.

"I've tried to get my head round every challenge, I've been so busy trying to make something work that I've not had chance to realise how much of a joke it all is."

The Ashton couple had originally planned to book a range of entertainers for their wedding night, including a photo booth and caricature artists - both of which have cost them more than £1,000 and are no longer in business because of the pandemic.

Determined to keep the faith and their spirits high, the pair booked a relaxing trip to Croatia to escape the stress of wedding plans, only to be hit with the news that flights were not set to resume until three days after their departure date of June 18.

A Medetarranian cruise in May of next year and five-star stay on the Amalfi coast was also on the cards for their honeymoon, which was cancelled by TUI because the cruise ship no longer existed because of the Covid-19 pandemic and they were instead offered a full refund.

Engaged couples in the UK were then hit by the new wedding guidelines, meaning guest lists had to face a difficult cut down from 30 to 15.

The newly announced cut backs in guest numbers came as another disheartening blow to Lauren, who's own close friends and grandparents were not even able to see her walk down the isle.

Lauren said: "We had always joked saying that we didn't know if the wedding would go ahead because of all the speculation. We have battled every challenge that has faced us and been determined to make it the best wedding ever even for 15 people.

"I know a lot of people have had to cancel but this has just been one thing after another for us.

"Once that announcement had been made, we decided we wanted to have a party in a year for our anniversary and plan a bigger party as a celebration of our marriage but that may be hard with everyone having their weddings postponed so it will be so hard to book anywhere."

Although Lauren and Sam are determined to make the most of their special day, they now fear that it may not even go ahead after their two year engagement with the possible lockdown announcement looming.

"We just don't know what will happen which is so frustrating. The lockdown and the stress of planning our wedding has brought us together so much and we are honestly the strongest we have ever been and just want to get married to each other," added Lauren.

"I know it is all speculation but if our wedding doesn't go ahead it will feel like this has all been for nothing. Our wedding planners are still continuing with final wedding meetings so we just hope everything goes ahead.

"You really can't write this situation. We are now just weeks before our wedding wondering if we will ever be able to get married. The weddings for 2021 are pretty much fully booked now in our area due to high amounts of already postponed weddings, so realistically we wouldn't be able to get married next year, so we would have to wait a further 18 months.

"Our ordeal has been nothing short of a nightmare, and we still have no guarantees."