Preston's first registry office wedding post lockdown makes history for Mr and Mrs Cook

It was a last minute surprise for them as they were only told last Friday that their wedding, planned since last September, could go ahead.

Coronavirus restrictions meant it was a very different kind of ceremony for the pair and their two guests.

Joan,47, of Marina Grove, Lostock Hall, explained: “We all walked in separately. The best man had to put the rings on the table and he had to move away. Then we had to go separately to pick the rings up. The marriage certificate had to be put on the table for us to take.”

Signing the documents was also a strictly socially distanced procedure. Meanwhile maid of honour, Joan‘s sister Mary Webber and best man Mary’s fiancee Mark Pattinson had to sit separately and were socially distanced from the bride and groom.

But one thing that was not different was that care worker Adrian,58, was allowed to kiss the bride, a lighting maker, after they became man and wife.

Registrar Philip Gower told the couple they were making history. Before the ceremony they revealed that the event had been a long time in the making - the couple met when Joan was 16 and both worked at Benson’s crisp factory at Kirkham and have been together for 31 years. Adrian, who attended Carr Hill High School, said: “We put it on the back burner because we were just trying to save up and pay for the house...it’s been worth waiting for. It feels great”

Joan,a former pupil of Our Lady's High, Preston, said: "I was getting emotional trying to say my vows... It feels fantastic."

The couple who hope to honeymoon in Tenerife or Corsica at a later date, had to wear masks in the taxi to and from the wedding, but did not have to wear masks during the ceremony at the Bow Lane registry office.

Meanwhile the newly weds had another surprise waiting when they got back home. Joan said: “I’d like to thank the people who decorated the house and stood with balloons when we got back. They put ‘Newly Wedded Couple’ on the front door, a little bouquet and “Just Married” on the car and confetti through my front door!”

* Some 2,000 weddings booked to take place at Lancashire County Council’s registry offices during the lockdown period have had to be postponed. The service is asking people to be patient as ceremonies are re-arranged.

Annemarie McLaughlin, Operations Manager for the County Council’s registration service, said: “This is of one of our first weddings to take place since lockdown. We're very pleased to be able to begin performing wedding ceremonies again, and would like to wish the new Mr and Mrs Cook the very best for their future together.

She continued: "There are still a lot of restrictions around weddings, with a limit of 30 on the number of people allowed to attend, which means most couples are still choosing to postpone their ceremony.

"We have a small handful booked in over the next month, at a time of year when we would usually be very busy with hundreds of weddings taking place around the county. We're currently very busy as couples contact us to rearrange weddings, and would ask them to be patient as we work through all the enquiries. If people have already been in touch, we're asking them not to call or email again as this slows down our ability to respond. We are taking new bookings but are unable to take any further bookings for July.

"We will keep updating the information on our website as things change, but are currently only able to make limited pre-arranged appointments for urgent birth registrations, and wedding and civil ceremony notices, at our Preston registration office. We’re working hard to make our other registration offices safe to reopen as soon as possible."

The Government's latest guidance on marriages, advises that ceremonies be “kept as short as reasonably possible and limited as far as reasonably possible to the parts of the ceremonies that are required in order for the marriage or civil partnership to be legally binding.”

Its advice continues: “No more than 30 people should attend a marriage or civil partnership, where this can be safely accommodated with social distancing in a COVID-19 secure venue. Any receptions that typically follow or accompany marriages or civil partnerships are strongly advised not to take place at this time. Small celebrations should only take place if following social distancing guidelines – i.e. in groups of up to two households indoors, or up to six people from different households outdoors."

*All photos by Neil Cross unless otherwise stated