‘Some weddings have been postponed four times – politicians still owe answers’

Chris Lyttle in the Assembly yesterday; what little information there was about wedding venues was brought to light thanks to his Assembly question

A man who owns one of Northern Ireland’s large-scale wedding venues has said there could be yet more couples postponing their marriages despite the Stormont government’s attempt to clarify opening dates.

Gavin Mackie said that some customers had already delayed their nuptials as many as four times, thanks to a lack of meaningful information about how and when wedding venues can open.

Some media sources were reporting yesterday that one of the measures due to be announced was that indoor wedding receptions of up to 30 people would be permitted from May 14 onwards.

But despite being trailed in the media all day, when the full list of measures was published by the government in the evening, there was no mention of such a thing.

Instead, only a vague reference was made to weddings was made on the floor of Stormont, and then only thanks to Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle.

He had asked “if it is possible to be clearer with regards to the number of guests people celebrating their weddings might be able to have at their receptions after May 24?”

Arlene Foster replied: “That’ll depend on the size of the venue that they are having their wedding reception at.