The owners of a Derbyshire wedding venue are appealing to the Government for financial support after the announcement that full-sized weddings will not go ahead before June.
Family-run Shottle Hall, near Belper, has been campaigning for better support for the weddings industry since the first lockdown began in March 2020.
Now, following the announcement that unlimited weddings will not be allowed until June at the earliest, the company is demanding the Government offers financial support for venues and the suppliers that depend on them.
Derbyshire wedding venue Shottle Hall has a calendar full of weddings for 2021
And it has written to Sarah Dines, MP for Derbyshire Dales, to suggest that the Government should refund the couples who are being forced to cancel their weddings to help ease the financial burden on venues.
Shottle Hall’s weddings director, Sarah Farkas, said: “Almost everyone involved in the weddings industry has been pushed to the brink by lockdown restrictions, but historic venues like ours have the greatest overheads and costs.
“Nationally more than 50 venues have gone into administration in the last 12 months and Shottle Hall is determined not to join this growing list; but the Government needs to take action now.
“While pubs and restaurants can hopefully reopen in May, it makes no sense that safely-held weddings are unable to do the same. Shottle Hall is significantly larger than most hospitality venues and households can be seated together.
“While we completely understand the need for restrictions to be in place in order to protect the nation, it feels – once again – as if the weddings industry is being ignored.”
The Prime Minister has announced that from April 12, the numbers of guests at wedding receptions will rise from six to 15, and from May 17, up to 30 people will be able to attend weddings and receptions.
Sarah Farkas, director of weddings at Shottle Hall, was a 2020 bride herself
It is not until June 21 that the Government will make a decision on whether all limits can be removed on weddings.
Almost all Shottle Hall’s 2020 weddings were moved to dates in 2021, at no extra cost to the couples, although many are now rescheduling for the second or third time due to fears that they will be unable to celebrate with loved ones.
Wedding venues have been obliged to refund those couples who decided to cancel, regardless of whether they had wedding insurance or had been offered a different date.
Many wedding venues also missed out on Government support packages as, until the most recent national lockdown, they were still staging much smaller weddings – causing them to trade at a loss.
Sarah, whose own wedding went ahead in 2020, with a significantly streamlined guest list, added: “We are absolutely devastated for our couples who have been planning their weddings for years and are still unclear whether they will be able to celebrate with their family and friends.
“When I got married, I couldn’t even invite my two of my own bridesmaids, so I do understand how hard these restrictions are.
“We really need the Government to support us financially now. If we can’t operate at capacity, and brides and grooms can’t invite all their guests, then we will make a loss and we can’t continue in this way indefinitely.”
ENDS
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