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If You're Getting Married In May 2020 You Need To Read This

Ciara Sheppard

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| Last updated 

If You're Getting Married In May 2020 You Need To Read This

Featured Image Credit: Unsplash

Planning ahead is the smart way to go when it comes to weddings. We've all seen Don't Tell The Bride and how much can go wrong when you try and plan your nuptials in mere weeks.

But organised couples due to wed next year could be stung by something they probably never saw coming: a change in bank holidays.

The early May bank holiday is traditionally held on a Monday, but for 2020, it's being moved back by four days to Friday.

This will see it changed from Monday, 4th May to Friday, 8th May for next year only. Bad news for bride and grooms-to-be who booked a wedding on the bank hols.

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Credit: Pexels
Credit: Pexels

The date has been changed to Friday to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day, the day when the Allied Forces stopped fighting Nazis in Europe near the end of World War II.

Announcing the change on Monday, Business Secretary Greg Clark said: "It will ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to remember and honour our heroes of the Second World War and reflect on the sacrifices of a generation."

The government said it made the decision "as soon as practicable", but considering people usually book their wedding venues and catering at least a year before the date, this rather short notice announcement is bound to leave many soon-to-be married couples in the lurch.

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Credit: Pexels
Credit: Pexels

Some 44 per cent of UK couples get married over the summer, according to a 2018 study by Bridebook.co.uk, with the early May bank holiday a popular choice thanks to the added bonus of a long weekend.

It's also common for bride and grooms to send their invitations out more than a year before the date. For those who had planned their wedding for the bank holiday Monday can no longer guarantee their guests will be able to get it off work.

Or perhaps the wedding was booked for Saturday the 2nd or Sunday the 3rd, in which case guests won't have as long to get home if they live far away (or will have one less hangover day) after the wedding.

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Hamish Shepard founder of weddings planning app Bridebook.co.uk, told Pretty52: "Couples who have planned to marry on Sunday 3rd May may have paid a 'bank holiday premium' for the date, however suppliers they haven't locked down may now offer them slightly reduced 'Sunday rates'.

"Those set to marry on Friday 8th May should toast the fact that their guests will have an extra spring in their step, and they should perhaps consider investing in an extra round of cocktails!"

One couple feeling the brunt of this change are Simon Aherne and Anna Cousins from Cardiff, who say the lack of notice means most of their guests won't be able to attend their wedding, which was scheduled for Sunday, 3rd May.

The couple have booked the venue, catering and sent out invitations.

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Credit: Unsplash
Credit: Unsplash

"Most of our family are teachers or in the entertainment business - so the bank holiday worked out perfectly for us," Mr Aherne told BBC.

"Now we are just sitting here wondering what we are going to do."

He added: "How can the government just chuck this on people with 11 months to go? They have had time to prepare and could have given people a lot more notice.

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"We have invited more than 100 people, but it looks like we might barely get 20 now.

"If we have to cancel, we are going to lose our deposits - we are talking thousands of pounds."

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Let's hope Simon and Anna manage to sort something out!

Topics: Life News, Life, Wedding

Ciara Sheppard
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