A couple who were due to tie to knot this December have told of their sadness after new regulations threw their plans into disarray - but also their guilt at being upset.

Norwich Evening News: Laura Brown and Rob Lowe, who were due to marry in December. Picture: Laura BrownLaura Brown and Rob Lowe, who were due to marry in December. Picture: Laura Brown (Image: Laura Brown)

Laura Brown, 40, was due to finally wed her partner of 10 years, 37-year-old Rob Lowe, in a ceremony in Swanton Morley on December 12.

The pair, who live in Norwich, have been engaged for seven years and had originally planned to wed in Barbados, before Mr Lowe’s mother Sue died two years ago, postponing the plans.

Instead, the couple had planned a ceremony or 100 people at Hunter’s Hall in January 2021. They were then forced to trim down the guest list to 23, with officiants included in the limit of 30 people.

But now, with the government’s latest restrictions bringing the maximum number down to 15, Miss Brown said they would inevitably be forced to cancel the big day completely.

She said: “We just can’t really go ahead with 11 people, we’re not even sure the venue would financially be able to justify catering for that few people. After all that has happened, you’re just left thinking ‘now what?’.

“The worst thing though is we almost feel as though we are not allowed to be sad about it. This was supposed to be our wedding day, but obviously people are losing their lives because of the virus which we do understand.

“People always say ‘well, at least you have your health’, but we shouldn’t have to feel guilty about being upset our wedding has changed so many times.”

Miss Brown added: “It feels like there’s very little empathy for the wedding market in these measures. Venues will struggle to run functions this small and if people continue having to put them off, eventually there won’t be any venues left to hold them anyway.”

Have your wedding plans also been affected? Email david.hannant@archant.co.uk