Coronavirus and weddings in Scotland: from 14th September, up to 20 people can attend a wedding or civil partnership reception taking place in hospitality premises, such as a hotel.
Pour out those gin cocktails: at last, wedding receptions are allowed to take place. No longer will you have to figure out a way to somehow shave five guests off the list in the time between the ceremony and alfresco meal (back when 15 people were allowed to meet outside), or wrestle with who’s from what household. Now, it’s fairer – and far more straightforward.
The new rules are simple. As with your ceremony, up to 20 people can attend your reception, provided it’s held in a hospitality premises (i.e. a hotel) and not a private setting. This number encompasses the two of you, your guests (including children) and any suppliers (such as your photographer), but, thankfully, excludes venue and third party catering staff. Physical distancing and safety precautions, of course, must be adhered to – which is the reason for the government specifying receptions be hosted in ‘hospitality premises’ rather than your parents’ back garden, where these can be safely put it place and more stringently enforced. Otherwise, the same guidelines that you’d follow in, say, a restaurant apply.
It may feel like a small step forward, but it’s a little win nonetheless for weddings, especially given that the stricter ‘rule of six’ for socialising was also announced on the same day. We can’t wait to see how you celebrate!