If someone were to end up unwell as a result of my wedding, I couldn’t forgive myself

Last weekend, Louise Ballantine was visiting her wedding venue, showing her dad the aisle he would walk her down in a few weeks’ time, finalising flowers and perfecting placecards.

But now she will need to wait another year for her big day, after feeling forced to cancel amidst the chaos of coronavirus. Meanwhile, a busy summer in her job as a bridal makeup artist is increasingly uncertain as brides to be, like her, also cancel their big days.

Louise, 32, said: “With just a few weeks to go until the wedding I thought I might have a couple of wee things to worry about – but nothing like this.

“It’s crazy, but I think we all just need to do what we need to do for the best. To look after those who we love and try to protect them is much more important than our wedding.”

The bridal make-up artist and fiancé Scott Weir, from Glasgow, were in the final stages of planning to tie the knot at Turnberry on April 4.

She said: “Last Saturday I took my parents to the venue and met with the wedding planner to go through the final details.

“But I found myself asking, in the worst case scenario of coronavirus, what would happen if we had to reschedule?

“Things were starting to escalate then, but it still wasn’t looking anything like as drastic as it is now.

“The next day Scott came home from his stag do and we had a Cobra-style chat around the table.

“My gran had to go into isolation – and she absolutely has to be at our wedding – so it got me wondering if we should postpone.

“Scott’s parents are high risk, so they wouldn’t be able to come. And both of my bridesmaids are in Australia and can’t fly.

“If someone were to end up unwell as a result, I would just never forgive myself. It isn’t worth taking the chance. A few weeks ago, I thought, like so many other people, that coronavirus was just a bad cold and people in other countries were being a bit crazy.

“I may have even had it myself…I was really ill at the beginning of the month and was diagnosed with pneumonia – but that was at the point where they were only considering coronavirus if you had been in any of the affected countries, or in close contact with someone who had been diagnosed.

“But now that I realise the severity of it, I’m in a completely different mindset.

“This week, despite my diary being full in the mornings, I’ve had about four or five cancellations every day.

“I normally have about three or four weddings a week. They account for a huge part of my salary. I don’t know what is going to happen in that respect, but I don’t think anybody does at the moment.”

Natasha Radmehr, editor of Scottish Wedding magazine, said: “We’ve had a lot of couples get in touch with us because they don’t know whether or not to cancel or postpone the wedding that they’ve spent years planning. It’s an impossible decision to make when the government hasn’t placed an outright ban on social gatherings and I really feel for couples in this position.

“It’s not just the couples affected by it either – it’s the hundreds of business owners in the wedding industry who are now dealing with the prospect of a much reduced income over the coming months.

“Couples who have postponed their wedding will in many cases have only paid deposits for their wedding suppliers’ services, and new bookings may be hard to come by in these uncertain times.

“Our advice at Scottish Wedding is to postpone your wedding rather than cancel, either until later this year or even next year. If you really want to do the official part of getting married, you still can. All you need is your partner, a celebrant and two witnesses, and you could have the ceremony at home if necessary provided you are all healthy. Then you can have the big bash once this is all over.”

The Church of England has capped church wedding ceremonies to just five people, including the bride and groom.

The Church of Scotland said it wasn’t issuing official guidance but this may change.