Bridgnorth's first lockdown wedding takes place
The first wedding has been held in Bridgnorth since lockdown restrictions allowed.
There may not have been any wedding bells ringing or hymns sung when Glen Smith tied the knot with Katherine Renke, but the happy couple were watched on by close family as they attended St Mary's Church earlier this month.
Glen, 36, a gymnast coach from Middlesbrough and Katherine, 33, a former cheerleader from Bridgnorth, met through a mutual Shropshire friend before moving to Bridgnorth with their eight-year-old daughter, Layla.
Katherine said they had little over a week to prepare for the special day and a number of restrictions were in place.
"It was about 10 days before when they gave the announcement to say small weddings could go ahead, so we phoned the vicar at St Mary's and he said it was possible," she said.
"We had to sort out the licence and then it was a case of phoning up our close family to see whether they could come along, as well as organising arrangements like parking and where to go on the day."
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The event was watched on by 17 guests and despite restrictions in place – such as not being able to sing hymns – Katherine said the ceremony was largely unaffected.
She said: "It was mainly mums, dads, brothers and sisters there. The wedding itself probably wouldn't have been that much bigger anyway.
"It would have been nice to have a big reception and invite others to come and celebrate after, but we're thinking perhaps on our anniversary next year we can do something like that.
"Everybody had to sit apart, but with their being so few of us it wasn't a problem. People sat in their family groups and the vicar was really lovely, he made it feel so special, it didn't feel rushed or not special or anything like that."
Katherine added: "Glen's doing gymnastic coaching in Bahrain in the summer which is another reason we wanted to make sure the wedding goes ahead. Myself and Layla are going to join him out there.
"It's been a hectic few months planning things, as stuff just wasn't happening, which was horrific. It went from not knowing anything and not doing anything, twiddling thumbs, to all of a sudden getting married and moving abroad.
"It's been a very stressful time, as it has been for everybody, but I'm glad it seems like we're returning to some sort of normality."
