Coronavirus wedding: Couple's genius move to dodge guest rule

A couple has come up with a genius way of being able to have all their wedding guests with them on their wedding day, despite the coronavirus restrictions meaning they were forced to limit numbers on the day.

Romanee and Sam Rondeau-Smith, from Bramley in the UK, were due to get married in July but COVID-19 restrictions pushed back the date to August 14th.

Romanee and Sam Rondeau-Smith on their wedding day
Romanee and Sam Rondeau-Smith discovered a genius way of dodging coronavirus guest rules. Photo: Caters

Despite lockdown restrictions being eased, the couple were unable to have a full wedding reception and had to come up with a unique way to ensure all of their friends and family were able to make the occasion.

Romanee, 34, and Sam, 30, forked out more than $3,500 for 48 cardboard cutouts of their guests after only being able to have 14 people at the wedding.

"We had about 100 people on our guest list but when coronavirus hit, we had to rework our plans and the venue were really flexible,” Romanee, who runs a pub, said.

Woman on her wedding day with a cut-out cardboard bridesmaid
They asked their guests to send them photos of themselves and printed life-size cutouts of them. Photo: Caters

"One of my bridesmaids lives in Nashville and she wouldn’t be able to attend so we joked about having her as a cardboard cut-out, so we thought why we don’t do that with our guests.”

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The couple got all of their guests to send them pictures of themselves and they spent thousands creating life-size cardboard cut-outs of all the people who couldn’t attend.

"It worked out at the same price as what it would have cost to have them all here but we saved on the booze,” Romanee said.

Cardboard cutout guests at a couple's wedding day
It meant that they felt all 100 guests were with them on their wedding day. Photo: Caters

The couple tied the knot at The Bell in Ticehurst, East Sussex, after getting engaged in December and say they wouldn't change a thing.

"It was perfect. It was really relaxed. We weren’t disappointed at all. Just being simple and having our immediate family there was perfect,” Romanee said.

Despite the day not being the big celebration they had planned, she said she’s sure they’ll have a “massive party at some point - just somewhere low key”.

Reporting by Caters News

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