Wedding guests are now free to take their face masks off to eat, drink and dance, but they still have to wear them during the ceremony if it’s indoors.
I know.
Decried by the Scottish Wedding Industry Association as confusing and contradictory, the papers have had a field day.
The Scotsman called it a glaring inconsistency.
The confusion has been intensified by the government’s subsequent announcement that mask wearing would be ‘an individual responsibility’.
Yes, you’re breaking the law if you don’t wear a mask during the ceremony; yes, Police Scotland could arrest you and fine you on the spot, but no, the government is not asking the venue to enforce it.
And that makes it a bit of a pain in the proverbial for people like me.
As a celebrant, I want my couples to have the happiest day of their lives, so I really don’t want to have to begin a wedding by laying down the law. It wouldn’t exactly lighten the atmosphere, would it?
On the other hand, I recognise that mask wearing is important in preventing the further spread of the disease. Covid figures in Scotland are currently higher than they have ever been since the start of the pandemic and I want to relieve the burden on an already over-stretched NHS.
So until the situation changes one way or another, I am contacting all my couples in advance of their wedding to remind their guests of the need to wear masks.
I’m asking them to ask their guests to treat this as an opportunity to show that they are responsible individuals, and that they care more about the needs of others than they do about themselves. Let’s not forget that a year ago we were all on our doorsteps clapping the angels of the NHS.
They need our help now more than ever. None of that promised Brexit £350m a week has appeared in their pay packets, and doctors and nurses are at the ends of their tether.
After the ceremony is over, you can eat and drink and dance without your mask to your heart’s content. But for those crucial thirty minutes, do me a favour. Cover up!
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