LOVE was in the air for Shannon Minchell and Corey Radford who yesterday tied the knot at Port MacDonnell.
While a number of couples have postponed their wedding day due to coronavirus restrictions, Shannon and Corey jumped at the chance to get hitched in a low-key ceremony.
The civil ceremony came just one day after some restrictions were eased for weddings by the State Government.
Couples can now have a maximum number of 10 attendees, up from just five.
While the guest list was small, it was a joyous occasion as the couple exchanged their vows on a balcony overlooking the picturesque Cape Northumberland coastline.
Neither the coronavirus nor the wet weather put a dampener on this beautiful occasion, which was livestreamed to family and friends as a surprise.
“We wanted a low-key wedding, this is perfect for us – yesterday marked eight years since we first met,” Shannon said.
At the start of the lock-down, she revealed Corey suggested they should get married.
“It had been a rough start to the year. Corey’s dad passed away in January and he really wanted to see us get married. If we kept putting it off, something else is always going to come up,” Shannon explained.
She said the ceremony had under 10 people and social distancing was observed between guests.
“But Corey and I could still hold hands during the ceremony because we were the couple and are part of the same household,” she said.
“The only downfall was that my best friend lives in Sydney and could not be there.”
Marriage celebrant Ruth Cameron – who has been officiating at weddings for 15 years – said yesterday’s ceremony was the first since the restrictions were relaxed further on Monday.
“It is a privilege to be part of a couple’s special day,” Ms Cameron said.
In a touching and heartfelt ceremony, she said it was wonderful to celebrate such a uplifting event while the world was in turmoil.
“During the pandemic, I have had weddings postponed that have been booked up to 18 months in advance,” Ms Cameron said.
While some have re-booked, she said others were leaving their options open to wait for the world to return to normality.
Other reasons included unemployment, travel restrictions and elderly guests who were
self-isolating.
Ms Cameron also officiated at a wedding over the weekend where there were just five attendees, which were the rules before the tweaking of restrictions.
“That ceremony was very special too. It was just the bride and groom and two witnesses and myself,” she said.
Ms Cameron said a number of couples had pushed ahead with their wedding because it was important to them.
A number have also flagged holding commitment celebrations down the track so family and friends could attend.
Others have gone ahead with plans because the date was important to them.
“It is about being married and it is an opportunity to do so with minimal expense.”
Ms Cameron said ceremonies were conducted with strict adherence to the law, which was importance for the health and safety “of all concerned”.
The celebrant said she conducted intimate ceremonies before the pandemic.
