THOUSANDS of couples across Scotland have been planning their dream wedding for years, only to have their big day cancelled or postponed.

Weddings were banned in March in a Scottish Government effort to halt the spread of coronavirus.

Now restrictions have been lifted, couples are able to have a maximum of 20 guests at their wedding, including third-party suppliers such as photographers.

According to a survey by wedding website Hitched, 71% of couples due to marry this year have postponed their wedding.

Today, we reveal the stories of the couples who had to delay their dream and the suppliers who lost business at the height of the pandemic.

Glasgow Times:

GEMMA and Bruce Sharp haven’t let coronavirus or heartbreak get in the way of their plans to tie the knot. The couple went ahead with a socially distanced wedding on August 27, 2020. After Gemma’s father sadly passed away last year, she threw herself into planning her dream day to take her mind off of it.

With only 40 people supposed to be coming to their original wedding on May 22, 2020, Gemma and Bruce were always planning to keep it intimate. For them, the most important thing was that their closest family and friends were with them on their big day.

Gemma, 38, and Bruce, 41, had 20 guests at their wedding in Ingliston Country Club in Bishopton. This included the photographer. As well as the 20-guest limit, guests had to sit one metre apart and wear face masks. Some of the couple’s family had booked accommodation but were not able to come to the ceremony. They watched the ceremony on Zoom from their accommodation and were able to join them for a meal later.

Gemma said: “Our wedding day was fantastic. We were the venue’s first lockdown couple and we were our celebrant’s first lockdown couple too.” The day was made extra special by none other than TV star Carol Smillie, who is now a Humanist celebrant.

Gemma added: “In a way, some of it was quite strange. We were going to have everyone pass around our rings, but we couldn’t do that. We had to go and buy our own scarves for the handfasting. The pen had to be wiped after we signed the register. There were wee things just by law that we had to do.”

Gemma felt frustrated about some of the measures put in place as she had been planning her big day for more than a year.

She said: “Part of me thought: I’ve put in effort for the past year for this and we’ve already cancelled. But when it really happened, I thought to myself: it doesn’t matter because we’re getting married. It was lovely, it was so intimate.”

“Having all of our closest family and friends there was just amazing.”

Gemma and Bruce also weren’t allowed to have the beautiful decorations they had planned – only items that could be lifted off the table. They came up with the idea of hiring a marquee in Gemma’s mum’s garden which was decorated with beautiful Japanese cherry blossoms by her event decorator.

The Japanese cherry blossoms have special significance for the couple as they got engaged in Japan, where Gemma took Bruce as a surprise for his 40th birthday last year.

Gemma and Bruce met on a night out in Glasgow, where it was love at first sight for them both. They have been together for the past seven years.

Their love is now stronger than ever. Gemma said: “It’s been brilliant. It’s been amazing. He’s just a wonderful, wonderful guy.”

The couple are now looking forward to their first anniversary where they will have a full wedding reception with 140 of their family and friends in attendance.

Do you have a story? Contact lauren.gilmour@newsquest.co.uk