London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026

Covid: 'We organised our wedding in two hours to beat tier 4'

Covid: 'We organised our wedding in two hours to beat tier 4'

A couple rearranged their wedding in just two hours to ensure they tied the knot before London went into tier four.

Chloe Collins, 31, and Jamie Collins, 29, were due to marry on 6 September, but had reorganised three times due to changing coronavirus restrictions.

Mrs Collins said "our hearts sank" when Boris Johnson announced on Saturday a new tier-four lockdown across south-east England would start on Sunday.

The couple were married at 22:00 GMT on Saturday at Edgware United Synagogue.

"I've never in my life felt so much love and felt so grateful," Mrs Collins, a lettings negotiator, said.

The couple were allowed 15 guests but "over 100 people logged on to Zoom to watch us".

"We felt the love, and it felt like they were there," Mrs Collins said.


The couple were married at Edgware United Synagogue

Estate agent Mr Collins said their wedding had been planned with 130 guests at a country estate-turned-hotel in Watford.

When coronavirus restrictions meant only 15 guests could attend weddings, the couple moved venue and planned for a wedding on 22 November.

They then rearranged for 20 December, after a four week-England wide lockdown came into force through November.

Mrs Collins said she "felt physically sick" as the prime minister announced new tier-four restrictions on Saturday afternoon.

"Our rabbi had the idea to bring the wedding forward," Mr Collins said.

"We just started calling people to see what we could do, and the more calls we made the more people said 'yes'.

"It was a miracle that it just kind of came together. It felt like a dream. Some people take years to plan a wedding, but we did it in two hours."

Mr Collins's best man drove more than two hours to attend the wedding, before "getting back in his car and driving home", the couple said.

'Nice news'


Under tier-four guidelines, weddings and civil partnerships are only allowed under "exceptional circumstances", such as if one partner is seriously ill and not expected to recover.

Since the wedding, the couple, from Watford, have been inundated with messages.

"I've been welling up with messages from people who aren't my close friends saying it was amazing," Mrs Collins said.

"I think it's just nice to hear nice news for a change."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Aides Say U.S. Has Discussed Offering Asylum to British Jews Amid Growing Antisemitism Concerns
UK Seeks Diplomatic De-escalation with Trump Over Greenland Tariff Threat
Prince Harry Returns to London as High Court Trial Begins Over Alleged Illegal Tabloid Snooping
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
×