A bride-to-be fears she may have to cancel her big day after being told by the Health Secretary "big weddings" will not return until virus numbers fall.

Rebecca Daniels from Northfleet had been excited as she planned to tie the knot this summer with long term partner Jamie Hart, 27.

The couple had booked the Little Hermitage, a wedding venue with an outdoor gazebo garden in Higham, near Rochester for August 22.

In total, they plan to host 75 people on the day with that number rising to 120 for the evening but this is now looking increasingly unlikely as the limit on public gatherings remains at just six people.

Both have agreed if there is less than 50 people they will cancel.

But the 28-year-old insurance broker was given renewed optimism after hearing outdoor weddings are allowed to take place in Northern Ireland from this week provided no more than ten people are present.

Rebecca was selected to ask a question on behalf of the public at Monday's government daily press briefing.

Appearing via video link she asked: "Northern Ireland have announced they will allow weddings again. Will all weddings be permitted in England?"

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "The answer is just I'm afraid the same answer I give to so many questions about what we will be able to do in future.

"Which is I would love to see the joy of big weddings being able to start again and we will do that when it is safe to do so.

"But unfortunately as we all know mass gatherings of more than six people are against the rules because we have got to control the virus."

He went on to say he was "terribly sorry" not to be able to give a more positive answer but added "one day we'll get to big weddings" but only when they get "the numbers right down".

Rebecca says she was left deflated by the response which did not give any indication as to when such events might return in greater volume.

"It puts everything else on hold for me financially," she said.

"We know a few friends who have had to pay deposits to secure different dates."

The couple have been given a back-up date of October 10 by the venue which Rebecca praised for its flexibility

But the bride-to-be says they are now in limbo as they face potentially having to rearrange with suppliers for flowers, music, hair and suits to ensure they can provide on this date.

She also fears keeping the date will limit the number of people who can attend and put vulnerable loved ones at risk.

The pair previously lived in Dartford and have lots of relatives who live in different parts of the country including a grandparent with dementia.

Rebecca worries they might not want to make the journey if it might impact on theirs or others health and says she now feels guilty asking them to.

One of her bridesmaids also works in an ITU ward on the coronavirus frontline.

"Am I going to have to wear a mask?" she said.

"For photographs we can't stand next to each other so are there going to be gaps?"

Rebecca felt the Health Secretary had dodged the question somewhat and said while she understood the tough measures needed to combat the virus she had hoped for more clarity.

Last month a Covid-19 document released by the government revealed officials were "examining how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings".

Places of worship will also open next week paving the way for nuptials to return at religious venues in the future but no explicit mention has been made in the government's advice.

The couple has since decided to push back their wedding date to June 2021 as they seek further guidance on when events can return again.

"We feel bad with everything going on in the world," she said. "We feel bad about our wedding."

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