A small change in wedding attendee limits could make a big difference for those wanting an intimate ceremony, according to a local celebrant.
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced yesterday that the maximum number of attendees at a wedding would be increased from five to 10 this Friday.
Since late March, just the couple, the celebrant and two witnesses have been allowed to attend a wedding in person.
While the decision saw widespread postponements, Wagga celebrant Lauren Hinton has still been officiating for couples who preferred to stay the course.
"There were some people I had booked in who already just wanted a really small, elopement-style wedding so they went ahead," Ms Hinton said.
She said some had their hearts set on a particular date, including one couple who were married on their 10th anniversary together who had their wedding party attend via video call.
Ms Hinton said she had been pleasantly surprised by the COVID weddings she had officiated.
"The ones that I've done have been really, really special," she said.
"They've been really intimate, really relaxed, it's sort of stripped it back to what's important.
"They really have the opportunity to not worry about all of the other stresses that might come with planning a big wedding, and they've been able to just celebrate them and their relationship."
She said the restrictions even provided an opportunity for couples who would have otherwise felt pressured into a large event.
"I'm surprised not more people have taken the chance to almost use it as an excuse to have the elopement style wedding, without the pressure of people wondering why they weren't invited."
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With the new rules set to increase the guest list from two to seven, Ms Hinton said she believed the ability to invite two sets of parents or other small groups of loved ones would be more appealing to many.
"I think it just gives them that little bit more opportunity, having the extra people there means that I think more people might go ahead with a small wedding where before, when you could only have five, they wouldn't have," she said.
Ms Hinton said the past month had made her wonder what weddings might look like when the pandemic is over, with a potential change in mindset around what makes a wedding special for different couples.
"I think people have realised that you don't have to be physically present to be able to celebrate ... there's so much technology that it means that you can have people present and it is just as special for some people," she said.
"It's just opened up a bit of a world of watching people get married virtually."