Killyleagh couple put wedding plans on hold

Killyleagh couple put wedding plans on hold

1 April 2020

KILLYLEAGH couple Lisa Hawthorne and William Baker are just one of the many local couples who have fallen foul of the coronavirus spread threat.

They were due to be married in Kilmood Parish Church on Easter Monday — less than two weeks away — followed by a reception at the Millbrook Lodge Hotel in Ballynahinch.

Unlike others who were faced with a blanket cancellation of all weddings last week, the couple took a decision on St Patrick’s Day to postpone their wedding until August 24.

Lisa said: “Obviously we are really disappointed but it’s just completely out of control and we have to accept it.

“Our honeymoon to Orlando in Florida has also been cancelled but we don’t think we have lost any money at the minute as everyone has been so good. We have rescheduled in the hope that it can go ahead later.

“We booked our honeymoon through Downe Travel and they have been amazing. So far everyone has been willing to work with us as nobody can help avoid the situation we’re in.

The couple had invited 100 guests to their wedding but as they had some elderly people attending, they felt it was better to postpone the wedding ahead of the inevitable announcement.

“We pulled the plug on our wedding before lockdown as we had guests coming from Australia, England and Scotland so they would not have been able to attend anyway and with all of the warnings of elderly people to self isolate,” said the 30-year-old.

“Some of our guests were over 70 and we just weren’t willing to put them at risk.”

Lisa and her 29 year-old fiancé are hoping that their wedding can go ahead in August and are happy to leave their Florida trip to later in the year or early next year if that is possible.

She said: “At the minute we are not thinking of the wedding or honeymoon, we’re are just concentrating on the way things are currently.

“We can’t see William’s parents or my mum or grandmother so in the grand scheme of things, there are people going through much worse. As long as we are all well and healthy, that’s all we can be grateful for.”

Like many other people, the young couple’s work life has been changed, with Lisa, a clinical coder in the NHS, working from home along with William, who is teaching from home online for South Eastern Regional College.