Hopes have been raised that weddings which had to be put on hold because of coronavirus restrictions could get the go-ahead, as lockdown is eased.
Couples who were about to tie the knot had to cancel their ceremonies due to the social distancing which was introduced in March.
But registrars at Norfolk County Council are hoping that some ceremonies could soon start being held again, if the government gives the signal.
Caroline Clarke, head of registration and coroners at Norfolk County Council, spoke at a meeting of the authority’s scrutiny committee, which explored the impact of coronavirus on the county.
She said: “We are waiting for the government to give us the go ahead. They were stopped when the lockdown started.
“We have been given to understand that the government will be rethinking on how to restart marriages on a small scale.
“I have a team of people going through a whole lot of risk assessments to work out how to address this.
“If there are small weddings in an office, with a few people, those might be easier to manage.
“Norfolk is an extremely popular location for weddings, so we have an awful lot of people wanting to get married and have large events in the county in some of our hotels and stately homes.
“That is very much up in the air because these places are not open yet.
“It is very much wait and see at the moment, I’m afraid.
“The team is on it and if there is any information to share, we will share it.
“And the minute it is possible for us to do weddings again, we will do it.
“It is very much on our radar and we are very keen to go head.
Conservative councillor Alison Thomas, who had asked the question as to when weddings could be held again, welcomed the prospect.
She said: “I think it would be nice for families to have some joy, as well as those who have struggled.”
The meeting also heard how the council will need to deal with a “large backlog” of birth registrations.
Those registrations, along with those of weddings, stopped in March.
But the meeting heard how there have been upwards of 2,000 babies born in the county since.
MORE: Couples and businesses hit as coronavirus cancels weddings
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