Coronavirus: Hong Kong couples forced to scale down weddings amid ban on cross-family gatherings

Hong Kong couples planning to tie the knot this month were shocked to find out their weddings would be restricted to only two witnesses under the government’s latest social-distancing rules announced on Tuesday. Among those affected was a 32-year-old teacher, who asked to be referred to by her surname Lam. She was due to get married on Sunday. Calling it a “worst-case scenario”, Lam said she was debating with her family whether to carry on with the ceremony at the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry. “Allowing only two witnesses at the wedding is a bit too harsh, because this means parents from both sides cannot even attend together,” she said. “Now we really do not know what to do as the announcement came so abruptly.” Hong Kong’s fifth wave ‘could peak at 28,000 Covid cases a day by end of March’ On Tuesday, the government announced its toughest social-distancing rules since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in a bid to contain a surging number of infections. The measures, which came into effect on Thursday, include a cap on public gatherings of just two people, with family members from the same household exempted, and an unprecedented ban on gatherings of more than two households in private places, defined as any venue not readily accessible by the general public from time to time. Lam said the cross-family gathering ban meant the couple could not even hold a traditional Chinese tea ceremony with relatives at home. She said that the couple had also spent about HK$300,000 (US$38,500) on their wedding banquet at a hotel, which has now been postponed. Wedding restrictions have changed three times on a government website. On Wednesday, it said that marriage ceremonies would not be allowed between then and February 24. Hours later, the website said weddings with no more than 20 people were allowed. The latest version on Thursday morning revealed that from then to February 23, ceremonies were allowed with only the registrar, a civil celebrant or officiating minister, the couple and two witnesses in attendance. Wedding banquets have been banned during this period. Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Chui Tak-yi told a press conference on Thursday that weddings created the risk of more coronavirus infections, but he acknowledged the need to register a marriage ceremony. “We think any kind of ceremony should not be encouraged,” he said. The Marriage Registration and Records Office confirmed with the Post by phone that only four people, including the couple and two witnesses, are allowed at public marriage registries, and no guests would be allowed. “Outside the registry hall, the newlyweds and their family and guests will be subject to the two-person gathering limit in public spaces, such as at Hong Kong Park outside the Cotton Tree Drive [registry] and Victoria Harbour outside the Tsim Sha Tsui marriage registry,” the hotline operator said. Lam, 28, who also asked to be referred to by his last name, was among those blindsided by the sudden changes, and said he had kept checking the government website to make sure there were no new updates. Lengthy Covid testing queues an opportunity for some; Hong Kong logs 986 cases “When we first saw that no weddings were allowed at all on the website, my fiancée and I were baffled. How could they ban weddings?” he said. Lam and his fiancée had specifically chosen to get married on February 22, 2022 because of the auspicious palindrome date. The couple also splurged out on a HK$100,000 hotel banquet for 70 guests. But he said the hotel and several lawyers that he sought advice from had not specified whether the couple could hold a smaller, more intimate ceremony in a room and postpone the banquet. Civil celebrant Pierre Sun Cho-yung said February 22 was a very popular date among his clients, and some had even cancelled their ceremonies due to the rule change. Sun officiated at a wedding on Thursday, in which the bride and groom each had one parent in attendance, while he also took on the role of photographer. What to do at home if you test positive for Covid-19 in Hong Kong The number of marriages fell sharply from 44,520 in 2019 to 28,161 in 2020, dropping further to 26,769 last year, according to the Immigration Department. Online lifestyle media and e-business company ESDlife estimated the wedding market was worth HK$8.95 billion last year, shrinking by 44 per cent compared with 2019. The billion dollar industry includes event planners, photographers, musicians and make-up artists. Rani Moriani, founder of Revel Events who specialises in Indian weddings, said her only client this month had postponed their banquet but they would go ahead with the civil ceremony. Moriani said that Indian wedding celebrations typically lasted three to four days, and the pandemic restrictions had made it difficult for people to postpone their once-in-a-lifetime event. She also said the rules were a concern for the industry because venues would not even host site visits for future events, as operators feared being fined for holding gatherings in private spaces. “It’s very stressful and very depressing, this is our livelihood,” she said. Photographer Denice Wong, who earns most of her income from wedding and engagement shoots, said all her bookings had been cancelled for the rest of the month as a result of the latest restrictions. She also said the postponed nuptials would also clash with future bookings in the coming months. “We will be forced to cancel some of the bookings,” she said.