I am currently on the eighth day of a 10 day quarantine tucked away in my south London home. No, I was not pinged by Test and Trace, nor did I have any symptoms. What happened was that I attended a wedding – abroad.
My friends Tosan (26) and Aisha (24) got married. After meeting in 2017 through the church they attended at the time, they got engaged in November 2019 and were determined to continue their wedding this summer, whether a pandemic or no pandemic. But instead of keeping it small, local, and lockdown-compliant, they opted for the big, bold Greek option instead.
Opinions are divided at the best of times. For some, they represent a welcome and exciting adventure; for others it is a selfish attempt to lower the cost of the happy couple while increasing it for all guests (who not only pay for the flights but also have to use up their annual vacation).
Let’s face it: these are not the best of times. Greece is on the government’s “yellow” list, which means that Brits can only travel there if they are quarantined for 10 days after their return. And so I am waiting here, eight days later, to be released.
If you’d told me two years ago that leaving my house after a friend’s wedding was a crime that could fined me up to £ 10,000, I would have laughed. But it doesn’t feel that strange in 2021, even though it’s far from ideal.
My friends had planned to get married abroad before the pandemic broke out. Like many couples before them, they had found it was a lot cheaper. In the UK, they struggled to find venues for less than £ 10,000 (before food, drinks and decorations were even included), while overseas venues already factored these things into a flat fee. In some mainland European countries, € 50, € 60 or € 70 per person could cover the cost of the venue, food, drinks and sometimes decorations. By marrying in Athens, Tosan and Aisha not only saved about £ 20,000 but also had a unique wedding experience that they would not have had at home.
What you might think is all well and good for you, but what about the 200 invited guests? The effort could not only be higher for us, but we would also have to do a Covid test (cost of £ 129) and PCR tests on days two and eight of our quarantine (another £ 98) with a “test” option before departure to release ”on the fifth day. All of this doubled the cost I originally budgeted for the trip. There was also paperwork, as we had to fill out forms to search for passengers on arrival and departure. Under these circumstances, even the couple’s own parents had to be convinced that a wedding abroad was the way to go.
