Shoreham couple prepare for church’s first post-lockdown wedding

When Lilith Farrell and David McCourt were planning their wedding for June 18, stocking up on hand sanitiser was not at the top of their to-do list.
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But the Shoreham couple have found themselves tying the knot amid strict safety measures as they prepare for The Church of St Mary de Haura’s first wedding since lockdown began.

Next Saturday Lilith, 30, and David, 31, will finally take the plunge after lockdown, as with so many couples, cruelly postponed their nuptials.

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“It just became a waiting game from there,” said Lilith, who works as a deputy manager at a learning disability care home.

David McCourt and Lileth Farrell with the children, Orla and Connor SUS-200707-163003001David McCourt and Lileth Farrell with the children, Orla and Connor SUS-200707-163003001
David McCourt and Lileth Farrell with the children, Orla and Connor SUS-200707-163003001

“We had to come to terms with the fact that the wedding wasn’t going to be what we wanted it to be.”

At the start of the year, Lilith said she was getting excited, looking at dresses for her and her bridesmaids, getting the make-up and hair planned out.

But her plan for a grand wedding was curtailed, with social distancing guidelines restricting them to just 30 people inside the church, including the vicar.

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Under new guidelines there is no singing or organ music allowed, which means she will have to forego walking down the aisle with her father.

For the wedding she has also decided not to wear a dress and to use flowers picked from their garden.

“For us, it’s about the actual getting together and we’re just excited we’ve got a date,” she said.

A grand reception planned for the Worthing Dome has been pushed back, which Lilith admitted now gave her an extra event to look forward to after the big day.

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The mother-of-two said she had always wanted a June wedding and June 18 held sentimental value as her parents’ anniversary.

After overcoming the initial disappointment, she said her overwhelming emotion was one of excitement for a ‘unique’ wedding that will ‘definitely be an interesting story to tell the children about’.

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