A couple with a 25 year age gap have celebrated a lockdown wedding on their own with no guests in their living room due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Emma Phillips, 29, and Jan Pasnicki, 54, from Surrey, tied the knot on Thursday in their modest living room, saying their vows surrounded by home comforts like a Harry Potter calendar and listening to an instrumental Elvis track.
The love birds, who both work in care homes, had planned to have a registry office ceremony followed by a reception at a posh hotel.
But after the wedding ban was introduced, the couple decided to do it alone in their living room, filming the ceremony so that their loved-ones could watch from home.
Emma Phillips, 29, and Jan Pasnicki, 54, from Surrey, tied-the-knot in their modest sitting room surrounding by home comforts including a Harry Potter calendar and photographs from their life together as a couple
Emma said the constant disruption to their wedding plans had left them both devastated, but they were intent on going ahead with a ceremony to mark the big day
The pair – who both work at care homes – were first worried they wouldn’t be able to get hitched then they had to cancel their stag and hen dos due to the pandemic.
The couple, who have been together for four years after meeting at a care home, tried to adjust their plans for their wedding gradually as further restrictions were introduced.
Emma said: ‘The hardest thing was that our plans were constantly changing due to the gradual introduction of Government restrictions.
‘Firstly, close family of Jan’s who were due to attend from Poland were unable to come following the closure of the Polish borders and cancellation of all flights.
The bride-to-be revealed how the couple were left devastated when all their plans for their nuptials ‘ground to a halt’
‘Despite this, we were still going to go ahead as planned.’
‘We were then going to have an evening reception after the wedding breakfast with a live DJ and more guests joining us to celebrate and party until midnight.
‘This was when we planned to cut the cake and show off our first dance which we had been rehearsing for months.’
However, then Guildford Registry Office and Worplesdon Place hotel were unable to host their big day.
The lovebirds, who have a 25 year age gap, have been together for four years after meeting at a care home where they both work (pictured together)
Emma revealed: ‘Although we understand why the Government has made these decisions, and how important they are, this did not help with the feeling of utter devastation that we felt as all of our plans ground to a halt.’
So they came up with the idea of doing it alone and film it so their loved ones could watch from home.
Emma added: ‘As the April 2 came round, we still felt disappointed that we were not having the dream day we had been planning.
‘We still wanted to make the day as special as possible, because we will always celebrate this date as our wedding day.
Jan and Emma were devastated when they had to cancel their wedding, having dreamed about having the big day on April 2
‘The date had also been engraved into our wedding rings along with our names.
‘We decided we still wanted to start wearing our rings from this date, and wanted to make our exchanging of rings feel special despite the fact the ceremony would not be legally binding.
‘This is when we came up with the idea of making a video in lockdown.
‘If we were going to exchange our rings and say our vows, we wanted to be able to remember the event in years to come.
The couple had hoped to celebrate surrounded by friends and family at a posh hotel, but ended up spending the big-day just the two of them
‘And it meant that our friends and family would be able to witness the event, even though they were not able to be present.
In a three minute and 25 second clip of their ceremony, Jan can be seen standing alone before Emma walks, in replicating her coming down the aisle while clutching a single rose.
Student doctor Emma can be heard saying: ‘Due to the current outbreak of COVID-19 we have had to postpone out ceremony.
‘But that has not stopped us wanting to make today special.’
The couple then exchange their vows and share a kiss before toasting their nuptials with a glass of bubbly.
Emma revealed: ‘As for making things legally binding, our official ceremony is now due to take place on the July 7.
‘Of course, this is presuming that the Government has lifted the restrictions on ceremonies by then.’
She added: ‘The best thing about making the video was the fact we were able to make our day special and that family and friends were able to witness our exchanging of vows and rings.
The couple decided to go ahead with their vows and exchanged vows in the comfort of their own home, before celebrating with champagne
‘The feedback we have had, and the happiness we have felt from being able to put a smile on people’s faces during these unprecedented times has made it all worthwhile.
‘We were due to be on our honeymoon to Corfu now.
‘We were really looking forward to this as our first holiday abroad together and the hotel had offered us some free upgrades as a honeymoon couple.’