Covid cut back your wedding? Spend the cash on the honeymoon instead

Eloping is back in fashion. But it doesn’t have to be Gretna Green: with the savings from the big traditional weddings they cannot have because of Covid-19 restrictions, many couples are choosing small ceremonies in romantic overseas settings.

With the average cost of a wedding at nearly £32,000 in 2019 — according to a national survey by hitched.co.uk — it’s a tempting proposition.

Even celebrities are scaling down their nuptials. Lily Allen married Stranger Things star David Harbour in Las Vegas in September, with only her two daughters in attendance.

Charles Reith, 30, and Zoë Bunting, 33, who live in London, were due to get married this year in Hertfordshire with 150 guests. “It became clear that wasn’t going to happen”, says Reith. It was