Engaged couples in England could hold their weddings from June, after the government announced it was looking at ways to facilitate small marriage ceremonies.

The government’s new coronavirus strategy, released on Monday afternoon, sets out how the coronavirus lockdown restrictions could be lifted, providing the R rate of infection stays below one.

The guidance says that from 1 June, officials are “examining how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings”.

It is not clear how many people would constitute a “small” wedding.

And the guidance says places of worship will not be open until 4 July at the earliest.

All but a handful of social events were cancelled immediately on 23 March, when the initial lockdown measures were announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but weddings had already been subject to a limit of five people – including the bride, groom and wedding official.

Government officials have said they are considering a range of options when it comes to the next step of easing the lockdown, to “reduce the social effects” of the restrictions.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has also been asked to look at whether it is safe to allow people from more than one household to mix in the same group.

All the changes in restrictions will be dependent on a number of conditions – including getting PPE into care settings, not allowing the NHS to be overwhelmed and implementing effective testing and tracing.

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