“The New Normal” is a phrase most of are bone tired of hearing. It has been used, re-used, re-hashed and beaten since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. We can’t argue though that so much of our regular lives have changed with a different outlook and approach to how we live our lives.

Weddings have seen a significant shift. In 2020 we performed around 70% fewer weddings, yet we registered 40% more marriages than in any previous year. 2021 has seen a further increase on that number. This shows people have chosen to simply register their marriage by coming to our offices with 2-6 witnesses or having us come to their homes to do the same.

So many weddings during 2020 and 2021 had to be postponed, in some cases multiple times, due to lockdown regulations and travel restrictions. A wedding is the celebration of an important and legal decision two people make about their lives, one of the largest milestones they cross as adults. So even though the celebrations had to be postponed the need to be married remained. Others who had recently become engaged but who had not yet planned a wedding still wanted to be married. Others still took the opportunity to get married without having to put themselves through the stress and financial obligation of a large wedding. For these and a few other reasons a tiny wedding or a simple marriage registration has become the norm.

If you are planning something similar be assured that this is not an unusual or unorthodox decision. It is, at least for the time being, the new normal.