A WORCESTER mum of three who waited 14 years for her other half to pop the question will miss the lifting of wedding restrictions by two days – but she is still counting her blessings.

Lex Hooper will tie the knot with the love of her life Wayne Freeth at Malvern Registration Office on Saturday in front of a crowd of just six.

The happy couple had to book in a date within 12 months of the original date – June 20, 2020 – to avoid losing the money they had put down at a time when they did not know what restrictions could be in place.

READ MORE: How many people can attend my wedding? Restrictions to be lifted from June 21

Their children – 17-year-old Morgan, 11-year-old Oskar and 10-year-old Victor – will be there along with their witnesses ahead of an “outdoor mock ceremony” with a wider audience.

It has been a tale of terrible luck but having heard first hand of the realities of Covid from friends who work in the NHS, Miss Hooper refuses to feel sorry for herself.

“In February we flooded and lost everything downstairs, then Covid hit,” she said.

“We had to move four times while the house was fixed and a month before the wedding we had a notification that it would probably not go ahead.

“If we did go ahead we could only have two people, our witnesses. We have three children so that was just not an option.

“In the grand scheme of weddings it would not have been a massive cost (to cancel and reschedule) but it is a lot to find.

“We are going ahead anyway with our two witnesses, their daughter and the kids and then we are going elsewhere for an outdoor mock ceremony with friends and family.”

Mr Freeth got down on one knee around Christmas 2018 and another reason for Lex to press ahead is her sense of anticipation.

She added: “I have waited long enough!

“Marriage isn’t a massive thing for my other half but it is more me and I wanted to be able to share that with people.

“We have cut back massively and when the roadmap to recovery was announced we thought everything would be back to normal.

“I am totally for them (the restrictions), though. A couple of my friends are nurses who have worked on Covid wards and had to stand there with the iPads for people taking their last breath and trying to say goodbye to family.

“It has been so harrowing. I am very much an extrovert and have found it so difficult not seeing the people I spend time with.

“It is double disappointment but I have accepted it will not be what I imagined or wanted.”