Couple left ‘gutted’ after discovering their wedding is on World Cup final day

A couple have been left ‘gutted’ after realising their wedding day coincides with the World Cup final – so they’ve had to make some changes to their big day to accommodate

When you’re planning a wedding, the likelihood is you’ll decide on a date a few years before, and therefore you won’t realise if there’s anything significant happening in the world on that day, like say, maybe – the World Cup final.

As many will be praying the Three Lions will make it through the competition all the way to the end, those who are getting married on the big day may be secretly hoping they don’t, so they don’t get too much FOMO as they walk down the aisle.

Couple Luke and Steph from Worksop, who have a wedding planned for December 18 were ‘both gutted’ when they realised it was the World Cup final.

Luke is a big football fan and always likes to keep up to date with it, especially enjoying World Cup games.

Luke said: “Initially we thought about postponing the wedding and changing the date entirely. Instead, we called the venue to discuss if they were screening the final themselves.

“Based on feedback from our RSVPs, we feel we have no choice but to screen the game at our wedding.”

Bride-to-be Steph isn’t a huge fan of footy but says she’ll watch England in big competitions – which is lucky, as it seems like that’s what her guests want.

In order to prevent people from watching the game on their phones, Luke admitted: “We’ve amended some of the timings of the wedding day itself to work around the times the game is being shown.”

In a survey conducted by Hitched, a third of respondents said they’d play ‘It’s Coming Home’ at the end of the evening, and Molly Taylor, whose wedding fell on the day of the last Euros final said she felt it was a great decision to incorporate some football cheer into her big day.

She said: “Embracing it was the best thing to do. Our band played It’s Coming Home and absolutely everyone was singing and dancing! Ironically, it didn’t come home that year, but it was still fun!”

The wedding website has revealed that over 150 couples will be tying the knot on December 18, no doubt with varying feelings about football.

23 percent of respondents said they would be ‘well annoyed’ if guests at their wedding chose to stream the football whilst at their wedding, but another half wouldn’t mind so long as it didn’t draw attention away from their big day.

34 percent of people said that if they were getting married on the World Cup final day they would screen it for themselves and the guests to enjoy, but the rest said they wouldn’t bother at all.

If you are getting married on the day of a big event, editor of Hitched Zoe Burke has some advice on how best to deal with it.

She said: “Most couples spend the best part of two years planning their weddings, and so finding out with only a few month’s notice that your chosen date is now the very same as an international event that is likely to be of huge importance to many people can be really heartbreaking.

“But, it doesn’t mean your plans or your big day are ruined. Once you accept the reality of it, you can begin to have fun with it.

“You could start small by briefing your band or DJ on the football songs everyone knows, as this is one way to show support and let your guests know you’re not bothered about the unfortunate circumstances.

“While the majority of couples aren’t keen on the idea of setting up a whole screening station, a smaller ‘watching zone’ might be a nice idea for a space where guests can go to check the score and watch for a bit instead. This is a nice way to sort of give your friends and family permission to watch, without making it all about the other event.”

Would you be annoyed if you were getting married on the World Cup final day? Let us know in the comments.