Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi announced that no marriage certificates will be issued during South Africa’s 21-day lockdown.

From midnight tonight [Thursday, March 26], South Africans are required to stay in their homes, with all social events prohibited. This includes weddings, which have already been a struggle as a result of social distancing rules.

Motsoaledi was outlining what his department will still be able to do during the lockdown, which includes no processing of new documents.

“We won’t issue any marriage certificates, new or old, because there won’t be any emergency [requiring marriage]. You can wait until the 21 days,” said Motsoaledi.

While that could have been the end of the announcement, Motsoaledi took the opportunity to offer some advice to those who might be disappointed by the news.

“Maybe the 21 days will also give you time to think whether you want to get married or not. It will be a good time to reflect,” he said.

Many vendors and wedding venues have already closed, meaning many weddings were put on hold anyways. While the Minister might have sounded flippent about your marriage, maybe use the 21 days to iron out those small details that were bugging you and take extra time to connect to your partner.

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