Staff from the Isle of Wight Council’s register office have been working all hours to assist couples due to be married at Ryde Castle Hotel, which was damaged by fire overnight on Saturday (17 March).
Registrars came into the office on Sunday to begin contacting the 20 couples due to marry at the hotel in the coming weeks, the earliest of which was due to take place this Friday (23 March). Of the couples contacted so far, nine have rearranged their wedding venues and three have decided to cancel. Registrars are continuing to contact the remaining eight couples so they can advise them of their options and make them aware of the 28 alternative registered marriage venues on the Island. For those couples having to rearrange their weddings due to the fire, the council is waiving all fees that it is not required to charge for by law, 'Doing all we can to assist' Chris Mathews, Isle of Wight Council officer responsible for the registrar service, said: “It must have come as a tremendous shock to those planning to get married at the Ryde Castle Hotel this summer and we are doing everything we can to assist those affected. When the team heard about the fire late on Saturday evening, they decided to meet in the office on Sunday morning to begin contacting the affected couples. We are doing all we can to assist.” The fire broke out at Ryde Castle Hotel late on Saturday, with more than 40 firefighters working through the night to tackle the blaze. Steve Apter, chief fire officer, said: “Thankfully, nobody was injured during fire and I would like to take this opportunity to praise the staff for their quick actions in evacuating the guests and thank the firefighters and our colleagues in partner agencies for their professionalism in tackling this incident.” A full investigation is now underway to confirm the cause. Anyone due to be married at Ryde Castle Hotel this summer is advised to contact the Isle of Wight Register Office as soon as possible on (01983) 823233.
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