Oakville Town Hall turns away unvaccinated brides and grooms

Therecord.com
Oct. 18, 2021

Need to get a marriage license in Oakville, Georgina, Newmarket or Stouffville? Get your proof of vaccination ready.

Since vaccine passports became mandatory in Ontario on Sept. 22, anyone who enters municipal facilities in Oakville, Georgina, Newmarket or Stouffville must show proof of full vaccination -- including people who need to grab their marriage licenses.

“The vast majority of Oakville has chosen to get vaccinated to prevent another lockdown. The town is not going to let the unvaccinated jeopardize the health and activity opportunities of the community,” Oakville mayor Rob Burton said in a Sept. 21 press release.

People are required to show proof of vaccination for new marriage license appointments booked in Oakville Town Hall after Sept. 22. Those who booked before Sept. 22, however, won’t need to do so.

For Vicky Nicholas, founder of Perfect Planners, an Oakville-based wedding planning company that handles weddings across the GTA, Oakville’s vaccine requirements for marriage license is yet another COVID-19 protocol she has to learn and plan around.

“That’s been such a challenge because every single [municipality] interprets restrictions differently,” Nicholas said. “We’ve relied heavily on venues that we’ve been going to in order to get the information from them. It’s been a struggle because there’s no consistency whatsoever.”

So far, Oakville’s vaccine requirement hasn’t affected any of the weddings Nicholas is currently handling, but she feels sympathy for unvaccinated people trying to plan weddings and face obstacles because of COVID-19 protocols.

“They just don’t have a choice at the moment,” Nicholas said. “They can’t get married in a wedding venue, so their choices are outdoors at the moment or a religious venue. And they can’t have the reception anywhere indoors, which, coming into winter, means that they lose everything if they haven’t been vaccinated.”

In other GTA municipalities, including Toronto, people attending appointments for their marriage licenses are only required to wear a mask, maintain social distancing and stay home if they’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.

Some municipalities, like Ajax, require people to answer a safety screening questionnaire before their appointments. The City of Vaughan gives people the option to get their marriage licenses via curbside pickup. All GTA municipalities except Pickering offer marriage licenses by appointment only.