A couple’s dream of exchanging vows a year to the day after they got engaged was dashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Will Gillett and Catherine Wight planned to marry on April 10 — Good Friday — but were forced to abandon the plan amid a worldwide lockdown.

The two finally got hitched last Friday on Eta Island, at the entrance to Paradise Lakes in the Great Sound, where the couple got engaged.

Ms Gillett, 28, said the island held a special place in the couple’s hearts.

She added “We used to go out there every Good Friday. Last year, Will proposed there.”

But as the two watched the coronavirus pandemic deepen, their planned ceremony with 130 guests looked increasingly unlikely.

Their two-week honeymoon in Italy was also scrapped after the country became the epicentre of the virus outbreak in Europe.

The two planned a scaled-down ceremony with parents Paula and John Wight, the chairman and chief executive of insurance firm BF&M, and Deborah and Roger Gillett as regulations designed to limit the spread of the disease were imposed in March — soon followed by tougher measures.

Ms Gillett said: “Our new scenario was cancelled when it was changed to full lockdown, so we had to wait a little longer.”

Once restrictions relaxed when Phase 2 of the four step return to normality were introduced, outdoor weddings with up to 20 guests were allowed and the couple jumped at the chance.

Ms Gillett said: “It was awesome — we had no idea friends and family could come and watch by boat.

“It was quite emotional, seeing everyone who we wished was there.”

She added the weather did not disappoint, and Ms Gillett’s bridesmaid, who lives in Canada, was able to join the ceremony by Skype.

A group of ten later had dinner and spent the night on nearby Long Island.

The couple had a three-day honeymoon on Eta Island.

Ms Gillett said: “It was beautiful, just waking up hearing the waves and nothing else, watching the longtails for hours. It made me love him even more.”

Ms Gillett, an assistant underwriter at reinsurers MS Amlin, thanked both sets of parents as well as the planners Bermuda Event Solutions for its work to make the couple’s big day happen.

Mr Gillett, 36, is an underwriter at insurance giant AIG.

They are both from Pembroke.

Kathleen Dodwell, wedding planner at Bermuda Event Solutions, said: “We are so happy that Will and Catherine were able to enjoy their perfect day, despite all the challenges along the way.”

She added: “You could see just how excited they were at the prospect of sharing it with family and friends.

“The Covid-19 pandemic may have put a dent in their original plans, but it never affected their enthusiasm and determination to share this day with their loved ones.

“It seems very fitting, given what they have been through over the last few weeks, that Friday was a beautiful sunny day and they had the most amazing day.”