Apex Hotels is giving away five weddings or civil services to NHS key workers as part of an ongoing partnership with charity Operation Recuperation.
The celebrations are for up to 50 people and the hotels participating include Apex Waterloo Place Hotel and Apex Grassmarket Hotel in Edinburgh, Apex City of Bath Hotel, Apex City of London Hotel and Apex City Quay Hotel in Dundee.
The winning couple will be provided with the venue, food drinks and hotel accommodation, while suppliers will provide flowers, cake, DJ, hairdresser and make-up.
The couple will be selected from over 4,000 vetted front-line NHS workers who were invited to apply to Operation Recuperation over the course of the pandemic, many of whom have had to postpone or cancel their wedding plans as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Scottish hotel group launched its partnership with Operation Recuperation earlier in the year.
The charity has been working with 20 hospital trusts throughout the pandemic and has gifted around 1,000 stays and experiences to NHS staff.
Kim Wilkinson, group director of sales for Apex Hotels, said: “Across five of our UK properties, we’ll be providing wedding packages worth a total of £30,000. Thanks to the unbelievable generosity of our trusted network of suppliers, we’ll be able to add lots of little touches to ensure a special day for each of our lucky couples.”
He added: “Our NHS heroes across the UK have worked exceptionally hard over the course of the past year and, like many others, have had major milestone moments like weddings either postponed or totally cancelled as a result. We want to do our bit to say ‘thank you’ for all they do by helping in any way we can – and luckily, we’re pretty good at weddings.”
Rachel Sherwood, founder of Operation Recuperation, said: “We’ve had a lot of superb donations to Operation Recuperation since March 2020 and it’s been a joy to give them away to almost 1,000 staff from the UK’s hardest hit hospitals.
“They’ve all made a difference but this one is extra special as it’ll be creating a lifelong memory for the NHS ‘winners’ and their loved ones. It’s a brilliant idea from a company who have been a joy to partner with and I can’t wait to help them make it a reality.”
Couples invited to nominate themselves via Operation Recuperation have until 24 July to apply.
