Let's face it—this pandemic has made us less uptight with schedules and just going with the flow. For those who are going to get married, this is a situation where you're given the power to let go or get stressed.
For newlywed Rachelle Tan, she didn't get her hopes up until their wedding was about to happen in a week's time. "When the lockdown started, we stopped planning for our wedding (civil wedding was originally planned last May 2020 in Switzerland and another bigger one in the same location on May 2021), and focused on our businesses," says the CEO and President of Alphabetsoup Inc. and many more companies.
"It was only around October that we started talking about going to Switzerland. It was really to be with his dad," shares Rachelle who thought of planning with her husband Christophe Stern a civil wedding last December. "But since everyone was on break, the earliest that we can have it was January 5."
Planning started first week of December, and the first thing she did was book an appointment with designer Patricia Santos for her wedding outfit which was a chic white tube pantsuit. It took 10 days to finish. "I was always a bit hesitant to plan, because I know how things can change quickly within a week or even days. So I was not really convinced that we can leave until that week."
Planning a wedding, even if it was a civil one, in Switzerland also has its limits. "We were only 10. That was the only allowed number of people including us," adds Rachelle.
But despite the limited number of guests, Rachelle still had her dream wedding in Hotel Victoria in Glion, Switzerland overlooking Lake Geneva. "This is where we were supposed to do the main celebration but we were really delighted that we were allowed to still celebrate here for our civil wedding."
Her friends also helped her work on the Zoom invite three days before the wedding day. "What I find amazing is that from five people (for the actual ceremony) in the room, we ended up celebrating with 90 people. Our family and friends were there to witness that moment," she muses. She's also grateful for her sister-in-law who worked on dressing up the small reception for them.
When asked what challenges other brides-to-be might face, "Because we were expecting that changes are inevitable given the situation, we went with the flow. Everything fit perfectly in the end." She also added a few words of advice, "Focus on what's important which is to get married to the love of your life while being surrounded with family and friends even through Zoom. Have fun and be flexible. Don't get caught up in having the 'perfect wedding.'"