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‘To heck with coronavirus’: Asian weddings back on, in sickness and in health
- When Covid-19 first appeared, many couples postponed their marriages. Now it’s here for the long haul, the plans are back on – with a little help from Zoom
- Paradoxically, lockdown and safety measures have hastened some nuptials, as couples take the chance to host more affordable ceremonies
Reading Time:5 minutes
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From 1,000 guests to 20. Farah Hani and Khairul Anuar were ready to get married in 2020, having prepared for their big day more than a year in advance. Covid-19 swiftly put paid to those plans.
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As Singapore implemented stringent safety measures, the couple faced a predicament – to proceed with a scaled-down event or to postpone it.
“Our venue vendor suggested to postpone our wedding to February 2021, with the ‘assurance’ that 1,000 guests would be allowed,” said Farah, 25, a specialist teaching associate. She tied the knot with Khairul, 25, a commercial analyst, in July 2020 instead.
She added: “While it would have been a favourable time to have had our wedding after the pandemic, it was the high level of uncertainty that deterred us from doing so.”
After a short pause, marriages have resumed as young Singaporean couples realised that be it in sickness or in health, the pandemic would be sticking around – much like their lifelong commitment. They have instead found ways to mitigate its disruption to their long-term plans.
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