Married in 5 Hours: Singaporean Couple Weds Just Before Melbourne Lockdown

We’ve all been affected by the coronavirus and subsequent lockdowns (or in Singapore’s case, circuit breaker) in one way or another over the last few months.

But this Singaporean couple was determined not to let Covid-19 get in the way of their plans to get married, even if it meant planning and executing a wedding ceremony in a span of five hours.

Melbourne-based Edmund Choo, 32, and Amy Chen, 33, had spent a year planning for their wedding that was to take place on August 8. But with Covid-19 cases rising at an alarming rate in the city, their carefully-laid plans were thrown into disarray when a lockdown was declared with stage four restrictions on August 2.

The new rules prevent residents from leaving their homes between 8pm and 5am, and during the day, you can only step out for limited reasons — with weddings not on the list.

The restrictions were announced at 2.30pm and would be implemented on the day itself, which meant that the couple had only till 8pm to take any action.

They had previously already made adjustments to their initial wedding plans, whittling their 100-pax guest list to just five people, in line with the guidelines then.

However, the new developments meant that no weddings could take place in the next six weeks. For Choo and Chen, getting married on the day itself was the better alternative.

Image source: Facebook/ Felix Xavier Choo

In an interview with Zaobao, the bride said: “I’m certain that he is the right one, and I think he feels the same way about me. Since this is the case, why should we still want to continue waiting.”

The groom’s brothers, who are also residing in Melbourne, were immediately called upon to help make the wedding happen.

Oldest brother Felix Choo shared on Facebook that his brother had texted him within an hour of the announcement to be a witness at the wedding, and he agreed immediately.

Image source: Facebook/ Felix Xavier Choo

As only five people could witness the ceremony in person, participants were limited to him, the bride and groom, the marriage celebrant (also known as the Justice of Peace in Singapore), and the bride’s father who doubled as the second witness.

Choo’s second brother, Victor, helped to contact family and friends and coordinate the live-streaming of the wedding.

The couple were able to locate a church where they could hold the ceremony and the wedding party got to work setting up for the big event at 5.45pm, including moving furniture and putting up simple decorations, like a banner backdrop with the couple’s names on it.

The technical set-up for the ceremony. | Image source: Facebook/ Felix Xavier Choo

After fixing faulty Bluetooth and hotspot connections, momentary panic set in when they discovered that the camera wasn’t fully charged.

Despite that, the ceremony started at 6.30pm with about 50 online guests and took place without a hitch.

By 7.05pm, all formalities were over with and the couple was officially married. The wedding party then quickly packed up, with everyone making it back to their homes before curfew.

Though they are already legally married, the pair will likely still have a proper celebration once restrictions ease up. They had initially booked a space at The Republic of Singapore Yacht Club for a Singapore ceremony in September, but that too will have to be postponed.

For now, Felix Choo will have to wait a while more for the official tea ceremony to take place to give the newlyweds the red packet he forgot to pass to them on August 2.

This article was first published in AsiaOne and was edited and republished on theAsianparent with permission.

Lead image source from Facebook/ Felix Xavier Choo.

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