Planning a Wedding During COVID-19



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Myrtle Alegado: Worry, pressure, and stress. Lots of stress. A staggering 96% of couples admit to feeling this emotion while planning their wedding according to a study of 500 newlywed or engaged to be wed couples published on brides.com.



These numbers are even more telling - “40% of couples categorized wedding planning as “extremely stressful” while 71% thought it was more nerve-wracking than other major life events like finding a new job.”



Now, that article was published before COVID-19. Today, we’re going to look at what planning a wedding was like for one newlywed couple I had a chance to chat with who got married during the global pandemic.



Welcome to Happy Life, a podcast brought to you by INCMedia that aims to help newlyweds navigate through the first years of marriage. I’m Myrtle Alegado and I’ve been married to my husband Paul since 1999.



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Inspiration to make your marriage thrive, you’re listening to Happy Life.



Myrtle: Planning every detail of your big day really does take a lot of work. The happy couple has to decide on things like guest lists, decor, and even the reception venue.  When you add a global pandemic into the equation of wedding planning, you’ve got a whole new set of unexpected hurdles.



Let’s welcome our newlyweds for today’s topic, Kara and Alvin, from Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Hi Kara and Alvin! We’re so happy you’re here with us today.



Kara Pascual: Hello, Myrtle. Thank you so much for having us today on Happy Life. And Alvin and I are so grateful to take part in this topic, which is very timely for us. Right, Alvin?



Alvin Pascual: Yeah, but definitely quite nervous.



Myrtle: Aww, no need to be nervous. So how have you two been, you know, aside from the nervousness?



Kara: Well, of course we also gained weight as part of marriage.



Myrtle: Oh, I think that's part of the COVID-10 or COVID-15 people say.



Kara: COVID-15!



Myrtle: Everybody's  putting on 10 or 15 pounds. Can you explain where St. John is and what it’s like there?



Kara: So, St. John is in the province of New Brunswick, which is part of the 10 provinces here in Canada. And we're also part of the Atlantic provinces in the eastern part of the country.



Myrtle: And I had to actually Google Map it and even though I'm Canadian, and I've lived here all my life, I had to refresh my memory. I believe it's also between Quebec and Nova Scotia and then just a little bit north of Maine, correct?



Alvin: That's correct. So it's actually two hours away from the US border which is the State of Maine.



Myrtle: Okay so, Kara and Alvin, you've been married since August of 2020, correct?



Kara: Yep.



Myrtle: And that wasn't originally supposed to be your wedding date though right, so can you share the story on that?



Alvin: I proposed to Kara in May 2018 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. So, that was actually the happiest moment of my life at that point. We encountered a lot of challenges along the way, especially we have differing personalities. I am an introvert and Kara is an extrovert. So, a lot of challenges personally, within our internal selves, and together as a couple, as we're going through the relationship. We encountered that after the proposal. So,