The real theme of the wedding was ‘change’–to the very last minute
Nat Segovia and Dior Dy’s love story sounds like the stuff of movies. The two met at Nat’s sister’s wedding, which Dior almost did not attend until the bride herself followed up her RSVP. “If she hadn’t convinced me to go, Nat and I would probably have never met,” Dior says.
But the road to their wedding day, March 14, 2021, was not as cute as their story. If it had a script, it would have had too many curve balls. Nat and Dior had no solid wedding plans when the pandemic hit. After many changes and ideas, the couple decided on a civil wedding with a sunset reception. Then on the morning of their wedding, they learned that a good percentage of the wait staff were Covid positive. So with just eight hours to go, Nat and Dior moved their reception to a dinner with their family at home.
Below, Dior talks about the journey of accepting that her wedding would look nothing like pre-pandemic wedding and what helped them amid the many changes they had to make.
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How did you two meet?
Nat and I met at his brother’s wedding. I remember my good friend, now sister-in-law, calling me the night before her wedding because I didn’t RSVP to the reception. I had no intention—as in ZERO plans—of going to any social event that time. I was on (hospital) ICU duty the night before and fresh post-breakup (lame excuse, I know) and really, really just wanted to stay in. If she hadn’t convinced me to go, Nat and I would probably have never met. To this day, I still find it astonishing how that one decision led us here.
What was your wedding plan?
We originally were planning for the typical pre-covid wedding. Big gowns. Entourage. At least 400 guests. Grand everything. We started attending wedding fairs around January of 2020. By March, we almost booked a garden venue in Tagaytay—that was right before the first ECQ was announced. Good thing we haven’t booked a single supplier that time. We luckily avoided the headache of having to deal with refunds, postponing, rescheduling, etc.
Did you have a theme for your wedding?
We honestly changed our plans (and themes) a lot of times. From a garden wedding with 400 guests to a destination beach wedding with just two witnesses, to “let’s just elope to an obscure location with just the two of us,” and eventually to a civil wedding in the city with family.
The final plan was to have a nice sunset reception at a rooftop after the civil ceremony. We booked our suppliers all within one month from the wedding. As we ditched the entourage idea early on, we obviously didn’t have matchy-matchy gowns and suits for everyone. So the theme was actually just an afterthought. We decided on the cool blue-and-gray palette maybe two weeks before the wedding. More than adhering to a certain “theme,” we wanted the general “feel” of our wedding to be very relaxed, candid, light, raw, and modern.
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What were the biggest challenges in planning your pandemic intimate wedding?
Since the announcement of the community quarantine, we paused all planning and decided to wait and see. Initially, we were thinking, maybe we can still have a one-time big celebration if we wait just a bit more. Well, months later, like most of us probably realized, this pandemic is clearly not ending soon—not in the next few months, not even probably in the next two to three years. All we know is we can’t wait to get married anymore.
How did you handle these challenges?
The challenge was accepting the fact that It’s never going to be like any of the weddings you used to attend pre-pandemic. We let go of the old traditions. Stick to only what’s important—us and our families. Everything else is just secondary.
The only goal was to get married. And to get married safely. So it was civil wedding with an outdoor reception of 40 pax (including suppliers). We decided to do all preps at home; and as a last precaution, had everyone tested for COVID on the morning of the wedding. Unfortunately, a good number of the waitstaff in the reception venue turned out positive.
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So we canceled the reception on the morning of the wedding and moved our reception to my house instead. Of course, we un-invited everyone except for immediate family as it’s impossible to fit everyone. In under eight hours, with the help of our suppliers, Nat’s family took care of the food, while my family took care of setting up our house. We didn’t get to bring home the fancy lights and sounds we had set up in the original venue. Nonetheless, everyone was quick to help out in their own little-big ways, and that was more than enough to keep that relaxed vibe going throughout the day.
The real theme of the wedding was “change”. To the very last minute. But I think it made everything all the more memorable. Of course, thanks to our awesome families and suppliers, despite all the challenges, everything still came together beautifully.
How did you feel on your wedding day?
Content. Happy. It’s finally over. I’m finally going home with the love of my life. Best news came two weeks later of course. Not one person got sick after our wedding.
What is your advise for couples getting married and planning their intimate wedding?
Don’t be pressured to do like everyone else. Find out what matters most to you and just focus on that.
