‘Anything that was out of my control, I decided to ignore and just enjoy the present’
Thien Do and Alexandra Hoang spent the earlier years of their relationship in an LDR, only seeing each other every eight months. “Doing long distance is definitely not for everyone, but Thien and I always believed that if we were able to overcome this challenging chapter, we could tackle anything together,” Alexandra says.
Perhaps planning a wedding during a global pandemic could count as such. Thien, a senior IT consultant, and Alexandra, content creator and insurance advisor were married on November 6, 2021 at St. Olav Church followed by a reception at Ingierstrand Restaurant in Norway. The couple originally planned a three-day celebration at a castle in Sweden but adjusted their plans when Norway announced it was reopening. They only had a month to plan everything.
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Below, Alexandra talks about their love story and how she dealt with wedding planning during the pandemic for an all white wedding in Norway:
Tell us about your love story.
Thien and I met at a party and started out as friends before we started dating. After dating for a year and a half, I moved to Sydney, Australia for my bachelor’s degree. It was something I always wanted to do, even before I met Thien. And his support of my dream meant a lot to me. I was gone for three years and during that time we only saw each other once every eight months. Doing long distance is definitely not for everyone, but Thien and I always believed that if we were able to overcome this challenging chapter, we could tackle anything together.
We both value our independence and freedom and are each other’s biggest support system. We share the same sense of humor and ambitions. What I love about Thien is that he always supports my crazy and sudden ideas. He is not intimidated by my restlessness he finds solutions on how we can move forward and achieve our dreams together. We’ve been together for eight years now and I’m looking forward to our next chapter. We just invested in a new home that we will renovate and we will be parents to a shiba inu puppy.
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Did you have a theme or motif for your wedding?
White baby’s breath, white roses, decked out in white balloons, pearls in the cake, pearls in hairstyles, pearls in dresses. Elegant and sophisticated.
Did you have to adjust anything in your wedding plans?
Originally we were supposed to have a three-day celebration getting married at a castle in Sweden. Due to the pandemic we had to cancel. Did a civil ceremony instead and found a venue in Oslo.
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What were the challenges you faced while planning your intimate wedding?
Due to the uncertainties of the pandemic we didn’t have much time to plan but we wanted to get wed before year-end. When Norway announced it was reopening again we decided to plan a wedding in 30 days.
How did you handle the challenges?
Anything that was out of my control I decided to ignore and just enjoy the present.
How did you feel during the wedding?
The entire spectrum! I was nervous, emotional, happy, irritated, festive and full of energy!
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What were your most memorable moments from your wedding?
The cultural lion dance, waving napkins over our heads doing the conga line dance, my brother’s emotional speech, an epic champagne tower, doing the lift to our first dance, surprising our guests with fireworks and dancing under the rain surrounded by sparkles.
What’s your advice for couples planning their intimate wedding?
Print out a wedding timeline or program!
