There are things out there that are more powerful than COVID-19… like love. And as the old and popular quote goes: “Love conquers all” and we get to add today “even threats of a deadly disease.”
This Lebanese couple took Virgil’s verse too literally and decided to go on with their wedding amid a global pandemic. Lara Haidar and Houssam El-Jawhari, however, didn’t break their social distancing commitment. They had a very special and safe wedding ceremony.
Lara and Houssam’s wedding was guestless. It was just the two of them dancing, eating cake, drinking champagne, having fun, and being in love. Even their wedding cake was out of the ordinary and inspired by current events; it had a blue face-mask on it, and beneath it was written: “We Made It Special #StayHome.”
And special it was, indeed! A beautiful couple in a beautiful location, though as Lara told Al Jadeed, “I wish everyone was here with me. But for their safety and our own, we preferred that it just be the two of us. I hope that people will be sharing our joy from their homes.”
Lara and Houssam’s family and friends received the wedding announcement via Facebook. It was a funny and creative ‘invitation’ for their loved ones to share their happiness and send good thoughts their way from their homes.
The occasion is, as the invitations say, “a wedding amidst the coronavirus crisis.” It also had sketches of the virus and a couple wearing face-masks.
When Houssam arrived at the wedding ceremony on his horse (yes, on a horse, like a romantic knight), Lara was waiting for him on the balcony; it didn’t take long, however, for the couple to meet in the middle. “Not even coronavirus will separate us,” their words sum it all up.
When Al Jadeed reporter asked the couple how they will be spending their honeymoon, Houssam answered with a funny comment: “Our honeymoon will be lovely… Balcony, living room, bedroom, kitchen… We’ll be mixing it up.”
Get the latest news and updates about the coronavirus outbreak in Lebanon along with a live monitor of cases in Lebanon as well as resources and information to help you guide the outbreak on our dedicated coronavirus page.