Wedding: This bride wore a vintage suit for her elopement in Switzerland<

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Vogue wants to celebrate marriages with a conscience, tell stories of love and highlight issues that are also on the minds of other couples today. For all those planning their wedding, be sure to respect the health rules of each country and local laws, to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19.

The relationship between floral designer and writer Amy Merrick and architect and publisher Philip Shelley will have been slow to begin to burn. They were good friends for several years before they finally fell in love. “I moved to England in 2017 for a residency and met Philip and his twin brother Robin through mutual friends,” Amy recalls. “He was only in town for the weekend, but we found ties around our same sensitivity and our passion for architecture, gardens and life in general. It was as if our relationship was already old and rare, we sent each other books by mail and we had lunch together when he was in town. We both had other concerns but eventually fell in love bit by bit.”

Shortly after meeting, they both separately confided in their families that they knew they were getting married. "I already had a special family ring from my great-grandmother, so we didn't fuss with a formal engagement," Amy explains. Instead, they exchanged vows to each other, in private, on a mountaintop near Amy's family home in New Hampshire where they were spending their first summer vacation as a couple.

When it came time to plan the real wedding, they had a pretty laid back approach. "As a florist, I've had so many examples of wedding stress disorders that I've covered," admits Amy. “But when the pandemic started and the borders were closed, it was immediately clear to me that we had to rethink our plans to make sure we could be together. Our time in lockdown in London confirmed our relationship with each other in the purest of ways.”

In June 2020, Amy had to return to the United States because her visa and passport had expired, while Philip had to return to Switzerland. At that time, they were both separated for two months due to the travel ban in Europe.

In July 2020, they decided to leave alone for their elopement in Zurich where Philip was already: it was the only place that still authorized international marriages. "It meant our families couldn't be with us, but they were incredibly supportive, knowing it would give us peace of mind," Amy says. “I really cried when I realized that my sister and Philip's twin brother would not be with us. We have decided that our elopement will be the first step in our marriage and we have promised our parents an evening in the countryside when we can travel together.

To plan their elopement, they had to wade through the paperwork needed to find each other. “I had an interview with the Swiss Embassy in Washington,” Amy recalls. “We had to prove that our relationship was real and Philip had to write me an official invitation to join him in Switzerland, which we should also have framed.”

After Amy arrived in Zurich, they quarantined together for 10 days to reconnect after being apart for two months. “It's like we're having our honeymoon early,” Amy jokes. “I ordered our wedding cake, bought opera tickets and my shoes, made dinner reservations, booked our real honeymoon, all the week before the ceremony. We wanted something special, but also not absurd given the circumstances. It wasn't a totally austere wedding since we had our outfits, our families' rings and kept it very simple.”

Their friends were involved in every step of the preparations. Molly Zaidman has agreed to take pictures of the big day. "She's extremely talented and doesn't usually photograph weddings," Amy explains. "From the moment she was there, I knew everything was going to be fine." One of Philip's close friends, James Beresford, came from London to be the witness. “If we were to get married a week later, he couldn't have come because of the entry restrictions,” Amy says. “We were so lucky that our wedding date of September 22, 2020 falls during a lull between the first and second wave of Covid-19.”

On the morning of their wedding, Amy woke up early to go to the market to buy flowers for her bouquet and apricot croissants for breakfast. “I would never advise brides-to-be to start the day like this, but as a florist it was the perfect way to start the big day. Thank goodness Philip had a free hour in the morning to do his paperwork and then joined James for a swim in the lake.

The bride and groom got ready together. Amy wore a vintage yellow silk twill ensemble that she found for next to nothing before she even knew they were having their elopement. “It was a relief to have something I loved and not have to worry about what to buy during the pandemic,” she recalls. “It's very civil wedding to wear a suit: my grandmother wore a similar piece when she got married in New York in the 1940s, so I didn't think much about it. As we want to have a celebration for our families, I will indeed have my big moment in a wedding dress, but the tailoring side was perfect for Zurich. I like big shoulders!"

For jewelry, she kept it pretty simple, wearing a pair of earrings her grandfather had given her mother. “I love old photographs of sulky brides with their veils, it immediately gives off a ceremonial feel,” she says. “I made mine the day before the wedding. over a comb and it ended up being my favorite part of the look.” Her shoes were copper Bruno Magli pumps. The make-up she did herself remained natural and simple. “I slipped my lipstick into my jacket pocket for the day, and that was it! ”

The groom opted for a dark gray Lanvin suit, a crisp white shirt, a blue-grey silk tie and a 1918 Swiss watch that belonged to his great-uncle and was given to him by his father. “My dad gave us his own wedding ring for Philip, it was so special,” Amy says. "We want our own wedding bands when we can finally go shopping, but right now we're both wearing our families' rings."

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When they were ready, they strolled through the old part of town to the Stadthaus (City Hall), receiving congratulations from passers-by they passed. "I was so nervous and excited at the same time, while Philip was incredibly calm," Amy recalled. When they arrived at the town hall, Amy surprised Philip by showing him pictures of family weddings spanning generations. “It was so weird seeing our parents, grandparents and so many others at their own weddings,” Amy recalls. have them by our side.”

The couple then took their places around a table with the celebrant, behind protective Plexiglas glass: the ceremony took place in just under three minutes, proof of the incredible Swiss efficiency. "It was all very formal and Philip then joked that the officiant made us repeat vows which could just as well have been, 'Will you sign this piece of paper, please?' Honestly, I was so excited that I wasn't paying much attention to what was being said. Fortunately, it was in English, although it wouldn't have changed much for me." So they signed the contract and kissed. "We felt such intense and pure joy," Amy said. ceremony was so quick we even forgot to exchange our wedding rings so we had to do it later in the afternoon.”

James had arranged a video call so their families could see what was going on during the ceremony: unfortunately, they didn't realize they were on mute and couldn't hear anything. Fortunately, the couple spoke to them after saying "yes" to each other.

"My stress turned into a kind of gratitude and love when it was all over," Amy says. cried in his arms afterwards, knowing that we would no longer be apart. It was the deepest relief we could have imagined and the simplest, purest feeling of happiness we had ever experienced.”

After the ceremony, they went to Sprüngli, a famous Swiss confectionery, for a champagne toast and a cake - chocolate ganache with a halo of sugar daisies. Amy had the privilege of using her great-grandmother's silver cake server for the first slice. She then gave Philip her present: a collection of letters she had written to him during their friendship, without ever sending him. “I loved him silently from the start,” she says.

The next morning they took the train to the small village of Soglio in the Alps, where they stayed at Palazzo Salis for a few nights. “We thought we were lucky to have been able to do our elopement this way,” Amy recalls. to be with Philip. Even though we were a little bitter not having our families by our side, it was also very beautiful to just focus on our union, for each other. There will be another time to celebrate all together again. And it will be so delicious.”

Article originally published on Vogue.com

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