Richard Gutierrez - Sarah Lahbati nuptials postponed

MANILA, Philippines — The grand wedding of Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati will not be held as scheduled this Saturday, March 14, at a 5-star hotel due to the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak.

The Christian ceremony was supposed to start at 4 p.m., to be followed immediately by the reception in the same venue (confidential to avoid gatecrashers).

At 5 o'clock this afternoon (March 12), Richard and Sarah texted the following statement to Philippine STAR: As much as we want to celebrate our love with our family and friends, in light of the recent situation we have decided to postpone our wedding as we do not want to put anyone at risk. Thank you so much to those who flew in and to everyone who worked so hard for our special day. We only wish good health for everyone and we hope to celebrate with you as soon as things get better.

Supposed to sing at the ceremony were Ogie Alcasid and Gary Valenciano.

"Ogie would have sung a song that would make Richard and Sarah cry," said Annabelle without revealing the song's title, adding, "Sayang, excited pa naman ako mag-deliver ng aking speech. Gusto ng mga anak ko at ni Sarah na dapat may kodigo ako pero ayoko. Gusto ko straight from the heart."

At the reception, Martin Nievera was supposed to perform a song that he has composed specially for Richard and Sarah, and then he would do a duet with Regine Velasquez. Also scheduled to perform at the reception were Pops Fernandez and KZ Tandingan.

Sarah's gown is by the same Paris designer whom Anabelle described as "Gumagawa ng mga damit ng maraming celebrities katulad ni JLo."

The event is touted to be the "Wedding of the Decade," with three Philippine presidents - Pres. DU30, and former Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph Estrada - among the 25 pairs of Principal Sponsors. 

According to Annabelle, the new date of the wedding will be announced soon.