July 21st 2006 I was to meet with a client to talk about planning their wedding. It turned out to be my own wedding plan as I was surprised with one bended knee! It was such a creative and unexpected proposal, I still smile every time I think about it.
From the euphoric, "YES" to the "I DO" of 13th of January 2007, it was an exciting journey. Finally I could plan the wedding of my dreams. We chose to have our wedding in a secluded serene setting which felt so right it was as though God had created it specially for us.
I believe weddings should be a reflection of us – our personalities, style, desires and dreams. Each wedding ought to be unique and bring out the best of the couple.
I have had the good luck of working with the best talents in the industry through my career, and made many good friends. Thus when it came to my big day, I was extremely blessed to have them on hand to realize my vision.
I drew much inspiration from the wedding location and embraced nature as our theme. This comes from my love of raw, natural materials - they are original and beautiful with its own individualistic character. The wedding concept centered around pines cones, along with pine leaves, stones and other natural items Mother Earth offered in abundance in the location.
All the décor pieces were hand-woven and crafted with natural materials from the location, with additional unique items sourced from Thailand and Singapore. Cheng, my florist friend whom I dearly love, designed and worked for months to put together the wedding decor. I was astounded when I saw the end result.
Walking about in Aseanna, I found the most mundane item as the most inspiring. The lowly coconut husk was our stunning centerpiece, dressed up with pine cones and candles with a simple branch that hung the table number. Simple yet beautifully elegant.
Another unique item I found rummaging around, was some dry wood objects which looked like mini roses and smelled divine. The wholesaler had purchased it from Australia many years ago and I bought some to use as corsages. I felt as though I had just discovered a treasure because it was such an unexpected find.
For my gown, I drew inspiration from Vera Wang's pleated gowns. Billy my stylist friend refined the design to suit my frame and meticulously sewed the whole gown by hand. I wanted a stunning but versatile gown which could be worn as a dinner dress after the wedding, thus we decided on a simple and elegant design.
Wedding memories are made of these so we went to the best, my very talented photographer friend, Zung. He surveyed the wedding location relentlessly before the big day and suggested we use old films to capture the ageless, classic look. The setting, the day, the magical moments….it was all zoomed in to perfection by Zung's creative talents.
One of the most memorable moments was seeing my very close friends from Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore at my wedding. Friends since university days, it was so good to see them again. I was blown away by their gesture.
I remember feeling really nervous as my father walked me down the aisle. The excitement, thrill, anxiety, joy - I felt like my heart was going to burst with it all! Then I walked up to Alan and as he took my hand, his first words were, "Dear, you look so beautiful". I felt like a total woman being swept off my feet by my prince! What a beautiful beginning.
After our lifetime vows to each other, we spent some time alone as a couple, while our friends and families proceeded to the dinner reception. It was a surreal setting as it had started to drizzle in the misty green and the sun was setting. Our photographer took this opportunity to take some lovely portrait shots. Some photos captured the raindrops and it added to the magical romance. At the end of the night, it was really heartwarming to hear guests say, "This is the most romantic wedding I've ever attended".
I will truly cherish this day forever.