Singaporebrides | Photography
March 2014
Weddings in Pictures: My Garden Romance
Brenda Lee, a Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) girl, was determined never to date or marry an Anglo Chinese Barker (ACS) boy. A decade later, she found herself following in the footsteps of many MGS-ACS couples as she walked down the aisle towards the former head-prefect of ACS Barker Road and recited her wedding vows to Samuel Zhu, the very embodiment of an ACS boy. Like Brenda and Samuel, their wedding day was down-to-earth and sincere, filled with warm fuzzy tones of blush, dark rose, copper, taupe and cream. Let this couple’s Ralph-Lauren-meets-Jane-Austen organic and romantic wedding on 16 March 2013 inspire you to create your very own garden wedding.
So tell us, how did the ACS boy propose to the MGS girl?
Samuel: Twice! My first proposal to Brenda involved a simple heartfelt letter and the proposal ring at my grandma’s house. However, I failed to take into account her love for surprises so although she said yes, I could tell she was slightly disappointed with my proposal. So I devised a second one and with the help of her sister, Rachel, and her then boyfriend, we stole Brenda’s ring a week later with a ransom note to retrieve it through a series of puzzles and items symbolising our journey together as a couple. This time, I could feel that it was what Brenda wanted for her proposal.
Let me get this right, Brenda, you went au natural on your wedding day?
Brenda: Yes, I did! I am aware that going makeup-free for my big day is deemed as bold and uncustomary to the point of queer and foreign to the wedding industry. But I have always been confident and grateful of how God had created me and Samuel didn’t want to meet a woman who looked absolutely different and “plastic” on the most important day of his life, so I came to him as I was created. The great thing about going makeup-free is when tears of joy streamed down my face, I didn’t have to worry about smudging or smearing my makeup!
We heard you’ve quite a different and meaningful wedding morning.
Brenda: Samuel and I really wanted to have a poignant and private moment together in the morning before the start of a typically packed Singaporean wedding, so we chose to skip the gatecrashing. Instead, we opted for a “First Look” experience since he has never seen me in my dress. My wedding party blindfolded Samuel and brought him to a local ranch where we had our private time together on that beautiful and special day. Later, we had our tea ceremony at my house before leaving for another round of tea ceremony at his grandmother’s 100-year-old house. It felt like I was getting married on the set of Channel 5’s “Growing Up”!
You had not one, but three different wedding favours for your guests!
Brenda: I wanted all of my guests to enjoy our wedding favours regardless of age, so I decided to create series of rustic favours to cater to the different age groups. For the young ones, I imported daffy apple caramel kits from the United States of America and got my wedding party to assemble them. The young adults received organic chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that were beautifully packed in glass jars. I work at the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) and thought it was an excellent idea to have my adult beneficiaries bake the cookies for favours. That way, the proceeds go to a good cause! Lastly, for the older adults, I had a local hydroponic farm deliver over 80 pots of various herbs like rosemary, basil, oregano and mint to my wedding venue and got my friends to help me assemble them.
Looking back, were there any moments that were especially memorable or special to you?
Samuel: It was the moment Brenda walked down the aisle towards me. I saw flashbacks of our journey from the day we started our courtship to the day I proposed to her, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride swelling inside me as this woman I love and respect so much was going to be my life partner in a matter of moments.
Her Gown: Time Taken To Make A Dress
The Venue: Joyden Hall at Bugis+
The Photographer: Xiao Ting from Lightedpixels Pixies
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