Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
June 2014
When a Ray of Sunshine Falls on an Angel
She hails from Singapore and he was born and bred in Australia. They fell in love down under, and documented their story across the beautiful landscapes of Adelaide. With family and friends in both continents, Angela Chua, 26, Medical Practitioner (Doctor) and Raymond Loi, 29, Personal Trainer and Full-time Student, held two lovely weddings to celebrate their union on 28 September 2013.
How did the two of you meet?
We first met back in 2008 through mutual friends playing badminton at the South Australia Badminton Association. We both had a passion for playing badminton and a lot of our mutual friends also played. Through countless badminton exchanges we quickly became friends and got to know each other better as time went by.
We heard that the proposal hit some hiccups. Could you tell us about it?
Raymond: Unfortunately my proposal to my wife to be was an utter failure and disappointment. It was destined to fail as I made some crucial proposal 101 mistakes. After all, it was my first time proposing to a girl. First of all it lacked the element of surprise because I ended up buying the engagement ring in Singapore from a shop that my mother-in-law introduced to me. I struggled to determine her ring size, so in the end, Angela, her mum, and myself went into the shop together to see what she would like. I didn’t want to spend so much money and end up getting Angela a ring she didn’t find perfect. It was a risk I was unwilling to take. So she knew I was going to propose to her – no secrets there.
Secondly, the proposal was done in Singapore – a country I was not familiar with. I was born and grew up in Australia and had no idea of what Singapore was like or where a good place to propose would be. In the end I proposed in Marina Bay Sands Hotel the day after Christmas. There was no fancy dinner, no breath-taking surprise. I just asked, when she was lying in bed about to fall asleep: “Babe, please marry me?” (note I was less than half dressed in PJs). The final issue was also that she was already wearing the ring even though I had not proposed yet, hahaha.
Anyhoo she said yes but wasn’t very happy. Not Angela’s idea of a fairytale proposal. On a brighter note, I did repropose a couple of times later back in Australia and it was done much more romantically with surprise and fun. However it still didn’t make up for the initial proposal. To this day Angela still goes on about it!
Tell us what went on behind the scenes of your beautiful wedding video and engagement shoot.
Angela: Our photo shoot in Australia was at McLaren Vale winery which has a lot of nice greenery and scenic backdrops. We wanted something that had a natural setting but at the same time look beautiful and epic. The great thing about Adelaide is that we have the vast farmlands and wineries which makes the photos look great. We also wanted the photos to look natural and not posed for every shot. Our photographers did a great job and made the experience very fun. Despite the day raining with some awful weather, the photos turned out stunning. We just did our thing and they snapped away without us even knowing half the time.
Raymond: Our video shoot was first done at our home then around the parklands of Adelaide city and also at Hahndorf which is an old German town village with sandstone buildings and vintage looking shops. We enjoyed shooting at home to capture the moments with our dogs which I thought was really special. Both Angela and I really love our dogs as though they were our children. The parklands were chosen with a similar theme to our photo shoot, with natural greenery as backgrounds. Hahndorf was a great choice as it had a real medieval theme and unique monuments which added complexity to the video. We also managed to shoot during sunset which I thought allowed certain moments to look even more special.
Angela:We wanted to enjoy the day and have lots of fun without letting the stress overwhelm us. I think for the most part of the day that was the case. In the end the quality of the job performed by the videographers and photographers really shone through and we didn’t have to choose from heaps of junk material as everything was really well done and looked great. It was a tiring day, but in the end we were both really satisfied with the end product.
You got married on two different continents. What were your weddings like?
Raymond: We had two weddings. One in Singapore which was on the 28th September 2013 at the venue One Rochester, 1 Twenty-Six, where the Big Splash used to be. It was an outdoor night buffet style reception with about 200 or so guests attending. Most of the guests were from Angela’s family and her parents’ friends and associates. The venue was stunning at night and looked amazing, something you rarely get to see. However the humidity was hard to contend with, and some seating areas were outdoor and lacked air conditioning, which certainly made things hard. I sweated a lot that night.
Our second wedding was done back in Adelaide, Australia’s Intercontinental Hotel wherethe majority of our guests were friends of Angela and myself. We had roughly just over 100 guests. The theme was definitely more fun than formal, and we had many silly performances done by friends as well as games with prizes involved. Furthermore, we engaged a photo booth to allow friends to take photos and video msgs to leave behind and stick into our album. It was a lunch reception than lasted a little over 4 hours.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding day?
Raymond: The most memorable part of the day was probably in the morning where my groomsmen and myself went to pick up the bride. The torture and games/challenges we had to go through were hell and absolutely humiliating. It ranged from eating banana dildos, two guys licking peanut butter mouth to mouth, to dancing ridiculous themes like Gangnam Style. Luckily, all my guy friends were very sporting and lived up to the challenges. Thanks, guys!
The gowns: The Feline Bridal and online
The suits: The Feline Bridal
The venues: 1 Twenty-Six; Adelaide Australia Intercontinental Hotel
The makeup artist and hair stylist: The Feline Bridal
The wedding planner: 1 Twenty-Six
The photographers: Livesnapps, Jason Wong and Kevin Khaw
The videographer: Beyond Pictures
Credits: Photography by Livesnapps, Jason Wong and Kevin Khaw. Videography by Beyond Pictures.
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