Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

December 2015

Faith and Xianrong’s Colourful Wedding at Mel’s Place

Faith and Xianrong wed in a colourful affair at Mel’s Place in the heartlands of Katong.

Bank officer Faith, 32, and photographer Xianrong, 31, met in class and struck up a conversation about cameras. After 11 years of “going steady,” they got hitched in a cheerful and colourful wedding in the heart of Katong at Mel’s Place. Because their unique venue choice wasn’t used to weddings, the couple and their friends did most of the décor and set up themselves!

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When did you realise that Faith was the person you wanted to marry?

Xianrong: After 11 years, apart from our folks back home, we knew each other very very very well. So well that we are part of each other’s lives, so what came next was pretty natural.

What was the proposal like?

Xianrong: Simple and personal. It was just us and another two friends (doubling up as photographer and videographer) up on Mount Cradle in Australia. We went up to a vantage spot where we could see the lake, and I went down on one knee and popped the question. Luckily for me, there weren’t many tourists around at that time.

What was the theme of your wedding, and how did you create it?

We had a garden wedding in Mel’s Place. We liked the venue and what it offered us—a rustic, laidback area in the heart of Katong. The only problem is, the venue is not designed for weddings, and everything from centrepieces to flower petals to the reception table decoration was done by our friends.

Most of the items were bought from Taobao but we had to do our own touch-ups when we got them. For example, we got a tree-like structure that we could clip heart-shaped pegs on, but it was white, so we sprayed it brown.

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What was your wedding day like?

Xianrong: Being a wedding photographer at 1stJournal Productions, I felt I had everything under control since I had been doing this for eight years. I was so wrong. Hectic was the word to use. We had wanted to invite many people to share our big day, but spending time to talk to each and every one of them was almost impossible.

Can you tell us the cost of your wedding?

About $30,000. Honestly it wasn’t expensive compared to a hotel setting but the time needed to do the prep work and to settle all the logistics is something you need to be prepared to do if you’re looking at a venue that doesn’t do many weddings. It was worth it though. We wanted something atypical.

Can you share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?

Xianrong: The vows should be the most memorable moment of us tying the knot, but I guess we have been together for so long that it felt natural and easy.

Personally I was caught off guard when I had to do a song at the gatecrash. Almost wet my pants there, singing in front of all of my wife’s relatives and friends. There wasn’t a gatecrash on the itinerary!

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The Gown: The Gown Warehouse
The Suit: TMO.sg
The Groom’s Shoes: Ed et al
The Wedding Rings: Furrer Jacot from Lee Hwa Jewellery
The Venue: Mel’s Place
The Makeup Artist: Susan Tee
The Caterer: Mel’s Place
The Wedding Dessert Table: A Piece of Sin
The Wedding Planner: Groom
The Photographers: Jonathan Ho of Antelope Studios
The Videographer: 1stJournal Productions
The Photobooth: 1stJournal Productions
The Invitations and Paper Goods: PapyPress
The Wedding Band: Our friends! There are pretty good. Maybe if they form a band I’ll let you know =)
The Solemniser: Raymond Wee


Credits: Photography by Antelope Studios

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Faith and Xianrong’s Colourful Wedding at Mel’s Place