Singaporebrides | Fashion
August 2016
Jophia and Larry’s Mystical Origami Crane Wedding at The Joyden Hall
Event stylists Jophia and Larry handcrafted almost the whole of their stunning Joyden Hall wedding, filling their celebration with a thousand mystical gold paper cranes and beautifully styled props and gifts.
Jophia and Larry are the creative minds and hands behind HellofromFlour—a dessert and space styling establishment. Constantly trying to outdo themselves, the couple took their own wedding at The Joyden Hall as a chance to explore new concepts, and so the Tale of a Thousand Cranes began.
How did the two of you meet?
Larry: Jophia and I were dancers when we got to know each other 12 years ago, back at our dance company. To be honest, we didn’t really take notice of each other until five years ago, when I returned from the army. Our love story started with a blueberry cheesecake that she baked for our dance mates. I love cheesecake, and hers was really yummy. She offered me the leftovers from her cheesecake for my supper, and that’s how it all began. I started texting her, she started baking more cakes for me, and we eventually got together.
What was the proposal like?
Jophia: Larry suggested doing our graduation shoot on my birthday. We had a great shoot, but what caught me by surprise was that our graduation shoot eventually turned out to be a surprise birthday party with our close friends, and it then became a proposal. It was the best moment of my life—tears of happiness, hugs from my dear friends, and laughter everywhere. My brain just couldn’t process what had actually happened. Everything was so surreal!
Tell us about the Tale of a Thousand Cranes.
Larry: According to Japanese folklore, folding 1,000 origami cranes is a true labor of love paying homage to the majestic crane, which mates for life and is said to live one thousand years. Tradition holds that the bride who finishes this task before her wedding day will be richly rewarded with a good and happy marriage.
The Tale of a Thousand Cranes was the underlying concept of our wedding. Right from the beginning, we knew we wanted a concept that was down to earth and that holds a significance. We both felt that having the Tale as our wedding theme would bring more life to the celebration. And man, were we glad we made this decision! It definitely felt surreal to be married under a thousand cranes that symbolise eternal love. It was indeed a labor of love and that experience was indescribable!
Jophia: The thousand cranes ceiling installation at The Joyden Hall was our largest DIY craft. And apart from the ceiling installation, we took up other DIY projects as well, such as wedding stationery, draped backdrops, props, badges, and wedding florals.
How did everything turn out on your wedding?
Larry: One word—amazing! Everything went really smoothly and we are so thankful to have an incredible wedding entourage and friends who helped us in one way or another. They made our wedding day a stress-free one, to the extent that we even had the time and energy to queue for bubble tea!
What was your favourite moment in the wedding?
Larry: In the Tale of a Thousand Cranes, the bride makes a wish in the presence of the 1000 cranes on her wedding day, and her wish would be granted. A lot of people have been asking us if Jophia really made her wish, and our answer is always ‘Yes! Why not, since the cranes are already there.’ We even allocated a time slot for wishing.
That was a very magical and intimate moment for the both of us. The Joyden Hall was cleared, leaving only the two of us and Caline our photographer. It was so quiet with just our favourite music playing softly in the background. I remember that Caline asked, ‘So who’s making the wish? Or are the both of you wishing?’ and I replied ‘Oh, only Jophia.’ According to the tale, the bride will make the wish, and no one mentions anything about the groom, but I secretly want to make one too, so I just conveniently made mine in a corner while she made hers.
Jophia: We have always wanted to dance, or have someone dance, at our wedding. But sadly, we realised that it’s actually quite difficult for us to dance, so we decided to adopt other ways to incorporate dance into our wedding instead. But this guy really never fails to surprise me. Just before our first march-in, he turned to me, said he had prepared a march-in dance and asked me to peep through the curtain. I did what he said, and gosh, my bridesmaids were already on the aisle dancing, including one of them who is not a dancer. They looked so beautiful and graceful, and it was my dream come true!
I am extremely grateful for everyone who have helped make our wedding day such an enjoyable and memorable one! Thank you all so much for your love and laughter; you people are amazing!
The Gown: Amanda Lee Weddings // The Gown Warehouse
The Suit: The Gown Warehouse & Paul’s Fashion
The Wedding Bands: Love & Co
The Venue: The Joyden Hall
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: 27a.co by Marie Soh
The Event Stylist: HellofromFlour
The Florist: HellofromFlour
The Stationery & Paper Goods: Flour
The Wedding Planner: Flour
The Photographers: Caline Ng Photography // Unique Colours Creative Media
The Videographer: Unique Colours Creative Media
The Photobooth: Unique Colours Creative Media
The Wedding Favours: HellofromFlour
The Solemniser: Professor Leo Tan
Credits: Images by Caline Ng Photography. Video by Unique Colours Creative Media.
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