Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

February 2017

Jasmine and Wei Xian’s Enchanting Victorian Garden Wedding at Hotel Fort Canning

Jasmine and Wei Xian’s solemnisation at Hotel Fort Canning’s Garden Terrace is every bride’s dreamy fairytale come true.

Jasmine Tan, 30, Business Development Executive and freelance makeup artist, met her husband, Wei Xian, 32, Engineer, at her brother’s wedding years ago. Mesmerised by Jasmine’s good looks and sweet voice, Wei Xian made a move to know her better through Facebook chats and dates. Love blossomed and the rest, as they say, is history. On 17 September 2016, the young sweethearts proclaimed their love and exchanged matrimony vows in a romantic fairytale solemnisation ceremony at Hotel Fort Canning‘s Garden Terrace, complete with enchanting fairylights and dreamy blooms.

So, Jasmine and Wei Xian, tell us more about what attracted you to one another?

Jasmine: I was first attracted to his charming smile and of course, his brows! But as we got to know each other, his reliability, ambitions and filial piety won me over. And I love his sense of humour – it’s what keeps me smiling all the time.

Wei Xian: Aside from her good looks and sweet voice, I love that she is caring, understanding, cute, fashionable and really easy to get along with. She also gives me the personal space I need.

How did you plan for her proposal, Wei Xian?

Wei Xian: I wanted to give Jasmine a special memorable experience instead of simply proposing in a hotel room with a ring like most men do. So, I took about two months to conceptualise, plan and put the proposal in action. I coordinated with Shu Hui, Jasmine’s best friend, and got her to invite us along a ‘free yacht trip’ that she had ‘won’ in her company’s D&D lucky draw. When Jasmine arrived at Sentosa Cove, her closest friends handed her photographs of our special moments, such as our first Christmas and first overseas trip together. Then, together with my brothers, we performed a flashmob dance to Bruno Mars’s Marry You before we boarded the yacht to celebrate our engagement with our friends. We also managed to catch the fireworks display when the yacht was near Sentosa – a perfect ending to that wonderful night.

Jasmine: I was very impressed! And I still am today!

Your Bali pre-wedding photoshoot looks amazing. What made you decide to travel overseas for your pre-wedding shoot?

Wei Xian: We never wanted to do our photoshoot in Singapore as we craved for natural scenery that cannot be found locally.

Jasmine: So, we were considering heading to New Zealand as we love the mountains, lakes, and vast fields. However, the season and price were an issue. Just then, a close friend of mine invited us to her wedding in Bali. We decided to ride the wave and explore the option. I searched for a photographer and found one whose romantic and natural shooting style caught my attention. And through him, we discovered how dreamy and romantic Bali can actually be as we embarked on our photoshoot.

Were there any difficulties along the way as you planned for your pre-wedding photoshoot?

Jasmine: Having to engage an overseas vendor without referral requires a leap of faith and much courage. Contactability was an issue as well. We only had Whatsapp and email as our form of communication with our photographer and due to his packed schedule, his replies were rather slow. During this time, we were struck with fears of a scam as we kept chasing for a reply. Thankfully, our photographer is a nice person and we were able to meet up when he was in Singapore for a photoshoot.

Another obstacle we met during our planning was the language barrier between us and our photographer. Since English was not their first language, we had some instance of communication break down due to misinterpretation during our discussion of venues, photography style and outfit choices.

On the actual shoot day, there was a heavy rain in the morning as we approached our first venue, and due to the weather, we only managed a few good shots. But the rain turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we were able to shoot at a beautiful green paddy field instead. During the shoot, we learnt to pose lovingly amongst prying eyes but it was all fun! Overall, our entire journey was very relaxed and we were able to sneak in plenty of rest in the car in between locations despite our initial concerns.

Share with us your solemnisation planning journey. What sort of challenges did you face in your planning and how did you overcome them?

Weixian: When we saw Hotel Fort Canning’s Garden Terrace, we fell head over heels in love with its alfresco fairylights and lawn! Instead of the usual solemnisation, I wanted something different – something with a more Western feel. The Garden Terrace’s grass patch layout was perfect and within our budget.

Jasmine: We had little problems with our coordination as there was no auspicious time to follow and no gatecrash. Plus, we had the help of an online e-invite service ‘the knot’ to get word of our celebration out there and collect our RSVP swiftly. However, the weather and threat of an oncoming Zika virus posed an obstacle to our big day. Less than a month before our solemnisation, it was reported that Singapore would be hit by one of the worst haze we’ve ever had and Singapore’s very first Zika case. We took all the necessary precautions we could to safeguard our guests from the crisis while praying for all to be well on the actual day.

Wei Xian: It was also raining on the morning of our solemnisation, but thankfully, it cleared up in time for our ceremony. Eventually, our prayers were heard. Everything went smoothly and all was well.

Was there a wedding theme?

Wei Xian: Yes! Our theme was a Garden Victorian wedding. We requested for our guests to dress up according to the theme if possible. Many of our female guests came in floral dresses while the men came well-dressed in sync with the theme too. One of them even wore a green top, brown bow tie, and pants! It was nice that our guests were supportive.

Jasmine: It took me the longest time to decide on a theme and colour scheme for there were too many ideas online! I love art and craft and decorating, so Wei Xian allowed me to take the reins for our wedding décor. I consolidated 24 cans of used canned food as candle holders, borrowed used wedding decorations from friends and used items I already owned that fit our garden theme. If I had to purchase an item, I only bought it if I were going to reuse for our future home. As for the wooden planks used in most garden weddings, I acquired mine from cut tree branches along the roadside and cut them manually into coasters for the candle holders.

We also sprayed paint our own “Mr” and “Mrs” in gold to match our theme and hung them on our chairs. We even created our very own backdrop and photo booth from the scratch! Every corner was so Pinterest worthy. I am very satisfied with the final result!

What was the actual day like?

Jasmine: I was so nervous walking down the aisle with my dad. We ended up walking so fast and we smiled too happily! I felt so in love with the man who confessed his love so bravely in front of the crowd and my family. His vow was so cheeky yet lovely. We had a great time as we get to drink, sing and dance at our own party!

Wei Xian: It was awesome! We loved the venue and the romantic ambience. It was the kind of Western styled, intimate setting that we want for our families and friends. It was a pity that we could not have more time to mingle with our friends.

What did your family and friends have to say about your solemnisation?

Wei Xian: Fairytale. Magical. Beautiful. Most of them commented that our solemnisation was very special with the decorations and fairylights.

Jasmine: Some of them were shocked that we conceptualised and styled the decorations on our own. Most of them loved the ambience a lot. They also mentioned that the emcee and speeches made the night very memorable!

Share with us one memorable memory from your solemnisation.

Wei Xian: My US-based buddy turning up at our solemnisation celebration was one of the most memorable moments of that day. I was disappointed when he said he couldn’t come when I invited him, but as it turns out, it was part of his plan to surprise me! It was also pretty memorable when I saw my father place a kiss on my mother’s cheek as a forfeit for a game.

Jasmine: It was definitely when we slow danced! It was not planned and I secretly like that it happened. It was almost like a Waltz Disney story. The next memorable moment would definitely be when Wei Xian recited his cheeky vows where he said, “like a Pokemon catcher, I have to feed you with a lot of love berries to make sure you will not break free”.

The Pre-Wedding Shoot: Bali
The Solemnisation Venue: Hotel Fort Canning
The Size of Solemnisation: 90 Guests
The Cost of Solemnisation: Approximately $20,000
The Photographer: Kadek Artayasa from Diktat Photography (Pre-Wedding) / Leslie Photography (Solemnisation)
The Videographer: Leslie David from Mosaic Studios
The Wedding Gown: The Gown Warehouse (both Pre-Wedding and Solemnisation)
The Wedding Shoes: Pedder Red (Pre-Wedding) / Elisa Litz (Solemnisation)
The Groom’s Suit: The Gown Warehouse and Zara (both Pre-Wedding and Solemnisation)
The Groom’s Shoes: Everbest (both Pre-Wedding and Solemnisation)
Hair and Makeup: Zevinnia (Pre-Wedding) / Amanda Cheong (Solemnisation)
The Wedding Florist: Starflorist
The Wedding Emcee: Terence Koh from Terence the Host
The Wedding Stylist: DIY
Wedding Planning: SingaporeBrides


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Jasmine and Wei Xian’s Enchanting Victorian Garden Wedding at Hotel Fort Canning