Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

February 2017

Edlyn and Fabian’s Teochew Opera Pre-Wedding Shoot

Edlyn and Fabian paid homage to their roots with their Teochew Opera pre-wedding shoot.

Edlyn Zheng, 35, Assistant Relationship Manager, and Fabian Ng, 31, Senior Events Planner met at a wedding gatecrash, that left one bridesmaid and one groomsman on team #newcouple! Wanting to have fun and look natural in their pre-wedding photos, Edlyn and Fabian let loose with full Teochew Opera costumes and makeup, as well as played with rain and paints during their colourful shoot!

How did you meet?

Edlyn: We met during the wedding of my good friend and Fabian’s cousin. I was a bridesmaid while Fabian was a groomsman.

What drew you to each other?

Edlyn: We somehow felt a connection during the gatecrash when I first saw him. So instead of me “tekan”-ing Fabian, it was more like a playful teasing between us! Right after that, Fabian got my number from his cousin, and we went on our first date, where we found out that we have the same birth date!

Fabian: We felt that it was very easy to talk to each other because we share the same interests and laugh at the same kind of jokes.

What’s one of the things you love most about your partner?

Fabian: Her down-to-earth character, and her ability to cope incredibly well both at work and domestically.

Edlyn: He is very attentive and sensitive to my needs. I love that he loves my family like his own.

What was the proposal like?

Edlyn: Four words to describe it: surprising, special, sincere, and sweet. The requirements I gave Fabian for the proposal were that that it has to have an element of surprise, and he has to go down on bended knee. It was indeed a surprise as Fabian proposed to me right after we had just finished spring cleaning last year. He proposed to me in a very special way—with a magic trick! There was no ring, no flowers, and I looked a mess. After the trick, he went down on bended knee and popped the question with utmost sincerity. I cried buckets as I was so touched. The memory is sweet to the max!

Where did you shoot your pre-wedding session?

Edlyn: We sought professional advice from our photographer, Thomas from The Peeping Thom, and after several rounds of discussion, we narrowed it down to the themes of outdoor, renovation, dolling up, Teochew Opera, and rain. Fabian was the one with all the interesting ideas, and he hoped that with these concepts, we would be able to pose comfortably without looking awkward.

In particular, the concept of Teochew Opera was chosen by Fabian because I am Teochew and Fabian thought it would be intriguing to capture us in traditional Teochew Opera makeup and costume. With this idea in mind, Thomas went the extra mile to search for and enquire extensively with different venues before we finally got approval from Hong San See Temple.

Fabian: Our makeup artists for the Teochew Opera makeup, Nick Shen and team, were very meticulous and professional. Through this experience, we realised that Teochew Opera is truly an art and not as simple as it seems. The hair and makeup took three hours! Imagine the Teochew Opera artists who have to do this just for their performance regardless of how short it is. We are thankful to Nick and team for helping us accomplish this task.

Selecting the rest of the venues went pretty smoothly. We happened to be renovating our new home and could use it for the Renovation shoot. Edlyn’s uncle readily offered his master bedroom for the Dolling Up session. We weren’t very particular about the outdoor locations, therefore we picked Piccadilly and Seletar Farmway. The rain shoot was another one we enjoyed with Thomas as he went to explore a new neighbourhood and created an artificial rain (with a car wash hose!) with the assistance of fellow photographer, Ben.

Edlyn: It was tiring yet fascinating, as though we were running different shows on a getai night, as we had to dash to different locations and get the makeup artist to refresh our looks immediately once we reached the different venues.

Most importantly, it was a preview of our how we would look like on our wedding day, so we were very excited about it.

Tell us your wedding plans.

Fabian: We held our wedding party (themed Happily Ever Laughter) on Christmas Eve last year at Edlyn’s uncle’s house. It was a night of love, laughter, and liquor with only our relatives and close friends invited for the joyous occasion. We had a mentalist performance as well as a lucky draw!

Edlyn: Both Fabian and I had wanted a lucky draw at our weddings even before we met each other! We’d noticed that many wedding guests tend to leave before weddings end, so we had the same thought that should we ever get married, we would have lucky draws on our wedding to make the guests stay till the end!

The Gown: Valens Couture
The Bride’s Shoes: Steve Madden
The Suit: Tailored in Bangkok
The Groom’s Shoes: Taobao
The Engagement Ring: JannPaul
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Xara Lee // Nick Shen for Teochew Opera hair and makeup
The Flowers: Artificial flowers ordered from Taobao
The Photographer: The Peeping Thom


Photography by The Peeping Thom.

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Edlyn and Fabian’s Teochew Opera Pre-Wedding Shoot