Singaporebrides | Fashion

June 2017

Germaine and Li Xing’s Bright and Merry Wedding at The Chapel at Imaginarium

Germaine and Li Xing wed at the elegantly beautiful chapel at Imaginarium, one of Singapore’s up-and-coming wedding venues.

Germaine Quek, 28, Operations Manager, was church mates with husband, Tan Li Xing, 30, Logistics Analyst, but never spoke to one another until one fateful Chinese New Year’s day. Mutually attracted by their similar life goals, dedication and passion for the things they did and held dear, Germaine and Li Xing became a pair, and on 29 June 2016, the young lovers tied the knot in a heartwarming celebration at The Chapel at Imaginarium, an elegant venue featuring beautiful, modern chandeliers, and stunning arched trusses, surrounded by their loved ones.

What was it that attracted you to your partner?

Li Xing: Although we were church mates, we never really got to know one another until we bumped into each other one Chinese New Year’s day. Since we were with common friends, we settled down as a group and hung out together, and that was really the first time we got to know each other.

As I got to know her better, I started to pay more attention to her and noticed that she was always committed to the things she was doing, and her dedication really attracted me, as I have always wanted a partner who was committed as a person and not just to our relationship.

Germaine: For me, I’ve always wanted a partner who has the same values, goals and direction in life as I do, and I saw that in Li Xing. I saw that we would be able to live life doing the same things, enjoying the process and journey, spurring each other on and continue growing up and growing old hand in hand!

But the one thing I love most about Li Xing is his passionate nature. He is very serious about the things and people he treasures, as well as the beliefs he holds dear to his heart.

What was the proposal like?

Li Xing: I already had a date in mind way in advance, which was 29 December 2015, and applied for leave from work so that I could surprise her. I’m not really the romantic or expressive type, so all I had in mind was to pop the question after we’d spent some time together, but sometimes, things hardly go according to plan. The day before I planned to propose, we had an argument. But I decided to go ahead with my plan the next day and turned up at her place with the excuse of apologising to her when actually I was going to propose.

Germaine: I was frankly caught off guard because like Li Xing said, we had a quarrel the day before. So when he turned up at my place, I thought he felt bad about the argument and wanted to apologise so badly that he took urgent leave from work and came to me. But just as I was about to go for a shower, he suddenly brought out a box and popped the question.

I couldn’t believe what was happening! Shocked, I ran off to the bathroom for my shower! I think that was probably the longest wait of his life. Reality only hit me while I was in the shower as I finally realised what had just taken place, and when I exited the shower, I said “Yes!”.

Share with us your wedding planning journey.

Germaine: We actually enjoyed our wedding planning journey very much, from the gathering of ideas to realising them and working with our friends to bring them to life, to our rehearsals and actual day! There were plenty of fun and memories made! If I had to pick one challenge that we had to overcome during our planning, it would likely be our budget. Some of our initial ideas were either too expensive or not worth the investment, so we focused on the ones that we were comfortable with and everything worked out great!

Li Xing: Finding a wedding venue was also one of the biggest challenge we faced. We needed a space that could house up to 300 guests, be accessible, affordable and still looks great. We did not choose any of the hotel ballrooms because we were not planning on a banquet dinner and we felt that the look of most ballrooms were pretty standard. During our search, we visited many venues but they were either too small or big for our needs. Until we finally chanced upon The Chapel at Imaginarium! Not only was it of the right size for our guest list, it is also very accessible (sandwiched between both Eunos and Paya Lebar MRT stations) and met our budget needs. But the best thing about it has got to be the beautiful design of their hall – the arches, chandeliers and sidewall lightings – everything was so classic and timeless!

Germaine: Aside from the beautiful hall, we were also impressed by the thoughtfulness of including a dedicated bridal and tea ceremony room for weddings at The Chapel at Imaginarium. They were spacious, nicely decorated and very thoughtfully designed – there was even a sink within the tea ceremony room for the washing of tea cups! As if we were not impressed enough by the hall and rooms, we were thoroughly sold when we saw their Skyline Alfresco area!

Li Xing: Germaine is amazing when it comes to planning events and conceptualising ideas. So a huge part of the planning was all handled by her while I was in charge of choosing songs for our wedding playlist. It was awesome, no big issues, all smooth. Thinking back, I must say that we really made a great team!

Was there a wedding theme?

Li Xing: We wanted a wedding that reflected us in every step of the way, instead of one with a set theme like whimsical or rustic.

Germaine: So, we opted to focus on details like the type of flowers, colours and props used. We wanted a bright and happy wedding, so we chose sunflowers as the main flower for our wedding – my favourite type of flower! – and matched them with baby’s breath and pink petals lining the aisle. We also included a balloon sculpture of a bride and groom to add an element of cute and fun to the wedding. Our guests received colourful sunflower seeds as wedding favours, a symbol for “seeds of love”, which my friends and I personalised in dainty jars.

And in an attempt to tie in our styling for our pre-wedding shoot and actual wedding day, we re-used the triangle flags and bobble head figurines from our pre-wedding shoot. That way, when our guests view our pre-wedding photo slide show, they’ll feel like they’ve been on this journey with us right from the start.

What was your wedding day like?

Li Xing: Surreal. I think it’s one of those things you sort of know and have a plan for, but when it actually happens, it’s beyond what you could have possibly imagined and it really goes above your expectations!

Germaine: Happy! It was practically over in a blink of an eye. And unlike the proposal, everything went as planned! Many of our guests came to us and said, “Everything is so you both!”, which was what we had initially set out to achieve with our celebration. Everyone was super excited about the food we provided because I am known to be quite a foodie among our friends, and I’m glad that the food and desserts that we catered for the wedding were well received!

And thanks to Printiculous, everyone had so much fun taking photos! Because ours is simple tea ceremony followed by solemnisation and buffet reception, it also gave us ample opportunities to interact with our family members and friends. We were grateful for that. All in all, we are just really really glad that everybody enjoyed themselves very much!

What did your family and friends have to say about your wedding day?

Li Xing: For our family members, it was their first time attending a church wedding, and for my friends, I think they were surprised at how organised everything was. But above all, they were very touched throughout the ceremony as there were many funny yet touching moments coming together.

Germaine: Like what Xing said, many found the wedding program very refreshing and touching. We also received many lovely feedbacks about the venue, food, playlist and so on.

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?

Li Xing: What I remember most about our wedding day was mostly the first half of the celebration. I remembered being embarassed when Germaine described me as ‘handsome’ in the video our friend, who is also our march-in video producer, had secretly prepared for us. But I knew she was deliberately teasing me by using that word! I also remembered the opening dance by our friends and then finally, my bride walking down the aisle towards me. When my father-in-law placed her hand in mine, I knew that everything was happening for real and that she was going to be my wife. In that instant, all the emotions within me swelled up.

Germaine: For me, the part where our solemniser said “You may now lift the veil and kiss the bride” was the most memorable. The number ’29’ has a special meaning for us – we got together on 29 August, got engaged on 29 December and then got married on 29 June. So, the solemniser joked that maybe Li Xing should kiss the bride 29 times or for 29 seconds. And Li Xing decided to take the solemniser up on his offer! So, we kissed for 29 seconds!

What is one lesson you’ve learnt from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?

Li Xing: Start early! By starting early, we had ample time to research on local photographers and even considered overseas photographers when we thought none matched the style we liked. We started looking around for ideas and potential vendors from at least two years in advance. It was not deliberate, of course, but when we saw something we liked, we saved them so that in due time, we could refer to them and that really helped!

We didn’t hire a wedding planner, as we wanted to be very hands-on with the whole process and create memories for us, and our friends. Thankfully, that was Germaine in her element too – budgeting, sourcing, creative ideation, execution, styling and all. So by starting early and having a plan, it was much easier when we came together with our friends or vendors, to bring what we envisioned into reality.

The Size of Wedding: 300 guests
The Cost of Wedding: Approximately $28,000
The Venue: The Chapel at Imaginarium
The Photographer: Bobby Kiran Photography
The Videographer: Jeremy Chan from Visual Re-Invention
The Wedding Gown: La Belle Couture
The Groom’s Suit: La Belle Couture
The Engagement Ring: Meyson Jewellery
The Wedding Bands: JannPaul
Hair and Makeup: TangYong Hair & Makeup
The Caterer: Spice Village
The Dessert Table: Bloomsbury Bakers
The Florist: Less Than A Tree
The Wedding Stylist: DIY by Germaine and her friends
The Wedding Planner: DIY by Germaine and her friends, coordinated by the coordinators of The Chapel at Imaginarium
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Yeo Xiao Jiao
The Roving Photobooth: Printiculous
The Wedding Favours: DIY by Germaine and her friends
The Wedding Balloons: Little Red Balloon


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Germaine and Li Xing’s Bright and Merry Wedding at The Chapel at Imaginarium