Singaporebrides | Photography
August 2017
Jocelyn and Elfie’s Lighthearted Café Melba Wedding
Jocelyn and Elfie celebrated their love in an intimate Café Melba wedding with only close friends and family, decorating the place with handmade items and flowers they arranged themselves!
Jocelyn, 30 and Elfie, 33 tied the knot in a lighthearted Café Melba wedding on 8 January 2017 before flying to Melbourne together for Jocelyn to complete her postgraduate studies. Former teachers, the couple bonded over their love for kids and passion for teaching. In fact, one of Elfie’s favourite moments during their wedding was the surprise speech Jocelyn made to him, written in Malay with the help of her former students!
How did your story begin?
Jocelyn: Both of us taught in the same secondary school for a couple of years. So we started off as colleagues and friends. I guess we clicked because we had and still have the same philosophy and attitude towards teaching. We both love kids and loved our students – and we both were pretty funny teachers, I would say. I think I was (and still am) drawn to his calm, cool-headed nature. He is a very principled person who is unafraid to stand up for what he believes and I think that’s something I strive to be. Oh, and I really love his sense of humour!
Elfie: I remember thinking that she was a pretty girl who was nice, but I was drawn to her initially because of the way she handled herself in the classroom. She had no airs and was pretty much game to do whatever it took to get her students to understand, to the point of being clownish. I was attracted to this quality of hers to not take things too seriously all the time, but yet she was able to do what she needed to do well. I love that I am able to be myself around her, and this was even before we were together.
What was the proposal like?
Jocelyn: We were on a trip in New Zealand, and he proposed to me in front of a pretty amazing waterfall at Devil’s Punchbowl Falls (the name’s weird but it’s an amazing place!). He had wanted to propose at Lover’s Leap in Dunedin, which has breathtaking views, but he couldn’t find the ring and it was so cold!
Elfie: I thought I had everything planned out, but I didn’t anticipate feeling nervous when I had to say the actual words. That was, in the end, probably the hardest part. But as long as she said yes, right?
Right! Tell us how you planned for the day you both say, “I do.”
Jocelyn: We wanted a really simple and intimate wedding where we could have good conversations with all our guests, so we really limited the guest list to close friends and family, and we had our wedding at a pretty café. We also wrote cards for our friends and family – which was the best part I think — we just have so much we wanted to thank them for and that was the perfect opportunity to say all the cheesy things (haha). We also made the décor ourselves and it was so much fun creating all those good memories with our friends.
What was your wedding day like?
Jocelyn: It went well – much like how we imagined! I have to thank my sister, who was my wedding planner and bridesmaid. She did everything so beautifully (and efficiently!) so I had nothing to worry about. We had such a good time catching up with our friends. We also had amazing heartfelt speeches from our siblings and friends – that was pretty unforgettable too.
What was it like working with Blessed-i Photography?
Elfie: We were very happy working with Yeow Ming from Blessed-i Photography. During our pre-wedding shoot, he was able to get us to feel comfortable enough to try different poses even though we are both not photo-friendly people. He works fast, and was able to give us the edited shots and CD within the week. Suffice to say, we were impressed. Come our wedding day, we had a simply ceremony outdoors, but lighting conditions were horrendous for a photographer, as our entire ceremony and reception was from evening to night. Hence, the lighting conditions changed quite drastically. However, the photos that Yeow Ming produced were fantastic. He captured moments that were important and emotional as well as ones that were memorable and hilarious with equal aplomb. Seeing that he was the only photographer we had, it was evident from the pictures that he was moving around nonstop to get the best shots and the ones that really captured the essence of our wedding. In all, we think that he is amazing at what he does and we cannot thank him enough.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Jocelyn: When Elfie sang me his rendition of “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur. It was a very, very lovely surprise.
Elfie: When I found out that she asked her ex-students for help in crafting a heartfelt speech in Malay, which she said to me on that day. That took the cake.
The Size of the Wedding: 120 guests
The Cost of the Wedding: $18,000
The Venue: Café Melba, Goodman Arts Centre
The Gown: Boutique in Melbourne
The Bride’s Shoes: ASOS
The Suit: Este Bartin
The Engagement Ring: Love & Co.
The Wedding Bands: uniformblack, Melbourne
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Fash Mob
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Groomsmen’s own
The Flower Girls’ Dresses: Flower girls’ own
The Page Boys’ Suits: KiddyPalace
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Hui Ling, from Ling’s Palette
The Florist: Got our own flowers from Far East Flora
The Wedding Planner: Lydia Liao
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Yeow Ming, from Blessed-i Photography
The Wedding Photographer: Yeow Ming, from Blessed-i Photography
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Taobao // Wedding illustration from Oh Lilly Designs
The Wedding Favours: Honey macadamia nuts from Melbourne
The Solemniser: Mr Foo Shick Thai
Credits: Images by Blessed-i Photography.
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