Singaporebrides | Photography
October 2017
Peipei and Keat’s Fun LEGO Wedding at Da Paolo Bistro Bar at Rochester Park
With an angbao box, bow tie, bridal heels, wedding favours, and recreations of the couple’s love story all made from LEGO, Peipei and Keat’s LEGO wedding will put a smile on your faces!
Peipei and Whye Keat threw a cheerful DIY wedding party not once but twice. The couple opted to celebrate their meaningful occasion in small and cosy settings over two weekends on 3 September 2016 with families only, and on 10 September 2016 with only their friends. Read on for their incredibly fun and colourful LEGO wedding at Da Paolo Bistro Bar, Rochester Park, captured beautifully by Glen Sin’s Photography!
How did you two meet?
Peipei: We met each other during a two-week course in September 2011. He was one of the first few friends I made and we hit it off pretty well, probably due to the fact that the fresh-out-of-school, ignorant me was easily intrigued by the interesting stories he shared during our bus trips out of the “ulu” compound. It was later established that the bus trips he took were pretty much premeditated. We got together shortly after the course.
Of course, we did not imagine we would have come this far. In these eventful six years, we have seen each other through the highest and lowest points in our lives and proved to be each other’s stable pillar of support. Our relationship grew stronger over time and even today, we get excited about meeting each other and going on dates like new couples do!
What’s one of the things you love most about your partner?
Peipei: One of the things I love most about Keat is his “gentle giant” character! He is always the thoughtful one who takes care of me like a kid. Keat is patient, simple, and has a heart so big I cannot fathom it. My ex-colleagues used to call him the building mascot, as there were days he would just sit at the lobby and wait for me to knock off. His most iconic seat was the one just beside the rubbish bin. On bad days, he could wait for more than an hour, but he never complained. He was always smiling when he saw me because he was happy as long as we got to meet for the day. Keat is also the sweet one who remembers everything I say and listens to all my stories and complaints without falling asleep. He always places me before himself. In short, I have not met and will never meet another silly man who treats me better than Keat does!
Keat: What I love most about Peipei is her jovial nature! It has got to be rare to meet nice-looking girls in the force, and it was such luck that I got to meet her then. She was friendly and gentle when we first met. What drew me to her was how she patiently listened to me when I talked. However, her demure looks belie her humorous side! She also likes to say silly stuff that cracks me up all the time.
What was the proposal like?
Peipei: Whenever people ask us, we tell them that Keat proposed on our trip to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, last June. He basically took out the ring in our hotel room and popped the question. It was nothing fanciful. I said, “Yes,” we took some photos, and we went to sleep immediately so that we could catch our morning flight the next day!
Keat: However, what most people, even our families, do not know is that this was only partly true.
Peipei: A month earlier, I was doing some solo travelling in Korea. I was already in Seoul and did not suspect anything until one day I spoke to my mum on the phone. She innocently asked whether Keat would be joining me in Korea, which I found strange. The investigator in me started to piece the circumstantial evidence together, and I realised that he might actually be planning to surprise me in Korea. Upon confrontation, he pleaded guilty in frustration as he realised his surprises have never once worked on me.
Instead, I managed to surprise him at the airport with a rose the day he arrived in Seoul! And on our second last day, we decided to cycle around Yeouido Park. We were having a good time and I certainly did not see what was coming. When we finally decided to sit on a grass patch to rest, he took out a handcrafted scrapbook and a ring box which I was not ready for. Similarly, he did not expect the answer he received, and the rest of the day was just very solemn. It was not easy for him as it was a critical period at work and he had to go through several levels of approvals just to take those few days off. The fact that many were aware of the purpose of his trip did not help at all. Till today, not many people know what actually happened. I know that he always puts in 200% effort, and there is no one else like him.
Eventually, everything worked out on the second trip, and we are no longer bothered about what happened in Seoul. We even joke about his failed attempt sometimes!
Tell us about your two wedding celebrations.
Keat: We believed in celebrating the event with the people we love and putting in our best effort so that they would enjoy it as much as we would. We are happy when our guests are happy. However, it was really not easy to plan two dinners over two weekends! Our first celebration consisted of the usual customary procedures and a wedding dinner catered only for our families and close relatives at the Jade Restaurant, Fullerton Hotel. We also held our ROM ceremony on the same day.
Peipei: Despite the fact that we were working with a very tight budget, we were determined not to compromise on the whole experience. We had a lot of ideas and ended up with plenty of DIY items that we painstakingly crafted over many days, nights, and weekends. For example, we made the hair accessories for the bridesmaids and myself using dried flowers purchased online. The decoration for our bridal Kombi was designed by us as we were not able to find anything we liked from available providers. Instead of purchasing ready wedding favours, we bought honey and jam jars and packaged them ourselves as we wanted a certain look.
And your second wedding celebration?
Peipei: It was meant to be a more relaxed and casual kind of post wedding celebration held at Da Paolo Bistro Bar, Rochester Park that only included friends. As my husband is a LEGO fan (and kind of influenced me after some time), we came up with the idea of having a LEGO wedding when we were planning for this friends only party on 10 September. We went all out for a full-fledged LEGO experience starting from the wedding invite to the little details at the dinner. Even our guests had to come dressed in LEGO’s primary colours! While we did engage the assistance of a wedding stylist, the amount of DIY effort we put in was no less than a terrifying 300%.
For example, we made LEGO favours by gluing pins to more than a hundred figurines for our guests to wear during dinner. We wrote name tags to assign each LEGO figurine to a friend whom we thought would like it. Many might not have realised at all, but we also tried to ensure that friends in the same group who would be sitting together, get different figurines. It was quite a time-consuming process for us, but fun at the same time. Keat and I had to fight for the rarer ones when we were assigning the figurines!
Keat: We designed the dinner menu ourselves, and made the escort cards to ensure a coordinated look. No LEGO wedding is complete without a LEGO bowtie, so I DIY-ed one. I also designed and made the angbao box from LEGO.
Peipei: Despite talking about a pair of LEGO wedding shoes for nine whole months, Keat finally decided to glue the bricks onto my heels an hour before the dinner itself. If he failed, I might have gone barefoot that night. Ha! An idea also struck me suddenly and at the very last minute, I made myself a LEGO hair accessory while having my makeup done, with whatever LEGO pieces I could find. Even the makeup artist was amused!
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Peipei: There were a lot of special moments during the celebrations but if I had to choose the most memorable bit, it would probably be our solemnisation. It was a very special feeling when the door swung open and I saw him standing at the end of the aisle. I thought this is it, even if the world falls apart, there will still be him.
Another very memorable moment was when my surprise for Keat. I played the ukelele and sang, “You and I” by Ingrid Michaelson together with my friends during the dinner. Seriously, I am not a musically inclined individual and only had two hours the day before to learn everything. I made my friend meet me during lunch at work to teach me, and I even convinced his super talented girlfriend to sing the first verse for me. I love my friends! Interestingly, it turns out that Keat had actually practised the same song secretly, but did not have the courage to perform that night. Nonetheless, he grabbed a ukelele and played it with me after we started the surprise, which was fun. This song was meaningful as 2016 had not been easy for us due to many unforeseen circumstances, and the first time I heard the song, I told him that the start of the song was referring to us!
Keat: We also had a first dance which we only started learning four hours before the dinner but it turned out okay somehow.
The Size of the Wedding: 120 guests
The Cost of the Wedding: $15,000
The Venue: Da Paolo Bistrobar, Rochester Park
The Gown: StyleLease
The Bride’s Shoes: Aldo + LEGO
The Suit: Dickson Tailor
The Groom’s Shoes: Trent Nathan
The Engagement Ring: Jann Paul
The Wedding Bands: Cartier
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Lynda Low Makeup
The Wedding Cake: Keat’s mum
The Florist: Rubina, Inside the Knot
The Wedding Stylist: Rubina, Inside the Knot
The Photographer: Glen Sin’s Photography
The Videographer: Beyond Pictures
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Couple themselves
The Wedding Favours: LEGO
The Band: MXGX
The Dessert Bar: Dyana from whisk.bake.frost
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