Singaporebrides | Fine Dining

October 2017

Xinying and Jeffrey’s Fairytale Mandarin Oriental Singapore Wedding

Jeffrey proposed to Xinying in London with an infinity rose, which was still abloom during their Beauty and the Beast inspired Mandarin Oriental Singapore wedding a year and a half later!

Chen Xinying, 33, Anaesthetist, and Jeffrey Nah, 35, Teacher, celebrated their London proposal with a huge infinity rose, which was still abloom a year and a half later when they tied the knot in a fairytale wedding in Mandarin Oriental Singapore on 4 June 2017. Read on for their enchanting European royal pre-wedding photography session, and all the surprises at their emotional wedding!

How did the two of you meet?

Xinying: We met via a mutual friend, and started chatting on Facebook. We met up for our rather unconventional first date (prawning!), and the rest is history.

What drew you to each other?

Xinying: I felt very comfortable with him from the start, and that’s saying a lot coming from an introvert like me. We have a chemistry that is quite incredible considering we have such different characters. I was attracted to his wit and also his perseverance in drawing me out of my comfort zone. He has an uncanny ability to make me laugh and is always positive and passionate about life. There’s never a dull moment with this guy!

Jeffrey: She’s like the typical model student–very good natured, doesn’t (dare to) do anything unlawful. She doesn’t “PMS” or throw tantrums (before marriage at least). Most importantly, we can connect. That is all and above everything. She never fails to consider others’ feelings and always places others’ interests and needs before her own. I really respect her for that!

What was the proposal like?

Xinying: I was doing a job attachment in the UK, and Jeffrey proposed during one of his visits, on Christmas Eve when we were in London. We had just had a small log cake in our hotel room, and I was preparing for bed when he suddenly presented me with a huge infinity rose (which I brought back to Singapore and is still going strong after one and a half years!) and an iPad which played a video montage that he had made with a super touching message at the end, so I was already tearing before he got on his knee with the engagement ring. Of course I said, “Yes!” I later learned that Plan A, which was supposed to be a proposal under the Northern Lights, failed because the weather was so bad in Iceland when we were there a week earlier!

Jeffrey: In retrospect, even if we had managed to catch the Northern Lights, I probably wouldn’t have whipped out the ring. It was simply too cold!

Where did you go for your pre-wedding shoot?

Xinying: We wanted a destination shoot, but one that wouldn’t break our bank. It was by chance that we came across Cangai Wedding, which was based mainly in Taiwan. We saw their beautiful sample photos and were sold. We eventually chose Kenting, Kaohsiung because of its natural scenery and beaches.

Jeffrey: I definitely wanted somewhere cool so I wouldn’t be melting away during the shoot, considering I’d be suited up in most of the shoot. Kenting was cool and windy in December, and I was looking forward to taking some beach shots and showcasing some abs. Sadly, the abs didn’t manifest, as hard as I imagined.

Tell us about your pre-wedding shoot.

Xinying: It was raining so heavily on the day of our shoot in Kaohsiung that we had to postpone to another day. That was highly stressful!

Jeffrey: Yes, I recall she cried and I spent the morning comforting her.

Xinying: Fortunately the weather cleared up, and we managed to proceed with the shoot. The team and ourselves had planned a shoot that hoped to capture different themes, including European royal, Korean romantic and beach casual, so we got the best of all worlds! We had a lot of fun doing the shoot, although there were strong winds towards the second half of the shoot and I felt like I was being blown away. We had a great team who persevered and encouraged us and voila, the photos turned out great and we received many compliments from our friends. We also had a casual shoot in Singapore in Lower Pierce Reservoir where we did our pre-wedding video shoot. This shoot captured our most natural selves.

What was your wedding like?

Xinying: We fell in love with Mandarin Oriental’s fan-shaped ballroom and modern chandeliers on our first visit there. It also had great reviews of its food, which was important as we wanted our guests to enjoy the meal! I had always wanted a whimsical fairytale theme, and our colour theme was white and blush pink, with a touch of blue hydrangeas, which are my favourite flowers. Our reception photo gallery was decorated with fairy lights and love quotes. We also had a wishing tree on which guests could hang their blessings for us!

I wore a classic white sweetheart wedding gown with lace and long train as it was the dress that I had always envisioned myself wearing on my wedding day, and it would never go out of fashion. The graduated blue evening gown with beads and crystals was love at first sight for my husband and I.

Jeffrey: Notes for grooms-to-be, your answer for this question should not matter. Just remember, “Happy wife, happy life.”

Can you walk us through your wedding day?

Xinying: We had our gatecrash in the morning. I have to say, even I was suitably impressed as Jeff breezed through the challenges! I had an emotional moment when the veiling was done by my parents, and it was the first to come in an emotional day.

We had a short entourage photoshoot at the historical Petain road shophouses near my house, which was a unique experience even for our photographer and videographer. I wore a modern cheongsam with an illusion neckline for the traditional tea ceremonies. Our solemnisation was held in a function room overlooking the city harbour. I really loved the wedding arch and the chair signages the florists had created for us. We had also handwritten our vows in customised vow books which we will be keeping! Both I and my husband were overwhelmed with emotions during the simple ceremony.

We had fun mingling with the guests and had time to take some shots at our fun photobooth. As it was also my husband’s birthday, the banquet staff of Mandarin Oriental Singapore actually executed a surprise birthday celebration for us pre-banquet, complete with spotlights, birthday song, and cake. You can imagine our surprise!

Our first march-in was to our favourite Korean drama DOTS’ theme song “Everytime.” Our second march-in song was in accordance with our theme, “Beauty and the Beast”. We had our first dance and I’m really glad we did, as it will be a great memory for years to come. It was a night of surprises as we surprised each other with a song performance each during our speeches!

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?

Xinying: The most memorable moment for me would be our second march in to a song from Beauty & the Beast leading up to our dance. It was really a fairytale moment for us!

Jeffrey: Of course that’d be most memorable for her; she gets to be Beauty. I would say it’s our solemnisation. It was the most emotional for me. Just standing in the room, waiting for her dad to appear with my wife-to-be, the music playing in the background, our friends and relatives clapping, I was already so moved and my tears were welling. At that moment I could only think, “How lucky I am to be marrying this wonderful lady!”

The Size of the Wedding: 370 guests
The Cost of the Wedding: $70,000
The Venue: Mandarin Oriental, Singapore
The Gown: Cangai Wedding
The Bride’s Shoes: Sinderella
The Suit: Cangai Wedding and groom’s own
The Engagement Ring: Larry Jewelry
The Wedding Bands: Larry Jewelry
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Occasion
The Groomsmens’ Suits: Uniqlo
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Christine Tan
The Nail Artist: The Nail Artelier
The Florist: Sing See Soon
The Wedding Stylist: Inside the Knot for reception
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Evan Yu from Cangai Wedding, Kaohsiung
The Wedding Photographer: Terry Ng from One Eye Click
The Videographer: Back Alley Creations
The Photobooth: One Eye Click Live
The Solemniser: Mr Chiang Heng Liang
The Wedding Car Rental: Wedding Carzzz


Credits: Pre-wedding photography by Cangai Wedding. Actual day photography by One Eye Click.


Want to see your love story featured on SingaporeBrides too? Submit your wedding here!

All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeBrides.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates!

Xinying and Jeffrey’s Fairytale Mandarin Oriental Singapore Wedding