Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

December 2017

Jillian and Elroy’s Warm Church Wedding and Intimate Neon Pigeon Wedding Dinner

Jillian and Elroy tied the knot in Bethesda Frankel Estate Church surrounded by family and friends, then celebrated with an intimate Neon Pigeon wedding dinner with a close few.

Jillian, 27, and Elroy, 26, started their relationship on the morning of New Year’s Day in 2009, and took it to the next level with a fairylit proposal. On 10 December 2016, their family and friends pulled together to help them create their beautiful wedding in Bethesda Frankel Estate Church and intimate Neon Pigeon wedding dinner.

How did you meet?

Elroy: We sort of knew each other from secondary school because Jill knew my brother through her sister. That was the extent of our friendship before we started going out. Fast forward, it was New Year’s Eve in 2008 and my friends and I were planning to have a gathering. When my friend and I were getting groceries for the gathering, we bumped into Jill. So me, trying to be friendly, asked her along.

At the end of the night, Jill and I shared a cab back home since we lived near each other. I don’t know why, but I decided to ask her out for breakfast the next morning and she said yes. The funny thing was, I didn’t know that Jill does not eat breakfast, so our first official date was me eating breakfast and Jill watching me eat. After that, we just continued going out and eventually it became serious.

Jillian: I don’t actually know why I said yes to breakfast because I had to skip class to meet him (kids, don’t do this!). But, I was glad that I went!

What drew you to each other and what’s one of the things you love most about your partner?

Elroy: Well, quite a few things but the main thing was that she takes better care of me than I would myself. She would help me buy dinner when I worked late, rat me out to my mom when I didn’t eat enough vegetables, and help me dress my wounds from rugby. She is 100% wife material.

Jillian: I liked how he wasn’t like other guys his age. He wasn’t too playful, has a good head on his shoulders, and could make me laugh. Also, I felt comfortable telling him things that I would normally keep to myself. What I love most about Elroy is that he is a giving person and will be the better person whenever we have a disagreement.

What was the proposal like?

Elroy: I thought it was magical but Jill thought it was cheesy. I knew she did not want anything in a public setting but, being an artistically challenged individual, I wanted to do something that could showcase my close-to-zero artistic flare, something that would get her attention when she sees it, something picture-worthy for the gram (kidding). Sad to say, the best I could come up with was Pinterest-inspired: fairy lights hung in a supposedly random manner at the Curtain of Roots in the Botanical Garden. Her reaction when she saw it? “So cheesy.” I died.

Jillian: Just to clarify, I did not say that the proposal was cheesy. It was unexpected, though we had been talking about engagement rings. How it happened was, we were walking to Corner House for dinner and luckily for Elroy, I did not know the way to the restaurant so I was just following him. When we were reaching the Curtain of Roots, I could see that it was lit up with fairy lights and honestly thought it was part of the garden’s installations. As we were walking though, there was music, which for some reason I also thought was part of the garden’s entertainment system. It seems quite silly now that I think about it because that was the only part of the garden with fairy lights and music.

It was only when I saw that the music was playing out of a phone and that there was a bouquet propped up against a light fixture that I realised something was up. He then took the bouquet and passed it to me and started his speech. Sadly, I don’t remember a single thing he said except for me always nagging at him (rolls eyes) and obviously, him asking me to marry him. He then got down on one knee and proposed.

Side note, we weren’t supposed to have dinner at Corner House that day, and I wore jeans as an act of rebellion even though he asked me to wear a dress, which I regret a teeny bit to this day. But that’s a story for another day!

How did you plan for and create your wedding?

Elroy: When we started planning our wedding, we did not really have an idea of what we wanted. It was just something that evolved as we planned our wedding. All we knew were, we didn’t want a hotel banquet dinner, good food was a must, and it had to be small and intimate.

We drew most of our inspiration from Pinterest. Jill even got the inspiration for her wedding dress from there! As we were quite particular about certain aspects of our wedding, we sourced most of the items for the wedding by ourselves. However, we were very fortunate because somehow, either our friends or family knew someone that could hook us up. They were honestly the biggest help!

Jillian: The thing that probably exemplified this best were the flower arrangements, or rather, the foliage we used to decorate the church. As I am not the biggest fan of flowers, I wanted as much foliage as possible. We had help from one of Elroy’s mom’s friends, who works as a landscaper, and she helped put together the vision. The outcome was that and so much more! We visited several nurseries, to look out for suitable foliage a few months before the wedding just so that it could be perfect.

The only vendors we had for the wedding were for the tables, chairs, catering, tailors, makeup artist, and the restaurant where we held our dinner; everything else was done by friends and family! We did have an issue with the vendors that provided the chairs for lunch. They were very difficult to work with and weren’t able to live up to their promises. Apart from that, the whole wedding planning process was very enjoyable and more meaningful because we became a lot closer to our friends and family.

As the church ceremony involved almost everyone in our family, we wanted a smaller affair for our dinner. So we booked out a restaurant and only invited our immediate family and close friends; about 60 people in total. I think this was a great decision as we had the chance to talk to everyone and it was so much fun!

What was your wedding day like?

Elroy: To be honest, it was pretty relaxed. Jill and I agreed that there was not going to be any gate crashing, so I was able to wake up at a reasonable time, have breakfast, and read the papers before I had to get ready. In the end, I had to write a haiku for Jill before I was allowed through the door.

Jillian: It’s probably the same as any other morning ceremony. I woke up early, had make up done, waited for Elroy to pick me, then headed to church for the ceremony. I was quite relaxed too. I was even playing games on my phone while waiting for Elroy to come over. After the lunch ceremony, we checked into Lloyd’s Inn, which was a gift from one of our close friends, where we got ready for our dinner.

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?

Elroy: Jill put my ring on the wrong hand. I gave her the correct hand but she was super insistent on putting it on my right hand. Everything was caught on camera.

Jillian: I will have to agree with Elroy. But I would like to clarify that Elroy didn’t give me the correct hand. I thought he was giving me the “wrong” hand so that we could move on with the ceremony. Why didn’t anyone verbally tell me that I was putting the ring on the wrong hand! I even asked Elroy if he had put on weight because the ring didn’t fit well and was hard to put on. Sigh.

The Size of the Wedding: About 300 guests for solemnisation // 60 for dinner
The Venue: Bethesda Frankel Estate Church for solemnisation // Neon Pigeon for dinner
The Gown: Wedding gown customised at Vivian Gown // Evening gown by Shona Joy
The Bride’s Shoes: Aldo // Superga
The Suit: Man’s Creation, Tanglin Shopping Centre
The Groom’s Shoes: Cole Haan
The Engagement Ring: Lee Hwa Jewellery
The Wedding Bands: Lee Hwa Jewellery
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Love & Bravery
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Their own
The Flower Girls’ Dresses: Qoo10
The Page Boys’ Suits: Qoo10
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Cleo Chang for solemnisation // Kacey from Clove Makeup for dinner
The Nail Artist: Ladyfinger
The Caterer: Luxe Catering // Bismillah Biryani
The Wedding Cake: Ciel Patisserie
The Florist: Family and friends
The Wedding Stylist: Ourselves
The Wedding Planner: Ourselves
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Wei Xiong from Two Front Teeth
The Wedding Photographer: Xinning from alone – together
The Videographer: Will from AndroidsinBoots
The Photobooth: One Eye Click
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Designed by bridesmaid Zara and self-printed
The Wedding Favours: Ciel Patisserie
The Band: Our friend Grace, who played the keyboard
The Solemniser: Dr Ernest Chew

Credits: Images by alone – together


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Jillian and Elroy’s Warm Church Wedding and Intimate Neon Pigeon Wedding Dinner