Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
December 2017
Priscilla and Jun’s Romantic Garden Rhapsody at Sky Garden, iFly Singapore
The chemistry between Priscilla and Jun was as explosive as the fireworks on their wedding day at iFly Singapore’s Sky Garden.
Lovebirds Priscilla Sia, 30, and Jun Hyuk Hwang, 31, both dentists, met at the University of Maryland, USA, where they were doing their Masters and specialty training in their respective fields of dentistry. Smitten by her, Jun asked her out and the sizzling chemistry between them took over. On 7 January 2017, the pair wed in an intimate and romantic celebration at the Sky Garden atop iFly Singapore, against the backdrop of the setting sun, the ocean and Sentosa’s brilliant fireworks.
How did the two of you meet?
Jun Hyuk: We were at a foreign student visa orientation meeting in Baltimore, Maryland and I thought she was real cute. I found out later she and I were in the same school where she was training to become a Prosthodontist and I was training to become an Orthodontist. One day she came down to our department looking for orthodontic pliers while everyone had left for the day. Luckily, I was still working, so I was able to sort of help her out. A few days later, I asked her out to the school’s Valentine’s Day dinner party, which she accepted.
The first date was rocky – she had just come from Singapore so she wasn’t used to my westernised antics (Korean born but Canadian raised). I asked her to dance but I think she was too shy. She later explained that she thought I was crazy. Subsequent dates were smoother. Sushi dinner, movie nights and so on, and the rest is history.
What do you love the most about each other?
Priscilla: Jun was very persistent in asking me out. One time he asked me out to a happy hour outing with our friends but it ended up only being the two of us. I later found out that he didn’t ask any of our friends and only used our friends as a guise to ask me out. During that “date”, I realised how much chemistry we had and how funny he was. Before that, I just thought of him as the crazy Korean guy with curly hair at the back of the class who asked a lot of questions. I love how unconventional and crazy he is, yet he is very stable and very much a family man.
Jun Hyuk: I think it was chemistry. We naturally gravitated towards each other, or at least I would like to think we did. I love that we are both driven and highly competitive. She makes me want to be a better person. She is always there for me and knows exactly how to make me feel better when I’m sad.
What was the proposal like?
Jun Hyuk: Unofficial proposal was done first. It is how Singaporeans would unofficially propose to buy a house together. But mine was more like, “Shall we move to Singapore together?” When she said “Yes”, I knew she and I were in it for the long run.
Priscilla: Actually, I was away in Las Vegas for a conference and Jun calls me from Maryland. He just had drinks with his friends and was crying over the phone as he asked, “Why haven’t you asked me to move to Singapore with you? Are we not serious enough? Do you want me to move to Singapore with you?”
Jun Hyuk: I officially proposed to her by the Marina Bay at one of the Fullerton hotel restaurants at midnight on the eve of New Year’s Day as we ushered in January 1st 2016 with fireworks. It was magical.
Priscilla: We were counting down to the New Year at The Pelican at One Fullerton. When it struck midnight and the fireworks came on, Jun suddenly got down on one knee and proposed. Later on, I found out that he hid the ring in the party hat that was given to us by the restaurant.
Share with us your wedding planning journey.
Jun Hyuk: I had hoped for a very private and intimate wedding. I originally had a destination wedding in mind with just immediate family members in attendance. After many discussions, we realised that we had many friends and family members that we wanted to invite so we scrapped that idea. We decided to host a small wedding with 120 guests. We plan to do another reception in Korea at a future date for my family’s relatives and friends. Once we decided on this, it was down to the finer details on food, venue and so on.
To all the grooms out there, take my advice and save yourself the hassle and get a wedding planner. I was very resistant at first of getting a planner but how I envisioned our wedding and what my wife envisioned were completely different. Our planner helped to work things out without having to discuss every single detail with me personally. I was so glad my wife had someone to discuss and arrange her dream wedding while I just provided them with minor input. Thank you to The Wedding Stylist and Wenxin!
Priscilla: It was quite difficult as we were both really busy with work and found it difficult to find time to sit down to plan and meet our vendors. The toughest part was picking the venue as we knew that we wanted it to be different from the usual hotel venues. Towards the last few months, we decided to engage a wedding planner and that was one of the best decisions we made for the wedding.
Was there a reason for picking Sky Garden at iFly Singapore as your wedding venue?
Jun Hyuk: We scouted for many places before settling for this place. Our criteria for our venue were firstly, it had to have both an outdoor and indoor space (very important for super-hot or super-rainy Singapore weather), secondly, it had to be accessible, and it had to be in Sentosa because an ocean view was super important, be a cosy smaller venue (we didn’t want a cookie cutter hotel banquet) and lastly, fireworks! (we wanted fireworks for our wedding).
Priscilla: We initially wanted to have a destination wedding, but knew that it would be difficult for some of my relatives to travel. We then decided on Sentosa as it is not on the main island and would be somewhat a destination wedding, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Jun wanted our wedding to have fireworks like the scene in the movie Meet Joe Black. It was also to relive our engagement where the fireworks were going off as Jun was proposing. The sea view and skyline from the Sky Garden was so beautiful, so the venue was perfect in our eyes.
Did you have a wedding theme? How did you go about creating it?
Jun Hyuk: I’m not too sure about this as I am still trying to understand the reason for a theme for weddings…. I can see how some people really love Star Wars or Harry Potter then they may have customs for that for their weddings but our common interest is dentistry…. I think if people dressed up as dentists and dental nurses with hand drills it will be more horrifying for most people than romantic. Just saying.
Priscilla: Our theme was Garden Rhapsody. We brainstormed for a theme that combined sky garden with music and fireworks. Also, Jun really likes Marina Bay Sands – it was one of the reasons he agreed to move to Singapore from America. So, we borrowed the theme Garden Rhapsody from their Gardens by the Bay light and sound show.
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Jun Hyuk: I was totally relaxed. My parents, sister and brother-in-law had just flown in from Korea and USA respectively, and we were just chilling and spending quality time. Our planner made sure everything ran smoothly. It was a full day event from gate-crashing to evening dinner so at the end of the day we were pretty tired but every minute was the best day of our lives.
Priscilla: It was phenomenal to see everything fall into place. We had guests from America, Korea and Taiwan coming in for the wedding so it was really busy before the big day. It started out with gate-crashing in the morning, tea ceremony with Jun’s parents and photos at Lower Seletar Reservoir. In the afternoon, we had a tea ceremony with my family at the Sky Garden, followed by solemnisation and the wedding dinner banquet. When I first stepped into Sky Garden, it was almost like stepping into a dream. It was everything I envisioned and so much more. It was done up to perfection.
Wenxin and her team did such a great job. The most stressful part was trying to coordinate the timing of all the events, especially the fireworks. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without Wenxin and her team. She planned the cake cutting and photo taking in sync with the fireworks, right down to the second. When Jun and I had some quiet moments to ourselves, we had a slow dance in front of our harpist at the sky garden. It felt so ethereal under the fairy lights with the beautiful skyline and sea as our backdrop. The day passed by so quickly. I heeded my friends’ advice to soak in every moment and remember to take in everything before it was over.
What did your family and friends have to say about your wedding day?
Priscilla: They loved the view, fireworks and decoration. Everyone commented on the lovely atmosphere. A lot of friends asked how we knew about and found our venue as most of them have not heard of the place.
Jun Hyuk: They all enjoyed our celebration. Everyone commented on the beautiful weather that day with the amazing sunset of Sentosa overlooking the ocean and the fireworks made it all so special.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Priscilla: While I was getting my hair and makeup done in the changing room, Jun’s mother was sitting on the couch watching me with tears of joy in her eyes. She said that she had been waiting for this day for so long and was very happy for the both of us. Jun was sitting next to her, holding her hand and they were talking about their day. It was such a beautiful moment. It spoke volumes of Jun’s love and respect for his parents, his parents’ acceptance of me although I’m not Korean and the culmination of all the hard work that had let to this day.
Jun Hyuk: Our harpist! I suggested we have a classical musician since my family members are all classically trained musicians so it was very special. Also the fireworks. And the sunset. And the weather. Pretty much everything.
What is one lesson you’ve learnt from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?
Jun Hyuk: My suit was altered very last minute. Possibly because I lost a lot of weight in the two weeks prior to the wedding. My suit guy had to remake an entire suit in less than 24 hours for me. My advice is try not to have too much weight fluctuations between fittings.
Priscilla: Engaging a wedding planner was definitely one of the best decisions we made. Although it can be pricey, having a dependable planner really takes away a lot of stress. On your wedding day, you know that you can just relax and let the day happen versus having to check on everything. Also, stay true to what you like and envision for the wedding. Do not succumb to pressure as to what is “normal” and “should be done”.
The Size of Wedding: 120 guests
The Venue: Sky Garden, iFly Singapore
The Photographer: Samuel Goh Photography
The Videographer: Yiqin from AndroidsinBoots
The Wedding Gown: Pronovias (Wedding Gown), Emanuel B (Cheongsam), Hanbok from Korea
The Wedding Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana
The Groom’s Suit: Mr Gentleman
The Groom’s Shoes: Aldo
The Wedding Bands: Jun’s parents
Hair and Makeup: Jacqueline Law
The Caterer: Rasel Catering
The Wedding Cake: Rasel Catering
The Wedding Desserts: Cupplets
The Florist: CC Lee Designs
The Event Stylist and Wedding Planner: Wenxin from The Wedding Stylist
The Roving Photographer: Tagronauts
The Wedding Invitations and Staionery: Wedding Invitation from W and Guestbook from Etsy
The Wedding Band: Yu Hsin, Harpist
The Solemniser: Dr. Lim Lan Yuan
Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides
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