Singaporebrides | Photography
April 2019
Cherie and Sham’s Modern Foliage Themed Wedding With Gold Accents at Marina Bay Sands
Cherie and Sham’s wedding was full of fun, laughter and love. Plus, they had a special surprise in store for their guests! Read on to find out what it is.
Cherie and Sham met over four years ago because of a haircut, where he was (and still is!) the hairstylist responsible for grooming her tresses, and have been inseparable since then. The young lovers commemorated their love in a gorgeous pre-wedding shoot in Japan, surrounded by magical golden light and romantic Sakura blooms before celebrating their nuptials in a lively affair at Marina Bay Sands.
How did you meet?
Four and a half years ago, I went to him for a haircut and we started communicating ever since! Our work places were within walking distance, which was why I went to that salon. Previously I had my hair done with another one of his colleagues but she wasn’t available that day when I desperately needed a haircut. So I got him instead.
What do you love most about your partner? What made you fall in love with your partner?
Cherie: He is very self-driven and hardworking. I love how serious he is in building his career and his passion in helping to improve people’s lives through his craft.
Sham: Her patience and understanding nature, especially towards my lifestyle, is what attracts me. Due to my work, I may not have been able to spend a lot of time with her doing what couples usually do – going on dates during special occasions, meeting for lunch even though our work places used to be very near to each other. But she’s okay with it and can adapt to my lifestyle.
What was the proposal like?
We were on a holiday in Kyoto, and I was trying to take a video of us (selfie mode) at a scenic spot. While I was recording a video, with him walking a few steps behind me, I saw from my screen that he took out a little turquoise box. I turned around and he got down on one knee. Unfortunately, I dropped my phone and it stopped recording after that. It was a simple, no-fuss one, although he said he had been planning everything from choosing the proposal ring to our overseas trip (which I was the one planning the itinerary so actually the proposal location was like an off-track thing) to choosing the exact time to propose to me. He said he had been very nervous the entire trip up until the moment he proposed. After it’s all said and done, he could finally enjoy the trip!
How did you create your wedding? How were your vendors?
I planned everything on my own and it was all ala carte, no bridal studio package. Because my main concern was to have plenty of photographs, and a good photographer and videographer to capture the memories. Usually, the bridal studio packages only have limited number of photos, after which a couple will need to top up ridiculous amounts of money for more photos. So I rather spend that money on a good photographer and videographer instead.
My theme was marble, geometric shapes, white, grey, black, green and rose gold. Being a designer, it is quite impossible not to have a theme going on for my own wedding. It’s a mix of my husband’s and my favourite colours. First, I basically designed the whole identity from colours to fonts to materials to types of foliage. My theme foliage consists of plants with muted colours – mostly air plants, cotton, dusty millers and monstera. The first sneak peek the public would have is our ‘Save the Date’ email. So by then, I’ve already set the tone of the entire event. The invitation cards would follow suit.
On the actual day, my bridesmaids wore light grey dresses for the morning gate crash games, and each had a monstera leaf posy. I’ve also prepared white clutches, rose gold jewellery and eyeshadow palettes as gifts for them so they could use them during the morning event. During the evening solemnisation and banquet, the tables were all decorated according to the same theme. I also engaged a florist to settle all the foliage I needed. For the wedding favours, I bought air plants for all my guests and displayed them on marbled stones. Thankfully, the banquet decorations came in marble and rose gold theme as well so they were able to prepare the ballroom according to theme. The only décor vendor I got was a florist – Regina Mae Fleurs Atelier. I shared images of the theme foliage I wanted and she prepared all the flowers for me.
What was your wedding day like?
We had quite the standard routine – morning was gate-crash and tea ceremony. The gate-crash games were awesome because our 13 groomsmen were all very sporting. I think it is very important for grooms to get groomsmen who can actively participate in the games that the bridesmaids take so much effort to prepare. It makes the whole atmosphere so much happier.
After receiving me, we had the tea ceremony with my family. And then we headed for an outdoor photoshoot with all the bridesmaids and groomsmen. We didn’t meet the scorching bright sun, but unfortunately, it was drizzling. So, we just quickly got all the shots that we needed and left. Again, it was good that everyone was cooperative. Our photographer was also very clear in directing the big group of people as to where we should position ourselves, yet keeping everything natural.
We then headed to my new home for the tea ceremony with the groom’s family. After which, we took a shirt break before heading to Marina Bay Sands to prepare for the evening reception.
We wanted the mood of our evening banquet to be casual and fun, despite everyone looking absolutely stunning in a black tie dress code. So, my husband and I planned a fun surprise to give me a haircut midway through our second march-in, and he also planned a surprise song for me. It was a slight remix of a song he sang for me at a bar on stage while we were dating.
On the whole, we really enjoyed our wedding day. We really loved it! Despite minor issues that happened, we just didn’t want to let anything affect our mood so we just went with the flow.
Tell us about the idea of having your hair cut in the middle of your wedding and how you pulled it off. What did your guests say?
I had wanted to cut my hair short after the wedding so my husband suggested to just do it during the wedding. I’m all game for creativity and surprises so it’s an immediate yes for me. I totally trust his confidence in being able to pull this off because his haircutting skill is simply remarkable. So I left it up to him to work his magic. And we decided to only inform our emcees, the DJ and one of our salon team members who was going to be assisting him with the tools.
The rest of our guests were all clueless about this arrangement! Almost half of the length of my mane was gone so some of them were shocked, as we could see from the videos and photos that were captured during the event. Everyone held up their phones and were filming through the process. For the entire night, I didn’t have a mirror so I didn’t even know how I looked. I remember telling him when he was cutting my hair that since I couldn’t see myself, he was my mirror. If he thought I looked good enough to go up the stage, I’ll go with it. And for the whole night I really didn’t have a mirror to look at myself at all until the whole event was over. I enjoyed that suspense.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Definitely the hair makeover surprise! Also, we are very happy with how our wedding turned out, seeing all our loved ones enjoying themselves, the laughter and the tears. My husband and I really loved our wedding.
The Venue: Marina Bay Sands
The Size of Wedding: 230 guests
The Cost of Wedding: $51,000
The Pre-Wedding and Wedding Photographer: Andri Tei Photography
The Wedding Gown: Galia Lahav from The Proposal Bridal
The Bride’s Shoes: Saint Laurent
The Groom’s Suit: Saint Laurent, Rossi, Precision Tailor
The Groom’s Shoes: Saint Laurent
The Engagement Ring: Tiffany & Co.
The Wedding Bands: Chrome Hearts
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Love, Bonito
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Their Own
The Hair and Makeup Artist: Linda Lee (LindaLino) and Sham Adam (Be Salon)
The Nail Artist: Eunice Tan (EuniceTanNails)
The Wedding Florist: Regina Mae Fleurs Atelier
The Wedding Stylist: Cherie and Sham
The Wedding Planner: Cherie
The Wedding Videographer: Sense Gallery Production
The Wedding Invitations: Cherie
The Wedding Favours: Cherie
The Wedding Band: DJ DuriO (handling the AV that night)
The Solemniser: Tam Chee Wah
The Wedding Car Rental: Rented with Sham’s client
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