Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
January 2020
Joymarie and Mackenzie’s Fun, Tropical Bali Wedding
Joymarie and Mackenzie celebrated with friends and family over four days at their Bali wedding holiday filled with tropical flowers and lots of fun!
Although Joymarie, 24, Behavioural Therapist, and Mackenzie, 25, English Teacher, grew up in the same neighbourhood in Canada, played at the same playground, and went to the same dance school, their paths didn’t cross until destiny finally brought them together during university. The couple tied the knot with a Peranakan-themed ROM at The Blue Ginger on 8 August 2018, and held an intimate and fun destination wedding celebration on 26 July 2019 in Bali with family and friends.
How did you meet each other?
Joymarie: Mack and I both grew up in Canada, where there were several moments we could have met—but we didn’t. We used to live near each other, I used to play at the playground behind his house, I used to deliver newspapers to his grandparents, and we even went to the same dance school as kids. Even back in the late 1990s, Mack visited Singapore while I was there, and though our paths could have crossed, they never did.
Not until 2012 at the University of Toronto, Canada, did we meet in our first year of university. We lived on campus, and our school environment was so unrestricted and easygoing, that people would just randomly visit our dormitories. So, one day, Mack came into my dorm living room, and we just hit it off! We were friends first, and slowly we started dating, and officially became a couple a year later. We started renting a basement together after our second year as a couple, and we have been inseparable since!
We met each other’s families; his family took me in like one of their own, since my family was living in Singapore during those years. In the past seven years that we have known each other, we have become life partners as we have shared so many different experiences and have overcome so many hurdles together—whether it was getting through university, moving to Singapore, or now, going through the motions of learning how to get a house in Singapore!
What do you love most about your partner?
Joymarie: When people ask me this, I always say there are so many things to love about him, but I guess the first thing would be how nobody knows him the way I do—the complexity of his personality is what makes him so special. His perseverance and constant effort to be a better person every day also adds to the many reasons I love him. And lastly, it is probably his family, because I have never met such a close-knit and loving family that loves largely and compassionately.
Mackenzie: Joy is totally one of a kind. I have literally never met anyone who is like her. No one has ever understood me the way that Joy does. She sees me for everything that I am and can call me out on my bullsh*t. I’m telling you, she instantly sees through you and I think that’s what makes her my best friend. She is 100% genuine and has a deep sense of empathy for others.
What was the proposal like?
Joymarie: About a month before our graduation, in 2017, we were at Key Largo in Florida and we were having a family reunion, as Mack’s dad’s side of the family live in Jamaica and Florida. It was the second last day before we flew back and we were taking family photos at the sunset of our private villa. I was taking photos of the family with my back facing the sunset, and then they insisted on taking photos of Mack and I. So, while they were all sitting, watching, and taking photos of us, Grandpa Lim-Hing starts playing Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love with You”, and the next thing I know, Mack is on one knee proposing!
What inspired you to hold a destination wedding?
Joymarie: Around January 2018, Mack and I started researching on planning our wedding. At first, we looked at places in Singapore, however, soon we realised that if we wanted his family to fly down over 13,000 km, we wanted to make it worth it.
We wanted to have our ROM earlier as we were applying for Mack’s permanent residence and also our housing, so we did the whole feng shui shebang and chose the auspicious date of 8 August 2018. Our ROM was super simple, at a cosy Peranakan restaurant, The Blue Ginger. Since we still wanted it to be memorable, we had a simple Peranakan theme ROM where we all wore kebayas and had Peranakan-themed decor to commemorate my family’s heritage.
Since most of Mack’s family could not make in time for the ROM, we wanted to have a celebration with everyone during our wedding! We realised that Singapore weddings were usually the standard one-day banquet lunch or dinner, maybe a party, and that’s it, but I wanted it to be so much more than that. I wanted to have a holiday celebration with my family and the people I loved. Additionally, I always hear from my relatives and friends that Singapore weddings are always so stressful, as the bride and groom have to run around taking pictures with everyone whereas we wanted to spend quality time with everyone.
So, we decided on Bali, where we could have our combined bachelor/bachelorette party (aka VIP party), and then a four-day, three-night stay at the villas where we would have our wedding celebration, and have the extra days to hang out and really spend that quality time together.
What was the theme of your wedding?
Joymarie: The theme of our wedding was rustic/bohemian with some tropical elements (since we were in Bali). We wanted it to be intimate, relaxed, and just like a big family party! Most of the wedding planning was done by me and our wedding planner Jessica who was the in-house planner at our wedding venue. We kept in contact over calls and emails over those few months, but it was much easier than I thought it would be. We also made a trip to Bali last year to do the food and cake tasting as well, so all in all, it was easy to plan!
For our wedding favours, we had batik fans and my mom handmade essential oils, while I designed the sticker labels for the bottles. We created four scents that commemorated significant moments in our lives: “Grandpa’s Garden” (lavender, thyme, siberian fir) for where we met in Toronto; “Florida Sunset” (wild orange, lime, geranium) for when we got engaged; “Blue Ginger” (ginger, jasmine, cinnamon) for where we had our ROM; and “Uluwatu Bliss” (ylang ylang, lemongrass, pomegranate) for where we celebrated our wedding.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Joymarie: The most memorable moment of our wedding for me was seeing all the planning and everything come to life. From the beginning to the end, it felt like a dream. There were so many favourite moments, from the walk down the aisle and seeing all of your loved ones, to having our best friends from university perform for us, and then having Grandpa Lim-Hing sing “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” for our first dance. I think another thing that made this wedding so special was the after party, as we all just jumped into the pool which just really reiterated the idea of how it was supposed to be a fun, relaxed wedding!
Mackenzie: For me, aside from seeing and spending time with my family, connecting with them and listening to not just their speeches, but even those small conversations about who they’d become since I last saw them, I think that the most memorable part of the wedding was watching Joy walk down in her wedding dress. The whole day felt like a dream-like fantasy but it was in that moment when Joy walked down that I was greeted with the epiphany that this was a reality whereby our dreams were coming true.
The Size of the Wedding: 50 guests
The Cost of the Wedding: USD 35k (including 4D3N accommodation for most guests) for Bali wedding
The Venue: ROM at The Blue Ginger // Wedding at Uluwatu Surf Villas, Bali
The Wedding Day Photographer: Apel Photography
The Gown: City Plaza! Budget bride 101
The Bride’s Shoes: Schutz
The Suit: Zara
The Groom’s Shoes: Sneakers from Polo Ralph
The Engagement Ring: Custom-made in Canada
The Wedding Bands: A local shop in People’s Park Complex
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: All the bridesmaids picked their own dresses as long as they were in the same colour scheme. (A mix of hand-me downs, Forever 21, Tobi, and Amazon)
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Uniqlo!
The Flower Girls’ Dresses: TeaPrincess
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Yeanne Makeup & Hair
The Caterer: Mana Restaurant from Uluwatu Surf Villas
The Wedding Cake: Butter Bali
The Florist: Florette’s
The Event Stylist: Florette’s and Uluwatu Surf Villas
The Wedding Planner: Jessica from Uluwatu Surf Villas
The Videographer: Apel Photography
The Photobooth: DIY with Polaroid cameras
The Invitations and Paper Goods: For our ROM, we DIY’d vinyls with our own stickers, and the invitations, I made them myself, and also used a website for the wedding information.
The Wedding Favours: Batik fans and handmade personalised essential oils
The Band: Our friends from university, Yoshi and Aaron, an entertainment duo called Bitter & Broke // followed by a DJ set to start the after party
The Solemniser: Maid of honour Montana and also Mack’s sister (Since we already had our ROM the year before, we wanted the wedding to be more intimate, special, and fun with someone who knew us both)
Credits: ROM images courtesy of couple // Bali wedding images by Apel Photography
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