Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
March 2020
Ying Yu and Sebastian’s Cosy Wedding at The Gallery at Grand Hyatt
Planning a wedding amidst busy house renovations, having their vintage wedding car break down, stepping on the wedding dress while walking down the aisle, and having a bridesman and best-woman give toasts… Ying Yu and Sebastian have done it all. The pair celebrated their love with an intimate affair at The Gallery at Grand Hyatt Singapore and it was a memorable night indeed.
Ying Yu and Sebastian’s platonic friendship as classmates in Junior College grew over the years and morphed into something beautiful. A perfect match for each other in every way, the lovebirds set on the adventure of their lifetimes as they planned for their perfect wedding amidst their house preparations. The final result? A cosy and intimate wedding at The Gallery at Grand Hyatt Singapore with their family, friends, and loved ones.
Share your love story with us. How did the two of you meet?
Sebastian: We were classmates in Junior College but still kept in touch after we went on to study at different universities. We remained platonic friends for years after that and eventually got together in a very cliché way: I was there for her after she and her ex-boyfriend broke up and things just sparked between us from then.
What do you love most about your significant other?
Sebastian: I love that she is good at everything I am terrible in… and that makes us a great duo! She has an eye for aesthetics and is a born planner. She sourced for most of the wedding vendors and left the legwork to me. I also liked how she is smart, decisive, and confident, though she was definitely already all that since I first knew her.
Ying Yu: I love how he is patient, accommodating and calm (most of the time), which is everything I am not. He keeps me grounded at my most frazzled and anxious moments, and that is very charming to me.
Tell us more about the proposal. What was it like?
Sebastian: We had quite a unique progression as the proposal came after we started looking at wedding venues. We also went down to a jeweller together to have our rings made so it wasn’t really a surprise that I was going to propose. It was a private affair in our hotel room during an overseas trip to celebrate my birthday; I will now never forget the date I proposed.
What was the wedding planning journey like? Were there any challenging/favourite moments during that planning period?
Ying Yu: We were juggling wedding planning together with our renovation, so it was definitely a hectic period! We did make a good team though. I planned, handled the aesthetics, and did most of the decision making for both wedding and renovation, and he helped out by running most of the errands and keeping an eye on the overall budget.
Where did you decide to hold your wedding? How did you come to that decision?
Ying Yu: We viewed a lot of venues, but once we saw The Gallery at Grand Hyatt, we knew it was the one. We love how it is spacious yet intimate. While the low-ceiling may be a deal breaker for some, we thought it made the space much cosier.
What was your big day like for you? How did you feel throughout the day?
Sebastian: I was very nervous even in the morning. We were already running about an hour or two behind schedule when I reached her house to pick her up, so that pretty much kept me on my toes thereafter. Nothing can beat the feeling of walking down the aisle with your soulmate though.
Ying Yu: I knew that Sebas was super nervous about running behind schedule, but I have complete faith in our bridesmaids, groomsmen and our vintage car, so I was pretty relaxed. I definitely didn’t expect myself to have so much fun too! I really enjoyed mingling and catching up with family and friends.
How did you create and decide on your wedding theme?
Ying Yu: We wanted to keep the wedding personal and intimate, so we made sure that we kept our guest list to family and friends that are important to us. We also kept this in mind while planning the program; we incorporated a thank you speech to our parents in our morning highlights video. And instead of a childhood montage, we created a short video of our journey (from friends to couple to wedding day), which included snippets of our family and friends. We also allocated time for my bridesman and Sebas’ best woman’s speeches which left us laughing and crying.
Aesthetics wise, I wanted a lot of things. I really loved the boho and autumn vibes, but I didn’t want it to look overly wild since it was afterall an indoor venue and not an outdoor wedding. I also wanted to incorporate some oriental vibes, but wanted to make sure that it was not too tacky.
It all worked out nicely in the end! Our invites and welcome sign were designed by my close friend, Meifeng, who took inspiration from our outdoor pre-wedding shoot in Bali. We rented a shuang xi neon light from lenglenglights and Serli dressed it up with an unstructured arc that was both elegant and wild. My beautiful bouquet was from Serli too, and it matched the theme perfectly.
If you had to choose the most memorable moment of your wedding, what would it be?
Sebastian: It was definitely when the bridal car broke down before we left to pick up the bride. It was a vintage vehicle and it stalled for a good 20 or so minutes before eventually starting up. It was quite a scare but that is a definite possibility when hiring a vintage vehicle! The vendor had a few other alternative vehicles which he could provide should it not have started back up.
Ying Yu: Oh, this is a tough one! One would be when Sebas texted me that the bridal car broke down! That was pretty exciting. I thought we would have to take a grab car down to the hotel.
Another moment would be when I was walking down the aisle with my father. I was so happy to see all my friends, sad to be leaving my family, and towards the end, I was panicking because I stepped on my gown but I still tried to smile. Our photographer captured my expression and it is hilarious.
What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with other couples who are also in the midst of planning their wedding?
Don’t procrastinate; it’d save you the nightmare of rushing to research and secure vendors and also helps you save money, especially if you are engaging up and coming businesses and vendors. Also, do take your time to meet up with multiple vendors and engage vendors that you are 100% comfortable with.
On the actual day, just let go and have fun!
The Size of the Wedding: 200 guests
The Cost of the Wedding: $45,000
The Venue: The Gallery at Grand Hyatt
The Wedding Day Photographer: Jerald from TinyDot Photography
The Gown: The Gown Connoisseur
The Bride’s Shoes: Bata
The Suit: Seah Im Tailor
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Thread Theory
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Queenie from Makeup Maestro
The Florist: Eufloria
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Gusmank
The Videographer: Momentold
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Maeve Chen
The Neon Lights: Leng Leng Lights
The Photo Table: Time Stands Still
The Solemniser: Fong Yoong Kheong
The Wedding Car Rental: Soft Cream Singapore
Credits: Images by TinyDot Photography
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