Singaporebrides | Fine Dining
May 2020
Soh Fia and Joshua’s Charming Wedding at Furama RiverFront and CHIJMES Hall
Soh Fia and Joshua had known each other for years but it was a Pokémon Go “Tyranitar” that sparked their relationship and led them to celebrate their wedding weekend at Furama RiverFront and CHIJMES Hall.
Soh Fia, 27, Visual Development Artist and Joshua, 27, SAF Staff Sergeant, have heard of each other’s existence since they were in primary school. A Pokémon Go “Tyranitar” and their shared interest in the game brought them together again after all these years. The duo celebrated their union with two unique and personal celebrations at Furama RiverFront Singapore with their family and CHIJMES Hall with their friends.
Share with us your story. How did the two or you meet?
Soh Fia: I knew of Joshua’s existence when we were in primary school. We never spoke but I remembered him vividly because he used to be a fat kid in school! Years later, we reconnected on Instagram after I found a Pokémon Go “Tyranitar” on Google Maps, and we began talking. It took me some time to consider going out on a date with him, but he was so sincere that I knew he was a rare Pokemon to be “caught”!
I remember our first date. It was just before I headed to Los Angeles to take a couple of summer classes. In those few months when I was away, he would always take the time to Facetime me and send me flowers and letters. He was definitely a keeper! He waited for me all that time and even till now, he would still pick wildflowers and make mini bouquets for me whenever we’re overseas together!
Joshua: To be honest, she wasn’t my type of girl. I can’t even remember how we became friends on social media. I only had a vague image of her in my head in her Brownies girl guide attire in primary school. I started to take note of her more after I saw a video of her doing a pirouette on Instagram. I was thinking, “Wow, this girl is really talented!” and after chatting with her on Facebook Messenger, I was even more attracted to her personality and how unique and talented she was! She is a very independent and strong-willed person and I knew she was the one when she began to do things she normally wouldn’t do just for me.
What was the proposal like?
Soh Fia: It was partially a surprise but I knew it was coming as I sourced and picked the diamond out myself – it is a loose Argyle Pink Diamond from Mondial Australia. Joshua kindly paid for it though, haha!
Joshua: The other half which was the actual surprise element to the proposal was when I proposed to her during my birthday outing! I had originally planned to propose on her birthday instead, but the ring was not ready then. On my birthday, we went back to the same place I’d asked her to be my girlfriend, Gardens by the Bay. She was so shocked that she just said “okay”. I don’t usually celebrate my birthdays but now, my birthday is important because of her.
What was the wedding planning journey like? Were there any challenging/favourite moments during that planning period?
Soh Fia: I did most of the design work for the wedding while Joshua did most of the logistics and coordination. I designed my own wedding dress and had it tailored and co-designed by a talented team, Chi in Vietnam. Joshua and I also took floral design classes with our Skillsfuture credits so that we could learn to make our own wedding bouquet. After more events and masterclasses, I now help other couples in botanical designs to share their love stories too!
Joshua: Soh Fia did all the styling and designing – she even worked on letterpress invitation cards and edited all our pre-wedding photos! Almost all of the preparation was done by her mainly because of the nature of my work. She was very understanding of my work commitments and till today, I’m still very appreciative of that.
However, my job was keeping her (sometimes) crazy ideas in check by making sure they were all logistically possible. Someone had to keep track of the coordination and planning especially since we are doing a lot of stuff ourselves. Some things were quite challenging like squeezing the time to do the reception table by ourselves, but our families were very helpful and we could not have pulled it off without their help!
What was your wedding day like? How did you feel throughout it all?
Both: We had a two-day wedding. The first day was held at Furama RiverFront’s newly renovated and upgraded lounge, while the second day was held at CHIJMES Hall.
We picked Furama RiverFront because my parents liked that they serve an entire lobster for the first cold dish, and the banquet hall had windows in it. We picked the “Enchanted Garden” themed décor that was part of their package.
Our event coordinator, Albert, was helpful and knowledgeable while our actual day event coordinator, Mohan, was spectacular! He was with us the entire way, giving us advice during those clueless moments to save us from embarrassment, and constantly giving us encouragement. He even helped my sisters with their emcee scripts since no one knew what we were doing!
Furama RiverFront’s good service and hospitality are difficult to surpass! They even took care of us when I (Soh Fia) choked on a piece of crab shell, vomiting all over the table. Mohan sent fresh lime juice to me right away and kept asking if we were both okay.
For our second day celebrations, we held our modern four-course wedding meal at CHIJMES Hall. The place was absolutely stunning and despite the heavy rain right before the event commenced, everyone managed to get everything up in order. Even the floors were kept dry and clean!
To be honest, we actually had another location in mind but it closed down due to the Rochester Park redevelopment. CHIJMES was one of the few locations that came next in line and after we visited the location, we just couldn’t say no! We came up with the event styling and floral guide stylesheet ourselves for CHIJMES’ selected floral partner. Although we wanted to incorporate more elements and designs into the overall look, we had to be mindful of the budget. It might not be 100% how we had wanted it to turn out but we were still happy with it and were even happier that our guests could pick the flowers from the arrangements to bring home after the event.
How did you create and decide on your wedding theme?
Both: The tropical theme has a special meaning to us because we grew up in this region (mostly around Southeast Asia) and the greenery surrounding us really is an image of home to us. While we strongly considered working with colourful tropical flowers and hanging heliconias, we eventually decided to just work with white florals since we were both going to make an entrance in white.
We also chose to use leaves instead of petals or tinsel as confetti to match the overall white and green vibes. Our main flower was the White King Protea which is also the main flower in our D.I.Y. wedding bouquet. We fell in love with this flower and was struck by its size and unique beauty. We elevated the flower arrangements on high stands to create a “dining in nature” effect and to allow our guests to converse freely without having to manoeuvre around the flowers.
What did your friends/family have to say about your wedding?
Soh Fia: It was heartwarming to hear our family and friends share how unique and personal our wedding was. Some of my friends told us it was the best wedding they had ever been to! My mum was the one who suggested to have our wedding indoors instead of alfresco, which I think made sense given the number of guests and because it would help make everyone comfortable and cool. I love a good rainstorm and some sunshine but am definitely not for a soggy shoe and seat in such cases.
Joshua: I was glad that many people enjoyed our informal wedding because we had a Kahoot Quiz and wedding shoe game for everyone to participate in. They also enjoyed our second entrance when we danced in to “BANG BANG BANG” by K-Pop Group, BIGBANG.
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Soh Fia: I think the fact that we did a lot of things by ourselves made the wedding process feel very personal to us. The two most memorable moments were when I designed my own gown and when we were working on our own flowers. Initially, it was difficult to coordinate everything and we had our share of arguments, but we quickly learnt a lot along the way. Through this, we understood each of our different strengths and how we can complement each other as husband and wife. We also used a ton of resources from the SingaporeBrides website as inspiration for the venue, decorations, and photography elements of our wedding.
Joshua: Probably after everything had ended! In all honesty, Soh Fia and I achieved what we envisioned our wedding to be like – an event where we could mingle and meet with all our close friends and family in one same location. We were walking around the whole venue throughout the entire reception and wedding which shocked some people because they thought we were supposed to make a big march-in entrance. We preferred to maximised the time and catch up with everyone instead!
What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with other couples who are also in the midst of planning their wedding?
Soh Fia: You might realise that there are more requirements from your elders and family than you originally expect. Hence, there is always an option to split the wedding into two days at two different venues, which is what we did. To us, we were sure that having only a Chinese banquet was not really what we wanted because we wanted a celebration and dining experience that was more unique to us and that was not a copy and paste from everyone else’s. I do have to admit that we did enjoy our Chinese banquet though!
Also, always communicate with each other about your budget. Make decisions together, or as much as possible. On the actual day, just remember to be happy. It will all be over in a blink of an eye, so… enjoy it to the fullest!
Joshua: Just two pieces of advice. The first would be that you cannot please everyone, so focus on what you and your partner want instead of what others may think of you or what they want. Second, don’t be afraid to rope in your brothers and sisters in the planning and execution of the event. I believe they agreed to be there for you for a reason, so don’t hesitate to task them to help you with whatever you need.
The Size of the Wedding: No. of guests – 190 pax (Furama RiverFront) / 220 pax (CHIJMES Hall)
The Venue: Furama RiverFront and CHIJMES Hall
The Wedding Day Photographer: Colossal Weddings
The Gown: Bespoke Soirée
The Bride’s Shoes: Wah Aik Shoemaker Melaka
The Suit: Mr. G Sartorial
The Groom’s Shoes: Walking Tall
The Engagement Ring: Mondial Pink Diamond Atelier Australia (Diamond), VIVO Diamonds (Setting)
The Wedding Bands: Venus Tears
The Jeweller: Choo Yi Lin
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: H&M
The Groomsmen’s Suits: H&M
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Wei Wei
The Florist: Elite Flora
The Wedding Stylist: Bespoke Soirée
The Wedding Planner: Bespoke Soirée
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Bespoke Soirée
The Wedding Favours: Macarons provided by CHIJMES, Tea cups provided by Furama, Cheese Sticks by Marks & Spencer
The Wedding Car Rental: Porsche Panamera
Credits: Images by Colossal Weddings
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