Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
June 2020
Wei Ying and Alan’s Personalised and Unique Wedding at PARKROYAL on Beach Road
After more than ten years of dating, Wei Ying and Alan tie the knot with a unique bohemian affair at PARKROYAL on Beach Road to not only celebrate their own union but to also celebrate the relationships and friendships that have brought them here.
Wei Ying, 28, Broadcast Journalist and Alan, 28, Studio Director, knew what they wanted even before they began planning for their wedding. They wanted a celebration that would showcase who they were as individuals and one that would allow them to show gratitude to the people close to their heart. From the big details like being their own emcees to the small details like preparing a dance together, their wedding was the epitome of their union!
Share your story with us. How did you meet?
Wei Ying: We were schoolmates back then and started hanging out while we were studying and preparing for ‘O’ levels. After the papers, we went out and soon became more than friends. We went through important milestones together and it brought us closer and stronger. No doubt, there were a few ups and downs, but we managed to overcome them and after dating for 10 years, Alan decided to pop the question.
What was the proposal like?
Both: We always made it a point to travel and go on an adventure to celebrate our yearly anniversaries but on our 10th year, we decided to go somewhere quieter and private – the Maldives.
Prior to this, Alan had already made up his mind to propose on our 10th year, regardless of where we were. After confirming our accommodation, he privately contacted the hotelier to plan the surprise – a romantic dinner on a sandbank, off the main resort.
On the actual day of the proposal, Alan pretended that it was just going to be another day lazing off at the beach, snorkelling followed by our usual anniversary dinner. Unbeknownst to Wei Ying, Alan led her up on to a speedboat.
The scenery on the sandbank was breath-taking as the wide blue ocean touched the golden coloured skies. As nightfall began descending, the sandbank which was low lit proved itself to be a place under the stars. The stars littered the night sky as far as our eyes could see. Alan brought Wei Ying to edge of the sandbank, took out the ring, and got down on one knee.
What was the wedding planning journey like? Were there any challenging/favourite moments during that planning period?
We both knew what we wanted for our big day so we started our planning almost right away. We gave ourselves a good timeline of about two years as we did not want to rush through things and also wanted to ensure that we made the right choices by having ample time to research. Being headstrong individuals, there were times where we did not agree to each other’s opinions and ideas. Despite that, we understood that the intentions were good, and we managed to resolve the disagreements we had.
We really enjoyed moments where we were both on the same page with what we wanted and instantly rejected ideas that came out because we knew that it wouldn’t work. We took the effort to meet up with different wedding vendors to see what they have to offer and most importantly, whether we could click well with each other because some of our ideas were out of the norm and we needed someone who knew what we wanted and that we can trust them to bring those ideas to reality. (Very thankful to the team behind our wedding because all of you did such an amazing job!)
You decided to be the emcees at your own wedding! What was that experience like? What was your wedding day like?
Both: We had a hard time choosing our venue as we needed a big space to fit what we have in mind. We knew PARKROYAL on Beach Road was the one, when we went for our first site visit. We chose the Grand Ballroom because it had no pillars which would have hindered what we wanted to do and the high ceiling provided the kind of spacious feeling we imagined.
We wanted our wedding to showcase who we are. Every element has a special connection to us and we wanted our big day to not just be about us, but to show gratitude to our friends and family who have supported us along the way.
On the actual day, we went through the usual customary rites with a few additions. Wei Ying had a first look with her bridesmaids and they had a champagne to go along with it. We also brought our bridal party out for a thank you lunch after everything was cleared in the morning.
Towards the night before the dinner, we carved out some private time to share our thoughts and feelings. We wanted to have this special moment, just the two of us, because we were stepping into a new chapter of our lives. There were lots of emotions during the time and we were glad that we have them all recorded down.
We wanted a bohemian theme for the wedding day and the ballroom itself had exuded what we envisioned. We worked with our florist, Alyona, to determine the colour palette to suit the overall vibe. In addition, we also constructed a life-sized photo exhibition. We incorporated our own photo backdrop and got Aly to beautify the entire area. To ensure that our guests were well fed, we brought in a Tutu Kueh stand so that they could enjoy the exhibit while munching on our favourite snack.
We hope our guests would feel special and be fully immersed in the celebrations, so we had this crazy idea of hosting our own wedding. This was a secret between us and no one knew about it except for a select few. As our guests sat in the ballroom waiting for our arrival, we played multiple videos that were recorded and created over the years of travelling instead of our wedding photos. We also kicked off the celebration with a short video on how we defined our relationship, followed by our first march in.
After the march in, our guests were briefly surprised when we grabbed the mics and told them that we were the ones hosting. Little did they knew, that was just the tip of the iceberg. We had a short introduction and told them the necessary information including our wedding Instagram page, where we included the morning highlights, as well as behind the scenes of the wedding prep. Next up, we played a game of luck where we hid 4D slips under each plate. We also got our friends who were radio DJs to help announce the top 3 prizes. Everyone was so hyped up and one of our friends even won some money!
The next highlight was another secret, one that was kept from Wei Ying. Alan took a few months to rewrite the lyrics to a song and he sang it to her in front of everyone which was not something that he had done before.
Wei Ying has had some experience being a dancer and she always wanted to share one with Alan. To make it happen, Wei Ying got a few of her friends to choreograph a piece and we spent a few sessions training and learning. During the sessions, we were deciding on how to end off the piece and Alan had the thought of incorporating the champagne popping at the end. (We were so worried that the attempt would be wrongly timed but thank god it was a success!)
After the dinner, everyone was gifted flowers from the photo exhibit as a thank you gift. We also received numerous messages and comments that the wedding was a very special one as it was very personal, a lot of fun and something different from the usual.
What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with other couples hwo are also in the midst of planning their wedding?
Both: Spend some time to understand what each of you envision the wedding to be and don’t rush head in to make a decision. Most importantly, you might face some disagreements here and there but always remember that you are both working towards the same goal. Thank you SingaporeBrides for helping us kick start the process and kudos for the virtual tours of the ballrooms!
The Size of the Wedding: No. of Guests – 330
The Venue: PARKROYAL on Beach Road
The Wedding Day Photographer: Joshua from The Beautiful Moment Photography
The Gown: Alexandra Grecco from Truly Enamoured
The Bride’s Shoes: Aldo
The Suit: Jesse & Sons BKK
The Groom’s Shoes: Arden Teal
The Engagement Ring: Jann Paul
The Wedding Bands: Poh Kim Jewellery
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: The Tinsel Rack
The Groomsmen’s Outfit: Uniqlo
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Zihan Make Up, Sham from Be Salon
The Caterer: Chilli Api
The Wedding Cake: Angella Bakes
The Florist: Alyona from Gathered + Styled
The Tutu Kueh: Queensway Lau Tan Tutu Kueh (Amperian)
The Wedding Stylist: Alan & Wei Ying
The Wedding Planner: Alan & Wei Ying
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Yandha & Song from Sanren Studios, Sean from Z Weddings
The Videographer: Gabriel & Kenny from Portsdown Films
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Alan & Wei Ying
The Neon Sign: HelloConfettiDreams
Credits: Images by The Beautiful Moment Photography
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