Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

October 2020

Jen and Zheng Wei’s Classic and Romantic Wedding at InterContinental Singapore

Despite the challenging COVID-19 posed to their wedding planning, Jen and Zheng Wei overcame the odds and tied the knot in beautiful wedding at the timeless InterContinental Singapore.

When Jen and Zheng Wei embarked on their wedding planning, they could not have imagined that they would be tying the knot in the midst of a global pandemic. Just three weeks before their big day, they were faced with the possibility of postponing, scaling down or cancelling their celebration if DORSCON Orange was announced. But when DORSCON Orange was finally announced, the lovebirds decided to push ahead with their wedding with all the necessary precautionary measures in place, and managed to celebrate this important milestone with their family and friends.

How did you meet?

Jen: We met through a dating app. Defying the usual online dating trajectory, it took us several months of texting before Zheng Wei finally asked me out. I prefer real life conversations to texting, so it was atypical of me to stick around for so long, but there was a humorous yet down-to-earth vibe to Zheng Wei that greatly drew me to him. Things progressed quickly after our first meet-up though!

While we are very different in our personalities, we have many similarities between us. For example, our birthdays are days apart, we have very close sounding dialect names – even our NRICs are a permutation of each other’s! We also almost attended the same secondary school and university major, but ended up in secondary schools on opposite streets and in a similar major in different universities. There was a semblance of so-near-yet-so-far, so it was almost as if it was our fate to walk down the aisle together.

What do you love about your partner?

Jen: I love his honesty and good temperament! (He almost doesn’t have a temper).

Zheng Wei: She’s witty and always playing along to my hilarious banter (which is probably not so well received by others). I admire her perseverance and drive in succeeding at everything she puts her heart to. I also love her will to constantly better herself, her candour and how we can always communicate logically to reconcile any differences. One other thing that I love about her, is her filial piety.

Was there a moment when you knew he/she was the one?

Jen: There wasn’t a moment per se, but Zheng Wei is marriageable material. His strong values gravitated me to him.

Jen and Zheng Wei: We are both at a stage in our lives where we know what we want and we dated with marriage as the end goal. We truly enjoy each other’s company, and things just fell into place.

What was the proposal like?

Jen: I am not a fan of surprises and since I will be wearing the proposal ring so often, I wanted it to be something that I love. When we knew it was time to take our relationship to the next stage, I asked Zheng Wei to allow me full autonomy in the design of the ring. He’s pretty much a man who decides on a piece of apparel without trying it on, yet he scoured many places with me for the perfect ring. We collected the ring together, but he kept it with him until he was ready to propose!

Zheng Wei is a simple man, so I expected the proposal would be a simple affair. True to my gut feeling, he proposed to me at his place with a handmade bouquet and photobook documenting our dating journey and travels. He knew I valued handmade gifts and sincerity over lavish gestures. And of course, I said ‘Yes!’ to him!

What was it like planning your wedding during the COVID-19 pandemic? Share your wedding planning journey with us.

Jen: Wedding preparation was, in all honesty, challenging and stressful. I am a perfectionist and supremely detail oriented so I knew hiring a wedding planner wouldn’t cut it. Every aspect of the wedding was conceptualised by myself. I enjoyed being hands-on while Zheng Wei was easy-going and left most decisions to me. Such was the the dynamics of our wedding preparation.

Just about a month before our wedding, we were thrown with the curveball of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the T-3 weeks mark, DORSCON Orange became an imminent possibility. Not wanting to be caught off guard, we checked in with all of our vendors on postponement/scale down/cancellation terms. We were really thankful we had very supportive vendors who were in sync with our contingency plans. Having contingency plans didn’t ease our minds for too long, because DORSCON Orange was announced quicker than we expected. Our minds were initially set on postponement should the alert goes to Orange, but I didn’t expect myself to have a change of mind when it materialised.

It was only then I realised how much I dreaded going through this entire process again. My family was also in favour of the idea of continuing, for no one has any idea on when the pandemic might end. So, we decided to proceed with the wedding and work with the venue on setting up the necessary precautions (individual portioning of the food, temperature taking for all the guests, procuring additional hand sanitisers for every table, and so on). In hindsight, we were thankful that we pushed through the with the wedding, and were so blessed to have all of our guests, who braved it out with us, stay healthy.

Tell us about your wedding. Was there a wedding theme?

Jen: We decided on InterContinental Singapore as our wedding venue after going on a venue hunt marathon. We centered our theme around the hotel’s classic romantic vibe and grand ballroom, and decided on a classy and ethereal wedding theme.

We decided to go with a neutral pastel colour palette for our ballroom decor, bespoke gowns and suits, and personal flowers such as the bridal bouquet, corsages, boutonnieres, and so on. And, instead of the default florals provided by Sing See Soon, I chose the flowers in the colour palette that would complement the chosen wedding theme best after extensive research on flowers and visits to the florist’s warehouse and another wholesale florist, and had both Sing See Soon and Bucket Full of Roses (who did my stage and staircase decor) execute it.

The iconic chandeliers in the Grand Ballroom were a huge appeal for us from the get-go, so we brought in reflective mirrors (think Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms) as an aisle runner to leverage on the lights. The play of lights is a huge element of the wedding theme and we designed a customised neon light with our names & the tagline “When all stars align, two Virgos fall in love” (no prizes for guessing our horoscopes) to go with the floral stands for the stage decor.

With the help of our bridal entourage, we set up 3 life-sized photo canvas backdrops adorned with silk florals along the corridor outside the ballroom to showcase our pre-wedding shoots in New York City and Sapa, Vietnam. Butler-passed canapés and Prosecco were also served during the cocktail session to emulate a gallery exhibition vibe.

Knowing that the iconic staircase is a popular photograph spot, we requested for Booth for Fun to move the photo-booth set up to the iconic staircase during the second hour of the session so our guests can have a second backdrop! Kudos to them for being so obliging!

Take us back to your wedding day. What was it like?

Jen: I was really, really happy – I was over the moon! Despite the extensive planning, hiccups still occured. I made a mental note to stay angry for no more than three minutes, so the focus was on resolving issues. I was especially heartened to see my months of planning coming to fruition. The decor was exactly what I had envisioned – classy, romantic and ethereal.

The day whizzed by too quickly, and wished I had more time to savour every moment. The adage of a happy bride is the most beautiful bride rings true, so stay happy!

What did your family and friends say about your wedding?

Most commented that it was well executed. Some commented that it was a beautiful wedding while others commented on the quality of work seen in our wedding vendors. Glad to know my efforts in perusing about 1000 portfolios collectively to handpick these vendors have paid off!

Our best man & maid of honour’s hilarious speeches as well as their surprise song dedication to us were also well received by the guests.

The consensus was however, on how touching our vows and speeches were and one of the best they have heard. Our solemniser had the same opinion that our vows were very well crafted so it’s especially heart warming to hear that from someone who has blessed so many newlyweds.
 

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Love isn’t pushy. Love does not demand one to change according to the wants of the other. It embraces one another as they are, supports them through every season of life, and makes them want to be a better person. You know you’ve found your true love when you like the person you are when you are around them. In a world that’s always trying to fix one another, be the one who embraces everyone just as they are. That kind of love inspires the right kind of change. Thanks so much for having us as part of your dream wedding team and we hope this film will be the perfect reminder of what a beautiful start you both had in your marriage life. – Wedding film @wemadesense Wedding photography @kentwongphotography Makeup’s and Hairdos @kenneth.ong.hair @benjioo Wedding Banquet Florist & deco @singseesoon @bucketfullof_roses Emcee @bertliu Wedding Reception @interconsin

A post shared by Sense Gallery Production (@wemadesense) on

Our families are predominantly Mandarin speaking, so we made the unconventional choice of having the solemnisation conducted in Mandarin. Both of us are aligned on the significance of our vows, so we started early and took our time to pen it. Our vows were a culmination of years of feelings and thoughts we have for each other. We hope for it to serve as a reminder, in decades to come, of our original feelings for each other and to never lose sight of these promises.

Share with us your most memorable moment of your wedding.

Jen: It had to be our first march-in. We wanted our first couple appearance to be especially memorable. To keep our guests in suspense, I hurried back to the bridal suite after our tea ceremony before the guests streamed in for the cocktail session while Zheng Wei stayed behind to entertain them.

The Swarovki-crystal embellished ballgown adorned with floral appliqués that I wore weighed a tonne. Even when Zheng Wei and I had spent an entire afternoon rehearsing the march-in two weeks before the actual day, I wasn’t confident about walking down the aisle in grace. I was really fearful about tripping and Zheng Wei had to constantly remind me to keep calm.

Our emcee also asked for our guests to give us their undivided attention and keep the march-in an unplugged moment (Read: Phones, move aside), so all eyes were on us! When it was finally time to make our entrance, I just smiled and walked down to the music’s beat! Having our long table arrangement line the aisle evoked a sense of closeness to our guests and we prepared confetti poppers for every guest seated along the aisle. Not only did this create an element of grandeur, the falling confetti felt like a shower of blessings from our guests in a way! Being able to walk the aisle with each other in such fashion was definitely the most memorable (and nerve wrecking) moment of our wedding!

What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with other couples who are in the midst of planning their wedding?

Jen and Zheng Wei: Start early. Wedding is beyond the union of the couple. It involves both families, so there’s bound to be different expectations on both sides. Things can get trying at times, so communication is key. Above all, always keep in mind the very reason you have chosen each other.

The Venue: InterContinental Singapore
Cost of Wedding: $90,000
Size of Wedding: 250 guests
The Gown: Bespoke from overseas
The Bride’s Shoes: Anna Nucci
The Suit: Bespoke from overseas
The Groom’s Shoes: Simon Carter
The Engagement Ring and Wedding Bands: JannPaul
The Wedding Photographer: Kent Wong Photography
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Kenneth Ong (Hairstylist) and Benji Oo (Makeup Artist)
The Bridesmaid’s Dress: Taobao
The Groomsmen’s Suit: Taobao
The Nail Artist: Colour Workshop
The Florist: Sing See Soon (Long table Decor) and Bucketfull of Roses (Stage and staircase decor)
The Wedding Stylist and Planner: The bride
The Wedding Videographer: Sense Gallery Production
The Photobooth: Booth For Fun
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Papypress
The Wedding Favours: Macarons
The Wedding Band: High Notes
The Solemniser: Joanna Portilla
The Wedding Car: Bride’s own
The Host: Herbert Liu
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides


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Jen and Zheng Wei’s Classic and Romantic Wedding at InterContinental Singapore