Singaporebrides | Fashion
June 2021
Joanne and Russell’s Magical Horseback Wedding at Capella Singapore
As Russell waited at the altar with their beloved dogs, Joanne rode into her magical wedding on horseback against a glowing sunset.
Joanne, 27, and Russell, 29, met over a sweet meal of tau huey, and started dating on long train rides. After a decade together, Russell surprised Joanne with a proposal with their dog as a ring bearer. Their beautiful sunset wedding on 28 March 2021 was nothing short of magical, with ponies walking down the aisle, the bride riding in on horseback, and their beloved dogs part of their special day.
How did the two of you meet?
Russell: We met in polytechnic. I was just about to leave for soccer practice and she was supposed to head out to catch a friend but a mutual friend convinced us to go for a quick meal of tau huey. I found out she stayed even further west than I did and it was a perfect opportunity to ask her to take the train with me. I gave her my number and told her to give me a ping if she ever needed someone to accompany her on her long train ride. Little did I imagine that she would actually do that!
What do you love most about your partner?
Joanne: It’s incredibly hard to choose just one thing, but the way he just understands me and gets me is high on the list. We could spend every day together doing anything, or even nothing, and not get tired of each other. If I had to pick another, it would be his personality—he can engage literally anyone in a conversation.
What was the proposal like?
Russell: I wanted Jo to be surrounded by her loved ones and our friends during our special moment. I even had our dog Arya be the ring bearer! It was special because I proposed to her in the same location I asked her to be my girlfriend 10 years ago!
What was your wedding theme and how did you create it?
Russell: We did not really have a wedding theme per se… We just had some criteria such as: lots of greenery, involvement of our pets, both an outdoor and indoor location. We’re both master procrastinators and also pretty laidback, but thankfully we had the help of our dear friend and wedding planner Ashlee from Ayco Studios to nail down and coordinate whatever we wanted. We were honestly really lucky to have her since we only started planning for this in January, and she really dug into all the finer details.
Joanne: For me, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. It had always been a dream of mine to have a horse at my wedding, and having two ponies and one horse go down the aisle was truly magical. It was quite nerve-wracking as well but once I got on my horse, everything happened so fast.
What was your wedding day like?
Our wedding day was so surreal. The day ended before we even knew it and it was surprisingly so stress-free. Everyone just came together and made it happen. We both felt so blessed and so lucky to have our family, friends, and our amazing vendors. Honestly, if given the opportunity, we would love to do it all over again so that we can take every moment in.
What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Our solemnisation was hands down both of our favourite moments of the wedding! It was raining very heavily leading up to the day and we were so worried the solemnisation would not happen at all. But the wedding day itself really couldn’t have been more perfect. We had an orange sunset for a backdrop with the beautiful lawn set up by the hotel, our dogs were eyeing the peacocks walking by, and the horse thankfully did not run off with Jo! It was truly a very chaotic but memorable moment. It was very special because all our loved ones (animals included) were present for the biggest day of our lives.
Videography by Highest Kite Weddings
The Size of the Wedding 100 guests
The Cost of the Wedding: $60K
The Venue: Capella Singapore
The Wedding Day Photographer: Pixioo
The Gown: Blush gown from Bridefully Yours / White gown from Truly Enamoured
The KUA: The Red Wedding
The Bride’s Shoes: Converse
The Suit: Seamless Bespoke / Common Suits
The Groom’s Shoes: Converse
The Engagement Ring: Custom-made
The Wedding Bands: Cartier
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: ASOS / Uniqlo
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Benjamin Barker
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Christine Chia Makeup
The Florist: Personal flowers by Violet’s Florist / Venue florals by Capella Singapore
The Wedding Stylist: Ayco Studio and Capella Singapore
The Wedding Planner: Ayco Studio
The Pre-Wedding Photographer: Pixioo
The Videographer: Highest Kite Weddings
The Solemniser: Mrs. Chia Swee Tin
The Horses: Gallop Stable
Credits: Images by Pixioo
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