Singaporebrides | Fine Dining
August 2021
Reaiah and Jeremy’s Intimate and Heartfelt Wedding at Conrad Centennial Singapore
After waiting for 10 months, Reaiah and Jeremy finally tied the knot in an intimate celebration with their closest family and friends in attendance.
Sweethearts Reaiah and Jeremy met during a squash friendly match between their schools nearly a decade ago, and the rest, as they say, is history. They originally planned to tie the knot in May 2020 but were forced to pull a stop to their celebration when the Circuit Breaker was announced. Once the COVID-19 situation stablised nearly a year later than their original wedding date, Reaiah and Jeremy seized the opportunity and decided to get wed once and for all. Read about how they dealt with the curveballs thrown their way and sneak a peek at their beautiful wedding photos!
Share with us your story. How did the two of you meet?
We met at a squash friendly match during our Junior College days back in 2011. Since we were the respective contact points for our school teams, we exchanged phone numbers. We only met each other in person on the day of the match and I guess you can say the rest is history.
What drew you to each other?
Jeremy: It was probably her moment of vulnerability that stole my heart? After her match, I saw her cry and that was what sealed the deal.
Reaiah: I was drawn to how he was so sociable, loud and cheerful, giving me sunshine boy vibes. Now if I think back, maybe he did it on purpose to get my attention!
What is it about your partner that you love the most?
Jeremy: I love that she is mature when the situation calls for it, but at other times, she’s a complete goofball.
Reaiah: I love that he puts me first, and always gives in to me. He’s the ice to my fiery temper. He cares for me, and protects me. Basically, he truly loves me.
What was the proposal like?
Jeremy: Reaiah wanted the proposal to include her family, so I found the perfect time to propose during her father’s birthday dinner where her family was gathered at Dusk Restaurant on Mount Faber. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out as much of a surprise. After Reaiah made the reservation for dinner, I secretly informed the restaurant of my proposal plans and changed the contact number to mine instead. Due to some last minute changes, Reaiah had to push back the dinner reservation and was unable to find it under her name. When she eventually found her reservation under my name, she grew suspicious.
Tell us about your wedding. Where was your wedding venue and why did you choose it as the place to wed?
We picked Conrad Centennial Singapore as our wedding venue as it ticked all the boxes on our checklist. It had a symmetrical ballroom (Jeremy’s request), pillar-less (Reaiah’s request), good food (Reaiah’s father’s request), immaculate service by the Conrad team, good wedding perks, beautiful bridal suite – the list just goes on and on.
What was it like planning your wedding amidst a pandemic? How did you cope with the ever-changing regulations surrounding weddings during COVID-19?
We planned our wedding way before there were any signs of COVID-19, and just weeks before our original wedding date in May 2020, the government announced the Circuit Breaker, so we had to postpone everything. Planning the postponed wedding thereafter when most things were unknown was difficult as we always had to have multiple backup plans. Thankfully, we had Michelle from Arches & Co who helped us coordinate all the changes with the vendors and with all the contingency plans. Fortunately for us too, all our vendors were very understanding and accommodating with all the last minute changes.
How did COVID-19 affect your original wedding plans and how did you deal with it?
Our wedding banquet ended up happening 10 months after the original planned date.We initially had a guest list of 380 persons, but ended up cutting down to just 100 persons due to the COVID-19 restrictions. We just had go along with the flow and continue planning within those boundaries. Looking back (in a positive light), because of the restrictions, we ended up canceling most of the fringe activities (e.g. photo backdrop, bubble tea stall, photo gallery etc) which saved us quite a sum of money in the end! We also ended up having a pre-wedding shoot done in Hanoi with a city backdrop, our solemnisation photoshoot with a nature and Keppel Bay backdrop, and finally, our wedding photoshoot with an industrial backdrop! Everything worked out well ultimately.
There were many other small things too, for example, my bridesmaids couldn’t go up to my house to see me in the morning (due to the house visitations regulations/day rule), and they had to hold the gate crash downstairs instead. We also had to split our tea ceremony in three sessions — two sessions at home and one session in the hotel. We had to cancel all the live performances from my friends and family, but ultimately, I learnt not to sweat the small stuff, and to let all these minute things go.
What was your decision behind going ahead with a wedding amidst the COVID-19 pandemic instead of waiting it out?
We decided to get legally married back in August 2020 so that we could start married life and living together without waiting on no end for COVID-19 to get better. When February 2021 came around, the situation in Singapore was pretty stable back then (Phase 3) so we did not want to drag it out further, and most of our guests were okay to gather in a room with 100 persons, so we decided to go ahead.
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Reaiah: The day went by so quickly! For something I spent years planning, it went by in a flash. I flip-flopped between being nervous yet excited, smiling and crying. My best advice to other brides-to-be is to really savour every moment of the day. Otherwise, in a blink, it would be over.
Jeremy: Due to the delay, I guess the anticipation had been building up! Since we did our solemnisation prior, we had more time throughout the day, and were thus able to slip in more time for the photoshoot and even squeeze in a little nap before the banquet!
What did your family/friends have to say about your wedding day?
With the 100 persons rule, we wanted to make our wedding very intimate (from a photo montage including ALL of our guests, to a thank-you speech to every single one of them too!). Indeed, our family and friends said that it was one of the most heartwarming weddings they’ve attended.
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Reaiah: Everything! It’s so hard to choose. But I would say, seeing the “top 100” people in our lives gathered together, with pure happiness and blessings for us, and having the moments to thank each of them for what they have done in our lives. Too many tears were shed.
Jeremy: We wanted the traditions to have meaning for us, so we did away with the cake cutting (as we are really not cake people), and instead of doing a yum-seng with champagne, we opted for our favourite beverages (bubble tea & liang cha) instead. It was a special moment that represented us.
What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?
Reaiah: Take it easy, anything can and will change, and don’t sweat the small stuff. Go with the flow. Get a good wedding planner to help you ease the stress and one that will make sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes while you can focus on being present for every moment of the wedding.
Jeremy: I strongly agree on what Reaiah said about having a wedding planner!
The Venue: Conrad Centennial Singapore
Cost of Wedding: $37,000
Size of Wedding: 100 persons
The Bride’s Gown: Love Wedding Atelier (Formerly Kelly’s Bridals)
The Bride’s Shoes: Her own
The Groom’s Suit: Tailored at Seah Im
The Groom’s Shoes: His own
The Wedding Photographer: Smittenpixels Photography
The Wedding Videographer: Iriswave
The Bridesmaids’ Outfits: Dresses from Taobao and Jumpsuits from Love, Bonito
The Groomsmen’s Suits: His own
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Tracy.IM Hair+Makeup
The Florist: The Bloomish Eden (wedding) and Amy T. Fleur Weddings (bridesmaids’ and groomsmaids’ bouquets)
The Wedding Planner: Arches & Co
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Designed by the bride, printed on Gogoprint, envelopes from Taobao
The Solemniser: Pastor from church
The Wedding Car: Eddie from Fairytale
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides
Want to see your love story featured on SingaporeBrides too? Submit your wedding here!
All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeBrides.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates!