Singaporebrides | Fashion
September 2021
Azelle and Daniel’s Modern Traditional Wedding with Blooming Pink Florals at The Clifford Pier
Azelle and Daniel tied the knot in a grand wedding surrounded by blooming pink florals at The Clifford Pier.
Azelle and Daniel were polytechnic classmates who fell in love with each other nearly two decades ago. After going through different phases of life together and apart, their love has only grown stronger over time. After 17 years, the lovebirds have finally tied the knot despite the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic posed at the iconic The Clifford Pier at The Fullerton Bay Hotel.
Share your story with us. How did you meet and what drew you to each other?
Azelle: We were classmates in polytechnic. He caught my attention with his 1.92m height from day one. Aside from his height, I was also drawn to how clean he smelled. A scent of fresh laundry always lingered around him and back then, I couldn’t help but take a few sniffs secretly. Of course, it was more than external factors. I love that he is a self-motivated individual who strives hard for his goals.
What is it about your partner that you love the most?
Azelle: Growing up in a traditional family, Daniel respects the elderly and takes great care of people close to him, and this is why I entrusted him with the rest of my life!
Daniel: I love her smile and her outgoing personality.
What was the proposal like?
Azelle: Having been together for so long, I wasn’t exactly expecting a proposal and I must say he really gave it some thought on how to surprise me. We had wanted to do our pre-wedding shoot overseas but due to the pandemic, it was not possible, so we did it locally. Thankfully, we managed to get our best friend, Glenn Lim, a professional photographer to capture casual and candid moments of us at the beach. He directed us with ease and engaged us with activities to bring out an array of emotions out of us.
At the end of the shoot, our friend got us to stand with our backs facing each other with our eyes closed and asked us to reminisce about the past. He narrated some questions and by this time, I was so invested with all the activities that I obediently turned as prompted and looked up at an angle where I could usually see Daniel’s face, but I didn’t. I immediately sensed something amiss and looked down. To my surprise, he was down on one knee, holding a box with the biggest smile and popped the question.
Tell us about your wedding. What was it like planning a wedding in the midst of a pandemic and ever-changing regulations.
Prior to the pandemic, we visited a couple of places we were interested in and The Clifford Pier remained our top choice as we really liked the layout, the grandeur and the view the venue had to offer. The first major challenge was booking a hotel that checked all the boxes; auspicious date, preferred day of wedding (Friday, Saturday or Sunday), hotel that we like and availability of the hotel. The common feedback that we heard from hotels was that most of the prime/auspicious dates were already taken up by couples who had postponed their wedding from 2020 to early half of 2021 as everyone was also concerned on where the pandemic may take us. After many rounds of discussion with the hotels, we finally decided on a Sunday – 7th Mar 2021 as we really like and also never have an excuse to forget because the year is a multiplication of the day and month.
In the beginning of the year, when the covid-19 vaccination exercise had just started rolling out, we were rather hopeful that the number of guests might increase and we might be able to invite some of our best friends from overseas. We tried to plan with such flexibility but as the date drew closer, we knew the event could only be kept to a maximum of 100 participants including us. With a heavy heart, we contacted our friends and shared the news. We were grateful that our wedding event coordinator from the hotel was pro-active and updated us with all the latest changes in guidelines which we could apply to our big day. It definitely helped us with our planning. As the restrictions slowly relaxed, we even managed to sweeten our day with a last minute addition of a bubble tea booth.
Despite the challenges and uncertainty, we decided to go ahead with a wedding, as no one had a clue when the pandemic would end. Even though we would definitely have loved to invite more family and friends to our celebration, our decision to go ahead with the wedding was a wise one, given that the current guidelines for holding a wedding event are ever-changing. Right from the beginning, we were both mentally prepared for any challenges that could come our way. Our motto was to enjoy the moment and do not panic at every available chance.
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Everything was moving so fast! Our schedule was running really tight as we were determined on getting some shots at the iconic fountain spot at Jewel Changi Airport. So, we started our day at around 4am and the first half of the day was filled with gatecrash activities, followed by a detour to Jewel Changi Airport for the shoot, and subsequently ended with our traditional Chinese customary ceremony. Inspired by Chinese period dramas, we dressed up in traditional Chinese outfits along with our bridal party. Thankfully, they were game enough for it.
With no rest in between, we started preparing for our dinner reception. It was hectic but we thoroughly enjoyed the process. We went with a modern traditional wedding theme. We did our research on Pinterest as well as SingaporeBrides, and discussed how we could combine all the larger-than-life ideas together with the wonderful team at JM Floral. They were open to the ideas we had and gave us plenty of advice and insights on how we can amplify the effect while managing the cost efficiently. For dinner, it was a Western-vegetarian menu, specially curated by the hotel’s executive chef.
What did your family and friends have to say about your wedding day?
They were happy for us that we were finally able to tie the knot. We were told that they were really impressed by the décor, mood as well as the food! Many shared with us that they enjoyed the Western-vegetarian menu and couldn’t believe that a meat-free meal could be both satisfying and satiating!
They also loved the fact they were able to bring home all the plants, flowers and vases after the wedding. Some even commented that it was a nice touch that we donated all the angbao from the reception to charity.
We were also delighted to know some friends were ready to templatise our wedding!
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
It was definitely the moment we shared our wedding vows. It was a moment of smiles, an abundance of love and a bucketful of tears!
Any advice for couples planning their wedding?
Pandemic or not, plan your perfect wedding with an open mind that anything can happen. My makeup and hair stylist went missing for the second half of the day and with some luck, I got a great back-up makeup and hair stylist thanks to my mother-in-law. It will also be wise to arrange extra help especially on a special day like this because you can never plan everything!
The Venue: The Clifford Pier, The Fullerton Bay Hotel
Cost of Wedding: $180,000
Size of Wedding: 100 persons
The Bride’s Gown: Giorgia Couture (morning and 2nd march-in dress) / Thomson Wedding Collection (1st march-in dress)
The Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo
The Groom’s Suit: Common suits
The Groom’s Shoes: Suitsupply
The Wedding Photographer: Antelope Studios
The Wedding Videographer: Sense Gallery Production
The Wedding Bands: Poh Kim Jewellery
The Bridesmaids’ and Groomsmen’s Outfits: Taobao
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: TG Goh
The Florist and Event Stylist: JM floral Creation
The Wedding Cake: Haute Cake Singapore
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Papypress
The Solemniser: Dr. Tan Phua Tee
The Wedding Car: Porsche
The Wedding Emcee: Felicia Tan
Bubble Tea Booth: Sober by Bober
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides
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