Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
October 2021
Shaan and Jerome’s Warm and Cosy Wedding at Artemis Grill & Sky Bar
Shaan and Jerome were undeterred by the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and planned an intimate and engaging wedding for themselves and their guests at Artemis Grill & Sky Bar.
Brought together by a mutual friend, Shaan and Jerome were soulmates meant for each other. The lovebirds first met over three years ago, but only got to know each other a year after that. They were soon drawn to each other’s sense of humour and charms, and discovered that they shared common life goals. After a romantic and thoughtful proposal, Shaan and Jerome started planning their wedding, even though the COVID-19 situation was still pretty unstable. With faith, determination and love, the sweethearts tied the knot in a cosy and engaging wedding at Artemis Grill & Sky Bar with their nearest and dearest in attendance.
How did the two of you meet?
Shann: We first met at a dinner party at my best friend, Jill’s house over three years ago. One day, I (jokingly) pleaded with Jill to send any good guys my way over dinner. She instantly thought of Jerome and thought we’d make a good match. From the brief interaction we had previously, I thought he was pretty hilarious and fun, so I told Jill, “Sure, why not?”
Jerome: A couple of weeks later, Jill and I met up for lunch and she asked if I was interested in getting Shaan’s number. I told her I’d think about it, but upon getting back to the office after lunch, I texted Jill saying, “Actually, I don’t know why I had to think about it.. It’s a no brainer.”.
What drew you to each other?
Shaan: I was immediately drawn to Jerome’s sense of humour and his laugh! It also definitely helped that (I think) he is tall, dark and handsome.
Jerome: First impressions are very important to me and Shaan was just so effortlessly charming and beautiful. And of course, she has a wonderful sense of humour.
What is it about your partner that you love the most?
Shaan: I love how Jerome is the calm in my storm, and how he always reminds me to have fun and laugh! We have the best time together, even on mundane days or situations. I also really love how we have identical views on how we want our marriage to be like, and our ideal family and life goals. He is also an excellent cook! The way to my heart is definitely through my tummy.
Jerome:I would say it’s her caring nature that I love the most. I love how she cares for me, her family and friends, and even my family and friends. I also love that she loves the simple things as much as she does the finer things. Most of all, I love that we are always having fun together even when doing chores.
Shaan: We can’t just pick one thing that we love the most!
What was the proposal like?
Shaan: Jerome proposed during the Circuit Breaker last year. I was living with him then, and we were supposed to be celebrating our anniversary in advance. Jerome told me that he would be getting a special meal for us. I didn’t think much of it as we usually do Friday date nights anyway.
That day, I had online classes until 7pm in the evening. Jerome told me to stay in the room until he called me up. When he had finished preparing everything, I went up to the rooftop and was greeted with fairy lights, a table with white linen and Jerome holding a huge bouquet of flowers. There was really a lot to take in! I went, “Wah… Wah… Wah!” before I realised what was happening.
I really loved how Jerome put so much thought into planning the proposal, it was everything I had dreamed of! It was so beautiful and intimate.
Tell us about your wedding. What was it like planning a wedding in the midst of a pandemic?
When we started planning our wedding last year, we had high hopes that things would have settled by May 2021. We had plans for an intimate wedding with live stations (babi guling, fried chicken and all our favourite food), live singing, lots of booze and dancing the night away to mambo songs.
Luckily for us, we had always planned for a small wedding with less than a hundred people. However, with all the restrictions and ongoing changes, it was difficult to plan our wedding. We changed our dinner venue three times, with the last change just six weeks before our wedding day! In February, it seemed clear that the COVID-19 situation was not getting better and we had to give up the idea of live stations and dancing for a sit-down dinner.
We still wanted our guests to have fun, and so a great part of our dinner plan was thinking about how we could incorporate interactive audience games and personal touches throughout the day.
We were so lucky to have found Artemis Grill & Sky Bar. It was perfect for our dinner reception as we would be able to see and interact with all our guests, and not to mention, the food is incredible! This was really important to us. As part of our dinner plan, we added in personal touches like having a bowl of fries (Shaan’s favourite) on each table before our dinner started, walking in and having our Mambo dance to “Together Forever” and playing games that got the audience really excited and engaged.
When most couples would have chosen to postpone their wedding due to COVID-19, you decided to go ahead with your wedding as planned. Can you tell me why you decided to go ahead with your wedding instead of postponing?
Very early on, we decided that we did not want to let COVID-19 dictate the timeline of our wedding, and that we would instead take all the restrictions in our stride, even if it meant we could not have our “dream” wedding. Afterall, what was most important was that at the end of the day, we would be married to each other!
How did you cope with the constant changes in regulations?
It was difficult to come to firm decisions for our wedding due to the uncertainty and ever changing restrictions. We had to adapt to the restrictions when planning the dinner reception, and accept that we would not be able to have that fun, casual wedding that we had initially hoped for.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was the last minute requirement for Pre-Event Testing. News of PET broke on Tuesday evening, and our wedding was on Saturday. To say the least, we were stressed! We were so thankful to Adrian (the wedding coordinator from Artemis Grill & Sky Bar), who sprung to action on Wednesday morning, coordinating with the building management and PET vendors to get approvals, and coming up with the restaurant layout and areas for PET and waiting.
On top of that, we were so grateful to our friends and family. We were afraid that many of our guests would pull out, as PET was new at that time and many were still very apprehensive about getting swabbed. To our surprise, most of our guests agreed to the PET!
By Thursday afternoon, we had everything settled and planned. It was truly a blessing and a huge relief!
Was there a wedding theme?
We did not have a specific theme, but the things and vendors we chose were driven by what we both liked and our personalities.
We wanted to have a party where all our guests came together and had fun. Even though we were unable to have a party due to the restrictions, our dinner was still largely planned with “fun, casual and personable” elements in mind. We kept the decorations to a minimum (just the centrestage and a floral arch for the VIP table), and chose to focus on creating an intimate environment for us to interact with our guests.
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Shaan: I remember feeling really calm and joyful! I knew I was marrying the right person when I did not have any feelings of nervousness while walking down the church aisle, but instead, felt an immense sense of joy. Both Jerome and I are Catholics, and we trusted everything to God and focused on enjoying the day.After the craziness of the previous few days, coordinating the PETs, new guest seatings and zonings, filling in forms after forms of guests details, I was also very relieved that everything came together and the day was finally happening!
Jerome: I was feeling very calm too and was just focused on enjoying the day as best we could. We intentionally planned into the schedule moments throughout the day where we could just spend time with each other to cherish the day.
We couldn’t have asked for better weather, smoother proceedings and wonderful friends and family who just made the day so special and cherished.
What did your family/friends have to say about your wedding day?
All our family and friends enjoyed the wedding ceremony and dinner reception very much! We had a friend who recently told us, “To be honest, I think it’s one of the best weddings I’ve attended! Venue, food, decor and activities were all so good!”
Hearing that made me so happy, as it was really important to us that our guests enjoyed themselves too and had good food!
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Our favourite and most memorable moment was our first look in the morning. Prior to the wedding day, both of us had kept our outfits a secret from each other. It was such an emotional and heartfelt moment seeing each other and feeling an overwhelming amount of love and anticipation for the day and our marriage. We also prepared letters which contained our vows and promises. We read our letters to each other and that moment was so intimate and special!
What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?
Have a plan, but be prepared to be flexible too, especially in the time of COVID-19. It’s most important to know and agree on what’s most important to you and your partner. Knowing this will guide decision making even if situations change.
It is also so important to choose vendors who best suit your style and who you can trust to deliver your vision. On your wedding day, the last thing you would want is to fret over the small details! When you find vendors who you trust and are comfortable with, you will truly be able to relax and focus on enjoying every moment of the day.
If time permits, try to schedule small pockets of quiet time with your partner. Use this time to really soak up and remember the wonderful feelings from the day and enjoy being in the company of just your partner for those moments!
The Venue: Church of the Holy Spirit and Artemis Grill & Sky Bar
Cost of Wedding: $30,000
Size of Wedding: 85 persons
The Bride’s Gown: Grace Atelier Weddings
The Bride’s Shoes: Sunday Staples
The Groom’s Suit: Stitches & Co Tailor
The Groom’s Shoes: Benjamin Barker
The Wedding Photographer: Xinning from Alone Together Co.
The Wedding Videographer: Izzy from FourThree
The Wedding Bands: Cartier and Le Caine Gems
The Bridesmaids’ and Groomsmen’s Outfits: Their Own
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Klarissa from Autelier Makeup
The Florist: Pei Li (8 Dec/ Pei Per Flowers), Whimsical Blooms, Design by Elin
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Etsy (self-designed)
The Wedding Favours: Mr Bucket Chocolate
The Wedding Cake: Zee and Elle
The Wedding Props: Handling__ (wedding sign), XOXO & Co. (backdrop)
The Solemniser: Father Colin
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides
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