Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
November 2021
Zona and Jeff’s Dreamy Secret Garden Wedding at The Summerhouse
Zona and Jeff fulfilled their Secret Garden wedding at the beautiful and quaint The Summerhouse.
It was Jeff’s lovely voice that piqued Zona’s interest when she saw him performing but it was his caring and sensitive nature that won her heart. After a sweet, secret proposal, Zona and Jeff decided to go ahead with an intimate solemnisation despite the ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions. They discovered their dream wedding venue at The Summerhouse, a perfect location for the Secret Garden wedding that they had been dreaming of, and tied the knot in an intimate ceremony surrounded by their nearest and dearest.
Share with us your story. How did the two of you meet?
Zona: I first met Jeff when he was performing live at Chinatown food street where I was mesmerised by his beautiful voice. I found out that he actually teaches pop keyboard, so I decided to learn from him. Over time, we got to know each other better and eventually, we became a couple.
What was it about your partner that attracted you? What do you love the most about them?
Zona: I was definitely drawn to his talent in music. After we got to know each other better, I was attracted to how caring and sensitive he is to the feelings of the people around him, and his motivation to strive for his career. I love that he understands me better than anyone else and knows how I feel even before I tell him, or what I like or dislike.
What was the proposal like?
Jeff: I planned a surprise proposal at a hotel one Friday, since Fridays were usually our off days and we would go out for a meal together. On the morning of the proposal, I told Zona I was going out to run some errands but actually, I headed to the hotel where I planned to propose to her to meet up with our decoration team to set up the venue for the proposal. When evening came, I told her we were going for dinner but instead, I brought her to the hotel and led her to the venue where I was going to propose. There was a trail made with rose petals leading to the door of the pool. Once the curtain opened, there were photos of our memories together, coupled with the beautiful flower arrangements by Lalu from Wulala! Then, I serenaded her with a song I composed for the proposal.
The photos and videos from that day turned out amazing, thanks to our wonderful team of vendors who decorated the space up beautifully and captured those precious moments perfectly.
Zona: I totally didn’t expect the proposal to happen on that particular day. I was in tears when I saw the beautiful set-up of the proposal venue. The song that he composed was also perfect and it made me tear non-stop because I was really moved by the lyrics. I totally agree with Jeff on hiring the best team for our proposal, everything turned out perfect from the styling of the venue to the photography and videography.
Share your wedding planning journey with us. What was it like planning a wedding amidst a global pandemic, and how did you cope with the challenges that came along?
We wanted a dreamy, secret garden wedding, so we decided to host our solemnisation at The Summerhouse. We had been there a few times and we felt that the venue’s garden gazebo and courtyard was perfect for what we had envisioned. Wulala! then made our dream come true by bringing out that secret garden feel that we wanted in the set-up at The Summerhouse.
Since we decided to host a solemnisation instead of a wedding banquet, and have plans for a bigger celebration at a later time where we can invite more of our family and friends, we found it okay to work with the cap on the number of persons allowed during that period. We also felt that this pandemic is very uncertain and waiting may not mean that the situation will improve, so we decided to go ahead with a smaller celebration.
While planning our solemnisation, we met with various restrictions such as no food and drinks were allowed to be served and a cap on the number of persons we could invite. As a result of these restrictions, some of our family and friends were not able to attend our celebration. However, we took these restrictions in stride and worked around it. Since dining in was not allowed, we prepared cupcakes for our guests to bring home after the celebration was over.
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
We were definitely feeling nervous right before the solemnisation ceremony commenced, especially when we were waiting in the bridal room. However, I had been looking forward to wearing my wedding gown from Divine Couture, and that helped chase away some of the anxiety. It had also been raining most of the days before our solemnisation and we were worried that it would be the same on our big day. Fortunately for us, the weather was perfect throughout the day!
The entire day felt extremely surreal! We were extremely thankful to our family and friends for taking time out to celebrate this special day with us despite it being a short celebration.
What did your family/friends have to say about your wedding day?
They were really amazed with the venue set-up done by Wulala! and sang praises for the beautiful venue. They gave both of us their blessings and also said that our solemnisation was a huge success despite the COVID-19 situation.
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Zona: For me, the most memorable moment would be walking down the aisle with my dad, with our family and friends on both sides of the aisles with smiles on their faces. Also, the moment where we exchanged our vows and rings were very memorable too. I teared up while reciting my vow.
What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?
I feel that the most important part of wedding planning is planning your budget. Also, researching on the vendors that you would like to work with are also very important. We were really glad to be able to find an A-team for our solemnisation.
The Venue: The Summerhouse
Cost of Wedding: $10,000
Size of Wedding: 50 persons
The Bride’s Gown: Divine Couture
The Bride’s Shoes: Everbest
The Groom’s Suit: Zara
The Groom’s Shoes: Marx.B
The Wedding Photographer: Bobby Kiran Photography
The Wedding Videographer: Linstudios
The Wedding Bands: Love & Co.
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Christine Tan Makeup
The Florist: Lavender Love Florist
The Event Stylist: Wulala!
The Wedding Favours: Baker’s V
The Solemniser: Alfred Chua
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!