Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
May 2024
Isabel and Colin’s Sweet Spring Nuptials at Chijmes Hall Singapore
Isabel and Colin became man and wife in a place full of history and heritage as their loved ones looked on with their blessings.
It was written in the stars that Isabel Lim, 28, artist behind Isabel Lim Designs, and Colin Tan, 28, Recruiter, were meant to meet and fall in love. Not only were they both attending the same church, they were also from the same junior college. The lovebirds found the perfect venue in Chijmes Hall Singapore for their intimate wedding, where Isabel excitedly took over the reins of the creative aspects of the celebration, personalising their wedding with their favourite colours, personally painting and embroidered a wedding signage and even customised her own pair of wedding shoes! Read about their story and how Isabel made their wedding a celebration of her artistry, their personalities and love.
What was the proposal like?
Colin: It was pretty nerve wrecking as a whole. I booked a dome looking like place at The Summerhouse. A few of Isabel’s friends and I tricked her into thinking that she was going for a meal with them. I appeared at the venue and thankfully she was thoroughly surprised. Then, I brought her to the dome, popped the question and sang a personally written song. This was followed by a nice meal and dessert with our friends.
Isabel: I was definitely very surprised! I could not process anything that was going on and had to ask Colin to repeat again.
Tell us about your wedding. Where was your wedding venue and why did you choose it as the place to wed?
Both: We decided on having our wedding at Chijmes Hall Singapore! We only visited two venues, and we decided quite quickly on Chijmes Hall Singapore. We had a few requirements for our wedding venue. Firstly, we were not keen on having a big wedding, so we hoped to find a venue that was just nice for about 150 persons. However, most restaurants only accommodate about 120 persons, while many hotels had a minimum of 180-200 persons. Thus, we were left with very few options! We also wanted a wheelchair-friendly location for our grandparents, and Isabel wanted a long aisle with a long table setting. Chijmes Hall Singapore ticked all of the boxes, so we went ahead with them quite quickly!
Isabel: As an artist myself, I really wanted to be involved in the whole wedding process, and I had to stop myself from doing too many things myself. I made my own wedding signage by painting a landscape, and then embroidering our names & wedding date on it. My main medium is hand-embroidery and not paint, so this was quite a challenge. I had the theme “a new beginning” in mind, so I painted a landscape with a sunrise. The little house in the painting is to symbolise the creation of a new household. I love how it turned out (though I’d change a few things now)! I also collaborated with oooh.darling to customise my wedding heels! I embroidered flowers in my wedding colours, and the oooh.darling team skillfully sewed the embroidery on with beading and pearls. I love that I got to create something that is uniquely my own!
I also planned the reception area! I had an instax guest book, where guests can take instax photos and stick them into the book. I also prepared markers, pens, stickers, and washi tape so guests can decorate the page and write well-wishes! It was like a mini scrapbooking station. I also had a small memorial table for my grandma who passed on a few months before our wedding. My grandma and I have always been very close, and she always wanted to attend our wedding. Having a little table for her was my way to honour my grandma.
What was your wedding theme?
Both: Isabel did most of the work for the theme. Thankfully, Colin likes Isabel’s style, so Isabel could just decide. We wanted a Spring theme with happy colours. We both love colours! Our moodboard consisted of colours like white, cream, warm yellow, green, peach pink, and blush pink. Isabel had a rule of avoiding black! We achieved it by having these colours in our floral arrangements, and in our outfits. We also encouraged the guests to come dressed in spring colours or floral patterns. Many of them followed the dress code, and some of our friends even borrowed floral dresses to match the theme! We are so thankful for the effort that our guests put in.
We also decided to sacrifice some of the budget set aside for flowers to have fairy lights hung across the hall. We thought that it would look more unique. The warm lights really added to the whole atmosphere, making the whole venue look so magical. It was one of our best decisions, no regrets!
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Isabel: I was running on adrenaline! I did feel increasingly stressed as the day drew near because there were just so many things to think about. However, to my surprise, I was not nervous at all on our wedding day! It went very smoothly and I was very happy!
Colin: I was pretty nervous. I woke up around six in the morning to grab breakfast before the hustle and bustle happened. The key highlights of the day were definitely fetching Isabel from the hotel room (a very eventful event and I even knocked on the wrong hotel door!) and seeing her walk down the aisle.
Both: Having all the people we love sit together in one room felt so surreal, like our dream wedding came to life. We felt so blessed to have all our loved ones celebrate our marriage together. The decorations, fairy lights, outfits, all came together so well! We loved how our wedding day looked aesthetically.
What did your family/friends have to say about your wedding day?
Both: Many of them said that the flowers were very pretty! My friends and family also complimented our outfits – Colin’s green textured suit and my wedding dresses from Wedding Crafters! Isabel’s family members were also touched by the memorial table for her grandma. There were quite a number of family members who stopped at the table to honour her grandma too.
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Colin: It would have to be seeing Isabel walk down the aisle and her being pronounced as my wife.
Isabel: That would be the moment I walked down the aisle with my dad, and seeing Colin cry!
What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?
Colin: It’s a long process, so start early so that you have more time to iron out the nitty gritty details. You should also practice understanding each other’s preferences and compromise when you can. Also, choose a venue that is within your budget – there is no need to splurge excessively and end up regretting later.
Isabel: Secure one thing at a time, starting with the venue! It might be very overwhelming at the start, but once you’ve secured your venue, you will naturally start to think about the other aspects. Going to wedding fairs help too! Also, there will be many opinions about how the wedding should be like, but ultimately you should plan the wedding such that you can look back at it fondly without regrets.
The Venue: Chijmes Hall Singapore
Cost of Wedding: Approximately $40,000
Size of Wedding: 150 guests
The Gown: Wedding Crafters
The Bride’s Shoes: Oooh.Darling and Isabel Lim Designs
The Suit: Mills
The Groom’s Shoes: ASOS
The Wedding Photographer: Still In The Frame
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: The Thread Theory
The Flower Girls’ Dresses: The Thread Theory
The Wedding Band: STORÏS
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Makeup by Susan Liew
The Florist: Floraison Studio & A Flower Invite
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: DIY by Isabel
The Wedding Favours: Chijmes Hall Singapore
The Wedding Car: Isabel’s dad’s car
The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides
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