Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
June 2024
Alexandra and Jonathan’s Merry Wedding at National Kitchen by Violet Oon at the National Gallery Singapore
Alexandra and Jonathan tied the knot in an intimate wedding with family and friends at the National Gallery Singapore.
Despite having the same group of friends for more than three years, Alexandra and Jonathan only met each other for the first time at an iconic bar in Shanghai. Sparks flew and the lovebirds connected instantly. Despite residing in Shanghai, Alexandra and Jonathan decided to hold their wedding in Singapore, a place that means a lot to them and allowed their families and friends from the UK and Australia to gather easily. All they wanted for their wedding was for them and their family and friends to have a great time over good food and drinks, so they chose to wed at the National Kitchen by Violet Oon in the National Gallery Singapore, an iconic and heritage building.
What drew you to each other?
Alexandra: There was a sparkle from the very first conversation – something about our shared backgrounds of expat life and of course, he was a pretty good looking fellow!
Jonathan: Aside from her obvious beauty and charm, most importantly we just clicked and were immediately comfortable with each other, nothing was difficult or complicated. We had both been expats for many years when we met in Shanghai, and whilst embracing all of its energy, grit, and craziness, we actually both also grew up in similar family environments with similar values, principles and outlooks on life.
What is it about your partner that you love the most?
Alexandra: I mentioned it in my wedding vows – that there’s something about Jon which just feels like home. He is as happy having croissants for breakfast as congee, which suits me perfectly, and because we share so many values it’s so easy to be around him; he loves me for my real self.
Jonathan: There are so many things, but Lexie’s “can do” attitude is so inspiring – never phased, no challenge is too big, nothing is impossible. Lexie is driven, motivated and incredibly capable, and very successful in her life and career to date – and I am extremely proud of her for this.
What was the proposal like?
Alexandra: Given the COVID-19 situation back then, the closest we could get to an exotic location from Shanghai was Sanya! I’d organised a yacht for the afternoon (yes me!) and Jon pounced on the opportunity to propose – I couldn’t believe he was actually finally proposing and as he got all emotional in asking me to spend the rest of our lives together whilst waving the most gorgeous diamond ring around, all I could respond with was: “Are you sure?!” But it was a really beautiful moment and I was absolutely glowing with happiness as I finally said “YES!”.
Jonathan: I took the opportunity of a yacht trip to stash the ring and a bottle of champagne in my bag – and proposed as we were sitting at the bow looking out to the horizon and chatting about the future. The sea was quite choppy and there was no chance of getting down on one knee. I was terrified that I was going to drop the ring overboard!
Tell us about your wedding. Where was your wedding venue and why did you choose it as the place to wed?
Alexandra: Although we live in Shanghai, we chose Singapore to get married because we’d spent three years long distance dating whilst Jon was working here and I was still in Shanghai. Singapore really meant a lot to us – and also meant that we could be guaranteed great weather! Plus with close family in the UK as well as in Australia, it was a perfect middle meeting point. We chose to have our wedding ceremony at the National Kitchen by Violet Oon, in the National Gallery Singapore. Not only is the building iconic (we had our ceremony out on the verandah with all those gorgeous imposing colonnades), but so is the restaurant itself, and food was such a key element to a great party for us.
Was there a wedding theme?
Both: I suppose our wedding theme was to have a great time, if that can be considered a theme! There were three absolutely critical elements for us – food, drink, and people – everything else was secondary to this. Once we had great food, great wine, and our nearest and dearest invited, we were able to relax. The other element for us, of course, was that the day should be a very joyous one, and this meant that Lexie chose to go for a red wedding dress, which is relatively unusual for western weddings. The colour red really does capture the energy and joy of a wedding more than white, and it worked even better than we were expecting.
Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Alexandra: Thank goodness for our events planner! He was an absolute godsend and ensured that we didn’t need to think about any of the details on the day. We’d welcomed all our guests at a dinner the night before which had been a real whirlwind and the evening had absolutely flown by, but somehow this meant that I was so much calmer and in the moment on the actual day of the wedding. I was radiating happiness, whilst also being quite nervous about my vows (I was still practicing them in the car!!), but I was especially glad I’d spoken to all our guests the night before (which had made it quite frantic!) because I was then able to chill out on the day of the wedding and be selfish and enjoy every moment of being an ‘us’.
Jonathan: It was better than I could have possibly imagined. We’d wanted to keep things small, sharing our celebration with some of our dearest friends and family who flew into Singapore from all over the world. We did a three day celebration, so that we could enjoy our time with everyone, and not be rushed by the limited time of a single evening – and sharing this time with so many of our favourite people, surrounded by such love and joy was certainly one of the most emotional and beautiful moments of my life.
What did your family/friends have to say about your wedding day?
Both: They said it was the best wedding ever! Haha! But honestly, we’d tried to go for a very intimate wedding and take care of our guests as much as we could, as it really was so important to us that they were all able to be there to be witnesses to our vows! I think and hope that they all really felt the love we wanted to show them too!
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
Alexandra: It’s difficult to choose one – there were so many! Watching Jon so emotional during his vows was absolutely the sweetest moment, but I also loved the speeches – especially my father’s, who did an amazing job and effortlessly had everyone laughing one moment and crying the next! It sounds so cliched but it really was a day filled with declarations of love from every corner! But I think it’s fair to say that Jon and I also had a very memorable moment after our wedding – which was receiving our wedding video from our photographer and videographer. He blew us away with the video he shot to capture our day – even to this day neither of us can watch the video without having tears in our eyes, and I still can’t believe I found such a talented creative on Google!
Jonathan: Of course, there is only one answer to this question – the moment that I saw Lexie stepping out into the aisle on the verandah with her father, surrounded by all our people. The rush of emotion was overwhelming, I had tears streaming down my face within seconds. Getting through my vows was really a challenge!
What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?
Jonathan: Lexie definitely wanted to avoid channelling bridezilla, and because we knew what our priorities were, we didn’t stress about the little details. We realised with a wedding it’s so easy to go crazy and get caught up in the tiny and ultimately irrelevant details like the fonts on the namecards for the seating plan, or what napkin holder you’d like. But we were both working full time, whilst planning a destination wedding as well as looking after a small baby, so we left all that detail in the very capable hands of our events planner, photographer and videographer, and didn’t sweat the small stuff. It worked perfectly.
The Venue: The National Kitchen by Violet Oon @ National Gallery Singapore
Cost of Wedding: SGD$70,000
Size of Wedding: 45 guests
The Gown: Carolina Herrera
The Bride’s Shoes: Aquazurra
The Suit: William Hunt, Savile Row
The Groom’s Shoes: Hugo Boss
The Wedding Photographer and Videographer: Kevin Foong from Dapper Pictures
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Carolina Herrera
The Groomsmen’s Suits: William Hunt, Savile Row
The Flower Girls’ Dresses: Nellie Quats
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Gina Lau, The Hair Shop
The Caterer: Violet Oon Catering
The Florist: In the Name of Flowers
The Event Stylist: Anna Patterson, The Sight Agency
The Wedding Planner: CT Law, The Sight Agency
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Bliss & Bone
The Wedding Car: Rolls-Royce Phantom 7
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