Singaporebrides | Real Weddings
November 2026
Rachel and Eoin’s Relaxed, Colourful Destination Wedding at Hotel Indigo Bintan Lagoi Beach and Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach
At Hotel Indigo Bintan Lagoi Beach and Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach, Rachel and Eoin held a wedding that was worth their guests’ plane tickets from halfway across the globe.
For Rachel and Eoin, Bintan Island was the ideal destination wedding location for plenty of reasons. Convenient and accessible for the couple’s family and friends travelling from various parts of the world, while providing a lush, tropical environment for guests to unwind in. Their laid-back, relaxed celebration was held at none other than Hotel Indigo Bintan Lagoi Beach and Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach, two of the top hotspots for couples choosing to wed on the island’s shores.
How did the two of you meet?
We met on Hinge, while Rachel was pursuing her master’s degree in Galway, Ireland. Initially, Rachel was simply hoping to find a local tour guide who could show her around Ireland and take her sightseeing. Eoin, on the other hand, had upgraded to Hinge Premium to expand his dating pool beyond his home county of Westmeath.
Neither of us quite anticipated how things would turn out. What began as an online match and a potential sightseeing adventure eventually became a love story spanning cultures, countries and continents. Rachel came looking for a tour guide and ended up finding an Irish husband instead!
What is it about your partner that you love the most?
Eoin: I love how much we laugh together and how she always manages to make me smile. I also admire her confidence and the way she carries herself. Spending time with her is something I genuinely look forward to, whether we’re doing something exciting or simply enjoying the little things in life.
Rachel: I love his patience, kindness and the respect he has for me. He has a remarkable ability to navigate my occasional emotional storms with calmness and understanding, without making me feel that I have to be someone else. With him, I feel accepted for who I am, and that means more to me than words can express.
What was the moment that made you realise that he or she was the one for you?
Eoin: It was when I realised that I wanted to accept Rachel for everything she is, both the good and the challenging parts. I wasn’t looking for perfection; I wanted her, exactly as she was. I knew I wanted to spend as much of my time as possible with her, and that feeling made the decision quite clear to me.
Rachel: For me, it was when I began to realise that what I wanted had changed. I was no longer chasing fleeting excitement but wanted to build a stable, meaningful life with someone. With Eoin, life felt steady without ever becoming dull. There was still laughter, spontaneity and the occasional surprise, but underneath it all was a sense of security and partnership. I realised that perhaps the most exciting thing of all was finding someone with whom I could build a life.
Tell us about your proposal.
Eoin planned a stay at a lovely hotel in Kilkenny, one of our favourite cities in Ireland, as a belated birthday celebration for Rachel, just a few days after her 31st birthday.
We spent the evening enjoying a wonderful steakhouse dinner before returning to our hotel room, where Eoin proposed. In a moment that was entirely him, he got down on both knees rather than one, explaining that it was difficult enough to pour his heart out without having to balance on a single knee!
It was intimate, heartfelt and very much our kind of moment. The following day, we called our family and friends to share the news and celebrate the beginning of our next chapter together.
Where was your wedding venue and why did you choose it as the place to wed?
Our venue was Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach and Hotel Indigo Bintan Lagoi Beach, on the beautiful island of Bintan, Indonesia.
We had already celebrated our civil wedding in Edinburgh following our engagement, with Eoin’s family present. For our destination wedding, we wanted to create an occasion where both sides of the family could come together and celebrate our marriage in a more personal and meaningful way.
Bintan felt like the perfect meeting point. Its proximity to Singapore made the journey more manageable for Eoin’s Irish family after their 13-hour direct flight, while also offering convenient connections for Rachel’s family travelling from Jakarta and other parts of the world.
Beyond the practicalities, we loved the idea of bringing everyone together on a tropical island, somewhere they could relax, enjoy a little holiday and make memories beyond the wedding itself. Celebrating in Asia also allowed us to create the wedding experience we envisioned at a more reasonable cost than hosting a comparable celebration in Ireland.
Ultimately, we wanted a destination that was beautiful, accessible and welcoming to everyone who had travelled so far to celebrate with us. Bintan ticked every box.
Did you have a wedding theme? If yes, what was it and how did you achieve it?
Our theme was tropical island wedding, inspired by Bintan’s natural beauty, warm weather and relaxed island atmosphere.We incorporated colourful tropical flowers and vibrant details throughout the celebration, encouraging our guests to embrace the theme through their outfits and express themselves through colour. Rather than having everyone adhere to a rigid dress code, we wanted the overall look to feel joyful, lively and effortless.
For us, the theme was about more than aesthetics. We wanted our wedding to feel like a tropical holiday shared with the people we love: beautiful, colourful, welcoming and, above all, fun.
What was the day like and how were you feeling?
Eoin: It was incredibly hot, especially for someone coming from Ireland! Thankfully, we had prepared little island survival kits for our guests to help everyone cope with the tropical weather. I wasn’t particularly nervous; I was excited and simply looking forward to enjoying the day with everyone. For me, it was about having a great time and celebrating with the people who mattered most.
Rachel: Having grown up in Asia, I was much more accustomed to the heat, and I had genuinely missed the sunshine. I felt overwhelmed, but in the most wonderful way. After all the planning, it was finally happening, and seeing everyone come together to celebrate our marriage was incredibly special.
I had thought of the wedding as a life project of sorts: something I wanted to create, not just for Eoin and myself, but also for everyone who had made the time, effort and journey to be there. I wanted our guests to feel looked after, to enjoy themselves and to leave with happy memories. Seeing everything come together was both emotional and immensely rewarding.
What did your family and friends have to say about your wedding day?
Our family and friends are still talking about the wedding to this day! Some have even said they would happily get married there themselves, just so they could experience it all over again.
Everyone loved the island atmosphere and the opportunity to turn our wedding into a little getaway. We were also incredibly grateful for the hospitality of the entire team at Holiday Inn Resort and Hotel Indigo. Our guests were well looked after throughout their stay, which made a real difference to the overall experience.
Knowing that our loved ones had enjoyed themselves as much as we had was one of the greatest compliments we could have received. It made all the planning worthwhile.
Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?
One of our favourite memories was seeing just how relaxed and happy everyone was throughout the celebration. During the reception dinner, the children were happily playing and enjoying themselves, and bedtime seemed to become a very flexible concept for the evening! Their parents could relax, enjoy their meals and spend time with everyone without worrying about cranky, overtired little ones.
The atmosphere was wonderfully laid-back, and even the after-party felt more like a gathering of friends and family than a formal event. Watching everyone feel comfortable enough to let loose and simply enjoy the occasion reminded us of what we had wanted from the beginning.
We have always believed that happy guests make for a memorable wedding. Seeing our loved ones having such a good time, especially those who had travelled across continents to be there, was perhaps the most rewarding part of the entire celebration.
What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with other couples currently planning their wedding?
Eoin: Get a wedding organiser! And agree with about 80–90% of what the bride says because, let’s face it, she’s probably going to get her way eventually. That said, there’s always room for a little negotiation!
Rachel: I suspect Eoin is still recovering from the experience of planning a destination wedding without a wedding organiser!
My advice would be to stay true to your vision and trust your instincts. Everyone will have an opinion, and you’ll probably receive advice on everything from A to Z. Listen to what is useful, but don’t lose sight of what you and your partner actually want.
Most importantly, remember to enjoy both the process and the result. Wedding planning can be stressful, especially when you’re coordinating a destination celebration, but it is also an opportunity to create something meaningful together.At the end of the day, it’s your celebration, your vision and your love story. Make it a day that feels like you, and don’t forget to enjoy the party you worked so hard to put together!
The Venue: Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach (Pre-wedding Buffet Dinner at Warung Pak Lagoi, Tea Ceremony Room and Reception Dinner at Hang Tuan Ballroom), Hotel Indigo Bintan Lagoi Beach (Sekisah Pavilion Chapel and Afterparty at SugarBEATS)
Cost of Wedding: IDR 379,650,000 or SGD 27,050 (for wedding venue, pre-wedding buffet dinner & wedding reception dinner)
Size of Wedding: 112 adults & 20 children (under 12)
The Gown: Riana Budiono (Jakarta, Indonesia)
The Bride’s Shoes: Arlenne Wedding Shoes (Bandung, Indonesia)
The Suit: Anesha Textile (Taman Anggrek Mall, Jakarta, Indonesia)
The Groom’s Shoes: Swarbriggs (Mullingar, Co., Westmeath, Ireland)
The Wedding Bands: Spilla (Plaza Blok M, Jakarta, Indonesia)
The Wedding Photographer: NOIR (Bintan, Indonesia)
The Wedding Videographer: NOIR (Bintan, Indonesia)
The Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Forever New (SEIBU Grand Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia)
The Groomsmen’s Suits: Wilfs Clothing Store (Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland)
The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: Claudia Theo (Bintan, Indonesia)
The Caterer: Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach
The Wedding Cake: Holiday Inn Resort Bintan Lagoi Beach
The Florist: @willblooms.florist (Bintan, Indonesia)
The Event Stylist: NANS Florist and Decoration (Bintan, Indonesia)
The Wedding Planner: N/A – Rachel (the bride) 😀
The Wedding Invitations and Stationery: Pentone Invitation & Souvenir (Wedding invitations, Semarang, Indonesia), Nicola Hwang (Island Survival Kit illustrator, Singapore), Stationery DIY-ed by Rachel via Canva
The Wedding Favours: Favours from Shopee, Souvenir Packaging from The Paper Hotel (Jakarta, Indonesia)
The Solemniser: Fr. Agustinus Dwi Pramodo, Bintan, Indonesia
The Wedding Car: N/A – Holiday Inn Resort’s electric golf buggies 😀
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 Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok for the latest article and promotion updates!