Wedding date: Saturday, 23 July 2011
Dinner venue: Villa Halia, Botanic Gardens, Singapore

Kailing did something that no other bride had done before. She gave me a personal gift after her wedding. “Hey, no need,” I protested, “I’m just doing my job.”

“I want to thank everyone who had a part in our wedding,” she said. With that kind of attention to detail and gratefulness, you could see she was head-over-heels-and-happy-crazy finally getting hitched to her handsome beau, James.

Congratulations James and Kailing. And thank you for the thoughtful gift.

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1. James & Kimberly
2. J.A. & S.L.
3. Louis & S.Y.

OKTAVIA and Dian’s story is one of heartwarming love. He finally married his childhood sweetheart, flying not just her but their entire families from Indonesia for their wedding celebration. And in addition to their newfound responsibilities to each other, they’ve also made Singapore their new home.

Their wedding was also a chance for me to see the Blessed Sacrement Church up close. For years I passed its iconic blue roof on the way to IKEA Queenstown. The interior is classic 1950s modernist. An Eames lounge chair would not look out of place in there.

Wedding date: Saturday, 9 July 2011
Church: Blessed Sacrement Church, Queenstown, Singapore
Solemniser: Rev Fr Gerardus Suyono
Videography: A Cinematic Story
Lunch: My Humble House, Esplanade

Congratulations Oktavia & Dian!

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1. Dennis & Sara
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3. Hardeep & Pearl

DARREN’S “can do” spirit and Xinlei’s sprinkles of laughter meant that I enjoyed their 2-day wedding very much. And it shows in their wedding photos. Their unconventional ROM venue and the trendy crowd made it a riot of fun and merriment, some of which I will share with you here…

Wedding dates: Sunday, 15 May and Sunday, 22 May 2011
Venues: KPO and Peach Garden, Singapore
Hair & makeup: Miranda Wang
Solemniser: Mr Dennis Tan Chin Leong, PBM
Videography: A Cinematic Story

Congratulations Darren & Xinlei!

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1. Thomas & Eileen
2. Kim & Angeline
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KIM did one thing that no client of mine had done before: he thanked me in his wedding speech. Well, he thanked a whole lot of other people too. He told me later that he was overwhelmed with emotion and grateful to everyone who had a part in their garden wedding.

I’m accustomed to the fact that wedding photographers are the nameless and faceless ones working and lurking in the background of your wedding, only to rise in importance when you anxiously await the outcome of your wedding photos. So to hear my name was a pleasant surprise. Thanks Kim.

Wedding date: Saturday, 16 April 2011
Venue: Graze, Rochester Park, Singapore
Hair & makeup: T.G. Goh
Solemniser: Prof Yu Shi Ming, PBM

Congratulations Kim & Angeline!

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MEET Candi, the spunky and sassy brains behind Mazzario – The Cheongsam Shop. I first knew of Candi when I came across her clever convertible cheongsam dress at Thomas & Eileen’s wedding. Little did I know that she would tie the knot herself some two years later.

My first question to Candi was: “What’s with the Mazzario by Mimi name at your Centrepoint shop?”. She explained that Mimi is her mother and that Mazzario isn’t some silent, handsome type lurking about but the label that her mother used when she used to import daring Italian designs of the 1980s.

With her feet firmly planted in the family business — despite her denials! — Candi steered the creative direction to cheongsams in a nod to her grandmother’s Shanghainese heritage. Hence Mazzario – The Cheongsam Shop was born. Check out her spanking new Wheelock Place flagship store at #03-06.

Alert readers will notice Candi’s denim dress and another done in an ethnic Chinese pattern. She’s not one to do things in a conventional manner!

Wedding date: Sunday, 3 April 2011
Outfits: Mazzario – The Cheongsam Shop
Venue: Min Jiang, One-North, Rochester Park, Singapore

Congratulations Y.S. and Candi!

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AMANDA laughed all the way to her solemnisation and throughout their wedding lunch despite having no sleep the night before. Wedding adrenalin powered both of them — including two march-ins and singing a duet to their guests — before they collapsed in a well-deserved heap at the end of it all.

Wedding date: Sunday, 30 January 2011
Venue: Imperial Ballroom, Mandarin Orchard, Singapore
Solemniser: Assoc Prof Yu Shi Ming, PBM

Congratulations Amanda and CH!

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SPORTS run in the veins of Duncan and Jennifer who both stand well a head and half above me. They first met in a London gym when he let out a resounding “OI!” across the room after recognising Jennifer from his old gym in Melbourne. Several continents and cricket matches later they tied the knot in genteel style in Old Parliament House and then hosted a dinner and dance well into midnight at the Singapore Cricket Club.

Wedding date: Saturday, 22 January 2011
Venue: Old Parliament House and the Singapore Cricket Club

Congratulations Duncan & Jennifer!

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SANTHIA’S doe eyes would simply melt each time she spoke of Andrew, her Scottish beau. Their long distance relationship was not an easy one. Months of bliss together in the U.K. (despite the weather!) would be tempered by loneliness and boredom in Singapore.

Andrew told me that the history of his family clan dates back some 400 years. Well, this lucky princess is moving to the U.K. and into the family manor. “The house needs a bit of work but it’ll be OK,” said Santhia.

Their afternoon ROM was an easy and convenient stroll down Boat Quay from my suite at the Fullerton, where I spent New Year’s Eve working at Pearl & Hardeep’s wedding.

ROM date: 1 January 2011
ROM venue: Dallas Bar, Boat Quay, Singapore
Hair & makeup: Fionna Lau
Videography: Fotowerke
Solemniser: Mr Raja Mohan s/o Murugesu Kanagaratnam, PBM

Congratulations Andrew & Santhia!

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LONDON. New York. Mumbai. Singapore. Harpdeep and Pearl’s family and friends flew in from all corners of the globe for their grand 4-day wedding extravaganza, cumulating in a final wedding dinner on New Year’s Eve 2010. His relatives alone occupied no less than 26 rooms in the hotel!

Pearl and I must have worked on her wedding plans for almost a year before finally meeting in Singapore. We would squeeze snippets of telephone calls and SMSes in between her training sessions and client meetings at the London law firm where she recently started her first job.

All in, it was a fascinating and eye-opening finish to 2010. I observed Hardeep and Pearl getting married thrice in a Western, Hindu and Sikh manner. This was a delicious reminder why I enjoy weddings in multicultural Singapore. Take a close look at their different outfits over the 4 days.

Wedding dates: 28-31 December 2010
Hair & makeup: A Cinematic Story
Solemniser: Dr Eileen Aw, JP, PPA(E)
ROM: Botanic Gardens, Singapore
Sangeet Night: Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore
Hindu wedding ceremony: Yantra, Tanglin Mall, Singapore
Sikh wedding ceremony: Central Sikh Temple, Singapore
Wedding dinner: The Ballroom, Fullerton Hotel, Singapore

And a little thank you note from Pearl when I delivered their wedding photos a few months ago:

Just a quick email to let you know that we absolutely love the photos! We spent an evening with Hardy’s parents and a good bottle of red wine looking over them and were completely blown away. You have done such an incredible job, the hard part’s definitely going to be selecting the ones to go into our album…

Congratulations Hardeep & Pearl!

And this monumental wedding marks the last and 47th couple to be posted from 2010. Thank you all.

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IN the company of lawyers is how I would describe Mu & Esme’s wedding. Esme, her dad, aunt (who did all the decor and flowers), uncle (who multitasked as the MC), cousin and me are all lawyers. There were probably many more in the guest list. I had to tread carefully.

Wedding date: Saturday, 2 October 2010
Hair & makeup: Christopher Tan
Gown and dress: Allure Charix
Church: St Joseph’s Church, Upper Bukit Timah Road. A quaint church on a hill built in 1846!
Solemniser: Father Edmund Chong
Dinner: Au Petit Salut, Singapore

Esme’s name means beloved, esteemed in French.
There’s was no shortage of either on her wedding day with all the attention and affection showered upon her.

Joy.

The receiving line at church weddings is my favorite part. Lots of lovely unscripted emotions to catch.

Best friends, forever.

Just about all of Mu friends’ flew in from Britain. The bridesmaids would no doubt be happy to hear that two of these fine and extremely eligible bachelors are making Singapore their home in the next couple of months.

Mu (on the right) and his friends performed with the same steely concentration as they did when they were back in Imperial College.

Esme’s uncle, in the true manner of a learned law professor, delivered a witty speech on what he should call this new union.
His conclusion: Esme-Mu → E-Mu → Emu.
He thus presented them a famed golden Emu and a pair of Emu-imprinted kitchen aprons, both Australian no doubt.

Congratulations Mu and Esme!

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