We love a serendipitous love story--a meeting of chance that paves the way to a forever love. They met through everyday circumstances, a simple haircut; catching eyes in the mirror while Sham worked his magic--an intimate act that became even more so as they acknowledged their attraction to each other. Four years later, after a surprise proposal by selfie in Kyoto, Cherie was throwing in all her design knowledge to create the bespoke wedding of her dreams. Marina Bay Sands’ ballroom was transformed with feature walls and aisle stands of marble, and lush botanicals suspended from grand geometric shapes; highlights of rose gold and muted tones elevated by floating lights and greenery. As a demonstration of trust and a display of his confidence Sham, on their second walk in, chopped off Cherie’s locks--a circle completed--a new do for a new chapter, for the new Mr & Mrs.
Tell us about the proposal!
We were on a holiday in Kyoto and I was trying to take a video of us in selfie mode at a scenic spot. While I was talking to my phone, with him walking a few steps behind me, I could see from my screen that he took out a little turquoise box. I turned around and he got on one knee. Unfortunately I dropped my phone and it stopped recording after that. Ha!
It was a simple, no fuss proposal, although he said he had been planning everything, from choosing the engagement ring, to our overseas trip to choosing the exact time to propose to me--I was the one planning our itinerary so actually the proposal location was a spur of the moment decision! He said he had been very nervous the entire trip up until the moment he proposed. After it was all said and done, he could finally enjoy the trip. Haha.
Tell us about your bridal style, how did you decide what to wear?
I knew I wanted something long-sleeved, with a striking silhouette and bare back. My main gown was from The Proposal, It’s a made-to-measure piece by Galia Lahav and the moment I tried it on it was a ‘Yes’ for me. But I kept that thought and went to Guangzhou to have a look at what they had there. I actually came back with 3 other gowns (two ball gowns and one A-line) and a kua. By now you must be thinking, “Why the heck does she need so many?!” Ha, they were cheap! The three gowns only cost me $1.1k. But of course they paled in comparison to the Galia Lahav gown. I blame myself for being a designer because details and quality play a huge part in my decision-making, so I bought that dream gown that I couldn’t stop thinking about. No regrets.
My husband had two suits. One was a tailor-made navy blue tuxedo by a freelance tailor. The other suit consisted of a Saint Laurent blazer which he already owned and actually sometimes wears to work, paired with tailor-made black pants from Rossi to complete the attire.
How about the venue?
We went to a couple of wedding shows to check out the rooms but most of the hotel venues require more than 250 guests on Saturday evenings and we had less than that. We also thought of venues with smaller rooms, but then they could only hold a maximum of 200-210 guests. With 230 guests we were neither here nor there. One of my bridesmaids suggested Marina Bay Sands because it’s a convention centre; they have plenty of rooms and would be more flexible on the number of guests. Also we had many overseas guests so it’s a bonus that Marina Bay Sands is a popular, all-in-one destination to foreigners.
Was there any kind of theme or colour combination at your wedding?
Definitely. My theme was marble and geometric shapes with splashes of green and rose gold. Being a designer it’s quite impossible not to have a theme for my own wedding, haha, so it’s a mix of my husband’s and my favourite colours. First I basically designed the whole identity from colours to fonts to materials to types of foliage, my theme foliage consisted of plants with muted colours--mostly air plants, cotton, dusty millers and monstera. The first sneak peek our guests had was our Save the Date EDM which included all these elements. From that I had already set the tone of the entire event. The invitation cards would follow suit and on the actual day my bridesmaids wore light grey dresses for the morning gatecrash games and each one had a monstera leaf posie. I had also prepared white clutches, rose gold jewellery and eyeshadow palettes as gifts for them that they could use during the morning event. During the evening solemnisation and banquet the tables were all decorated according to the same theme. I engaged a florist, Regina Mae Fleurs Atelier, to settle all the foliage I needed. For the wedding favours I bought air plants for all my guests and displayed them on marble-esque stones. Thankfully, the banquet decorations all came in a marble and rose gold theme as well so they were able to prepare the ballroom according to theme. It was perfect.
What a day! Do you have a favourite memory?
That my hair went from long to short in the midst of it all! My husband and I decided to have a little fun during our second march-in--we decided to cut my hair on the spot. I was planning to change my hairstyle after the wedding anyway so he thought “Why not do it during the wedding?!”. I was totally onboard. We are very happy with how our wedding turned out--seeing all our loved ones enjoying themselves, the laughter and the tears...my husband and I really love our wedding.
Do you have any advice for future brides?
I’ve heard many couples quarrel in the midst of planning, thank God both of us made it through the entire process without a single argument. There is no secret to this, basically my husband let me settle everything. It gets tiring along the way and yes, at times I dreaded the idea of doing everything alone. But if you want help, you may have to take opinions and suggestions that come with that help. After the wedding my husband told me there were times during the planning that he had something to say but decided to keep it to himself, ha! So my advice is firstly, think before you speak - it helps maintain the peace, and secondly, if there’s a small issue that you can settle on your own, by all means do it, don’t be petty or calculative towards your partner as to who should do what (or even pay what) for the wedding, at the end of the day all that matters is that you’re marrying the person you love.
Vendors
Wedding dress designer and veil/headpiece: Galia Lahav
Wedding dress boutique: The Proposal
Bridesmaid dresses: Love, Bonito
Engagement ring: Tiffany & Co.
Wedding band: Chrome Hearts
Hair: Sham Adam of Be Salon
Make up: Linda Lee of Linda Lino
Shoes: Saint Laurent (bride & groom)
Ceremony and reception venue: Marina Bay Sands
Photographer: Andri Tei
Videographer: Sense Gallery
Florist: Regina Mae Fleurs Atelier
Groom's attire: Dior, Rossi, Precision Tailor
Other Wedding Jewellery: Goldheart
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