“I was working with Spotify and in Kuala Lumpur for a work trip when I first met Sumitha through mutual friends over drinks after work.” says Subash. “Fast forward, 6 years later, here we are. Sumitha loves animals and so I proposed to her during a private tour at the aquarium.”
Sumitha is an animal lower and for Subash, the Penguin Passport (a private King and Gentoo Penguin enclosure tour at SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium) was the perfect setting for a proposal. On the day of the tour, they spent about half an hour in a tour behind the scenes before putting on; in the words of Subash, “unglam snow gears” to enter the penguin enclosure.
“When we entered the enclosure, I gave her a pebble which led to some confusion.” “The ring was in my pocket and I clasped it in fear of losing it to the penguins! Then I got on one knee, and the crowd outside the enclosure started cheering, everything I had planned to say came out of my mouth in point form because it was freezing.” laughed Subash as he recalled the details.
Sumitha is a general practitioner and Subash works at Amazon who now resides in Australia, recollected the challenges they had having to plan a wedding from abroad.
“We initially planned to have a garden wedding at Enderong, unfortunately due to the pandemic it was postponed. After multiple attempts to reschedule, our plans fell through. At that point, I was just wanting to get everything over and done with. Thankfully, I found Lightbox, I thought the industrial look would go well with the colour palette and decor I had in mind so we went with that.” recalled Sumitha. “Our friends joked how we somehow manage to find the most Melbournian looking venue in KL.”
Sumitha wore her hair in a natural wave and kept her jewellery simple so as not to distract from the off shoulder gown. Subash looked immaculate in his white tuxedo and rounded up his look with a single faux red rose boutonniere. They read personal vows to each other with the help of an aunt who facilitated the short but heartfelt exchange. After walking back down the aisle, the couple shared some intimate moments as the party geared up.
A bar served as the watering hole and activity was concentrated around it. “We paid a lot of attention to this part of the wedding planning, as our families bond over drinks, so it was definitely a must-have” said Sumitha. Later, Subash surprised her with a song after repeatedly rejecting Sumitha’s idea to sing at their wedding. Sumitha, her bridesmaids, and mother in law followed with a dance that was choreographed only the night before. “Me and my girlfriends met through dancing and they said it just wasn’t right that we didn’t have a dance together on my wedding day, so we did it, we got to it at 8pm the night before.” she added with a laugh.
“For me, the most memorable moment was having everyone on the dance floor and enjoying the party. Everyone made it for the after-party too!” Not ready to have the night end, the group adjourned to an airbnb where more drinking and dancing ensued. Ramli burger and Lok-Lok food truck were stationed on-site to fuel their guests as the party continued. “I was really glad I got to keep the party down to 250, it was really a challenge to break away from this one Asian tradition. That way, we got to spend quality time with the people closest to us.”
Vendors:
Venue: Lightbox Sungai Buloh
Photographer: Manoj Nair Photography
Videographer: Doodle studio
Planner: Eventistry
Decorator: lysweddingevent
Hair and Make Up: Annabel Bridal Hair & Makeup
Bridal Dress: Raffaela Cuica Bridal, Babyboofashion
Bride’s Shoes: Valentino
Groom’s Suit: Studio Italia Tailoring, Australia
Groom’s shoes: Ted Baker
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Ashley Kapas
Caterer: Bigrajah Caterers
Bar: Brotenders Malaysia