This couple sealed their 10-year friendship with ‘I do’s, and everything about their wedding fell into place just the way she wanted it. We love how the bride worked creatively within her budget to come up with such a beautiful wedding. And of course, a good wedding photographer is a must.
Hui Wen: “The night before our wedding, the forecast was rain. As I was making my way to Gita Bayu, I felt sick to the stomach looking at the swirling dark clouds. I was mentally beating myself up for not opting for a clear tent as a Plan B. I was so nervous and worried the whole morning! Nonetheless, our first look was all it took to calm my nerves. Holding Andy’s hand while we walked around was definitely one of my favourite parts of the day.
“Another favourite moment was glancing around and feeling so humbled that all our loved ones had flown in from as far as Australia and New Zealand just to gather at one place, this moment, for us. Other favourite moments included getting ready with my bridesmaids, laughing as they would not allow me to devour carbs on the morning of my wedding; watching Rocky (our corgi) prancing around in his tuxedo; having my flowergirls and pageboy blowing bubbles, oblivious to everything around them; and having my girlfriends unintentionally turn up in mismatched floral prints, looking like a separate bridal party of mine!
“I have always wanted to get married under a canopy of trees and chandeliers – not an easy feat in KL, for sure! By chance, I stumbled upon a wedding in Gita Bayu shot by Mun Keat, and I realised that I had found the two most important keys to my wedding – the venue and photographer! It was getting to be quite a pain looking for my ideal photographer in Malaysia, as I wanted a photographer who had a very effortless and natural style with an attention to detail, and most importantly, who could deliver a certain emotion in his photos. I was beginning to think that such a person didn’t exist, and when I found Mun Keat, it was a no-brainer. He was the first vendor that I booked! As for Gita Bayu, I was ecstatic to find the forest setting that I had been dreaming about. We knew it was meant to be when we realised that it was also pet-friendly, which meant that we could have Rocky with us on our wedding day.
“Although I didn’t have a specific theme for our wedding, I envisioned an organic and effortless look to go with the forest backdrop. I chose a pastel palette of pale pink, baby blue, mint and lavender, a colour combo that came about as I tried my best to ensure that the décor wasn’t too girlie, as it was also Andy’s day as much as mine. However, I couldn’t resist sneaking in touches of fuchsia (my favorite colour) into wedding details that belonged to me! For example, my wedding bouquet, my manicure, and our bridal robes that I custom-made on Oh My Gorge.
“For flowers, I wanted them to resemble fresh-picked flowers from a walk in the woods. I asked for the same look for my wedding bouquet, but couldn’t resist adding in some peonies! We were very mindful of cost as we still needed to budget for our wedding reception next year. I tried my best to make things look beautiful without spending a lot of money, and as much as possible, I tried to DIY. We put together the wooden slab place cards, the ring box, handmade signs, Mr and Mrs signs, Rocky’s tuxedo, straw flags, and even collected close to 100 glass bottles, etc.
“A ‘Eureka!’ project was my flowergirl dresses. I wanted them to wear a fully tulle dress to look like little fairies in an enchanted forest. Alas, tulle dresses for kids were really expensive! I was struck by a moment of brilliance and altered tulle maxi skirts from my online fashion store, AZORIAS, into long tulle dresses for my flowergirls, and they looked adorable.
“Andy didn’t have much input in the wedding décor, but we had fun coming up with what to say on our signs! Considering we actually met in English class back in our freshman days, this was a great blast to the past. One of our favourites read: ‘Only the bride should be hot today. Please grab an umbrella or fan to cool down’. Other favourites included our wedding invitations featuring Rocky that were illustrated by a good friend; our ice-pops stand, which was a huge hit in the hot weather; our handpainted fans that made great favours; Rocky entertaining our guests by performing tricks; a donation photobooth corner for animal welfare featuring Rocky once again…”
Tips from the bride: “Don’t be afraid to think out of the box for your wedding, and have fun personalising your big day! Also, accept that things will go wrong on the day, but don’t let them get to you. Many things went wrong at our wedding. Our celebrant almost didn’t turn up, our florist forgot the flowers for our cake, someone broke the glass bell jars that I purposely bought from Thailand and Australia, and it was threatening to rain the whole morning. But in the end, none of that mattered because I got to marry my best friend! Do hire a coordinator, or get a reliable friend to coordinate and oversee things on the day itself. No bride should be worrying about seating arrangements or hanging decorations on the day of her wedding!”
HUI WEN & ANDY {Malaysia}
Photography by Munkeat Photography / Videography by Keng’s Cinematography / Venue Gita Bayu / Number of Guests 100 / Bridal Gown by Celest Thoi / Bride’s Shoes by Valentino / Hair and Makeup by Gavin Art Works / Bridesmaids’ Dresses by Etsy, ZARA and Topshop / Wedding Cake by Souka / Ice Cream The Potong