Written by: Wan Sim (just married TWG reader!)

Wan Sim is just one of many Malaysians who having lived overseas, suddenly find themselves with two weddings to plan. One wedding back home for the family & friends, and another in their current location. Wan Sim was recently featured in Andy Lim’s post as he shot the couple’s pre-wedding pictures in Langkawi. She loved TWG so much (I think!:), that she very kindly sent in some articles. So for all the ladies who are planning both a wedding overseas and here in M’sia – this is a great read for you! Do check out Wan Sim’s very own LWB at the end of the article!

In the beginning

It all began when we got engaged in April of 2008, while we were crossing the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Southampton on the RMS QE2. I could have never guessed that as the ship began to sail off from the port of Manhattan, it was actually the beginning of a lifelong journey for both my husband and I. Three months later, we took our parents for a weekend cruise to Bruges and gave them a surprise by announcing our engagement onboard. Boy, did their jaws drop as they screamed with joy! It was yet another wonderful celebration sur la mer.

Courtesy of Steve Shipman Photography

The guestlist

65 of our very close family and friends in the UK and from all around world. We had guests coming from France, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

The Venue

It was like love at first sight. When we drove up the driveway of Rowton Castle, we were stunned.

Courtesy of Steve Shipman Photography

The Bridal gown

A British handmade, Italian silk taffeta ivory dress with French Chantilly lace bolero. After three months and fifty dresses, I came to realise that it was impossible to find a dress that could suit two very different venues, ceremonies, climates and countries. It was not until my third visit to Suzanne Neville Couture that I decided to have a bespoke dress made. My bridal style was classic and timeless with a hint of contemporary twist. I wanted a structured dress that had a modern front silhouette with a dramatic back view. It may sound simple, but infact it was a very complicated couture piece. I recalled vividly the very moment Suzanne showed me her finished sketch; I was almost in tears and hugged her. I loved it. It was the Dress. My Dress.

Courtesy of Andy Lim Photography

The Bridal shoes

I love shoes. I was skipping to Jimmy Choo Couture with my bridal style folder once I had my dress details sorted. It was so much fun when choosing my own material, heel height and shape, the shoe structure and style for my shoes. All very crucial decisions as it reflected my personal style. I think comfort is Jimmy’s thing and true to his belief, I have never worn such comfortable high heel shoes in my life! I could have done some sprinting in them!  Jimmy and his team are ever so friendly. When one of my bridesmaids Elsie came with me to one of my fittings, Jimmy asked if she could sing her hottest new single for him, the ‘T-Shirt’ song with his name in it (Elsie looks a bit like the singer Shontelle)! We both burst into laughter. He has such wonderful sense of humour.

The Groom & groomsmen

Chris and the best man, ushers and the fathers wore the traditional English morning suit in classic black jacket and pinstripe trousers. The Groom wore an ivory satin waistcoat with chocolate brown cravat and hanky, with silver cufflinks and Black Baccara rose buttonhole. His men wore dusky pink cravat, hanky and cufflinks with Sweet Avalanche roses as buttonholes.

Courtesy of Steve Shipman Photography

The Bridesmaids

And for my five bridesmaids, they all wore chocolate brown satins shoes to match with their dusky pink cocktail dresses tied with satin/organza brown sashes and diamante broaches. All the girls wore Black Baccara rose wrist corsages instead of having flower posies.

Courtesy of Steve Shipman Photography

The Details & Decorations

It was hard work assembling all the little personal touches for the wedding. The reception room was filled with my favourite Penhaligon’s Lily of the Valley scented candles. The aroma was just gorgeous. For flowers, I chose Dutch Avalanches roses with the bold coloured Black Baccara roses as my wedding flowers. I bought various types of Laura Ashley lanterns and glass lamps to scatter around my ceremony room, just to get that homely quintessential English feel that I like. My favourite deco of all — was the heart shaped symbol that I created by using two hanging birdcages stuffed with some Laura Ashley scented paper roses. They looked rustic and beautiful. To add some oriental touch to our venue, our family friend from Hong Kong sent us an embroidered Chinese cloth with our names and UK wedding date on it. For the Chinese, it was used traditionally as a ‘guest book’, and so we did!

Courtesy of Steve Shipman Photography

Wedding Cake

Our beautiful wedding cake was made by Chris’s mother, who six months prior to the wedding had already started making the traditional fruit cake, sugar craft flowers and trimmings. It was absolutely delicious. Traditionally, the top tier cake is saved for either your first anniversary or for the christening of your first born. Since we have two tiers of cakes left, we can have one for our first anniversary and another for our first-born! Bellissimo!

Courtesy of Steve Shipman Photography

The First Dance

We chose to do an Argentine Tango, with one of our favourite songs Por Una Carbeza. Five weeks before our wedding, we decided to sign up for some private dance lessons in London. Our teacher choreographed our first dance and it involved a lot of hard work! Sometimes I wondered if they realised that we were absolute beginners and not professional ballroom dancers like themselves! They were suggesting some moves like up-in-the-air-twirling and technical lifts. I was too nervous to try them since I would be the one up in the air!! But the lessons were an enjoyable experience; it was like a timeout from our wedding ‘chaos’. We practiced for many, many hours – but it was all worth it in the end. Everybody was so amazed and surprised especially Chris’s parents, who have done ballroom dancing all their lives and did not have the slightest clue about our secret dance lessons!

The Best Moment of Our day

It is definitely when we exchanged our vows.  The minute when we said our lifelong promises to each other we knew this was the moment that we have been waiting for. We were nervous, but we were ready to be joined in matrimony. I could not plainly explain it as it was just this very joyful, contented and blissful feeling that we felt when we both spoke.  Our personal vows were the main storyline for our UK wedding clip, if you would like to catch a glimpse of it, click here.

That was Our day.