I was invited to my teammate Yan Ming’s wedding reception at Peony Jade at Keppel Club last March, and it was the very first Singaporean wedding I had ever been to, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I was too early, it turns out. Oh, I was on time according to the wedding invitation, but apparently most guests don’t actually show up until like an hour after that. The groom happened to be loitering by the reception table when I arrived, so he pointed out where my table was.
Salt and pepper shaker giveaways
Naturally, no one had briefed me that I was supposed to hand over the ang bao (the envelope with cash gift) at the reception table, so I had to go back outside to do that when everyone else arrived and we had a picture with the groom.
Before the program started, the radiant couple walked around to mingle with the guests, the bride still in her white gown. We kind of called attention to ourselves during a moment, and we joked that this is probably the reason why YM had felt the need to isolate us in a table with fake guests.
You see, each table was supposed to have ten guests, but at our table, there were five of us, and the other five never arrived. Seems suspicious, don’t you think? 🤔
But each table had a set amount of food, no matter how many people were actually there, so we had double the amount of food to consume compared to other tables. And since this is a Singaporean wedding, it was a nine-course meal, so I’m talking about a lot of food here.
Peony Jade’s Charcoal Roasted Whole Crispy Suckling Piglet, Cantonese Style
Prawn Duets: Peony Jade’s Signature Sauteed Prawn with Creamy Yolk paired with Sauteed Prawns with Sake Sesame Sauce
Braised Superior Bird’s Nest Broth with Seafood, Crabmeat, and Egg White
Steamed Fillet of Cod Fish with Minced Roasted Golden Garlic
Braised Whole 10 Head Abalone with Tender Seasonal Greens
Peony Jade’s Signature Duet Roasts: Roasted Crispy Chicken with Roasted Duck
Steamed Fragrant Jasmine Pearl Rice with Chinese Sausage and Shiitake Mushrooms in Lotus Leaf Envelope
Peony Jade’s Signature Teochew Orh Nee with Golden Pumpkin and Gingko Nuts
My favourite was the suckling pig starter, but everything was so delicious! Someone commented that he had eaten a light dinner before coming, because most wedding buffets are not that good, but this surprisingly was.
Somewhere in between, we raised our glasses for a toast.
Somewhere in between, the bride switched out of her white gown and into a different evening gown, then walked around from table to table for pictures. This is apparently common for Singaporean weddings.
Us trying to be normal
Us being wacky or our real selves 😜
We all thought the bride was really cute. She is so bubbly and she surprisingly knew each one of us by name even though not all of us had met her before. (I first got introduced to her in a bus – it was a random encounter.)
My Filipino friends had warned me that Singaporean weddings are not quite as “exciting” as Philippine ones, in the sense that there’s usually just eating and not much of a program (in the Philippines we have lots of performances, speeches, games, etc), but this wedding had some stuff going on, like when the bride’s friends showed their hen night pics and did a song number, and when the bride surprised the groom with a sweet video in the form of a love letter to him which showed pictures of their history, all tied up together with a Chinese love song which she later revealed to have sung herself.
She kept mementos of their early days! Look at those Nokia screenshots! It’s so sweet! 😍
Overall, my first Singaporean wedding experience was a fun one, and I’m excited to attend my second one next month. I just hope we don’t make a scene this time! 😅
Aw, that’s so sweet.
Well, it turned out SG time is so much like Filipino time in some ways. 😀
That’s a beautiful wedding, btw. Your smiles say it all.
Aw, that’s so sweet.
Well, it turned out SG time is so much like Filipino time in some ways. 😀
That’s a beautiful wedding, btw. Your smiles say it all.