Mabel and Cheong Jun’s Free-Spirited Lawn Wedding at Wheeler’s Estate

Singaporebrides | Real Weddings

July 2020

By Audrie Soh

Mabel and Cheong Jun chose to wed in an intimate and carefree affair in the beautiful outdoors at Wheeler’s Estate.

Mabel and Cheong Jun met on a dating application and it did not take long for the lovebirds to realise the chemistry that they had with each other. After a simple but heartfelt private proposal on one of their travels together, Mabel and Cheong Jun celebrated their love in a simple and fuss-free affair with their nearest and dearest at Wheeler’s Estate.

What drew you to each other?

I guess it is the fact that we are able to understand each other well since the first day, be it fun little jokes or even thoughts on serious topics. We are both quite independent on our own, but when we are together, we become 5-year-olds again. It felt like we are each other’s eternal best friend and we are completely comfortable together. Our work does not always allow us to spend much time together so it makes us extra appreciative of every moment we have. The fact that we are equally serious and committed into this relationship makes us stronger everyday.

What is it about your partner that you love the most?

Cheong Jun: I love how thoughtful and attentive she is. She is a great listener and never fails to listen to me or “layan” my jokes. She is also very adventurous. Whenever we are traveling together, she will always be the trusted planner as she understands what I want and I know the trip will turn out to be amazing. Most importantly, we always have fun together and her smile never fails to make my day.

Mabel: He is a big child and will not shy away from showing his affection to me. He is fun, loving and outgoing. It doesn’t matter whether we’re doing mundane activities like shopping for groceries or folding laundry, he is still going to end up making me laugh. There is never a dull moment with him.

What was the proposal like?

Cheong Jun: We were on a holiday in Japan. Throughout the trip, I hid the ring in a secret compartment of the backpack she was carrying. My initial idea was to propose to her in Tokyo, but she was having a fever. I was running out of time as the holiday was coming to an end when we reached Kyoto. Therefore, I decided to just pop the question in the hotel room. She was lying down watching TV with a fever patch on her forehead at the moment. However, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her regardless of the circumstances. I got down on one knee and she said yes!

Mabel: It was funny as the proposal was nothing I could have expected, and neither was I in my best state. But I love that it was very sweet and intimate for him to ask in private. We were in Japan to see the sakura blooms. However, we weren’t able to see the blooms as we were a week earlier. But we came home as an engaged couple! It was a memorable one and definitely a unique story to tell. Kyoto has since occupied a special place in our hearts.

Tell us about your wedding. Where was your wedding venue and why did you choose it as the place to wed?

We chose to wed at Wheeler’s Estate as it is so pretty and has a good atmosphere. We love the lawn, the vast greens, the fairy lights and knew it would be a great place to have an outdoor wedding. It also felt extra intimate as the venue is far out from the bustling city. We didn’t want our wedding to be a conventional lunch or dinner reception in a confined space. Instead, we wanted a wedding that would allow us to mingle with the guests freely in a fun and romantic environment, therefore we have decided on an outdoor cocktail reception, and Wheeler Estate came out tops in our list!

What was your wedding planning journey like? Were there any challenges or funny moments?

Mabel: Before the whole wedding planning, CJ did not know what is a “rustic set up”. Haha. He always called the pampas grass as “lalang”. I guess he has learnt a lot about the terms used and it was an eye-opening journey for both of us!

Since the early planning stage, we always knew what elements we wanted to have for the wedding. Therefore, a lot of the time were spent finetuning the details and sourcing for vendors who were aligned with our concept.

One of the challenges we had was having to divert our attention to our home renovation which was happening at the same time. With two important milestones coming up in our lives, we have to watch our budget and stick to a timeline to make sure that everything could fall into place. We were lucky that there were not much hiccups and the planning was quite a breeze since we were having a fairly simple wedding.

Did you have a wedding theme?

Free-spirited lawn wedding, with a lot of pampas grass! We both love adventures and exploring nature. Therefore, we wanted a simple yet meaningful celebration that represented who we are.

We chose pampas grass as it reminded us of the fond memories made during our roadtrip in the US last year, where we saw a lot of the pampas grass along the Pacific Coast highway. The rustic rattan chairs also implied how we are not always conforming to the norm. We also DIY-ed the door gifts which were fortune cookies! We first tried fortune cookies in San Francisco and loved them since – they were so fun and delicious.

At the end of the day, we wanted to keep the wedding simple and cosy, where everyone would get a chance to move around and feel free and easy.

Take us back to your wedding day. What was the day like and how were you feeling?

Cheong Jun: I was very excited! It was the biggest day of my life and I was going to marry the love of my life!

Mabel: Fun and memorable! We were awed by the set up when we first arrived at the lawn. It was our first time seeing the vision coming to life and we couldn’t be happier. We were lucky that the weather was perfect too.

We have CJ’s friends as the emcee and wedding entourage. They helped with the moving of the props and the setting up of the venue while we were rushing to get ready, take photos and rehearse before our solemnisation was due to start. They were super helpful in taking care of all the details for us and we were really thankful to them.

It was an intimate and cosy wedding with only 40 guests. Because we had a smaller scale wedding, we had time to enjoy each other’s company, accede to all the photo requests by our friends, and most importantly, had a lot of fun and laughter throughout the evening. It almost felt like an elopement. We truly enjoyed every bit of it.

What did your family/friends have to say about your wedding day?

I think everyone had a great time! A lot of them said that it was such a free and easy wedding, unlike the traditional weddings they’ve been to. They really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. We saw a lot of our friends were taking pictures around the area and enjoying the evening. It was just very beautiful and comfortable.

Share with us the most memorable moment of your wedding?

Cheong Jun: The sparklers send off. To me, the sparklers send off would only be seen in the movies or articles, it just felt amazing to experience it in real life.

Mabel: So many memorable moments but I would vote for the sparklers send off too! It was too magical to pair it with our favorite song, favorite people and a gorgeous sunset against the dusky sky!

What is one lesson you’ve learned from your wedding planning that you’d like to share with other couples?

Be true to yourself about how the two of you want to remember the wedding and works from there. Be realistic with the budgets too! We have a lot more ideas for the wedding initially, but have decided to take them out as it would add more to the costs, the stress level and the coordination. Remember to enjoy the process and most importantly, the actual day itself!

The Venue: Wheeler’s Estate


Cost of Wedding: Approximately $10,000


Size of Wedding: 40 guests


The Gown: Wedding Crafters


The Bride’s Shoes: Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 ‘Cream White


The Suit: Military No.1 Uniform


The Groom’s Shoes: Military dress shoes


The Wedding Bands: SK Jewellery


The Wedding Photographer: Juanmoley Fotologue


The Hairstylist and Makeup Artist: IHeartBlooms


The Caterer: Wheeler’s Estate


The Florist, Event Stylist, Dessert Table: HelloFromFlour


The Pastry: Tiong Bahru Bakery


The Solemniser: Mr Goh Khon Chong


The Wedding Resource: SingaporeBrides

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