A true love story never ends.
Belles and beaus, we’ve come to the last anecdote of our Toast and Cheers wedding series. I had a lot of fun sharing my journey down the aisle with you. I hope you had a great time toasting and cheering with me this past year too. 🙂
This final chapter is going to be pretty interesting as it basically documents how I hid a ginormous secret from my husband-to-be right before our big day. Gulp!
If you’ve been following my wedding journey, you would know that three years ago, Bobby totally surprised me when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
I was feeling all kinds of emotions at that juncture as we had never talked about getting married or starting a family. So I really appreciate how we did things on our own terms. It felt much more organic and natural for me.
Even though the proposal was eons ago, watching the proposal video still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Three years on, I’m still very touched by this unexpected yet thoughtful and delightful surprise. Bobby didn’t have to do something so special, but I’m so glad that he did.
So! I decided to return the favour on our wedding day. *wink*
The Plan
The proposal was such a monumental moment in my life that I kept replaying it in my mind over and over again, I didn’t want to forget any of it. 😛
Bobby had even continued to propose to me every night so I could relive that significant moment every single day. And every time, I would reply him with I’ll marry nobody but you, Bobby.
Wait! Don’t you think it kinda sounds like the lyrics of Nobody by Korean pop sensation, Wonder Girls?
I want nobody nobody But You, I want nobody nobody But You,
How can I be with another, I don’t want any other… 🎶
I thought so too.
Lo and behold, this became the central element of my big surprise for Bobby. I began to devise a plan to slot in a secret dance performance in the midst of our already tight wedding schedule. 👯
The Song
I didn’t want to perform to one track only so I also started looking for other songs. Since it was a Disney themed wedding, I thought I could mash this song with songs that mention fairytale characters such as Christina Aguilera’s Genie In A Bottle. Get it, Genie? Hehe…
While searching for the song on Youtube, I chanced upon this other song that features the Genie. It’s a Korean song aptly called Genie by Girls’ Generation (SNSD). I thought it sounded quite catchy. And of course, Youtube being Youtube, it also introduced me to other SNSD songs and mercilessly transported me into the world of Korean pop.
I was enthralled. Their songs are all so dance-inducing! Haha!
The routine in the music videos were also more family friendly than the western dance tracks that I’d shortlisted. So it was goodbye Hollywood and anyohaseyo Korea!
Yep. I decided to use only Korean songs in my performance. 😁
There are so many great SNSD numbers, so I had a pretty hard time selecting the songs I wanted in my mash up. My best friend, Ash, insisted we include I Got A Boy as the routine looked pretty badass. Haha!
And before we knew it, it was added to my GarageBand list.
And now we need one more song with a slower pace to conclude our routine. I chose You and I by Park Bom. It has an amazing chorus. I heard it many years ago when I was in a cab in Seoul. The chorus just stuck in my head to this today.
It goes like this:
You and I together,
It just feels so right… 🎶
Haha! Feels pretty right eh? And there you go! My final dance track remixed in less than 20 minutes! It received my bridesmaids’ stamp of approval too! Yay! Now on to the next task!
The Dance
This was the trickiest part.
The only time I had choreographed dance sequences was when I was in secondary school for Teachers’ Day performances. It’s been more than 10 years and I think I’m a little rusty at it now.
Well, the secret dance had to be perfect so I started scouting for professional dance instructors to help us with our sequence. The quotations given were in the thousands and to top it off, I needed to add extra bucks for studio rental. This was so going to kill my stringent budget. 🙁
My bridesmaid, Tiffany, suggested we can save precious moolah by just practicing with Youtube videos. She then went on to compile a list of dance tutorials for our routine. Kudos to Tiffany! She also recommended SCAPE’s open space on the fourth level for our dance practices. To be honest, I never knew there was such a space. Haha! Tiffany saves the day!
Being in an open studio space where everyone can see everyone gave us the opportunity meet and get a lot of inspiration from various master dancers. When we went up there, there were already several very talented dance groups practicing their routine, and totally slaying it.
One time while practicing one of our dance numbers, a professional Korean dancer (who recognised our SNSD songs) approached us and graciously offered to help us improve our dance steps and hone our moves. Lady luck was certainly on my side. I received the best help I can ever get for my secret performance for Bobby. I’m eternally grateful to everyone! :*
Anyway, here’s a sneak peek at one of our secret dance practices at SCAPE. :p
The Outfit
These are the people who went through all of life’s significant stages with me (including the most embarrassing ones), the BSB groupie days, adolescence, the heartbreaks, graduation, meeting the love of our lives and now, can’t believe we’re going to do this together! Erm… This can also probably be added to our already long list of embarrassing moments but they still went along with it! I can’t reiterate this enough but seriously, I have the best-est girlfriends in the world! 😀
Can’t let them look less than glamorous while doing it so it was time to find the perfect outfit for our show!
These were some of the outfits we considered.
Yeap. No kidding. Haha!
We even wanted to wear matching Disney Princess tees! Haha!
Erm… NO.
After much contemplation, we decided to go for something more classy as our friends and family will be at the wedding. We don’t want them to remember us as a bunch of SNSD or princess wannabes. 😛
Then I chanced upon this on Esty.
Eight letters – G O R G E O U S!
I could make these for my bridesmaids and myself. We would still look coordinated yet tres chic!
After some googling, I managed to find a local retailer who specialised in rhinestone decorating to help me bring the idea to life.
Tadah! The final look!
Paired the finished tee with a cute tutu and we were good to go. I also added every bridesmaid’s name decorated in gold studs on the bottom right of the tee. I thought this little addition would make the tee extra special and serve as a perfect memento of our hard work at the wedding. *teary smile*
The Night Before The Wedding
A few hours before the wedding, the girls were still helping me to pack our wedding favours. We also rehearsed our dance a few times that night. Aww.. my girls work so hard.
We had a sleepless night. We literally texted till 5am as we were all super nervous about the dance in the evening. Eek!
Even though these girls didnt’ sleep well that day, they were still very committed to making sure there is no dearth of fun activities at our ‘Fairytale-Gone-Wrong’ gatecrash mayhem! Haha!
Scroll down for photos!
The Wedding Day
My gorgeous glamazons!
Whoa? The dance is in a few hours? OMG…
The Wedding Surprise
Right after our wedding march in, Bobby took the opportunity to mingle with his buddies while I “touched up my makeup”. I wasn’t really touching up my makeup, I was changing into my dance outfit. 😛
This is it.
Alright, here’s the plan. I slotted in a (fake) Maid Of Honour speech to take place after the first course of dinner was served.
This is when Tiffany was going to give a long heartfelt speech. She literally prepared a long scroll to annoy our guests and Bobby.
Then we brought the ‘annoyance’ to the next level when I “interrupted” her with a call and she was literally speaking to me with the mic on full blast and everyone listening.
You can see Bobby looking less than impressed at this point. He told us after the wedding that he was going to go up to Tiffany and turn the mic off for her. Haha!
We anticipated this actually so we made sure my brother, Seb stayed by Bobby’s side to make sure he didn’t do anything that could spoil his own surprise.
Then I appeared on screen and on stage. His frown faded and a big grin ensued. 😀
I declare Operation Bridesmaids a success! Whee!
Of course, we had to capture this special moment on film and here it is. The entire “debacle” in action. Haha!
Then we celebrated the successful execution of my secret dance surprise for Bobby with this 90s band pose. Haha!
And of course, a special shoutout to my baby bro who helped me coordinate the logistics of the secret dance at the wedding itself while juggling his final year exams.
None of this was easy to pull off and he managed to do it all without breaking a sweat during the wedding. Thank you, Seb! I wuv you soooo muchie!
I also need to thank our wedding planner and the restaurant for coordinating with me on this one. We did it. Yay!
Like they always say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. All these months of preparation led to this – a big wide smile from Bobby. We knew this was well worth it when we saw how happy Bobby was at the wedding. 😀
This is how much you mean to all of us! We love you! <3
It’s a wrap! Let’s yum seng to that!
Oh and remember that long yellow scroll that annoyed the hell out of everyone? It didn’t actually have Tiffany’s speech on it. Instead, it was filled with touching congratulatory messages from my dearest bridesmaids. 🙂
Again, I want to give a HUGE and special shoutout to my amazing bridesmaids, Ashlyn, Jo, Jeslyn, Tiffany and Alice for investing an enormous amount of your precious time to plan the Hens Night, gatecrash and practice the surprise dance for B. You even offered to pay for the limo! *sobs*
Thank you for being so supportive all the way and making sure that everything is in keeping with my Disney theme. You are the best bridesmaids, friends and sisters! But! I regret to say that we’re no longer Best Friends Forever (BFFs). Because we’re now Best Family Forever! Love you all!
Can’t believe I actually culminated my wedding series with a post on how I lied to my husband before the wedding day. Haha!
And now, we moved on to the next stage of our lives – #Bobblianahome. Follow us on Dayre and Instagram for our renovation journey.
Meanwhile, for more exclusive content on my Disney themed wedding or to receive the full gamut of privileges as Honeyz readers, like my Facebook Page at fb.com/ilovebunnynet or follow me on my Instagram (@ilovebunnynet)!
Have a magical day, belles!
Your friend, Juliana