SURPRISE, Graham!!!
Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary from The Wed Mag Team and of course, your dearest Sarah.
My dearest Graham,
You are my world; I love you very much
Happy Anniversary!
Love, Sarah
We were game when Sarah reached out to us to work on a surprise feature for Graham to celebrate their 1st Wedding Anniversary! This lovely couple is yet another who went through a very challenging wedding planning journey but had emerged with a beautiful story to tell.
It is also a beautiful coincidence that as they’re celebrating their anniversary, our Team is also commemorating TWM’s very first birthday! We wouldn’t want to celebrate this any other way than to share how tough times can bring with it its own set of goodness. This was what TWM sets out to do in the first place and we’re so so glad to have been able to share many wonderful narratives during this very challenging period for many couples.
Here’s a very sweet story of Graham and Sarah who got through their wedding in one week with only one wedding vendor!
Initially set for April 2020, Graham and Sarah had spent a year planning for their wedding that would involve 500 guests at their wedding ceremony and 300 guests for their lunch and dinner receptions. As the pandemic would have it, just three weeks before the actual day, the Circuit Breaker was announced. What followed was the distressing process of cancelling and changing their plans with only one thing that remained the same – for them to just be married.
We knew immediately that we wouldn’t be able to postpone those wedding plans because we were moving back to the US in a few months, so we went through the difficult process of cancelling all our plans just weeks before the wedding. Our flights were booked and we were waiting for the ROM to reopen so that we could get married before our move. It was at this time that they announced that we could have 10 guests at the ceremony, so we made a last-minute decision to have a small and intimate wedding – We picked the first Saturday in July and planned our wedding in just one week!
Sarah
The Prep with Only One Wedding Vendor
We could only imagine how the week leading up to the wedding was a mad rush. Graham and Sarah were all-hands-on-deck, working through every part of the wedding together.
We’ve always enjoyed working on things together, and we make a great team! Graham has really good taste and an aesthetic eye, and we loved the creative process of planning our wedding together. Every aspect of our wedding felt so much more meaningful because it was something that we had brought to life ourselves.
Sarah
The couple did their own flowers for the wedding. From shopping to trimming to putting together their own arrangements…they did all that just one day before the wedding!
It was our first time waking up early to go to the flower market, buying flowers wholesale, and trying to create table arrangements and a bouquet. It was really fun and we had such a great time together. Sitting side by side, surrounded by flowers, working late into the night… It’s one of our favorite memories from our wedding and we still talk about it today!
Sarah
Sarah took it a step further by designing her own dress and doing her own hair and makeup!
Still, weddings, no matter big or small is a family event and requires a ton of effort. The couple owed it to those around them to bring their day to fruition. In return, everyone got memories that they will treasure for a lifetime.
Our family members were lifesavers. They rushed around with us to pick up things we needed, stayed up late with us, and helped us set up the venues on the day itself. We couldn’t have done it without them!
Sarah
Taking everything into their own hands, there was only one aspect they weren’t able to handle themselves – photography. Their photographers, Bloc Memoire, became the only vendor they engaged for the wedding.
Silvia and Guan Hui from Bloc Memoire took the most beautiful photos, and they just happen to be the sweetest and kindest people as well. We were one of the first couples to get married once the stay-at-home measures were lifted, and our wedding was the first one that they photographed right after the Circuit Breaker. They were so encouraging, reassuring, and accommodating throughout that time of uncertainty, and we were incredibly grateful to have had them as our photographers.
Sarah
The Wedding Day
After all that rush, the wedding unfolded slowly and beautifully.
Both of us got ready in the calm of our own homes, and we met at a quiet spot just before the ceremony. We had been looking forward to getting married and starting our lives together for such a long time, and we both felt a radiant sense of happiness because that day was finally here. I will always remember us standing alone by the water and feeling completely at peace.
Sarah
The day was calm and cozy. The couple got to take their time with things and to really savour every moment of it with all who matter to them.
Our wedding was family-only; Graham and I spent all our time that day with our parents, our siblings and with each other. It made our day even more special, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. Both of us thought it was the perfect wedding day.
Sarah
It was all there is to turn this into a memory of a lifetime. While they wish they could have their extended family and friends celebrating with them, the wedding turned out to be just the kind that reflected Graham and Sarah’s personality.
We were also able to invite my husband’s best friend who is practically family to us. He was Graham’s best man, and my mum was my maid of honour! Our wedding didn’t feel like an event; it felt like a day we had planned for each other.
Sarah
Doesn’t this sound like a wedding dream come true?
A Surprise for a Surprise
Having the kind of wedding that fits their style to a T wasn’t the only dream that came true for Graham and Sarah. What came through was also their previously almost-impossible wish of hosting their wedding in a steakhouse.
Graham loves steaks and over the years he has shared his love for this dish with me too! When planning for our initial wedding we kept joking about how cool it would be to have our dinner reception at a really chic steakhouse. However, we were catering for 300+ people then, and we weren’t sure that all our guests would enjoy a steak dinner. Once we decided to re-plan our wedding, Graham surprised me by reaching out to CUT by Wolfgang Puck to plan our dinner. It was perfect because it was so ‘us,’ and we got to have our dream wedding dinner in the end!
Sarah
Graham, consider this anniversary feature initiated by Sarah a way for her to surprise you back!
Needless to say, this wedding journey hasn’t been the easiest but to be able to pull everything in a week and have it become a dream come true…we’re truly proud of the couple and their commitment to each other. Most of all, we’re really proud of you, Graham, because we hardly see a groom who is as hands-on as you!
Happy Anniversary Graham and Sarah, we wish you both a very blissful marriage! Thank you for bringing us with you as you celebrate your first milestone as Mr and Mrs! If you have other surprises up your sleeve, we’re all ears!
Professionals engaged for the wedding:
- Wedding Planner: Graham & Sarah
- Photography: Bloc Memoire Photography | @blocmemoirephotography
- Venue: CUT by Wolfgang Puck
- Wedding Gown: Designed by Sarah
- Groom’s tux: Tailored
- Jewellery: Anniversary and birthday gifts from Graham
- Makeup & Hair: By Sarah
- Florals and Décor: Graham & Sarah