7 Lessons From Cheryl Wee’s Lavish Wedding Tea Ceremony

If you’ve seen the pictures of Cheryl’s wedding tea ceremony — held a week ahead of her July 1 wedding to her architect-husband, Roy — on her Instagram (@weecheryl), you’ll know the actress was positively glowing. But, no, she didn’t pile on the face masks or catch a few extra winks to ensure she looked picture-perfect on that day. “I was actually worried that I wouldn’t look very good ’cos I was busy running here and there doing stuff [before the ceremony],” says Cheryl. “I hardly slept the previous few days ’cos I was so excited. I wanted to get fairer and thinner. But all that just suddenly faded away. When you marry the person you really love, you get this adrenaline rush and happiness that will override all things, including the eye bags and the dark eye circles (laughs).” Love is all you need? Guess The Beatles were right.

On putting together this tea-vaganza, Cheryl muses, “It’s never a one-man show. You need the help of a group of family and friends whom you can trust. If not, it’s really quite impossible [to organise such an event].” Herewith, a picture of Roy with Cheryl and her family, including her two younger siblings, at the ceremony which was attended by “more than a hundred” family and friends.

Cheryl roped in a photographer friend to take over her Instagram and upload pictures on the go on the day of the ceremony (June 25). She also enlisted the help of another pal to post a series of Facebook Live videos. But the social media updates weren't just to keep her followers in the loop. Muses Cheryl: “One of my bridesmaids did an Instagram Live Feed so I could see what was going on while I was waiting for Roy in my room. I’ve known Roy for 13 years. When I saw him step out of the car, I was like, ‘Is this really happening? I cannot believe I’m getting married to the person I liked 13 years ago!’”

Sedan chair. Check. Qun kua (or traditional Chinese wedding dress). Check. Ancient oil paper umbrella. Check. Check. Check. We wouldn’t blame you if you thought Cheryl was on the set of her new Chinese period drama. So if you want your wedding to look like a scene straight out of The Empress of China, you better have lots of moolah, right? Not necessarily. Says Cheryl: “My kua was actually worn by my mother when she got married to my dad 32 years ago. It’s very precious and not an easy piece to come by.” Family heirloom? Check.

While the groomsmen donned traditional Chinese garb, the bridesmaids wore gowns designed by Cheryl and one of her bridesmaids, Clare, who’s the co-founder of blogshop Her Velvet Vase. The actress says that it’s “more meaningful” to add her own personal touch to the outfits. But P/S: She's wearing not one but two Vera Wang gowns on her actual wedding day.

In one of the gatecrash games, Cheryl eschewed the cliché practice of getting the groomsmen to drink sour, sweet, bitter and spicy drinks. Instead, she got them to down Guinness stout mixed with raw egg, a health tonic that is, ahem, good for fertility. The self-confessed foodie also got them to unleash their cooking prowess in a MasterChef challenge “’cos Roy likes to cook and I love to eat”. Their reward/punishment: To eat what they whip up. So for cooking noobs, that’s self-inflicted torture?

Think these outfits look familiar? Yes, the groomsmen were made to dress up as characters that Cheryl has played in her acting career, from a policewoman in Ch 5's Mata Mata to a nurse in Ch 8's The Caregivers. And who could forget about her (serial) beauty pageant past? It was all part of a wacky gatecrash game where “Roy the Director” and co had to match the lines correctly to her dramas. But all that cosplaying has a deeper meaning. Cheryl explains: “I came up with that idea ’cos I’ve always been searching for the perfect role. And I’ve always wanted to be the lead in every show that I act in. But, I’ve been so lucky to have found the ‘perfect role’ as the lead actress in Roy’s life. I’ve always been directed by different directors. But, from now on, I want him to be the director in my life.”

PHOTOS: Samuel Ng (Pixioo Photography)