Wedding Guide Asia

Celest with her two daughters and Miss Malaysia Universe Deborah Henry

Just recently, Malaysia International Fashion week (MIFA) was held in Kuala Lumpur. This meant lots of models, champagne, fashionistas (fighting for the front row), designers and press clamouring to get in to the best shows.

Yours truly managed to get an invite to Celest Thoi’s debut with her amazing wedding line. As usual, I was a bit late and albeit hoping it was fashionable was initially not allowed in! Why so? Because unknown to me, a member of royalty was already inside and apparently no one was allowed to enter. Thanks to some nudging (and maybe WGA muscle?!), we managed to convince the bouncers to let us in and have a seat.

Was it worth it? Definitely. Here at WGA we think Celest will make her mark in the Malaysian bridal scene this coming year!

With many bridal boutiques out there, how do you distinguish yourself from the rest?

I guess the direction of my style remains pretty much the same after all these years as I work on the philosophy of timeless, simplicity and elegance for all of my designs. Every Celest Thoi gown is beautifully hand-crafted with luxurious fabrics, ethereal detailing and a modern interpretation of classic lines. I want brides who wear my designs to still love the dress many years down memory lane.

Many girls dream of being the bride, but only a few dream of working in the industry. What was your calling?

Well, it was definitely one of the many things I aspired to do when I was younger. Like all little girls, I loved doodling, making crafts and playing dress-up. I get attracted to pretty things from bugs to lights. I love going to shops that sell trimmings, ribbons, buttons etc. And I can spend hours looking around, hoping to buy them all! I love working with these pretty things coupled with gorgeous fabrics and also, the fact that I work with very happy and excited people…it makes me feel happy and fulfillled at the same time.

You’ve got two gorgeous daughters. How do you juggle both?

I am very blessed to have a very supportive husband and family who are there for my kids when I am busy with work. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you!

We’re loving all the pics from your MIFA show, what was it like to walk down the runway? (more…)

Going for the Miss Universe Crown!

Since Miss Malaysia Universe Deborah Henry has been on our site not once, but twice (err actually more than that), we thought it apt to send her a little WGA love as she gets ready to compete in the Miss Universe finals this coming Tuesday, the 13th of September, at 9am (Singapore time).

And the reason we’re pretty excited is because apparently Deborah is a hot favourite to WIN! Never before has a Miss Malaysia been crowned Miss Universe, so that’s definitely something special.

At the Preliminary round

I spoke to Deborah last night and this is what she had to say:

“Hey WGA readers! I know I’m not getting married or anything so I appreciate the blog support from the team, haha! I’m so excited as in a day’s time I’ll be competing for the coveted title of Miss Universe – something I’ve been working really hard for during the last 6 months. I’ve had some great support from Malaysia and it’s motivated me to try my best. I’m thinking when I get married one day, it might hopefully be easier than this – haha!”

Deb with fellow Miss Universe contestants. Vampy make-up for Peru!

Ruling the Universe is no easy feat – if Deborah is to win the crown, she has to beat 88 other countries!! After a hectic 3 weeks in Brazil, Deb has caught the eye of  industry insiders… even established pageant blog Global Beauties think she’ll take the crown. (more…)

The lovely former Miss Malaysia Wong Sze Zen has made quite a few appearances on WGA. She’s shared her engagement story, Hen’s night and even wrote tips on how to be a DIY bride. And after much planning & hard work, she finally walked down the aisle and said “I do” to her beau Lawrence. The church wedding was held recently in Kuala Lumpur, at St. Mary’s church and the evening reception at Passion Road bar.

If some of her bridesmaids above look familiar, it’s because you’ve spotted Mix FM DJ Jay Menon & beauty queen Deborah Henry. Yours truly was supposed to be there as well! Sadly, Zen’s wedding was right after Elaine’s Hens in Bali – where I contracted a dire form of conjunctivitis and was admitted to hospital. But that’s another story!

WGA readers, please enjoy these beautiful photos shot by Hong of The Photoz.

The girl’s had their dresses from BCBG. I bought the gowns for them and luckily they fit!

As for my white gown (by Melinda Looi), I wanted a romantic, fluid and flowy dress without the fuss – so went for a streamline design with a 30s twist. The skirt has hidden gathers of chiffon that showed when I walked and the back had a similar design but with a longer train. I like the effect it had walking down the aisle. The dress was quite simple so Melinda added a touch of drama by beading the tulle veil. It was a really long veil, very nice for the church ceremony!

I ordered a cupcake tower from WGA vendor Cupcake Chic and found they were lovely to work with. Their team were very detailed and painstakingly attached the little blue birds I had made to the top of the cupcakes. Joanne from Cupcake Chic made the frosting messy with edges of chocolate rice, just to create an old-world charm befitting of the church where the wedding was held. Funny thing was the cupcake tower looked so pretty and pristine that guests thought it was too pretty to spoil! Those who did try, loved it. I liked that it was a mix of flavours so it was a surprise for the guests when they took a bite.
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It was a weekend I had been looking forward to for like forever. Former Miss Malaysia Wong Sze Zen’s Hens party, was the perfect excuse to tart it up in leopard attire, maybe see a stripper and clock up the mayhem. Thanks to a bunch of people donning Red Shirts in Thailand, we sadly had to move our Hens party from Bangkok to neighbouring Singapore (literally 3 days before we were due to leave!). Despite the change of plans, six of Zen’s girlies made it down from the likes of China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Since Zen is a former Miss Malaysia, there were two other former Miss Malaysias onboard (Deborah Henry & Emmeline Ng), plus three non-beauty queens – Jay Menon (Mix FM DJ),  Mun Shing (banker from HK!) and myself.

But before we delve into the debauchery, I must firstly tell the grave tale of our roadtrip down…

Word to the wis(er), check your tyres before you leave!!

Can we get a... woo woo?

Yes, halfway down to Singapore, one of the tyres retaliated to our non-stop gossiping (a male tyre I suspect) and decided to EXPLODE.

Talk about damsels in distress.

The tyre bursting made me realize the great divide between men and women.

Change spare tyre? No idea.

Who to call? No idea!

Finally, after a few frantic calls here and there to ‘man friends’… help was on the way…

Tyre fixed. Thank you Malaysian Highway Patrol (surprisingly efficient)!

But wait. Our Amazing Race was not over yet. Challenge #2 – pump the spare tyre.

Hello! ARE YOU A MAN?? Then help us! Please. Meet Stranger #1 and Stranger #2

What to do? NO IDEA (again!).

Boy, did I feel blonde that day. Once again, we did the only thing we knew how – asked men for help!

After what became an eight-hour ride, we finally made it to the sunny shores of Sentosa in Singapore. Luckily, one of the girls had a beach house with 3 large bedrooms and a little pool to boot. The perfect house for a perfect Hens!

Still in Amazing Race mode; in 60 minutes we managed to wash-up, make-up and dress-up – just in time for our dinner appointment at the rather trendy restaurant and bar, ‘The White Rabbit’.

From L to R: Emmeline, Me, Deborah, Mun Shing, Zen, Jay

Ah, the first cheers before the night truly begins! Here are some snippets from the girls: (more…)

Last week we posted the first batch of photos from Rebecca Henry’s wedding that took place at St. Mary’s cathedral in K.L. As you can see from the pics, the Henry sisters (Rebecca, Deborah & Rachel) are all blessed with good genes! The reception was held at Le Meredien where about 300 friends and family attended. As their mother is Irish and their father Malaysian Indian, the reception was a mix of western and indian influences to reflect both cultures.

The Henry’s come from a big, close-knit family, and thus decided not to opt for a wedding planner. I remember that for the last few months Debs always been busy with weekly ‘family/ wedding’ meetings. But if you look through the photos, I have to say that they did a great job! The colour theme for the evening reception was dusty pink, aubergine and white. The floral arrangements were in sync with the theme and done by ‘Simply flowers’ – who used a mix of carnations, eustomas and roses. The couple chose a sugee cake created by Pamela Jones who makes great wedding cakes from home. (more…)