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updated 16 Apr 2014, 04:52
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Tue, Jan 07, 2014
The New Paper
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$100,000 wedding was 'complete waste of money'
by Maureen Koh

PEOPLE

SINGAPORE - It was money that she "could not really afford" for a wedding.

When Madam Melissa Ong, 30, was preparing for her wedding in June 2011, she wanted to "remember it for a lifetime".

Madam Ong, a sales executive, recounts how she ended up borrowing from credit facilities, her parents and her brother.

Her husband, who declined to be interviewed, had also borrowed from a loanshark with her knowledge.

She says sheepishly: "It was really my fault, he just wanted to please me."

Madam Ong spent nearly $100,000 on her wedding, which she now acknowledges was "a complete waste of money".

She pauses for several seconds, then says: "You know, with that kind of money, you'd have thought we held our wedding banquet at a posh hotel like St Regis.

"But it was just a regular hotel in the Orchard area."

Madam Ong, who was earning about $3,000 a month then, admits that she wasn't being practical about her financial situation.

"I just wanted to show off (in front of my friends) and I didn't think of the consequences," she says.

The wedding banquet cost $1,388++ per table, and they hosted 36 tables.

On top of that, they paid almost $4,000 for a three-piece a cappella ensemble to perform during the dinner. "I didn't want to have boring piped-in music, and I quite liked the performance I saw at another friend's wedding," says Madam Ong.

She went the distance with wedding photos too, and had them taken in Paris, a package that cost her $15,000 - including air fare and accommodation.

Madam Ong breaks out in loud guffaws for several seconds, then adds: "Except for the main photo that now hangs in our bedroom, the two albums are now collecting dust somewhere in our storeroom.

"That's $15,000 down the drain for you."

The rest of the money went into videography and miscellaneous items like alcoholic beverages and personalised door gifts, and services like renting four cars with chauffeurs to transport the wedding entourage.

She went to Japan for her honeymoon and that was another $10,000.

Madam Ong says: "When I was getting desperate and approached my parents for a loan, I still remember them telling me to 'wear a hat that fits me'.

"When I look back at what has happened, I wish I had listened to them."

Her husband, 28, was also stressed by the wedding preparations.

"He kept telling me, 'I don't have that kind of money', but I assured him I would take care of everything," she says.

"I think I didn't pay attention to his pride, and it's a good thing we are still married."

Which is why she does not blame him for borrowing $5,000 from a loan shark. The money has since been repaid.

She says: "He saw that I was taking on the responsibility for so many things, and told me, 'I'll get the wedding rings.'"

Madam Ong's advice to young couples: Work out your sums wisely.

She is still servicing a loan and paying off the credit card charges for another bank.

She says: "I now tell people that my wedding has become a nightmare to remember."

What sales exec and hubby splurged on...

Paris shoot

$15,000

Wedding dinner

$60,000

Wedding band

$4,000

Cars, gifts, booze

$10,000

Japan honeymoon

$10,000


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readers' comments


u must be high pay lah...otherwise how you save so fast....can teach me??
Posted by Frustrated Singaporean on Fri, 10 Jan 2014 at 12:48 PM


i got haolian meh? don't bully me leh. :( u CB KC.
Posted by A_Commoner on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 at 13:46 PM
How can U no know he is a Singaporean ??? :confused::rolleyes:

Maybe he same type of people like U ... so cant tell izzit ??? :p :D



Posted by Small Fly on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 at 13:16 PM


how u know he is a Singaporean? :rolleyes:

there are many PR and FT working in Singapore too.
Posted by A_Commoner on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 at 13:14 PM
U not only city ah beng ... U r a show-off beng too ... :p :D

Even if U r a how lian beng ... we oso will happy for U that U no need slave like us .... ;)


Posted by Small Fly on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 at 13:11 PM
I can'y stand the typical Singaporeans who persistently brag about their assets and money. There is much to life than just materialistic tendencies.

Some people are already hurt by their mistakes. There is no need to rub in further.
Posted by wongchinhong on Wed, 8 Jan 2014 at 12:42 PM
By 33 I already had $1 mio in assets, because I saved and invested in property!! I got married at 35.......I spent only 30k for my wedding....50 tables....I remember the day at former Dai-ichi hotel.....4 star hotel in downtown. It was a grand affair!! Right now going to retire at 48........7 properties in 5 countries........INVEST WISELY young people!!! I am an ordinary working stiff with a salary!! If I can do it.....anybody can!!!
Posted by cityahbeng on Tue, 7 Jan 2014 at 21:32 PM

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