SINGAPORE - The bride surprised her singer-groom by serenading him with a song.

It was an oldie, and it got the groom, American-born Taiwanese singer-actor Van Ness Wu, and the guests all teary-eyed.

In return, he gave her three songs. But, instead of singing them himself, the former member of mega-popular Taiwanese boy band F4 got his pal, Taiwan star Wang Lee Hom, to sing them.

The bride was Ms Arissa Cheo, a Singaporean.

On Sunday night, they held their purple-themed wedding dinner at The St Regis Singapore hotel amid laughter, tears and secret surprises.

A guest, who wanted to be known only as Mr X, said Wu, 35, was visibly touched as Ms Cheo, a 30-year-old jewellery designer, sang him an oldie.

Among the more than 500 guests present were celebrities such as Taiwan star Jerry Yan and Hong Kong's Andy On, Jaycee Chan and Philip Ng.

Yan, who was sporting a goatee, was the only F4 member who attended the dinner.

Mr X told The New Paper: "(The wedding dinner) looked like a fairy tale.

"I met Arissa a few years ago and she's a nice girl, very sweet... They are the perfect couple."

On Ms Cheo singing to her husband, he said: "Arissa's no Whitney Houston, but she's got a really sweet voice."

So how did Wu surprise his bride in return?

Laughing, Mr X said: "Er, he got Lee Hom to sing three songs to Arissa. I think that more than made up for her surprise to him."

One of the songs that Wang dedicated to the bride and groom was Eddie Cantor's jazz classic, Makin' Whoopee.

Wang's wife, Columbia University doctoral student Li Jinglei, 27, was also seen enjoying her husband's candour.

The guests, dressed to the nines, started trickling in at 6pm and the dinner started promptly at 7pm.

Wu and Ms Cheo began the evening by thanking their family members and friends.

They gave special thanks to their mums for bringing them into the world. Wu's mother and sisters, Stacy and Wendy, had flown in from the United States to attend the reception.

Mr X said that they were served a sumptuous six-course menu that included scallops, pork ribs, fish and soup.

Said Mr X: "The most amazing part of the dinner was the dessert buffet.

"There were lots of sweets - cotton candy, macaroons and a white-chocolate fountain."

Ms Cheo posted a picture of the dessert buffet on Instagram on Monday, saying: "Dessert buffet that I didn't get to enjoy. Thanks everyone for coming last night! I hope you guys had fun."

Wu and Ms Cheo, who changed outfits four times, had their closest friends seated at two long tables facing each other.

Apart from these tables, which sat about 50 each, there were round tables which accommodated the other guests.

Wu was the recipient of many good wishes, including one that came with a few thousand dollars in a hongbao.

Said Mr X: "As a good friend of his, I gave him a few thousand dollars, and that was on top of the $8,000 I spent flying here.

"I had to give him that much, because this was a really special occasion."

Actor Ng also drew much laughter from the crowd when he made a heartwarming comedic speech that ended with him plugging his latest movie, Once Upon A Time In Shanghai.

The dinner ended around midnight, but the party carried on till the wee hours.

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This article by The New Paper was published in MyPaper,  a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.