SINGAPORE – Many married couples’ photo albums are set against the background of a beautiful chapel, but Mr Jermyn Wee, 34, and Ms Chia Suat Huang decided to have their photoshoot at the brand new Apple store in Orchard Road instead, which opened on May 27.
“The photoshoot was really just a spur of the moment thing,” said Ms Chia.
The 31-year-old teacher explained that while she was adamant on having a photoshoot, her husband, was quite reluctant to have his photo taken.
The couple initially decided to compromise by taking their photos in the most unconventional place they could find: Tampines Round Market.
However, when they heard news that the Apple retail store in Singapore was open, the couple decided to have their photoshoot there instead.
While Ms Chia uses exclusively Apple phones and computers, she said that Mr Wee, who is the “bigger Apple fan”, was delighted at the idea.
Ms Chia quipped: “Jermyn was so gleeful to actually take pictures in the store… I was just glad it was air-conditioned.”
The pair went to the store on the morning of the photoshoot itself and asked for permission on the spot from staff to use the premises.
The store manager allowed them to enter the store 10 minutes before it opened.
However, Ms Chia and Mr Wee stayed on in the store even after other customers arrived, and carried out their own “walk down the aisle” in the middle of the store.
“We were just laughing at how silly the whole thing was, but at the same time it was also very cool,” said Ms Chia.
Staff were “perfectly fine” with the shoot, said Yip Weili, the couple’s wedding photographer. “They [were] very welcoming and encouraging,” he said.
The couple got engaged in July 2016, and registered their marriage in October of the same year. Come December, they will have known each other for three years.
They have done other uniquely “crazy” things as a couple before: As they are both food lovers, Ms Chia and Mr Wee decided to go on a hunt for the “legendary babi guling” (suckling pig) that was located in a remote village one hour away from the main tourist sites in Bali, Indonesia.
The place was so remote that the taxi driver they had hired got lost and had to ask for directions from local villagers.
Much like their photoshoot, however, Ms Chia felt it was worth the trouble. “We had no regrets,” she said.
PHOTOS: WEILI YIP CREATIONS, COURTESY OF JERMYN WEE AND CHIA SUAT HUANG
This story was first published in The Straits Times.
