They met over the internet in 1995 when they were just 15 years old. Little did Mr Mark Ong and Mrs Celia Ow-Ong, both 31, know that 17 years later, they would become husband and wife.
Mr and Mrs Ong, who run a flower and landscape design business together, registered their marriage over an intimate lunch reception in front of 90 close friends and relatives at Royal Plaza on Scotts on Dec 17 December last year.
They will be having their Chinese wedding ceremony and reception at the Fullerton Hotel Singapore next Saturday.
Said Mrs Ong: "We had a beautiful love story and want to have a beautiful wedding to celebrate it."
Theirs is a typical Singapore love story.
Boy meets girl over the Internet Relay Chat, better known as the IRC back then, and they go on a movie date soon after.
Over the next few years, they go on many more dates, meet each other's family and eventually boy thinks a thinks about asking girl to marry him.
But in true Singaporean fashion, marrying the perfect woman goes armin- arm with finding the right HDB flat.
Said Mr Ong: "I was looking out for a flat in Tampines, but found the right one in Sengkang, near her parents' place. "It was then that I knew the time was right."
The couple's new four-room flat in Sengkang cost $268,000.
And then Mr Ong popped the question on July 22 last year.
"It was on our 10th anniversary of being together," he said.
Diamond Ring
"I had a simple diamond ring and I asked her to marry me in the office. I know - boring!"
You can't avoid talking about the finances when you talk about weddings.
Said Mr Ong: "It's an expensive affair. All in all, the entire wedding - including the ROM reception in December and the upcoming wedding - will cost about $85,000."
But they are not sparing any expenses for their big day.
The couple spent $3,000 on their pre-wedding shoot in Hong Kong in April and more than $9,000 on their wedding outfits which were specially tailor-made.
And their reception last year cost them $6,500.
Mrs Ong said Royal Plaza on the Scotts was the perfect venue for the intimate affair as the ballroom was small and cosy.
"The food was fantastic as it was from Carousel and we went for seconds and thirds," said Mr Ong.
The restaurant, which is located in the hotel, is halal and serves a local and international buffet with a wide range of dishes including slipper lobsters, rotisserie with spring chicken, roast beef or leg of lamb.
Solemnisation packages there range from $70 to $90 per person and you can invite up to 110 guests to the reception.
"But we had our share of drama too," recalled Mrs Ong with a chuckle.
"It was the day the MRT broke down, so many of our guests were 45 minutes late."
But like all fairy-tale weddings, the evening ended happily ever after.
Mr Ong said he is looking forward to the Chinese wedding, but is leaving all the finer details of the big day to his bride.
"She's the bride, she should call the shots. It's all about the bride," he added.
