Eloping Singapore & Win $200

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Having been in a relationship for almost eight years, we felt we had reached the ideal moment to tie the knot, but due to time constraints and the long distance that separates us from our family and friends back home, not to mention the lack of time to organise a wedding, and the inability to agree on where to actually hold the wedding, we decided to elope – right here in Singapore.

We were thinking it would be an easy and painless process but, well, it hasn’t been at all. First, you need to register on the Registry of Marriages (ROM) website. For that you’ll need your credit card, your passports and the passports of your witnesses. Yes: you need two witnesses! This was a problem as we didn’t want to tell anyone about the wedding; in the end, we asked two friends of ours who were also getting married later in the year and they agreed to step in.

Second, you need to choose a date – you can either request a solemnisation in a place of your liking (which makes it easier to get the date you actually want) or you can get married at the ROM – but make sure you book well in advance, as it seems like everyone is getting married in Singapore these days!

Now that we had our date set, it was time to focus on the dress. (Even though you’re eloping, it’s still your wedding day, so you want to look like a bride.) Finding the right dress in a store in Singapore is close to impossible. Let’s just say that wedding dress fashion is waaaaaay more extravagant here than what I’ve seen at home. In the end, I gave up, and after spending a lot of time browsing on online store ASOS, I bought a dress that I really liked.

So, I thought I was all settled. Then someone recommended another website, Lulus, and I started browsing their dresses and found one I loved. To my great disappointment, though, the dress wasn’t available in my size, so I kept checking the page on a regular basis until it became available; then I bought it. And now I’m waiting to see if it will make it on time for the wedding – talk about stress! As for the husband-to-be, I’m afraid he will show up in swimming shorts and Havaianas, or go and buy a suit on the morning of the wedding.

I still haven’t decided on hair – or makeup or shoes – and every time I try to find information on the various “Singapore bride” forums, I feel like I need a Singlish dictionary to understand all the slang. (Maybe I should create an “Expats eloping in Singapore” forum.) As for the flowers, the florist at the wet market wants $60 for a simple bouquet, so I watched a Youtube tutorial and will do it myself for $20.

There are only two things that we know for certain about our big day; well, three actually – first, that we are spending our wedding night at Raffles Hotel; second, that we are going to Fiji for our honeymoon; and third, that we love each other.