When Sheryl Lim was first invited by her father’s friend’s to attend a wedding, she did not expect to be heading to a HDB block in Bukit Panjang.
The wedding — held in the afternooon of May 23 — was the first Chinese void deck wedding the 27-year-old real estate agent has ever attended.
"I always heard about this style of wedding from my parents which was common during their era and they always say they miss those days," Lim recounted to AsiaOne.
"It's a super unique theme for this wedding because nowadays people only do at hotels/restaurants."
@asiaone Tiktok user Sheryl Lim attended her first Chinese void deck wedding on Saturday (May 23), highlighting the vibrant and comfortable atmosphere. #sgnews #singapore #wedding #hdb ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
Upon reaching the void deck, she immediately observed that guests were dressed more casually. She also appreciated how everyone could leisurely roam around and mingle with one another, making her feel more comfortable.
She also praised the food and that guests could walk around freely to share the couple's joy.
Moreover, the vibrant atmosphere wasn’t just fun to bask in, it also made the wedding more accessible.
"I always remember that I have to find out where's the ballroom at hotels, but at the void deck it's known at a glance," she added.
And she wasn’t alone in this — her 29-second clip posted on TikTok has received over 288k views, 13.8k likes and almost 700 comments.
Her video has been flooded by a sea of praise from netizens towards the couple for the “simple, warm” atmosphere “full of kampung spirit”.
Many netizens reminisced about how the wedding looked "nostalgic" and reminded them of such weddings that were more "common 20 years ago".
A chorus of comments agreed that such weddings are better as you can “invest [your] money wisely in [your] new home” and “all the costs really goes into better food”, said some netizens.
Lim also agreed that the food tasted "nicer in [the] void deck wedding compared to the ones [she] tried in hotels".
Various comments praised the couple for their choice, reminding them that their money could now go into other, more important milestones in their lives, like a new house.
One commenter sums up the netizens’ reactions perfectly:
The comments seem to be reacting to the common trend of more weddings, across all demographics, to be held in hotel ballrooms in recent years.
One commenter compared their own experience of getting married under the void deck to their friend’s wedding in a hotel ballroom — highlighting how their friend spent “almost $100k”, but “their marriage [did] not last”.
However, according to Lim, cost wasn’t a deciding factor for the couple to host the wedding under their HDB block.
Lim told us that the groom's mom wanted to invite their neighbours as she has lived there since 1980s.
"Most of the neighbours are elderly and some are in wheelchairs, so she suggested a void deck wedding and the couple decided to respect the mom's decision," Lim explained.
Lim also wanted to clarify that weddings are not necessarily “cheap” just because they are hosted at void decks.
Netizens were divided on how much the couple saved by choosing to host their wedding under a HDB block due to expensive catering and decor costs:
"I don't think the couple saved a lot. People always think void deck weddings are much cheaper, but they don't know that everything is expensive nowadays and maybe some people will give lesser angpao money. So it's still uncertain," said Lim.
Lim added that the couple said they spent close to $30k on the void deck wedding.
"If your priority is to invite your neighbourhood family and friends, just do at void deck. However, if you have to invite guests from all over Singapore and prefer a formal setting, you might still want to do it at hotel," she added.
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laili.abdeen@asiaone.com
