Till death do us part: Couple in Singapore holds wedding at columbarium

A wedding is an important affair, and it looks like this couple is dead serious about their big day. 

Last Saturday (July 23), a man surnamed Huang and his wife surnamed Zhuo, donned traditional garb for their Chinese wedding ceremony at Nirvana Memorial Garden, a columbarium located in Choa Chu Kang. 

Why did they pick this unusual venue for a joyous occasion? 

It's the exact place where the pair first met, they told Shin Min Daily News.

The groom 34, said: "It's been quite a few years since we met and dated. We actually registered our marriage two years ago, but we haven't had the ceremony." 

Sharing more about the significance of their wedding venue, Huang said: "It's fate. We met here — she came here to pay her respects while I was touring the area." 

It's always been the couple's wish to take their wedding photos at the columbarium, he said, noting that some of their older relatives feel that auspicious occasions such as weddings should be kept separate from "inauspicious" funerals.

"However, my parents are more open-minded, they feel that it's okay as long as we're happy. Even my in-laws are very supportive," said the groom. 

He also saw it as a way of 'informing' his deceased relatives that he was getting married, while paying his respects to them. 

The person in charge at the columbarium revealed to Shin Min that this year alone, two couples visited the venue on their wedding day. 

"In the past, some used to think that it was taboo to do so, but newly-weds showing up at the venue in their traditional costumes shows that the mindset of younger generation has changed." 

Huang and Zhuo aren't the first couple to have such unique wedding celebrations. 

In 2015, Jenny Tay and Darren Cheng chose to use a coffin as a prop for their wedding photos as both of them are in the funeral trade. 

Tay is the managing director of Direct Funeral Services while Cheng is the company's CEO. 

Direct Funeral Services was founded by Tay's father Roland — an undertaker who is well-known for arranging free funerals for murder victims, as well as the poor and destitute. 

ALSO READ: 13 quirky wedding ideas and stories from these Singaporean couples

claudiatan@asiaone.com