5 wedding planning tips from a S’porean woman who married a Thai man

Attending a wedding recently brought back memories of my own.

Was it sweet and memorable? Yes. But would I want to go through it again?

If you'd asked me that question up till a few months ago… the answer would have been a straight out, “No way!” Followed by a knock on wood for good measure.

There’s a reason why I’m not so keen to relive one of the most important days of my life.

I still remember how I had to single-handedly organise every detail of the wedding as my husband, who's Thai, had to be back in his home country till the very last week before the wedding due to work commitments.

From deciding on the wedding venue to the invitations and seating plan, everything fell on my shoulders.

While I relished the control at times, it got a tad overwhelming at some points.

Thank goodness for smartphones and video calls, which made it so much easier and seamless for me to stay connected with my husband whenever I needed his opinions.

If, like me, you’re marrying a foreign spouse, there are some things that no handbook will tell you.

Assimilating into a foreign culture is one.

I was not at all conversant in Thai despite having studied it in university, and relied heavily on sign-and-body language when communicating with my husband’s Thai family.

Likewise, English is not my husband's second language, so he faced challenges holding a proper conversation with my parents and relatives.

Between the two of us, basic conversational English and texting (with the help of online translators for him) got us through our dating journey. Somehow, it just worked. And after living in Singapore for several years, communication got easier too, as his grasp of English (and Singlish) improved.

Thus, I could immediately relate when I watched “AI Do”, the first co-branded film between Samsung and Singtel.

Shot by acclaimed local filmmaker He Shuming, who is no stranger to Singapore and Korea, the short film revolves around an intercultural marriage between a Singaporean man and his Korean bride, and explores the theme of marriage as a union not only between two individuals, but also two families.

This campaign is an extension of Singtel’s “Hello Possibilities” series, to showcase the possibilities that everyone can uncover with Singtel’s 5G connectivity, along with Galaxy AI. We also see the lengths that the groom’s family goes to, to make her feel welcome.

Saying ‘I Do' without a hitch, with the help of technology

The video also made me look back on some ways that could have helped my husband and I, in making our wedding journey easier.

1. Constant communication

As with all marriages, communication is key.

But I dare say there should be over-communication in intercultural marriages, so that certain expectations don’t go unmet.

The difference is in how technology has advanced so much to smoothen the assimilation process.

Intercultural relationships like ours could have benefited from real-time, AI-powered live translation technology such as that found on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Live Translate - a Galaxy AI feature - can enable a two-way, real-time conversation. And having a reliable connection, such as Singtel’s 5G network, when you are separated by distance really helps in making real-time conversations so much more seamless and genuine when you’re on-the-go.

Now, where was this tool when I was trying to speak to my mother-in-law about the wedding arrangements?

2. Take the effort to understand your partner’s family culture

As the saying goes, “when you marry someone, you’re marrying their family”.

Getting introduced to each other’s families is an important step in the path to marriage.

Much like what the short film shows, finding ways to integrate both sides of the family is a challenge outside of wedding planning that both the bride and groom have to consider.

One can make family members feel included in the wedding by introducing elements of their culture into the ceremony, be it through the traditional Chinese tea ceremony or the Thai culture of presenting a gift to the parents.

Simply use the Galaxy S24’s Circle to Search with Google function, supported by reliable network connectivity, to find out about customary items that you may be unfamiliar with or may have a hard time describing - all you need is an image of the item to get the information you need.

3. Get all the paperwork done in advance

I had a mild panic attack when I realised that there was a whole bunch of paperwork involved in marrying a foreigner in Singapore.

You’ll need to get acquainted with terms such as pre-marriage long-term visit pass assessment (PLMA), which helps ensure that both of you are marrying each other for the right reasons, and if your spouse qualifies for a long-term visit pass (LTVP) after marriage.

The PLMA will also hasten the LTVP application process, according to the Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority.

One tip is to ensure these are settled BEFORE you book anything wedding-related.

4. Have a wedding checklist on hand

I never expected the amount of prep work that even a simple wedding like mine needed, until I had to do it all myself.

This may seem a tad generic, but it was important for me to have a checklist so I didn’t forget anything (including nitty gritty details such as confirming a solemniser) in the lead up to the big day.

Now, if I had Galaxy AI’s Note Assist, I could probably skip my spreadsheet of to-dos, as the AI-powered feature can help create easy checklists, generate summaries and even translate copies from walls of text.

If you do not want to miss any requests from your parents-in-laws for the wedding, Transcript Assist can even transcribe, translate, or even summarise any recordings, if required.

5. Enjoy the moment

Yes, memories are for a lifetime. But how many of us will still flip through our pre-wedding album years down the road? And wouldn’t photos of the big day suffice?

That’s why my husband and I opted not to have a pre-wedding photoshoot and used the money for our honeymoon instead.

After all, photos captured during the wedding are likely ones that’ll bring up the happiest memories of the big day.

More importantly, enjoy the moment and let your (and others’) mobile cameras capture memories on the fly.

Here’s where the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s camera capabilities can capture those candid moments and more.

One can also edit them at the quickest time, using Galaxy AI-powered Generative Edit (for easy resize, reposition or realignment) or Edit Suggestion functions to polish any photos faster and easier.

Would I go through my wedding again?

So all in all, did I love my wedding? Yes.

Was I proud of what I was able to accomplish by myself and our efforts in making sure our families got along? Yes.

Would I want to relive it?

In hindsight, if I had the technology tools that are available now… It might actually be fun.

Watch Samsung and Singtel’s full video here.

This sponsored article by Samsung & Singtel allowed this writer to relive her wedding memories.

Top photos by Candice Cai and Georgie Chin, courtesy of Candice Cai.