By mid-morning, the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator was already humming. The air carried the smell of freshly cut grass, strings warming up beneath the trees, and, somewhere from the lunch service, the unmistakable aroma of roast beef. The very same roast beef Janna and Claudius would later realise they never actually got around to eating. It was one of those bright Singapore mornings that had guests reaching for the hand fans placed on every chair, but no one seemed to mind. Conversation drifted across the lawn, laughter rose near the bar, and above it all, the string quartet threaded music through the garden.
Inside Singapore’s oldest church, one hundred guests gathered for a garden wedding ceremony that felt intimate and deeply personal. Janna walked down the aisle to Footnotes Ensemble (@footnotesensemble) playing Concerning Hobbits, a choice Claudius had put considerable effort into persuading her to consider. Later, when the celebration moved outdoors and the guest list expanded to 190 for lunch in the garden, the day unfolded exactly as they had imagined: not a wedding for people to simply witness, but an afternoon for everyone to truly share.
A Bolster, Moulded Over Time
Ask Janna and Claudius what their relationship feels like, and the answer is immediate: playful, warm, grounded. Ask them to describe it more specifically, and they reach for an image all their own.
“A bolster,” they say. “Moulded over time and familiar in the best way. It makes the good days even greater and the worst days a little softer. And no matter how funky it sometimes smells, you just can’t get sick of it.”
They first met at LASALLE, where both were studying in the creative arts. Claudius was outgoing, warm, and kind; Janna was funny and talented, which, Claudius admits, was reason enough to find a way to talk to her. Nearly a decade ago, on their first trip away together, they sat watching the sunset over Kuta Beach with cheap beers bought from a Balinese aunty selling them out of a cooler box. That was when Claudius knew.
Eight years later, he set out to recreate that feeling in Boracay. It took five days. The first four attempts were foiled one way or another by clouds, crowds, and, on one occasion, Janna still hasn’t quite lived down the fact that she was simply too hungry to wait for sunset. But on the fifth day, everything aligned. The two of them were floating in clear water under an open, cloudless sky, with no one else around. “I was a nervous wreck,” Claudius says, “though I like to think the lapping waves were kind enough to swallow the trembles in my voice. As for my watery eyes? Salty seawater. Obviously.”
Planning A Garden Wedding Their Way
A garden wedding had always been part of the vision, and for Janna, a church ceremony mattered deeply too. The Armenian Church came late in their venue search, but once they found it, it quickly became the clear favourite. As Singapore’s oldest place of worship, a white colonial landmark tucked within its own walled garden in the middle of the city, it gave them both the sacredness they wanted for the ceremony and the open lawn they needed for the long, leisurely lunch they had built the day around.
The visual direction came together around green and orange, colours chosen for their warmth and their connection to nature. Florals were led by Janna’s mother and sister, who took the décor brief and made it their own, while Cosy Posy Florals (@cosyposyflorals) created the bouquet and boutonnieres. Janna wore TIHN Atelier (@tinhatelier) and Huong Boutique (@huong.boutique), while Claudius wore a bespoke suit by Cao Bespoke (@cao.bespoke). Style mattered, of course, but so did comfort: in Singapore’s heat, they wanted to feel as cool as they looked.
Booking Bottled Groove Photography (@bottledgroovephoto) was one of their first decisions and one of the best. “What couples cherish more often than not, after they receive their photos, are the little moments that transpire throughout the day,” photographer Eugene Tan says. “Stories that they would not be around for and potentially miss out on.” That perspective matched exactly what Janna and Claudius wanted, a record not just of the planned moments, but of everything unfolding around them too.
They didn’t hire a wedding planner. Instead, they planned the day with three Google Slides decks, one very long Excel sheet, and plenty of help from family and friends. One of their smartest decisions turned out to be splurging on air coolers and standing fans, which was worth every bit of it before the ceremony had even begun.
The Afternoon, Exactly As Hoped
The day began at 4am. Bottled Groove photographed both Janna’s and Claudius’s family homes before Claudius headed over to fetch Janna, and the two made their way to the church together. After the ceremony came a short tea ceremony for the seniors, and then the celebration eased into the slow, generous afternoon they had been picturing for months.
Before the guests arrived, there was a quiet pocket of time for just the two of them. A moment that would later become the set of photographs Janna and Claudius found most emotional. Then came the walk down the aisle, the vows, the tea ceremony, and finally the lunch they had protected so carefully in all their planning: the chance to spend real, unhurried time with every guest who had come to celebrate them.
As the day wound down, one of its loveliest moments arrived unplanned. Janna’s mum gathered up the wedding florals, gave them new purpose, and spontaneously led a floral arrangement class for anyone who wanted to join. The flowers were repurposed for the family’s Mother’s Day celebration the next day, a beautiful continuation of the wedding, and of the love that shaped it.
Details That Made It Theirs
Janna and Claudius designed the stationery themselves, and it carried all the hallmarks of their creative instincts. Wedding favours came from Marcel Yeasterson (@marcel.yeasterson), the bar was by My Bartender Singapore (@my_bartender_sg), and catering was by Grain (@graincomsg). Hair and makeup were done by Tracy Ng (@tracyng.samakeup.team).
But the spirit of the day lived just as much in the quieter details. The hand fans placed on each chair. The breathable fabrics chosen for the heat. Footnotes Ensemble transforming an unexpected processional song into something beautiful. Janna’s favourite song, Here Comes the Sun, woven into the playlist alongside Claudius’s beloved Concerning Hobbits. Every detail came from something they genuinely loved, and many of those choices were rooted in the people who had raised and shaped them.
Looking Back
“Do it your way,” Janna and Claudius say, when asked what they’d tell other couples planning their weddings. “Everyone is there to celebrate your love.”
And if they could change anything? The answer comes without hesitation: not a single thing. To them, everything unfolded exactly as it was meant to.
More than anything, the day reinforced something they already knew deep down. “As long as we have each other, nothing can shake us. And nothing in this world means more to us than each other and our loved ones.” Planning a largely DIY wedding without a planner or package wasn’t always easy. But they were carried through it by family, friends, and everyone who showed up to spend that afternoon with them. In the end, that is what stays with them most.
Vendor Credits
- Photography: Bottled Groove Photography (@bottledgroovephoto)
- Wedding gowns: TIHN Atelier (@tinhatelier) and Huong Boutique (@huong.boutique)
- Groom’s suit: Cao Bespoke (@cao.bespoke)
- Hair and makeup: Tracy Ng (@tracyng.samakeup.team)
- Bouquet and boutonnieres: Cosy Posy Florals (@cosyposyflorals)
- Décor florals: designed by the bride’s mother and sister
- Live music: Footnotes Ensemble (@footnotesensemble)
- Catering: Grain (@graincomsg)
- Bar: My Bartender Singapore (@my_bartender_sg)
- Wedding favours: Marcel Yeasterson (@marcel.yeasterson)
- Stationery: designed by the couple
[…] Janna & Claudius Outdoor Garden Wedding, photos taken by Bottled Groove Photography […]