Celebrating Peranakan culture with a wedding

SINGAPORE - Mr Kean Wee and Ms Penelope Thoo, both 27, celebrated their wedding in a unique way – with hundreds of other people who were there to mark the 113th anniversary of the Gunong Sayang Association, a Peranakan cultural group.

Dressed in traditional Peranakan wedding outfits and jewellery, the couple had their wedding procession and tea ceremony in front of about 300 people attending the association’s dinner and dance – its first in three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic – on Sunday evening at the Grand Ballroom of One Farrer Hotel.

Mr Wee’s uncle, Mr Francis Ngau, had proposed the idea of a collaboration with the association as a way to put the spotlight on Peranakan culture.

Traditional Peranakan weddings have been very rare here for many years, said the 50-year-old jeweller.

He noted that showcases of Peranakan culture have instead held mock weddings to demonstrate the splendour and colour of the celebrations, which can last up to 12 days.

In 2019, Mr Wee’s brother Gregory also had a traditional Peranakan wedding procession at Jewel Changi Airport – where Mr Ngau’s shop Asian Artistry Fine Jewellery is located – an event that was covered by the media.

Mr Wee, who was born in the United States and still lives there, said his Peranakan heritage is not something that he gets to engage with regularly.

“I think that’s why it was important for us to have this part of the celebration here in Singapore as well,” the hardware test engineer told The Straits Times.

“It’s important to my grandma, my po po, and so this is a way for us to really show that respect and engage with the culture for the following generations,” said Mr Wee, whose parents are both Peranakan.

The couple had a wedding reception in April in the US, with a tea ceremony combining Chinese and Vietnamese traditions to reflect Ms Thoo’s part-Vietnamese heritage.

While having their wedding as part of the Gunong Sayang Association’s celebrations meant it was less intimate than Ms Thoo had envisioned, she appreciated the opportunity to immerse in Peranakan culture, noting that their families would be there.

“It’s a little nerve-racking because there’s more than just the people we know, but hopefully it’d still be fun,” the e-commerce specialist told ST before the wedding.

The Gunong Sayang Association’s celebrations also included a wayang Peranakan skit, dancing and a silent auction of specially designed Peranakan collectibles and jewellery, in collaboration with Asian Artistry.

Attending the event as guest of honour was Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan.

Speaking at the event, Mr Tan recounted his own memories of having grown up in a Peranakan Chinese family, adding that groups like the Gunong Sayang Association played a key role in preserving the rich Peranakan cultural heritage.

“(The Peranakan heritage) adds a rich vibrancy to Singapore’s culture, something which is so precious that we really want to pass on to our children,” he said.