She’s The Wedding Planner To Real Life Crazy Rich Asians, And There’s A Good Reason You’ve Never Heard Of Lelian Chew, Until Now

Lelian Chew is slim, stylish, sophisticated and has immaculate hair, skin and taste in jewellery. Her dressing is understatedly classy, and her manner even more so. She looks like she belongs in the pages of a society magazine and owns at least eight Birkins, but when 8days.sg meets the 37-year-old at her newly opened The Floral Atelier, she is warm, friendly and down-to-earth. And though she now deals with the ultra-rich elite of Asia, she went to a very humble neighbourhood primary school , never studied in fancy institutions overseas and has been here her whole life. In other words, she's not born rich lah. She just looks it.

To be honest, when we went into this interview, we didn't know very much about Lelian, just that she ran The Floral Atelier and The Atelier & Co, and that her PR company was actively promoting her as a Personality, with a capital P. It turns out that after years of working in relative obscurity and not doing much press, Lelian is now ready to channel her good looks and good taste into promoting her company. Long story short, she went from high-flying private banker to some of Asia's richest families to high-flying wedding planner to some of Asia's richest families. The soirees she's pulled off in exotic locales would probably put that wedding scene in Crazy Rich Asians to shame.

So here's the story.

8 DAYS: Congrats on this beautiful 7,000 sq ft space. Why the need to open The Atelier & Co?
LELIAN CHEW: People in Singapore know us solely for The Floral Atelier [there’s a shop in Tiong Bahru and a retail front in Paragon]. But that’s really just a small part of what we do. The Floral Atelier is our second brand; the first brand was The Wedding Atelier, and we do weddings around the world for some of the most special families in Asia. We started that six years ago in Hongkong, and were fortunate to gain a lot of momentum. We take care of just 10 clients a year, because of how intensive and demanding the weddings are.

We’re talking about massive weddings?
Multi-million dollar weddings, in places like an island in middle of the Maldives, or in the mountains of China, like the Snow Jade mountains in rural China. We’re very strong in aesthetics, and a big part of the budget would go to flowers, decorations and set-up, unlike traditional weddings where most of the budget goes to F&B. In the beginning, we were outsourcing to other vendors, but we wanted to bring things in-house, so we launched The Floral Atelier. We were the first to introduce what we call Bloom Boxes, about four years ago. We had a specific aesthetic that was quite pleasing and got picked up really quickly by the fashion brands, which really spearheaded our success. LV was calling, and Valentino was calling — they wanted to use us for their VIP gifting. So the retail part of that really took off. And now, we decided it was time to have a flagship, for people to experience the different parts of what we do. Especially on The Wedding Atelier side, no one really knows what we do here. We have a strong Singapore team that travels with me around the world. We won Luxury Travel Guide’s Wedding Planner of the Year Global, and that’s a first for an Asian company. We’ve been on the cover of Martha Stewart Weddings and there’s a BBC documentary coming up about our work.

How did you come to plan weddings for all these high net worth people?
I started my career in finance. I was with Goldman Sachs for eight years. I had joined the team trained to cover and target the top families in Asia — it was almost like a SWAT Team, and we had a lot of insight into the biggest families in Southeast Asia. As I was fluent in Chinese, I transferred to Hongkong, where they were starting a team focused on China millionaires. China was intense, and I fell very ill. I was hospitalised and I realised that for the past eight to nine years, I was so focused on proving that I could do this that I never took care of my health. We would be in a different city every day and my body just broke down. It was fatigue. I recovered, but that put things into perspective. So I took a break, and I was going to get married. My clients started calling and asking which bank I was going to, but I told them I was going take a break, get married, and plan my wedding. One client was like, “You’re planning weddings? My son’s getting married — why don’t you come plan the wedding?”

They hired you despite you not having any wedding planning experience?
I guess they thought I had already taken care of them on such important things over the years, so why not their son’s big day? I was free so I went to have a look, and it opened my eyes to what weddings can be. It was a multi-million dollar project; a 3,000-person wedding, and I was one of seven planners. Another client heard I had planned a wedding and he was like, “Maybe you should do mine.” By the end of the year, we had a portfolio. I’m quite commercial, so I knew the next thing I went into can’t just be a hobby — it had to be sustainable, and there was something here.

That’s amazing.
I guess there isn’t a company here that focuses on weddings for this particular segment. For the most important day of one’s life, there are a lot of opportunities. We launched in Hongkong, and the clients followed. But I feel that no one really knows our story here in Singapore. We do get clients from Singapore, but the weddings here are more subdued and modest compared to the rest of Asia, such as in Indonesia. It’s in their culture to throw really lavish weddings. And with the BBC documentary coming out next month, I needed people to know that I’m Singaporean, that more than half the team is Singaporean, and we are based here.

What’s the documentary about?
The BBC wanted to do a documentary on celebrations in Asia, and after Crazy Rich Asians, there was a big spike in interest in East Asia, and they called me. They followed my team for four months as we travelled to 12 different cities, and I don’t think they knew what they were getting into. We managed to get four couples to agree to be featured. The finale was shot two weeks ago during the launch of The Atelier & Co, and now they’re editing. It’s coming out soon and I’m nervous and excited. It’s a big budget production.

It’s surprising that with your credentials, you haven’t been featured more in magazines or campaigns, or are more well-known in the media scene.
I’ll be honest — I’ve been fighting this for the longest time. I didn’t even have Instagram until recently. When I worked in the bank, we needed to be in the shadows. The clients need to be in the limelight, and we were supporting from the back. The younger members in my team felt it would be good to humanise the brand, to know the people behind the scenes. So this is a very new experience for me, doing interviews and shoots.

It’s impressive that on top of your awesome private banking and portfolio managing skills, you have top-notch aesthetics and planning skills as well.
I have a keen eye but it’s helped by the fact that I have a great team. There are other big planners in the world, especially in the West, but people come to us ’cos we’re very professionally run. We have architects and master florists with 25 years’ experience on our team, and everyone is very qualified. We give a lot of access that other planners don’t have. If the bride is a big fashionista, we can get her front row seats at an Elie Saab show; we can get Zuhair Murad to dress her. We’ve had really famous people sing and perform at our weddings. Also, we also do things tastefully. These are the things which have helped the business.

How involved are you in the weddings?
For the 10 to 12 weddings we do a year, I’m 100 per cent involved. I do the pitches, which are held in conference rooms, with the bride and groom and their families. It’s such an important thing for them; it’s the one big showcase and introduction of their children to the world and to their business friends. It’s a big pitch, and I always front that. Brides like to get me to get involved, especially for the fashion part — maybe it’s a personal style thing. I just came back from Milan last month, ’cos a bride insisted we were there when she was getting her gown done. For The Floral Atelier, I take more of a bird’s eye view. I look at the orders of flowers we ship in and I curate the vases and themes, but I don’t have the luxury of doing every single arrangement.

What are some of the more extravagant things you’ve done for the weddings?
I have signed countless NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements)! I can’t really share names, and it’s in my nature to never name drop. On our website, you’d only see photos of the decor, never the couple. We’ve worked with Broadway to do a performance for a wedding. That didn’t happen eventually ’cos of logistics, but it went all the way. We’ve had Hollywood singers perform at weddings — that’s common. We’ve had buy-outs of private islands that cost millions of dollars, and we’re very familiar with private jets. We know how to fly people into the most obscure places, and we take guest lists very seriously, ’cos we get insight into very private families.

By private, you mean ultra-rich, right?
Yes, rich and very privileged families. There are a lot of sensitivities with what we do. But clients have been very generous with us. Our 23-year-old executive stayed at the Four Seasons when she first joined, just ’cos the wedding might happen there. Clients fly us on scouting trips, and I tend to let different members of the team do this. Almost all our weddings are buy-outs [of hotels or locations], where we can transform the place.

It all sounds so glamorous. Is there a lot of luxury and enjoyment?
The glamourous people are the clients. I’m very clear about that and I make sure the team knows this. I would kneel down on the wedding day and wear a shoe for the bride — that’s not beneath me. We have to realise we are there to facilitate, and anything related to the wedding, we will do. It’s never about us, it’s about the client, but we’re very fortunate ’cos we are working with the best in the industry. It’s really, really tiring on event days. For four days, the team would take turns not sleeping. Because it’s flowers we’re working with, we can only do the flowers 12 hours before the event, or they die. It’s a very strenuous job for the team, and we’re always looking like a mess at the weddings. But if we’re scouting, we get housed in the best hotels, ’cos we need to experience that. When we travel, I make it a point to go for dinner at a fancy restaurant, paid by me, ’cos the team needs to experience things to understand the psyche of the clients. It cannot be like if the client says they want to book out a place for their welcome dinner in Shanghai, and everyone stares at them not knowing what this place is. It can’t just be me knowing these things. So they need to experience enough in order to speak a certain language.

So compared to that, opening this space must have been a walk in the park for you.
The one word I like to use to describe the spaces we work on is “transformational”. When guests arrive, I want it to be something they’ve never seen before. So I spent 12 months with the team looking for a space in Singapore that can be transformational. Every piece of furniture or drawing, and the painting and building, I wanted to do it ourselves. This is what we’ve been doing for the past six years, building things for clients for our events, and I wanted us to create our own space. It was challenging for the team for sure. I wanted to expand the retail part of things. In Singapore, flowers are very perishable, so we introduced the Eternity range, with flowers which can last for two years. There are a few things we have which try to elevate the gifting experience. A personal insight has been that flowers are not just about looks, but scents as well. Since the scents of flowers can only last three days, we now have the Soohyang fragrance line to perpetuate the scent. We have Janice Wong chocolates specially created for us as well. So you can give a gift that doesn’t just look and smell great, but you can also eat it. Also, in Singapore, you don’t really know where to buy vases from. We wanted a place where you could have a good pick of vases, and we have about 300 difference pieces, sourced from our travels around the world. There’s a blue set from the Maldives, ’cos we just did a Maldives wedding last month.

You also have classes and workshops here.
Yes, it’s been my dream to create a space for artisans to come and collaborate ’cos that’s what an atelier is. We’re bringing in different people to teach different things, and at last week’s launch, we had calligraphers and cake decorators. Workshops are open to the public, like the flower classes are $235 for two hours, and you get to bring home your arrangement. We also have Janice Wong’s chocolate painting classes, and classes with cake decorators and illustrators. These are $100 to $250. The masterclasses, like with some of the best photographers, are more for professionals and are more expensive and intensive. The space is also an event space for rent. We are toying with the idea of bringing in a coffee person, so this place can be almost like a café, and it’s so pleasant with the flowers. We’ve already done a fashion show for a jewellery brand, launched by Calista [Cuaca, daughter of Jamie Chua] and Dyon [Foo, son of jeweller Jessie Foo of Yuli Jewellery]. And that night, the space was really transformed. Fast cars were downstairs, there were trendy, young and good-looking people — I’ve never seen such people at Delta House!

Did you go to school here?
Yes, I went to NTU, and I was in a very humble neighbourhood primary school, that’s now part of Nan Hua. Then I went to SCGS and RJC, and joined Goldman Sachs as a Financial Analyst right out of NTU, where I studied Hospitality. I’ve been here my whole life!

Since you’re all about transformation, can you give us your three best tips for transforming a space?
Scent is something I take quite seriously. It permeates every part of the space, as opposed to aesthetics, which may just occupy a smaller area. Scent is sometimes a bit ignored in Singapore. I think smell is something that really works when it comes to transforming a space. Lighting is also a really big thing. A lot of lighting tends to be just functional, but you can have lights that look good and create ambience. The last tip can be maybe adding textures, which I don’t think a lot of people consider. Like, how do you balance out the earthy feel of wood with something softer and more luxurious? Maybe with a rug? If you have a lot of cold materials like mirrors and glass, you can try adding something a bit more luxe and play with textures.

What can flowers do for a space?
I think it can bring life. The magic of flowers is that it’s a living thing. You see it in the morning, and five hours later, the bloom will look different and smell different. Having something growing in your home is quite magical. It is true that it’s not the most practical decorative piece, but it’s great for when you wanna make a statement at a dinner party, or for a special occasion when you really wanna show someone how much you appreciate them.

Any tips on how to live a more beautiful and relaxed life?
I know it sounds strange, but I really feel it’s all about being very clearly present in that moment. I’m always being pulled in different directions, and I feel that being present has really helped me to balance things out. When I’m with a client, I’m 100 per cent with them — I don’t get distracted by anything else. When I’m with family, I’m 100 per cent with family, and the phone goes away. It allows me to be very efficient at that point in time and really helps me to enjoy and take in that moment. It’s helped me to be less frazzled. Being fully present in each situation you’re in has helped me to be more Zen.

Having something to do outside of work has helped me to not only live a more beautiful life, but a more rounded, rewarding and enriching life. Every year, I have a goal that’s not related to work or family. It can be completely random. My next goal is to learn a musical instrument within a year and give a mini concert to friends. So I’m learning the guitar. I used to sing, but I couldn’t strum, and now I can play and sing. It gives me something else to do besides work. I love working towards goals that can fulfil me in different ways. Yes, I’m very goal-oriented!

Lastly, being comfortable in your own skin allows you to be the most beautiful you can be. It’s so hard now, with everyone looking at Instagram to see what others are posting. But it’s about embracing yourself, your lot in life, what you look like and what you do, and knowing that you’re really just competing with yourself. As I grow older, it’s becoming clearer to me it’s possible to do all three of the things I’ve mentioned. With my younger self, there was a lot of noise and it was very difficult.

The notes that go out with The Floral Atelier blooms are typed on a vintage typewriter which taps out cursive fonts. Talk about old-school perfectionism!

The Atelier & Co. is at 2 Alexandra Road, Delta House, Level 8. Opening hours: 10am to 7pm. For more info, go to https://www.thefloralatelier.co.


Photos: Mark Lee