SINGAPORE — A couple got some unexpected gifts after they sent out wedding invitations to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as well as to several other brands “for a laugh”. 

A video posted on the couple’s TikTok account on Tuesday (Nov 7) went viral. It showcases the surprising gifts and responses that the newlyweds received after sending out invitations to several businesses and individuals.

“We sent some wedding invites to the companies that we like and here’s what we got in return!” the couple wrote.

Wanting to be known only as "Sian Shi and Gillian", the pair told TODAY when contacted that their wedding was held on Oct 12 at the Singapore Turf Club.

First to be featured in their video was bubble tea cafe Koi The, more commonly known as Koi, which responded to the couple’s invitation through an email. It waived the delivery fee for a bulk order of bubble tea on their wedding day. 

Then came Mr Tharman's response. He wrote in a letter that he would be unable to attend the couple’s solemnisation due to an official commitment and wished them "good health and the very best for the future". 

In their wedding invitation, the couple had congratulated him for winning the recent Presidential Election, to which Mr Tharman thanked them for their “warm words of congratulation”.

Next was a personal letter congratulating the couple, from Mr Kang Puay Seng, chief executive officer of Gong Cha Singapore. The couple received S$90 worth of gift vouchers from the beverage firm. 

“It is my honour to hear the love of Gong Cha from you and our privilege to serve you your favourite drinks,” Mr Kang wrote. 

Rounding up the presents that were gifted to the newlyweds was a gift basket with teddy bears, stickers and a card from budget airline Scoot, and a gift box containing a hand-drawn illustration of the couple alongside penguin plushies and other goodies from grocery chain Don Don Donki.

“Thanks for making our day!” the couple wrote at the end of the video.

The viral video has more than 374,000 views, 37,800 likes and 3,696 saves as of Wednesday afternoon.

Among the many congratulatory in the comments were those that praised the companies for their efforts.

One user wrote: “Wahaha, Gong Cha so nice.”

Another wrote: “OMG, this is too cute. Their gifts are 100/100.” 

A few users, however, scoffed at the couple, claiming that they were just looking for freebies or sponsorships for the wedding. 

Others took to the stunt more lightheartedly, with a top comment suggesting that they would have sent invitations to luxury watch or jewellery brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Van Cleef & Arpels instead.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, the couple said that they decided to send the invitations after seeing a similar viral video, where a couple had sent a wedding invitation to McDonald’s and received a "McNugget bouquet".

“So (we) thought we would try with the brands we frequent but (we) honestly weren’t expecting an answer back,” they claimed.

“As for our President, he was newly elected and I heard he was quite responsive and supportive as a minister, so (we) wanted to see if we could get some well wishes from him.” 

The couple said that they had sent the invitations the “traditional” way, via postal mail, and did not ask for any gifts, simply stating that they were fans in their invitations.

They added that they were "over the moon" to receive the thoughtful and unexpected gifts. 

Speaking to TODAY, Gong Cha Singapore said that the brand was “honoured” to receive the heartfelt, handwritten invitation from the couple and that the firm tries to return the “love and kindness” of fans whenever possible. 

“As they had shared about their favourite Gong Cha drinks in the letter, we’re happy to provide them with the vouchers so they can get more of life’s simple pleasures through Gong Cha,” the company added.

“We felt that the vouchers by themselves might not do justice to our heartfelt gratitude to the couple. Thus, we sent along a specially crafted letter as well.” 

When asked if it was standard practice for Gong Cha Singapore to respond to such invitations, it said: “We know that weddings can be hectic, so a little kindness from us can go a long way to making their special day a truly blissful one.”

TODAY has reached out to Mr Tharman, Koi The Singapore, Scoot and Don Don Donki for comment.