More than 10 years ago, Andrew Pang was in the parking lot of a club in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, locked out of his car, and Misha Poon with their mutual friends kept him company as they waited for help. It wasn’t until eight years later, when she came to visit Hong Kong, where he was then based, that something sparked between them. The two lived in different countries, so their first year was long-distance with monthly visits in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, and anywhere that seemed fitting for a weekend.
After around 12 months together, he planned to propose during Christmas with her family in Malaysia; however, they had planned a trip directly prior to Myanmar, so he had to bring the ring with him to both destinations. He almost made it to the end of their first trip, but he kept the ring box in his pocket, and at the bar on their last stop in Inle Lake, she patted his pockets, looking for his wallet, and paused when she hit the small square. “She looked at me, I looked at her, and we burst out laughing! She knew, and I knew she knew, but she was gracious enough to let me compose myself,” Andrew shares. “I invited her back at our hotel room and proposed to her in our own intimate setting.”
For months after the engagement, the two agonized over whether they should return to Inle Lake for their early December wedding. The region had never hosted one before, so vendors weren’t readily available, and it would take everyone at least two flights to reach. In the end, they went for it and wanted to incorporate and support as much local talent as possible. “My bridesmaid, Jo, suggested fellow Malaysian and photographer Jon Low, and we were so taken by his portfolio of destination weddings,” Misha says. “It was one of the quickest decisions we made.”
The bride’s dress was designed by Malaysian label Maarimaia Privé. “The label doesn’t do bridal, so I was thrilled when the founder, May, agreed to whip me up a white dress,” Misha says. “At our first meeting, she showed me a sketch of a column style dress with a hand-pleated bodice. I loved the classic simplicity of the silhouette and the organic, irregular pleats on the top.” To tie it all together, the giant back bow trailed into the train—“I told May I wanted volume, and oh my, that bow had serious structural integrity!”
May also made a pocket square for Andrew in the same fabric as the dress to keep them connected. The groom looked handsome in a tweed suit—a nod to his British upbringing—made by his favorite tailor in Hong Kong and handmade Barker shoes.
On the morning of the ceremony, the couple and their respective parties played the traditional pre-wedding games, where the groom has to “win” the right to marry the bride by completing a set of challenges set by the bridesmaids. This was followed by a big Burmese lunch, and then everyone reconvened an hour before the sunset.
As Misha walked down the aisle with her father, their friend, Chip, sang Bruno Mars’s “Versace on the Floor,” a reference to one of the couple’s inside jokes. “We’d actually gotten legally married in Hong Kong a few months prior, so I wasn’t expecting a big emotional reaction, but as soon as I saw her in the dress, I couldn’t hold it in,” the groom remarks. Gerard, who’s married to PY, one of the bridesmaids, officiated the ceremony. “We’ve always looked up to the both of them as a married couple and wanted him to be part of the ceremony, so it was the perfect role for him,” Misha explains.
The two also wanted to incorporate the Chinese custom of a tea ceremony and surprised their parents with one halfway through the service. “In Chinese culture, you’re not considered married until you serve your parents-in-law tea, so we dragged them off their seats and made our parents sit in front of the arch,” Andrew says. “They were totally caught off guard, and it was so amusing to see their reactions!”
Once married, the newlyweds snuck away for portraits, while guests enjoyed cocktails. For dinner, the new Mr. and Mrs. rejoined everyone for a seated, French four-course meal. “We did a Malaysian traditional ‘yum seng,’ where you toast the prosperity of the new couple by shouting as loudly as you can and then downing your glass,” the bride remembers. “We managed to rope in some other hotel guests into the spirit as well!”
Because the couple aren’t sugar fans, Misha decided to surprise Andrew with a cheese tower instead of a cake, since its’ one of his favorite foods. As dinner progressed to dancing, the wheels were whittled down well, as tunes from the ’50s to now played. “I’ll never forget our mums rocking out to ‘Rock Around the Clock’ and my dad hitting the dance floor when Tina Turner’s ‘Proud Mary’ came on,” she says. After the wedding, the two headed to Bhutan for their honeymoon…with a big portion of Cornish Kern cheese to share with locals!
