He's the bride: Couple reverse roles for wedding gatecrash

Planning a wedding is difficult, and this couple could not agree on who had it worse.

It was more stressful for the guy, argued Mr Gary Ho, a Republic of Singapore Air Force officer.

Not so, said his then fiancee, Ms Amber Chong, an air stewardess with Scoot, and dared him to imagine being the bride.

He did not have to as he had to wear her wedding gownduring their wedding gatecrash.

A gatecrash is when the groom arrives at his bride's home with his groomsmen and they go through a series of challenges set up by bridesmaids to pick up the bride.

Mr Ho and Ms Chong, both 26, got married on Jan 7.

The couple had been dating for eight years and had met during their first year in Temasek Polytechnic's hospitality and tourism management course.

The dispute happened three months before the wedding.

Ms Chong told The New Paper yesterday: "I told him being a bride was more stressful. He said having to go through a gatecrash was worse for a groom.

"I then asked him to try being a bride if it was so easy."

Mr Ho told TNP: "The 'argument' was getting quite heated, and at that point I still thought it was just a joke.

"I didn't think that Amber would take it so seriously."

Due to the argument, the two decided they would switch roles during the gatecrash.

Instead of Mr Ho and his groomsmen doing tests to get the bride, they played the role of bride and bridesmaids, and vice versa for the bridal party.

Mr Ho said: "Our parents were very cool about it.

"They have always allowed us to plan our own things, but we just had to remember not to offend anyone."

Miss Jessica Neo, 25, a cabin crew member, was one of Ms Chong's six bridesmaids.

She said: "It sounded so fun and special to see the groom wearing a wedding gown.

"Why not?"

She also said she loved seeing the groomsmen in tutu skirts.

As the big day approached, Mr Ho had started to worry about wearing the dress, which was bought online for $200.

Ms Chong had bought it for herself for one of the photo shoots.

Mr Ho said: "It was so embarrassing to wear it and it was boring to stay inside the bedroom and wait for the 'groom'."

It was so embarrassing to wear it and boring to stay inside the bedroom and wait for the ‘groom’.Mr Gary Ho on being the "bride" for his wedding

As his mother zipped him up in the dress, she could not stop laughing, especially when covering him with the veil.

For Ms Chong's suit, she borrowed her brother's tie and shirt, and wore pants and a blazer.

Ms Chong said: "When I opened the door and saw Gary for the first time, he looked too funny in the dress.

"The funniest part was when he wore the straps used to hang a strapless dress on a hanger, on his shoulders, which obstructed his movements."

The couple solemnised their marriage and had their wedding dinner at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. About 310 guests attended.

Mr Ho said: "We showed everyone the video of our gatecrash, and they said they enjoyed it, which meant a lot to us.

"This memory wasn't only for us, but for all who came."