Alexander
&
May Shi

Invite You To
Our Wedding Celebration

JUNE

3

2023

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH
IRONWOOD VALLEY FARMHOUSE
BALU GAMBANG BUKAR


a wedding invitation from

Alexander Gunjau Fowler

Dr. Leong May Shi



We would be absolutely delighted if you could join us for a weekend of love, laughter, and joy as we celebrate our marriage in the beautiful village of Kampung Ta-ee, Serian, Sarawak!

On Saturday, June 3rd, 2023, you’re welcomed to join us as we exchange our vows at St. John’s Anglican Church, Kampung Ta-ee, Serian, at 10:00 AM. There will be an informal luncheon which will start after the ceremony ends on the church premises from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

After the luncheon, we invite you to join us for an afternoon soiree at Ironwood Valley Farmhouse, Serian, where we will enjoy delicious food, refreshing drinks, and each other’s company as we bask in the love of our family and friends.

Later that evening, at 6:00 PM, we will be hosting a Bidayuh Gawai-themed dinner reception at the Balŭ Gambang Bukar in Kampung Ta-ee. This will be a time to celebrate our union with food, music, karaoke and dancing as we honour our shared heritage and create new memories together.

The suggested attire for the day is semi-formal with a bias for tropical comfort. For those with Bidayuh or Dayak heritage, we’d love for you to show off your traditional attire since it is Gawai time.

Please let us know in your RSVP if you’ll be able to join us for all or any of the events, and whether you’ll be bringing along a plus one, by May 1st, 2023. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Alternatively, you can also refer to our Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section where your questions might already be answered.

We can’t wait to share this special moment with you and create cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

With love and gratitude,

Alex and May Shi

events

Church wedding

Saturday

3 June 2023

10:00 am

St. John’s Church

Kampung Ta-ee

Serian

Afternoon soiree

Saturday

3 June 2023

12:30 pm

Ironwood Valley Farmhouse

Serian

Dinner reception

Saturday

3 June 2023

6:00 pm

Balŭ Gambang
Bukar

Serian

Semi-Formal with a bias for tropical comfort or Traditional Costume

Countdown to Our Wedding
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Agenda

St John's Church, Kampung Ta-ee

10: 00 AM - 11: 30 AM

Church Wedding

11: 30 AM - 12: 30 PM

Informal Luncheon

Ironwood Valley Farmhouse

12: 30 PM - 6: 00 PM

Afternoon Soiree With
Invited Guests

Balŭ Gambang Bukar, Kampung Ta-ee

6: 00 PM - 7: 00 PM

Arrival of Guests for
the Dinner Reception

7: 00 PM - 9: 30 PM

Main Program of
the Dinner Reception

9: 30 PM - Late

After Party

FAQ

We can provide accommodation for 3 days and 2 nights at Ironwood Valley Farmhouse however we cannot guarantee that it will be enough for all our invited guests as we only have a very limited number of rooms available. Please speak to us if you are interested or state your interest in your RSVP.

We recommend you arrange your own accommodation in either Kuching or Serian instead.

Check out their Facebook page here.

No, you do not need to stay overnight; however if you feel too tired or drunk to drive back safely to Kuching or Serian after the events of the day, you are welcome to stay over at Ironwood Valley Farm house for the night.

The closest hotel to Kampung Ta-ee is Roxy Hotel, located in the centre of Serian town, which is about a 15 minutes drive away. It is a basic but decent hotel with clean and modern amenities. Be warned that some people may find that their mattresses are firmer than what you might be used to!

Do let us know in your RSVP if you intend to stay there as we may be able to arrange for special rates for our wedding guests.

To learn more about Roxy Hotel Serian, you can check out their website here.


If you have never visited Kuching, Sarawak before, we highly recommend you stay at one of the many hotels located at the Kuching Waterfront, which is considered the city’s downtown area. Kuching is a modern yet laid back city with many interesting places to see and do such as visiting the Borneo Cultures Museum, The Brooke Gallery at Fort Margherita, walking along the Kuching Waterfront, going souvenir shopping or bar hopping along Carpenter street, and even going on the Sarawak River Cruise! You can reach Kampung Ta-ee from downtown Kuching in about 1 hour.

Alternatively, if you prefer somewhere much more quiet and less busy, you can consider staying at Roxy Hotel in Serian town which is about 15 minutes drive away from Kampung Ta-ee and is about 45 minutes drive from Kuching International Airport. Please let us know in your RSVP if you intend to stay there as we may be able to arrange for discounted hotel rates for our wedding guests.

Kampung Ta-ee is about an hour's drive from Kuching city centre. Road access is pretty good along the way as it is mostly covered by the newly completed Kuching-Serian stretch of the Pan-Borneo highway. 


The best thing to do is to navigate there using Google Maps. Don’t use Waze as it doesn’t work nearly as well as Google Maps in Sarawak. We recommend that you download the maps you need to navigate your phone prior to coming down to Kampung Ta-ee so that you can operate Google Maps offline.


For navigating to the church, we recommend you use  the search term St John’s Church, Ta-ee, Serian, Sarawak in Google Maps or click the link here.


For navigating to Ironwood Valley Farm house, we recommend you use the search term Ironwood Valley Farm, Serian, Sarawak in Google Maps or click the link here.

For navigating to Balŭ Gambang Bukar, the community hall where the dinner reception will be held, we recommend you use the search term Balu Gambang Bukar Kampung Ta-ee, Serian, Sarawak in Google Maps or click the link here.

Although there is good road access from Kuching city to Kampung Ta-ee, we do not recommend you rely on ride hailing services like Grab or public transport to travel since this is a rural area with limited to no coverage for each of those transportation options. Instead, we suggest you rent a car to get to our event, car pool, or use your own personal transport.

For St John’s Church, there is generally ample parking next to or nearby the Church compound. 

 

For Ironwood Valley Farmhouse, a valet service will be in-place to help park your car. 

 

For the dinner reception at Balŭ Gambang Bukar, parking will be along the nearby roadside or in the field next to the community centre. Uniformed members of RELA will be assisting with providing security and parking coordination during this event.

Time Event Location
10:00 am

-

11:30 am
Church wedding St. John’s Church, Kampung Ta-ee
11:30 am

-

12:30 pm
Informal luncheon  St. John’s Church, Kampung Ta-ee
12:30 pm

-

6:00 pm
Afternoon soiree with invited guests Ironwood Valley Farmhouse
6:00 pm

-

7:00 pm
Arrival of guests for the dinner reception Balŭ Gambang Bukar, Kampung Ta-ee
7:00 pm

-

9:30 pm
Main program of the dinner reception Balŭ Gambang Bukar, Kampung Ta-ee
9:30pm

till

late
After party Balŭ Gambang Bukar, Kampung Ta-ee / Ironwood Valley Farmhouse

Of course, we would love to have you for the entire day’s events, but you’re welcome to join any of the three events. 


As for the afternoon soiree at Ironwood Valley Farmhouse, please think of it as an open house which you can choose to drop by at any time between 12:30 PM and 6:00 PM.


If you can only attend one of the events for the day, we would suggest that you try to make it for the evening dinner reception which starts at 6:00 PM.

The Church service will be conducted entirely in English and will be following a western, Anglican style marriage ceremony.

The service will be approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes long. All are welcome to attend regardless of faith or creed.

The last planned programme for the day will end around 9:30 PM however we expect the after party to go on all night long. 

Cash gifts in the form of angpows are welcomed. At the dinner reception, a registration counter will be set up where guests are invited to sign our guest book and can submit their wedding gifts.

St John’s Church and Ironwood Valley Farmhouse will have air conditioning. The Balŭ Gambang Bukar, where the dinner reception will be held in the evening, will be open air with electric fans. As such, we recommend your attire for the day to be suitable for our tropical climate.

The dress code will be semi-formal attire with a bias towards tropical comfort. No specific colour or theme to adhere to; just make sure what you wear is cooling and neat. 

If you have Bidayuh or Dayak heritage, we’d love for you to show up in your traditional attire too.

Yes, children are welcomed at the event. Please mention in your RSVP!

Yes, please let us know how many you intend to bring along in your RSVP!

The Balŭ Gambang Bukar is a community hall and centre located just outside Kampung Ta-ee. It is a venue that is typically used to host large celebrations like wedding dinners and Gawai Eve dinners. 

Yes! We hope to showcase part of our Bidayuh heritage during the event so expect to catch a glimpse of traditional Bidayuh culture at our dinner reception!

Unfortunately due to the buffet style nature of the dinner, it may not be possible for us to accommodate everyone's specific dietary restrictions. Please contact us directly if there are any concerns that you have regarding this.

Yes, there will be alcohol and pork served.

Yes, a small luncheon, consisting of light refreshments, tea and coffee will be prepared.

Yes, there will be party food and snacks at the Ironwood Valley Farmhouse. A selection of wine and liquors will also be available at the open bar there.

Food will be served buffet style.

The buffet will feature a variety of Chinese and traditional Bidayuh foods and delicacies.

Yes.

Yes! The Ironwood Valley Farmhouse venue is being rented out for the entire duration of the event and the next day and has numerous bathrooms and rooms where you can shower and change clothes if you need to.

Internet and mobile phone line reception can be a bit spotty in Kampung Ta-ee so we highly recommend you download the required maps before coming down so that you can navigate on Google Maps even while offline. Internet and mobile phone line reception in Kuching city and Serian town are generally reliable and excellent.

There are no specific cultural or religious customs that you will need to be aware of during the day. However, we do request that if you intend to witness the exchange of our wedding vows at the church service in the morning, please dress neatly and conservatively.

All events will be happening indoors however in case it rains on the day, do keep an umbrella handy so you can walk to and from your car without getting wet.

No, hahah, last year we had a small-scale party to celebrate our engagement and registration of marriage due to the uncertainties around the COVID-19 pandemic social restrictions. Now that all social restrictions have been lifted, this will be the main celebration for our wedding.

For your personal needs, we’d recommend bringing along an extra set of clothes, sunscreen, spray-on mosquito repellant, water bottle, power bank and an umbrella.

We are expecting anywhere from 100 - 300 people to attend the church service and afternoon soiree at Ironwood Valley Farmhouse.

For the dinner reception, we are expecting somewhere between 500 - 1000 people to attend at the Balŭ Gambang Bukar.

photos

RSVP

Please RSVP by 1 May 2023.

Alexander Gunjau Fowler

Dr. Leong May Shi

We can't wait to share this special moment with you and create cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

From
ALEXANDER GUNJAU FOWLER
&
Dr Leong May Shi

We would like to invite you to share in our joy and request your presence at our wedding.