A Wedding in a Gilded Age Mansion That Featured Nods to Italy and the East Coast

Litigation attorneys Tammie Koh and Gabriel Quek met while working at the same law firm in Singapore in 2015—and that was just the beginning of a lifetime of world travel for the now Boston-based couple. Their engagement, too, centered around seeing new places. "Gabriel brought me on a weekend trip to visit Amsterdam during King’s Day in April 2019,” Tammie reminisces. “We got engaged in a large field of bright magenta tulips, and Gabriel even got a videographer and photographer to capture the moment. We were very fortunate, because the day after our engagement, the owner of the tulip field trimmed off all the flowers!”

Naturally, they envisioned a destination wedding, so they planned and paid for one to take place in Rome. Then, the pandemic hit and a wedding closer to home needed to be arranged. Despite their tight time frame—they now had just five months to get everything in order for a Plan B celebration—the couple found a venue with all the opulence of Rome. “We had spent time in Newport over a few summers and visited some Gilded Age mansions on our trips,” Tammie says. “We loved Rosecliff in particular because of its beautiful ballroom and stunning grounds, with the ocean in the background. We also liked the fun fact that Rosecliff was used to film the original Great Gatsby movie.” Just their luck, the venue had serendipitously become available for their Labor Day weekend date. “We knew it was meant to be.”

They made a few design decisions that tied into the new locale. “The color theme was Nantucket red,” Tammie says. “We wanted to make a reference to Nantucket because it’s our favorite summer getaway due to its proximity to Boston. We also wanted to pay homage to Boston and Milan, two cities close to Gabriel’s heart. For example, we included mini lobster rolls and cannoli, and Gabriel’s walk-in song was 'Sweet Baby James,' a 1970s classic that references Boston. On the other hand, the main ingredient in our signature cocktail was Campari, a liqueur closely associated with Milan.” They enlisted a slew of woman-owned businesses to bring their vision and vibe to life, and “above all, we wanted our guests to have a good time.”

Keep scrolling to see how it all came together on September 4, 2021, as planned by Paula Marrero of Marrero Events and photographed by Lucy Cuneo. 

The couple hosted a stunning rehearsal dinner on the water at Forty 1° North Newport and, that same evening, performed the traditional tea ceremony with their families. Tammie wore a chic low V-back Carolina Herrera gown for the occasion. 

“True to my maximizer self, I went dress shopping across the globe: New York for Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta; Paris for Elie Saab; and Milan for Peter Langner,” Tammie says. But in truth, “I always wanted to be an Oscar de la Renta bride.” She got her wish, landing on an ethereal tulle wedding from the designer’s spring 2020 collection with three-dimensional florals and a low V-back. 

Gabriel’s look was global, as well: He traveled to Milan for his initial appointment at Brioni to select custom colors and materials. “The material was a summer blend of wool, linen, and silk by Loro Piana, and the buttons were mother-of-pearl,” he describes. “I wore a white silk tie from Carlo Pignatelli, which can only be found in Italy. I bought it from the Milan flagship when I was traveling alone more than 10 years ago—long before I met Tammie! It had such a unique shape that I bought it with the intention of wearing it when I married my dream girl."

“Our first look was an incredibly intimate moment for us—and a very emotional one for Gabriel,” Tammie remembers. “We took the time to fully appreciate how far we have come together as a couple, and how amazing it was that our wedding day is finally here, given all the obstacles we had to overcome.”

Gabriel’s groomspeople were outfitted in Brooks Brothers ensembles that paid homage to the Nantucket red theme. “For my bridesmaids, I wanted a color that would blend with the theme, but understood that Nantucket red is not an easy color to pull off," Tammie says. "Hence, I chose a Sedona color that would look good on all skin tones."

Lush seasonal foliage and vines were interwoven to a stunning arbor at the altar, and textural hedges of branches, delphinium, and dahlias lined the aisle. “The design was loose and natural, evocative of a beautiful English garden,” Tammie says. 

“Our ring bearer was our Goldendoodle, Aurelius, because he is an integral part of our family,” Tammie says. For his walk down the aisle, the pup donned a custom tuxedo that matched Gabriel’s groomspeople’s, and carried the wedding rings in a white silk pouch on his back. 

Tammie’s mother escorted her down the aisle to “Glasgow Love Theme” by Craig Armstrong, a track from Love Actually. "My mother lives in Singapore, where I am originally from, and flew halfway around the world to be at my wedding,” Tammie says. “It was special to have her walk me down the aisle, as she almost single-handedly raised me.”

Their ceremony was religious and they exchanged traditional vows based on the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Book of Liturgy. Then, the couple recessed out to “To God be the Glory,” a song Tammie often heard in church growing up in Singapore.

During cocktail hour, the party really got going. Their 80 guests got drinks from a lemonade stand and played lawn games—corn hole, giant Jenga, and more—adorned with the logos for Northwestern and Penn, where Gabriel and Tammie did their MBAs. 

Their signature drink was a Campari gin and tonic—named, of course, The Aurelius. “We hid two ‘Easter eggs’ in our signature cocktail: Campari was a reference to Milan, where Gabriel lived when he was little, while gin and tonic is often abbreviated as G&T, which also stands for ‘Gabriel & Tammie!’”

An opulent gilded ballroom set the scene for the reception. Guest tables featured a lush garland of dahlias, garden roses, lisianthus, and greenery cascading down the sides, while the head table had a mixture of high and low arrangements. 

Their wedding cake was yet another reference to Italy: The couple opted for a traditional Italian millefoglie made with lemon curd and fresh berries. 

Tammie changed into a sequined blue and gold Galvan London dress and the newlyweds popped a magnum bottle of Ca del Bosco Franciacorta. “At the end of the night, Tammie and I jumped in the Rosecliff fountain with some friends,” Gabriel says. “Rosecliff was the setting of the original 1974 Great Gatsby movie starring Robert Redford, and all of Gatsby’s guests jumped in this very fountain and danced the Charleston all night long!”