The morning of Karena Ng’s wedding to Brian Sze began not with sunshine, but with rain. Heavy rain. “The skies were so overcast, and parts of the hotel even had hail,” Karena remembers. “We had to delay the ceremony by an hour, and honestly, we were all just sitting there hoping the rain clouds would have mercy.” At last, mercy arrived.
As guests made their way to Villa di Geggiano—a 14th-century villa outside Siena where the ceremony was to take place—the clouds began to lift. A soft golden light washed over the Tuscan hills, and with it, Karena felt the day transform. “I can’t even describe the relief I felt when the sun finally came out. It felt like the whole atmosphere changed.”
Karena, an actress based in Hong Kong, and Brian, head of Asia Pacific at Checkout.com, had always envisioned their wedding as something cinematic, romantic, and transportive. Their planners, Juliana and Nati of Savvy Events Studio, brought that vision to life. “Hiring Savvy was the best decision ever,” Karena says. “From the very first call, they understood exactly what we wanted. They curated every detail with so much care—from the venues to the flowers. Honestly, they made the entire process so easy for us.”
The couple’s own love story began in Hong Kong, albeit in far less glamorous circumstances. “We met at Ocean Park during a Halloween-themed weekend,” Karena recalls, laughing. “My friend Kevin, who later became one of my bridesmaids, actually introduced us. But at the time, I wasn’t interested. I thought Brian was too short!” They crossed paths again, nearly a year later, at a birthday party. “He hadn’t grown any taller,” she teases, “but something clicked that night.” Karaoke sessions (always Jay Chou), sun-soaked outings, and endless hotpot dinners followed. “I remember wondering whether Brian really liked all the same things I did—or if he was just pretending so we’d spend more time together,” Karena says. “But one night, he came to meet me straight after a hotpot dinner, with cilantro stuck in his teeth and smelling like garlic. That’s when I knew he was serious.”
In October 2022, Brian proposed—but not just anywhere, or in any way. The setting was a glamorous photo shoot arranged for Karena’s 29th birthday by her closest friends—the same group who would later serve as her bridesmaids. “They told me it was to celebrate the last year of my 20s,” Karena explains. What was supposed to be a simple commemorative shoot quickly escalated into something far grander: Gucci, Valentino, and Miu Miu provided outfits, the location was styled like an Old Hollywood film set, and a vintage Rolls-Royce was positioned as a prop. A full team of photographers and videographers was on hand to document the day. “I was loving it,” Karena says. “I thought it was just this elaborate birthday surprise.”
