SINGAPORE — A couple got some unexpected gifts after they sent out wedding invitations to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, as well as to several other brands “for a laugh”.
Among the many congratulatory in the comments were those that praised the companies for their efforts.
One user wrote: “Wahaha, Gong Cha so nice.”
Another wrote: “OMG, this is too cute. Their gifts are 100/100.”
A few users, however, scoffed at the couple, claiming that they were just looking for freebies or sponsorships for the wedding.
Others took to the stunt more lightheartedly, with a top comment suggesting that they would have sent invitations to luxury watch or jewellery brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Van Cleef & Arpels instead.
Responding to TODAY’s queries, the couple said that they decided to send the invitations after seeing a similar viral video, where a couple had sent a wedding invitation to McDonald’s and received a “McNugget bouquet”.
“So (we) thought we would try with the brands we frequent but (we) honestly weren’t expecting an answer back,” they claimed.
“As for our President, he was newly elected and I heard he was quite responsive and supportive as a minister, so (we) wanted to see if we could get some well wishes from him.”
The couple said that they had sent the invitations the “traditional” way, via postal mail, and did not ask for any gifts, simply stating that they were fans in their invitations.
They added that they were “over the moon” to receive the thoughtful and unexpected gifts.
Speaking to TODAY, Gong Cha Singapore said that the brand was “honoured” to receive the heartfelt, handwritten invitation from the couple and that the firm tries to return the “love and kindness” of fans whenever possible.
“As they had shared about their favourite Gong Cha drinks in the letter, we’re happy to provide them with the vouchers so they can get more of life’s simple pleasures through Gong Cha,” the company added.
“We felt that the vouchers by themselves might not do justice to our heartfelt gratitude to the couple. Thus, we sent along a specially crafted letter as well.”
When asked if it was standard practice for Gong Cha Singapore to respond to such invitations, it said: “We know that weddings can be hectic, so a little kindness from us can go a long way to making their special day a truly blissful one.”
TODAY has reached out to Mr Tharman, Koi The Singapore, Scoot and Don Don Donki for comment.