To love, with Ser
June 24, 2004
After nine long years, James Lye and Diana Ser to wed this Sunday
By Elisa Chia
Story and picture courtesy of TODAY
AN IMPRESSIVE, pea-sized diamond glittered on her left ring finger.
"ItÂ’s priceless!" Diana Ser chuckled, before deftly steering the conversation away from specifics about the sparkler.
Right, getting specific was silly of this reporter! Money shouldnÂ’t matter when it comes to love.
The 32-year-old Channel NewsAsia presenter will be tying the knot with actor-turned-banker James Lye, 35, this Sunday.
The big day will begin at about 8.30am, with James picking Diana up from her parentsÂ’ home in Potong Pasir.
The couple will exchange vows and rings in the presence of 500 guests at the Ritz Carlton Millenia hotel at 11am. The celebrations will culminate in a fivecourse Western luncheon, with close to 100 bottles of Moet and Chandon champagne being popped.
Celebrity chums Hossan Leong and Darren Seah are the emcees, but apart from them, none of the best men and bridesmaids are from the entertainment scene.
Asked how many sponsorship deals they’ve accepted for their wedding, Diana broke into laughter again — merely saying they were offered "good rates".
But this much the bubbly bride-to-be would share: The couple will be driven around on their wedding day in a dark blue Maybach — a Daimler Chrysler luxury car worth $1 million, according to Diana. Her gowns — "It’s slightly vintage, with lots of Chantilly lace" — are by local designer Kai.
Home is a split-level apartment in Orchard Road, into which the couple moved last September.
Save some brief footage which will appear on a Channel NewsAsia news bulletin, the wedding will not be televised, like that of American TV reality show couple Trista and Ryan.
"ThatÂ’s only for people who are truly famous!" she humbly demurred. SheÂ’s just being modest, of course.
Diana and her husband-to-be, who works with Citibank, are household names in Singapore.
They’ve been together for nine long years, though Diana admitted that the going was not all smooth — their relationship went through "on-and-off" patches over the years.
"ItÂ’s more on than off lah. You know, itÂ’s the usual couple fights and cold wars Â… not so much the fact we were in the limelight," she said.
Cupid struck Diana and James in 1994 on the set of Showbuzz, right in the heart of MediaCorpÂ’s headquarters, the Caldecott Broadcast Centre.
"I was supposed to be his cohost in Showbuzz," Diana recounted. "But I got bumped off at the last minute Â… and Lauretta (Alabons) came in."
Diana became the entertainment showÂ’s research writer instead.
"Of course I was disappointed! But precisely because I didnÂ’t become his co-host, he then decided to ask me out," Diana smiled coyly. "He didnÂ’t want to be involved with a colleague he worked closely with. Well, at least that was what he told me!"
Their first date was a dinner at an Italian restaurant. Although Diana didnÂ’t know it was supposed to be a date.
"When we first went out, I thought he was trying to sell me insurance. I kept waiting for him to pop the question: Would you like to buy insurance?" she laughed.
"When I met him, he was a model-like figure who had just came back from the States and spoke with a drawl. It didnÂ’t occur to me that he was interested in a petite girl like me.
"I thought he would go for the model type. Hence, the assumption that he was an insurance agent."
But they werenÂ’t an item "till a good four, five years later".
"It took us a long time. It was hard. He had just started in the entertainment business and I was trying to build up my career as well.
"We werenÂ’t comfortable going public simply because we donÂ’t know where it was heading. We didnÂ’t want to be a Bennifer," said Diana, referring to Ben Affleck and Jennifer LopezÂ’s ill-fated romance, which they blamed on intrusive media attention.
But a normal life is what she wants. James is far from a glamour boy — or a playboy as he was said to be in the past — and the two want to start a family as soon as possible.
"James is a very family-oriented person. I guess every woman wants to marry a man whoÂ’ll take care of the family. WeÂ’re ready. ItÂ’s a matter of when weÂ’ll be blessed with them," she said, adding that they hope to have three children, just like their families.
"WeÂ’ve made plans to go on our honeymoon at the end of the year, but we just realised the other day: How are we going to do that if IÂ’m pregnant?"
Which means that those Royal Caribbean cruise tickets will be on hold, for now.
Grab your copy of 8 Days this week for wedding photos of Diana and James.
