Exclusive: ‘Last Christmas’ Star Henry Golding Talks About His Own Wedding Planning Experience
While all eyes will be on fictional characters Kate and Tom when Last Christmas premieres on November 8, Henry Golding’s own love life—and recent wedding to fellow TV presenter Liv Lo—is the stuff of romance novels in and of itself.
The British-Malaysian actor, also known for his leading role in Crazy Rich Asians, opened up to The Knot about his own road to the altar, which he admitted was “a lot of pressure,” but perhaps not for the reasons one might assume. During press promotion for the film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling series, Golding said he largely “took the lead” when it came to planning his intimate August 2016 wedding to Lo in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Henry Golding on Wedding Planning Stress
“I was more worried about everything going smoothly and making sure people arrived safely,” he expressed. “And it wasn’t until she came down the aisle that I relaxed.”
“It’s a lot of pressure when you’re wedding planning. It was probably the most stressful time of my life,” he continued. “Because you have all these people who are flying into places they’re not familiar with, you have to make sure they have the right transportation and the right hotel. And so, you need to touch base with them. You need to have a dinner before to get all the parents together and just connect with them.”
How Henry Golding Met His Future Wife Liv Lo
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Despite the stress, the couple was able to focus on their love story at large. The pair, who met through mutual friends at a club on New Year’s Eve in Singapore, both ended up having careers in the public eye. In 2018, Lo launched an online venture while Golding was poised to be Hollywood’s new leading man with the premiere of Crazy Rich Asians.
Golding says he knew Lo was it when he discovered how compatible their goals and life ambitions are. “I think it’s definitely a learning process. You go through a relationship and you learn about each other, and then you find that your goals are aligned,” he told us. “You want to have a family. You want to achieve certain things. And so once you’re teammates, that’s what it is, it’s all about the team.”
Henry Golding on Meeting His Wife’s Side of the Family
When it came time for them to meet each other’s parents, Golding was admittedly nervous. But having lived through it, his advice to couples meeting the parents for the first time is rather simple: “Do a little bit of research, find topics that you have in common and take them out for their favorite cuisine, something that means something to them.”
For Golding, whose in-laws are from Taiwan, that gave him plenty of options. “My wife’s from Taiwan, so her family loves Taiwanese food, Chinese food, Malaysian food, Singaporean food, so we had no problem,” he continued. “They came to visit us in Singapore and we took them to all the best places and gave them chili crab and they were happy.”
Henry Golding’s Advice for Couples Planning Their Weddings
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 29: Henry Golding and Emilia Clarke attend “Last Christmas” New York premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on October 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ferdman/WireImage,)
According to Golding, it’s rather simple: focus on your partner. “Make sure you connect with each other,” he concluded. “You can get carried away with planning the wedding and you sort of drift apart and you’ll have arguments, but have a day where you don’t talk about wedding stuff and just be a couple again.”
Last Christmas is now in theaters nationwide.
—With reporting by Esther Lee.
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