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By Tay Shi'an
THEY did not know the groom.
Yet, these BMW owners agreed to be part of his wedding convoy -
and for free.
Never mind the sky-high petrol prices and having to get up early
on the big day.
It was Mr Clement Lee's romantic idea, it seemed, that had
struck a chord with them, and they were all geared up to help him
pull off his wedding surprise last month for the fun of it.
The convoy of 17 gleaming BMWs arrived at the bride's home and
whisked her off to the couple's new Jurong West Housing Board
flat.
Mr Lee, 29, a sales manager, had posted a request in the online
forum of BMW-Sg.com, a community of BMW enthusiasts, two weeks
before his wedding to Miss Jessy Lim, 27, a bank relationship
manager.
Mr Lee said: "I wanted to surprise her with an entourage fit for
a princess."
Many of the volunteers did not even know Mr Lee, who has been a
member of the 12,000-strong online community for two years.
But they appeared to be touched by his gesture.
One volunteer, Herman, posted on the forum: "I don't really know
u personally but heck la! Congrats bro!"
Another, known as pheob, said: "Congrats! So nice of you to do
this for your wife-to-be. (It's) every girl's dream to be doted on
like this."
Even Mr Lee was bowled over by the fast and furious response -
within 24 hours, seven BMWs owners had offered their cars and their
time.
Within a week, the entourage of 17 BMWs (including Mr Lee's
family's silver BMW 320) and a Mini-Cooper was assembled.
Mr Ryan Chua, 26, founder and administrator of BMW-Sg, was one
of those who offered his car (a 2007 black Z4 M coupe) and also
helped to plan the logistics.
LONG TRIP
The challenge? How to get the large convoy from Mr Lee's Bukit
Timah home to Ms Lim's Bukit Batok home, then head to the couple's
Jurong West flat before going to their church on Orchard Road for
the ceremony.
Mr Chua said: "We did some initial discussions on our forum and
via e-mails about the route we wanted to take. We had a practice
drive with the convoy leaders and sweepers (the last driver) two
nights before the actual day itself."
Some owners even organised a mass car wash to make sure their
cars were shiny for the big day.
Mr Lee also got the bridal shop to provide 100 pink and white
ribbons for the cars.
The bride said that when she saw the huge crowd of people and
cars downstairs, she initially thought: "It must be another
wedding, just ignore."
Then, when she came out of the lift, and the owners shouted:
"Surprise!"
The bride said she felt stunned, touched and "so
privileged".
She said: "Not many brides get to experience this."
As a final salute, when the cars drove past Ngee Ann City on
their way to the church, they sounded their horns three times and
revved their engines.
Mr Lee said: "A lot of people were staring at us and clapping
their hands."
The couple offered a token hongbao to the owners to cover the
petrol and Electronic Road Pricing costs, but several declined to
accept them.
Mr Lee said that in future, if there is a similar request by
another bride and groom on BMW-Sg, he would definitely respond and
pay it forward.
Mr Chua said that since the website started in 2001, about eight
wedding convoys have been organised, in groups of 15 to 25
cars.
He said: "For the drivers, it's mostly fun and to be able to be
part of someone's special day and having the ability to make it
happen - even (if it means) having to wake up at 6am in the morning
on a weekend!"
The strong camaraderie can be seen in other car communities here
too.
Alfa Romeo Owners' Club of Singapore president, Mr Abdul Rashid
Karyeo, 48, said the club organised three wedding convoys for its
members last year - one all the way to Kuala Lumpur - and all for
no charge.
The biggest convoy was 35 cars in 2006.
The club even did a wedding convoy for a non-member four years
ago, who requested it via his colleague, who is a member.
CONVERTIBLE IN DEMAND
Mr Karyeo, who owns six Alfa Romeos, has also lent his $179,000
blue 2001 Spider convertible at least five times to serve as the
bridal car.
ReXFactor, an online community of Subaru enthusiasts, has done
about seven wedding convoys in the last two years, while Rav4
Expedition Singapore has also done numerous wedding convoys for
fellow RAVers, one all the way to Muar in Malaysia.
SgMerc, set up last year, said it has not received any requests
for a wedding convoy. But it has organised convoys for charity
events and welcomes the idea.
Mr Karyeo said there are those who go to the Alfa Romeo Owners'
Club for help, then are never seen or heard from again after the
events are over.
He said: "But that does not deter us from doing such a programme
if requested. Most of us like to keep the spirit of the brand and
membership alive.
"This is what they drive, a living memory for them, something
they would treasure."
siao leh.. maybe SGF could do this in the future? 
