If you are getting married in Singapore and have ever attended a Chinese wedding banquet, you will have stood up at some point during the evening, raised a glass with everyone else in the room, and shouted yum seng three times. If your own wedding is coming up and one or both of you has not grown up around this, you may be wondering what is actually happening. This is the calm version of the explanation.
What it is
Yum seng (饮胜) translates loosely as drink to victory or drink to success. It is a toast, performed three times in a row, near the start of the wedding banquet. The bride, groom, and their immediate families stand at the head table. The emcee leads the room through three drawn-out cheers, each ending with the word seng. Glasses are raised, voices rise on the held seng, and at the end of the third round, everyone drinks.
It is one of the loudest moments of any Singapore wedding banquet. It is also one of the warmest.
When in the evening it happens
The yum seng usually takes place after the first march-in and before or during the soup course, which is traditionally the second or third course of a Chinese banquet. The timing varies by venue. Most experienced emcees and banquet managers will agree the order in advance.
The whole sequence, from the emcee calling the families to the table to the final drink, runs five to ten minutes.
How the three rounds work
The structure is consistent across most Singapore weddings.
- Round one. The emcee announces the first toast, often dedicating it to the couple's future together. He calls yummmmmm seng, dragging the seng across several beats. The room joins in on the held note. At the end, everyone takes a small sip.
- Round two. A similar sequence, often dedicated to the families. The held note is usually a beat or two longer than the first.
- Round three. The longest of the three. The held note can run for ten or fifteen seconds. The room is at full volume. At the end, the couple is expected to drain the glass.
The exact dedication of each round varies. Some emcees toast the couple, the parents, and the guests across the three rounds. Others toast prosperity, health, and unity. The structure stays the same.
What the bride and groom actually do
You stand at the head table for the toast. Both sets of parents stand on either side. The emcee may invite all your bridesmaids and groomsmen to gather behind you as well, especially at larger banquets.
You hold the glass with both hands. This sounds small but matters. A two-handed hold signals respect for the toast and steadies the glass through the long held notes. It also looks better in the photos that the photographer is about to take.
You lean into it. The volume rises through each round. By the third, the room is shouting. Match it. The yum seng is one of the few moments in the banquet where the bride and groom are not being polite. You are part of the noise.
What is in the glass
Traditionally champagne or sparkling wine, sometimes red wine, occasionally a non-alcoholic equivalent. The choice is yours and your families'. There is no etiquette penalty for using a non-alcoholic drink, and a growing number of couples now choose this for at least one of the two outfit-change toasts.
If you do choose champagne, ask the hotel banquet team to pre-pour. A glass too full will spill across the third round. A glass too empty will not survive the toast.
A few things that can go wrong
A short and honest list.
- Voice fatigue. Holding the long seng note across three rounds is harder on the throat than it sounds, especially the third. If you have a long speech later in the evening, pace yourself.
- A glass that tips. Champagne flutes are top-heavy. Two hands on the stem, not one.
- A bride in a heavy gown. The standing-and-leaning-back posture for the long note is not gown-friendly. Practise the posture once at home in the gown if you have the chance.
- A father-in-law who insists on a fourth round. It happens. The emcee will gently re-route. Three is the tradition.
A small story
A bride we drove home at the end of a long banquet night mentioned, as she sat in the back seat for the ride home, that the third seng had been the hardest physical moment of her day. Leaning back so far in a heavy gown that her father, standing beside her, had quietly steadied her. We had not seen it. She told us about it on the way home. The image has stayed with us.
What guests are doing
You do not need to brief your guests in advance. Most Singapore guests have been to enough banquets to know the routine. The emcee will guide newcomers. Out-of-town guests will follow the room. The collective rise of the seng note is one of the experiences they will most strongly remember about the wedding.
If you have a meaningful number of overseas guests, a single line in the emcee's intro is helpful. We are about to do the yum seng, our traditional toast. Three rounds, glasses raised, everyone joins in the long note at the end of each. Two sentences. Nothing more is needed.
The car ride to the banquet is part of the evening
Our packages cover the full evening through to the send-off. If a calm, family-run wedding car service sounds right for your day, we would love to chat.
Get in touchClosing
The yum seng is one of the most distinctive sounds at a Singapore wedding banquet. It is also one of the warmest. Three rounds, a long held note, glasses raised, the room rising into it together. You will be tired by the third. Lean in. Hold the stem with both hands. Trust the emcee. By the time the third seng lands and everyone drinks, the banquet will have officially begun.
