July 16, 2008 the sunnytimes

HONG KONG - Actors Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Carina Lau would not be marrying in Bhutan on Monday had their singer friend Faye Wong not intervened in their relationship crisis, said reports.

According to Ming Pao Daily News, the couple of 19 years went through a bad patch early last year when Lau was linked to high-tech Taiwanese tycoon Terry Gou.

Wong decided to help them by taking them to India to visit the Karmapa Lama, said the report. Her husband, actor Li Yapeng, also travelled with them.

The group had an audience with the Tibetan Buddhist leader, who moved them to tears with a few words, said Ming Pao. Crisis resolved, Lau and Leung decided to tie the knot.

The Karmapa was also the one who suggested the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan as a wedding venue, said the report.

The date and place of Hong Kong's celebrity wedding of the year had been the subject of tabloid speculation for many weeks, before Sing Tao Daily broke the news that the couple would marry in Bhutan on Monday.

Yesterday, newspapers from Ming Pao to Apple Daily followed up on Sing Tao's scoop and said the wedding would be held in Singapore hotelier Christina Ong's Uma Paro luxury resort there.

A hotel employee was quoted as telling Ming Pao that the 29-room resort had been booked by a Hong Kong guest for a wedding from July 16 to 24.

The newspaper said film-maker Wong Kar Wai was in charge of planning the wedding and costume designer William Chang will dress her.

Actor-comedian Eric Tsang also confirmed the date and place of the coming nuptials.

At a press conference for his stand-up show, he congratulated Sing Tao on its scoop. He said he had been invited to the wedding but could not make it as his show would be on till Tuesday.