Inside couple's epic $450k Squid Game wedding extravaganza

The newlyweds staged an unprecedented Squid Game-themed wedding spectacle, where guests even faced elimination challenges.

Jane Armitstead

@JaneArmitstead

5 min read

October 21, 2025 - 4:00AM

QWeekend

Olivia Jo and Anthony Tang had an epic Squid Game themed wedding. Picture: Puremotion Wedding Photography/Alex Huang

Entertainment

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A bold Brisbane couple put on an epic no-expense-spared wedding inspired by Netflix hit show Squid Game. Olivia Jo and Anthony Tang, who live in Durack and have been together for almost four years, made their September 27 wedding a blockbuster spectacle at W Brisbane with themed actors who didn’t break character all night, costumes, masks, challenges, CO2 cannons and doves being released at their ceremony.

The 120 guests all had themed masks, the celebrant and MC took on the role of the Frontman character and directed games including one where guests who passed a test moved on to a secret room revealing the infamous Red Light, Green Light challenge.

Olivia Jo and Anthony Tang had an epic Squid Game themed wedding. Picture: Puremotion Wedding Photography/Alex Huang

How did you meet?

Anthony: We have been together for almost four years. We met late 2021 on a dating app. I used my very first “Superlike” on Olivia and went all in. I still remember her tagline: “Not looking for anything serious, just a soulmate or something.” It drew my attention by its witty humour. As a bonus she’s a medical doctor, I have a pharmacy business and most importantly of all, she looked like a potential gym partner that could be strong enough to spot. I applied immediately. It didn’t take long to discover that Olivia wasn’t a medical doctor … but had a PhD and had zero interest in spotting me at the gym. In fact, the moment we finally met, both of us stopped going to the gym altogether.

Olivia: Anthony’s opening line about “how much I lift” didn’t exactly sweep me off my feet, especially when followed by the even more questionable, “How much do you weigh?” But despite this rocky start, I soon realised Anthony was just wonderfully out-of-the-box. Anthony had achieved a triple body weight conventional dead lift and was simply trying to gauge how elite his potential dead lift buddy would be based off my strength to body weight ratio. Despite misunderstandings, everything just clicked instantly and felt so right.

How did he propose?

Olivia: Anthony being Anthony, it wasn’t just a proposal – it was a whole production. He created this insane worldwide video that led to a website he created containing a video website documentary with narrative cameos from David Attenborough and Morgan Freeman, layered like Inception. At the end of the video, Anthony, finally, “woke up” in real life, pulled out a USB engagement ring with the whole thing saved on it, and proposed. Then a K-pop rap he produced kicked in, revealing the real ring inscribed with “Zero or Infinity + 1”.

Olivia Jo and Anthony Tang had an epic Squid Game themed wedding. Picture: Puremotion Wedding Photography/Alex Huang

How did you choose your wedding venue? We enjoy hotel hopping and W Brisbane is our favourite. The vibe of W Brisbane fit us perfectly and their whatever/whatever service meant that they were fully on-board with bringing our dream to life. They also have lots of different spaces available with our reception being held outside and elevated overlooking the Brisbane River. Then we the Great Room for our reception which is a customisable space and could fit all of our guests and activities we had planned.

What was the budget? $450k, from pre wedding photos to destination hopping honeymoon: W Bali, Whitsundays, Maldives.

Thoughts waiting for the bride?

What is taking so long quickly changed to “Wow, she looks amazing in that dress” then I cried.

Any surprising details about your wedding? Olivia: Anthony took it upon himself to plan the entire wedding so that I would be 100 per cent dress free. Being no expense spared, the ceremony exit had intended four C02 jets and low fog to be timed with 20 doves released as a cherry on top for an epic photo, unfortunately the strong winds prevented use but the dove release was a particularly special moment at the ceremony.

Oliva Jo and Anthony Tang at their ceremony with doves being released. Pictures: Puremotion/Alex Huang

Why did you want to have a Squid Game themed wedding? Olivia: I came across a Squid Game dance clip on TikTok and mentioned to Anthony that a twist to the wedding by theming it would be fun. Anthony said he would take over the entire wedding planning and surprise me. He did classic Anthony – from zero, straight past 100 and to infinity. Anthony designed and manufactured all the Squid Game themed personalised elements creating the Redlight Green light walls, custom Squid Game acrylic wishing well, wedding favours which were manufactured borosilicate glass Squid Game piggy bank with custom $100 bill that had our faces on either side with a thank you message. We had custom ‘stick bug’ shape Dalgona Cookie and accompanied by a ‘get stick bugged’ meme, designed a Squid Game ice luge, created hologram videos for the infamous Red Light Green Light Doll and arranged for a video presentation from Anthony’s parents who were unable to attend, since his dad had a turn in health preventing him from attending.

Can you tell us more about the Squid Game details? Anthony: All guests had hidden Squid Game VIP masks under their table. Our VIP masks were custom made. The reception was like a movie production with special effects, scripting, and directing by Anthony. All efforts were to have as many special effects on hand to use as frequently as possible (cold sparks, dry ice, CO2 jets, low fog machine). We hired actors and dancers throughout night dressed as: 25 pink soldiers, two human furniture, and our celebrant transformed into the Squid Game front man (MC) to lead the evenings’ fun. All were instructed to not break character. They were also to remove any speech giver from the reception room if their speech exceeded five minutes. We had a dedicated secret third room revealed near the end, with 10x3m walls designed and created to replicate the Red Light Green Light room in the series.

Oliva Jo and Anthony Tang had an epic Squid Game themed wedding. Pictures: Puremotion/Alex Huang

The biggest challenge to pull it off? Managing the sheer complexity of the wedding while navigating an intense period of personal and professional upheaval. The wedding was designed to be incomprehensibly intricate, with no shortcuts, countless custom elements, and a constantly evolving vision. But what tested me was keeping up with communications and logistics while juggling critical pharmacy business demands, multiple theft-related insurance claims, serious health issues including DVT and bowel surgery, and my father’s steep health decline. It was a perfect storm of responsibilities, and perfect for me to choose to take on this extreme project alone to prove that Olivia is worth every ounce of effort, no matter how impossible the circumstances.