sunshine through the fog

Location: Conrad Centennial

 

The past few days were absolute bliss.

 

I won't say it's the happiest day of my life. Only because, well, life is still happening, right? But this'd be pretty hard to beat. :)

 

[N.B. this is gonna be pretty randomised. i'm just gonna write what comes to mind. it's been a long while since i've written. and i'm tired. but i want to pen down my thoughts before they blur. because they're too precious not to.]

 

most touching moment - when joo's singing “追”. though i know he's gonna sing, (no - it's not a surprise. but it's entirely of his own accord and initiative. :D)  and i've heard him practice (and laughed) countless times, at the actual thing, i still can't help but be immensely touched. and happy. that i've met such a wonderful man. that he loves me so. that he's publicly proclaiming his love for me. and of course, that he's willing to risk public humiliation for me. :p and while praise for his singing was few and far (i believe only the non-chinese thought it sounded good and like told them - that's because they've no idea what the original sounds like. hahaaa...), it was well-received for the bravery it too. i'd say that's pretty much the highlight of the evening in terms of entertainment value.

 

the speech - shan sms'd me "tonite like u 2 switch personalities, he showy, u quiet." christine commented i looked so demure during the speech. i guess some people were probably a bit surprised i didn't give a speech and just stood quietly beside him like a 小女人 while he regaled the audience with his wit. *guffaw* the emcee (travis) also commented that he had never heard joohan speak so much, let alone sing, so it's a real treat. 

 

previously, this wedding represented a ceremony to legitimise our relationship for others. at least, that's what i've thought before the day itself. i told people it's very much a dinner where our friends and family gather for a nice dinner. and so there won't be much fuss. indeed, we've kept it really simple. no daytime activities, no photo montage, no projector, no band, no special item. just a regular, slightly longer (and hopefully nicer)-than-usual dinner with a really big group of people. 

 

the nerves set in when ivy (make-up) started applying the first layer of warpaint on me. butterflies began fluttering. and finally i felt, is it true, nervous. 

 

the best gift - as per tradition (and practicality), most of the gifts were of ang paos. we received a few well-wishing cards alongside, a tiffany photo frame, vouchers and a lacey lamp (???). but the very very best present has got to be that from shan. a scrap book of our many years of friendship. ancient photos dug up. painstakingly handwritten. from the very first year we met. to the day of my wedding. i've only read the first few chapters and the last. and already, tears couldn't stop flowing as i read. the days of yore. such precious memories. memories that're almost entirely buried if not for this amazing gift. thank you my dear dear friend. i will treasure it as long as i live. thank you. 

 

our second march-in song - "i was born to love you" by queen. i chose this. was the very first song chosen. i love it love it love it. think it's very apt, very special, very original, very fun. which is how we want our wedding to be. very proud of our choice. :)

 

our first march-in song - "the blower's daughter" by damien rice. we mulled over this for quite a while. definitely not as decisive as the second. we both love this song. but unsure about the lyrics. it's a love song. but again, not a traditional love song. as it's about infatuation, passion, and some say, unrequited love, which is of course not right in our case. :p but we love the haunting melody and the emotions it invoke. so after much pondering decided on this afterall. and no regrets.

 

background music music - was originally too lazy to compile and thought of just using the hotel's regular background "restaurant-ey" music. but less than a week before the actual day, joo decide to compile our own as in trawling through our itunes for march-in and first dish songs selection, find we've quite a number of nice songs appropriate to the occasion. so in the end decided to compile our own. lyrics of each song we selected were searched to ensure they're appropriate for the occasion. the mood of the first and second half music are also different, following that of the march-in songs. as "the blower's daughter" is more romantic and slower, first half music consist mostly slow, jazzy, easy-listening selections. with "i was born to love you", the atmospher should've turned a lot more "high" and to keep people awake for the remaining dinner, upbeat, cheerful, more "pop-py" songs were used. in fact, we chose so many songs for both halfs, we believe quite a number of them were unplayed. i think it was a nice touch. just wonder whether anyone noticed. hahaa...

 

the photographers - we started out with no photographers. mainly because they're so expensive! was loath to pay that kind of price for just an evening event (with no daytime program). luckily alice mentioned jonathan (sally's husband) likes photography a lot and is thinking of starting doing some wedding photography and said she'd help me ask him whether he can do it for me at "friendship price". to our very pleasant surprise, he agreed to help us foc. then nearer the wedding date found out joohan's relative (junxiong) is also looking in the same direction and he agreed to help us for just a wedding ang pao. then we found out jonathan has 2 friends who're coming along with him on that night to take photos as it's their hobby. so we ended up with 4 photographers that night! junxiong came early and was with us since we checked in to the hotel. he took a lot of the day-time shots, of the hotel room, the make-up, the rings, the shoes, and the solemnisation. jonathan and his friends arrived at 7pm and took table shots etc. for us. we just saw the photos from jonathan and his friends' - 494 shots! there's a nice mix - as there's 3 different types of camera. the most intriguing one's from the "sniper" as we dubbed him - the guy with the extra long shot lenses hiding somewhere taking lots of "headshots" of the guests in their natural habitat. those that really zoom in to the guests' facial expressions, capturing them totally naturally as people have no idea they're being shot. i love those pics. they're really splendid and helped to convey the mood of the evening well. there're a few in which i think i look really fat but hey, that's not something the photographers can do much about. hahaa... all of them are amazing and beautifully taken. haven't seen junxiong's photos yet as he said he needs to do some editing and will do a slideshow for us so will probably have to be after we're back from honeymoon. between junxiong and jonathan & friends, i think we'd have a really nice mix of photos recording one of the most important day of our lives. i feel so blessed that we've got such amazing help for not having tp do much at all. note to self and joo: must give nice treat to the photographers after we're back from ny.

 

{another - i'd love to do a photo collage of the photos at some point to put here. but it's already past midnight and i'm going into work tomorrow and friday then flying to ny early sat. so i guess that'd have to wait till i'm back. IF i'm still "gu-lat" i.e. hardworking enough. :p}

 

the guests - again another pleasant surprise. i was a bit worried that the banquet might not be very well-attended as it's a weekday. (i've been to a wedding of an ex-colleague's before on a weekday in which a third of the banquet's of empty seats.). but i'm glad to report that i think we've pretty good attendance. by 8.15p, more than 90% of the guests have arrived. in the ballroom, the atmosphere was lively and upbeat with lots of chattering around. adele (joohan's 3rd sis) even commented that our dinner is one of the "noisiest" she's been to. hahaaa... i think that's a good sign. it means our guests are awake and enjoying themselves catching up with old friends and/or making new ones along the way. :) i'm so thankful our friends and family are so supportive of us. it means such a lot to have them there to share our joy and makes a difference to us. there - my speech unspoken on the night,put up here. hahahaa...

 

my only regret - that my mom is not around to be here for this. she'd have been so so happy. but i know she's watching me and feeling happy for me somewhere out there.

 

the groom - what can i say? i love you love you love you.