Finally, A Wedding!

I'm actually writing this post in September. On my mother's birthday no less; but at least I'm finally writing it! As you know, It didn't take me very long to plan this wedding. Within two months of Jerry's proposal, we got the whole thing up and running with God's grace.

I got up around 4am that morning. Candy, my makeup artist arrived somewhat punctually around 4.30am. She got to work right away.

It didn't feel real.

It almost felt like any other ordinary day actually. Just getting my hair done, blah blah blah...

Being the professional she is, Candy barely took an hour to get not only my makeup, but also my hair done as well. I was left with plenty of time to walk around the house and do nothing. The girls were just starting to get their makeup done by Jean around 5am.

Meanwhile, my brothers' bedroom had been taken over by the female relatives who were getting their hair and makeup done as well.

I was actually pretty excited to see my little sister getting all dolled up. 

In the meantime, the boys who did not have to have their hair or makeup done were helping themselves to some breakfast. My mom had cooked a whole pot of minced pork porridge the night before to feed everybody who would be dropping by the house. Great foresight on her part! We were quite hungry by 6am.

My custom-made cheongsam hung ready in the room.

And my slippers ;)

As the time for Jerry's arrival drew closer, I quickly got dressed before proceeding to lounge around the house some more.

Traditionally, my mom should help me to put on the 四点金 (dowry jewellery pieces), but her eyesight's getting poor, so the photographer actually helped us with it as well.

Customary photo with my dad.

The bridesmaids were helping each other get ready as well as preparing for the gatecrashing.

I was connected on Skype so I could watch the gatecrashing.

They made some weird salad for Jerry comprising of all the things he hates haha!

A photo with the bridesmaids before they head off to torture the groom... Check out all those innocent smiles... Hahaha!

I can't believe my little brother is now taller than me!

Jerry finally arrived at around 7am.

As is customary, my little brothers were there to open the door for their soon-to-be brother-in-law (and thus receive a red packet for their hard work).

On his way to collect the bride (me... LOL!)

BUT, you gotta get past the bridesmaids first!

First they had him eat the weird salad.

His face says it all!

Next, they had him and another groomsman put tape on their hairy legs so they could rip it off.

Smiling in glee as my sister holds the phone for Skype.

Next up, Amanda's great idea. Making them follow some ridiculous dance routine a la the Backstreet Boys. Okay, the Backstreet Boys was really my idea... 

I was pretty amazed at how willingly Jerry stepped up to do the dance!

Next, Shirley prepared the banana thingy. I have no idea what they dipped it in. Vinegar?

They were supposed to pass it to each other while taking bites each time.

Ivan's priceless face before biting into the banana... HAHAHA!

Great job guys!

Making them pose by spelling words with their bodies.

Reading out a funny tongue twister.

And finally! Jerry gets the permission to come up to the house. I think he got away pretty easily eh, that was one smooth gatecrashing!

"Yay... I made it..."

"Where's Mindy?"

"WHERE'S MINDY?"

Alverina handed him something to read before coming into my room. 

Here comes the crunch time!

Usually, the groom makes a lot of promises before coming into the bedroom. But luckily for Jerry, I'm a simple gal. All he had to do was to promise to take me to nice places after we get married. HAHA! None of that "my money is your money" thing.

Anddd....

Feeling pretty awkward here actually because everyone is looking at us from outside the bedroom door...

That's it! 

With just 15 minutes left on the schedule, we had to pack up and start getting ready to leave for the wedding venue.

The boys managed to grab some porridge before leaving.

The hotel was just a five minute drive away from home.

One of my favourite shots of the day :)

We had the tea ceremony in a little conference room provided by the Regent Hotel free of charge.

My Nanny got all emotional and that made Jerry and I tear up too. It was probably the first time during the day that I started to feel the gravity of the entire situation. 

Our solemnisation was held in the same room immediately after the tea ceremony.

Pastor James from Glory Presbyterian Church was our solemnizer.

That's me being awkward again. And my awkward brother in the right foreground refusing to look in our direction as we kiss HAHAHA!

Signing our marriage certificate made it official!

After that, we went upstairs to check out our suite and dump all our stuff in the room.

I changed into my wedding dress and also had Jean put my hair half down. I kind of regret doing that now though. It looked better up!

The hotel staff were getting our reception room ready.

Simple pink roses and baby's breath for centrepieces.

Had a good looking bunch of people manning the welcome table :D

Thanks to Sophia and Zach who helped to play music for our wedding song!

Another "this is real" moment: my dad putting the veil on over my face.

I kind of felt like crying at this moment.

Unbeknownst to me, my dad's left arm had been hurting badly right before the walk down the aisle. But he told me that the pain miraculously went away for those few hours, if not he would not have been able to have such a smooth walk. 

Giving his blessings to us.

Instead of a candle ceremony, we opted for a sand ceremony.

Three colors of sand which represent God, Jerry and I. In our marriage, we want God to be the foundation that we build on. That's the bottom layer. The second layer is Jerry and the top layer is me. After pouring the sands together in the jar, we will no longer be able to return the colors back to the original containers. This is a physical representation of what we see our marriage to be.

Then came the epic part...

He was only supposed to lift the front of my veil.

But he actually lifted the entire thing right off my head! 

It was super hilarious!

Here's me being awkward again... 

Normal pretty brides have a very graceful and stately stroll. Yours truly swung left to right like a duck.

And made funny faces...

My dad gave a short speech but Tim went all out. 

We were pretty moved by what he said about parents not saying enough that they love their children. 

Minmin and Ninja were the MCs for the day. 

Our wedding cake and cupcakes were made by Annie Goh of Les Cupcakes. She was also the one who set up the cake table for us. Everyone loved it!

They were red velvet cupcakes with pastel pink and yellow cream cheese toppings. Annie has a talent for making them just right- not too sweet and not too thick.

Then came my favourite part of the reception. Jerry's speech!

My mom cried. But that was when I was talking.

Jerry cried too. I guess I have a talent for making people around me cry.

Poured the champagne into the glass tower. Blah blah blah...

Family and friends were invited onto the stage for the yam seng toast.

Max lived up to his name by screaming YAM SENGGGGGGGG the loudest and longest!

A toast!

I was so very very happy/excited/touched/wowed when I saw Eileen in her pink dress. 

<3 p="">

Then it was time to say goodbye!

We asked the hotel staff to try to end things by 4pm. Neither Jerry nor I like long drawn out ceremonies. I don't fancy keeping people for too long either.

And that was it! We went back to our room happy but exhausted... 

And that was how we got married!