The Wedding

I would rank this as one of the most important days of my life. It would be great to say that everything went smoothly and it was perfect but I guess we all know that weddings are almost never like that. One thing that I really appreciated was when Choon Hui suggested that we make a pact that no matter what happens, we would not allow anything to spoil this day and that we would never argue no matter what. It was a great agreement.

The night before was the usual last minute 'settling' of things that have not been settled and I actually slept at about 2am. I would be honest and say that I actually did not have the pre-wedding jitters and I did sleep pretty well but definitely not enough as I was awaken by my mom at about 6+ if I recall correctly. My dad was already out buying some of the gifts that we were suppose to hand over to the family of the bride and also to get breakfast for all my heng tai's and the other guests. Roy and Francis was kind enough to be my photographers for that day and I really think they did it well. I setup-ed the tables and chairs etc and my heng tai's begin to arrive. These are guys that I know from every phase of my life, from kindergarten to primary to secondary to University. Honestly, I would love to have asked some other guys to be there like Tay, Ah Fuh etc but I didn't want to 'mafan' them to drive so far. The other guys that came were Daniel, Hyon Le, Wee Min, Zhe Kang, Beng Hoong, Ah Hwee, Hanyi, Ah Hau, Ming Jian, Jimmy, Pei Quan, Hanxue and Jarald. Chin Chye couldn't make but dude, seriously thanks for the effort to come to my house even with a badly strained knee.Ah Fong came as well and I really appreciate her coming so early.

At about 8.45am I was all suited up, hot, a little sweaty and raring to go. I have every right to be excited :D, I'm going to fetch a wife! My sister was the 'gift-bearer'.

Wee Min kindly agreed to drive us (thanks bro!) and he even compiled a mix to serenade us while in the car. Awesome... So a convoy of err...7? cars made it's way to Taman Botanic where the lovely girl resides. The customary blaring of horns started when we were approaching the house and firecrackers was lit (highly illegal, highly illegal :) ). My sister went down first, carrying the price I had to pay to buy a wife (wahahaha sorry dear, you're worth some sweets, a little bit of pork, 2 bottles of wine, some oranges and some cash, I'm so dead when she reads this...). Her cute nephew opened the door of the car for me and literally, let the games begin. There was an army of beautiful girls barring our way into the house. We had to appease and fulfill their insatiable appetite for male embarrassment before we were allowed to enter the house. This was were my army of handsome guys had to sacrifice themselves so that I can make it through.

Sometimes I wonder if breakfast before going to fetch the bride is a good idea. Inevitably there will always be games that involve consuming items that can barely be called edible. The first thing the guys had to do was to eat some bananas. They were not 'normal' bananas... one of my heng tai's said that it was a little like rubber and they were really big bananas. Next up was a concoction that contained a blend of stuff that when drank, might be able to lure the bananas back out of the stomach. I still have no idea what was in it but all i knew was that all of them said it was, to put it mildly, horrible... The guys took it all in stride. Seriously, you guys are great! I, on the other hand, was forced to eat one of my foody nightmare, celery. Sure it's good for you, sure it contains Vitamin A, B1, B2, B6 and C with rich supplies of potassium, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and plenty of essential amino acids, sure it contained eight families of anti-cancer compounds, sure it does plenty of other things that might just allow you live to a 100 years old (my humble thanks to Google) BUT it sucks. I hate it. I despise it. It should have just remained a shrub that no one knew was edible. Wait, it's not edible...it's poison. It's a stick of pain and pallet torture. Halfway through it Francis helped me discreetly dispose it. Thanks a million bro!

There were a few more games after that and after a little bribe the finally allowed us to enter the house and go upstairs. There was another game waiting for involving lipsticks and manly guys. Seriously heng tai's, you guys were great enduring everything the ji mui's threw at you. A million thanks again for being my brothers that day! I had to write something sweet in order to gain entrance into the bridal chamber and so I did, I think Choon Hui still has it. When the door opened...

There she was...the most beautiful girl in the world. I thank the Lord for her. My bride, my best friend and my soul mate. She looked resplendent in white and for that moment the world revolved around her. Or at least my world... 

We did take quite a few photos here as there were a total of 3 photographers and one videographer present (thanks to my sis and her 3rd sis). We then went down for the traditional tea ceremony to show our respect to her relatives and elders and also to receive their blessings for our marriage. I strongly pray that these traditions will never fade away because it's just something special. 

There were lots of group photographs after that which was nice of course. We then proceeded to my house with the convoy honking again as we approached it. Welcome home! Little Nigel opened the door for us, with the help of his dad of course.

It was then lunch for everyone and more photographs were taken with the both of us. I managed to grab a bite and chat with the guys while Choon Hui prepared herself to go to the hotel for our wedding ceremony. When we finally did arrive at the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised by the room that they prepared for us. I didn't know at that time but they actually gave us the presidential suite instead of the honeymoon suite. Thanks Zubir from Concorde who went out of his way to make this day a great one for us. We were both actually quite tired by then but Choon Hui had to go through another make-up and hair styling session. Thank God I'm a guy. :p My best men Hyon Le and Daniel came over to prepare some stuff and of course poke a little fun at me. 

Went down to the wedding hall to get prepared and Daniel was running around making sure things went smoothly while Hyon Le prepared the audio visuals. Larry consented to be my MC for that day and I wanan say thanks again man. The hall looked great and the hotel really deco-ed the place well. I really liked the whole setting and all. More pics will be up later as I haven't gotten them all. I have to say that this time I was nervous. I actually don't really know why but I just was and my heart was beating a little faster than usual. She came in to the song of Canon and again she was just magnificent. We had a short praise and worship session and scripture reading. Pastor Henry officiated our ceremony and I have to say this, I totally expected a normal preaching and all but his words that day were extremely meaningful to the both of us. I think the advices that he gave concerning marriage were great. Even Choon Hui's sis came over to say that he preached really well. Some things would not be easy to do such as 'the guy should always try to reconcile first after a fight' lol, I'll have to learn how to swallow my pride..a lot. 

I don't know, I think there's something really beautiful to come before God and all our love ones to officially cement (is this the right word?) our marriage. It was really then that I come to the full realisation that marriage is for life, that nothing should tear it apart, that it is a union that is holy and well, a great example of love. I really have to say and quote, the greatest of all is love. When I prepared my vows, I wanted it to convey what I really feel and what I would love to promise. Unfortunately I have the tendency to write things a little too formally. Her vows on the other hand really touched my heart. No fancy words, no long eloquent sentences, just purely sincere words. And then there we were, husband and wife. I'm married! 

There was the lighting of candles to show our oneness and also the cake eating. I think it was delicious. It was a pity the both of us couldn't eat more of it after the wedding dinner because the hotel staff actually mistook it as leftovers and sapu-ed them... Darn...

We then went to another room nearby to have the tea ceremony with my family members. It all felt a little grand as the hotel prepared those classic wooden big chairs with all the elaborate carvings. More photos! Talk about being superstars for a day. We then went to prepare (yet again) for the dinner. It was nice to wait for the guests and mingle with them a little before the dinner started. A thousand apologies to whoever I fail to greet or had to hurry away from. And a heartfelt thanks to all those who came to celebrate this day with the both of us. Choon Hui's sisters 'manned' the guest table/booth thingy and I think they did a great job. 

Typical of Malaysia, the dinner started a little late. There was some confusion on what time the doors should be open but the ever reliable Daniel calmed me down when I panicked a little. Thanks man. I was actually very nervous the whole time because of the surprise I had prepare for Choon Hui. I played an instrumental for her on the guitar. It was a song that she liked and I just wanted to serenade her at least once today. I didn't sing because well, I think I don't sing that well haha. The look on her face when it was announced that I was playing and also during my performance was totally worth all those hours of practice. Too bad I didn't play as well I hoped for, I was just so nervous! 

The picture was taken by Hyon Le behind the stage. Awesome pic man. I like how it captures Choon Hui's face. Brilliant and thanks! The toasting followed and everything was going on well. I was glad that the guests liked the food and also the wine that night. I didn't have much of it though, just really enjoyed the prawns. We didn't manage to cover all the tables when we went around toasting because we actually started a little late. But I really enjoyed the whole dinner just because there were so many people that I know and love that came. We then waited at the doors to say our thanks and shake hands with everyone and of course take pictures with as many as we could. 

After all the things were cleared and the bills settled we could finally retire to our suite. Unfortunately I will not write naughty stuff here heheh but the reality is this, we slept...as in literally slept due to sheer exhaustion. It was a great wedding. It was near perfect for the both of us. Everything came together really well and we were blessed to have so many good people helping us. I really can't say thanks enough to everyone. Both our parents went through a great deal to prepare for this wedding also. The greatest thanks that I give them is not the work they have put in for our wedding, but for bringing us up. Thanks Di, Mi, Pa and Ma. My sis and Kwang Yew and all of Choon Hui's sisters are also the best. I highly doubt that the marriage would have gone so well without all their support and help. Here is to a start of a blissful marriage and the union of two families.