Love is in the air!
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
One of the milestones in life is marriage. Taking the wedding of cousin P as an excuse, I pampered myself to mani and pedicure at a home salon. Had to drag myself to Pungol @ 8+am in the name of vanity as there was no other slots. Nice cosy room (complete with aircon which is a must in sunny Singapore) with TV and even a bed should your other half be tired. Served by two pretty sisters, Homenails made me feel at home. Wasn't able to make up my mind as to what sort of nails I wanted -- Gel, Acrylic, Gel overlay, Extensions...oohhh...those jargons simply drove me nuts. Fortunately, elder sister H kept it simple for me and did gel over my natural nails, complete with BLING BLING! All the glitter just makes me happy!
The day started at 730am when the groom was scheduled to arrive. Strangely, the night before I could not get to sleep till 2am! I wasn't this excited on the eve of my own wedding! The wait was long and I had to self-entertain, forcing everyone to take pictures with me! Sigh, a little depressed to see the amount of weight I've piled on! Alritey, I'll start doing something (I hope) after my holiday!
Coco is all dressed for the occasion too! She seems to know that it's a remarkale occasion.
It's traditional for the groom to go through a tedious list of torturous games conjured by girlfriends of the bride. I'm sure the groom and his brothers were mollified by what the girls came up with. I was particularly bowled over by the part where he said " You are the tunnel and I am the train....You are the cave and I am batman!"...muhahaha....how original!
The all important Roasted Suckling Pig! An important tradition especially for the Cantonese. Though in this case the bride isn't Cantonese, the custom still prevails.
The spectacular celebration was a simulation of the Oscars, thus I dressed to kill! Wks before the event, I had my dress tailor made. M extremely pleased with the outcome. Definitely less than what I'll spend getting something off the rack! Cloth was merely $24 for 3 metres! Makeup would accentuate one's looks. was almost late as I was busy painting my face! Fortunately, the JP himself was late. Probably excited by the whole event, the first screw up of the night was that both mommy and daddy of the bride forgotten to bring their ICs! Daddy dearest was all ready to be the stand-in witness should they b unable to get their ICs down to the hotel on time. Fortunately, we could all wipe away the anxiety when Father of the bride zoomed back on time to the hotel! Blessing that the JP was late!
Accessories of the night! Was completely sold when I saw those shoes months ago! It's so Cinderella!
It's a bittersweet session (especially for parents) as the couple crosses into the realm of marriage. The reception area was not well designed and was choked with people. Suffocated by the crowd, we moved in and started devouring the canapes -- Smoked salmon, Fried lobster meat (or so they claim) and cherry tomatoes (VERY SOUR!). The coke not only tasted flat, it seemed to be heavily mixed with tap water. The chlorine smell was simply unmistakable. Talk about being cheapo for a 5 star hotel!The highlight of the night was the stunning couple who has been together for 11 yrs! Unbelievably long! Perhaps it runs n the family! haha
The secret of love is seeking variety in your life together, and never letting routine chords dull the melody of your romance.
SEATING ARRANGEMENT -- The air was thick with excitement. Prior to the banquet, mayhem started. Some were not too happy with the seating arrangements whilst others, for some strange reason did not have a seat to sit! The seatingarrangement was pretty screwed up, probably due to communication breakdown. I tried to help check out the situation on behalf of the stranded ones but could find no one who was in charge of the seating arrangement. A point to note for wedding couples => ensure that you have someone in charge of seating arrangement. Preferably one for the groom side and another for the bride. Also, there should be ushers to lead guests, particularly the distinguished relatives to their seats to prevent problems from arising, like in this case. In addition, have a key person to coordinate with the captain of the banquet and ensure that the MCs and captain coordinate well. On the part of the MC, the "Yum Seng" session wasn't well executed in my opinion as minimal blessings were given to the couple. Typically, the MC will say something auspicious and lead the crowd to a Yum Seng Cheer. In this case, he probably didn't have many idoms in English. Anyhow, back to the seating mayhem. Little cousin P came to the "rescue". Poor her, was put in a dilemma as several complaints started pourin in. There were a multitude of comments like "how could you sit my so and so at a different table from me?" To magnify the problem, those "affected" were important relatives. Daddy was visibly disturbed and his voice went up a notch when he learnt that his guests did not have seats! It didn't help that the guest list little cousin P was holding on to was listed according to alphabetical order and not table number. She had to plough through the list which looked alien to her. Something for all to learn. Flipping the pages frantically, I must say little cousin P did a good job at maintaining her composure. However, at the end of it, both siblings of the bride had to be scattered at various tables, sitting with people whom they hardly talk to! :( To add to the mayhem, friends of the bride came despite not rsvp-ing. Not one, not two, but a whopping 12! Two reserve tables had to be used coz of that! Am not in a position to say who's at fault, but proper rsvp-ing and followup by the couple must be done! In retrospect, I'm glad that my wedding went smoothly. Daddy put down his feet as to where everyone should sit. If you are not happy about it, TOO BAD. Daddy was also a great help as he called every single guest and got them to rsvp, thus offending some relatives in the process. Don't understand the logic, but the political scene in my family is rather complex. However, due to these authoritative acts, my wedding went smooth with most of my tables well filled with people. Inevitably, some had last minute commitments, but most were generous enough to cover my cost.FOOD -- nothing to shout about. Was in fact a tat disappointed as many have raved about Shangi-la's food. First dish was a suckling pig. As impressive as it was, it wasn't my cup of tea. The twin garoupa was also not warmed to satisfaction. The prawns and scallops would have tasted more succulent if they were warmer too. Kindof tasted like salad. herbal chicken was probably one of the better dishes. Fried rice wasn't palatable enough too....was relishing the fried rice I had at Thai Sharksfin Village some time back. U noticed there was no mentioning of Sharks fin? well, that's becoz there were none! Environmentalist would definitely be happy, but traditionally, Chinese banquets have been associated with Sharks fin, thus some were pretty sore about it. In the words of a guest (NOT MINE) " U can probably get the same sort of food at a Zhi Cha stall at a coffee shop" As mean as that may sound, the hotel should probably review their standards and not charge exhorbitant rates for common items. Sweetie and I were relishing the dishes served at the Mandarin Oriental 2 years ago for our wedding........Miss the teriyaki Cod Fish, Deep fried spare ribs and of coz the crispy mini buns with chilli crab sauce. I give them two thumbs up! Till today, many are still talking about it. Am glad.
FAVOURS -- To redeem the night, the favours were a pleasant distraction. One teacup for each with nice rose buds for tea making. Adore the box which came with it too.Marriage--a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters written in prose.
