the wedding part 2

gav arrived first because he had to go hunt for his missing coat! damien's car looked smashing!
for wedding favors, each guest were given a little bag of heart shaped cookies, either one BIG one, or 2 smaller ones, representing one Big God, and 2 of us joined in holy matrimony. these cookies were baked by all my very special girls from CBC!

now one thing that i really really am so grateful to God for is that we had perfect weather. i was worried that it would rain bcoz it was raining in subang and the weather forecasts said heavy thunderstorms! here's the forecast for that day, "snapped" by munkeong bcoz he believed that God would do a miracle.



in fact it was nice and cool when it was time to start! and no mozzies coz they'd JUST fogged the area. i loved my chuppah [jewish wedding canopy arch thing] that was made by gavin using poles and cement and flower pots and organza. Ben helped to set it up and my friends sewed on flowers and put fairy lights on.

it was so pretty and one of a kind! according to jewish tradition, we were supposed to stand under it but we ended up standing beside it instead.

damien was waiting at the hotel's entrance for us and while were in his car driving to the venue he called kelvin saying "the hawk has landed". i felt really excited and nervous at the same time. when we pulled in and i saw the place for the first time i was so so so overwhelmed at how beautiful everything was and how great everyone looked! although there was no grass it looked so cool because of a beachy themed thing with the sand and all. the sweet pink flags waved gently in the breeze.

i was so glad that some of my guests complied to my pink and brown dress code and that really made eveyrthing look so sweet and happy! i was so excited to get out of the car and see everyone
my dad went to wait at the wrong place so we had to call him over to start walking from here!
most people look at the bride when she walks in but i think seeing the groom's expression during this time is really special
walking down the aisle with my dad was a surreal experience. everyone was looking at me and i didn't know whether i was supposed to smile, or look solemn like those other brides i've seen do. in the end i just smiled and smiled bcoz i was so happy and so overwhelmed with joy. it was so much fun. I wasn't brief on "walking down the aisle etiquette" so i didnt think it was inappropriate for me to whisper to kimkim "this is so much fun!" while i walked past her. hey, everyone's smiling at you. it's not nice to just go by without saying hi right??
one thing that struck was how short it was! i mean, these few seconds are probably what a bride thinks of and anticipates most about her wedding and yet it's over within a few seconds. in a blink of an eye, you're at the front! and your dad is giving you away!
my dad was quite happy to do so. here's the handover.
then we worshiped God, singing one of my favourite songs "made me glad"


then pastor mal talked about marriage and how we will now interact with the world in a different capacity. although we are 2 individuals, we have become one unit. how we will live and die for each other.

and then, the moment!

just looking into his eyes i felt an overwhelming joy. it was such a beautiful and meaningful moment. after 4 years of courtship, here we are, at the culmination of our time together. through all those years we had to spend apart, all the hardships, all the heartaches, all the missing each other, all the joyful reunions and tearful goodbyes, we were finally here, at the altar, about to pledge our lives to each other before God.

here i am, marrying the man i love so much. I couldn't help but tear up! and apparently, so i was told, so did a few of my friends!

the rings symbolize the promises we made to each other, to love in times of sickness and health, for better or for worse. to encourage, to support, to comfort, to cherish.


after that was the lighting of the unity candle. ours looked so DIY because they were DIY. we could've gotten very elegant ones from teddy tales or something but somehow i just didnt think of it. it never occured to me that i could've gotten them ready made!

adeline tied the pink ribbon on and terk gave me suggestions on how to tie the ribbons on the others. the rhinestones were glued on with UHU glue.
the 2 candles represents us as individuals, and the big one represents that we've now become one.
and then it was time for gav to do his thing !

and then we're married! for the recessional, our guests in the aisles threw pink flowers at us. i was really happy. i couldnt stop smiling. later my cheeks ached.

it was funny coz after walking out, we had to walk back in again to pose for photos.
ok this is the end of part 2! part 3 will come later.