The Wedding

630AM Woke up with the alarm ringing next to me. Wow could not believe I actually had a restful night. Got to brush up as Justina, my makeup artist would be arriving soon. The rest of my family were still sleeping soundly. 

650AM Justina arrived 10 minutes early. I was not complaining! And so our make up session started as my family roused from their sleep. 

730AM Kent Wong aka Chee Kian my photographer for the day arrived. Everything was going according to plan so far. 

830AM Oopps, realised that we forgot to order a customary bouquet for the groom to present to me. Ah, too late now! 

840AM Family was getting all dressed up. Dad actually wore a suit :) The last time he did that was during my graduation which was in 2004! 

900AM My make up was done, got dressed up in my red Cheong Sam. All set to see groom anytime. 

920AM Bro welcomed future hubs by opening the car door. He received a red packet for that, how fun. 

925AM Future hubs and Celine made their way up my place, escorted by bro and Jenny. 

927AM Future hubs knocked on the door but was refused entry by small sis until she received a red packet. Future hubs had to bribe her. 

930AM And he's in! Easy peasy. P/S - We skipped all the traditional games as we thought we were getting too old for them :) Hubs and his band of brothers were quite pleased. 

935AM Future hubs finally got to see me! 

945AM Tea ceremony begins. It's Chinese tradition to serve tea to your parents and immediate relatives. We carried out the ceremony with our relatives later in Ipoh. According to the tradition, the tea is supposed to be made with longans and dates. It is apparently to symbolise sweetness in the family union. My little sis assisted in serving the tea, and part of that responsibility included saying some auspicious Chinese words while serving the tea. It was hilarious given her Chinese was pretty horrible.  

950AM After we were done serving my parents, it was our turned being served tea. My bro and sis took their turns to address me and future hubs. 

10AM And it's time for the family photo. What a happy start to the day! 

1010AM After we were done in Bedok, I was supposed to head over to Calvin's family's to continue with the tea ceremony. According to the Chinese tradition, my dad was supposed to escort me to the car with a red umbrella (as seen below) to shield me from erm evil spirits. Not sure where that came from, but we did it anyway. The umbrella sure does look nice in photos :)

1030AM Thank God for clear blue sky. We arrived at Simei and the future hubs opened the car door for me. 

1040AM The tea ceremony continues with Calvin's family and relatives.

1045AM First with Calvin's Ah Gong. 

1050AM And then Calvin's parents.

1055AM Calvin's sis & bro-in-law

11AM And Calvin's younger sis to us

1105AM We continued on with other relatives and ended the ceremony with lunch at home. By the time lunch was over, I was actually quite exhausted emotionally and mentally. But thanks to the adrenaline rush, I managed to carry on! 

1300M We made our way to Goodwoodpark Hotel and found Lawrence hiding in the closet. Scary or what?  

1400PM With no prior rehearsal done, this was when the panic really start. Pastor Daven arrived on time and helped organize the whole rehearsal for the march in. The band was set up but alas we forgot to print out the worship songs. Thank God for wonderful church friends who helped with last minute printing. It was also at this point we realised that we forgot to bring our slide show. Only the hubs knew how stressed up I was. And I still had to get my make up done. Eeps what a total chaos. At least my hair was nicely done.  

1430PM The gals made it in time for rehearsal as well. 

The future hubs, my future ex boyfriend getting dressed.

The boys getting dressed. 

Hubs and his entourage 

Hello ladies!

1530PM Meanwhile, everyone was getting ready downstairs. Here's my mom putting on her brooch. 

Calvin's sis. 

My dads :)

Mom in law

Sis in law and her boyfriend, also a colleague of the hubs

It was extra special with BFF making it all the way from San Francisco. He grudgingly helped out as our emcee for the solemnisation :)

1600PM The hubs entertaining the crowd downstairs. Apparently he was sweating bucket due to the heat! Right about now he was also having a nervous breakdown because everything seemed chaotic and unorganised. Hah, serves you right for not helping me out! :p

1630PM The solemnisation ceremony starts!

Sis, Cayden (as the ring bearer) and bro-in-law.

And here comes the bride accompanied by her dad. Marched into to the tune of Next To You by Chris Brown. Yes the guy who punched Rihanna. 

And my dad gave me away..

We said our vows with God as our witness

Our moms lighting the candle of unity. The candles were a gift from Benson, such a sweet chap. 

 Pastor Daven blessing our rings

Our first communion as husband and wife

Adel leading us into worship

Signing of the paper

And we're married!!! As of this moment, I am Mrs Chan. 

1800PM And this marks the end of the solemnisation. Off we went to prepare for the wedding dinner ahead. 

Centrepiece for the VIP table

Our wedding cake, which I don't remember eating. 

Aisle stand

We booked the Tudor ballroom

1600PM Guests started coming in. Bridesmaids hard at work checking them in :)

The reception

We had a small mini band at the reception

And I finally made an appearance after another round of make up

Tee Yee and Hao Le were our emcees for the night. I must say they did a great job entertaining guests. 

This moment was just amazing. I don't know how else to describe it. I know it's cliche saying your wedding day has got to be the best day of your life, but at that moment I felt like I've died and gone to heaven. The feeling of watching so many loved ones gathered in the same room, celebrating your wedding union, as you walk down the aisle with the husband holding your hand is priceless. 

We marched in to the sound of "Everything" by Lifehouse. I guess the song made the moment even more dramatic!

To be continued....