We tied the knot!

So – three numb toes, several dress changes, and drop-dead exhaustion later, we got married :)

I love the collage of snippets from the wedding that my dear Yixiao put up on her blog… check out her dress and hairpiece on the top left picture. Gorgeous!

I promise more photos to follow… but for now, let me post a few of my favourites, taken by friends and family.

A candid shot just after Marc ‘fetches’ me in the morning.

Me and my gorgeous bridesmaids in the morning, with their colorful skirts, and in the evening at CHIJMES. Aren’t they chic?

Got to love this shot that Vy caught while we were posing for our wedding photographer. Genius shot!

My sister, who looked ravishing that day, and Joycey and Yang. I love this photo because we’d just had a laugh over me elbowing Yang in the hoo-hoos as I reached over for a photo with my sister.

Us being invited to go on stage to sing a song.

The people who made the night run like clockwork, and like a charm – Lyd & XT our hosts, Woon (sitting on stage – our brother-in-law who ran the whole evening amazingly despite having a tiring morning), Alex the banquet manager who is pacing across the stage, and the band consisting of Joanna Dong on vocals, Greg Lyons on sax, Mei Sheum on piano, and Tony on bass.

Phew!

We’re off to Chiang Mai bright and early tomorrow morning! I’m still recovering from the tiring day, and Marc and I had a good time the past couple days recounting all the memories –  the stressful, the funny, and the blissful. It was not a perfect day for sure, but it was our day. Complete with hiccups and frustrations, as life tends to be.

Over the course of this year of planning, I’ve grown from romantic-rose-tinted-glasses bride, to realist-the-essence-is-what-counts bride… From color palettes/how-does-it-look, to how-does-it-feel/does-it-matter-to-me. I suppose it is a natural process, and I probably am not alone in having experienced it.

In other words, I’ve come to realize what matters about a wedding, and what doesn’t. And I’m determined to be honest here about my feelings toward the wedding – feelings that emerged as I reached the end of the wedding process, and feelings that remain now that I’m on the other side.

I don’t think we should always be talking about weddings as if they are perfectly choreographed events that are to be the happiest day of your life. For those who want that and have that, power to you. But for those who don’t find themselves caring that much, and who for some reason can’t say their wedding was the happiest day of their lives, power to you too.

After all, the wedding day is but one detail in a sea of details. The most crucial and un-absentable detail is knowing in your heart that both you and your partner make each other happy, and that both of you are serious about working passionately and faithfully on this relationship for the rest of your lives.

I mean, I had a good wedding day.

Did I have a perfect one? No. Some reasons why :

1. I was almost late for my solemnisation because my mum and sis were late to do their hair and makeup (and I had to wait for them), and then my dad insisted we drive the 2 minute walk from the hotel to the venue, and then he couldn’t find the car in the parking lot, and I had to traipse through a shopping mall and the carpark in my bridal gown, while my heart was racing because I thought I was going to be late-late-late. HA.

2. I was really frustrated up until I started walking down the aisle, and just before it was time for me to do so, I realized I forgot to put my written vows on the table – and I hadn’t really memorised them either. -insert expletives here-

3. My gown was so tight I couldn’t really breathe sitting down.

4. I felt torn in 12,571 directions during the dinner, with everyone wanting to say hi/bye/take a photo/make a toast.

5. I also felt like I had to play ‘the Bride’ – graceful, dignified, sweet. WELL. I am not. Graceful. I make all sorts of inappropriate quips and facial expressions, and I talk with funny accents all the time. I’m. Not. Graceful. But I felt I had to be that day. Which was a bit of a balancing act for me.

6. I realized certain things about my family were never going to change. And that made me … disappointed.

But having said that, you know what? I’m so glad to say we have got awesome memories to take with us, and that we spent it with awesome people who loved us enough to fly back from overseas / take precious time out of their weekends to be there. That was truly the highlight of the wedding, and made all that huff and puff worth it.

And above all that… I’m so glad I got married to this warm-hearted, wonderful man who is everything I could have hoped for, and more. (And who loves my weird facial expressions. See below.)