Note: I am breaking the wedding post into 3 parts. :)
Friday – 8th October 2010.
I only took leave the day before the wedding. My colleagues think I am crazy. My friends think I am crazy. My ‘chi muis’ think I am crazy. My parents think I am crazy. Heck, I think I am crazy too! With the amount of last minute preparations, I was still working my butt off. Yes, as expected Friday was a much stressed day for me – it seems that there are so many things not done yet for the wedding!
The guest lists, the table arrangements, the RSVPs, the flowers, the decors, the church bulletins etc etc. IT WAS OVERWHELMING!
The day started with my Mum making everyone stressed – her dinner dress which was sent for altering was wrongly given by the shop, it’s a size smaller!!! So she rushed and got it sorted out (Thank God!), whilst my Dad, I, and my brother went for lunch. Then, we headed back home to pick up my dog for boarding in the pet shop and at the same time my Dad dropped me off at the saloon for my 2 hours manicure and pedicure session. My Mum met me there straight. Gotta say, it was really a much needed relaxation session with my Mum.
Thereafter, Bear picked me up and we headed to Red Bliss to collect the gowns – and lo and behold, they got my size mixed up. ALL THREE GOWNS!! At that point in time, I was rather pissed because it was already so last minute! Having no choice, we gave them another 2 hours to sort out the mess.
Meanwhile, we headed to church to oversee the decoration and to set up the reception table as well as the favors. With the help of my Mum, everything was organized fairly quickly. Then, she had to rush back home to prepare the ‘tong yuen’.
We went back to Red Bliss and thankfully everything was settled – except for the white wedding gown for church (my chi muis will tell you that it was a tad too loose at the bust area which was quite noticeable on the actual day.. oh well..). Without wasting time, we collected the gown, ran through some last minute details with the photographers, collected our bridal bouquet and groom corsages (which sucks by the way – Bear’s white rose corsage was so withered it looked like a cabbage). We rushed back home to prepare for dinner with our own respective families.
As with customary traditions, both sides would have dinner with their own respective families. For me, we had a simple dinner and then everyone adjourned to my parents’ place. The minute we stepped into the house, the aromatic smell of ginger from the ‘tong yuen’ waffled through the air – it smelt good! My Mum has prepared the ginger soup earlier in the day.
Then, it was when the excitement began! While waiting for the ‘tong yuen’ to cook, all aunties, uncles, cousins, and friends roped in together and helped decorate the house in red. It was FILLED with red ‘hei’ stickers, ribbons, and of course the red cloth to hang outside the door. There were shrieks of laughter, screaming, instructions flying across the rooms, upstairs, and downstairs. I was also busy preparing for my own last minute stuff – the ‘chip san leong’ games, red umbrella, tea ceremony items etc etc.
And when all the red stuff was up on the walls and staircase, we proceeded to head upstairs where my Mum was preparing to ‘hair-combing ceremony’ for me. Traditionally, this is to bless their daughter who is leaving her childhood home. The Chinese believe that a person only becomes an adult after marriage. The first combing signifies that the couple will be together until death do them part, the second is for closeness and harmony in the married life until a ripe old age, the third combing is for the couples’ home to be filled with many children and grandchildren, and finally the fourth is for the couple to enjoy long-life together until our hair and eyebrows are ‘white’.
Then, my Dad fed me with the ‘tong yuen’ – it symbolizes a complete and sweet marriage. Mind you, I had to swallow SEVEN balls ok!! *gulp*
At about 12:30am, I excused myself to head to bed while the rest was still ‘hu-ha~ing’ in the living hall. Just before that, Bear dropped by to send all the flowers (i.e. family corsages, bridesmaids’ bouquets, flowergirls headband etc etc) which he had collected earlier from the florist to my house.
In case you are wondering, no I didn’t toss and turn trying to sleep in my nervousness. I just … slept like a log as I was already exhausted from running around tying up the loose ends before the big day.
Till then.
Mrs. Lee
