Hand in hand, we slowly and gracefully decended the spiral staircase of SY's home. Upon seeing us, the people below cheered and clapped while we flashed our happy silly grins at them. Kenneth, the 'tai kam ye' quickly went to do his thing and set up what was necessary for the tea ceremony.
When all was ready, SY's grandma being the matriarch of the family and her younger brother YJ (to represent the patriarch) sat down. We then served them tea while Kenneth offered auspicious words to commemorate the ceremony. Everything done and said has its meaningful purpose as with most traditions, hence, even the chinese tea served were mixed with honey to symbolize a sweet beginning for the newly weds. :) After sipping sweet tea, grandma gave SY a pair of lovely earrings and a red packet for me. SY's parents were up next and we served them tea. They reciprocated by bestowing jewelries and red packets upon us. My father-in-law gave me a thick gold chain and a matching pendant. I got bling yo! Soon, one by one, we repeated the process with all the other senior relatives. When that was all done, it was our turn to finally sit down and SY was literally dripping with so much jewelries I'm sure she was suffering from neck and wrist ache. LOL :) The juniors then lined up to serve SY and I the sweet sweet tea. In return, we gave them red packets. Might wanna add that I was a li'll weird out when YJ and YL called me 'che fu' (brother-in-law) out loud. Hahaha.
When the tea ceremony was completed, we still needed to perform a few more rituals as instructed by Kenneth, the 'tai kam ye'. We had to exit the door with our left foot stepping out first, SY's dad also had to 'shade' us with a red umbrella while we walked around the bridal car. Don't ask me why all these had to be carried out cause it was too much information for me to digest and remember on that day. :p Oh, and it was pouring cats and dogs too. According to Kenneth, if either the bride or groom was born during a rainy day, it will also rain their wedding day. How true??? ... I cannot say, but then again, who am I to dispute. :) Soon we tucked ourselves snuggly into the car and made our way to the St. Francis Xavier church, Petaling Jaya.
The journey took a good 20 minutes and by the time we arrived, the rain had stopped and the sun shone its majestic rays again. This was very delightful as we were blessed with a rather cool temperature throughout. We fleeted from one guest to another as people began to fill in. Our wedding booklets were distributed as the AV guy, Aaron did the soundchecks. Our four piece choir group were also preparing themselves with the hymns pre-chosen by us. My cousin, Derick was the dedicated Commentator while Ryan was the Reader.
At 11:00 a.m. sharp, we took our positions as rehearsed a couple of days earlier. SY and her dad stood at the entrance with Ivy, the maid of honor in front of them. Handsome li'll Ian, the page boy held pretty Anisha, the flower girl's hand ... waiting for the music to cue the march in. Way up by the altar, there I stood with Shaun, the best man. I guess some might have guessed that my heart was beating wilder than that of the African tribal drums. The waiting was simply 'excruciating' with so many mixed emotions experienced simultaneously ... anxiety, excitement, bliss ... I wondered what would others think of me if I were to pass out there and then. Haha ... just joking la.
Before I knew it, the music began. The congregation were hushed as the enchanting melody of Beyonce's Ave Maria flooded the entire church. Ian and Anisha both looked so adoring, him dressed smartly in a tux, holding our wedding bands and her, in an ivory dress with her floral head band and a rose bouquet in her hands. With her arm looped into his, the little ones walked towards the altar. Following behind was Ivy in her champagne knee length dress, also with a bouquet in hand, she looked absolutely stunning much to Leslie's pleasure I'm sure. Finally, the bride and her dad ... began marching in. She was first looking shyly downwards with the slightest hint of smile escaping the corners of her lips. As she approached closer, I was reminded again how lucky I am to be marrying her, utterly awestruck by her beauty and elegance and it was then that all the anxiety melted away instantly. Both father and daughter then stole glances at the many guests, smiling happily and waving gestures of thank yous.
Ian handed the wedding bands to Shaun and both he and Anisha took their seats. Ivy followed suit and I walked forward to greet the father-in-law and my bride. He placed her palm onto mine and we waited for him to take his seat before we proceeded to the two awaiting chairs positioned right up front facing the regally hung crucifix.
The entrance hymn was sung then as Fr. Simon Yong and the altar servers emerged. The usual ceremonies went on before Ryan went up to do the reading. Soon it was time for us to exchange our marriage vows. Angelina and Daniel both came up and stood beside us, serving as our witnesses. Before the eyes of God as well as our families and friends, we committed towards each other ... through thick and thin, through powerty or richness, in sick and in health ... a lifetime of togetherness. Amen. From here, the priest blessed and sprinkled holy water onto our wedding bands before we slipped it into each other's fingers. Words cannot describe but there is a certain 'feel' ... something almost magical about having the wedding band fit snuggly on my finger. It simply enveloped me with a sense of love and belonging.
Fr. Simon was a real joker ... injecting stinging humour every now and then to create a very lovely and jovial atmosphere for all of us. I proceeded to lift the bride's veil and we shared a very fine kiss as the crowd went wild with applause. After that, we went up to the altar to sign the registry. We put pen to paper as did our witnesses and the priest.
With that, we were officially married and recognised by the Catholic church. We stood at the center of the altar as the commentator announced and presented MR. and MRS. ADRIAN LIM!!! Again the crowd went wild with a wave of cheering, wolf whislting and clapping. :D
Grasping our marriage certificate, we very proudly and merrily marched out of the church's building to the tune of The Wedding March.
We spent quite a while taking photos with family and friends at the church's compound before heading back to my place for the second session of the tea ceremony.
When the bridal car arrived at my home, we couldn't get out. Why you ask??? ... well, because Ryan, the one dedicated to 'open' the car door for us hasn't arrive yet. Haha. So we had to wait for him to show up and he did ... about 10 minutes later. Our other guest started filling the house and made themselves comfortable. When we walked in, loud cheers and applause ensued. We made our way upstairs towards my home's altar. We said a little prayer and hand in hand, we lighted our Unity Candle. We then 'presented' ourselves to my grandma and grandpa who had both passed away long ago before heading downstairs for the tea ceremony.
Kenneth was again ready at hand to do his job. We served my parents first and they presented their daughter-in-law with a glittering set of diamond earrings and a pendant. My grandma was up next and SY got another set of ear rings. All these should keep my wife away from the jewelry store for quite a while I hope. :p As before, we went ahead with serving tea to the rest of our seniors and followed by the juniors serving us in return. Shaun and Ryan had a ball of a time calling SY 'dai sou' (sister-in-law). I wonder if she experienced that same inital awkward feeling as I did earlier. Hehe.
When all was wrapped up, our guests enjoyed the catered lunch while we went to the bridal chamber and had baby Jack jump on the bed. According to tradition, this act was performed in the hope that the newly weds would be blessed with babies in the near future. *LOL* The photographers required us to pose a bit for some portrait shooting in the room before we were finally able to change into our casual clothing *so so so relieved* and headed back downstairs for a scrumptious lunch.
To be continued ...
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