Tony Leong & Carina Lau's Wedding

Heart in the sky! National day parade rehearsal as seen from my house

While waiting in the car, at the entrance. There was a snakelike queue coz the Valet parking guys were understaff.
Me, looking all pretty with my fake eyelashes and smoky eyes. I think i did a good first time job! What I wore. Shit! Putting on hell lot of weight!
Door gift ie. a glass coaster (useless if u ask me)
Forcing my sweetie to take a pic with me
Why am I best buy and he is person of the year? UNfair!


This is where the fairy tale begins
Blocked by the many pillars! grrrr

Somehow this didn't come up the way i wanted it to. But try to enjoy the melodious voice (albeit the wrong orientation and noise)
n nope, this isn't the couple who got married!haha

Finally they are married! How can a couple ever go through such a long courtship?..N I thought my hubby and I went thru it long -- 9 yrs! This golden couple have dated for 20 yrs! So happy they finally tied the knot in a grand way at a resort in the Himalayan nation Bhutan (i didn't even know such a place exist until today!) Did you know that Carina's makeup was done by Singaporean makeup artist Zing? WOW! Makes me proud to be a Singaporean man! That guru apparently left Singapore for HongKong and is a big hit with celebrities there. He did make up for Faye Wong and Carina and Fann Wong just to name a few. The dewy look on Carina's wedding day was absolutely princessy. Can't tell she's already in her 40s! The wonders of makeup. I recall having my makeup done on my wedding by Liren. It was great too..she had magic fingers too..just tat I saw more magic on others than on me.

On the topic of wedding, wow it's been almost 2 yrs since i've ROMed! Last nite, I attended my cousin's wedding at CHIJMEs. The place was nice, but it had loads of pillars. Half the time i could not see the couple on stage. Service was also poor. Asked for red wine twice before the waiter finally admitted that they had not enuff glasses and were in the midst of washing!!! It's not like we had 100 tables. there's only perhaps 30 tables! The food was YUCKS too! Cold. I think it's coz they do not have an in-house kitchen. I wanted to leave halfway but thought i should stay for the dessert -- YAM. It's one my fav but it was soooo disappointing! it was very lumpy n extremely sweet. Overall, i think apart from location, the place deserves a 3/10!

But, i must say the entertainment was great. There was live singing by a couple. I think cousin engaged them. The ger was fabulous! Hit the keys wonderfully!

Anyway, here's a little something on practices for those who are gonna get married:

1. Guo da li or betrothal

When: One or two wks b4 the wedding
What: gifts and cash delivered to the bride's home by the groom's family. The bride's family
will take some of the items and return the rest to avoid the impression that they are selling
their daughter.
Why: It shows the groom's financial dependability and assures the bride's family that she
will be well taken care of after marriae
Must haves: Pin jin (money in red packets), jewellery for Teochews (si dian jin), dried
seafood for Cantonese, pig trotters for Hokkiens, oranes, liuor and dragan and
phoenix candles. Symbolism: Pin jin is given to the bride's family for taking care
of her. Accepting the dragon candles signifies that her family accepts him as a
son-in-law. Offering the phoenix candles to the groom's family symbolies the
giving of their daughter's hand.

2. Dowry

When: On the same day after offering the guo da li

What: Gifts are presented from the bride's parents to their daugther and future son-in- law.
Why: The gifts are to bless the couple and to show that hte bride is ready to take the new roles of wife and mum.
Must-haves: Baby bathtub, basin and potty are to encourage the couple to have children.The sewing kit signifies a capable wife, the wedding lamps a brigt future and the bowls abundant food

3. An chuang

When: 8.30pm on the eve of the wedding (or any other auspicious day la)
What: Items are placed on the marriage bed and the couple is not allowed to enter the room till wedding ceremony is over
Why: Symbolises gd health, abundance of fortune and offspring for the couple.

Must-haves: Eight types of auspicious seeds and grains, oranges, red packets, metallic discs (da yuan and xiaoyuan) My mil used red packets. She placed them on each corner of the bed. Some will even get little children to jump on the bed

Symolism: The discs signify a blissful marriage while the foodstuff is to bless the couple with children early. The whole process is usually done by a woman with good fortune ie, have loads of children, parents still alive etc

4. Hair combing (I DIDN"T HAVE THIS!)

When: After 11pm on the eve of the wedding. In the Chinese calendar, any time after 11pm denotes the next day.

What: The bride and groom's hair are combed by their parents. Te father recites the blessing while the mother combs the hair three times.

Why: Each stroke holds and auspicious meanin for the various stages of life after marriage.

Must-Haves: Coms, sewing kit, mirrors, red string and ruler.

Symolism: The red string, which signifies a blessing, is used to tie the bride's hair. the ruler is to remind the couple to cherish the relationship and take care of the family.