A Garden Wedding

*Back-dated post

The first day of 2012 was spent amidst much love, joy and happiness - with the Bees being flower girls for one of Hubby's cousins.

It was a beautifully romantic wedding, held in a magnificently pristine glass pavilion on Sentosa, surrounded by lush, verdant foliage. The Bees were part of a lovely wedding party comprising of 6 bridesmaids decked out in vibrant yellow and one little page boy who was Little Bee's age. Big Bee was the flower girl in charge of sprinkling velvety rose petals down the aisle, ambling primly behind Little Bee who was shyly (and embarrassingly!) leading the whole entourage, whilst holding the hand of the little page boy! Oh, the blushes and flustered expressions from Little Bee were a sight to behold!

The glass pavilion for the wedding ceremony, set amidst lush greenery!

The embarrassed couple!

The cheery flower girl with her basket of rose petals

In the evening, only Little Bee and the page boy were required to walk down the aisle as harbingers of the bride and groom. Little Bee was grinning all throughout the rehearsal, fooling around with all of us. However, during the actual walk-in, she looked cheekily uncomfortable and shy!

Hubby said he finally understood how it felt like to see a daughter walking down the aisle, haha.

The bride and groom were rather innovative in preparing snippets of entertainment for the guests, and one of the Bees' favourites was a dress-up photoshoot where the girls could don on crazy wigs, glasses and props, take photos and then getting the photos laminated and delivered to them halfway during the dinner! Check out some of their guises that night:

What a beautiful day - heartwarming and touching, filled with so much love and felicity!

When 2 Flower Girls Meet A Lion

Last weekend was an exciting and busy one for our little family. The Bees were flower girls for Hubby's cousin's wedding on Saturday, and we went to watch The Lion King musical on Sunday!

The entire wedding day was truly beautiful, and the wedding ceremony in a resplendent Catholic church was solemn but sacred. Shy Big Bee was rather nervous the night before about her role as a flower girl, and Little Bee was so eager to doll up as usual. Both of them were hopping about with zeal and anticipation when the time came in the morning to dress both of them up. Girls indeed!


The girls walking calmly into the church for the ceremony, just before the bride

True enough, I think they looked exquisite. I deliberately sourced for 2 identical dresses, and I beamed with pride and joy whenever they ambled gracefully in the church. They were joined by their young aunt Brianna, and the 3 girls were so eagerly catching up with each other - just like snowy white angels.


With young Aunt Brianna, who is only a year older than Big Bee

The ceremony rekindled the sacrosanct meaning of marriage to Hubby and I again. Years ago, before we were married, we underwent a marriage preparation course together, and even then, we were still bewildered by the many challenges of marriage and the adjustments in different stages of our relationship and life. We had undergone many upheavals and had vowed many times not to take our special relationship for granted. And as all married couples know, it is very much easier said than done, and a lot of mental and communication work is needed to seal the foundation of a happy life-long marriage.


A very precious photo with the Bees' great-grandmother!

The wedding dinner was one of the more enjoyable ones I had ever attended, with plenty of friends coming on stage to perform and sing for the couple - what a night! Even the Bees' great-grandmother sang a wonderful Cantonese hymn to the couple, bringing tears to the bride and her mum. During several moments, even the typical cynical me had tears brimming just below the surface of my usually dry eyes. Weddings never fail to strum a few strings at our hearts indeed!


Feeling a little fatigued but still dolled up for the wedding dinner :)

The Bees enjoyed themselves thoroughly - being dolled up like angels in the morning and evening, gorging on yummy food incessantly, being fussed upon by doting grandparents and other relatives, catching up with their young aunt Brianna (who is more of a friend than aunt!) and staying up way past their bedtime!


Snuggling cosily in their white furry shrugs that they love!


Big Bee spent the entire night chatting mirthfully with Brianna, who was such a great companion for her

The following day was their much-awaited The Lion King musical. Throughout the entire musical, they were entranced by the captivating songs and brilliant cast. They particularly loved the opening scene and were mesmerised by the talented younger actors. Throughout the show, they were glued to their seats, eyes wide, mouths agape, much to the amusement of Hubby and I who were busy sneaking glances at them.


With the stage backdrop of The Lion King behind them during the intermission

The end of mid-year exams. The start of carefree fun and activities. Life is looking good this part of the year indeed :)

Our First Decade Together

Towards the 3rd week of October, I casually made a remark to Hubby when I was away in China for work that we would spend the 10th year of our customary wedding away from each other. When I arrived in Singapore on the midnight right after our 10th anniversary, Hubby informed me with zeal that he had arranged for a weekend surprise to celebrate a decade of being together!

All married couples would know that marriage is more hard work rather than the romanticized glory of walking away, hand-in-hand, looking eternally glamorous and sexy, into the dazzling sunset.

Well, it was somewhat like that in our years of courtship and the first year of being married. And then we had Big Bee. And Hubby went away for a couple of years to work in Beijing, whereas I stayed behind in Singapore with Big Bee. And then he came back and we had Little Bee. And they both turned our world utterly topsy-turvy. Our marriage was filled with much tribulations - it was not entirely an easy bed of sweet-smelling roses. We went through roller-coaster rides of exhilarating highs and depressing lows - as all marriages, I am certain.

Yet, we tried our best to nurture and strengthen the marriage like what we would do to a young sapling. And now that we had emerged into the 10th year of a tree in its young adulthood, I thought we did pretty satisfactorily - gone are the perpetual, palpitating emotions of wild, passionate love (although we do enjoy instances of that sometimes, thank goodness). Enter the slow-burning, coal-red fires of companionate love mingled with heady romance. Companionate love that is built on working around each other's polarised personality traits, compromising small aspects of each other to ensure two pieces of a jigsaw fit beautifully into a brilliant design.

And constantly stoking that coal-red fire to ensure a constant warmth with frequent (not merely occasional!) flares of adoration. Easier said than done, as most married couples know (especially with kids, who are the dousers of amorous romance!).

But we try our best to sneak little moments of quality, private time for each other. Little dates after the kids sleep. Dates comprising of midnight home movies (who said dates must be in public cinemas?), of occasional once-a-year weekend escapisms with the grandparents as babysitters, of gleeful real movie dates or suppers when my mum can babysit the Bees, even of late-night supermarket trips! Small regular quantities of these elixir are wonderful panacea for keeping the romance alive.

Not all is rosy though - for we do sometimes fight like teenagers, but that's another story altogether :)

So, for the 10th year of such hard work, Hubby mysteriously asked me to pack a weekend bag, and whisked us all to the new Fullerton Bay Hotel for one night's stay in their gorgeous room facing the Marina Bay Sands! Complete with the Bees in tow, of course!

The Bees were squealing in delight, bouncing on the hotel bed as usual. We spent the whole of the weekend chilling in the comfortable and luxurious room, and staring contentedly at the stunning scenery comprising of the Marina Bay and the entire Esplanade/Marina Bay Sands skyline. We also lingered in the near-desolate pool, jesting around, and soaked in the splendid jacuzzi with a breathtaking view of the bay.

We strolled blithely along One Fullerton, absorbing the sights, smells and sounds of the beautiful city we live in, and indulged in a decadent Japanese dinner, sitting alfresco just beside the bay. The Bees were lapping it up, and we blissfully told them the stay was in celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary. Hubby and I stood many times on the balcony during the deep night as the Bees slept, our arms around each other, admiring the splendour of the hotel as well as the eloquent silence of the city that was winding down eventually.

Before I left for my business trip in China, I remembered lamenting to Big Bee that I would not be home for Mummy's and Papa's 10th wedding anniversary. She was curious and asked what a wedding anniversary was. In return, when I was back home, she presented Hubby and me with a handmade anniversary card, which was the best outcome of our years together :)

Here's to more decades to come!

A Day Of Happiness And Joy!

The day that my family and I had been waiting for has finally arrived! My one and only younger brother is getting married! And I thought I would never see this day, after seeing him wade through the oceans of so many trials and tribulations. 

The celebration started the eve before the wedding, as per our family tradition, with my mum's sisters and brothers, together with my cousins and hence, the Bees' cousins, gathering at my mum's house, absorbing the pre-wedding day excitement and anticipation. The cousins (young and older!) had great fun bonding together as usual!

The troupe of cousins having a blast: (from left) Big Bee, Chloe, Little Bee and Val. 

The following morning, I dressed the Bees up enthusiastically - Big Bee in her long, white wedding-like dress and Little Bee in a long, red frilly halter dress. We then set forth to my mum's house to welcome the bridal party and the tea ceremony.

While waiting, I had such wonderful time catching up and chatting with my uncles, aunts and cousins from both sides of the family. Family ties are very important in my family and I had grown up with close bonds with most of my cousins.

 

Tada!! The arrival of the gorgeous bride and groom, together with their entire wedding party! 

My brother and sister-in-law looked radiant and positively beaming with pure beatitude. My sister-in-law glowed with happiness and looked so beautiful in her bridal dress and "kua". 

There was a touching moment when my sister-in-law shed tears as my mum presented her with the "four pieces of gold" in Teochew tradition. The entire family just stared on in moved silence. 

I guess in Chinese tradition, there is little or no privacy during festive events like this! Relatives were opening the door to the bridal chamber at all times, or milling outside their bedroom door, gawking at the bride and groom unashamedly. :)

Mum, Dad and the newly weds for the tea ceremony

Little Bee's turn to "serve" jiu-jiu virtual tea and to get her ang pow from the couple! 

Big Bee and Jiu-Ma in her beautiful Chinese tradition costume "kua"

We had a slight reprieve in the afternoon where we rested for a little while before dressing up and headed towards Orchard Parade Hotel for the wedding dinner. The Bees were decked to the nines with Big Bee in a enthralling red and white dress with a sash and rose petals in the chiffon layers of her dress. Little Bee wore a similar (but shorter) dress, in pretty pink and with similar red rose petals sprinkled in the loose layers of the dress. 

Big Bee told me, "Mummy, the funnest part of dinners is dressing up. I looooovvve to dress up in beautiful dresses!" And Little Bee kept telling me, "I want wear nice nice!" Goodness, the stress of having 2 vain little girls! 

Little Bee had a terrible two moment, just before leaving the house, by deciding adamantly on wearing her weekend sandals with her dinner dress! Throughout the entire dinner, we could not sway her mind away from her sandals, which she claimed fervently to me, "Nice nice shoes!!!" with a pout. 

Stage entertainment for the night :)

Hubby and I were the emcees for the wedding and I had written a script with some sisterly tidbits of information that I hope would add a bit more meaning to the wedding. Hence, I was really super excited the entire day! However, on hindsight, I really enjoyed hosting my brother's wedding :) 

Cake cutting - happiness forever! 

The wedding dinner buzz was intoxicating, with so many extended family members whom I had not seen in a long time. Hubby and I were on stage most of the time at the start of the dinner. It was so fulfilling to see the fruition of all my brother's and sister-in-law's planning, and everything flowed with perfect precision and glorious emotions.

Dramatic entrance in the bride's dazzling evening gown with the stunning head piece!

Confetti galore! 

My brother gave a stirring speech, thanking almost everyone in his life and making my mum cry (again!). Not just my mum cried, but also some of our aunties in the dinner! Wedding speeches are indeed emotive and heart-rending. 

Mum dabbing tears of joy

My sister-in-law read him a beautiful poem about love - with tears trickling from her eyes and voice quivering. We were all entranced by this poignant display of unabashed love. 

Looking at them reaffirms my belief that love can indeed transcend everything - race, religion and many other barriers. Theirs is a love with much challenges from the beginning, and it certainly fills my heart, knowing that they are now united in a marriage made in heaven :) 

A phrase that my brother told me in their early days together is indelible from my mind. He told me then, "I had never felt so happy with any one before!" And with her, he smiles more, laughs more. This is the true repercussion of love! 

PS: Living in this era of digital photography is mind-boggling. Every significant moment (like tea ceremony, entrance of couple, etc) was captured by a plethora of different digital cameras by all the wedding guests, so unlike my time! Hence, it was fantastic to see photo angles from different guests and different perspectives. Thanks to all my cousins for taking many photos and posting them on their blogs and Facebook!

And a special thanks to my cousin Tan Zexun whose photographs are featured in this blog entry. He makes a wonderful photographer! You can see more of his photos on the wedding in his blog here. 

And you can see Candice's blog on the wedding here as well :) 

Thanks cuzzies!