While Hellen shares all the development we are having in our wedding preparation, as well as the inspiration she is getting from other resources, I will just like to share some observations I have from the weddings I have recently attended and how it makes me think more in my personal preparation for the ‘Big Day’.
The March-In
It was only recently that I realised (thanks Remus!) that couples are not asking the guests to stand up during the couples march-in anymore. Cause it blocks the views of the guests that sits further away and it is like one of those “key moments” in the wedding for the couples. They are meant to be ‘SEEN’! Also, nowadays, with march-ins getting more and more creative, ideas are been inserted into march-ins to make them unconventional. E.g. ballroom-dancing instead of your usual march-in, singing a duet (the bride and groom starts singing from opposite sides of the hall, and come together to march down the aisle). One of the cooler march-ins I saw on TV was from a Taiwanese couple. The bridesmaids catwalk first on the runway, then the brothers came in like NBA players with the typical NBA entrance, in their jerseys and all the works. But of course, the best march-in ever, is already showcased in our previous post.
Another key of the banquet march-in is who you actually put beside the central aisle. The tables that are along the aisles, could be filled with friends that you treasure more… as they are the ones you will see congratulating and smiling at you as you make your all important march down the aisle. Things such as this are not written in any official wedding rulebook, but they are nice little touches that enhances the wedding experience that much more.
Power of Friends
2 nice contributions in 2 different weddings really make an impact on me. Firstly, the item put up in Marcus and Ru-Tian’s wedding. It was an item done through a collaboration between the maid of honor and the groom’s best friend. As the groom’s best friend was unable to be present at the wedding, he did a video recording of himself playing a song. The maid of honor, on the other hand, sang in accompaniment to the song. It was a performance that transcended time, space and used technology in the smartest way. More importantly, it reflected the friendship and effort the friends went through to make the wedding an unforgettable one. While enjoying the performance, it reminded me of ‘Unforgettable’ by Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. Totally classic.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nitiMG81DRc]
The second story is the wedding invitation of one of my brothers, Junhong. His cousins and brother, I believed, told him to NOT think about the wedding invitations, and instead they helped prepared personally-made invites for the couple. The heart and effort put into this little project touched me as well. Sometimes people say that they will not want to bother their friends in their wedding preparation as they do not want to cause too much trouble. Well, I believed if the friendship is strong, your close friends will do all they can, willingly, to contribute their best to your wedding, to make sure your wedding is a special one.
Cheers vs Yam Seng
I am a traditionalist. Unlike them.
So to me, yam seng is like an age-old tradition in Singaporean wedding. The loudness of the shout, hoarseness of the voice, sweatiness of the brothers and pure, unadulterated passion of grown men and women showing their joy through their mouth: this is the pinnacle of Singaporean expressiveness. But.. it is slowly but surely replaced by the ever elegant, simple, less is more: ‘Cheers!’. I vowed right here right now, that I will not succumb to the Western snobbish-ness that is ‘Cheers’, but the ‘wild-at-heart’, totally heart-lander toast of “YYYYYYYYAAAAAAMMMMM-SSSSSSSEEEEENNNNNGGGGG!”
Countdown to Wedding Day (19-06-10): 161 days
(What?? So fast!)