The wedding

This is the 1st day of AH's and JL's life-long sentence, so says the Priest who solemnised their Holy Matrimony today.

The members of the DRSS Choir as well as the ushers had to "suffer" alongside as well. SL (who multi-tasked as bridesmaid, choir member and reader), had to get up at the crack of dawn to beautify herself. Oops, I meant, to assist the bride-to-be. Not far behind in schedule must have been SL's boy-boy, DL, who was usher cum videographer.

SC (operations manager, choir member and reader) and WC (assistant operations manager and head usher) also had to go to the church early to decorate the pews with lovely flowers.

RT (pianist cum choir member) had arranged to pick me up in a taxi at a taxi stand at the MRT station near my home at 7.15 pm. That meant that we had to get up at the crack of dawn. Well, I speak for myself, then. I was afraid that I would oversleep and I actually got up at 5 am! When I realised that it was only 5 am, I tried to go back for 40 more winks but my sleep was intermittent.

RT arrived at our agreed meeting point early. When he called my mobile phone, Da (who was giving me a lift to the MRT station on his way to work) was driving towards the meeting point. In the blink of an eye, I switched from car to cab and off we went to the Church of Christ the King located at Ang Mo Kio.

When we arrived in church, there was no one from the wedding group in sight. I proceeded to the church hall which is one level above but found it empty. As we were early, RT and I decided to have our breakfast at the nearby coffee shop.

After breakfast, RT and I went back to church, just in time to see WC and SC drive into the church compound and park their car. However, the church hall was still locked. WC called SL (the bridesmaid) to alert her. Her response? Well, I shall not repeat what she said... heehee.... Anyway, SL said that she would contact the person who was responsible for setting up the sound system, etc in the church hall.

Not long after that, we managed to enter the church hall. I looked up at the stained glass at the side of the hall and I was awed at the beautiful design. Finally, I got a chance to take a photograph of the lovely stained glass.

RT proceeded to test the keyboard while WC's mother (who wore a lovely purple/pink blouse), WC, SC and I tied the floral arrangements along the pews in the church hall.

When we were done, SC and I decided to start practising the songs that we had to sing. So, "music, please!". As SC and I were singing, a very lovely girl walked towards us, holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling sweetly at us. I did not recognise her and I smiled uncertainly. Then I took a 2nd look. It was SL! She looked stunning!

As we were running late, we decided to pick up our pace with the choir practice. Last night, there were discussions among the DRSS choir as to whether to change the song for the processional march from "The Prayer" to "The Wedding Song (There is Love)" (which RT suggested last night). No decision was made yesterday. However, Da suggested "The Wedding Song (Ave Maria)" and I got confirmation from RT that he is familiar with this song as well.

This morning, I checked with SC and she confirmed that she is familiar with "The Wedding Song (Ave Maria)". As RT knows the lyrics to the songs by heart, he gave us the lyrics while SC and I scribbled the lyrics furiously onto pieces of paper. As SL is also the bridesmaid and is involved in the march-in, that left RT, SC and I to sing the processional march song. With the Lord's grace, we managed to blend in harmony while practising the song, even though it was a last-minute selection.

After the DRSS choir had practised the songs, it was time to get ready to start the wedding service. The priest approached the choir and teased us about giving us "the look" if we dragged the singing too long. We grinned as he walked away. How thoughtful of him to put us at ease. He must have heard the nervousness in our voices when we practised the songs.

WC and SC came equipped with walkie talkies. WC was outside the church hall with the bride and the bride's father. We received the cue to start the service. SHOW TIME!

The wedding service started with an announcement by me to the congregation to switch their mobile phones to silent mode. This was followed by the request to rise to welcome the bride.

What a beautiful bride and radiant JL was! Girl, you must have practised your march in - you glided perfectly into church with your Papa in tune with the processional march. Awesome! So, what did AH say to your Papa when your Papa gave you away? (Recall: The Mentor said at the rehearsal that AH was supposed to say words to the effect to thank your Papa or promising to look after you, etc. We are all very curious as to what AH said!)

The wedding service went very smoothly. There were very light moments, such as when the priest teased the wedding couple and talked about "life sentence", "wedding ring, suffering", etc. I also made a little slip-up when I was over-enthusiastic and said "Amen" before it was time to say "Amen". We heard the nervousness in the groom's voice as he said his vows - don't worry, AH, Father was just teasing you about the life sentence! The bride had memorised her vows and she said them confidently. Way to go, girl!

At the end of the wedding service, the guests stayed behind in the church hall for photo taking. Thereafter, everyone proceeded to the function hall for the reception.

The food was catered from Kriston and it was delicious.

Not only was the food appetising, the cakes were also a hit with the guests. There was so much variety!

DL was in charge of the music in the function room and he made sure that there was a constant supply of easy-listening and popular songs that entertained the guests. In fact, the guests had such a good time enjoying the food and catching up with each other that many stayed on to chat even after they had finished eating. This meant that the operations manager (whose job was to ensure that everyone cleared out of the function room before 1 pm) could not "eat and run". heehee.....

The wedding couple carried out the traditional tea ceremony in the function hall. We had a good laugh when the bride deliberately called WC (who is her mother's cousin but not really one generation older) "Uncle" (and by the same token, SC was addressed as "Aunty") when serving the tea.

After the reception was over, the "real action" started. What action? You guessed it correctly - "ta pau"! The womenfolk started packing the leftover food. Waste not, want not! The caterers were prepared and even supplied disposable containers.

AH and JL, on the occasion of your Holy Matrimony, I wish you wedded bliss. Life is not a bed of roses and in the days going forward, you will learn habits about each other that you never knew before. Some of the habits may take some getting used to (eg. why can't the guys put the toilet seat down after using the toilet?!) but marriage is all about "give and take". There is no such thing as "the perfect spouse". It is a question of adapting to each other and learning to "let go" and giving each other personal space. I am sure that you will be able to find the balance in time.

May the Lord bless you and your marriage and may you abide in the shadows of His Almighty forever.