We tied the knot taut two weeks ago and we thank God everything turned out excellent. Apart from salvation, my latest gain is to have a Missus. The missus is still mulling over whether her new status would also mean taking on a new surname or be just an 'add-on'. But I think that's the least of our worries. That's not to say we have any worries on our minds at this point. In fact, the converse is true.
After counting our blessings and reflecting on the past fourteen days, we have run out of space on our thanksgiving list to jot down more. The days, weeks and months leading up to the 18th/19th Aug weekend have come and gone. Despite coming fresh off a wedding, still freshly etched in my mind was the night of the proposal last December. It was a rainy night and plans to propose under the stars was substituted with going on my knees in a cellar. It worked out well since we celebrated her agreement with champagne!
Incidentally, the skies parted for more showers to rain down on us as we sought cover and God's blessings in the sanctuary, cooling the heat of a morning that was warming up outside. Thanks to all who braved the downpour and arrived, albeit drenched, to witness the solemnisation ceremony. (I want to single out our carpark attendant-friends who had soggy sleeves & soaked shoes & thank them for their chivalry) Everything went according to plan; both Mrs Leong and myself thoroughly soaked in every moment of the occasion as we stood in front of the congegation to commit ourselves to each other in the eyes of the One who matched us. We were delighted to have Agapella open the solemnisation service with "We Will Glorify", followed by Pachebel's Canon in D, with which the bride walked down the aisle. I dare say this is the best rendition of Canon in D I've ever heard being sung by Agapella. Don't tell me it's because I'm sitting out this time!
To every helper (you know who you are), we are genuinely indebted by your love and practical help that day. The rains continued into the afternoon and hopes for an outdoor photoshoot didn't materialise, but there was always the Singapore Art Museum
enroute to the hotel.
It was another damp night (but not a dampener) the next night as friends and family made their way to our celebration banquet. We have been blessed by the presence of so many dear ones who represented and reminded us of different chapters of our lives. For me, I give thanks for family who've always been there for me, friends from childhood, church, primary school to pre-university, my buddies from Tengah Air Base, the two universities I attended in Brisbane, Unicell and colleagues and ex-colleagues.
While many would pair their food with wine, we paired ours with 5 'courses' of music, discounting the one my love and I sang for our second march-in and the surprise piece I shocked my wife with on stage. Why so much music? Well, music has been close to our hearts.
We sing, we perform and we love the power that music and songs can bring. Hence, our purpose to to fill the ballroom with music at our dinner. If you were there, we hope you enjoyed the evening as much as we did.
It was an incredible honour to have all who matter to us at the banquet. To our incredibly reliable, skilled and talented family & friends who helped manage and contribute to the smooth-running of the evening's programme, we can't thank you enough! You truly made that evening a magical night for us to cherish and for every guest a memorable celebration!
Special mention:
Sherm (for being precision time-keeper, commander-in-chief & key ally in the surprise item),
Aaron & Namiko (for stringing the night & that wonderful toast),
Adrian (PowerPoint extraordinaire),
Chris (for shooting us),
Linda (for helping me pick a Chinese song to serenade with; couldn't have sprung it without your help)
Isn't she lovely? She was as yummy as she looked. My wife and I felt that having a real tiered wedding cake to cut and take a photo with would be delightful, so through a contact of Chris (from Agapella), we found a lady who baked wedding cakes on the sides and even baked her own! Can you imagine a bride-to-be spending hours to get all the ingredients together, set it and then labour over how to make it look pretty? She was amazing and so was our cake! Sorry there wasn't enough to go around, but here's the picture so you're not missing anything other than to sink your teeth into this baby!
