Thicknthin: Sunny skies

!(imgcentre)http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2864893569_311693b433.jpg(Ribbons flying)!:http://www.flickr.com/photos/33587399@N00/2864893569/

After tucking into a nice catered lunch, we went on our merry way to the hotel. The sun was blazing hot and so the top of the car stayed up. It was a perfect moment – we were young and in love, the weather was bright and sunny.

The plan was to catch a bit of shut-eye in the afternoon because I was absolutely knackered. But I didn’t manage to get any sleep because our room was not ready when we arrived at the hotel. And when we finally did get the room, our friends were already decorating the venue and it did feel a bit diva-ish to nap while they worked.

So it was off with the thick make-up and cheongsam, and on with the slippers, tee and shorts. I packed myself downstairs to see what I can help with, while the husband was already marshalling people around.

Standing there while everyone pottered around, I was left speechless. Ribbons were being tied everywhere, candles placed in strategic places, strings of crystal being hung on The Tree, lanterns strung up on strings. It was wildly beyond my imagination. All I had wanted was a line of paper lanterns around the circumference of the dinner area and a huge ribbon on The Tree. Not this elaborate set-up. It was hard not to be impressed and immensely moved, because it was as if someone had stepped up to me, gently taken my dream wedding off of my hapless hands and transformed it into something so much more amazing and breathtaking.

I’m now writing this with a smile on my face now because looking back, I was so gullible and distracted. I had brought down my high heels to the ceremony grounds to see if I could walk properly without tripping during the solemnization. At that point in time, Sandy, Peter and the husband were discussing the details with the banquet manager and I joined them for a bit. I didn’t notice the worried looks exchanged (the husband assured me that there were plenty) and before I knew it, he was pulling me up from my seat and guiding me to the stairs, telling me that I needed to practise walking in my heels. He even stayed with me throughout the entire time I was practising, which I had thought was weird at that time but chalked it up to the mood of the wedding. And when five o’clock came, he promptly booted me upstairs to get my make-up done. Something fishy going on? We’ll find out.

The one thing that I really regret is not having seen the venue in all its glory. When I went back to the room, the guys were stringing up the lanterns and some of the linen had not been set up yet. What’s imprinted on my mind is thus the “almost-there” version. I wish we had taken more photos but I guess I can only make do with my own imagination.

Part I: The morning
Part II: Coffee, tea or me?