Ronnie and Ryoko, 20 Oct 07, Riverfront Ballroom, Grand Copthorne Waterfront
Hsin Yeow's thoughts: Open Arms
Ronnie had a great a sense of humour! His candour was also rather disarming. Case in point: midway through his thank-you speech, he turned to his parents-in-law and spouted two sentences in perfect Japanese. Then he admitted, "That's all the Japanese I know. The rest is Toyota and Honda."
Needless to say, he had the guests in stitches.
Royoko was a vision in a gorgeous white gown with manifold pleats. Sadly, she was too shy to address the crowd, and left Ronnie to do all the talking.
Ronnie did more than just talk. He engaged the band as a surprise to his lovely wife, and even serenaded her with Rod Stewart's classic, Have I Told You Lately?. He crooned this song as Ryoko was led into the ballroom by her father, and I could see Ryoko's eyes brimming with tears of happiness.
Ronnie also chose the right songs for the audience. Knowing that many of his guests enjoyed Mandarin classics, he arranged for us to sing numbers like 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart), 但愿人长久 (May All Live Well And Long), 甜蜜蜜 (Sweet As Honey) and 给我一个吻 (Give Me A Kiss).
Not only did the guests sing along with us, they clapped with us too! It was really heartening for us to see that so many people were enjoying our music.
Before I end off, I need to give special mention to the emcees that evening, Dean and Yang. Not only did they speak clearly, they also wrote the emcee script themselves! Instead of cluttering their announcements with cliched phrases, they managed to lift the mood by weaving in some tasteful jokes.
It was an evening that Bevlyn and I would remember for a long, long time.
Band: Bevlyn, Hsin Yeow, Ein Ein
L-R: Hsin Yeow, Ronnie, Ryoko, Bevlyn, Ein Ein
The above photographs were taken by Bryan (81945315) of Eastern Production
Repertoire:
She (1st March In), Open Arms, Yellow, I Wanna Hold Your Hands, Fever, 我是真的付出我的爱 (I'm Really Giving You My Love), When You Say Nothing At All, 阿美阿美 (change to 良子良子, which means Ryoko), 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart), 但愿人长久 (May All Live Well And Long), 甜蜜蜜 (Sweet As Honey), 给我一个吻 (Give Me A Kiss), Unforgettable
Have I Told You Lately (2nd March In), Grow Old With You, Can't Help Falling In Love, If I'm Not In Love With You, 永遠にともに (Together Forever), Fallen, Fly Me To The Moon, Love Me Tender, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Close To You, 今天你要嫁给我 (I'm Marrying You Today)
Songs To Recommend:
永遠にともに (Together Forever)
- A beautiful song! Bevlyn was nervous about singing it, because she was worried that the Japanese guests would not understand her pronunciation. Ryoko allayed her fears when she assured Bevlyn, "I understood every word!"
Open Arms
- My thanks to Ronnie for choosing this soaring rock ballad. It's a classic that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Wedding Tips:
(1) Engage a live band as a surprise for your spouse!
(2) Serenade your spouse
(3) Select songs that the majority of guests would find familiar.
(4) Select the right kind of songs to be played when the band is not performing!
Compliments from Dean, the emcee:
Hello Bevlyn, Ein Ein and Hsin Yeow,
First of all, thanks for putting everything together! The moment I saw you running across the ballroom to "arrest" the sound technician for playing "The End Of The World", I knew you are passionate about what you do. And that's important.
Oh, and I am glad that you like the emcees - yang and myself. We are very happy to be part of the wedding celebration.
And we totally agreed with you, Ronnie nailed it with his rendition of "Have I Told You Lately" and Ryoko was so appreciative of the whole surprise that it made everything all so worthwhile.
Ronnie had a great a sense of humour! His candour was also rather disarming. Case in point: midway through his thank-you speech, he turned to his parents-in-law and spouted two sentences in perfect Japanese. Then he admitted, "That's all the Japanese I know. The rest is Toyota and Honda."
Needless to say, he had the guests in stitches.
Royoko was a vision in a gorgeous white gown with manifold pleats. Sadly, she was too shy to address the crowd, and left Ronnie to do all the talking.
Ronnie did more than just talk. He engaged the band as a surprise to his lovely wife, and even serenaded her with Rod Stewart's classic, Have I Told You Lately?. He crooned this song as Ryoko was led into the ballroom by her father, and I could see Ryoko's eyes brimming with tears of happiness.
Ronnie also chose the right songs for the audience. Knowing that many of his guests enjoyed Mandarin classics, he arranged for us to sing numbers like 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart), 但愿人长久 (May All Live Well And Long), 甜蜜蜜 (Sweet As Honey) and 给我一个吻 (Give Me A Kiss).
Not only did the guests sing along with us, they clapped with us too! It was really heartening for us to see that so many people were enjoying our music.
Before I end off, I need to give special mention to the emcees that evening, Dean and Yang. Not only did they speak clearly, they also wrote the emcee script themselves! Instead of cluttering their announcements with cliched phrases, they managed to lift the mood by weaving in some tasteful jokes.
It was an evening that Bevlyn and I would remember for a long, long time.
Band: Bevlyn, Hsin Yeow, Ein Ein
L-R: Hsin Yeow, Ronnie, Ryoko, Bevlyn, Ein Ein
The above photographs were taken by Bryan (81945315) of Eastern Production
Repertoire:
She (1st March In), Open Arms, Yellow, I Wanna Hold Your Hands, Fever, 我是真的付出我的爱 (I'm Really Giving You My Love), When You Say Nothing At All, 阿美阿美 (change to 良子良子, which means Ryoko), 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart), 但愿人长久 (May All Live Well And Long), 甜蜜蜜 (Sweet As Honey), 给我一个吻 (Give Me A Kiss), Unforgettable
Have I Told You Lately (2nd March In), Grow Old With You, Can't Help Falling In Love, If I'm Not In Love With You, 永遠にともに (Together Forever), Fallen, Fly Me To The Moon, Love Me Tender, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Close To You, 今天你要嫁给我 (I'm Marrying You Today)
Songs To Recommend:
永遠にともに (Together Forever)
- A beautiful song! Bevlyn was nervous about singing it, because she was worried that the Japanese guests would not understand her pronunciation. Ryoko allayed her fears when she assured Bevlyn, "I understood every word!"
Open Arms
- My thanks to Ronnie for choosing this soaring rock ballad. It's a classic that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Wedding Tips:
(1) Engage a live band as a surprise for your spouse!
(2) Serenade your spouse
(3) Select songs that the majority of guests would find familiar.
(4) Select the right kind of songs to be played when the band is not performing!
Compliments from Dean, the emcee:
Hello Bevlyn, Ein Ein and Hsin Yeow,
First of all, thanks for putting everything together! The moment I saw you running across the ballroom to "arrest" the sound technician for playing "The End Of The World", I knew you are passionate about what you do. And that's important.
Oh, and I am glad that you like the emcees - yang and myself. We are very happy to be part of the wedding celebration.
And we totally agreed with you, Ronnie nailed it with his rendition of "Have I Told You Lately" and Ryoko was so appreciative of the whole surprise that it made everything all so worthwhile.