Love has a meaning.
Been awake since 4 a.m. yesterday, but it was worth it. The reason?
Brother is officially a married man!
He legally married his longtime sweetheart on Wednesday (as in, they registered then), but the festivities took place yesterday. As mentioned earlier, we were up at 4 a.m. because we had to follow Brother and his groomsmen (... sounds like a band) to the bride's house to partake in some games - which are part of traditional Chinese weddings, as odd as it may sound - as well as a tea ceremony for the bride's side of the family. And by "we", I mean me, the two Sises, and the two Cousins. After that, we returned to my house, where we had another tea ceremony, this one involving our family. I got red packets for serving tea to Brother and Sis-in-Law!
Once that was over, we headed to Brother's new apartment and chilled out there for a while until our weariness was beckoning us back to our beds. So we came home and took a break as we waited for 2:30 p.m. to come around, so we could go to the hair salon and get our hair done for the dinner that night. Most of us fell asleep at the drop of a hat, and it didn't help that the weather was so cold and comfortable - a stark contrast to the searing heat they experienced the day before, when they were undergoing registration. I, on the other hand, worked diligently on a new piece of fiction - something that isn't Resident Evil-related! - and watched Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at the same time. Mmm, Daniel Craig. And LOL at Iain Glen playing another smarmy villain. Some things never change.
Four of us went to get our hair done: me, the two Sises, and Cousin #1. It took us about two hours to finish everything, leaving us with one hour to get ready for the dinner. Wear clothes! Put on makeup! Feed the dogs and lock all the doors before we leave! Bring along whatever Brother might've missed earlier! It was total chaos in the elschmo household in those 60 minutes.
We managed to reach the venue on time, however. And surprisingly, about 60% of the guests were there on time as well! In fact, the dinner didn't start too late - after 15-20 minutes, perhaps, which is about a fraction of the average waiting interval between stipulated start times and the actual ones for wedding dinners here in Malaysia. This is where Brother being rather pedantic comes in as a boon, I suppose!
The food was alright, though it wasn't much of a surprise since I'd attended the taste trial last week. The entire event as a whole, however, was a hell lot of fun. The two Cousins and I ran around in between meals taking pictures, pretending we were the paparazzi, with Lady GaGa's "Paparazzi" as our official theme song. We went up on stage to do a toast to Brother and Sis-in-Law - the first time we ever got to do so, and we got to watch this hilarious video that chronicled the day's events. That's right: it was footage of what happened yesterday, so the crew had to work real hard in churning out the finished product in a matter of hours, from so much material. The video also gets extra win points for using "Why So Serious?" from the The Dark Knight OST in its super-campy introduction.
After the dinner was over, we hung around for a while, chatting with relatives and some of Brother's friends. Then we came home, perilously close to being awake for 24 hours. Need. Sleep.
But I just want to say, the whole thing was a great deal of fun, and I think all the preparations we made, especially Brother and Sis-in-Law, who were hard at work renovating their new home so that they could move in right after getting married, paid off in the end. It was in retrospect an event that took place on a very small scale, compared to other wedding dinners we've attended (as we only invited relatives and the married couple's close friends), but it worked in fostering a great sense of togetherness between everyone who'd attended. And I almost shed a tear during a video montage of their photos. I also felt my heart swell with pride whenever the emcee said, "Mr and Mrs [Brother] Lai". :)
That said, I want to wish Brother and Sis-in-Law congratulations for tying the knot, and may they be blessed with eternal happiness! ♥
Brother is officially a married man!
He legally married his longtime sweetheart on Wednesday (as in, they registered then), but the festivities took place yesterday. As mentioned earlier, we were up at 4 a.m. because we had to follow Brother and his groomsmen (... sounds like a band) to the bride's house to partake in some games - which are part of traditional Chinese weddings, as odd as it may sound - as well as a tea ceremony for the bride's side of the family. And by "we", I mean me, the two Sises, and the two Cousins. After that, we returned to my house, where we had another tea ceremony, this one involving our family. I got red packets for serving tea to Brother and Sis-in-Law!
Once that was over, we headed to Brother's new apartment and chilled out there for a while until our weariness was beckoning us back to our beds. So we came home and took a break as we waited for 2:30 p.m. to come around, so we could go to the hair salon and get our hair done for the dinner that night. Most of us fell asleep at the drop of a hat, and it didn't help that the weather was so cold and comfortable - a stark contrast to the searing heat they experienced the day before, when they were undergoing registration. I, on the other hand, worked diligently on a new piece of fiction - something that isn't Resident Evil-related! - and watched Lara Croft: Tomb Raider at the same time. Mmm, Daniel Craig. And LOL at Iain Glen playing another smarmy villain. Some things never change.
Four of us went to get our hair done: me, the two Sises, and Cousin #1. It took us about two hours to finish everything, leaving us with one hour to get ready for the dinner. Wear clothes! Put on makeup! Feed the dogs and lock all the doors before we leave! Bring along whatever Brother might've missed earlier! It was total chaos in the elschmo household in those 60 minutes.
We managed to reach the venue on time, however. And surprisingly, about 60% of the guests were there on time as well! In fact, the dinner didn't start too late - after 15-20 minutes, perhaps, which is about a fraction of the average waiting interval between stipulated start times and the actual ones for wedding dinners here in Malaysia. This is where Brother being rather pedantic comes in as a boon, I suppose!
The food was alright, though it wasn't much of a surprise since I'd attended the taste trial last week. The entire event as a whole, however, was a hell lot of fun. The two Cousins and I ran around in between meals taking pictures, pretending we were the paparazzi, with Lady GaGa's "Paparazzi" as our official theme song. We went up on stage to do a toast to Brother and Sis-in-Law - the first time we ever got to do so, and we got to watch this hilarious video that chronicled the day's events. That's right: it was footage of what happened yesterday, so the crew had to work real hard in churning out the finished product in a matter of hours, from so much material. The video also gets extra win points for using "Why So Serious?" from the The Dark Knight OST in its super-campy introduction.
After the dinner was over, we hung around for a while, chatting with relatives and some of Brother's friends. Then we came home, perilously close to being awake for 24 hours. Need. Sleep.
But I just want to say, the whole thing was a great deal of fun, and I think all the preparations we made, especially Brother and Sis-in-Law, who were hard at work renovating their new home so that they could move in right after getting married, paid off in the end. It was in retrospect an event that took place on a very small scale, compared to other wedding dinners we've attended (as we only invited relatives and the married couple's close friends), but it worked in fostering a great sense of togetherness between everyone who'd attended. And I almost shed a tear during a video montage of their photos. I also felt my heart swell with pride whenever the emcee said, "Mr and Mrs [Brother] Lai". :)
That said, I want to wish Brother and Sis-in-Law congratulations for tying the knot, and may they be blessed with eternal happiness! ♥