Silver Wedding Jul 16, 2011

Why?   my parents celebrated their's in the 70s. very impressed & touched by their Love Harder than Gold (chinese idiom)! although our bazhi clashed, (i wasnt into fengshui yet) & every 3 day a small fight, every 5 day a big fight, there's still a % of LOVE! if totally no then how 2b together for 25 years! celebrity nicholas tze & cecilia zhang only lasted for 5 years! from serious planning till now we haven't even have the smallest fight! unusual right? another objective is to let many old relatives & friends to meet. time is precious folks. 

Love Story Untold:   after my dad passed away in 1983 a kind x neighbour invited me to his xmas party for the next 3 yrs. i was the cameraman for the 1st 2 yrs. on the 3rd yr the party was held elsewhere. he wanted me to drive guests at a meeting pt to the venue. at the end of the function i was asked to drive a group home. base on the route my wife sat next to me. she told me that they knew me for 3 yrs already! alamak! i dun remember seeing them! the next day i got her ph no. from the neighbour just to apologise for my blur attitude. 
we went out a few times. coincidentally my late 4th aunt kept highlight to me that best to get married now as my mum's still healthy etc. my instant girl friend was Wendy so i put in effort. 3 hits of that era meant alot to us Last Xmas, Careless Whisper, I Just Call to Say I Love U. 
1 fine day after i'd proposed & started saving, my colleague told me that 2 girls phoned up! ms Y the eldest of 3 girls, a teacher, on course break sponsored by moe to nz. her folks had great expectation & demand of her. i cant forget she insisted that i to present double egg yolks mooncake to her folks! very stress!! ms K, daughter of a banker, semester break from uni in LA. she told me of her recent broke up in usa. we agreed to start afresh. i knew merely her current emptiness needed to be felt. i was prepared to be the spare tyre.
had a meeting with my wife that my x returned..... told her to give me 3 mths. should i contact her again then let's get married. if i dont then my greatest apologies.
after her semester break, ms K returned to LA. shortly i received an expected letter. she said she tried but she cant accept me still.....
Wendy waited for 3 mths. we proceed to get married.
many years later both ms K & ms Y contacted me. they got married too. till today we're good friends still.

Planning:   the actual date is sep 5 but due to weekends & 7th month decided to do it early on the auspicious day jul 16. initially Wendy wasn't keen at all to celebrate: Crazy! Old Hubby, Old Wife! Too much $! she in a way changed her mind when i told her that i'll sponsor the event, also sponsor her dress! women need 2b coaxed! eventually sponsored her dress (shopped the whole orchard rd), shoes, hairdo & makeup!


guests lists is always a challenge to work on. who to invite, who not to invite, who cannot not 2b invited although unkeen to invite! eventually worked out to be 11 tables. 


fav hotels sheraton towers, four seasons, & marina bay sands offered good rates. but somehow we chose a new found pte cuisine restaurant Wo Peng at macpherson rd. maybe we're impressed by the chef owner hk platinum master chef king of claypot treasure tam kwok fai, rest. manager may chai, location, decor... but not so much of the cost. it's a menu specially created for us: combination deep-fried scallops stuffed apple in special sauce with smoked duck, braised sharkfin soup with crab meat & roe, hk style steamed red grouper, charcoal grilled roast chicken, braised abalone with assorted dried seafood in casserole, fried glutinous rice with mixed waxed sausages, chilled mango cream wtih pomelo & sago, & pan-fried red bean pan cake.

instead of using my regular printer, opted for TDragon. she's wedding card specialists who works with 90% of the hotels. true enough her owner Connie Koh picked the right card & improved on it to suit the theme. also she put in the right chinese wordings. 

knowing comments were come such as eh! restaurant only! macpherson rd, wahlau! i printed out the menu even highlight free valet parking & karaoke, & programme. that's unusual right?

Invite & RSVP:   new thing i learnt ie invite & rsvp can be done by email, sms even fb! some cards have 2b sent by hand. others by post, 50cts stamp. more shocking things i learnt..... Some Joy, Some?????

Big Heart & Tradition:   Susan, PA to a Buddhist Nun, & Vegetarian is obvious not convenient to attend, actually vegetarian meals were offered to some guests. much earlier, she invited me to unlimited coffee & pastries at a nice pl & presented me a classic Chinese Tea set! 
Patrick, sent a Hamper although he's in France on the actual day.
Paul, in usa, got his colleague to pass me an angpow. 1st aunt & Dr Chan cant come did the same. 4th aunt & dear friend Stanley passed me angpows earlier.
Mdm Tjhing, mum of Prof Peter Ng, due to old age, cant come, sent a fresh Floral Basket.
Christine, in china, sent by registered mail Gift Vouchers.
Ivy,  whose brother flew in from oversea to celebrate their mum's birthday, postponed it just to attend mine!
Simon, a nurse in the op theatre took leave to come, just incase his morning shift delayed!
Andy, bestman 25 years ago, lost contact almost 20 years, came after 1 phone call! 
Francis, my bro-in-law, a part-time wedding photographer captured moment.
Lee Fong Soon, my long time buddy/advisor, was the Floor Manager that night!
HK Uncle & Aunt came specially for this event! this couple visits s'pore once in a year. many relatives & their personal friends invite them to dine at restaurants & hotels. according to them, this round they'd the best meal ever!!!

Most Touching SMS Message:   1. Dealer Ivy: impt day for you i must not miss, u r a dear fr. my family understand so dont worry. let me know if u need help on that day. (her bro flew in fm oversea to celebrate their mum's birthday, she postponed it).
2. Lawyer Boon: u r a real fr. u maintain d friendship for more than 25 yrs. must b more..we met b4 your marriage. 10q for your invisible gift. the gift of friendship. i'm touched n flattered. we shld meet more often. i cant imagine meeting agn only after a blk of 25 yrs.  
 

They maintain the Proper Tradition of Invite. Good Virtue & Relationship.

No Heart Feeling:   1st cousin ph me a mth ahead that they'd a meeting & nieces/nephew weren't come due to some in ns, & young people.... Urged him to bring all.... even hk relatives could come... (I dun believe all 3 nephews gotta stay in camp!). called cousin-in-law, her kids only in pri sch, who'll look after them??
on the actual day, except 2 army boys & a cousin-in-law gotta attend another wedding, others all turned up. fitted in 2 tables nicely.
God-Sister who's also my cousin informed that her hubby & daughter had other commitment! 6 mths ago that 2 also didnt attend a relative's wedding! 
Wife's 2nd sis mentioned that her 3 teen girls not free to attend so only herself & the businessman hubby were come (alamak! although her name was written on the angpow, in it still got his name card! the $ wasn't even enough for service-charge!). 
These 2 group of Relatives are abit anti-social & save money alot!!! to them relationship has no value.
A friend told me she preferred not to attend cos MSG & Sharkfin soup! immediately checked with the rest., they assured No MSG, & offered to replace her soup. Then she told me she still chose not to come coz she cant trust the restaurant! 
A couple said whenever the 1 year old kid goes out in the night will create lots of trouble/problem so they put the baby to sleep as early as 8pm! (the baby's name wasn't chose by me).
Some simply said Not Free, Cant Make It.....   

New Ring:   a lady friend suggested that a new pair of Wedding Rings should be bought for the occasion! my instant reply was Crazy! when told my wife of her idea, she exclaimed Crazy in chinese! who knows! 2 mths b4 the event i passed by a jewellery shop, went in & bought what you called now Wedding Bands! presented her, straight away she put it on! Crazy right?

Guest Book:   as early as in the planning stage i already wanted to write in chinese the number 25. 1 day when inspiration struck, took out the auspicious red paper, chinese brush & ink, straight away got it written! my idea was to place it at the reception counter for guests to sign in. but when May of wo peng came to know about it, offered to have it frame up 1st coz the paper maybe too thin for signing. she's right.  

Actual Day:   All were punctual! Connie of TDragon closed shop at 8pm from town could reach macpherson at 8.15pm! Feast was great! Whole Abalone, 1/2 Palm Big! Scallop bigger than Eyeball! Wo Peng provided $68 per bottle of prime Red Wine! My late father-in-law's vintage Martell VSOP was superb! Surprise that Master Chef Tam turned up to ensure that every dish is perfect. usually he man the new branch at furama hotel. Lots of Fun, Laughter, Sentiment & Love!!!

Speech Extract:   my 3rd uncle/aunt in their 80s ph me saying that they really wish to come but their poor health prevented them! my 1st aunt in her 90s due to poor eyesight in the night preferred not to come... so treasure while young... Anita, named after Anita Mui, my eldest, is a dental nurse, & owner of online boutique www.lovefiiefiie.blogspot.com. as a trendy person, she joined the single-mum group with a daughter Tiffanie, maha bodhi sch. i'm a happy grandpa with no nightmare sleeping with grandma!!! my 2nd child, sophia, named after Sophia Loren, 3rd year in nus, reads psychology/sociology. from sec 3 till now, her lowest grade is B, highest is A1. my 3rd kid, Winston, named after Winston Churchill, pri 6 maha bodi sch, loves cooking alot. all of them understand both lang including abit of malay & major dialects.

this pink necktie & watch i wore 25 years ago. my wife also managed to keep 2 things for that long. 1 is her Glomesh evening bag, & the other is a living things, ie me. although she didn't help me to put on much weight, she manages the family at her best! embarrassing that i've yet to change a diaper or make milk bottle for any of my kids! my wife & mum took care of that.

my wife is totally kept in the dark. with the help of May of wo peng......... on our 1st valentine day after our marriage, liked many crazy couples, i presented my wife fresh rose. on the 2nd year, i gave her silk roses & a vase. & told her that let's see how many roses i can fill up over the years. some years later, we're both tired & bored with such nonsense. that vase & roses were long recycled. at the reception counter, you'd have noticed a nice vase with 25 beautiful roses. my dear wife, i've kept my promise, & we've managed to put in 25 roses!!

copy of the Speech in both lang was given out for sentimental reason & also if some guests find it educational & interesting. my speech was delivered in english & cantonese. the hk couple spoke in true hk cantonese when they're invited to speak.

Gift:   in addition to angpows, we received some gifts. my wife preferred angpows then gifts. one has to think what to buy, dress up n shop, wrap it up, bring it to the event..... the strangest gift we got was a bottle of wine wrapped up in Robinsons gift wrapper & put in Timberland carrier! it's the sincerity that counts!

Very Tired Folks. But Worth the Effort, Time & Money. & We Learnt Modern People & Behaviour Better.  

wife: some years ago my mum retired from full time cooking due to old age. my wife in addition to her full time job took over the marketing & simple cooking. learned from basic. (many years ago some1 said half jokingly that my wife only know how to eat!). also have to manage the kids. She's 1 modern traditional woman. 

hubby: i operate from home so that i can manage the family & kids. never trouble my mum to send & fetch them. (only 3 years ago then employed maid). unfaithfully faithful man. i'm no longer the young man 25 years ago but my romantic sentiments improves day by day.
 

How Deep is Your Love for Us? Sayang, Sayang.