a symbol of love n forever

"By wearing rings on the fourth finger of their left hands, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. This has now become a matter of tradition and etiquette. - Wikipedia"

Kelvin and I went searching for the perfect wedding band last friday. We wanted it to be simple, yet classy, not common, and most importantly, special. after much debating and discussion, with plenty of advice from the family, we decided not to buy the popular "white gold" rings. papa was not keen on something that was of dubious contents as white gold is actually a mixture of gold and various alloys.

stuck between platinum(expensive!!!) and gold(old fashioned) we went to see what the shops had to offer. we were delighted to find a special design where a gold ring was layered with platinum!!! it was perfect. a wonderful symbol of two distinct individuals, bonded together as one. and we had even better surprise when papa proceeded to pay for the rings! generous papa wanted to give it to us as our wedding gift! it was truly a gift of love :)

kelvin is still debating whether he will wear the ring daily as he is not used to wearing adornments while i will definitely wear it proudly on my left hand, a reminder of our love.

but what is the true meaning of the ring? does it lose its meaning if we do not wear it? do we wear it to remind ourselves of our marital commitment to each other? or is it a sign to the world, announcing that u are no longer on the market? what actually ties one soul to the other? our vows? our love? both of which are intangible? or the marriage certificate and the wedding bands? tangible and solid, legal and binding? til death do us part?

regardless, with many years ahead of us to figure out the bond which binds us together, we are still delighted with the ring we found. and we hope that the eternal circle will be a true symbol of our love, and forever.

~27th, Oct, 2006, Friday

dumplings n elephant feet

the past two days have been spent looking for the perfect wedding dress n shoes.

the photo studio that we have chosen have lovely, lovely dresses. dreamy creations of silk, brocade, lace, embroidery, sequins, colours n yards n yards of chiffon. i've never felt more like a princess, in gowns of bell shape skirts which gently swayed when i walked. and mama said i looked positively sexy as almost everyone was a bare back -due to one unfortunate detail, the dress could not be zipped!!! i was broad of chest but flat of breasts, large of hips n wider thighs!!! so when the top fit, the bottom didn't, n vice versa. oh dear, pears definitely aren't good models!!! in fact, in some dresses, i look like stuffed dumplings!!!

on to shoes then, it was the same problem. pretty, sparkly shoes-white, silver n cream. they were either too high (i was worried i may break my neck on my wedding day...not a very good way to start a marriage i think! ) or too small, or my size have been sold out! good thing kelvin didn't come looking for me with a shoe, it probably wouldn't fit!

so i guess i just have to continue my search, probably looking for a needle in a hay stack would be easier though! n thank goodness my mom have loads of patience! she have been a real angel indeed with her daughter of elephant feet!

double happiness!!!

the chinese symbol of double happiness, used to adorn all bridal gifts and decorate the bridal room and wedding reception area

chinese says that happiness comes in two folds and i believe that. shortly after kelvin proposed to me, we received even happier news in the family! aunty swee got a job with CSIRO, something that everyone have been looking forward to!

so three big round of HIP HIP HOORAYS everyone!!!

~19th Oct,2006, Thurs

supermom n the rock!

its been pretty crazy for the past few days as it finally hit me that i am going to be married in three months. i also have a trip at the end of november n my parents will be overseas till early january! with that in mind, we started making lists, but the more we talked the more it seems like we had to do!

so enough with talk, lets get started! amazingly mama seems to have been preparing for this all our lives. she started pulling out plates n cups n wine glasses from thin air! its fantastic how she manages to keep all this stuff for me, n where it came from, there's even more for my sis!

within one week, she has almost finished preparing the neccessary bridal stuff for me to start a new home. a traditional chamberpot, red "ka kiak" (clogs), bed lamps, curtains, a complete china dinner set...the list goes on, and all of them stuck with a pretty "double happiness". sigh, what more can a daugther ask for? she even accompanied me on a mad run around town, looking for the best offer for wedding photos and shopping. and in the middle of it all, she has also manage to give the house a face-lift...the garden looks inviting, n the house-gorgeous!

papa himself started calling all the relatives to share the good news. and when the wedding date was set, he helped book the restaurant for our wedding lunch. (we weren't able to book a place for dinner becos it has all been booked due to the auspicious date we chose) and thru all the commotion he has been steady as a rock. there is nothing too big that he cannot take!!! of course, deciding our lunch menu falls on him too since he is the gastronomic expert of the family :) slurp, we are in for some good food!!!

when mama n i were busy pouring over magazines for the perfect hairstyle n dress, papa helped check out the newspapers for more ideas :) hehe, of course, having an uncle who is a kitchen goods supplier helps since he has almost everything in his shop :) and 4 yi ma has been great help too with ideas and suggestions and reminders of traditions that we might have missed out!

what would i do without them??? my supermom, the rock and the sidekicks!!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

u got to be kidding!!!

27/1/2007...the parents have picked the auspicious day for our wedding....u gotta be kidding rite??!!! that means i have only 3 MONTHS to plan for the wedding!!! forget about colour schemes and matching door gifts, i'll be lucky if we can manage to book a place for our wedding dinner!!!

as it turns out, its a really "ong" day (which means many, many other people will also want to marry on that day) so we won't be able to book a place for dinner. nevermind, lunch it shall be then.

when i patiently explain for the hundreth time why our wedding is so rushed, i am dying to take a bet with "friends" who thinks i am pregnant, since it will be easy money for me!!!

so anyway, our families n the two stars of the show are literally working around the clock trying to prepare for the BIG day,and the list seems endless....from petty things like matching towels and bedsheets to dowry and registration and wedding photos.

so, my only wish for my wedding is that i hope that it doesn't mess up! so wish us luck guys!!!

~15th Oct,2006,Sun

will u????

the sparkly :)

it was a quiet day at my clinic n we were just about to close up. oh no, i noticed someone at the door n i can't believe a client would come in so late. i'll probably have to work overtime again today.

THEN i noticed kelvin standing at the door way. what was he doing here? he was supposed to be 200km away! "i thought u said u didn't want to come? what changed ur mind???" he just grinned and gave me a hug. "i just wanted to see u"...which was a good enuf reason since i know i'm irresistable :P

anyways, the uncle who works at the clinic helped me close up while kelvin looked around. suddenly the phone rang...not another late client???? oh, its mom. "Hi? why did u call?" ..."nothing, just wanted to check what time u close. did u bring ur keys today?" mama was sounding real weird. when i mentioned that kelvin was at the clinic, she just giggled and hung up.

kelvin on the other hand was spending a REALLY long time in the toilet, so i asked the uncle to leave first n that i'll wait for kelvin. when he came out, he just took my hand, gave me a big hug, and suddenly, it all felt very weird. when he knelt on one knee....i knew, and with a fluorish, he pulled out the little red box with a sparkly ring and he asked..WILL U MARRY ME???

i do, i do, i do.......my knees were weak, my heart was pounding, n i was smiling so much for the rest of the day, my face ached!

apparently he went to my home first and formally asked for papa and mama's permission to marry me...when mama realised that he wanted to propose to me at the clinic, it was almost closing time, so she shoo-ed him out of the house n called me at the clinic, hoping to delay me in case i left early!

it was one of the happiest day of my life n my parents too!!! their "og kai boh" was getting married!!!

so weddings bells are going ding-A-ling!!!

~ 14th Oct,2006, Sat