Here comes the bride

The moment we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. The Malaysian mob caught two cabs to the church at a quarter past two just so we could be sure everyone would get a good seat. Cel did his best to keep me calm during what I perceived as the point of no return. Between Pastor Jessup and my old bud I think I just about managed to stave off fainting in the vestry.
We were soon led out to be gawked at by the guests who I swear were hanging from the rafters. Thankfully I didn’t have to sweat under all the staring and pointing for long as Don started to play the processional and Alison’s bridesmaid Mary began to walk down the aisle. Of course soon after that all eyes, mine included, turned to Alsie who looked wonderful. This was the first time I’d seen the dress and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.



James, Kath and Andrew read beautifully and it was really special having them do that for us. Somehow I managed to mumble my way through the vows without getting too tongue tied and before I knew it we both had rings on our fingers and were signing the registry.



With the legal bits complete we were officially introduced as Mr and Mrs Chua and left the church in matrimonial grace. At least that would have been the case if I didn’t keep tripping up on Alison’s dress on the way out. Good thing no one was video taping that bit… I hope…



Trust us to pick one of the coldest days in Toowoomba to have a wedding. I believe the bureau of meteorology had ambient temperature at 10 degrees Celsius but the wind chill certainly made it feel a lot colder than that. Thankfully the photos don’t really show how uncomfortable it was to stand still and be snapped. Our faces were frozen in position so smiling became pretty simple.

We were whisked away to have an obscene number of photos taken throughout the Empire Theatre and by the end of it I was ready to chuck a fit. I can definitely say without a doubt which side of the lens I’d rather be on. The venue was absolutely stunning though and they even let us into the theatre itself.



Once we were allowed to leave the photographers we mingled for a bit and got a chance to talk to all the guests who had come from so far away to share this special day with us. I was rather glad that my pseudo-Sherwani turned out to be a hit. Hopefully I might have started a new fashion movement in Toowoomba.

Dinner itself was held in what used to be the old Wesley church which is attached to the Empire Theatre. The Empire staff worked wonders with the hall with lighting and decorations. I know I had to catch my breath when I entered the hall for the first time. The Chinese characters on the wall are the symbols for Double Happiness in case anyone’s interested.



Our small contribution to the décor came in the form of 1000 paper cranes that Alison and I meticulously folded before the wedding. The majority of these were hung from twisted willow centerpieces with any leftovers used as scatters along the tables. I think all the effort was worthwhile in the end and pretty much everyone we’d talked to took some home to remember the night.



The rest of the night continued with a lovely dinner, touching speeches from the family and a little bit of dancing. It’s a good thing that I managed to avoid stepping on Alsie’s dress while all eyes were on us.



Dessert was rounded up with a super yummy cake baked by my new mother-in-law Sheena and decorated by Alison’s Aunty Fiona. The cute little top pieces were found by Als on our recent trip to Hong Kong. While it’s kinda hard to see in the photo, the girl actually has reddish blonde hair so Alison thought this was rather appropriate for a kwailo (Caucasian) – Chinese couple. :)



I can’t believe how much fun we’d had on the night. It’s really touching how everyone that came were fully willing to enjoy themselves and really get into the festivities. I don’t think I’ll see another Australian wedding where everyone screamed “Yaaaaaaaaam Seng!” (Cheers) for a while. Even the dance floor turned into a mosh pit when what seemed like the whole room got up to have a jig or two. Thank you for making the evening truly magical.

All good things must come to an end though. I’ve been told on many occasions that the wedding just zips by you if you blink but never could I have imagined how fast the night past us by. We’re usually the first ones to retire for the night but this time we managed to last the whole stretch. The new married couple then gratefully accepted a ride back to their accommodation in John and Sheena’s car. Never too old to rely on mum and dad I say.

John put together a scrumptious brunch the next day for everyone to sit down and go over the night. This would be the last time I’d see all the family that flew out for the wedding so it was a rather bittersweet event. I’m glad that everyone had a great time and hope that those continuing on to see more of Australia will enjoy what this country has to offer.



I guess this is just the start of things. Not nearly enough time to post all the photos I’d like to before we have to get to the airport for our flight. Promise to put more up on Flickr or some other site when we have a moment. Next adventure for Mr and Mrs Chua will be touring the South Island of New Zealand for the next three weeks. More blog postings of our travels to follow if Internet access and time permit.