Happy Mothers' Day to My Mother

This is my mom and dad's one and only wedding picture (my mom showed it to us when we were at their place in Melaka). I remember this young woman from my early childhood. And I remember her working hard for her family.

In this picture (40 years later), you can see my mom continue her work for her family- the spices that she washed, cleaned and prepared just so that I could have a taste of home in Seattle.

Since Malaysia will be celebrating Mothers' Day 15 hours ahead of Seattle, I'll write this now:
"Happy Mothers' Day, Mom! Thanks for all you've done and still do for us"

The heart of a home is a mother
Whose love is warm and true,
And home has always been "sweet home"
With a wonderful mother like you!

Family and Friends; Wedding Thank Yous (Part 2)

Thank You, Mom and Dad

Dad, your speech/poem warmed our hearts (I'm still waiting for the copy to keep for posterity).

Mom, the cake was delicious. Thank you, Aunty Fidelis for making it and you for arranging it all. The cake was transported all the way from Malacca, Malaysia and stayed intact and beautiful.

Thank You, Scott

Scott, Chad's brother was also his Best Man and witness to our Sacrament of Matrimony. Thanks for coming such a long way to celebrate the day with us. We hope you had a good time and that this will be the first of more visits.



Thank You, Florence and Deepak

When I first arrived, Florence and Deepak put me up for more than 2 weeks in their home. It was easy to see which room was mine when I was there. Florence and Deepak are really what I call neat freaks while I am ruled by chaos. Thanks for your hospitality and putting up with my untidiness.

Florence, thanks for all your help and advice as my Matron of Honour. Thanks for also being a witness to our marriage. After looking for an outfit for a long time, I have to say this one you found (probably 2 -3 days before the wedding) is perfect. You look beautiful.




Thank You, Nancy

Nancy, you were a wonderful bridesmaid. Thanks for lending me your listening ear, helping me with the florist, helping my mom with her make-up and finding such a perfect dress. Perfect fit, perfect dress and you looked so beautiful.

Since you caught the bouquet at the toss, keep me posted on the outcome!



Thank You, Marcus and Marcus

Marcus, my brother, sang the 'Road that never ends' while Marcus, my former colleague played the guitar, while we signed the church wedding register.

Thank you for making the ceremony even more special, you two.


Here are the lyrics to the song.

The Road That Never Ends

-sung by Marcus De Silva accompanied by Marcus Chan on guitar

Here we are
In this holy place together
Bearing witness as the two of you become man and wife
On this day
As you join in heart and spirit
You begin another chapter in the book of life

Chorus:

Love… is the circle that surrounds you
You can find it on the faces of your family & friends
Love…let it wrap its arms around you
And guide you on your journey down the road that never ends

There’s a song in your heart
You can hear it if you listen
As it whispers through the branches

high above the family tree
And as time
Lay it’s melody upon you
You can rest assured in knowing that you’re right where you should be [Chorus]

Thank You, Vernon, Anna, Erica and Aiden

Thank you all for coming all the way from Kuala Lumpur to celebrate the day. Vernon drove both Chad and I to Mallacca and back on the weekends. That made it so much easier for us to visit my mom and dad. Thank-you so much for that.

My brother Vernon, his wife Anna, and Aiden

Erica saying hello

Thank You, Aunty Luciana, Pio, Whitney, Megan and Eddie

Pio, thanks for helping us get the champagne and wine. Thank you all for the help we so needed. We truly appreciate it.

My cousin Eddie (also my godson), Whitney (Pio's wife), my cousin Pio and brother Marcus.

My Aunt Luciana helping out as Chad pops the champagne

Thank You, Chee Mun and Heiny

We invaded Chee Mun's home for over two weeks. Chad, Scott and I stayed at Chee Mun's on a fair bit of ou stay in Singapore. Thank you, Chee Mun! Heiny, thanks for sharing Chee Mun on his birthday (also Apr 18th). I found a way to always remember your birthday, Chee Mun!



Thank You, Sharlene

Sharlene, thanks for being a part of the ceremony. You did it so well.


Thank You, Friends from SAJC

Thank you all for your help. Carol for volunteering your help with the flowers and transport. Meixiu and Charis for helping with the cupcakes. All of you who helped with the guest table, gifts and ushering. You helped everthing go smoothly and knowing you were there helped keep me sane!

Joanne, Charissa,Carol, Sharon, me, Meixiu (front), Oon Hui, Charis, Marcus

Here you see Geraldine and her son
(Faizah not in picture)

Thank You, All Our Guests

Our relatives and friends and students, thank you for your love, support and being present to share our joy and celebrate the day with us.

(all photos on this post taken by Christopher Lim
www.chrisppics.com)

Wedding Thank-You Note Part One

Thank You, Father Anthony Ho

I met Father Ho early last year when I was looking for a church to have the ceremony. Since then, he called me periodically to check if we were getting along OK with the paperwork and preparations, even when I was in Seattle and Malacca. As Chad is non-Catholic, we needed to get something called a dispensation from the bishop in order to be married in church. Father Ho really helped me follow up with that and he really gave me the assurance that everything that needed to be done was being done.

"Two children in three years is what you said, right?"

On the blessed day, Father Ho helped make the ceremony extra special and intimate. The guests, many of whom are non-Catholics, were made to feel really comfortable and included. Chad and I cannot thank you enough, Father Ho.


Thank You, Desmond and Dorla from Stamford Catering

When Desmond Lum from Stamford Catering contacted me regarding my request for a quote, he immediately suggested that we meet. He was also always very prompt when it came to replying my email queries. I was about to re-locate to Seattle at that time, so this was very important to me. Meeting him face-to-face early, and being assured that we could maintain an email discussion easily are just two things that convinced me that Stamford were the people for the job.

Since I was not having a big hotel dinner, I wanted to make sure the lunch reception at the church canteen was not only delicious but also looked celebratory and attractive. I also wanted all my friends and family to be at the ceremony and not be fussing too much getting the cake and decorations in order i.e. dealing with those details.

Desmond really listened to what I needed and recommeded Dorla Liew and her bag of tricks for the job at a very reasonable price.




Dorla, I do not have a photo of you but the photos here show the wonderful job you did. Thank-you.

Desmond and ... (oops, I forget her name, but she's from Penang)

The reception area looked really beautiful as you said it would be, Desmond. I've heard only good things about the food. One of my friend's daughter even said, "Mommy, we want to come back here next time for lunch!"


Thank You, Photographers Christopher and Calvin

When I met Christopher Lim (www.chrisppics.com) again, I was surprised to be reminded that I had first met and engaged him as my photograpger as early as July last year. Talk about being kiasu! All the photos you find in this post are by Christopher. You'll also find his blog entry about our wedding here.

A couple of months before the wedding, Dave, my student from 2006-2007 in St. Andrew's Junior College contacted me about Calvin (www.twoheartsonestory.com). Calvin was my student in Outram Seconday School in...(I forget) probably 2002. Dave and Calvin are apparently in the same camp doing their National Service and Calvin is also a wedding photographer. Long story short, I engaged Calvin as my second photographer.

Thank-you Christopher and Calvin for doing such a good job documenting our special day. Both of you did awesome with the photo slideshows. Viewing them helped those who were there relive the special moments. For those who were not there, it was almost as if they were.


Thank You, June from Arts and Roses

It was 8 days to the wedding and I still hadn't found a florist for the bouquets and corsages. Then, my bridesmaid, Nancy, helped me find Art and Roses near Novena MRT. June was really wonderful to work with. June even opened her shop early so that the flowers could be collected. The flowers were beautiful.



Thank You, the many helpers from the Church of St. Francis Xavier

I was still very confused about the order of the service before meeting Mabel Lee. She was more than the organist. She took the time to meet me and helped with the selection of songs, walked me through the order of the ceremony, and gave me sound advice. Thank you so much, Mabel.

Jack Chew, thanks for your time, helping us with the rehearsal and on the day of the ceremony.

Tnanks also to the soloist from the choir with her beautiful voice. I did not even manage to catch her name (I think it's Geraldine).

The soloist from the choir of St. Francis Xavier

Thank you, Vincent Choo and other church volunteers who did a wonderful job with the church flowers.

Pew flowers were lovely

Not forgeting everyone else (caretakers, parish office workers, other volunteers) from the church of St. Francis Xavier who helped us in one way or the other.

Thank You, MUA Sophia Chia

Not being someone who wears makeup often, I still wanted to feel and look like myself. Make-up artist, Sophia listened to my needs and I was pleased with the results. Thank-you Mark, my hairdresser from X-Zen for recommending Sophia.

Our Honeymoon in Bali

Sunset on the beach of Seminyak, Bali. Can you spot Chad?

Bali is just a short plane ride from journey from Singapore. In just two and a half hours we had arrived at our honeymoon destination. It was to be a very short stay- just 3 nights. I had chosen 'The Samaya', a villa and spa resort after much research.

We do not have a whole lot of photos of Bali. We did our research and even had a guide book or two we had pored over. I was, in fact, looking forward to enjoying the seafood at Jimbaran Bay, exploring the culture in Ubud, finding out just what babi guling tasted like. I even had contacts for a private driver for our explorations at the ready.

Photo taken by Christopher Lim

When we arrived at 'The Samaya', we were greeted by so much much hospitality, beauty and luxury and we didn't want to leave our 'little spot of heaven.'

We even had a fragrant flower bath waiting for us on arrival.

From the website :
The word “Samaya” is in Sanskrit, a word which refers to the inner sanctum of well being, a reflection of peace and tranquility where one finds refuge, a message conveying ‘I am with You’.

I was especially surprised that Chad, a die hard explorer, was as content as I was just to sit back and be pampered. And boy, were we pampered! Lemon grass-scented cold face towels on a hot day. Spa treatments. The only decisions we had to make were which cocktails to have and if we wanted to take a dip in the main pool or our own private plunge pool in our villa.

Lounging by the main pool

We had all our meals by the beachfront restaurant, aptly called 'The Breeze'.

I'm almost ashamed to admit it-except for what we saw on the way to the airport and back, we did not see anything outside the resort and the beachfront. Hey, it was our honeymoon and what better excuse or reason to be pampered to the max! To quote Chad, "Sometimes just being lazy isn't enough. We need to be pampered!"

Click here to experience a little piece of 'The Samaya'.
After seeing this short video, you'll understand why this Honeymoon was so different from our Honeymoon trip to Disneyland back in November. Where that one was exciting and thrilling, this one was romantic and elegant.

'The Samaya' may just be a bit beyond our means for a repeat trip but...

We'll be back, Bali!
Jimbaran Bay, we'll be back for your seafood.
Ubud, for your rice terraces and culture.
And we'll find out where to get the best babi guling.

We welcome contributions to our 'Bali fund'. *wink*

Once again, we present "Our stay at 'The Samaya' at Seminyak, Bali". Enjoy!

To best enjoy the slideshow above, please view in HQ for best quality and mute/pause the music on my playlist player found on the right hand side of this page.

More Wedding Pictures and Another Photo Slideshow

The following is a photo slideshow prepared by Calvin Wong (www.twoheartsonestory.com), who is also my former student from a few years ago.

Unfortunately the audio track background which is one of our favourites, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/Wonderful World" by Israel 'Iz' Kamakawiwo'ole has been disabled by Youtube.

If you'd like some music to enhance your viewing pleasure, you should run the slideshow while playing the no. 1 song on our playlist (scroll down to find this on the right margin of this page).



Watch in HQ for best quality.

Click here for the direct link at Youtube.

More wedding pictures! These are posed group shots so they should include almost everyone who was there and on time on 18th. April. Photos taken by Christopher Lim (www.chrisppics.com)

Family and relatives

My former students from 06S22 St. Andrew's Junior College
(Kee Wei, Samatha and Gloria are overseas)
Swati, Devanshi and Abuzar were late)

My friends and former colleagues from St. Andrew's Junior College

My friends and former colleagues from Singapore Science Centre
(Hey! Where are you, Nancy?!)

My former students, friends and former colleagues from Outram Secondary School

Friends from university days and all over.

Still more photos to come so stay tuned!