Re-living the story of our wedding solemnization (aka ROM)

This is the second segment of my blogposts leading my readers towards my wedding on the 11th of September. As I mentioned briefly 2 posts earlier, none of my friends were invited to my ROM as it was a very low-key event shared amongst the closest of relatives, I think it is only fair for me to finally reveal what exactly happened on 14th of November 2009.

Unfortunately, the first thing that came to my mind was a disastrous preparation. I just started my new job in Bangkok, and after a couple of whirlwind trips to Singapore, I was beaming in delight having found a perfect place for my event and also ironing out the details way before what some other couples would. The planned location was My Humble House (more famously known as 寒舍）, but alas, a couple of weeks before the event, my coordinator dropped me a bombshell by telling me Esplanade would be sealed off from the public because of APEC, and I had to start planning all over again. They did find a new venue for us in the end, but seriously, both of us were inconsolable. I was trapped in some rural villages in Thailand during that period of time, and I hardly slept for 3 nights worrying how everything would pan out.

My Humble House was going to be such a perfect venue for us, but sigh, it was not to be.

Eventually, our ROM was held at Tung Lok Signatures at The Central (the one at Clarke Quay MRT). Honestly, the food was great and the service not too shabby, it was a well-managed event, but the last minute grenade thrown to us by My Humble House (when they could have at least warned us about what could potentially happen) left a pill too bitter for us to chew, and we decided not to go for any Tung Lok restaurants for our banquet itself.

Happily posing at the camera before the ceremony started, I was really nervous at the moment.

Saying vows to each other.

Luckily, in spite of all the turmoil during preparation, the actual day went smoothly, and we were supported by Michel Tay, my dear brother at church and a highly talented photographer who has just ventured out on his own. Aside of capturing wonderful memories during the event, he agreed to walk with us around the area to continue taking pictures later in the afternoon, all the way till we walked from Clarke Quay to Ritz Carlton. It became some sort of a preview to our real pre-wedding shoot and we were even worrying whether our bridal boutique would do as good a job as him, haha!

We walked first to my brother's Settler's Cafe at North Canal Road, followed by Victoria Concert Hall, Supreme Court and finally Ritz Carlton Hotel. To our astonishment, we were even banned from taking pictures at the lobby of Ritz Carlton because of some APEC seminars. Our ROM effectively became a day of compromise, damn APEC.

In case you have not seen them on Facebook, I will now share with you some of my favourite pictures taken on the day and hope you can feel some of our joy.

Trying to enjoy a game or 2 at my brother's Settler's Cafe before departing for more shoots.

One of the doors at Supreme Court

Another one of my favourite shots at the same door.

Yet another door at the Supreme Court, it was a tale of many doors on that day!

This door is our hotel room door at Ritz Carlton Hotel, thanks Uncle Lee Wah for the free room!

A very classy shot taken at the hotel corri-door

Despite my complaints above on all the obstacles we faced, I must admit that we thoroughly enjoyed the actual day itself. My advice to all wedding couples would be that shit happens, but regardless of all the angers and frustrations, it is YOUR day and you have to keep a cool head, take things easy and make the best of it. For us, thanks to our kind family and a great photographer, we managed to turn it into an unforgettable day, in a good way.

Wedding trivia of the post:
Li Li and myself share the knowledge of playing an obscure instrument, the erhu (二胡）！