Heather is the daughter of my childhood best friend Joanne. I've watched her grow up and as she said her wedding vows and cried with happiness yesterday, I too cried with joy for her. Heather is a beautiful, capable, wonderful, warm-hearted, unspoilt and unpretentious girl, a daughter that I would be truly proud of. In my husband's Cantonese words as they danced on the floor later that night, "Goh nam jei jen hei jeb doe" (it's hard to translate but it means the fella's real lucky).
You'd think that when she moved to Shanghai to work 2 years ago that Heather would meet a Chinaman but no, a Frenchman moved to the 'Paris Of The East' at about the same time and they were introduced by a friend a couple of months after arrival to the city. That was 1 1/2 years ago and yesterday Heather and William were married at the Pacific Sutera Resort Hotel just before sunset.
There are three resort hotels in the city and we the locals take them for granted, never visiting them until some visitors are in town. The city of Kota Kinabalu is blessed with a coastline of calm blue seas and fine white sandy shores and I've said this before: KK is on the west (unlike Sandakan and Tawau, which also have long coastlines but the sun rises over the sea) and the sun sets over the sea, offering us the most beautiful glorious sunsets everyday.
The night before was the hen (bachelorette) party but the guys who dropped their wives/girl friends wouldn't leave and the plans to belly-dance the night away were shelved. The professional manicurists did such brisk business that I only got my nails painted mauve at about 10 pm.
The mostly vegetarian Kadazan spread was a welcome change from the rich CNY food that most of us have been eating and helped the ladies keep their waistlines trim for the next day. I made chocolate cupcakes with Valrhona cocoa powder Rei gave me (finally, an occasion fitting enough for such a special present from another blogger) and topped it with generous swirls of pink Swiss meringue buttercream. Thinking back, I should've flavored the buttercream with raspberry. William is the much-awarded French chef of Papillon, the top French restaurant in Shanghai, located on The Bund, Shanghai's most famous spot. It was he who designed Joanne's new outdoor steel-cladded kitchen with pots and pans on the wall. No wonder Kevin, Joanne's husband who loves to cook, is enamored of his son-in-law. Yolanda reminded me that it is traditional to serve tang yuen, glutinous rice balls in a sweet ginger soup, to symbolize a sweet marriage. I bought the white sesame-filled balls and made the pink peanut butter-filled ones (peanut butter made by Joanne) and cooked them with candied ginger.
Don and Bryan (here with their girlfriends) are Heather's younger brothers. I caught them as they were about to bring their suits to the hotels. There was so much joy and laughter that night. That's when I think again that I should've had more kids. Joanne did well, 5 is a record among our classmates. Before I get slammed, I should mention two other classmates, Benny and Genie, who also enjoy that high productivity status.
The next afternoon, at Pacific Sutera:
Bryan sang " I'm Yours" as the bride and her dad arrived in a golf buggy. The wind was gentle and the coconut trees were swaying; it was such a happy and beautiful wedding. The bride and groom, family and friends were beautifully casual in the tropical paradise setting. And just as the ceremony started, the battery icon on my camera began to blink. I had forgotten to charge it or bring the spare. I should never turn to photography as a career.
Heather's off-white made-in-Shanghai chiffon gown was perfect for the beachside wedding.
Heather had asked me months ago, and I had agreed, to make her wedding cake because I used to make her birthday cakes. But I soon backed out because I was nervous about making the cake topper. When I saw this pretty single tier cake and saw that they used only fresh flowers, I felt terrible inside: I could've done it. I wish I made good my promise.
Isn't she beautiful, isn't she lovely? Many of the guests who haven't seen Heather for years were awed by the ravishing bride. Heather stands at 5' 8" (the perfect height for a girl, I've always said. Any taller, a girl can risk looking like a tranny and any shorter, an ordinary plain Jane) and William complements her height. They make such a beautiful couple.
Kev made the best father of the bride speech I've ever heard. His advice to William was that only 3 words were important (something he picked up on the net when he googled for father of the bride speeches) in marriage. Those 3 words are "You are right". Hub said he has learnt a lot from Kev. He said he'll have 4 words of advice for my daughter's husband: "You are always right".
Heather and William, join the club and dance every night.
You'd think that when she moved to Shanghai to work 2 years ago that Heather would meet a Chinaman but no, a Frenchman moved to the 'Paris Of The East' at about the same time and they were introduced by a friend a couple of months after arrival to the city. That was 1 1/2 years ago and yesterday Heather and William were married at the Pacific Sutera Resort Hotel just before sunset.
There are three resort hotels in the city and we the locals take them for granted, never visiting them until some visitors are in town. The city of Kota Kinabalu is blessed with a coastline of calm blue seas and fine white sandy shores and I've said this before: KK is on the west (unlike Sandakan and Tawau, which also have long coastlines but the sun rises over the sea) and the sun sets over the sea, offering us the most beautiful glorious sunsets everyday.
The night before was the hen (bachelorette) party but the guys who dropped their wives/girl friends wouldn't leave and the plans to belly-dance the night away were shelved. The professional manicurists did such brisk business that I only got my nails painted mauve at about 10 pm.
The mostly vegetarian Kadazan spread was a welcome change from the rich CNY food that most of us have been eating and helped the ladies keep their waistlines trim for the next day. I made chocolate cupcakes with Valrhona cocoa powder Rei gave me (finally, an occasion fitting enough for such a special present from another blogger) and topped it with generous swirls of pink Swiss meringue buttercream. Thinking back, I should've flavored the buttercream with raspberry. William is the much-awarded French chef of Papillon, the top French restaurant in Shanghai, located on The Bund, Shanghai's most famous spot. It was he who designed Joanne's new outdoor steel-cladded kitchen with pots and pans on the wall. No wonder Kevin, Joanne's husband who loves to cook, is enamored of his son-in-law. Yolanda reminded me that it is traditional to serve tang yuen, glutinous rice balls in a sweet ginger soup, to symbolize a sweet marriage. I bought the white sesame-filled balls and made the pink peanut butter-filled ones (peanut butter made by Joanne) and cooked them with candied ginger.
Don and Bryan (here with their girlfriends) are Heather's younger brothers. I caught them as they were about to bring their suits to the hotels. There was so much joy and laughter that night. That's when I think again that I should've had more kids. Joanne did well, 5 is a record among our classmates. Before I get slammed, I should mention two other classmates, Benny and Genie, who also enjoy that high productivity status.
The next afternoon, at Pacific Sutera:
Bryan sang " I'm Yours" as the bride and her dad arrived in a golf buggy. The wind was gentle and the coconut trees were swaying; it was such a happy and beautiful wedding. The bride and groom, family and friends were beautifully casual in the tropical paradise setting. And just as the ceremony started, the battery icon on my camera began to blink. I had forgotten to charge it or bring the spare. I should never turn to photography as a career.
Heather's off-white made-in-Shanghai chiffon gown was perfect for the beachside wedding.
Heather had asked me months ago, and I had agreed, to make her wedding cake because I used to make her birthday cakes. But I soon backed out because I was nervous about making the cake topper. When I saw this pretty single tier cake and saw that they used only fresh flowers, I felt terrible inside: I could've done it. I wish I made good my promise.
Isn't she beautiful, isn't she lovely? Many of the guests who haven't seen Heather for years were awed by the ravishing bride. Heather stands at 5' 8" (the perfect height for a girl, I've always said. Any taller, a girl can risk looking like a tranny and any shorter, an ordinary plain Jane) and William complements her height. They make such a beautiful couple.
Kev made the best father of the bride speech I've ever heard. His advice to William was that only 3 words were important (something he picked up on the net when he googled for father of the bride speeches) in marriage. Those 3 words are "You are right". Hub said he has learnt a lot from Kev. He said he'll have 4 words of advice for my daughter's husband: "You are always right".
Heather and William, join the club and dance every night.
7 comments:
How romantic to have a wedding by the sea...everything looks perfect and beautiful! u shd have made the cake Terri....but always a nother time..she has 5 kids right? ^^
knew i'd find their wedding photos here, joanne will be too busy to upload. i was at their dinner but missed the bridal shower & beach ceremony. couldn't agree with u more on how lucky d fella is to have heather as his wife... if only i had a daughter... how i wish...
this post made me emo again aunty terri! :-X
thank you so much for being there, and being part of the celebrations. i just wish yi was around, and she coulda been here too. and yes, if you had made the cake, it woulda been even more perfect!!! :p
love, kisses and so much hugs for just being the wonderful aunty terri that you are, the beautiful pictures u took, the lovely words u wrote, and the very sweet presents u gave me.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Aww that was a very romantic wedding... :)~
What surprised me is before reading this post, I was viewing a friend's album on either her friend or her relative's wedding in FaceBook... Its the same couple in your posts!
This is a small world after all :)
oh my gawwwwsh, this must be one of the most prettiest weddings in kk, ever! and heather DOES look like a celeb - so jealous of your height Heather!!! everything looks perfect - the location, decor, dress (love it!)...oh, it must've been such a beautiful wedding...feel like tearing already. wish i was there to witness and celebrate with everyone!
and heather - CONGRATULATIONS! I'd love to give u a big hug now but i guess i'll have to wait till i see you! :))
zurin: yes, another 4 to go:))
irene: no daughters? ai ya...i always say, happy are those who have daughters :D
i wanted to try for another daughter but then chickened out bc i didn't want THREE sons. No.
daisyfused: i was telling some aunties tt night, how you used to pummel me with your fists whenever i visited your mom. bc i wasn't around when you were born n we met when u were a toddler, i think we both were fighting for your mom's attention!
i am so happy that you've found the love of your life and that everything is going so well for you. you've always been a very very special n wonderful 'daughter' to me!
hey, someone wants the address of your tailor in shanghai. you won't be able to get on my blog once you go back there so i hope your mom rmbers to remind u to write it down for me.
agnes: ...it was truly a beautiful wedding. made me want to get married again:D
yi: i was thinking we could visit shanghai in july but heather'll be in france. maybe later in the year when you've graduated.
Congratulations to the beautiful couple! I love the combination of photos in this post. Thanks for sharing this.
Annie
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