S and J's Wedding

Congratulations to S.I. and J.W. for a wonderful wedding this past Saturday. I have known S.I. since high school and it was a privilege and an honor to serve as one of the groomsmen (there were 7 total!). I wish you two a lifetime of happiness and I hope you guys have children soon that Daniel can play with. I love you guys!

I woke up early, took a shower, and put on the tux. After picking up our friend S.Y. who was also a groomsman, we drove to S's parents' house where the groom-to-be was already waiting with some of the other groomsmen. Tary dropped us off and brought the car back home.

After about a half hour, the remaining groomsmen arrived. The Hummer limo came shortly after that. To my surprise the limo driver, Matt was the same limo driver for my wedding last year.

The limo brought us to S and J's house where the bride-to-be and her bridesmaids were waiting plotting. In Chinese tradition, before the groom can come into the house and collect his bride, the bridesmaids play Chinese door games where they have the groom and his groomsmen perform silly and often humiliating tasks to help ease the stresses of weddings. We had to do some pretty embarrassing things so let's just move on...

After losing about 100 ego points, the girls finally let us into the house. There was a brief tea ceremony where the bride and groom served tea to their parents and relatives. In return, they are presented with various gifts such as money and jewelry. Most of the bridal party took advantage of the quiet time to snack on some dumplings sitting on the kitchen island.

After some family photos, the entire wedding party gathered into the limo. After driving around the block for good luck, we headed to the hotel in Boston. On the ride there, I got to know some of the bridesmaids a little better. In particular, Ly and Shirley were very approachable and funny.

The function hall for the ceremony was simply but elegantly decorated. Things were delayed briefly as we waited on some late-arriving relatives. I definitely had the best seat in the house standing there with the other groomsmen. I welled up as J tearfully recited her vows. Despite a "minor" mishap where one of the best men accidentally knocked over a flower vase full of water, the ceremony was beautiful and went really well.

After the ceremony, we took some pictures outside of the hall and spent some time chatting with friends and family. Then a second Hummer limo arrived and drove the wedding party to the Boston Common to take more pictures. It was a beautiful and sunny Fall day and there were several other wedding parties there as well.

The limo dropped us off at the site of the dinner reception. We helped finish setting up tables and hung some banners. Guests started to arrive so we greeted them, asked that they sign either a photograph of the couple or a decorative cloth, helped them find their place-cards, led them to have their picture taken with the newlyweds, and then escorted them to their tables. There were about 350+ guests so we were pretty exhausted afterward.

The rest of the reception went pretty smoothly. There was lots of food and dancing. The guests all appeared to have a great time. One of the more memorable moments came when one of the best men gave his speech. He shared how he always considered S.I. to be the brother he never had. It was one of those genuine moments that brought everyone within earshot to tears. Hehe, I'm such a sap...