Mr. and Mrs.

Sometimes, clarity of thought requires a separation from emotion – and a month or so of recovery time. I can laugh now, because my tears ducts have dried into shriveled pockets of cells weeks ago. Nearly four months has passed since the day of my matrimony (October 7th, 2006 actually), I do find myself far enough removed from the eventful day, to give an objective break down. Allow me to sit back and review…Mind you, we still have a couple of loose ends to tie up (I am looking at you ‘Thank You Cards’ and ‘Studio 409′ — our official ceremony and reception photographers).

In any event, as I look back now, I am overwhelmed with a sense of joy and general warm’n'fuzziness. My lady and I essentially, went against every primal instinct and the final result was truly an affair to remember. I do not hesitate using the term awe-inspiring interchangeably with mind-numbing. They really go hand in hand when we are talking about the pomp and pageantry of a modern wedding celebration. We went über-conventional, meaning the flowers, the hair, the make-up, the church, the caddy, the jovial Scottish minister, the bridesmaid, the groomsmen, the custom invitations, the hotel reception hall, the multimedia slide show, the overpriced photographers, the bottled wine, the hand-made bonboneries (guest gifts for the uninitiated), the cake, the tropical South American honeymoon, the aunt from France, the feuding cousins, the former work colleague that seated herself in the family-only section, the babies, the speeches, the dancing, the laughter, the joy, the tears, the FUN. And just for good measure, the traditional Vietnamese and Indian wardrobe changes. IS NO JOKE. Take a moment, breathe.

Let us go back to 2005, we found ourselves in love and engaged. We both wanted to be married, that was never in doubt. My first inclination was to elope. Made sense to me, if not the both of us. Then the realization that were the proud owners of about ten dozens sets of uncles, aunts and cousins had set in; and that notion of a quaint intimate ceremony and dinner with close family became a tired running inside joke, that produces more tears than laughter. You see, with big families such as ours, if you invite one then you surely had to invite them all. We were quite proud of the fact that our numbers levelled off at 165, because if it weren’t for the minute amount of resolve that remained within us, it could have easily ballooned to 300. I kid you not. We quickly realized that phrases like “No”, “We can’t invite them” and “We are not paying that ridiculous price” would eventually dissolve into “Whatever…”, “Sure, bring the kids” and “Do you take credit?”. Mind you, we were somewhat stubborn in our determination to do things ourselves, and quite ambitious with our time line for deliverables. Everything went off marvellously, I do seem to be laying on the superfluous adjectives with ease, but we were truly blessed. The only sunny Saturday in October fell on our wedding, one has to think that there’s some sort of universal serendipitous hands working in our favour. I am by far too Asian to believe in mere coincidence.

October the 7^th, two-thousand and six will be known as one of the happiest days of my life. A great start to a new chapter. I am often asked if I feel any difference. And everyone is surprised to hear that EVERYTHING is different. The air is better, my step is livelier - I smile about 200% more. I know that we are a generation of sceptics, and I, a practitioner in the art of cynicism; baffled by my own testimony. But, I do want to relay some hope toward this institution. An institution that has undoubtedly been battered and bruised. But like any matter of life, if you enter it with earnestness and a commitment to hard work, the rewards will come back ten folds. A wedding is a declaration of that commitment, a declaration bared witness by your private community. I may have overstep the sap quotient, but this would be the first time where my sarcasm has no place. It was a day of true romance.

The only advice that I can pass on to anyone entertaining the idea of marriage is this, people do get over it (whatever it may be) and no decision (however monumental you may deem them) during the process really matters in the end. If that day ever arrives, enjoy each other, enjoy your guests and most definitely enjoy the wine.