I went to Velvet Ting’s wedding reception last night. It was a shotgun wedding (not the type you’re thinking) in a sense, her younger sister Amy Ting was also having a combined wedding with her. I know both of the Ting sisters from my high school days and in Australia.
The flower arrangements at their wedding dinner was simply amazing. The theme was roses and there were roses twined into the stairs and floral decorations on every table.
The main wedding table for both pairs of bride and groom and their immediate families was the centerpiece of the place. The three tiered wedding cake and champagne flutes are arranged at the center stage in the backdrop.
Most of the people at my table were my ex-classmates since Velvet used to be in our class. It’s like our 11th reunion out of high school. I sat beside Ita Ting, I’ve known her since Form 1.
This is the arrival of Velvet and her groom hailed by confetti all around…
…followed by Amy and her groom.
The dinner started soon after that with the traditional Chinese banquet cold dish platter.
The cold dish is an appetizer which consists of a sampler of sorts – there’s a small portion of quail, mussels, squid and mushrooms.
The next dish is traditionally the soup which is served into individual bowls by the waiter.
It’s shark’s fin soup, which I’m sure the animal welfare groups would have a bone, I mean, fin to pick with. 😉
The next item on the menu is steamed fish. Fish is a must-have at wedding feasts and Chinese banquets in general due to the association with prosperity.
It’s kindly sliced into more manageable pieces by the waiter.
Chicken cooked in herbs and wrapped in foil is the next item on the banquet parade. It is still wrapped in the foil when brought to your table and the waiter opens it up, releasing the fragrance of the herbs and slices the chicken.
The chicken is actually very tender, with an almost melt-in-your-mouth quality, so not much slicing was actually required. The process just makes it more manageable to eat using chopsticks.
There was a much needed intermission while Velvet and Amy went on stage with their respective grooms to cut the wedding cake.
Champagne was also poured out into the flutes by the two newly weds.
This is the customary “yam seng” toast which the Chinese do. It’s done in a very long refrain with the first syllable being vocalized for as long as you’re able to (highly variable depending on lung capacity).
RM 135 bottles of Seifried red and white wine were served after that. It’s free flow, they had more than even I could drink! I think I partook in the vinos a little too much, coz my brain wasn’t functioning very well today. 😉
Here’s a toast to Velvet Ting and her groom. Congratulations! =D
…and here’s to Amy Ting and her groom. Cheers! 🙂
The Food Parade (TM) went on after that with bamboo shoots and mushrooms…
…bamboo clams (a local seafood) with mixed vegetables (at which point our table couldn’t even touch the food anymore)
…deep fried king prawns
…before mercifully ending with an iced honeydew and sago dessert concoction.
This is a candid shot of me talking to Velvet. I must have been reminiscing about this drama that most of the people at our table participated in while we were 14 years old during the school play.
Congratulations Velvet! Now you’ve made me feel old and unwanted by marrying earlier than me. :p
There was another platter of fruits containing dragon fruit, pineapple, papaya and watermelon…
…as well as the mandatory piece of wedding cake you just have to eat out of courtesy despite having adjusted your belt buckle several times due to excessive gorging. 😉
The final dish is gift wrapped boxes that has a piece of fruitcake inside. It’s supposed to be taken home as a souvenir of the wedding dinner. It’s the custom over here and signifies the end of the dinner…
…and it’s camwhoring time! 😉 This is Datina Ting, another one of my ex-classmates in high school.
Hello Jeanie! I met Jeanie at the wedding reception when she approached me and told me she reads my blog. Thanks for reading! 🙂
There was also a camwhoring session with a girl I bummed a cigarette from who was helping out at the reception…
…as well as the rest of the reception girls.
Congratulations to Velvet Ting and Amy Ting on their respective weddings fro
m the Class of ’97. Cheers! 🙂
Hello HB, how are you? Don’t know if you remember me, we used to take the school bus together back in sec school. It’s good to see you again =)
hey, i know ita ting from my church! how is she? is she married yet to hii?
Y so many of yr friend surname is Ting one..
So HB, when is yr turn?
So, the last name “Ting”, is it as common as “Johnson” and “Smith”? Or are they all relatives and I am just an idoit (Not discounting that fact either LMAO)
“Congratulations Velvet! Now you’ve made me feel old and unwanted by marrying earlier than me. :p”
LOL this sentence sounds wrong to come from you.
Pretty interesting to see sisters’ wedding. My sister is getting married too in October, unfortunately, I will have to miss it. 🙁 🙁
As for friends, I have only attended once due to my geographical location.
A lot of girls out there waiting for u to pop the question. Do it in style-dress up like in ur previous post, give her a bouquet of 99 red roses and get on bended knee…to propose. A double wedding with ur sis? Invite me to croon some romantic love songs, ya?
The most interesting wedding I went to was a Muslim wedding and it had the best cheesecake ever.
Shotgun marriage… Sounds familiar. Heehee. Do you mean a wedding done within a super short time? No one’s gonna beat mine. 2 banquets in 2 places (S’pore & Bkk) within 3 months. *RRROOAAR!!*
Let me know when you’re thinking of getting married… I’d teach you how.
Aloha HB,
Really appreciate tis post cos i’m having headache where to organize wedding reception for my brother’s wedding.. though it will only happen next year but he’s already askng me to survey around for him….anyway, lots of pretty gals out there… better choose carefully before getting married… don’t want to regret at the end of the day… cheers….
i was the one who introduced your blog to jeanie, ok..hahaha..she also played mahjong with faye before. 😛 we are close friends.
kutucat: Hello there! OMG! You still remember me from 14 years ago? Amazing! It’s good to see you again. It’s amazing how small the world is and how much smaller the net makes it. 🙂
GF: She’s engaged to a Mr. Ling (I think – I know his sister and they should have the same surname, I would think ;)). You’re Catholic too?
She’s doing good.
goolooloo: The Ting’s are not related except for Velvet Ting and Amy Ting. Ita Ting is not-related to them nor Datina Ting and vice versa. It’s a pretty common surname in Sibu.
My turn…eh, that one is up to you. You said get engaged next year right? 😉
Skwermy: Yeah, it’s one of the more common last names. The Ting, Wong and Lau clans are pretty strong over here. It’s probably the top three surnames. Ngu is another common surname.
The Ting’s are not related at all, except for Amy and Velvet.
fish fish: I want to get married, am seriously looking for the right girl now. I’m gonna go about it at a different angle nowadays though. Instead of having preconceived ideas about the qualities I want in a wife, I’ll just go with the flow and see how things work out. 🙂
They have another sister, it’s a family of 3 sisters but the youngest one is a little too young to be married.
suituapui: Where got? I must be searching for love in all the wrong places coz I haven’t found a soul mate yet. 😉
Haha! If I’m gonna have a double wedding with my sister, it’s going to be DISASTEROUS! I’ll have only known the girl for 2 months and it’s never a good idea to get hitched after such a short time. 🙂
jessy: Muslim weddings tend to be rather grand affairs. I saw one united family having people over and feasts for a couple of days.
al’sera: I meant there were two (2) weddings combined. A combo wedding would be a better way to describe it. 😉
Shotgun wedding has certain connoctations in the past. 😉
OMG! That’s pretty impressive. Congrats!
I’m not going to be married so soon. I want to know the person at least two years first.
Bubble7866: Hey, maybe I can help you with that. I know someone who works in there. 🙂
Yeah, I want to be married with kids and all that. Choose wisely, eh? 😉
Simmy: (cue music) It’s a small world after all. 😉
Yeah, I asked after I saw your comment. Small world huh?
Jeanie told me she’s close friends with you too, but I forgot coz I drank to much wine and asked again the next day. Haha!
LOL… when i first saw your pics, i was like Woah!! HB so big already ah!!! Gawd… has it been that long? I feel so old…
kutucat: Haha! Yeah, it’s been a good 14 years, my friend. 🙂
Time seems to fly though, now we’re all grown up and most of us are married. Oh well…
oh man I feel hungry!
Hanna: It’s almost time for dinner. 🙂
I tend to crave these Chinese banquets quite a bit too. Not just for the food, but it’s a bit like open season in hunting grounds. 😉
Someone should have reminded Velvet that normally the bride to be sheds a few lbs. before the big day.
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