Showing posts with label
Randy and Rachel Civil Wedding Ceremony.
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Showing posts with label
Randy and Rachel Civil Wedding Ceremony.
Show all posts
A symbol of two souls united as ONE
(Sorry for not being around yesterday =( I had a bad headache and went to bed at 8:30 last night.)The 101-Post! In our 101 post, we have a piece of appreciation towards all who helped us to make our engagement party and the wedding ceremony a total success! THANK YOU EVERYONE from far and near!
The GRABERS
We are very thankful and blessed to be part of the family who always there to share their experience and always being supportive!
Thank you so much for lending us your beautiful home with breathtaking view as our wedding ceremony venue. The house is so beautiful and we do not even need much decorations to beautify the place for our ceremony. (Sonya, you really did a good job in decorations. I am sure everyone who been to their house would agree with me!)
Honestly, it was the very first formal event that we have ever handled all by ourselves. We were unsure what to expect and what is the norm for hosting a big party at home. Luckily, our host parents were there to guide us through the entire process of planning the event, from the ceremony, decor, to food. They are very helpful and that took off most of the pressure from us.
For decor, my host mom understands what her host daughter looked for (a wedding with earthy tone and a lot of candles!). Hence, she purposely borrowed some very nice crystal candlesticks from her friend and pulled out each and every decor item from her own collections that suit our wedding theme.
Dustin, thanks for introducing me to deer meat with cheese and crackers! It was the first time I ever had deer meat but it won't be the last for sure! The combination of deer meat with cheese and cracker is delicious!
Throughout the process, they shared their ideas with us (about: what happened on their own wedding day and what they have seen at the weddings of their relatives and friends). At the same time, they tried their very best for not being over bossy or opinionated =p They want us to have a wedding that is uniquely planned for just the two of us and no others. (D&S: Follow your heart.)
Crew from Lincoln, Nebraska (Christi, Phaik Lyn, & Adeline) They were my surprise guests. Randy only "allowed" me to meet them during his proposal, therefore, they did not arrive in Des Moines until we both left for movie and dinner on 12.30.2009. Guys, thank you so much for driving all the way from Lincoln! (It is a daunting drive on the icy road, but you guys did it. Good job!)
Christi, our dear college mate (Inti College) and also our professional photographer of the day! Thank you for helping us to documenting the important moment of our life (and you did the live streaming so that our family and friends could witness our marriage on the other side of the world too!). You just have the capability of making us feel comfortable in front of the lens and thanks for "fighting the cold" just to snap some winter shots for us! With your photographing experience, passion, skills, and artsy eyes; we can't wait to see the beautiful pictures end of January (hopefully ^.*).
Phaik Lyn, thanks for being there to comfort me when I am nervous and cannot make good decision on things like decorations. You were like a magazine editor who has a pair of good eyes on what would look nice and what is not. I am glad you were able to come and join us despite the fact that you had an assignment that is due on the following Monday after our wedding ceremony. Hope you did a fantastic job on the grant proposal!
Adeline, another college mate of us. Her signature quote would be "What You Want? (in friendly frustration mood)" from now on =p Yes, boss. Could you please make my face looks thinner? Yupe, she was my bridal make-up artist for the day. We tried on two to three different make-ups the day before and we found the one that we all love! I just want to say she did an outstanding job and she was able to transform the girl-next-door look into a mature-looking bride. With her simplest make-up set from M.A.C., she skillfully and artfully turned an ordinary face into an elegant look (where I don't even recognized myself...LOL...). Adeline, thanks for shortening your vacation in Washington D.C. and came all the way from Lincoln to attend our wedding ceremony. Hope to see our Lincoln crew on Chinese New Year! Let's meet up for reunion dinner!
Crew from Des Moines
(Wei Hao, Sheryl, Freddy, Jenn Ho, Corrinne, Tony, & Chia Wen)
A great thanks to all our friends from Drake!
Wei Hao, my dear host brother. Brother, thank you so much for running the errands on new year eve and also the special five-star hotel treatment specially planned for our engagement party! My brother is someone who would spend his time working, watching cartoon, and sleeping. Never ever initiated to do the shopping and needless to say about decorating a room; but he just did that for his sister! Randy and I love the zen table setting with rose petals, votive candles, river rocks, a glass of roses, and the champagne (it could be better by replacing some other flowers but I could understand it is probably hard to get it in Des Moines =p demanding sis, huh?). Thank you! I did not know my brother has so many romantic ideas in mind. Hui Yi, you are so lucky!
Sheryl, I always like her soft curly hair, it looks like those permanent curls done by professional hairstylist in the salon. However, her 30-minute hair curling session in the morning proved me that I am wrong. She actually did her curly hair all by herself! It seems like her hobby in hair styling paid off when she did my hairdo on my wedding day. We tested out five different hairdos the night before and we found the one that all the girls, including myself, love the most. Thanks, sweetie!
Freddy, another host brother of mine. He is a fun-loving and easy-going person. Brother, thanks for coming back all the way from Chicago to give your host sister a great surprise for our engagement party and wedding ceremony. It means a lot to both Randy and I. Also, we would like to thank you for being part of the video-graphing team to documenting the whole process of our wedding ceremony which will be shared with our family and friends in Malaysia later on. I hope to see you soon. Let's come over to our apartment for movie and we will share the lovely snuggie blanket with you ^.*
Jenn Ho & Corrinne
Here come my little brother and his girlfriend. Thank you both of you for being part of the engagement and wedding party! It made both the events merrier with your attendance and help. You guys are the perfect pair who helped to capture one of our important moments in life (the nervous faces of walking down the aisle and the blissful faces after being announced as husband and wife). Thanks for sharing the happy moment with us!
Tony & Chia Wen
Both of them are the great artists among our friends from Drake. They did an amazing job on the painting of "Will You Marry Me?" banner. They spent about sixteen to eighteen hours to get the banner done on time for the surprise proposal. Their time and efforts can be seen on each and every detail on the banner; from the birds, flowers, other embellishments, to the writing. Everything was drawn so perfectly. In fact, there was no room for error at all as the paint is permanent-type (need to be extra careful) and they need to get it done within a strictly tight schedule.
~ The Priceless Proposal Banner ~
On top of that, Chia Wen also helped us to decorate the blank cutting board as our special guest book. She spent two hours to transform an ordinary cutting board to a customized guest book for us.
~ The Cutting-Board-Guest-Book ~
Thank you guys!
To ALL our invited guests on 1.1.2010:
A BIG HUG & THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING OUR WEDDING CEREMONY YOUR ATTENDANCE MEANS A LOT TO THE NEWLY-WED! WE LOVE YOU!
The Grabers
Wei Hao
Sheryl
Freddy
Christi
Phaik Lyn
Adeline
Jenn Ho
Corrinne
Tony
Chia Wen
Huey Jer
Kok Lim
Yin San
Kok Weng
Ling Ling
Jeret & Family
Matt & Family
Amie, Randy & Family
Last but not least, thank you everyone for the wedding gifts. We appreciate your time and efforts in getting us the lovely gifts.
Love,
P/S: Our last posting of the week would be continued on Saturday. I will be out tomorrow for a gathering with friends in New York City whom I have not met for weeks!
A BIG step into the brand new journey in our life ~ The WEDDING
Randy and I have a rather short engagement (it lasted for slightly more than 24 hours) ^.*
Before we could fully enjoyed our engagement, we have had to put in full force to planning our New Year Civil Wedding Ceremony (more commonly known as Registration of Marriage, ROM, in our home country - Malaysia) at our host parents' new home in Ankeny, IA.
Fortunately, we have a bunch of good friends and a lovely host family who were there to lend us their hands to bring all elements of the wedding together beautifully. In whatever thing we want and whenever we need it, Randy and I heard them saying "It's your big day and you are the boss, just let us know what you need and we will help you to get it done!" {Our dear friends, do you know how much it mean to us? Honestly, very much, your presence made a difference to us!}
BEFORE the big day - 12.30.09 - New Year Eve
We have no time to rest nor to "gulp down" the reality that we are engaged and getting married in the next day! (Yes, I am still living in my dream, haven't get used to the new title yet =p)
After the crazy engagement party the night before, we met up with our crew at Fuddruckers for burger brunch. Worth the try if there is any Fuddruckers restaurant near you (they serve ostrich meat burger too)!
Let's the Costco shopping begin!
We wanted a simple (sort of) afternoon cocktail party, therefore, we decided to prepare some finger foods, dessert, champagne and fruit punch for our 40 guests. Menu of the day was planned by my dearest husband; guys are always good at this! So then we had...
Appetizer:
1. Spinach + Strawberries Salad
(Brought in by Jenn Ho's host mom, Amie)
2. Spinach + Tomatoes + Bell Peppers Salad
(Prepared by our host mom, Sonya)
3. Pasta Mayo Salad (Prepared by Sonya)
4. Deer Meat + Cheese + Crackers (Prepared by my host dad, Dustin, and my husband, Randy)
Main Course:
1. Pulled Pork Sandwiches
2. Stewed Chicken Meatballs
3. Bagel Bites
4. Dinner Rolls
Fruit Platter: Cantaloupe + Pineapple + Strawberries + Oranges
Dessert:
1. Our White Wedding Cake (yellow cake filled with chocolate mousse)
2. Mini Brownie Bites
3. Mini Cinnamon Rolls
Beverages:
1. Champagne for toasting
(This is really good! Thanks Fred for getting them from Wal-Mart.)
2. Apple Cider Sparkling Juice (for the kids!)
3. Fruit Punch (Specially prepared by Sonya)
4. Beers
5. Soda
As soon as we arrived at our host parents' house, the preparation began. Most of the food presentation were prepared by Dustin, Sonya, Randy, Jenn Ho, Tony, Freddy, Chia Wen, Sheryl, and Fred.
On the other hand, the decoration was done by the girls! They are Sonya, Adeline, Phaik Lyn, Corrinne, and Rachel. Initially I thought of having some birch trees, strings of paper snowflakes (see conceptual pictures below)
...In the end, I minimized the decors as much as I could because my host parents' house is already come with a beautiful setting and a breathe-taking outdoor view from the windows (I will show you the pictures when we receive from our photographer, Christi, by end of the month).
We began with the ceremony altar area...I bought a bunch of light blue hydrangea (can't find green or white one) and some garden flowers in blush color. The altar was lined with flowers-and-colorful pebbles-filled glasses by the window, along with two clear candlesticks at each side (thanks to Sue who lent us the beautiful crystal clear candlesticks).
In the middle of the room, we had a wooden folding small table covered with red cloth and gold tulle for our Unity Sand Ceremony. The ceremony is simple and yet it is a meaningful way to symbolize the unity of two different people into one after the marriage.
Ta-da...we're done with decor and food! It's time to go home and try out the many different hairdos and makeup for the wedding ceremony.
Thanks to my dear girl friends...Adeline, Sheryl, Phaik Lyn, and Corrinne They patiently tied and untied my hair, tried different make-ups, and being accommodating to the picky bride-to-be like me (who kept on telling them I want my face to look thinner...). From 9pm till midnight, we have tried as many as five different hairdos and two makeups. Their efforts are worthwhile because we finally found the right combination that we all loved! (Lastly, not forget to mention that we did not even realize it was new year eve and we missed the countdown! =p)
Besides the bride-to-be, it is going to be an important day for the groom-to-be too! He wants to look good on his special day too. The boys group...Jenn Ho, Tony, Christi, Fred, and Freddy were there to choose the perfect outfit for his wedding ceremony! Thank you so much for preparing the man of my life for the important moment! You guys are so sweet!
ti...tak...ti...tak...ti...tak...(sound of the clock)...1.1.2010...12pm drawing nearer...
The BIG DAY - 1.1.10 - New Year Day
8:15am
The most quiet moment I have ever been, throughout the journey from our apartment to our host parents' house. Both Randy and I were so nervous that we could hardly talk and everyone else seemed to be in their dreams (sleeping)...silent moment. LOL...
8:45am
As soon as we reached the venue, everyone switched to active position and started putting out their very best to get things done before the ceremony (set up the videocam, laptop for the live streaming, put out the food trays, etc...).
We had a very special idea for the traditional guestbook. We initially wanted to have a big oval ceramic tray as the signing board...but we couldn't found it in Wal-Mart and we came out with a new idea - using the Cutting Board instead! We had Tony and Chia Wen (the great artists) to add some drawings onto the board (sort of customized it for us). They did a great job! I will show you the picture when I have it by the end of the month.
10:00am
While the crew busy preparing the day-of tasks, the girls joined me in my host sisters' joint bathroom for the bridal makeover. It took us two hours to complete the look - I enjoyed the special treatment given by my dear girl friends very much. So many talented persons around me, you girls rock!
12:00pm
The moment finally here...(music playing - Westlife - We Are One). Guests are seated, City Judge standing tall, Music on - Let the wedding procession begins!
Randy walking down the aisle with the companion of our host sisters, Olivia and Sophia. Nervous...nervous...nervous...Luckily I had both my host parents to walking down the aisle with me (miss my parents, family and friends in Malaysia very much!).
Our Ceremony:
1. Speech given by the Judge
2. Vow Exchange
3. Ring Exchange
(Opps...Rachel was too nervous and she put the ring on Randy's right finger instead!)
4. Unity Sand Ceremony
5. Signing of Marriage Certificate
6. Kiss the Bride
7. Announcement of Husband and Wife
8. Blessings (Done by our host dad, Dustin)
Once the ceremony is done, everyone walked over to the kitchen area where we had our cocktail hours. We gave a short speech as a newlywed to thank everyone for joining us for the ceremony, did the toasting, had the cake cutting ceremony, food, and hung out with our guests.
Pheww~
We are so happy that everything turned out well and everything came together harmoniously! Great thanks to everyone who took time off to attend our wedding ceremony on New Year Day, by far or near. We appreciate it very much and hope to see you all again in the near future!
P/S: Our Chinese Traditional Tea Ceremony and Wedding Receptions in both US and Malaysia to be announced later on ^.* Will keep our family and friends posted!
Love,
