MeiLing and Andrew Lane's Wedding (Corick House,Clogher) - Part Deux

Made a mistake in my earlier entry. The Valley Hotel* where we're putting up is situated in fivemilestown, whereas the wedding venue (Corick House) is in the next town, Clogher.
* Dee was a tad skeptical when he first saw The Valley Hotel (its exterior does look rather shabby and dodgy, don't u think?) but was won over by the clean and adequate room later. Surprisingly, it even had a wall-hanging plasma TV! Kekekeke

Had a scrumptious breakfast this morning at the hotel cafe. The fare was actually v simple but was warm & comforting - cereal(ok, not hot) w/ lovely fresh milk , grilled sausages, bacon, poached eggs, grilled tomato, potato bread (commonly served in Ireland), toast and 'gao gao' coffee. Mouthwateringly sedap! Andy recommends we try the quaintessential Irish breakfast that includes black pudding (i.e coagulated blood, not unlike what we eat in kway chap, only deep fried?). Reckon we will try this in Dublin when we drive back on Friday. :)

Went to Corick House to take some 'pre-wedding shots' of MeiLing since her actual day photographer was only going to show up at 'half-one'. Her makeup artist, Caroline, and 2 hairdressers, Susan and didn't-quite-get-her-name were lovely and did a fab job! I was quite surprised by their standards since they operate from small village salons. But I guess talent is talent, regardless of location or business-size? :) Anyway, I think MeiLing was v grateful that we took some shots for her. Good thing I like being a shutterbug, albeit not a professional one. Her guests from Singapore were a mere handful - 1 JJC friend, Wanyu (whom Dee knows well), 2 aunties and her immediate family (mum and sis). So we were the only other Singaporeans at her wedding. By 12 noon, we headed back to our hotel to get changed. Dee brought his 'Made in Thailand' black suit, Danielle had a new M&S dress from Auntie Mimi and although I had originally planned to wear my kebaya, decided against it later coz thought it might be too elaborate... Mel, I brought your nice warm turquois pashmina and Danielle's bellero again! :)

The Wedding
Didn't have time to pen my thoughts post wedding so will try to remember ALL that happened on the wedding day proper. The wedding ceremony started at 230pm but we arrived at around 2pm to "cho re nao" at the bride's room. Took more pre-wedding shots of MeiLing in her beautiful wedding gown (SilverLining,Singapore), putting on her 5" heels (she's another Mabel!!) and her lovely jewelry from Soo Kee. Dee was the ONLY man in the room but that turned out to be rather handy coz he helped put the veil on the bride??? Apparently, he had paid very close attention when the hairdressers were passing on instructions to Wanyu and ML's mum. What can I say? My man, the Handy Man! :P

At ten to 230pm, we proceeded to the ceremony hall to get seated. Corick House is just the perfect location to hold a wedding. Lush greenery outside, Victorian-esque interior, oak furnishing, walls painted in warm hues...quite a bride's dream. Will try to post as many photos of the location through Kodak Gallery but methinks will take some time to upload all. Think I took close to 300 shots of the wedding?!

Anyhew, back to the ceremony.

It was heartwarmingly BEAUTIFUL.

And I say this despite not knowing the bride and groom v well. Was v touched by the ceremony and found myself tearing at different points (and I'm not just being emotional here! Cross my heart!). I teared when the groom's mum did a reading (she teared too), I cried when I saw MeiLing's kid sister cry coz it reminded me of my bond with my sis, and I cried when the groom addressed his new MIL for the first time (she cried buckets!!!). But the most poignant was MeiLing's speech to Andrew. She gave us insights to her relationship with him, then came the tear-jerking moment - she presented him with a personalised gift (the necklace w/ a cross pendant that Andy first saw MeiLing in, all framed up with the words 'When our story begins... 14 Sept 2006') and said in the marriage, she was 'the lucky one'. Tears flowed freely at every table and we could see that the groom was visably moved. All of us were. And Dee and I maintain once again that it really doesn't matter what fancy peripheral(s) a couple has at their wedding - when their guests can sense their love and their happiness - all else fades....

Ok, fast forward to the rest of the ceremony. They had engaged a harpist and her soft strums added to the ambience of the place. 'Canon in D Major' by Pachelbel was chosen as the walk-in song and the bride looked simply stunning as she walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm with her mummy (parents are divorced). I think MeiLing did v well considering the emotionally-charged ceremony! Just like Stephie eh? *grin*

An ang moh wedding sure is different from us Asian's. For one, there's a LOT of waiting around. I had asked the bus driver (who picked guests up from Valley Hotel) what time he'd be back to pick us up. He said '11pm ~1am'! I was...??? Didn't the civil ceremony begin at 230pm? What were we to do till dinner time and after? Anyway, realised that this is a norm and in between programs, guests are expected to mingle and drink, drink, drink, drink (ok, u get the idea). So that's what we did. By the end of the evening, Dee had had 9 pints of Guinness (when in Rome, do as the Romans do, he said!) and I had 3 Gin & Tonic(s). Had to be the responsible parent of the 2. Don't think we could look after a hyperactive 2YO in a drunken stupor!

Dinner was great! We were served a red pepper/tomato soup with warm bread rolls, a choice of beef and turkey+ham, and for dessert, either profiteroles or b&b pudding. We tucked in heartily and were well and truly stuffed after! The best dish for me was the Irish cabbage and bacon side dish (someone google for the recipe & try out for Christmas! It's delish!). It was the best mix of cabbage, broccoli, and bacon sautéed in butter! Wah zaaaan eh! Shiok-a-doodles!

Danielle was the luckiest lass at the wedding do. She had EVERYONE's attention and admiration! I felt like a mum presenting her daughter at some debutante ball. :) Thankfully, she was at her best behaviour so that earned her more compliments. Everyone was amazed at her ability to amuse herself and stay up (not good) till the wee hours without fussing. Of course, I had to tell them that that wasn't always the case and she had her 'moments' as well. One lady, Samantha, was so sweet, she even invited Danielle for a dance! That's Danielle wearing Samantha's hairpiece... apparently, it's a good alternative for a hat if your face shape doesn't suit hats. Or so I hear...

And of course no wedding dinner is complete without the traditional 'yum-seng'. No prizes for guessing who led in the cheering. Uh-hum, the Chans did ourselves proud (yes, me screaming my lungs off too!) with a resounding 'Yuuuummm Seeeennng'! That definitely got everyone's attention and in response, they rewarded us with thunderous applause.

What a great way to end off a wedding!