PLANET DT: Congratulations, Nigel & Phuong!

My dear friends, Nigel & Phuong, got married today! A great day to savour for the lovely couple, their family & their friends. It was a nice day to have the wedding, for the weather was fine, though slightly too warm for my liking in the afternoon.
The ceremony was held at the Albert St Uniting Church. As me & BT were among the last arrivals at the church, we couldn't find a seat at ground level. Instead, we had to settle for seats at the upper level of the church & watch the ceremony from above. Yeah, the wedding was that big. But it was difficult take any pictures from the distance - I still tried but I don't think the pictures were great. Anyway, the one interesting feature of the ceremony was the lighting of the unity candle (which I really liked), by the newlyweds & their respective parents. The lighting took place after the exchange of the rings & proclamation of marriage.

We then had some nice refreshments after the ceremony concluded, mainly finger food. I managed to briefly catch up with a few people I haven't seen for a long while (including Johnnie & Cherie, whose baby I saw for the first time). The usual wedding group photos were taken. After all that, there was still some time to kill before the reception. So a few of us headed back to the Westside to chill out & have a few drinks. While walking towards the reception, we were joined by Ivan, who just flew back from Sydney (he couldn't leave Sydney before the evening, so unfortunately missed the ceremony).

The wedding reception was held at Brisbane City Hall. And what a huge reception it was - some 300 guests @ 30 tables! It was grand! Me & BT were seated at the 30th table (the "last"), & my name was the last on the list. So I joked with a few friends that I was probably a "sympathy invite". The hall was dimly lit - the bright lighting was saved for the bridal table at the front (just like a theatre, I guess). Because of the distance (our table was right at the back of the hall), it was difficult to get many pictures. Anyway, that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. There was much to enjoy, & not just the food either. There was that Chinese Vietnamese cultural performance from the bridal party, which I really liked. The speeches were good, but those delivered by the best man (Jin) & 2 of Nigel's groomsmen did not bag Nigel quite as much as I had expected. I suppose that can't be a bad thing:) Nigel's speech was eloquent, which didn't come as a surprise at all, knowing that he can show his "formal, cultured" side when the occasion warrants it.

Of course, the enjoyment was greatly helped by whom I was seated with. My table was filled with mainly Clayers plus Dennis who came from Melbourne. I reckon our table was by far the loudest, especially when it came to toasting the newlyweds ("yam seng") - a deliberate group decision to be the loudest! Not only we were the loudest, we possibly drank the most alcohol as well! I would have had at least 3 Crown Lagers, on top of the the 2-3 beers I had before the reception. Just as well the tab closed at 9:30pm, or else I might have really been carried away. That aside, there was much warmth & laughter at our table, as we enjoyed each other's company. It was a great evening.

All good things had to come to an end, so we bade farewell to Nigel & Phuong before they headed off to their honeymoon. I dropped a few people off before arriving back home after midnight.

Nigel & Phuong, I am so so happy for the both of u. Congratulations big time on your marriage. I pray that God will bless your future richly!