Natasha & Ka-Loon's wedding Part 1

What a wonderful experience it was to be with Nat & Ka-Loon for their wedding in Virginia. All who were present will have their own impressions and will tell you what was special for them. Nat & Ka-Loon's official photographer was one who expressed her impressions on her own blog. Laura's creative photography style will undoubtedly provide a wonderful album of memories that recorded this special day. My impression of Laura was that not only did she and her sister enjoy themselves professionally, but became a special part of the day. Let me quote from Laura's blog with a couple of her photos:

"nat and ka-loon were married on a cold rainy sunday at white hall manor in bluemont virginia. despite the weather this was such a fun wedding. nat and ka-loon are so fun to be around they are always being silly together. nat is from Australia and her family came to virginia for the wedding. all three of her sisters were her bridesmaids. during the toasts they wrote and sang a song to nat. it was there own version of westside story’s America teasing her about meeting a boy in america. ka-loon was nat’s boy from new york. they are so cute and sweet to each other. we went out and took pictures after the ceremony in the dark cold rain. nat must have been freezing since it was 35 degrees but we got some really great pictures! nat had so many unique little details for the day. i loved her shoes and the designs inside, the place card board with all of the guests pictures on it: how cool is that?! i also loved how many people had cameras at this wedding:i mean normally several people have cameras but this wedding took the cake! there were flashes all over the place and during the reception they were walking around taking pics too. so funny! luckily it did not interfere with mine and lisa’s shots. congrats nat and ka-loon, thanks for being so wonderful!"

That was Laura's impressions. Mine were filled with emotion and pride. Nat & Ka-Loon's marriage was very much an answer to Carol's and my prayer that Nat, and indeed all our grandchildren, would find men and women of integrity with godly values. It was no wonder therefore that I rather lost it when the wedding procession began.

But.....I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start this story with a logical beginning and tell you how I saw it all unfold. Just a comment about the photos. While some are from my own camera, others have come from other cameras and I am grateful to acknowledge this as well as a couple of Laura's photos.

As Laura mentioned, it was a cold and rainy Sunday, which did not stop the warmth and happiness of two delightful people as they committed to each other for the rest of their lives. The ceremony at Whitehall Manor was a lovely setting for the event. The photo of the manor was taken during rehearsals the day before!The music was provided by friends of the bridal couple. I was delighted that Nat & Ka-Loon had selected St. Anthony's Chorale for Nat's entry. Her sister Amy also chose this music for her bridal entry and I was privileged to play the organ on the occasion of her & Richard's marriage. All my daughters came down the aisle on that lovely theme and it is good to see this continue today.The men patiently waited for the arrival of the Bride who was delayed by some fifteen minutes. Poor Ka-Loon must have been wondering, but it was nothing more than a car break down that caused the lately arrival of the bridal party.

Brenda & Mrs Tung as mothers of the bride and groom were the first to be led down the aisle:Followed by three beautiful granddaughters - how Grandma would have feasted her eyes and enjoyed it all!GemmaKarinaAmyAnd here comes the bride! Stunning! Poised! Confident! Regal! Ready for the big moment!

A very proud father Graeme led his daughter to Ka-Loon:Nat & Ka-Loon had invited me to bring the ceremony before the Lord in prayer, something I was delighted to do:Pastor Kenji did a wonderful job and I was impressed by his delightful sense of humour. It was such a happy occasion, shared by some family in Hobart over SKYPE video!The Vows!That KissThat kiss from Laura's view!

Brenda made the family presentation of the Holy Scriptures. She did it so well and looked lovely. The Bible has been such an enormous part of our lives and to begin a marriage with that as a good foundation is pretty good:Kenji commited the couple in prayer to God:And while Karina & Gemma sang Rutter's setting of "The Lord Bless you and keep you !" accompanied by Amy, the couple confirmed their vows in writing:OK!! It's time to face the music:Let's go.........The meal is ready. And look at the table decorations. Very much Nat's creativity at work:Sitting down for the first meal as a married couple, we give thanks to God for His love and blessings!

The inevitable speeches were really good. Graeme was very brave - and I admired him for it, to begin his speech in Chinese, especially to honour and include Ka-Loon's mum who does not speak English. She listened most attentively and, being at the same table, I noticed her following Graeme's words with appreciation. As always, Graeme rises to these special occasions and we were all very proud of him! He is obviously making a special point in the following photo!!

The three girls did a wonderful skit based on Westside Story - America. The audience was enthralled and the couple very much appreciated it, as did we all:What a happy evening, clearly evident in the following 'small' sample of photographs:I love the above photoIt was just so good to share the occasion. A proud moment indeed!Graeme looked the part!This is a lovely photo of Amy and me!The bride & groom's first dance. Ka-Loon became quite adventurous with Nat happy to follow!Gemma considered it was fair to share the limelight and dance with her new 'brother'. Looking at Nat and father Graeme, there was obviously no objection!But Nat had her own agenda and showed her stuff, much to everyone's delight!Go for it Nat, lead everyone a merry dance. The congo-line was just the ticket:
It was really fun!Laura must have really felt to be one of the guests as Nat led the line and hemmed her in, while she was trying to take photos. A happy moment indeed!

Well, on that happy note, I will leave you to savour the moments and join the family to wish Nat & Ka-Loon a wonderful and long marriage. The next chapter will be a bit different as a week following the above, we shared the Chinese wedding celebrations in New York City. Watch this space, but probably after Christmas.