Wedding in times of pandemic

 

What makes a wedding in times of pandemic memorable in Singapore? A tree in the garden and a pet cat.

My daughter's wedding lunch scheduled in early June had to be postponed when the government introduced stricter movement controls in mid May. The traditional wedding ceremony scheduled on the same day was in limbo because under the new restrictions only 2 persons can visit a household in one day and outdoor gathering limited to 2. Well, at least it is not a total lockdown. 

The dilemma then is whether to postpone the traditional ceremony as well. Usually a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony would include the groom going to the bride's house with his groom men to fetch the bride. At the bride's house a bevy of bridesmaid will put them to some challenges (games). Also there is a tea serving ceremony for the parents, uncles and aunts by the couple. 

We were therefore thrown in a dilemma whether to hold a quiet ceremony. Well after the decision was made to go ahead our family decided to bring forward the ceremony to last weekend, just to avoid the sudden announcement of a total lockdown which would render even a quiet ceremony impossible. 

As the decision was made just a couple of days before the forwarded new date, we had to act fast. A 2-person visit restriction means the groom can only come with the photographer. A search was on for one while the boutique was rushed to deliver the bridal gown. Thankfully the fitting was already done. Then there was the rush to purchase items required for the ceremony and the sprucing up of the home and the putting up of decorations with auspicious connotations. 

Well, we made it and surprising enough it was really quite fun. Kept within the family and without friends and relatives hovering around we were relaxed and created plenty of private jokes without abandon. The fact is I, the mother-in-law had to multi task including taking on the role of the bridesmaid to think of fun challenges for the groom ( a usual game played by bridesmaid to tease the groom into doing slapstick gimmicks before allowing him to enter into the bride's room). Well, this MIL has way lost such playful creativity and instead challenged the groom to come up with witty answers for some talking points. Fortunately my son-in-law has humour in abundance and provided slapstick accompaniment which made my tears rolled. 

As the photographer can only take pictures within our home, we initially were worried how many spots of the living room (the only place nicely done up) can be taken. Amazing enough the photographer found spots in the garden and even the messy backyard which could provide good backdrop. The weather was kind too. So we took 80% of photos under the mango tree from various angles. Even the overgrown and bushy curry leaf tree at our messy backyard provided a beautiful green backdrop for the wedding couple in their fineries. I now understand that professional photographers have a third eye, one that is able to pick the good among the mundane and unsightly to bring out the best in others.

If you ask me what was the best shot of the day, hands down it's with our my pet cat. I managed to hold on to her to get a shot with the couple. It turned out to be the best shot. We were all sitting casually on the dining room floor (the wedding couple in their fineries), me laughing, my daughter stroking the cat on one side of me and my son-in-law looking on with affection on the other. The cat was staring at him as if asking "who are you anyway?" I just love this picture, would not have been possible if there was a crowd at home.

So a big thank you to the mango tree and my pet cat. They provided huge support for a memorable day! A wedding in times of a pandemic.