愛-Vey! Before the First Note

While we were getting misty-eyed at the bedecken ceremony, our guests were beginning to arrive at our ceremony site on the marina. But don't let the fancy phrase "on the marina" fool you: our ceremony site was a glorified tennis court.

Oh well. When the hotel gives you tennis court . . .

just direct the guests' eyes upward by means of colorful lanterns and hope that it gets dark fast enough that no one notices the tarping and the green floor! While in Hong Kong over the summer, I bought seven dozen paper lanterns on the cheap from a vendor that was happy to get rid of off-season products. (No one uses lanterns there until the Mid-Autumn Festival in the fall.) I made throwies (using Mrs. Tiramisu's instructions) and Angel painstakingly tied the throwies onto the lanterns, then the lanterns onto monofilament for hanging.

As guests arrived, they picked up kippot and programs.

Since we had to delay our ceremony long enough to allow us to sign our ketubah (marriage contract) after the end of the sabbath (remember our timing snafu??), we were worried that our guests would get restless and grumpy. I've been Chewish long enough to know that nothing good comes of keeping Chinese people and Jews away from the promise of a good dinner! But from the photos, it seems like they were placated by the non-alcoholic beverages, the musicians tuning up, and the opportunity to catch up with each other. Though the more adorable guests did seem less than impressed with the pre-ceremony entertainment.

Some guests occupied themselves by signing our guest book, while others wrote beautiful wishes for us and hung them on the branches of our chuppah. Ah to be married beneath an awning of good wishes!

Speaking of the chuppah, our florist Kate did an amazing job translating my Chewish vision into reality. I wanted to construct a Jewish wedding canopy out of recognizably "eastern" materials. The branches of the chuppah were made of cherry blossom branches, on which were hung delicate candles and crystals. And the base of each leg of the chuppah was filled with gorgeous peonies.

What was most special about the chuppah, though, was that its roof was made from a tablecloth that Mr. HC's maternal grandmother embroidered. Bubbie was an expert knitter, sewer, and embroiderer, and this tablecloth -- a gift from her to Mr. HC's mother -- was what she was working on around the time she passed away. This beautiful, half-finished tablecloth was a reminder of her and a symbol of possibility and loss.

While our guests were schmoozing, FFIL HC was giving Mr. HC a final pep talk -- "Okay, son, put your left foot down, then your right foot." -- or, more likely, the two doctors were chatting with each other about some esoteric study that just got published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Hot Grandmama Cocoa and Hot Mama Cocoa were lining up and getting ready to walk their amazingly youthful, unfairly photogenic selves down the aisle.

And my truly fantastic bridal party were cozying up to keep me warm. Notice that Grandpa HC seemed to be enjoying their closeness even more than me! Yowza!

And then the first few breathtaking notes of the wedding processional that Mr. HC composed began, and all fell quiet . . . .

Photos by Leigh Miller Photography, Luna Photography, and Della Chen Photography.