The Wedding of Kenzo and Hooi Lin

Okay, I don't normally make a point of mentioning names in this website, but it was their wedding, and it was a grand affair, and since I'm going to say mostly positive things about it, there's no problem mentioning their names. I have never attended a wedding like ths before.

Firstly, a little background: I know Hooi Lin through her involvement with the Bookshop, so we're not complete strangers, but I don't know her so very, very well either. Anyway, I mention this for a reason, and I'll expound a little later.

This wedding has always been planned to be a grand affair. I understand it's been in the works for over a year. The invitation was delivered by hand, and each card inside was hand-tied with a bow. The stamp used was from a limited edition set of roses bought in bulk months before the invitation was handed out. The whole thing spoke of "hey, this is a big deal for me, and it'll be a big thing for you too if you come".

Next, the venue: the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion in Georgetown, Penang, the famous blue house now restored as a hotel. It's famous for its ambience, its beauty and for being a very good example of heritage conservation. They took the whole house up for the weekend.

When you approach the house you can't help but notice that something special is happening that night. The lighting and overall decor on the outside was engaging. Then you step through the front door and - wow - they had an arch of roses in the roofless courtyard with pink fabric all around.

There was the obligatory baby pictures slide show (which to me is as good a reason as any to not have a public wedding). After that there was a very stylish movie that brought together the couple's official wedding pictures which ran while the bride and groom came out under a shower of pink feathers and petals and re-enacted their vows under the rose arch.

Did I mention that Hooi Lin has a penchant for pink?

Then, what is the highlight for most Chinese weddings - the dinner. The courses were served Chinese-style (each dish in turn, one by one), but the dishes were a mix of chinese and malay (for example: satay, jellyfish, ayam percik, kailan with mushroom, sago gula melaka and crispy pancake). I must say the food was uniformly good.

Now, I have to explain something. Hooi Lin knew that I am a big (BIG) Sheila Majid fan, and she tried to seat me at the same table as her, but due to a mix-up with table seatings (nobody's fault, really), that didn't happen. That was unfortunate for me, but the point is that she was thoughtful enough to put me as an 11th person on a table for ten just because she knew that it would mean a lot to me. On a night where she had every right to think of herself and her husband, she took the trouble, despite me not being a very close friend of the family's. That's the kind of person she is.

No matter, the company at the table was good. It included the bridesmaids/maidens (I made the fatal mistake to ask what the difference was), three of Hooi Lin's friends that she made years ago in Japan as part of a student exchange (or something) and Jeep (Jip?), a musical lecturer at USM and all-round good-bloke jazz pianist. Actually, if you get the chance to listen to him, do so, I think he's quite good.

After dinner, there were the obligatory speeches followed by a triplet of songs by Sheila Majid herself, accompanied by her husband Acis on the keyboards (Lagenda, Aku Cinta Padamu and ... an English jazz song whose title I don't know). I thought it was quite... improper to ask her for an encore, seeing that it was somebody else's wedding and all the attention should have been on the bride and groom and not the live entertainment.

Then, more singing, and discoing. Into the wee hours, I understand. Some of the guests were staying there at the hotel itself and I guess they must have been partying all night long since there's no way anybody could have slept through that.

Me? I had chaffeuring duties the next morning, so I spared people the sight of a tubby guy in batik grooving away on the dance floor. Maybe next time.

A really unique experience - as one guest mentioned, "this isn't a wedding, it's a fully-fledged production!". The only major discord was that some people became fairly loud after downing the jars a little too eagerly and - my opinion - if you can't handle yourself after a few drinks, then don't drink.