the(new)mediaslut

themediaslut was invited to an uncle’s wedding on Thursday.

This uncle seem rather young to be themediaslut’s uncle but based on the generation ranking system in the family, he arn’t heavy, his my uncle.. 

Attending the wedding also allowed themediaslut to experience first hand at a modern Singapore Chinese wedding and good time to practice some photo shooting skills.

The groom (left) is from Singapore and the bride (to be unveiled later) is from Malaysia.

The day started off from the groom’s place in the east and it is tradition to travel from the groom’s parents place to the bride’s parents place to pick her up and escort her back to the groom’s place.

The groom was all waiting and anxious to get the show on the roll.

The Chinese traditionalist would have seek advice from a fortune teller to seek the best time for the groom to leave the house.

However, the parents of the groom are rather modern in their thinking so the groom left accordingly as planned in the wedding intinary as it would be a long day ahead.

However, there were some traditions that were also practised.

For example, when the groom arrived at the bride’s, it is traditionally Chinese for the bride’s youngest brother to open the door of the arriving groom’s carriage.

If the bride does not have any younger brother, the responsibility of opening the door goes to the youngest male, usually nephew or younger male cousin.

On arrival of the bride’s house, there are a couple of obstacles to cross.

First, the main door.

The groom have to bribe the door watchers, usually the sisters or female relatives, to open the door and let the groom in.

The door watchers will ask for a Hong Bao (red packets filled with cash) and mostly start the amount at S$888.

After much bargaining, the groom managed to get the first door opened with a Hong Bao less than S$888, exact amount unknown.

Unfortunately for the groom, there’s another door he had to overcome before he gets to the bride.. He dishes out his ammo of Hong Bao to bribe the another door watcher…

Finally, the door guardians have finally relented to the groom, otherwise the wedding would not have continue either.

Hence the first thing the groom has to do is unveiled the bride.

Now, it was time to take a family portrait with the bride’s parents.

Soon its time for the couple to leave for groom’s house and the father of the bride makes a symbolic gesture of handing over her daughter to her husband.

As the daugher leaves, the father of the bride does one last act of his responsiblity of bringing up his daughther by sheltering her with a red umberella to the wedding car.

As the couple reaches the groom’s house, the youngest male relative of the groom is now responsible for opening the car as the couple makes their way into the house.

The groom’s mother welcomes the couple into the house.

The bride enjoying the view from the nuptial room.

"Show’s over," says the husband as the couple continue to pose for more photos.

Couple serving each other a bowl of "duan yuan" which is made up of red and white glutenious rice balls.

This symbolise the couple willingness to serve each other during the wedding.

The rest of the family and relatives prepare for the "Tea Ceremony".

The "Tea Ceremony" symbolise the couple’s respect for their elders in the family.

The tea is usually made from boiling red dates and dried longang fruit.

The "Tea Ceremony" usually starts with the eldest relatives and it moves down to the youngest elder in the relative, who is usually the older sister or brother.

This "Tea Ceremony" is watched over by a parent who will introduce the family to both the bride and groom, and how the elders should be called.

Usually, the couple will serve the tea kneeling down. The groom’s family are, however, quite modern and allowed the couple to serve tea to them standing up.

After the tea ceremony, it was time to head to the Registry of Marriage (ROM) for the solemization ceremony.

In Singapore, almost all couples solemization at the ROM, though it can be done at churches or arrange for the Justice of Peace to solemize the wedding outside of the ROM.

As the couple approach the entrance of the ROM, there is a guard who does the necessary checks to ensure the right couple is entering the solemization hall accordingly.  

As the father of the groom takes out the necessary documents, the Justice of Peace starts the solemization procedures.

The couple exchanges rings and the father, as one of the witness, signs on the marriage certificate.

After the short 15 minutes solemization ceremony, the couple is now legally married in the eyes of Singapore law.

The couple and family pose for one more time outside the ROM as they head home to prepare for the Chinese wedding dinner later in the evening. 

Photos of the wedding dinner will appear in Part two.