Singapore Wedding - April 1st, 2000

OUR INTERNATIONAL WEDDING PARTY:
Everyone, starting from the left:

Prakash and his wife (Indian),
Kamaljit (British Indian), 

David Lim and his wife (Chinese), 

me (American) and Shree (Indian)

with Aditya and Payal (Prakash's kids), 

then James and his wife (Scottish),

Sean's wife (Malaysian) 

(Sean, British, is the one taking the photo) 

and S.C. Tan (Singaporean)

On the way to the Registry of Marriages (where everyone is required to do it), we had arranged for a taxi to pick us up. I was nervous about being in a saree for the first time, and my biggest fear was for it to fall off. Five yards of silk simply wrapped around me and thrown over my shoulder isn't exactly the way I feel "dressed."

So, it was time to go down to wait for the taxi to come and we all were standing on the sidewalk.  When you order a cab, the company gives you the cab number so you know it when it arrives and that is what Shree was looking for.  I hear him say, as I am fussing over my five yards of silk, "Here it is!" I look up to see it pass us, with the driver turning completely around in his seat to stare at the blonde in the rainbow-colored saree.  Also, we saw the realization on his face that it was us he was there to pick up.  We watched as he went through the light to the next place that he could turn around and then pass us again, on the other side of the medium to get to the next turn-around spot to get back to us. So, finally we had our cab.  In Shree's haste to get in, he sat on the "tail" of my saree (the rest of the part that gets thrown over the shoulder at the end) and I felt everything I was wearing shift.  I screamed and said, "OH GAWD, this thing is coming off."  A smiling cab driver immediately turned around to say, "What can I do to help?" as an irate husband-to-be told him curtly just to drive, he'd take care of it.  We both came to find out the zillion pins I'd made Prakash's wife fix it up in had done their job and no harm was done to my wrapped up strip of silk.  Relieved about that, then I fretted we'd now be late for our own wedding (which we almost were).

Prakash and family took a second cab behind us and somehow managed to get there before we did.  (I think the cab driver took the long way, on purpose, to drag things out as long as possible.)  Matter of fact, EVERYONE was there before us.  I barely got through the door before they were calling us for our turn.  David stood up for me, as my family and witness to the marriage, and Prakash stood up for Shree.  Moments later, it was over and I'd managed to say Shree's whole name for the first time as I promised to love, honor and cherish him.

This was our first wedding (a second one was done in U.S.A. a few years later to satisfy immigration requirements), but this first one, our "April Fool's" one, will always be my favorite memory.

The Vows are >>here<<