Of Wedding Bells & New Year

After the very busy Christmas, I had another busy weekend attending weddings. It was quite exhausting waking up super early almost everyday that I feel like I can doze off anytime now because of the busy weekend! Zzzzzz...

Honestly, I'm not a fan of weddings. I mean I of course I'm happy for the couple but I'm just not so gungho about attending weddings where you eat almost the same dishes and sometimes have to bare with the aunties and uncles who just couldn't get enough of singing heart-breaking songs at people's wedding. I'm not even so excited to think of games to make fun of the groom and his heng dais... But obviously there is no way for me to skip one of my best friends and cousin sister's weddings! 
Ah Fa's wedding dinner took place in Klang and it was quite a simple wedding and surprisingly cool without any karaoke session (phew~ Thank god for that)! It was especially nice to see Ah Fa's mum after so many years! I bet she is very happy now that Ah Fa is in good hands of a very good man! :)

Surprisingly, I love the deco at Ah Fa's wedding! 

Me and the lovely bride! :)

The next morning I was part of the Ji Muis group who tested the groom and heng dais' patience! Although I'm still not a fan of this 'ritual', I must admit I enjoyed seeing the 'chu men' session, especially the final part where the groom, Peng Han had to read out the 'contract' loud and sang a song before getting into the room to see Ah Fa! So touching I hope Deardo would do that to me too! :p

The ji muis and the newly-weds after the whole 'chu men' session! 

To Ah Fa, once again, CONGRATULATIONS and make sure little Ah Fas and Peng Hans come soon okay! *wink~*

Next up, cousin Sin Fei's wedding where almost the whole family gathered once again, even before CNY! :)

The Tan family photo after the morning tea ceremony.

Her wedding dinner has more programmes in the itinerary but as Deardo puts it, it was by far the only wedding that you feel very comfy because the Jazz band was really good and professional, the speeches from the newly-weds and their dads were sometimes funny and sometimes damn touching I couldn't even hold on to my tears! 

I love Sin Fei's pre-wedding photos! It just proofs that you don't need to fly overseas to have nice photos! 

Reunited with Patricia, my colleague/friend in Perth! 

Lovely family portrait with nice contrast of colours too hey! 

I can't remember when was the last time Deardo and I took such a proper photo together! 

Sin Fei's wedding also means a lot to me because it was the day I refreshed myself as an emcee after probably four years? It didn't hit me so much until I went into the ballroom for rehearsal! My hands were so freaking cold and I kept telling Deardo I'm so nervous! Good thing is Deardo is also quite good at presentations so he encouraged me a lot telling me there is nothing to be worried about. And whenever I said a line I'll look at him where he would give me a thumb-up or a nod to signal it was all good! He really made me feel better throughout the night! Of course, my family members also supported me a lot! Papo, who also does emcee for his club's events also gave me great words of encouragement; Mamo said I can go do freelance emcee-ing now and Ducum and Vivian simply gave me thumbs-up whenever I was back to the table for my break! 

Emcee Shirlexia in the house... Still loving the job a lot! :)

Because it was also my first time emcee-ing at a wedding, there are of course rooms for improvements. But luckily enough it went on pretty well, or perhaps I should say much better than what I've expected! I wasn't shivering at all, no tongue-tied moments, etc, only a slight glitch where I forgot to ask everyone to stand for the toasting session until the photographer nudged me! I've certainly gained a lot of confidence through the experience! So to future emcee jobs, bring it on!!! 
For that, I would like to thank Sin Fei and Ivan for trusting me and for the opportunity to be a better emcee. And to Deardo, Papo, Mamo, Ducum and Vivian, thanks so much for your support because I think without your encouragement and supports, I wouldn't have done so well that night! 

*My apology for not sharing more photos because these are the ones I manage to gather so far!

I've got no time to do a review post of 2012 but looking back, the highlights of the year should be: moving into our new house, bringing Deardo to Perth to see where I've lived for two years, getting engaged and going on a work trip to Russia.
I'm expecting a crazy 2013 as we prepare for our big day! This itself will definitely take up most of our time, energy and money. And I can tell you so far only the date and location are fixed, nothing else is confirm! 
For the rest of it, I wish that in the year 2013, I can:
1) Be appreciated more for what I do at work
2) Have more time for movies
3) Have more time for my blog
4) Have a slimmer body
5) Have more money
6) Have all my family members to be healthy so that they can attend my wedding! :)

So to all you guys out there, HAPPY NEW YEAR and have a great year ahead~! :D