Let us celebrate this occasion with cake and sweet words

Let us celebrate this occasion with cake and sweet words

Weddings, festive occasions to celebrate the binding of two lovers in an eternal sacred bond. One that stands tall thru the persistant proddings of better or worst, riches or poor. On a personal note, I've never taken a liking to these less than spontaneous events that we Chinese, often take to exaggertaing heights. Piled up hair, blown up dresses with trailers that lend you tripping down the hallway with a wrong step, giant ballrooms that send the hundreds of guests home with an aching neck from having to strain to see the bride as she made her grand entrance. No, I've never enjoyed these events. But for me, the most prized moment is watching as the bride gives her charming groom a tiny smile, fatigue showing but still embracing the warmth of true love and the comforting assurance that 'everything is going to be alright'.

Just this weekend, I had the honour of attending my cousin's wedding tea ceremony. Held at my Da-yi-ma's place, the theme was a spectacle of gold, silver and the occasional crystal courtesy of the vintage gold guilded cutlery and trays that my aunt had collected over the years. The house was a flurry of activity, days before the event with final polishings being done and large pails of fresh flowers in a spread of adoring colors brought into the space.

I did my best and got the part that spelled 'A-s-s-i-s-t-a-n-t C-a-t-e-r-e-r'. Fortunately, with a wonderful cake recipe in tow just in time from the cake slice bakers, I happily recieved the task of baking the wedding cake. *screams*. Now I wonder what I was thinking. Coupled with that task, I made tiny dessert cups of tiramisu, the most adorable cheesecake lollipops (recipe courtesy of Jill O'Conner) and rich fudgey brownies (from Baked New Frontiers in Baking) all in a single night. I could have sworn that the 2 hours of sleep sort of drove me a little over the bend. But I pulled thru! Best of all, I couldn't help but smile thru my beady eyes when I heard the grateful acknowledgements from the happy couple. ahhh.

The Lemon Blueberry marbled cake which i altered to encompass a layer of homemade lemon curd and another of blueberry conserve was hopefully perfect for the occasion. Fashioned to match the vintage settings, I held my breath as the knife glided thru the top tier. Bursts of claps met my ear and the serenading and relentless chatter continued. My heart broke into song.

The afternoon was all about sweet nothings. Disturbed only by the monkey gestures and rowdy comments from the group of cousins. But seriously, we meant well. We really did. Blame it on the sugar rush from the golden array of sweet nibbles strewn across the surface of the grand piano. From berry custard tarts to royce champagne chocolates, durian crepe cakes and romantic long stemmed strawberries; my world was practically spinning from the sugar rush. Thank goodness for the cup of hot coffee served in gold guilded saucer nonetheless. All in all, the wedding high tea buffet was an enormous success, with an inbuilt air of poshness and tinge of humble romance floating thru the air. Everyone was enchanted.

With a simple yet elegant ceremony, her entrance was more than welcomed. And as Grace dearly put it, 'Thanks for coming.', in other words, thank you Gwen for entering into our lives and making Ben Kor Kor probably the happiest man ever.

From all of us:

May God bless this sacred union.