| Why? |

Why issit that some couples keep sucha low profile while planning their weddings and others simply have to fuss over it forgetting how it is suppose to be in God and your parents’ honour that they even wed in the first place?

Over the long weekend, apart from falling terribly sick, we had the opportunity to bless a couple at their church wedding. The beauty of this couple is that they kept it really low profile that we had no idea they were even throwing a dinner banquet - at Grand Hyatt no less - and even headed straight for their honeymoon! Okkayy I got slightly distracted there.

Back to the point. What I really wanted to say was their wedding ceremony was simple yet touching. After their holy matrimony, all the elders, leaders and pastors of the church were invited to pray for the new couple and amidst the prayers were very powerful prophetic words about their destiny together. I couldn’t stop tearing, really.

Wow.

So planning for my own wedding now, trust me, I know how hard it is to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes we just wanna shout it out to the world and hopefully as many people as possible catch a glimpse of that joy that’s in us. Yeah, that is what most couples are like. BUT, we are also audience/public-conscious. Meaning, we know how awkward or uncomfortable such enthusiasm makes some people, especially the singles as well as the to-be-brides/grooms feel, so we keep a nice balance.

I have been dying to blog this for awhile now, so just bear with me.

I have been a jiemei for about 4-5 times. While it is not a high occurrence, I am just trying to highlight my experience. Maybe the brides whom I’ve helped before were really humble, low-key, down-to-earth people with no RARA about them – the really nice people, which was why I readily agreed to help them.  But the latest one which I said yes to really tested my patience.

Allow me to exaggerate.

4-5 months before her wedding and she already linked up all her jiemeis via email. Fine. But more recently, starting a groupchat via whatsapp? That is just way overboard man. Look people, I have work. My new job is rather demanding and I have work, tons of it to follow through, tons of it to finish by a certain deadline. Seven Dresses can be quite demanding too but at least I don’t have msgs then keep going off for the entire day and sometimes even for dayS! By the end of the day, my phone batt is flat. Well done, isn’t it?

I get it, you’re excited about your wedding. So am I. But Hello, a lil bit of conscious here would be greatly appreciated, yes?

One more thing about her jiemeis is that one of them is trying to make the couple a surprise video where it would touch them to bits. Honestly, I didn’t sign up for any of these where it had to take up my extra time video-recording. I have no time, period. So when I told them very nicely how I really cannot chip in so much because Hello, I have my own wedding to get busy with, no one wanted to respond. Then they did (after some time), but it was quite a rude response.

And to my horror, I just found out how the gate-crashing was to be on separate weekends and it had to involve some sports. O.M.Y!

I almost died. Can I back out now, seriously? I am so accident-prone and have highly sensitive skin (atopic eczema) and barely 2 months to my own wedding and I have to do all these for you at the risk of hurting/harming myself?! I am honestly having second-thoughts.

Another thing. Meeting up.

How many of you know how shy and sometimes even anti-social I am if I don’t know you well enough? I can just sit there with you, face-to-face staring down at you for hours and not say a word simply because I don’t know you well. So here comes the happy bride-to-be trying to link everyone up 4 months before her actual day for buffets and high-teas and whatnots. Once in October, another in November. I won’t be surprised if there would be another in December, and even January.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not a rich girl. I do not come from a wealthy family nor do I earn much a month and in fact, owning Seven Dresses and my nett worth is on the declining stage. So, when someone says to have buffets/high-teas on a monthly basis, what is my natural reaction? Painful of course. Why can’t you be a lil bit more considerate and think if others can afford such an extravagant lifestyle like you? One buffet or high-tea to discuss EVERYTHING and I am more than happy to oblige. But once every month? I am really not sure. 

And even if the bride-to-be pays for the meals at these meetings, won't we - on the receiving end - feel bad about her having to waste that kind of unnecessary money? I've a heart, you know?

So if you ask me why am I penning this? I’ll tell you why. Its because I need an outlet.

I’m happy for all the brides-to-be in the world – myself included – but please, be considerate.