Aya & Lauren'ts wedding (finally!)

As promised, from long time ago, a blog entry bout Aya and Laurent's wedding. Darn, i know it's been for ever, the newlyweds have already come back from their honeymoon! Argh... sorry for the long delay, I'm a horrible person...

It wasn't the first wedding that I've attended, but it was the first wedding amongst my close friends. The fact that Aya was the bride of this marraige made the occation even more especial, so much so that I was able to overthrow my previous skepticisms and bias bout visiting China. Frankly, I was happy that the occation gave me a good reason to step foot on Mainland China. (No, not Motherland, just Mainland)

Altho the actual wedding reception won't be until next year, their civil ceremony was really heartwarming, knowing that 2 people whose care and devotion for each other made them unite at the point and time where they were--on Thursday May 24, 2007, Aya and Laurent got married in the French Embassy in Beijing. Words cannot describe how proud I am, seeing them overcome the uncertainties and differences.

And it was quite obvious that their marriage was filled with blessings from family and friends, since 15 people, from 4 different countries, speaking 5 different languages, have all come together to share their happiness.

But before the official ceremony, that day actually started at photo studio in the morning, where JunJun and I met the groom's friends and relatives for the first time. They were great people (no wonder Laurent is that nice as well), and despite some minor communication problems, we all still managed to have some picture fun of our own while the bride and groom were asked to stay in the other room for the photoshoots.

Once the modelings and shootings were done, hunger kicked in. However, we had little time to waste since the appointment with the French embassy was coming up shortly, so we decided to grab something quick around the corner.

And the only good stuff around the corner was--McD's. LOL

It was then when, a bunch of us, all properly dressed up like any guest to a wedding should be, walked into McD, ignoring all the glares and stares, and happily ordered the good 'ole "le Big Mac" et "burger avec le fromage".
Quite funny to see the McD's lady come over to help us take our orders, and it was specially cute to see Aya, Laurent, and the rest of the gang being very very careful with their burgers, for any drop of mayo or ketchup can ruin their pretty clothes.
FYI, I'm still boycotting McD's, that's why I didn't order anything from the store, but it sort of satisfied my wish (or someone elses' dreams as well) in a way, to be dressed-up and eat at a fast-food restaurant.
I mean, hey, it's fun!

Once the burgers were in our tummies, we proceeded to the French Embassy (btw, people were still looking at us on the streets), and a few of the newlywed's co-workers also joined us for the celebration.

It was my first time to see how the civil ceremony is done. Very simple, very formal, very paperwork-ish. Short and sweet.

The embassy's officers showed up with some formal documents, everything ready so the couple and their witnesses can sign. They read the paperworks, made sure all the information is correct, and asked us to sign the documents.
And then... "I pronounce you Mr & Mrs Viard~!"
All this, of course, was in French!
Me like~ ^__^

To me, this is how a true wedding ceremony should be.
No duties, no obligations, no hazzles, no selfishness, no need of lavish luxury and preparation.
Pure commitment, pure happiness, pure desire of sharing the special moment with your beloved ones.
And all the best wishes and blessings from friends and relatives.

I can say this over and over again: CONGRATS AYA & LAURENT!!