A dream wedding that I didn't dream of
11th May 2015
So, it’s been a month since I’ve been married. I still
haven’t come to terms that I’m married. The very thought of it baffles me. I’ve
been looking at the wedding pictures everyday in the last month, and have had
so many thoughts about it, but never managed to gather my thoughts in black and
white.
It was a dream wedding that I didn’t dream of. I didn’t plan
it. But God took care of all the planning. In fact, he had planned this wedding
before any of us even realised anything. The recollection of how the date was
fixed, how my husband came to Malaysia, how the wedding event was, the
invitation, the guests who came, the people who stepped up to help, etc. leaves
me at a loss for words.
We did not choose the wedding date. The 11th of
April 2015 was reserved for our wedding years before we even knew each other. When we finally knew that the wedding would be
on the 11th of April, we had exactly one month to prepare for it.
Almost everyone said it was impossible to have a wedding in one month’s time
when we hadn’t a clue about anything. Some of my friends said they had 1 year
to plan for their wedding and even that wasn’t enough time.
From the 12th of March till the 11th
of April, not only did we arrange for the wedding, we fixed the house, sorted
out everything for the wedding, sorted out immigration work, managed things for
the grooms family, did pre wedding photoshoot and managed everything that came
up in the last minute. When we started planning on what to do, we were only
hoping for the simplest of everything due to the lack of time. But what we
ended up with was the best of everything.
Instead of a hall with simple decorations and congested buffet
dinner, we got a 5 star award-winning hotel with excellent service and 8 course
Chinese sit in dinner, the best of its kind. The staffs were so accommodating
and quick to organize things according to our personal preference. Instead of a
leaflet type of wedding invitations, which would normally take 7 days to be
printed, we got grand extra large sized wedding invitations that were ready in
2 days!
As for church decorations, all I asked for was a simple arch
and basic ribbons on chairs, but we got a full set of decorations complete with
backdrops, entrance decorations, flower poises, red carpets, ribbons and what
not. There were 4 groups of people working on different things, but it all
matched so well. The pre wedding photoshoot at the bridal shop was something
that I didn’t want at all. But now that’s easily one of the best things I liked
about the wedding. We found so much favour from even the bridal shop about the
photoshoot and the wedding gown and their services. My bridal bouquet was
ordered on the morning of the wedding due to unforeseen circumstances, and even
that turned out perfect. All my brides maids, flower girls and pageboys looked
so cute and were at their best behaviour!
All the guests who came for the wedding and the reception
were so kind and supportive. Some were making time through their busy schedule
to help with distributing invitations, some were organizing decorations, some
were at home helping with even organizing food and washing dishes,
transportation, some stayed awake till 2.30am the night before the wedding to
do my manicure for me.
There was a debate as to which country the wedding and
reception should happen, whether in Malaysia, Glasgow, Germany or even in
India. And then it finally boiled down to Glasgow vs Malaysia, and it looked
like Glasgow was winning. But God had other plans. He had already pre planned
for it to be in Malaysia.
Above and beyond all these things, I was truly overwhelmed
by the support and cooperation that came from every direction. Even people whom
we least expected came in to help. I still remember everyone’s speeches and
wishes. It was the sincerest amongst everything. I least expected any of those,
but I’m so glad we got to experience so much love from everyone. After the
wedding, we got to know that we weren’t the only ones who were so surprised by
the amount of cooperation, the locals themselves were taken aback by such acts
of kindness.
All this has been possible purely by God’s grace, and of
course with the help of family and friends both near and far. It was purely a
miracle and beyond our expectations. I am truly amazed. When we were planning
for the wedding and reception, we wanted to honour God, but what happened was
just the opposite of it. God had honoured us more than we honoured Him.
This is surely a wedding to be remembered. A wedding where
God’s presence overcame the lack of anything and everything, where the rain was
a shower of blessings although many people couldn’t come due to the weather.
From now onwards, 11th of April is not just to
celebrate the anniversary of Laxman and my union, but to celebrate God’s fulfilled
promises and faithfulness in our lives.
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