A Beautiful Wedding

Last Saturday I was privileged to attend the wedding of my co-worker, Noelle. She is a dear, dear young woman with a lot of style and class – plus, she is nice. I first met her husband-to-be on July 1, 2015, on my flight to Seattle. Unknown to me, Noelle, her boyfriend, Seak-Kee, and her girlfriend, Nicolle, bought tickets for this same flight to fly to Malaysia, by way of Seattle. And by coincidence, Noelle and Seak-Kee's seats were right next to mine! Nicolle had wanted to sit with them but that seat wasn't available when they purchased their tickets. I looked out the window much of my flight, which I love to do, but occasionally I noticed Seak-Kee trying to hold Noelle's hand. I thought it was really sweet. Little did I know they would be engaged about a year later. . . .



And now, it was the big wedding day.

On Saturday, Noelle and Seak-Kee were married in a beautiful church in south Minneapolis. The sanctuary was lovely. For music, there was a pianist, a violinist, and a vocalist. As the ceremony began, Seak-Kee and three other young men came out from the front of the church. As they waited for the bridesmaids, Seak-Kee became very emotional. My heart went out to him. Then as each bridesmaid approached the front of the church, the corresponding groomsman stepped out of place and walked part way down the aisle to escort her. I loved that part of the ceremony. But then, when Seak-Kee's daughter, Ava – the junior bridesmaid – made her way to the front, Seak-Kee—in tears—stepped out of place and met her half way up the aisle and escorted her. It was so tender.






Noelle's father walked Noelle down the aisle. They had been preceeded by Seak-Kee's father who escorted his wife and Noelle's mother. This photo shows Noelle's parents assisting her with removing her veil after they gave her away to Seak-Kee.

 

One element of their wedding was so unique. Noelle and Seak-Kee walked over to an easel where a canvas was mounted that had the outline of two adjoining hearts. Seak-Kee opened two tubes of oil paint—hers: gold; his: dark blue. They proceeded to brush their paint around the perimeter of each heart. When they came to the intersection of the hearts, they combined their paints to form a blended color – symbolic of their lives joining. I thought it was wonderful.

I have no photo of this, but Ava, Seak-Kee's daughter, read 1 Corinthians 13 in Mandarin. It was beautiful.



The exchange of rings



Bowing in prayer

I loved this part of the ceremony: a tea ceremony, in which the bride and groom walked to each set of parents and had them come to the altar for a sip of tea, and then a hug for each parent. This was to honor Seak-Kee's Chinese heritage.





Mr.and Mrs. Chew

Wedding guests were given streamers to toss at the newlyweds as they exited the church.

This beautiful 1930 Model A was used to transport the bride and groom to the wedding reception.


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For the reception, we drove to Como Zoo where there is now a beautiful space for parties and such things. Here are a few photos from the reception.




Beautiful centerpiece



The Chinese symbol for "double happiness" held our place cards. The table had a beautiful blue runner and little votive candles. We chose our entrée when we sent in our RSVP. I had a delicious pork dinner, followed by wonderful wedding cake.



Mr. and Mrs. Chew entering the reception

This lovely "Welcome" sign was used both at the church and at the reception.

Cutting the wedding cake was a special part of the evening. Once cut, Noelle and Seak-Kee hand delivered a piece to each guest. I really liked this! Plus, the wedding cake was delicious!

Mr. and Mrs. Seak-Kee Chew