Chuck and Betty's 55th Anniversary Party

The main purpose for our trip down to Long Island was to attend my aunt and uncle's 55th wedding anniversary. They held it at the Sand Castle, an event centre on Long Island where their son-in-law, John, is the executive chef.

The party was a ritzy affair. It was held between noon and 5:00 on Sunday, October 20th. All the relatives met up a bit early in one of the reception rooms where they served hors d'oeuvres and booze. Any of the guests that arrived early hung out there too.

After that we moved to a large dining area on the second floor. There they served all manner of meat, pasta, seafood and other goodies at different stations around the room. In the middle of the room there was a replica sailing shipped stocked with sushi, shrimp, oysters and lobster. It was all you can eat. And, of course, you could have whatever you wanted to drink. There even was a bartender who descended from the ceiling in a mini bar who made "Chuck-tinis" and "Betty-tinis" in honour of the couple of the day.

But, that was just the warm up for the main sit-down meal which was served in another lovely decorated room back down on the main floor. Diners started with a fruit medley, followed by penne a la vodka and mesclun greens. They then had the choice between filet mignon, rack of lamb, grilled swordfish, sauteed veal chop, French breast of chicken or a vegetarian platter. That was followed by a Viennese café bar where they wheeled out, perhaps, ten trolleys full of a variety of desserts and ice cream to finish off the afternoon (...as if you could actually eat any more).

In between courses there was music played by a DJ and the MC gave dancing lessons. As well there was a photo booth where you could go have your picture taken. You could do three poses and the machine would print out two copies; one for you and one for a souvenir scrapbook.

Sunday - Wedding Day

I attended two weddings this past Sunday. One was planned over many months... the other... over a course of less than a week.

One friend called me on Saturday night and asked me if I was still attending my church downtown. I told him, yes. He told me he was getting married there the next day and asked if I could take pictures for him. I told him, of course I could. The next day at 1:00 I met him there along with his fiancée, mother and sister. She told me he decided to get married the previous Tuesday. He had been seeing his girlfriend for many years and they discussed marriage in the past though.

Our pastor Tom conducted the ceremony. It was simple and fast, but not without it's humorous moments. Part way through the Star Wars theme chimed loudly throughout the sanctuary. It was my friend's phone. He ignored if for awhile, but it wouldn't stop so he turned it off (which he probably should have done before). I tried to keep my composure, but broke out laughing. I have to say it was quite hilarious.

Right after that I went to my former Trader co-worker Carol Chan's wedding at 3:00. She married her long time boyfriend/fiancé Kelvin Siu. The ceremony and reception were held at a banquet facility not far from Vaughan Mills mall.

It was quite nice. I was happy to see a group of my former friends from work again. It's been awhile since I've seen some of them. I was last there three years ago (the summer of 2009). We all sat together at the same table at the reception. Unfortunately we were kind of left in the dark for a good part of the evening because the emcee (and most everyone else who gave speeches) spoke solely in Cantonese. Only Viola (who hails from Hong Kong) could understand what they were saying. Oh well.

Taku and Naomi's Wedding Celebration

Naomi, Taku, Mrs. Kumabe, Taku's sister-in-law, his brother

My friend Taku had a get together at his future condo's party room on August 13th. They were officially married on June 8th at city hall, but only had this celebration for friends this day. In November they will fly to Japan (in the outskirts of Kyoto) for a traditional Japanese style ceremony as well.

I went with one of my friends that I used to work with. A few of my former co-workers from Trader were there. Taku and I used to sit beside one another at work, so many of our friends from the company are the same.

Taku and I both play in the Ultimate (Frisbee) league organized by Cornerstone Church in Markham too. So there were some friends who attended from there as well.

My friend and I were amongst the first groups of people to arrive. We made our way to the party rooms on the second floor. One room had the food and some tables to sit at. The other was for people to mingle in. There was a slideshow going showing pictures of Naomi and Taku there as well as a wedding cake.

Taku and Naomi made a short trivia game to see how well their friends knew them. There were ten questions. After they revealed the answers they gave some prizes away to the people who scored the highest.

The event ended at around 4:00-4:30 p.m., a bit later than the time stated on the invitation (3:30). Though I currently see Taku every week at Ultimate (just for the summer), it was nice to see some of my other friends again.

Tony and Iris get Married

My friends, Tony Lai, and, Iris-youngsun Eom, got married this past Saturday, December 18th, 2010. Pastor Tom Eng presided over the ceremony at our church (Toronto Chinese Presbyterian Church). Most of the guests were friends from our church and Tony's associates from Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.

I picked up Auntie Mary for Tony and brought her to the wedding. My friend Daphne sat with her while I was taking photos. It was a lot of working running around trying to capture all the important moments.

My Friend's Wedding

My friend from church, Michelle, got married this past Saturday. She asked me to take photos for her. It's funny, but I had no idea she was even seeing anybody. I suppose we're not actually that close. I first met her through my former roommate, Youhong. She used to visit him at my condo on a fairly regular basis before he moved to England to study. She started coming to our church at about that time.

It was a small gathering for the wedding. Just a few friends and family from both her side and her now husband, Keith's. I believe most of her family and friends are living in China. So it wasn't a large affair. It was quick and simple. All weddings should be like that.

You can check out my photos here.