6 weeks til I'm Fung tai tai! Eek!
Ok, so strictly speaking it's actually less... it was six weeks on Saturday just gone. That makes our upcoming wedding very very REAL. I can count down in weeks, not months. Crazy. To make it all the more real, this week we had our wedding rehearsal. Never having been married before, I wasn't too sure what a wedding rehearsal consisted of, and was expecting a step by step "you stand there, he says this, you do that" kind of thing. As it turned out, it was much more exciting and enjoyable! Our lovely vicar had informed us that not everyone needed come as they may get bored, but our hing dais (groomsmen) have taken their roles very seriously and so all insisted on coming along with the best man. I suspect it was something of a reconnaissance exercise so they could scope out the church and plan where to stand on the day hehe!
Our vicar was wonderful, explaining the meaning behind each line in the service, providing anecdotes and tidbits of historical interest... for example, the wedding vows have always been "I will", not the "I do" you hear in the movies. Hollywood changed the vows in the first film with sound which featured a wedding, because back then, actors frequently doubled up as ministers, conducting Vegas weddings in their spare time. Producers were worried that if the actor conducting the film wedding was actually a real minister, the acting couple may actually end up married (of course they wouldn't as they wouldn't have been using their real names) so lawyers advised them to change the words and it wouldn't be legally binding... hence "I do" instead of "I will".
Other really interesting historical marriage facts he passed on, was that it is a legal requirement that a bride must remove her veil from her face for the ceremony, and that marriages must take place between dawn or 6am and dusk or 8pm (whichever is earliest). This was to prevent unscrupulous fathers from passing off his eldest daughter as the bride if she was unmarried. It was known to happen, and the father would place a heavy veil over the eldest daughters face whilst locking up the true bride, duping the groom into marrying the wrong sister! So, marriages must take place during daylight hours and the groom must be able to see the brides face! Haha!
He also explained what marriage means, the sacrifices and commitment you make to each other, and gave us lots of advice about making sure we talk to each other about everything, money, children etc etc as much as possible before we get married so there's no surprises afterwards. It was a bit like a mini marriage counselling/lesson but with all our friends and family there. Good thing they're close as I cringed a little when he mentioned being honest about what you like and don't like "in every room of the house"! Think my face went a little pink at that point! Eek! He also talked to us a lot about kids, how it may take a while to conceive and that stress won't help, and to discuss now how far we'd go to have kids and what we'd do if we couldn't naturally.
We did also do a brief walk through of the vows... I think were both going to require tissues at that point. Hubby2b teared up saying his and so did I, so I can guarantee we'll both cry on the day (soppy pair that we are!).
All in all it was a rehearsal for the day and a preparatory session for our marriage. I'm so glad that Roger our vicar is marrying us as I couldn't think of anyone more approachable, down to earth and kind as he is.
So with the rehearsal out the way, all that's left is the stag and hen parties (future hubby is off to Amsterdam this weekend.... scary thought!!! I've got a surprise party planned by my sister this Saturday) and a hair trial and that's it! Eek!!
I really hope I get used to being called Mrs Fung. It sounds so old to my ears right now! Haha!
Our vicar was wonderful, explaining the meaning behind each line in the service, providing anecdotes and tidbits of historical interest... for example, the wedding vows have always been "I will", not the "I do" you hear in the movies. Hollywood changed the vows in the first film with sound which featured a wedding, because back then, actors frequently doubled up as ministers, conducting Vegas weddings in their spare time. Producers were worried that if the actor conducting the film wedding was actually a real minister, the acting couple may actually end up married (of course they wouldn't as they wouldn't have been using their real names) so lawyers advised them to change the words and it wouldn't be legally binding... hence "I do" instead of "I will".
Other really interesting historical marriage facts he passed on, was that it is a legal requirement that a bride must remove her veil from her face for the ceremony, and that marriages must take place between dawn or 6am and dusk or 8pm (whichever is earliest). This was to prevent unscrupulous fathers from passing off his eldest daughter as the bride if she was unmarried. It was known to happen, and the father would place a heavy veil over the eldest daughters face whilst locking up the true bride, duping the groom into marrying the wrong sister! So, marriages must take place during daylight hours and the groom must be able to see the brides face! Haha!
He also explained what marriage means, the sacrifices and commitment you make to each other, and gave us lots of advice about making sure we talk to each other about everything, money, children etc etc as much as possible before we get married so there's no surprises afterwards. It was a bit like a mini marriage counselling/lesson but with all our friends and family there. Good thing they're close as I cringed a little when he mentioned being honest about what you like and don't like "in every room of the house"! Think my face went a little pink at that point! Eek! He also talked to us a lot about kids, how it may take a while to conceive and that stress won't help, and to discuss now how far we'd go to have kids and what we'd do if we couldn't naturally.
We did also do a brief walk through of the vows... I think were both going to require tissues at that point. Hubby2b teared up saying his and so did I, so I can guarantee we'll both cry on the day (soppy pair that we are!).
All in all it was a rehearsal for the day and a preparatory session for our marriage. I'm so glad that Roger our vicar is marrying us as I couldn't think of anyone more approachable, down to earth and kind as he is.
So with the rehearsal out the way, all that's left is the stag and hen parties (future hubby is off to Amsterdam this weekend.... scary thought!!! I've got a surprise party planned by my sister this Saturday) and a hair trial and that's it! Eek!!
I really hope I get used to being called Mrs Fung. It sounds so old to my ears right now! Haha!
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