Had been busy with son's wedding in PJ.

Renovation to the house just before the wedding created problems of sorting out the finishing touches and cleaning up the mess left by the contractors.

Most of the decisions relating to the wedding were made by Beng and we seemed to be there to play our roles as parents of the groom. I did not know the bridal car until the day before the wedding when he showed me a picture of a Perak registered Bentley! The other three cars were one Alphard and two Estimas, to avoid congestion in the busy one-way road in Section 14. So it was to my horror when Beng's uncle took the remote control and decided to close the gate as the bridal car was about to enter the car porch, meant to make things difficult, like what the bride's girl friends used to do when the groom came for her! Later, when asked about how they felt, the bride said she was more concerned about holding up other people's cars following them. Later as events unfolded, I realized different people have different opinions as to what customary rites should be followed. My daughter Cheng said when her turn comes, she would have a simple wedding with minimum fuss!

My decision to take along my mixer-amplifier and two speakers and a DVD player was a good one as I was able to give them a surprise when I played a CD pre-recorded with the wedding tune and an English and a Chinese wedding song which provided the right atmosphere.

During the pre-wedding buffet, two nephews Shaun and Fung brought their electric guitars and amplifiers and with my bass guitar, we jammed for a while. Later with my friend KC, who showed them his guitar riffs playing Samba Pati. I bet he enjoyed that too. Fung was not given a chance to show off his riffs simply because two old chaps were not familiar with his type of music. I could have arranged for my friend's drums kit but being host, I knew it would be too much trouble and I would be too busy. There was always the concern about noise pollution in a residential area. Even with my jamming with them, I felt guilty for neglecting our guests. The next day, in the afternoon, Shaun stayed behind to jam with me while two beauticians were giving my two daughters a make-over! He really enjoyed the two jam sessions.

I was told this return journey of the couple (after a short round trip on the day of marriage) made it unnecessary for the customary 'fun sum chiu' which the traditional bride had to visit her parents after 3 days of married life!
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