Tien Chiu

  • Home
  • About Tien
    • Honors, Awards, and Publications
  • Online Teaching
  • Gallery
  • Essays
  • Travels
  • Book
  • Blog
  • Dye samples
You are here: Home / All blog posts / Wedding bells
Previous post: Social whirlwind
Next post: Many shades of making

June 13, 2010 by Tien Chiu 9 Comments

Wedding bells

I woke up well before dawn the morning of the wedding, and was too nervous to go back to sleep.  Instead, I got up, checked my pre-wedding checklist, loaded up the car, wrote six thank-you notes, printed out my wedding speech and our vows, got breakfast at the local bagel shop, and then walked around the block for twenty minutes, reading my vows and speech out loud, so I wouldn’t stumble over them at the wedding.

At seven-thirty, I went to the makeup artist, and spent two hours there, getting my face painted and my hair done up.  The process was far more complex than I’d expected ““ first a primer to make the makeup last longer, then concealer, foundation, and powder.  Then some slightly darker makeup to slim my face and make the cheekbones more prominent, and to darken the curve of the jaw.

After that, she applied blush, which looked too heavy to me, but she explained that the blush powder would fly away over time, so she needed to apply more to make it last.  Then on to the eyes ““ first a special primer, eye makeup foundation, powder, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and false lashes.  I watched, fascinated, as she transformed my face completely.  Truly, artistry!

The hair proved a little awkward.  The florist’s headpiece, a wonderful confection of gardenias and orchids, turned out to be way too large – we really needed a single flower, not an entire headband.  So we did the rest of the hair, drawn over to the left side of my head, pinned with the gold double-happiness pin, and cascading down in soft curls down the front, and agreed that I would stop by the supermarket on the way to the wedding and buy some flowers there.

B. and I finally left at 9:30am.  We arrived at the ceremony site a little later than anticipated, and many guests were already there.  Thankfully, most of the wedding party had already arrived, and as soon as I arrived, they fanned out in all directions, setting things up and freeing me to focus on my own preparations.

I had planned to have my mother help me into the dress, but she was unfortunately ill with food poisoning, and (much to my disappointment) was unable to attend the wedding.  So instead I chose my dear friend Lena, who had moved to India some five years ago and had flown in for the wedding.  She helped me fix a few makeup smudges, fix a single gardenia bloom into my hair, and step into the dress.  I was terrified that I was going to rip the hem or something, but she settled me down and got me into the strapless bra, the shoes, and the dress.

Finally, Lena took down the coat, held it for me, and carefully fastened the three hooks and eyes in front.  She handed me my bouquet, a beautiful confection of white lilies and roses, accented with pale gold roses and feathery ferns, tied with a gorgeous gold ribbon ““ and turned me to the mirror.

I gasped.  As much and as hard as I’d worked on the outfit, I was totally unprepared for the vision in the mirror”¦the beautiful, regal bride in the mirror couldn’t possibly be me.  Could it?

I could have gazed in the mirror all day, unbelievingly, but the guests had taken their places, and my friend Herve, who was officiating, had started speaking.  I scurried over as the others started their procession.  First B.’s parents, then B., then my father, brother, and mother’s husband, then”¦

“¦me.

Walking down the aisle was indescribable.  Momentous, glorious, and yes, triumphal.  A year’s labor for the wedding ensemble, now shown in all its glory, and a wonderful tribute to love and to B..  The harp played “Trumpet Voluntary”ť as I made my way slowly down the aisle and turned to face the man I love.

Friends and family spoke, but I hardly heard them, being too occupied gazing at the man I was about to marry.  My friend Lena, who is a Tibetan lama, blessed us with holy water.  And then it was time for us to read our speeches to each other, and exchange vows.

B.’s words to me were beautiful, heartfelt, and romantic.  I started misting up as he said them to me.  Then I read my words for him ““ a free verse poem ““ and by the time I reached the end, I was crying tears of joy.  Then we exchanged vows, and rings.  Finally, our officiant read out the words that bound us, and we kissed for the first time as husband and wife.

After being presented to the guests, we departed down the aisle to the joyous strains of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”ť.  We had a lovely lunch ““  old friends and new, family meeting family for the first time.  The wine was wonderful ““ my brother, a vintner, had brewed four different wines for the occasion, and my sister-in-law, a graphic designer, had created beautiful custom wine labels for us.  We spent time at each table, receiving congratulations and visiting with the guests.

Too soon, it was time to leave the reception.  We stopped by the hospital to visit my mother ““  collecting stares as the newly wedded couple in full bridal regalia sailed through the hallways ““ bringing the wedding to her, since she wasn’t able to be at the wedding.  (Fortunately, she was feeling much better, and was discharged shortly thereafter.)

After a dinner with family and close friends, the day drew to a close.  We said farewell to friends and family, collected a few last well-wishes, and headed home to get some sleep before heading off on our honeymoon in Vancouver.  We were exhausted, triumphant ““ and married.

Share this post!

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Discover more from Tien Chiu

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Filed Under: All blog posts, musings, sewing, textiles, weaving Tagged With: wedding, wedding dress

Previous post: Social whirlwind
Next post: Many shades of making

Comments

  1. Laura says

    June 13, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    May you have many happy years together.

    cheers!
    Laura

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. Sharon says

    June 13, 2010 at 11:13 pm

    I’m glad everything went so well. I can’t wait to see the pictures.

    Loading...
    Reply
  3. Alison says

    June 14, 2010 at 12:23 am

    Tien, I’m so sorry your mother couldn’t attend the wedding, but other than that, it sounds like a wonderful day. A truly beautiful, individual, and heartfelt wedding.

    Congratulations, and may joy and happiness reign in your future.

    Loading...
    Reply
  4. Sherri says

    June 14, 2010 at 3:46 am

    What a wonderful description! I almost felt I was there. Best wishes to you both.–Sherri

    Loading...
    Reply
  5. Cynthia Teague says

    June 14, 2010 at 4:09 am

    So lovely! Best wishes and congratulations to you both.

    Loading...
    Reply
  6. Rose says

    June 14, 2010 at 5:54 am

    Thank you for sharing the description–May you have may happy years together!

    Rose

    Loading...
    Reply
  7. Annette says

    June 14, 2010 at 9:45 am

    Congratulations, Tien!! I wish you and B. many many years of joy and happiness….

    Loading...
    Reply
  8. bibliotecaria says

    June 17, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    Congratulations, again! In so many ways, it sounds like the wedding of your dreams (other than the sick mother, ick!). I’m glad you got to see her, though; at first I thought you meant she had gotten sick on the East coast and couldn’t even be close.

    I know you two will be happy together. May you have many long years of joy.

    Loading...
    Reply
  9. KathleenC says

    July 20, 2010 at 7:14 am

    Oh my goodness… I’m tearing up just reading this! Many long and glorious years of happiness together to you!

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Archives

Tags

aids lifecycle outfits autumn splendor book cashmere coat cats celtic braid coat color study cross dyeing design design class devore doubleweave doubleweave shawls drawing dye samples dye study group gradient colors house infinite warp jacquard loom katazome knitted blanks kodachrome jacket ma's memorial mohair coat network drafted jacket/shawl project network drafting painted warp phoenix rising phoenix rising dress phoenix rising kimono phoenix rising reloaded pre-weavolution project sea turtles taquete tie-dye tied weaves tomatoes velvet weaving drafts web design website redesign wedding wedding dress woven shibori

Categories

  • Africa
  • aids lifecycle
  • All blog posts
  • All travel posts
  • Asia
  • Bangkok
  • Belize
  • Cambodia
  • Central America
  • Chai Ya (Wat Suon Mok)
  • Chiang Mai
  • Chiang Rai (Akha)
  • China
  • chocolate
  • computer stuff
  • creating craft
  • Creative works
  • cycling
  • Delhi
  • Dharamsala
  • drawing
  • dyeing
  • Fiber Arts
  • finished
  • food
  • garden
  • Ghana
  • Guatemala
  • Hanoi
  • Ho Chi Minh City
  • Hoi An
  • India
  • Khao Lak
  • Knitting
  • knitting
  • Ko Chang
  • Laos
  • Luang Namtha
  • Luang Prabang
  • markleeville death ride
  • meditations on craft
  • mental illness
  • musings
  • Phnom Penh
  • powerlifting
  • Rewalsar (Tso Pema)
  • sewing
  • Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)
  • Southeast Asia
  • surface design
  • textiles
  • Thailand
  • travel
  • Vangvieng
  • Vientiane
  • Vietnam
  • Warp & Weave
  • weaving
  • Weaving
  • weavolution
  • writing

© Copyright 2025 Tien Chiu · All Rights Reserved ·

%d