Reminiscing 10-15-94

14 years ago I woke up at 5:30am running to the Marshall Field's salon on State St. With just a little over 4 hours of sleep, I felt tired but extremely excited for my Wedding Day.

We had a Roman Catholic wedding and a traditional Chinese 10 course banquet reception for almost 300 guests. The day packed with other festivities like the private Tea Ceremony, Lion Dance, and fireworks. It was one magical day that my husband and I will never forget.

Because our wedding was way before all the digital cameras came around and way too lazy to scan the pictures, I decided to take photos from my wedding album with my cell phone. Is that sad? lol


I always liked this "Just Got Married" limo pic maybe because I was able to finally breathe after the ceremony. The picture on the right are of my parents, siblings, and I before the wedding.


We were married in Our Lady Of Lourdes, a beautiful historical church in the north side of Chicago and here is our entire wedding entourage taken in Church. The picture on the right are of the girls and I. I actually designed and picked all the materials for my bridesmaids and flower girls' dresses. The long part of the skirt was taken off at the reception so they also had a simpler and more comfortable look after the church wedding. Hey this was in 1994, so it looked like 1994! lol


Here at the reception with a different dress and do. Traditionally I was supposed to wear a Cheongsam; a Chinese dress, but since I am Filipino I opted for a red cocktail dress instead. It didn't feel right for me to wear one because it felt very fake-y and costume-y. I want it to be significant and not just because I had to. I also didn't feel that connection at that time. And although I am very respectful of the Chinese family I married into, I also thought that it was enough that the whole reception was very Chinese already. The character in the background is called "Double Happiness" which is a symbol that is typically used in Chinese weddings.

I hope that you enjoyed a little piece of my history. At least I enjoyed sharing it with all of you. Happy Anniversary Babe!!!

Comments

MicroBlogginMom said…
Cute MJ! Reading your post feels like DejaVu. I am Filipino & my husband is Chinese. We also had a Roman Catholic Ceremony and Chinese Banquet for 320 guests. I wanted a modern wedding and incorporated some traditional accents to honor my Filipino heritage as well as my new Chinese family. To this day I try to incorporate Filipino and/or Chinese traditions. For example, during the baptism of our children, I had on a Chinese top & my husband had on a Barong Tagalog. Thanks for sharing.
MJ Tam said…
microbloggingmom Ok - I just found my blogging sistah living the same life (well sorta)! And she tweets too! LOL. Thanks for reading.
Anonymous said…
Happy Anniversary!!!!
jessica said…
So beautiful! Thank you for sharing those pictures and the story. I love hearing all the details. And do you know what else I love? You are a gorgeous bride and you are even more stunning now.
MJ Tam said…
Hello Jessica Thank you! You are too sweet.
Mommy Liz said…
Happy Anniversary! Ang sweet huh, bakit ang sexy mo nuon, what happened? Hahaha..Grabe, Grace was so little that time, now, she's 18.
14 years, with 3 beautiful children, still happy and content..Sana kami rin ni Rodney ganyan. Wahhh!!, 10 more years to go for us...
I am so happy for you..Kinikilig ako...
Anonymous said…
Happy Anniversary! I like the limo pic, too.
Happy Anniversary!! Great pictures. You looked beautiful!
Jenny said…
Happy Anniversary! Thanks for sharing your pictures. Looks like it was the perfect day.
Lee said…
Hi MJ, wow! 14 years! Congratulations...and here's wishing you many, many more to come.
Ahaaa! You rode in a lincoln limo...like mine, ha ha, can see the side 'opera windows', only Lincoln has them, thats why I love my car.

Gosh, you both look real good, he married a gorgeous looking wife, still is...not a year older too seeing your recent pics, and he...like a HK film star...abit like Chow Yun Fatt too, ha ha.

Can really see beauty runs in your family, no doubts about that....judging from the pic on the right.

MJ, well done, happy loving and keep those fires burning bright....stay beautiful and best regards, Lee.
TheScrappyMama said…
Happy Anniversary, MJ! I wish you and hubby many more years of happiness.

My hubby is half Filipino and half Mexican. We just went to the courthouse for our wedding, but if we had opted for the whole she-bang I would have loved to incorporate some of his heritage into it the way you all did!
Mom2Amara said…
Happy anniversary! Your story, particularly about Marshall Fields on State, brought a tear to my eye. :)
MJ Tam said…
Mom of Four
What happened? I have 3 big reasons, take a wild guess! lol

Asianmommy
Thanks! Limo pic - there were happy memories attached there too. First time he said "hello mrs. tam" ...giggly moment for s!

Tracey
Aww thanks! what a sweet compliment.

Jen
Thanks! It really was a beatiful day.


U.Lee
Thanks for all those compliments!
My husband looks like Chow Yun Fatt? LOL...I was always in love with CYF! Wow, now after 14 years I can look at my husband in a different light.


TheScrappyMama
Thanks! and oh, I've heard of the term Mexipino. So does yor hsband ever se that term? BTW, not too late to have a lil' renewal of vows...a reason for a celebration:-)


Mom2Amara
I do miss Marshall Fields! Thabks for reading :-)
Oh my gosh! Look at you!! I think you are still absolutely adorable!


Steph
Anonymous said…
Happy Anniversary, MJ! What a lovely story! Congratulations and wishing you many more happy years ahead!
MJ Tam said…
adventures in babywearing and Mrs. Gavina

Thank you! I'm glad you guys enjoyed reading my little story.