Friday I'm in Love (5b)

Friday's rehearsal was practice, practice, practice and hot, Hot, HOT! The sun was shining and we were starting to get worried..."what if it is this hot tomorrow???" At the time of the rehearsal we were planning on the ceremony and reception both to be outside, assuming it wasn't raining.

We ran through the basic outline of the ceremony two times, working mostly on walking in and out and where to stand, when to move, etc. We had a lot of different elements to work into the ceremony so there were quite a few details to hammer out. The best part was watching our bridesmaids and grooms-people connect! We'd made arrangements ahead of time about who would walk with who and it turned out perfectly!! They looked great! There was a lot of coaching coming from the American side because, not only had the Chinese side never been in a Western-style wedding, but they had never been to one, they only knew what they'd seen in American movies. So all of those things that us Americans think of as common sense...how to walk in, how to escort a lady, how and where to stand, we had to be sure to explain so they weren't left in the dark. It was so interesting...I'm such a detail person and I truly thought that I'd planned for everything that might pop up in the ceremony but there were so many things that I just didn't anticipate and most of them were cultural - it was so amazing to see it all come together and to see everyone contribute to making it happen. Thanks wedding party...you were the BEST that I could have ever asked for!! :)

Zhao Bin (one of our officiants) coaching the groom's side on how/where to stand...



Telling Haike, "after Shannon hugs her dad, you should shake his hand..."



Practice walking in...



After the rehearsal, we took lots of pictures! Here's a few:

Our two officiants, Cindy and Zhao Bin. Actually, they are not ordained because we didn't get legally married in Thailand, we just went through the motions. (We were already legally married in China...tee hee!) Cindy and ZB are our amazing friends from China, the two who know us best as a couple and who coached us through a lot of the questions and concerns we had as an intercultural couple (they both have American spouses.) It was so special for us that they officiated the ceremony...Cindy in English and ZB in Chinese...their messages fit us like a glove and it was truly an unforgettable part of the celebration.



Family...



My STUNNING bridesmaids...my sisters...Emilie, Laura, Lindsey and Beth. I LOVE YOU!!!!



Haike and I -- I mentioned that the day before, Haike went golfing and got significantly darker. The entire day whenever we stood next to each other we were both yelping..."UGH!! I'm SOOOO white!" "UGH UGH! I'm SOOOO dark!"



After the rehearsal and a lot of urging from my wedding planner to "decide on a rain plan!" we went back to the main lobby of the resort and sat down to our beautifully, fine-tuned to the last detail, rehearsal dinner. We invited all of our guests to this and we feasted on yummy Thai food prepared by the resort. Seriously, going to Thailand for the celebration was the best decision I've EVER made and hiring my wedding planner was the second best decision. It was so nice not having to worry about all of the small details like what we would eat, how it would be decorated, flowers, etc, etc. All of this was already done - menu set, ceremony and reception beautifully decorated, flowers arranged and all without the stress placed upon my shoulders. Hallelujah! I'd recommend it to anyone in a second!

One of our favorite things from the rehearsal dinner, and something that we repeatedly ordered again over the next several days, was the resort's pineapple shakes...so refreshing, soooo good!!



Part 3 - Bachelorette party!