#weddingthoughts

May 23, 2027

Today was the bridal shower for my friend Jenny, who will be getting married this June. I reserved an event venue in Aguirre, BF Homes called Turtle Family KTV, a place I used to visit often with my friends back when I was working in BF. Aside from the KTV rooms, they also have a restaurant on the ground floor that serves food, making it a great place for celebrations.

I arrived early with the cake that I had customized from Bien by Tracy, which is also located in BF Homes. We spent quite some time debating what kind of cake to give Jenny, but in the end, we chose a simple and elegant design. Honestly, I think it turned out perfectly. 😂 Since I arrived ahead of everyone else, I secured the room and ordered our food in advance so we could enjoy our meals together while celebrating.

The whole gathering felt so nostalgic. Although our group wasn't complete because one of our friends is currently working as a seafarer and won't be back until November, it was still wonderful to see everyone again. We laughed a lot and even revisited some of our childhood crushes. 😂 I remembered that I once had a crush on one of my high school friends. One of my friends is still connected with him on Facebook and told me that he's now living in Poland with his wife. I was honestly amazed at how far life had taken him—from Asia all the way to Europe. I'm genuinely happy for him.

After the celebration, we went to Starbucks and continued talking about Jenny's wedding plans. The cake had a flower decoration on it, and by coincidence, the flower ended up right in front of Rose. Naturally, we started teasing her, saying that she would be the next bride. She got so excited, and we couldn't stop laughing. 😂 It rained heavily that night, but by the time we left the café, the rain had already stopped. It was actually Jenny's brother's birthday that day, and we originally planned to buy him a cake. Unfortunately, we finished so late that all the bakeries were already closed, so we ended up not getting one. Sorry, Jenny's brother! 😅 The entire evening was filled with laughter, memories, and meaningful conversations. But as I watched my friend prepare for one of the biggest milestones in her life, I found myself thinking about my own future too.

Sometimes, I dream about getting married and building a life with the person I love. But reality reminds me that marriage is a serious commitment, and there are many things that need careful thought and consideration. That's why I keep reminding myself that it's okay to get married later in life. No one dies from getting married late, but many people suffer from marrying the wrong person. Choosing a life partner is one of the most important decisions we will ever make because that person will help shape not only our future but also the future of the family we hope to build someday.

i keep thinking about how barn weddings are supposed to feel effortless. like you just walk into this big wooden space with beams and light coming through the cracks and suddenly it’s magic.

and then sometimes you walk into one and it’s… a full pinterest board exploded.

i don’t know when rustic barn wedding decorations became synonymous with “fill every visible inch.” mason jars, lanterns, pampas grass, neon signs, hanging installations, reclaimed wood signs telling you where to sit, what to drink, how to feel. it’s like the barn itself isn’t trusted to carry the vibe.

the thing about barns is that they already are texture. the wood, the height, the way sound carries, the way light hits at golden hour. it’s dramatic without trying. if you pile too much on top of that, it stops feeling rustic and starts feeling staged.

i went to one wedding where the couple kept it simple. long tables, soft linen runners, some candles, greenery that looked like it belonged there. you could actually see the beams. the space breathed. it felt warm, not crowded.

and then another where the décor was technically beautiful but so heavy that the room felt smaller. like the barn was suffocating under its own “theme.”

i think rustic works best when it’s confident. when it doesn’t scream “look how rustic this is.”

"It is a task to which you are called. If it is a task, it means you work at it. It is not something which happens. You hear the call, you answer, you accept the task, you enter into it willingly and eagerly, you committ yourself to its disciplines and responsibilities and limitations and privileges and joys. You concentrate on it, giving yourself to it day after day to a lifelong Yes." Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be A Woman

"You want a beautiful long white dress and the traditional veil. You want music and flowers and a train of attendants. Not to prove that you are a "mood-loving show-off". To us, sign and sound and symbol and movement are a part of worship and celebration, and you want your wedding filled with the visible, tangible, audible signs of the invisible and transcendent meaning." Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be a Woman

Reading this right before rushing off the train at Redfern Station (because I had spent the majority of the trip dreaming over various iterations of origami wedding decorations on Pinterest) gave me a new shock to my system. Thinking through and actually making decisions to put things into practice for this wedding has refreshingly made me think though a lot of new things! Praise God for the people (real and literary) who have provided fresh [to me] insights and provoked thoughts I were previously closed to.

I've been championing the embodiment and value of practising liturgy as transcendent ways of being and thinking and doing worship, while hypocritically[?] and being falsely-humble-and-spendthriftly reducing the wedding ceremony.

I need reminders:

- to not strip away beauty for money's sake,

- that ceremony is its own kind of purpose,

- and that the Great Wedding at the end of the age will be filled with as much pomp and glory as exists, to befit the Bridegroom and the Bride which he made precious at such a high cost.