And So She Got Married...

And so Jac got married.

On a sunny Friday morning we all gathered to watch as our brightest spark, dressed in her bridal finery, prepared to bid goodbye to her final minutes of singlehood.

there was so much laughter and merriment i almost didnt feel sorry for lying to my boss about having to take urgent leave to "take care of family matters". i was happy and honoured to be present, and i havent had a day that beautiful in ages.

like i was telling some of my friends, it felt as if we were celebrating more than just her wedding. it was a festival held in jac's honour to commemorate her triumph in life and her love of living. it was also a testament of all our friendships - past, present and future. sam and ros flew back for the wedding, and i spent five excruciating months pretending that ken was flying in for the dinner just so that ros could spring a surprise on jac and still have a place to sit for the banquet. the work was well worth it...i'd never seen a bride scream so loud and for so long in my life!

somewhere between the day's festivities and the evening banquet, sam, ros and i snuck to ben and jerry's for some good ice cream and even better girl bonding. there we were, three girls in blue dresses all squeezed into a small couch and i suddenly had a revelation of sorts.

for all the bad things i think i suffer in life, i thank all my lucky stars in ten lifetimes for my friends. they truly make life worth living. that afternoon at ben and jerry's was precious to me in so many ways, and it has already become one of my most treasured memories.

tears ran freely at the wedding...when sam got onstage to sing, i burst out crying and couldnt stop because i couldnt imagine life away from singapore, far from the girls. then i got to thinking if i had been a good enough friend all these years. had i been there for the girls when they needed me? did i remember to tell my friends how much i loved them?

i rediscovered the reasons why i love the three of them so much that night. we bonded over one mad trip to japan in 2001, and we've never looked back since. ours is a friendship punctuated too much loud laughter and physical humour, and grounded in things too important to be swayed by time or distance.

at the end of the dinner, jac swept into the ballroom, took one look at all of us and declared us her "inner circle". my heart warmed at the sound of the phrase.

here are some pictures from the wedding: