My parents were married around 1940. Judging from the picture, I knew she had a big wedding. When I asked my mother, she said they had about 5,000 guests. This included not only distinguished guests such as representatives of Chiang Kai Shek and dignitaries from Singapore and Malaysia but also employees in my father’s company. (My father ran his uncle's rubber company. Based in Singapore with plantations and factories in Malaysia and Thailand, the company employed more than a hundred thousand people at that time.) All the workers who were invited were given new clothes, presents, money, and a few days off.
The wedding banquet was set up with round tables that sat ten each. In the middle of each table, a bottle of Hennessy Cognac awaits for serving. While distinguished guests were served fancier Chinese courses, everyone else partook of what could be the best meal they had ever had.
My parents’ honeymoon took six months as they traveled all around to visit elder relatives who could not make it to the wedding. They received many gifts and well wishes. Most gifts were of gold, set in different forms, but I remember what my mother's favorite gift was—a beautiful dark blue short jacket delicately embroidered with a small bouquet of flower on the left shoulder. It was custom-made in England for her tiny body. (She was so tiny that her wedding ring would not fit any of her children's fingers.)
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