"The One"

   Many people have asked me to write about my wedding. My proposal. My love story. But, in many ways, it feels like a story with no start nor end - for it begun even before we knew it, and the more you try and capture it, the further you get from the truth.

   I shall share my wedding dress story because perhaps it will help future blushing brides. For it shall propel the myth of "THE ONE". I've always loved lace. I think I've spent most of my youth dressed like a renegade grandmother. I didn't know a single thing about what I wanted for a wedding dress, but I knew I wanted it to be lace!

   Because ZM actually asked me to be his wife two months after we got together, and we actually planned when we were going to get married, I had very excitedly started to look for wedding gowns one or two years into the relationship. Clearly, a Bride-zilla in the making. So, I started to save lots of lovely things for future inspiration and ideas... and then proceeded to forget all about it when I actually started to prepare for the solemnisation ceremony.

  So, actually, it is a good idea to start looking at what you want very early on, such that by the time you actually start planning the actual thing, you have filtered down to what you really want - you and him and a simple promise.

  We went to the street along Tanjong Pagar road with all the bridal shophouses. We were just going to browse for fun to get an idea of the prices and designs. But, voila, as decisive as usual, we settled the gown the first time (this applies to everything else for our wedding - which perhaps explains why we are together, we think about it, we decide and don't ever look back). I actually found a gown I loved at the first shop - it was a mermaid cut with a really gorgeous lace pattern. But, ZM said we should at least see a few other shops to ascertain that we are not being fleeced.

  Hence, we walked down the street and tried three other shops. Nope. Abysmal. It was clearly the first shop with the over the top decadent victorian gown! So, we decided the fifth shop would be our last shop. It was really crowded and the sales assistant was far too busy to give us proper attention. I tried a few gowns and told ZM, let's pick the victorian gown.

   As we were leaving, I saw a plain gown at the corner of the shop. Hanging awry. Probably had just been tried on by someone. It was completely plain and nothing like any of the gowns I tried before. So, I decided to try it. The last gown I would try.

   Indeed, it was the last gown I would ever try. When I wore it, I knew. It was like I had came through an upside down tunnel and came out right.

   The interesting thing is that for this entry, I went to look at my old wedding gown inspirations, and it turned out that the pictures I've saved looked very much like the gown I picked in the end. So, perhaps, my story in the end is that when the mind forgets, the heart remembers.