1. Greetings:
Good
evening, Dr. & Mrs. Young, Sigmund & Kim and all the beloved friends
and family members of the Young’s and the Carlins’. My name is Janice Chang, the wife of wedding
photographer, Ben Chang and the mother of videographer, Eric Chang, who is not
here tonight, because of his continuous triathlon training.
We
were extremely honored and elated to be invited as one of the 100 close friends
and family members to attend Sigmund and Kim’s special days of their lives,
that is the wedding rehearsal and luncheon on Saturday, February 23rd and the
wedding day on
Sunday morning, February 24th.
My
mission here tonight is to share with you the highlights and my memory of those
two unforgettable days.
2. The Young(s)
Generation Rules:
Sigmund
and Kim are such a fun and loving couple.
Their wedding was filled with enthusiasm, laughter and the most amazing
“Do it Your Own” unique creative details.
It all started around the fall last year, when Dr. Young called us up to
meet with both Sigmund and Kim to have the preview of the wedding venue - The
George Peabody Library in Baltimore.
Kim’s vivacious and authentic style personality, it is impossible not to smile
around her. And, as you all know that
Sigmund is a very gifted violin player, his love of music combines with Kim’s
appreciation of that historic, 19th century landmark, and the outstanding
architecture, both of them put together a wedding, I can only use two words to
describe, “fabulous” and “radiant.”
I
was so impressed about their creativeness and willing to take risk
attitude. You see, the temperature in
February around this region was very unpredictable. During the meeting, I could tell that both
Dr. and Mrs. Young had some doubts as well.
However, once Kim and Sigmund explained to us regarding the discounted
rentals in February and especially the Sunday morning’s wedding price. We were totally convinced about their wedding
plans. They are smart. They would rather save up $ for their long
range family planning than lavish on the extravagant wedding expense. Dr. and Mrs. Young, they sure made you
proud. These days, the young generation
rules the world. Here, I mean “the
Young’s generation rules.” Kim, you are
now the Young’s. We, old folkies were
downgraded into the side lines now.
3. Rehearsal
Ceremony & Reception
(Heavy Seas Alehouse)
At
times, we did encounter a few generation gaps.
The rehearsal went through as smooth as it could be. The bridesmaids, not counting Sigmund’s
bright little sister, groomsmen, officiant, and the wedding planners, believe
or not, were all from both Sigmund and Kim’s elementary school, junior, senior
high and college pals. They shared with
us the friendship, spanning the childhood, late college through the transition
into the adult life in the real world.
That’s quite a remarkable journey.
Congratulation to both Sigmund and Kim! You all achieve one of the major
milestones of your life.
The
reception afterwards was at that famous Heavy Seas Alehouse in downtown Baltimore. From the way
I observed, it was a typical Young’s generation’s “Happy Hour.” With rounds and rounds of drinks served,
platters of platters of mini-burgers and veggie burgers passed, oh, that
unlimited supply of fried onion rings was just scrumptious. I tell you, the Young’s’ Generation really
rocked the floor. We, the old folkies,
enjoyed the delightful atmosphere and we were just hungry.
4. Hotel Monaco
– Baltimore
Nevertheless,
the arrangement of Hotel Monaco lodging was luxurious and
comfortable. All the friends, family
members came from far away places: Texas, California
and State of Washington were fully accommodated. The elegant marble staircase and the Tiffany
stained-glasses windows provided the backdrops with many marvelous wedding
pictures. We were so honored to be
treated that expensive dinner in the Hotel along with the family members. Some of the Young’s generation were hiding
somewhere for their “bachelor party.”
We did not like to leave early, but, Dr. Young had to leave around
10’00 ’clock to pick up his
nephew at Dulles Airport. I understood
that he did not come back until way passed midnight. And the next day was his son’s
wedding day.
5. Wedding and Reception – The George Peabody Library
The
dramatic space and the soaring shelf stacked up bookcases, 300,000 volumes of
books for Johns Hopkins University came into view.
With the harmonious harp music played by the harpist they hired from
Peabody Music Conservatory. The soft
melody echoed through the hall welcomed the arrival of the beautiful and
gorgeous bride, Kim, holding her father, Mr. Carlins’ arm ready to be given
away.
The
intimate feelings of their school days for both Sigmund and Kim were revealed
from the bridesmaids and groomsmen during the wedding reception. The laughter burst everywhere and the
uncontrollable tears shed sometimes.
Tissue and tissues were no where to be found. But, that’s quite alright. Some of the pictures did have a few memorable
shinny spots on their faces.
6. The Father of the Groom’s Speech - Chopstick
The
best was the speech from Dr. Young, the father of the groom speech. It was touching, philosophical and the most
fatherly fulfilling. He used Chinese
proverb -天時、地利、人和 to explain the meaning of “the decree of eternity” and “the natural
affinity.” He demonstrated with the
Chinese chopsticks. He said, “This is a
single chopstick, it’s easy to break and carries no function at all. But, if you add another one, it will become
two.” “It will be stronger and sturdier
and carry the versatile functions.” So,
according to Dr. Young’s math, 1 + 1 is not only equal to 2, it will be 3 the
next year and 4 the following year, on and on and bigger and bigger and
stronger and stronger.
7. Send-off – Honeymoon (Argentina) &
Vintage Rolls Royce
At
the end, we all experienced the joys of their happiness. With the party horns blown, we sent them off
to their honeymoon – the warm exotic place in Argentina. We’re all
standing at the steps, freezing cold, holding the exquisite & delicious
wedding cake wrapped in this shining silver box designed by Kim and her
company, Our hearts were left with warm feelings inside. This is the vintage Rolls Royce they were
in. Off they went to the happy land.
Overall,
the whole wedding was just like a “fairy tale” for them to remember. And I certainly enjoyed every moment of
it. Just let you know, Baltimore Sun interviewed them and carried the whole page of
the wedding coverage, headlined as “From Spain to Baltimore, the Couple Knows
How to Celebrate Love” on April 19th. I
thank Dr. and Mrs. Young and both Kim and Sigmund for giving me this
opportunity to share their wedding memory with you all tonight.
