Hong Kong Wedding

The groom Mattias Zorn and the bride Mechelle Ramos

Wow, what a whirlwind! I spent roughly 30 hours in Hong Kong to attend my cousin Mechelle’s wedding.

Mechelle Ramos married Matthias Zorn of Germany on May 27. They both live in Taiwan right now, however, for many reasons thought it best to get married in Hong Kong.

It was a joyous, international weekend with mist, warmth and lots of smiles! They flew in a number of loved ones and colleagues of 16 nationalities from Japan, Canada, China, Switzerland, Taiwan, Germany and the Philippines. Representing the bride's side was Mech's younger sister Joanne and her mom Conchita and myself and my sister Cheryl.

The Bride's family: my aunt Conchita, me, Mechelle, Matthias, my sister Cher and cousin Joanne

The logistical nightmares of the wedding were rather stressful for the couple leading up to the event, however it was all smiles by the time the Wedding Registery in Central Hong Kong shooed the wedding party out the door after a quick three minute ceremony.

Most of the guests (including the mothers of the bride and groom) nearly missed the wedding because the shuttle driver from the hotel to the ceremony didn’t know where to go! At the time it was aggravating, but later we all chuckled about it over some champagne.

The rain and mist seemed to clear up for just enough time for the photographer to take photos before the shuttle bus took us to lunch, but the humidity in Hong Kong was overwhelming. As a semi-formal ceremony, most of the men were sweating so much, we could grow rice.

Lunch was at the fantastic Peak Lookout Restaurant up Victoria Peak. Unfortunately, there was no view of the Harbour due to the mist hovering over the city, but it was amazing nonetheless.It was my job to take Polaroid pictures of all 50 or so guests during lunch, which is a great way to meet everyone.

After a well needed rest, the casual evening reception was on the roof top of the Harbour Plaza in Kowloon, where most of us were staying. It was a fantastic evening, with the sky clearing up, giving us a great view of Hong Kong. We had a fantastic buffet dinner, cigars and lots of drinking. Some of the Germans, including the groom, decided to re-open the hotel’s rooftop pool, which had glass walls, a la the Beastie Boys video.

The Germans in the pool

It was a lovely night and mother nature was truly on our side, because only after we finished the reception party did the rain start coming down...non stop, actually.

As I waited for my 5:45am shuttle bus in the hotel lobby after a couple hours of sleep, four of the Germans were straggling back to the hotel after a night of clubbing. Fantastic!