10.10.10 Mass Wedding @ Ipoh Chinese Chin Woo Athletic Association

I rushed to the Ipoh Chinese Chin Woo Athletic Association in Jalan Hussein, Ipoh, this morning to attend the mass wedding held to mark the special date of 10.10.10 (Happy Binary Day!) which comes by once every 100 years. Although I don’t know any of the bridal couples getting married there today, it is still a very memorable event to attend, and cover as an event blogger.

I got a little confused though, as I don’t know if there were 50 or 100 couples there this morning, since the Masters of Ceremonies gave two different versions. Still, all I can say is I have never seen that many wedding couples or so many styles of bridal gowns in one room at the same time.

The ceremony started at an “auspicious” time of 10.10am with speeches on how these bridal couples are finally adults, blah, blah, blah… the emcee switching his speech from Mandarin to Cantonese and vice versa. The organisers also took the opportunity to thank sponsors of the event. One tours and travel company even offered as a lucky draw prize a 3D/4N vacation to Hong Kong worth MYR1xxxx (so cheap only? What great honeymoon gift!) and a bank was there to offer souvenirs (surprise wedding gifts) to all the bridal couples plus take the chance to promote their credit cards to guests.

There were scores of reporters around; too bad I didn’t have a press card or I too could go to the front line for better shots of the event. However, overall, I am satisfied with what I managed to shoot. For the better part of the ceremony, I was rooted to one spot in the hall because it was so packed, I could hardly move. I wish I were 7ft tall!

After the speeches, group photos, lucky draws and prize giving ceremonies, it was time to sign on the dotted line. For brides or grooms who wanted to back out of the marriage, that was the final moment to do so. HAHAHA!

The signing of marriage certificate, reading of pledge and solemnization in front of the Registrar of Marriages were done ten couples at a time. I had the opportunity to follow the ceremony of Couple No. 1 as I was lucky to subsequently get a good spot for these photos. I would like to wish them all the best in this new chapter in life. Happy 10.10.10!

Note: View larger images by clicking on an image once this page has completely loaded. Then navigate by clicking on the right or left side of image.