Hi Girls,
I am in Singapore and today's paper carried this full-page, full-colour (rather lavish) spread about the wedding of one of our sisters in Malaysia.

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The Straits Times Singapore

Nov 13, 2005
A wife less ordinary

Tears flow as sex-change bride and groom exchange vows
By Wong Kim Hoh

KUCHING (SARAWAK) - AFTER a five-year courtship that involved a sex change, a proposal that was rejected six times and an appeal letter written in blood, Ms Jessie Chung married Mr Joshua Beh in a ceremony that would go down as one of the most elaborate weddings in Kuching's history.

(Photo 1)
THE GROOM, MR BEH, had won over his bride with unfailing love and support. -- STEPHANIE YEOW


More than 850 guests cheered and clapped as a radiant Ms Chung, a transsexual, and a weeping Mr Beh walked into the cavernous Sarawak Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Riverside Hotel. The wedding has been the talk of the bride's hometown in East Malaysia. Ten flower boys in white coat-tails threw white rose petals in their path as an 18-member string orchestra on stage serenaded the couple.

The emotional groom said: 'When I walked in and saw so many people standing and clapping, I was just flooded with so many memories. I never thought I'd cry, but I guess I did.'

(Photo 2)
BEFORE THE SEX CHANGE, Jessie was Jeffrey.

The ups and downs of the couple's courtship have been making the headlines in Malaysian and Singapore newspapers for the past year. Ms Chung, who is in her 30s, met Mr Beh, 29, five years ago when she was still a man. He started courting her about three years ago as she started on a three-phase operation to change her sex. He proposed six times but each time, she turned him down. He finally won her over with a dramatic gesture: He wrote her a letter using his own blood.

Ms Chung is a director of Natural Health Farm, a company which specialises in health supplements, while Mr Beh is an accountant.

(Photo 3)
THE NEWLYWEDS smiling as they enter the hotel ballroom. Ten flower boys strew white rose petals in their path. -- STEPHANIE YEOW

The couple reportedly spent more than RM200,000 (S$91,000) on their wedding. Six bouncers kept gatecrashers away as an army of friends checked the names of guests on several laptops.

The ballroom was decorated with ice sculptures and white flowers. The tables were covered with white tablecloths, and the table arrangements comprised gold candles, white roses and chrysanthemums.

Guests walking down the passage leading to the ballroom were given a peek into the couple's romantic history. On a table sat a mountain of soft toys he had given her during their courtship - from little pink pigs to giant brown teddy bears. A karaoke-style music video featuring the love-birds in romantic settings was played on a TV screen.

The state does not recognise the marriage, but the couple were blessed by two Catholic priests in a ceremony which saw them exchanging rings. One of the priests was Pastor G.P. Joseph from the Shepherd's Centre, which runs an orphanage in Selangor. While acknowledging that many churchgoers may not sanction the union, he said he was there in his personal capacity.

(Photo 4 -- in the following thread, Grand Wedding for ts, Part 2)
NEARLY 900 PEOPLE attended the celebration. And they were punctual too. -- STEPHANIE YEOW

He said: 'These two people have helped my orphanage a lot in the last two years. They have donated at least 800kg of rice to destitute children, they are helping out in other ways and I'm really touched by their generosity and selflessness.'

Indeed, the evening also saw the couple presenting cheques amounting to RM50,000 to several charities and church groups, including Bountiful Harvest Services and The Assembly of Love.

(Photo 5)
TEARS FALL, first from the groom, then the bride. -- STEPHANIE YEOW

As guests tucked into an eight-course dinner which included shark's fin and roast duck, nearly 30 Natural Health Farm employees took to the stage to sing to the newlyweds, who had three costume changes. The couple's last outfit for the evening was a pink leather jacket with matching bow-tie for Mr Beh and an elaborate fuschia ballgown for the bride. One boisterous guest was former Malaysian broadcaster Chiong Pei Pei, who had known Ms Chung for nearly nine years.

(Photo 6)
NO TROUBLE, but bouncers were present at the wedding reception. -- STEPHANIE YEOW

'I've heard many snide remarks and rumours about how this couple are playing out their lives like a movie. But I'm sure many people were moved tonight because what they saw was real love.'

Ms Chung told The Sunday Times: 'I'm so happy. All my dreams have come true.' Her mother, Madam Leong Lee Choo, dressed in a Victorian gown with a matching bonnet, said: 'I'm very happy and very comforted. I couldn't have asked for a better man to look after my Jessie.'

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P.S. I hope the shark's fin soup for the dinner is 'fake' -- there is now a heartening trend to use substitute 'shark's fin' because of an increased awareness of environmental issues in the more developed asian countries -- jennifer