Three months after the process started, which included our Dinghun, our court marriage and our Taiwan wedding, Pei Han and I got married for the last time on 16 February in South Africa. On the day, I kept getting asked if I was nervous and my answer was, "No, relieved!" Pei Han was nervous, because she had to say her vows in English this time, and Faye was nervous because she had organized the whole thing for us and was worried about things going as planned. As it turned out, things went better than even Faye had imagined.
In a week of afternoon thunderstorms, so typical of Johannesburg in the summer and which threatened the planned garden wedding, we had an afternoon of brilliant sunshine. The bride looked more glorious than the weather and her English vows brought me to tears. The reception, although small as mainly family and a small group of friends were in attendance, was as lively as a Rio Carnival and the food was such as would have caused Oliver to break out into a rapturous rendition of the "Halleluja" chorus!
Our guests at the Taiwan wedding were under the impression that they had attended a western wedding, but would have had their minds blown out if they had been at the South African version. The differences in the two experiences were so great that I really did feel as if I was getting married for the first time. From Pei Han's arrival to the lighting of our unity candle and the signing of our vows, from my reception speech being constantly interrupted by a DJ on the ball to the dancing, and ultimately epitomized by me being forced to remove a protesting Pei Han's garter with my teeth, this fourth installment of our wedding was anything but Taiwanese!
Tying the knot again and again and again and again has been a test of patience and endurance, but also an exercise in acceptance and compromise that has been an unforgettable bond-forging experience for us.
A few pictures here. (I will put more photos on at a later date when I have figured out how to make them small enough to view on my computer!)
Dion Marc Delport
5 April 2008