As we started planning for our wedding, we were dutifully informed (to my horror!) that we had to attend the Marriage Preparation Course (MPC) organised by the Catholic organisation. Without attending the course & receiving the certificate, we won't be granted a date for a church wedding which means we can't get married in church.
Of course for those who have their ROM at outside venues, that won't be a problem but as Catholics, the heart of every wedding lies in the church wedding. It is where you have God as your witness. To bless & solominise your wedding. What can be greater than that?
Also, every girl wants to walk down the aisle in a proper church wedding too lah! It's so much prettier & romantic to get married in church. Something about it is just so different from any other venue.
And so, I signed us up online for the next intake of the course which was in October this year (failing which we have to wait till next year & places are limited). I reluctantly paid the S$120 & dreadfully waited for the start of the course. I knew it was something I HAD TO complete whether I liked it or not & I had no intention of thrashing my parents dreams of walking me down the aisle in church anyway.
The reason why I only have photos of the last session below is because for the rest of the sessions before that, I woke up grumpy, dragged myself to shower grumpily, dragged myself out of the house grumpily & was in absolutely no mood to take any pictures.
My sweet darling being the non-catholic was actually more accepting towards the course than I was. Shame on me!!! :P
Based on the fact that I have come clean about my reluctance towards the course, you guys can be damn sure that what I am going to say about it is really true. Hahaha...So anyway, the last day of the course was the happiest day of the course for me... 
Which is also why I managed to smile AND take a photograph on the way there AT 8AM ON A SUNDAY MORNING!!! *pats herself on the back*
I even managed to take pictures with my classmates! Hee...Here's Yek Hau. My very first friend in the class. We sat next to each other on the first session & clung on to each other in the midst of discovering the unknowns about marriage.
Just a brief introduction on the course.
I think the course is wired up in such a way that it makes you come out of your shell & discuss dreaded issues in your upcoming marriage. It makes you see that marriage is not all lovey doveyness & there will be issues you'd have to iron out sooner or later.
This course makes you iron them out sooner.
It helps you to talk about stuff that you'd normally try to avoid because you know that there is a high possibility of an arguement that might follow.
At the same time. It helps you to see your partner in a different way. To hear thoughts & feelings that you have never heard before or never even knew they thought about.
Trust me. You think you know exactly what your partner is thinking & feeling?
You're wrong.
You can only say this AFTER you've attended the course. Really. There will always be something new to find out.
But it helps in the long run because it makes you WANT TO communicate with your partner more. It makes you want to take the time to sit down, discuss issues, emotions etc. It makes you see why that is so damn farking important.
I'm glad. Because it has helped my darling understand that in the same way too & now we communicate so much better about dreaded issues.
Our "graduation" session.
Our hosting couple, Terence & Lynette praying for us & our marriage & then presenting us with our cert.
Darling & I with Terence & Lynette.
When we first met Terence & Lynette as our hosting couple, the first thing I said to darling was, "Eh lucky we got a young couple hor? At least we can relate in some way mah. Not some Aunty & Uncle right?"
He gave me a, "Can you just not comment anot?" look. Hahaha...
But hey, I was happy for him too because I know what an introvert he can be & if our hosting couple was an "old", "I-know-it-all" couple, it might make him uncomfortable to share his thoughts with them & then all channels with him would be closed for all 6 weeks!!!
So thank God!
You see guys? God really works in mysterious ways!
What made us instantly fall in love with Terence & Lynette was their humility. They openly confessed that they didn't have the answers to every question & that they themselves were still learning about marriage. It made us feel a part of that learning circle. We were comfortable that we didn't have to worry about looking ignorant for not knowing stuff.
At the same time, it didn't make me feel too self conscious about not going to church. Within the first ten minutes of our meeting, I knew they were human just like us. :)
Our couple buddies (even though everyone in our group are our couple buddies okie?)
Rony & Regina.
The reason why we became so much closer to Rony & Regina is because we share the same situations. Rony is the non-catholic while Regina is the catholic one in the relationship. Same goes for Darling & myself. It makes talking about our concerns with religion a whole lot easier.
Plus Rony & Darling are comfortable enough with each other to share their thoughts on the religion.
Regina & I on the other hand share a love for bags & shoes!!!! She is my fellow Kate Spade lover!!! Whoopieeeeee!!!!!!!!!! How to not love her???? Hahaha...
Okay jokes aside, she has also inspired me in so many ways. She has made me realise that for Darling to love God, I have to lead him by example (which I have not been doing at all). It is a simple realisation but it was a huge jolt up from my comfortable seat. In a good way though! And by right, we should be thanking God all the bloody time!!! Because without him, we would never have found each other!!! :)
Our entire group. 7 couples in total.
Now the sickening thing about the whole course is that it is all so bonding & lovey doveying that it makes you so mushy with everyone in the group, gets you abit teary eyed when you have to part, makes you hug everyone & makes you want to pray with them! Gosh! All the stuff I have been avoiding, this course made me love. :P *blush blush* See lah! Now I love extra people! :P
This is basically all the hosting couples (plus some others I didn't capture). A whole lot of them! The first one standing on the left is Lynette. She must be pretty happy to see that she is OBVIOUSLY the youngest in the group of leaders. Hahaha... 
Our group had been designated to sit at the first row for all 3 of the auditorium sessions. You know what that means right? Cannot fall asleep, cannot play with your phone, cannot sit with your legs up / opened. Hahaha...
The hosting couples singing their theme song. Super mushy!!! Makes you all lovey dovey but also makes you realise once again why you fell in love with the person next to you. :)
Our "Couple Paks". Basically each week is centered around a topic. There will be questions to answer, homework to do, stuff to share & discuss but it makes you see the reality of marriage. It is like spoon feeding you to a good start to your marriage. :)
Yes yes, we did struggle abit with the homework but it was all worth it. We talked about stuff that we avoided talking about, we discussed family relationships in detail, we talked about what we both dreamt of for the future. Our future, our kids, our families. :)
My favourite session (besides the last one) was the one on forgiveness. Because I think it is the hardest thing to do ever.
It is so easy to love people in general but when they do us wrong, it takes more than the world for us to forgive. Yet, when we do wrong, we expect to be forgiven. Strange huh? But I guess that's human nature.
The session made us realise that ignoring hurts is somewhat like building up grudges. We learnt to seek forgiveness from each other & to humble ourselves when seeking that forgiveness. That was probably the hardest for me to do. To seek forgiveness because I think I have too much pride. For me, it's a 2 way burden. I can't seek for forgiveness & I can't forgive.
I left that session feeling so light. It felt as if I had finally forgiven the people from my past. Being about to humble myself with him & talk about forgiveness, I felt like I had already forgive the world with the courage he had given me. At the same time, being able to seek forgiveness from him for past hurts took me to a different level. It feels great to be forgiven. :)
You could say that was a life changing session for me. :) I didn't really show it then (there's no need to get so emotional right?) but it really affected me & it was all I could think about when I got home - forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness! :)
Our proud certificate.
Which I initially saw as just our license to wed but as I went along the course, it became more than just that to us. It was a benchmark we had set for ourselves. If we could hold on to this in our hands & feel like our lives have changed, it means we are more than ready for our next journey. It means we are ready to deal with the world together as a family & be able to stand by each other, understand, forgive & love till the end. :)
Shit lah, I'm getting all emotional & teary typing this. See lah! This is where the course gets you - emotionally sensitive.
Terence & Lynette's gift to each couple.
For our altar? Or is it a symbol of the flame in our marriage? Hahaha...it was a really sweet gesture & we are saving it for a special corner in our new home as a constant reminder of what we have learnt from them.
We also went home with these!
Books on the catholic faith & marriage. Hahaha...I know I sound so cheesy now but we just want to know lah. Because it's true, to face the rest of the world together, we need to stick together, hold on tight to each other & never lose our faith in our marriage & we need some special blessings from above for that. (what to do? Kiasu Singaporean mah...hahaha)
"But it goes against the way I am
To put my human nature down
& let the spirit take control of all I do.
Cos when those trials come
My human nature
Shouts the things to do
& God’s soft prompting can be easily ignored."
Us & MIL.
And once again, another group shot. We got some random guy to take the picture for us. What's with random people taking shots from so far away???? I rather see clearer faces than feet right???
Arrghhhh...so annoying!!!! I can't even see our faces clearly!!!
This is us after a rushed Burger King lunch. 
There’s a new world somewhere
Normally we either have to beg or force her to have a proper meal but she seemed to really enjoy the tim sum. Made both mothers smile!
