From The Straits Times    |

Image: Instagram

If you were visiting Antarctica last year on Jan 26, you might be surprised to see an invasion of “penguins” and loud, boisterous laughter and cheers ringing through the stark white calm.

Taiwanese host Janet Hsieh and British actor George Young got married in an intimate ceremony in the southernmost continent of the world with family and friends a year ago, and revealed the details of what went down in a video posted on their one-year anniversary on Jan 26, 2016.

They took their vows against a backdrop of the great white with Hsieh, 36, sporting a strapless gown and a lace-embroidered veil topped with a silver diamante-encrusted tiara, with Young, 35, looking dapper in a suit and opting for a scarf tied in an ascot style.

A surprising detail from the ceremony which showed how close the pair are to their parents was how they stood beside them as they read their vows, instead of watching from the audience as seen in most weddings.

The couple’s vows and mannerisms also highlighted their touching love for each other, while letting their unique personalities shine through – Hsieh with her bubbly personality and Young’s reserved demeanour.

In Hsieh’s speech, she shared that she fell in love with the Eurasian actor on the second day she met him – as she thought he might have been gay during their first encounter.

Her words made the audience break out in laughter and shouts of “understandable”. The groom himself also replied that “(he) gets it a lot”.

The vows then took a heartwarming turn as the lawyer-trained Young read out his speech. Starting off with a funny anecdote, he revealed that Hsieh approached him on her 30th birthday party – drunk no less – and told him she wanted to be the “father” of his children, eliciting laughter from those gathered.

Young, choking back tears, went on and shared that he was the first to say “I love you” between the both of them – and considered it to be one of “scariest things” anybody can do.

Both fathers of the groom and bride also relayed some words to the couple, and after the exchanging of rings, the party celebrated the union by tossing their penguin hats into the sky.

The casual affair saw the party enjoying a buffet reception on a cruise liner and the couple toasting the wedding party from the second deck.

Taiwanese indie band Sodagreen provided the music for the ceremony. The video also showed more never-seen-before wedding shots of the pair.

Here are their wedding speeches as transcribed from the video:

Hsieh: “George – you usually don’t like to travel or do anything remotely risky or dangerous, but the fact that you put up with me for the past five years and travelled to the end of the world and beyond – literally, has proved to me that YOU THE MAN! And now, after 10 years of knowing each other, and having a crush on you since day two of meeting you – it would have been day one – but I thought you might have been gay – finally, you are my man. I promise to pester you about taking more adventurous trips around the world, order and share the strangest things on the menu with you, and to love you as much as my heart can handle.”

Young: “Ever since you drunkenly approached me on your 30th birthday party and told me that you wanted to be the father of my children – I knew I was in trouble. One of the scariest things you can do though – is to tell someone that you love them first. You made me do that not with words, but by being who you are. I love you and I promise to continue to love you and to look after you wherever the world takes us.”

 

This story was originally published in AsiaOne.com. For more stories like this, head to www.asiaone.com/women.