Mr and Mrs Chan

The layout and décor of the ballroom at the Intercontinental Hotel was grand and elegant, as any high-ceiling setting filled with red roses and candles would be. Even the bridesmaids' dresses were tasteful. The food, however, was quite the contrary.

Finally! A wedding reception that needs no parental guidance. In the absence of silly games aimed to ridicule the bride and groom (and pretty much half the guests, since Hong Kong people have the tendency to take the games to R-rated levels), the emcee filled in and humiliated himself right off the bat by welcoming everyone to V and A's "birthday".

Touching speeches were lacking, but what little the newly wedded couple said on stage, repeatedly interrupted by tears of joy, was moving enough for me.

The after party wasn't much of a party because everyone was already exhausted by the end of the dinner. Most of us only showed up because we had never been in a president's suite. The highlight was when some 30 of us gathered on the balcony in the freezing Victoria Harbour breeze, where the couple cracked open a giant bottle of aged champagne just to spray it on their friends.

Congratulations.