Melissa and Alexandre, 8 Aug 09, Galleria Ballroom, Grand Copthorne Waterfront (Wedding Live Band)

Bevlyn’s Thoughts: For Me, Formidable

Alexandre and Melissa had known each other for 6 years, of which 4 years were spent long-distance. Other than being it being a French tradition for the banquet tables to be named after countries/cities, it probably also served to remind us of the strong love the couple had for each other, as they could only see each other every 6 months in Asia or Europe during that arduous period!

Melissa and Alexandre had painstakingly made the efforts to incorporate the Chinese and the French cultures in this wedding celebration. For the evening, a Singaporean female emcee was paired with a French male emcee so that the guests were addressed in English and French. The 1st march-in song was a classical piece by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák called New World Symphony (the couple had chosen it for its dramatic crescendo, which worked wonders), and the 2nd march-in was a Mandarin song which really caught me by surprise. But it’s really no wonder if you think of it, this song has such a strong Chinese flavour to it:

Our band also contributed to the fusion display of duo cultures by performing in a mixture of English, Mandarin and French chansons!

And to everyone’s delight, Melissa and Alexandre broke into a beautiful waltz after their 2nd march-in. Lovely!!

We really seldom hear grooms give thanks to their families expressively, and Alexandre counts among the rare few. He ended his thanks to his father with “Je t’aime” (I love you), and the father notably touched, went up to give him a big hug. Alexandre also thanked his dear sister Celine for always being there, and reminded his mother that “geographically, you are always in my heart”….

One of the highlights for the evening had to be the surprise gift from Alexandre’s mum; she had prepared a montage of Alexandre’s photos from birth to his adult years for the couple and guests. I thought everyone had the loudest laugh when pictures of Alexandre in his long-hair experimenting years came up the screen! [Everybody, be warned of cool mothers who can do photo montages!]

It was a little enervé at first with a table of French guests seated right in front of the band. But my nerves soon went away when some of them started singing along with me to some of the French songs. However, the one which really made everyone loosen up and sang along loudly was this:

Sympathique (by Pink Martini)

There were also other songs like “Je t’aimais, Je t’aime et Je t’aimerais” (I loved you, I love you and I will love you) which the French guests sang along to; I think I was more blown away by the fact that they could remember the lengthy lyrics!

My favourite had to be “For Me Formidable”, the lyrics is a clever and witty combination of English and French (“tes eyes, ton nose, tes lips adorables” sounds like how I would express myself when I speak French-glish), and the melody is so catchy I actually wish it would never stop:

When I was singing this song, the sway virus caught on – 3 of the French guests seated in front started to sway their upper bodies and snapped their fingers along, then before you can say  “Formidable”, the whole table was in a synchronised sway of left to right. Even Alexandre came over to join in the swaying fun! I was truly flattered when Alexandre’s mum even came over to say “Parfait!” (Perfect) when we finished the song. These French guests are so adorable!!

After our live band segment, the night was far from over! Dance music was piped in, and the crowd began thronging the dance floor for some boogie-boogie after the good food and wine (ah! Melissa and Alexandre are wine connoisseurs, so the wine was really very good!). Here’s what happened for the dance segment (note Alexandre’s 2 adorable little nieces at the end of the clip):

Band: Bevlyn, Ein Ein on keyboard & Selwyn on violin

Repertoire:

All You Need Is Love, Always You, Crazy Love, Everything In Its Time, I Love You, , On The Side Of Me, Sway, The Way You Love Me, 写一首歌 (Write A Song), 当我八十岁 (When I’m 80), La Vie En Rose, Fever, Let’s Fall In Love, Sometimes When We Touch, The Look Of Love, Time After Time, Sympathique, Quizas Quizas Quizas, Je t’aimais Je t’aime et Je t’aimerais, C’est Si Bon, Marilyn et John, For Me Formidable, I’m Yours

Couple’s Compliment:

Hi Bevlyn!

Wow we can tell you’ve paid quite some attention to our montages and speeches – nice! And yes, you’re right – the 2nd march-in song was chosen as it’s such a recognisable Chinese song, and matches with my Oriental-inspired evening gown! Haha!

Thanks for your wonderful singing. All our guests, French and Singaporean alike, were impressed and truly enjoyed your performance. It was a pity Alexandre and I weren’t around to enjoy it more.

We hope it was a memorable night for you and the band as well, and that it’ll be one wedding that you’ll remember for some time to come! We’ll certainly remember your lovely performance and superb French 🙂

Cheers,
Melissa