Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Shah & Shafinaz's Wedding

I don't get invited to Malay weddings often, and when I do, I never miss them. In this case, I looked forward to this wedding because it was the wedding of the son of my classmate G (she is Aminah now, but we her classmates have the privilege of calling her fondly by her childhood name, G). A few of our schoolmates have kids who have gotten married but in our class of 22 girls, G's 22-year-old son is the first.

The wedding started with the akad nikah, the taking of vows in front of an iman, in G's new house in The Residence, an upscale estate that sits next to a golf course with the city of KK behind it separated by a small strip of sea. Access into the estate was by golf buggies because there were so many cars. I must tell G that next time she invites me, I want to be sent in by one of her two boats anchored behind the house.

The akad nikah was a very solemn ceremony that lasted nearly 2 hours. Because it was so solemn, I didn't take many photos but here are some taken after the ceremony:

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The Filipino florist/designer came up with interesting flower center pieces that included veg such as cabbage and chives.

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These are suluk-bajau dancers doing their traditional dances.

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The lovely bride in a beautiful hand-sequined baju kurung.

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A row of interesting hantaran (dowry), beautifully wrapped and presented. There were many of sets of cosmetics, a couple of Louis Vuitton bags, jewellery, an iPhone, a pair of jeans and dodol (a chewy fudge-like confectionery made of coconut milk).

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The beautiful young newly weds.

The next batch of photos were taken the next evening (9/6/09) at The Magellan Sutera Hotel where about 1000 guests attended the dinner. Again, I couldn't take the photos as freely as I wanted to because the occasion was very formal and grand. I wish I had the guts to walk up to the stage where the bride and groom were seated, dressed like prince and princess, as they were blessed by the VIPs and relatives. I was especially awed by the bride's breathtaking shimmering butter-colored baju kurung. A friend asked why I wasn't wearing a baju kurung and I realized I don't have one. Why I don't have one is because I think baju kurungs are hideous sacks used by some ladies to hide their rolls and lumps and bumps. I much prefer the sarung kebaya which seems to be worn proudly by the Indonesians but not anymore by Malaysians.

Everyday baju kurungs are like big cloth bags with holes to put your head through, and are usually made with cheap loud flowery fabrics. The baju kurung I dislike most are those that have reversed backgrounds, with, say red dots against a blue background for the top and blue dots with red background for the bottom. Oh. so. trite.

Well, my eyes were opened last night. Evening baju kurungs are totally different from ordinary day time sacks. Evening bajus are slightly more shaped at the waist, and are elegant, classy, exquisite dresses made from diaphanous, dreamy silk chiffon hand sewn with sequins and beads that shimmer and shine as the ladies glide elegantly across the room. I was particularly taken by this pink number with its scalloped multi-tiered layers edged in beads and sequins (if you could just have a closer look, you'd be awed too), especially when she was on the stage blessing the couple:

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These two beauties obligingly posed for me in their beautiful bajus.

By the time I left the party, I knew I want a taupe beige-colored chiffony, flowy baju with delicate scalloped edges sewn with tons of sequins and beads.

Ok, on with the show:

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G and her prince who whisked her off at 20. G was a beauty queen and carries herself elegantly. I've never seen her without a smile, and as I thought about it last night, in all these years, I've never seen her angry or loud. Class lady, this one, and she remains the same as she was in school -- sweet, gentle and gracious.

G's baju was contemporary, very elegant and tasteful.

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The food was absolutely delicious, from the soup soto kambing (lamb soup) to the nasi briyani (which had curry leaves), to the udang masak merah to the kurmah chicken. I had no idea Magellan serves such excellent Malay food. It def beats the food they serve at Chinese wedding banquets.

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Dessert was a durian cheesecake, good with black coffee.

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The cake was in the shape of fondant pillows...I wonder if there's a reason for this. Symbol of fertility perhaps? Somehow it reminds me of Arabian Nights, especially that blue pillow.

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The stage where the couple sat to be blessed. You should've seen the bride's baju. It was stunning.

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G and her family. I never understood pantuns/poems in school (although surprisingly now I do), couldn't speak Bahasa properly let alone write poems, but when G gave her speech at the end of the dinner, I teared as she told the newly weds to love each other forever unconditionally and recited a pantun that included these words, "kasih sayang bonda" --a mother's love. The tender feeling of gratefulness (that the kid has grown to what he is) and happiness (that he has found the person who loves him and will share his life) must've run through all the hearts of the mothers in the hall.

16 comments:

ArtiSands said...

:-) just reading an email from a friend (relatives of Aminah) telling me of the same wedding...

PureGlutton said...

Malay weddings are always very colourful, with beautfilly presented hantaran, with painstaking details and grandeur. Lovely couple - the bride's red gown looks very un-malay!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful wedding. Well written post, I enjoyed reading this!

Denise ^ ChickyEGG said...

I m so 'aww...' when I see ppl give iphone for wedding gifts!

Everything is so so extra-ordinary, so prettie! THis is really a royal family's wedding !

Yeah those baju kurung so, like i never seen it before! Lolz

terri@adailyobsession said...

plain jane: it was a grand wedding, glad i went :)

pureglut: yes, n the presence of so many relatives make it even more merry. weddings are such wonderful occasions

anon: thnx, it really was a beautiful wedding.

denise: oh yes, it was very well planned (G is good at tt, n so calm too) n everything was the best.everybody dressed their best n tt's so glamorous. i wish i could have taken photos of all the ladies in their gorgeous bajus and write a book on them!

wmw said...

I've only been to 1 Malay wedding held in JW Marriott years ago (before my blogging days)...very interesting and colourful.

TeaLady said...

Beautiful Wedding. Now that's the way to celebrate a new beginning....

terri@adailyobsession said...

wmw: only one malay wedding n u r in west? whadda..? so much for racial integration. i was at immigration dept n labor dept a few weeks ago, n everybody was malay. obvious tt if u are non-malay, u won't get emplyed by the govt. it really makes u wonder what the govt is doing, saying we are a harmonious multi-racial country (esp during festivals n open houses) but in truth, their policies separate the races. in the private sectors, it's 99% non-malays, u can't get a job in private firms if u are malay. so i shdn't be surprised if u only went to 1 malay wedding. we just don't get to mix with each other, do we?

tealady: oh yes, it was beautiful :)

Vivien Dumpangol said...

really nice pictures :)

Zurin said...

hi Terri..ive been away from virtual reality for some time n just saw this post.

I know this couple...! i mean the parents of the bride..heh...hub knows them better tho. heheh

what a grand grand wedding....the red dress is stunning...I never take pics of the hantaran/gifts because they are so overwhelmed by flowers, ribbons etc etc that I cant quite make out what the gift is..lol

food looks delish...btw its 'imam' not 'iman' Terri...dont worry my malay is just slightly better than yours.

The cake is gorgeous...I actually thot the pillows were real pillows! LOLOL beautiful colours..

I think grand weddings are always more formal than simple kampung ones so it is difficult to take pictures isnt it...but it was a lovely collection of photos...those ladies in their bajus!!!! Wow! ...u going to make one now? heheh blog it k if its anything as grand as those!!

Zurin said...

Now why did I put so many 'hehs'? i take them back.

Anonymous said...

Hi Terri,

I salute you for creating & writing such an amazing blog...
The pictures you took during the Akad Nikah/bersanding on the 8th june and the Bersanding Reception on the 9th at the grand Ballroom Magellan Sutera were simply beautiful.as with the pictures of your delicious cakes etc..
Just wanna say that i got married at age 20 -5 feb 1978 my dear not 17..
The significant of the cake... I attended a wedding in Manila and the bride was from a Muslim orignally from Tawi-Tawi (Southern Philippines)but now staying in Manila and married a Christian Guy,,so the wedding was so colourful & Grand as well, u had the modern Manila guest dressed to kill and the colourful dresses & head gear; the suluk costumes are always very colourful , full embroidery etc.. and thats where I saw a similar cake...eveyone at the wedding function didn't realize that the 'cushions' were the wedding cake as it was place somewhere near the center and there was no bersanding but only the akad nikad ( a stage in the center)after that it was the dinner and dancing..since then I wanted to make a wedding cake similar to Dg. Soraya's..at that wedding I was seated next to President Gloria Magapagal as I was one of the witnesses and was seated in the center... my hubby was one of the pare (male sponsors) and also had the mare (the female sponsors)...
As Shah used the tuxedo for the cutting of the cake so Sri had to use a gown and my hubby told her to use 'red' "hahaha reminds me of Rod Steward's song 'Lady in Red'
Looking forward to have the CD from u...
TQ Take Care..xoxoxo
genie

Zurin said...

oops..I meant 'parents of the groom'

terri@adailyobsession said...

vivien: thnx! r u genie's daughter?

genie: u were 20 in feb 78? like tsui mei n lizbeth? :D i missed ur wedding bc i was away, n i always thot u married right after form 5! ok, will amend mistake. yes, i see the filipino influence in shah's wedding. ah, so tt's why u had the pillows cake. my daughter thinks it's very artistic and special. i will pass cd as soon as u make good ur promise to invite us for bbq n fishing...

zurin: so u know genie?! it is a small world!now i can ask genie about u :D

Zurin said...

No No Terri i dont know her personally...just frm a distance.(I was busy being a 24/7 365 days housewife n mother to 4 kids at teh time...socializing was out of my league)..hub knows her n her hub much better..in fact quite well..

Vivien Dumpangol said...

1st cousin :)

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