The husband drifts off to sleep as I walk around packing and unpacking for the doa selamat at night. Time flew quickly and the next thing I know I'm running around and late (again)! We arrive at Polo Club at 6:30 and I get made up straight away. I finish getting ready and tiptoe to the balcony to check out the guests. Zakiyah caught me and made shoo-ing gestures so I go in and wait for my husband to 'pick' me up.
Doa Selamat dinner. An appreciation for the family who really helped out a lot. A big family is an advantage (more helping hands). Without my family helping, we'd be overwhelmed!We go down together (me nearly tripping at the stairs) and we enter the hall holding hands. My outfit doesn't give me much stepping space so I'm forced to walk with tiny steps. I call out to my husband quite often requesting for him to slow down. We reach the table and pause. Do we go right or left? Oh what the heck! We walk to the right and around the table to our seat. A thank you speech was given by I think Pg Bahrum (my uncle) and he continued with a doa selamat and the food was served.
Caught in the act of checking out my guests!The fish was good- some sort of steamed fish. Erwan played a video clip from the whole wedding with a Krisdayanti song in the background (which my family totally wiped out after a min). Oh well... Then I saw guests leaving. But am I not supposed to be out there saying my thank you's and goodbye's? I signal to Babu and she's in a daze when she lets me go out. We call mummy and daddy too so we all go out. But people are still eating. Uh-oh! I was early! My bad! Bapa marah's a bit and says its like us telling people to leave.
Lace material bought by Babu in Dubai, made at Lord'ess (Jakarta). Veil bought from Safrina. Tiara and Jewellery lent by Busera's mum.But no one is leaving anyways. We wait till people are ready to leave and they come and say goodbyes. A few guests took pictures while we were still in line and finally it was done. More pictures were taken with guests that lounged around the hall. My feet were aching from those killer stilettos! Finally we head back home at 11:30pm knackered and straight away hit the sacks. It's been a long and exhausting day.
At the table. Checking out the video.
Our entertainment was strictly no music due to some religious members of my family. My grand dad wanted guling tangan though so we had that only.
Leaving the hall at the wrong time! Whoops!
With the maids. Material for uniform bought at YMRM and made at Idot's tailor.An advice to future brides, a lot of time preparation time required! I had 2 months to prepare for nikah, 3 months for the other functions calling it a bit rushed is an understatement. Though, it's ok that my wedding wasn't perfect and missed a few touches here and there. It's our journey in marriage that will count. What is the memory of one day to compare to a memory of a lifetime?
Ordered from Singapore via Mangkuk Emas Trading (Batu Bersurat – same row as Red Canopy Café), Flower bought in Jakarta (Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua), Ribbon bought from UK (www.fourseasonsvillage.co.uk)
A few of the many gifts from guests and I would like to take this opportunity to tell everyone it was wonderful of you to share our wedding day with us. Thank you for your good thoughts, your generous gift and for being there. It means the world to us that you care.
Jewellery from my in-laws for the 'menyarungkan'. Not something that we're accustomed to, (not part of our adat) so that was something new.Next destination, honeymoon? My husband cant get leave due to his involvement with preparations for the Royal birthday. We had a two night stay at Empire sponsored by my Bungsu and the real honeymoon sponsored by my Bapa planned to be in August. Where to? My husband wants a cruise, I want somewhere cold. How about an Alaskan Cruise? I'd like to go to Europe though...
Us.Unedited entry by the bride herself, Muizzah.
Photography by eyan.
And that is the finale for this series of the wonderfully detailed account of the wedding events that Muizzah has kindly shared with us. Thank you so much for your contribution Muizzah, I'm sure the visitors have been enjoying your memoir and hopefully it will help those who are planning their wedding sometime soon too. We here at Brunei Weddings wish you a happy marriage and a lifetime of happiness - Bulimic.
10 comments:
Muizzah, the jewellery given to u atu was it given to you on ur doa selamat nite? If i'm not mistaken, it is part of our adat for the in laws to give jewellery but usually on the malam ambil-ambilan. The menyarungi cincin during the bertunang is actually not part of our adat :)
anonymous: according to my grand father menyarungkan jewellery from inlaws not part of my adat, menyarungi cincin during tunang also not my adat, cincin pembuka mulut during bertunang also not my adat. receiving bedak from mens side during the morning of ladies berbedak function is our adat though the men's side didnt do that. we were going to fit in the jewellery bit during bersanding due to us not bersanding at night but no one remembered. i guess it depends who ur nini is.
Hai Muizzah, the ribbons that you made in the UK, did you buy it online? I'm trying to find a shop that does that here - personalised ribbons.
hello muizzah..where is safrina?the place u bought your doa slamat veil from?thanks..btw..ur bouquet looks fab :)
Anonymous1: Yes, I bought my ribbons online. Alimen Enterprise (batu bersurat) does it in Brunei but its quite pricey. If you have someone coming from UK, its cheaper to have it ordered from fourseasonsvillage and ask them bring it back for you.
Anonymous2: Safrina is the name of my friend. I dont know if she'd appreciate my giving out her phone number but her email add is shanqz@hotmail.com
Mui. LAWA your pictures and your stories. No wonder I kept on bumping into you di Empire twice in row. So that's the story! August is near. When are you guys leaving and ke mana? Stop over to Londre-town? :)
-Fids
Muizzah, I really enjoyed reading about your wedding - congratulations to you and Nasir. I hope you have a long and happy married life together! I found all your comments about "adat" really interesting - and all the different "stages" of a Malay wedding. I got the impression that your wedding was slightly different because your family is originally from Kampung Ayer - is that right? It would be great if someone could summarise all the different stages and ceremonies and the significance of each. It would be really interesting, a real "snapshot" of Brunei Malay culture.
Muizzah, just a suggestion. Try Auckland, New Zealand for a honeymoon. I think it's still chilly in August though, but if u want something cold, thats the place to go. Try a 5 hour (I think) drive to Taupo and to the ski resort at Mount Ruapehu. You'll love it! I've never been to the mountain honestly, but most of my friends testified it's a must go
katie-ella: mums side originated from Sungai Kedayan and dads side from Kg Saba. I think there's a book on traditional malay weddings. I saw it at one of the book fairs. My aunt wants to start a wedding planner service for people who want traditional style weddings.
ucingitam: thank you very much for the suggestion! i will check that out. if we do end up going there i will let you know! :)
What a beautiful wedding! I had the opportunity to visit Brunei seven years ago and absolutely loved it!
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