Malay wedding in Pangkor
Hazman Bin Sabtu weds
Zurul Affza Binti Mohd Yusoff
A Malay wedding is celebrated at both parents. houses. On the 21st of August
I had visited the first day at the brides parents house in Guar Chempedak.
You can read that part of the story here. The 25th of August was the day the
celebrations continued at the Nipah Bay Villa hotel at Pulau Pangkor, the
home of the groom. You can leave your comments here.
Left:
Zurul Affza Binti Mohd Yusoff Right: Hazman Bin Sabtu
The celebrations, as said, were taking place at the Nipah Bay Villa which
was closed for a few days (btw, it was for people passing by no problem
to join and experience a typical Malay wedding).
I arrived around 11.30am. The first guests had already arrived but
there was no sign of the bride and groom. I was told they were still
preparing.
The happy couple at the Nipah Bay Villa in Pulau Pangkor
This meant I had some time to go around and see what the family
had done to decorate the dinning hall. It was clear who had a hand
in the organization: Mrs. Sabtu. Everything looked perfect.
The dining area was decorated with fifty dozens roses, ferns,
baby breaths and daisies which had been specially ordered all
the way from the Cameron Highlands. Flowers in the tropical
heat never last long and they are expensive. But these roses
were all fresh.
The atmosphere was very different compared to the day in Guar Chempedak.
Don't get me wrong, not better or worse, simply very different. Both families
had made a serious effort to make the wedding day perfect and to me both families
had 100% succeeded. In Kedah everything seemed to have a gold colour, the pelamin,
the decoration, everything was in the colour that matched the clothes of the
bride and groom. Here in the Nipah Bay Villa everything was in blue and silver.
I was wondering what the clothes of the couple would look like. It must be
different from the first day.
A lot of yummy food for the guests
Food was already available when I arrived but I decided first to walk a
bit around and shoot some pictures. In the back of the dining hall stood
the pelamin, the throne for bride and groom. Like the first day of the
Malay wedding in Guar Chempedak, this pelamin was beautiful but while
the one in the bride's hometown was gold in colour, this one was made
of blue and silver. I expected the bride and groom to be dressed in the
same colours, as they did in Kedah.
I walked out to eat something and again I was again surprised by the
quality of the food. I have to admit that the food in Malaysia very seldom
disappoints me. It seems that at wedding receptions people do go to
the extreme to prepare for the feast. I had experienced that at the
Chinese
and
Indian weddings I had attended. This particular Malay wedding was no exception.
It always amazes me what people can do with food.
Formal greeting of bride and groom just outside the Nipah Bay Villa
The bride and the groom were getting ready in one of the rooms of the hotel.
I went to see the bride, her preparation was now almost complete. In Malaysia
people always want to see the bedroom of the newly weds. It was no difference here.
The room was nice decorated too.
Arrival at the Nipah Bay Villa
Outside people were eating and waiting for the couple to formally arrive
at the hotel. At one moment the couple appeared and went outside the hotel to
make a formal and traditional entrance.
Impression from the Nipah Bay Villa
After the greetings by the parents of Hazman, the couple went into the Nipah Bay
Villa. Family members followed the happy couple.
Once inside, they went to their pelamin, the throne for the newlyweds. The father
of the bride, Mr. Mohd Yusoff came to the front to say a few words and
prayed for health and happiness for the couple in the Muslim tradition.
After the bride's father, Mr. Sabtu, the groom’s father, did a prayer too.
This is of course an essential part in any Muslim Malay wedding.
After the prayers,
it was time for the blessings for the married couple. First, of course both
parents. Then the other members of the families and guest. And yes, I was
too invited to give the couple the blessing.
It works this way, you take some rice and put it in the hands of both,
then you take some bunga rampai and give this to bride and groom.
Bunga rampai is a potpourri of scented pandan, rose petals and turmeric rice
grain which is usually prepared the day before using. After the bunga rampai,
you sprinkle some oiled perfume on both hand and then you shake the hands of
the groom (for the women, they shake hands with the bride only).
After the blessings of family and friends it was time for lunch. Like in
Kedah, there was a great meal ready for the bride and groom.
After the lunch it was time to say farewell to the guests. I had spend a
great two days with both families. The two days in Kedah and Pangkor had given
me a great possibility to experience how Malays celebrate their wedding days.
For me, as a foreigner, I had seen two completely different days with the same
key elements. However, the way both families had organized the events was fantastic.
I wouldn't want to have missed it. Thank you.
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Nice color scheme
I like the bride's dress. It's combination white and blue and look so cool. And while browsing those food at the photo pages, made me starving in the ...
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An Indian wedding in Parit Buntar
A few years ago I went to Parit Buntar for my first
Indian wedding in Malaysia. Like the one at Pangkor, this too was a
colorful event.
Have you ever attended a Chinese Wedding in Malaysia? If not, have a look
at the wedding of Mr. Ong Kok Lam and Miss Goh Huey Ching who got married on
the 27th November 2005.
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment (in English please) in the box below. Please don't ask for a "quotation", those comments will be deleted.
After the prayers,
it was time for the blessings for the married couple. First, of course both
parents. Then the other members of the families and guest. And yes, I was
too invited to give the couple the blessing.
After the lunch it was time to say farewell to the guests. I had spend a
great two days with both families. The two days in Kedah and Pangkor had given
me a great possibility to experience how Malays celebrate their wedding days. 
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read!Leave me a comment (in English please) in the box below. Please don't ask for a "quotation", those comments will be deleted.