my wedding reception

My wedding dream came true on the 10th of January 2010.

For once, I am not going to be coy in sharing my side of the story. There will be lots of gushing and praising, vain and proud statements in this entry. I am truly sorry. But I can’t help, falling in love, with…everything.

My wedding reception.

The day started off with us having breakfast at home before heading to Dewan Perdana Felda (DPF). We reached DPF around 10.15 in the morning. Parked the car and walked straight into the hall – where magic was slowly unfolding. The pelamin structure was up but that was about it. I still didn’t grasp it. The lights were not in place yet, same goes with the flowers and the high table decorations. Hence, I didn’t ‘feel’ it during the rehearsal. If only I had known how much the ambience and my feelings would change 360 degrees come night time. But at that point in time, I couldn’t quite picture just how beautiful it would turn out to be.

Rehearsal started around 11-ish once the best man and bridesmaid arrived. My husband chose one of his best friends since pre-law days in Kedah as his best man. And I chose my cousin. I didn’t have any ‘flower girls’. I didn’t have anyone escorting me to the dais or anyone around me at all, except for my bridesmaid, whose role is undisputedly essential to any bride. Reason being, I wanted to walk down the aisle alone with only my husband next to me. And I didn’t want to crowd the dais either. So my two cousins walked with the VIPs and stayed by the side of the stairs to hand the special favours once the VIPs were done with the merenjis. I am very much a fan of everything neat, tidy and proper.

We finished rehearsal in a jiffy. And then the usherers came for a briefing on the seating arrangements. Thank you dear usherers for helping out. I’m sorry if I’ve caused any inconveniences and for messing up with your day of rest. I shall never forget your budi baik, insya Allah. May God bless all of you always! So anyway, around 1 pm, we decided to have lunch at KLCC – the bride, groom and his best man. After lunch, we headed back to DPF and then it was snooze time for the guys! Yeap, we stayed at DPF all day long because it would’ve been too much of a hassle to drive back to my house.

The girls’ make-up artist came around 4 pm and they were made up straight away while the bride just sat on the sofa and peeped through the window to see the preparations downstairs. I didn’t see much of course, except for the two white ranting pokok situated at the entrance. But somehow, I managed to hold back the urge to check out the hall every 10 minutes even though I could have, if I wanted to because I was just one floor away from the hall. I wanted to see the hall in its full glory for the first time the moment I step into the hall that night. So I persevered and chatted with the cousins instead.

As usual, my make-up artist came at 5 pm. By this time, we were used to each other so less questions and uncertainties and more jokes. I had to put on my dress first before she could do my hair. Thank God Putra came just on time to help me with my super tight dress. Honestly, it was the tightest among all. I don’t think I could fit into it ever again. Not even now. But it was worth all the fat sucked in because the moment I stepped out of the changing room my husband went all wowwww on me. And if I were to be truly honest, I think that was how I got my ‘glow’.

I love the dress, no doubt about it. It was a long kebaya with grey,silver,blue and pink beads all over it. And with Cosry’s signature style of course. I guess I could say that I was a traditional, conservative bride, opting for a classic design rather than something a little funkier. I had to choose what would suit me best and something that would make the best out of my disadvantages (re: height, round face etc). You’ve probably seen the same Cosry design before. But what I really love about the dress is the beads. If you look closely, you could see that there were just hundreds or maybe thousands (??) of beads all over the dress, and the colours are so paddle-popish sweet ie; baby blue, baby pink and silver. I hope I have a close-up picture of the dress. And my other favourite part of it is the back. The bare back and the design on my hips just above my booty. Oh, of course the kebaya had to have a train, albeit not a really long one, because I’m a traditional, ol’ skool bride remember? All brides must have a train, tiara and veil! (is ‘train’ the right word to describe it anyway?). The groom also received praises for his attire and I love the beads on his jacket as well. Like I’ve mentioned earlier, Cosry’s fit is the best and Zaki didn’t even have to alter anything during the first fitting. In fact he took it back home immediately. I had two fittings for all my dresses but that was only because the first time I tried ‘em on, they hadn’t sown the beads yet. The dresses of course felt so different with the beads on.

We were ready by 8 pm. Ikram ‘tortured’ us by asking for so many shots. We posed and posed and posed until it was 8.30-ish. And then it was time to meet the VVIPs in the holding room. As with the night of my nikah, I wasn’t nervous. They were all friends of the family so it wasn’t uncomfortable or too formal-ish for us. The ladies were worried about my train, they kept saying “get somebody to take care of her train” padahal it wasn’t that long and I didn’t have any problem with it pun. Hehe. So cute. After a brief photography session with them, they were ushered into the hall. As they made their way into the hall, we took the lift and went straight to the basement. A car was waiting for us. The car’s door was really low, kena tunduk like crazy to get into it. Even then I managed to hit my head on the door. Thank God no live feed in the basement and thank God the tiara was still in place. Haha. We got the idea of ‘coming’ to the hall by car from our initial plan of getting ready at a nearby hotel. But then it would have been too kelam kabut and risky so we cancelled the idea but proceeded with the chauffeured car idea.

Everything started the moment the car arrived at DPF’s entrance. I forgot about the live feed, honestly, so forgive my facial expressions (if any) as I was getting out of the car. It wasn’t easy. But I did not knock on anything this time so I was okay. The kompang boys were ready. Gosh, I just have this thing about live kompang, man! Semangat lain macam, I could walk with kompang forever and ever kot. Hehe. They started playing the kompang and we made our way into the hall.

First, I was impressed with the two white ranting pokok near the entrance. Because it looked very pink to me. It was like walking into a pink forest. The aisle leading up to the main door was very dim as well, so that gave the whole enchanted forest feel to it. And then I saw our pictures on both sides of the door. Our ‘why so serious’ pictures. Hehe. The reason behind it? The pictures were supposed to depict us as the King and Queen. So we had to pose like the typical official King and Queen pictures you see in government departments and some places, serious and tough. Some of my friends said that at first they thought it was the typical picture of the King and Queen but upon closer inspection, it was my face! Haha. My face was a bit funny in the picture but it’s all good.

As we were entering the hall, we had to stop for selawat and that was when I saw the hall for the first time. Yup, not even a single peep to it until that moment. Oh how the hall magically transformed! It was dark (good, I hate bright lights) so it sort of drowned everything and everyone else and then there it was – the dais was gleaming from afar. The one thing I saw straight from the entrance. That was the only thing I saw, really. And then I got too excited and too happy. Mostly, throughout the three days all I felt was excitement. I wasn’t nervous so maybe that’s why I ‘sashayed’ into the hall (quoted from somebody) instead of walking like a shy cat with my head down or something. The dais turned out exactly like how I pictured it to be. Again, I wanted something simple, minimalistic, neat and cosy. I didn’t want too many things on the stage. I wanted to play with the effects and I’m glad it turned out great. The lighting changed everything. The dais changed into hues pink, purple, blue. I wanted some depth behind the pelamin. I wanted it to appear like as though there’s something behind the dais, again an enchanted forest maybe, something dark and foggy and misty. Did it turn out like that? From what I saw, I thought it did. The whole concept was ‘royal’. But instead of going all English or Malay, we were nowhere. Obviously, it wasn’t a Malay royal concept. It was more of an English royal but then we wore Malay outfits so, it was a mixture of everything. If you noticed, our chairs were different too. His chair was bigger than mine. The team custom made it for us because apparently, in an English royal house, the King’s chair is always bigger than the Queen’s. Roll ‘Em’s attention to details is awesome. I would never have thought of that.

The selawat ended and then it was time to walk THE walk. My fairy tale began.

Sejujur-jujurnya, I didn’t mean to ‘sashay’,’catwalk’,’bounce’ or the likes of it as I made my way to the dais. It wasn’t intentional. And when people commented on it I feel deeply embarrassed and I wonder how did I look like on screen? I must’ve looked like an over-eager newly-throned princess – impatient to start ruling her country. So allow me to explain exactly what I felt at that time. I felt sheer, plain, unconditional bliss and love, not only for my man but for my family. I was overwhelmend with gratefulness. I felt utterly blessed and that there was no reason at all for me to feel anything but happiness that night. Even at that moment, the night was already perfect enough for me. It could’ve ended there and I would still be the glowing bride. If I felt like that then, imagine the momentum my feelings went through as the night unfolded. Indescribable kan? That’s how I got ‘the walk’, ‘the look’, ‘the smile’ and ‘the (round) face’. So forgive me for losing myself in the cotton candy-ness of it all.

The dress despite it being tight and all, didn’t pose any problem to me so I was able to walk comfortably up the dais. The merenjis session started. I thought it was quite quick, so kudos to the emcee. No one likes a long and draggy merenjis right? Up from where I was seated, I couldn’t see anyone in the crowd although I tried searching for familiar faces. Hehe. After merenjis, we headed to the high table situated at the other end of the hall. I know the trend now at DPF is for the high table to be in the middle of the hall instead of by the side. But my reason for wanting it to be on its own is because that way, the high table would stand out from the rest as it would be on a higher platform and I’ve always had this thing for square or long tables instead of round ones. The same goes for the seating arrangements at home for akad nikah, we had square tables instead of round. It would give more space for the team to decorate the table too. I love my high table deco very much. It was practically glowing in the dark. I didn’t know it would turn out like that so it was a pleasant surprise.

And then everyone’s favourite part came – makan time! Zaki managed to enjoy his food while I was just so so so busy looking around, basking in the atmosphere (again). I managed to wave to a few guests seated nearby, hehe. We had Bonjoza acoustic for entertainment before and during the reception. They were good but I kinda like the band during berinai slightly better. Hehe. Perhaps because at home the band played lots of cheerful dance numbers while the one at DPF played mellow love songs. My brother hired the band and paid for it, so I’ve got no complaints! And yes, they were right when they said ‘When You Say Nothing At All’ and ‘Love Will Keep Us Alive’ are among my favourite songs. As favours, we gave a unisex perfume, Mahal Kita. Mahal Kita means ‘love’ or ‘I love you’ in Tagalog. Obviously it couldn’t and shouldn’t be read literally in Bahasa. But I trust my guests are smart enough to figure that out. We personally chose the scent, yes everything’s so freaking personalized from the card to the preps to everything so I really hope people would appreciate “my” touch in everything that you see or receive. (Even though I may not be the most creative person around)

My video presentation was up next. Manggis did it for me. Like I’ve mentioned in my previous entry, I have always wanted Manggis and I’ve never even considered anyone else. I guess my degil-ness paid off as they did an amazing, amazing video. Ok sini ada element perasan sikit but please bear with this over-excited newly wed just this once. I’m totally in love with my own video because I thought their shots were just brilliant! It was like watching a short movie. I wish I could share it with you here, I’ll try to upload it but I know the file’s quite big. That was the first time I saw the video too because of the 24-hours editing. No, I didn’t get to see a preview of it or anything like that during the day. So I was totally, totally emotional when I saw the video. I had tears in my eyes when the akad was shown and throughout the video I was holding on to Zaki’s hand and he had to squeeze my hand to keep my emotions under control. I was leaning against the table because it was a little difficult to see the screen from where I was seated but I really wanted to see the video and mulut ternganga tengok video sendiri. Hehe. I’m so happy with the video, I can’t wait for all the other highlights. Once it’s ready and is safely in my hands I will try to upload it. If you ask me about Manggis, I’ve got two words to say – Worth It.

What comes after a video presentation? Speech right? Wrong! Apparently my cheeky soulsisters planned a surprise performance for me!! I was totally laughing when the emcee announced because I couldn’t believe they would actually get up on stage and sing! Sing?!! Haha. Well, and then my brother announced that it was a ‘Abang, Kakak Ipar and kawan-kawan’ performance so I knew that my siblings were going to sing for me. And my best friends were the back-up vocals. It was such a sweet and cute sight, I will never forget it for the rest of my life! Their husbands were in it as well. I was really touched. They sang a medley of Untukmu (KRU version), Aizat’s Lagu Kita and L.O.V.E. I thought they did very,very well, I can’t pick my favourite among the three songs. Each with its own sentimental value. Untukmu brought back memories of me with the girls and everything that we went through since we were little, Lagu Kita was more of a special dedication from all of them to me and L.O.V.E was a celebration of the newly weds. I laughed the most during L.O.V.E watching Kak Tinie with her ‘energetic’ moves. I truly enjoyed their performance and I hope the guests loved it too. Oh please do, they deserve it!

And then, my brother announced, tuan tuan dan puan puan, terimalah, Anuar Zain.

I swear, there’s a picture of me with a ‘whatever’ look on my face. It was captured when he made the announcement. I thought he was joking, I thought he was referring to himself. And then Lelaki Ini’s intro started playing and I frantically searched for Anuar Zain. I looked at the performance stage and the dais and I saw nothing. It never occurred to me to look at the live feed on the screen. Because there it was, Anuar Zain, in his full glory, walking into the hall from the main door straight to where I was seated.

I swear, I was jumping up and down from my seat. Ok, bukanlah over sangat but I was what orang Melayu would say ‘tak senang duduk’. I didn’t know if I could stand up and walk up to him or should I extend my hand over the table to shake his hands or give him a courtesy or what?? I was just beyond star struck. My heart was beating super fast and Zaki was laughing at me the whole time. When he strode to the high table with 110% confidence and determination, with a look on his face like as though he had only one thing on his mind ie; ME (hahaha I wrote ‘as though’ kan kan kan?) – honestly, his body language, facial expressions were so charming. Anyone could easily be charmed by his presence. And there he was, live, right smacked in front of my face. What would any normal, sane woman do?

I cried. Who wouldn’t? Oh by the way, don’t worry, I didn’t forget my husband seated by my side but it’s not everyday that one gets to be serenaded by Anuar-freaking-Zain right? I’m sure all my pictures with Anuar Zain singing in front of us would turn out ‘funny’ because I was holding back tears and then I was laughing and smiling and singing along. When he said “Lelaki itu yang selalu mencintaimu” instead of “lelaki ini” I had goosebumps. Ohmygod perfect perfect perfect. And he had to top it when he sang the second line “lelaki ini yang selalu memuja” where he gestured to himself. Konon dia puja I. Oh God, sumpah ada element nak pengsan.

It was just beyond my expectation. To me my wedding was already perfect enough as it was, so why Anuar Zain? I was so touched and emotional. Anuar Zain is one of my favourite local male singers. He’s so charming. Honestly, I’ve guessed that there would be surprises for my wedding, because hey no one could keep secrets from me. And I was pretty much involved in the whole wedding preparations with my mom so they let it slip a few times but I didn’t know it would be Anuar. My friends thought it would be KRU because I love KRU too. When it happened, it still felt surreal to me. I felt one of a kind. I never expected him to sing at my wedding. I am definitely one lucky girl.

After he was done with Lelaki Ini, he went to the dais stage to continue with his second song. Buttttt before that, he said that he was supposed to walk up to the stage straight away upon entering the hall but he had to divert to the main table because the bride was too beautiful and he congratulated Zaki. HAHAHA. Okayyyy I’m clever enough to know itu semua his gimmick and PR skill semata-mata but who cares! I didn’t care, I still beamed and glowed like anything. Vain moment please. He sang Ketulusan Hati next and it was so romantic. This time around, I was busy looking at my husband and we were grinning at each other. I know he enjoyed it too. Love was so much in the air! My fairy tale came true.

He sang two songs and then he was out of the place. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to have a picture with him. My father came up next to give a speech. It was so cute to see him being a lil bit nervous, katanya because he had to speak right after Anuar sang, so there was a little pressure. Haha. His speech was short and simple, with his signature tips. My father after all, is also a motivational speaker. Do you guys remember his 5S tips? Hehe.

The finale of the night was the cake-cutting ceremony. During rehearsals, we practiced with Anuar Zain’s I’m The Lucky One. Yes, I told you I’m a fan. So we were expecting the song to be played as we got ready to walk to the dais. I was a bit agitated when the song took some time to be played. Ahh, rupa-rupanya Anuar came back on stage to sing live for me! Haha. So cute. That means he was at the back the whole time during the speech. Instead of the song I’ve chosen, I had Keabadian Cinta as my wedding cake song. Well, one can’t complaint when the singer himself sang live for us. So we walked to the dais with him serenading us. The cake-cutting ensued.

Once we were done with the suap-suap session, it was time to thank the guests at the door. This time around, I chose Nat King Cole’s Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. I simply love the intro to this song. It felt very Disney-ish and yes, I thought it suited the night’s theme very well. The song is also one of my mom’s favourites. So yes, again, it shouldn’t always be just about us.

It was so much fun meeting almost everyone at the door. I know some had to leave early because it was a Sunday and the next day was everyone’s dreaded day of the week. I know some people came but didn’t get to see me. For those who didn’t get to see me I know some of you came by reading my wish cards. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known. I’m going to compile and bind all the wish cards, ada banyak sangat! Thank you for taking the time and trouble to scribble on it. Some were very funny, some a bit too explicit and some made me cry. Hehe. I’m going to turn it into my very own hard-covered big book of kind and saucy words. Thank you.

We continued with an interview and a photography session at the dais. DPF officially ‘closes’ at 12 am. So we had to be quick and took as many pictures as possible. I didn’t want to leave the dais, I would never see my own dais again (except in pictures), and all the hard work and year-long preparations ended at 12. I wish they didn’t have to dismantle the dais and just leave it for at least another day. Belum puas ambil gambar at every nook and corner of the stage. I guess, all that’s left of the night is the pictures. Oh, and the video. I can’t wait for my official pictures and videos. Cepat lah please.

I understand that my wedding reception was not without its flaws. And for that, I apologize for the lack of better things or better food or better night. As for the bride and groom, we are beyond happy with how it turned out to be. Alhamdulilah. We are ever so grateful and thankful to everyone who helped us out and everyone who came and sat through the whole thing. I couldn’t ask for more than what have been given to me. Every single dream I had of a wedding came true. And it didn’t just stop at that, it went one notch ahead and totally swept me off my feet. Yes, my own wedding swept me off my feet. I believe the whole night long my feet did not touch the ground. It felt like a dream. It felt like all the good things in the world came together that one night and decided to gather at DPF. It will always be the most exciting, thrilling and amazing night of my life. The surprises made me feel like a billion dollars. I was indeed THE princess, whose every wish came true with a magic wand. And of course that ‘magic wand’ was my parents. Don’t get me started on them, I’ll save that one for another entry.

It was perfect. It was beautiful. It was awesome. I keep replaying the night again and again in my head. It was unforgettable. I pray that this fairy tale of mine will have a happy ending and that we both live happily ever after.

Amin.