The Sanding Reception

So, after the most nerve-wrecking part of the wedding (also known as the solemnization) is over, comes the noisy merrymaking sanding reception!

We went up to the changing room (given as part of venue package by Silat Federation for pengantin usage) after the nikah to rest, ambik aircon, have a quick lunch and change into our sanding outfits.

My mamat sharing a light-hearted moment with Onan, his pak andam, before putting on his tanjak:

Wish I can post up something else that made our mak andam, pak andam and photographers laugh so hard hahahahaha but that shall remain as an inside joke between the people in that room hahahahaha and as a conversation starter for those who have the privilege to flip through our official wedding album in hard copy hahahahaha

And here's my MUA putting together my next look for the sanding hehehe

And my bridesmaids putting on their war paint for the next round! 

Hadang time!

I know some people wonder whether there is a need for hadang for a combined reception and if yes, how to go about doing it. Traditionally, hadang is meant for separate receptions, where the groom and entourage will come from a different venue. Once they arrive at the bride's venue, the bride's entourage will "bar" the groom and his entourage from seeing his bride and will only grant the groom's entourage permission to pass through the "barriers" after they are given duit hadang (Which is usually a small sum of money. Kalau nak kasi NTUC vouchers pun boleh tapi makcik pakcik pihak pengantin perempuan mungkin akan tanya kau dah buang tebiat ke ape). Obviously it works differently for combined receptions, since the groom is already at the same venue as the bride.

This was a quick mutual decision for my mamat and I - we wanted to retain the hadang tradition since it is something that we do enjoy participating in and watching so we did want to have it for our wedding. 

Well, okay, more for me than him, really. Hehehehehe.

So our arrangement was: Bride to come down to the reception hall and sit at the pelamin first, then the groom and his entourage will come down, get ready in front of the entrance and start walking in about 5 to 10 minutes later with the kompang to pass through the hadang barriers. 

Might sound silly to some partypoopers but we didn't care - we just wanted to have fun!

First hadang: My uncles and male cousins!

I imagine his uncle must be saying something along the lines of "Lek, lek, ni semua boleh berbual" hahahahaha.

Negotiation, rowdiness and berbalas pantun kecohness ensues:

Abang sachok who is also the tukang kasi duit hahaha

Dah lepas!

Second hadang: My aunts and female cousins!

Another hadang barrier - lepas! This second hadang includes an amusing impromptu dance by my female cousins at the end lol

And then the last one - bridesmaids!

Look at NAD'S UNIMPRESSED FACE, YOU GAIZE HAHAHAHAHA JUST LOOK

#UNIMPRESSEDNADAI 

Cannot take it, obviously giving her famous "NIGGA PLZ" face hahahahaha

Love how happy everyone looks in the last two shots! :D

(Well, except his uncle, of course, he looks like he is done with hadang negotiation for life hahahahaha)

I think one of my favourite moments came from my bridesmaids' hadang - they were hankering for more money during the hadang, obviously, and after awhile one of his uncles actually pekik from the back, telling them to "Baca doa Qunut dulu!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ah kan terperanjat akak sekejap kena baca doa Qunut petang petang buta hahahahaha

But the paling siak part was when my bridesmaids asked my mamat a soalan cepu emas "Kalau Farhana pergi McDonalds, makanan ape yang dia order?" ("What is the meal that Farhana will order when she goes to McDonalds?")

I thought that question was GREAT because EVERYONE close to me knows that the only thing I will order at McDonalds is a "double cheeseburger, with no pickles" (+ "yes to upsize, and drink will be iced Milo."). And c'mon, this is the man I married! Of course, he knows what my favourite McDonalds meal is.

But does he prove me right and answer the easiest question about me ever correctly?

NoooOoooOOOOOooo.

Almost wanted to karate my way down from the pelamin when he answered "Errrr... McSpicy"!!!!! Kepala hotak kau bertanjak, ENGKAU yang suka makan McSpicy, budak!!!!!!!!!! Ah kan, sampai aku pulak yang terbukak pantun.

Of course when the bridesmaids tell him he is salah, he panic lah right, so he said he knows what I always order for McDonalds BREAKFAST instead. Mintak kena terajang oppa gangnam style ini anak. Nasib baik his answer for my favourite McDonalds breakfast was correct eh. Kalau tak....... malam kau tido luar McDonalds Tampines Mall sudah, bro.

Our male cousins did the silat ceremony for us after the hadang hadang...

 

And we got to see Kompang Zapin Berdendang in action again! 

Haven't seen them since the last wedding I went to and blogged about here (which was the first time I saw them in action and fell so hard in love haha. Cinta pandang pertama, yo!) So happy to see them again but was also a bit miffed that I couldn't concentrate fully because guests started walking up to the pelamin for phototaking. Heh.

Kompang Zapin Berdendang doing their short performance <3

(I hope our videographers or one of our guests managed to record their performance?!)

The bulk of the sanding reception was phototaking, of course (for us lah, for the guests, it's the makan makan haha) - we had groups of guests intermittently going up to the pelamin to have their pictures taken with us. 

I liked that there were gaps in between for us to take a breather and take in the sights and sounds, and truly appreciate and experience the festivities happening in front of us while waiting for guests to come up and take pictures. I guess this is one of the luxuries you can enjoy if you have a combined reception? Longer period for phototaking and interaction with guests. 

I've been to weddings where photo-taking sessions were hurried and had long queues of guests wanting to take pictures because everyone had to rush for phototaking with the pengantin - usually because the couple has to rush to and fro venues for separate receptions, especially if the groom's and bride's receptions are held at venues which are hujung tanjung from each other.

We didn't have that issue so YAY!

Goofing around with props from Snap A Picture Services photobooth before going down to the bridal table to have our lunch heh heh. 

Ambik gambar bodoh macam gini, kita okay, bila kena ambik gambar look into each other eyes lovingly and hold each others' waists segala, tu yang buat kita geli geman sikit hahahahha

By the way, can I just say how freaking glad I was to have engaged Snap A Picture Services as our afternoon reception's photobooth?!?!?! Kept our guests entertained and occupied + the girls are such sweethearts and they were so energetic melayankan our guests!

But full reviews will be up in a separate entry, of course. Heh heh heh. 

Happy to report that everything was on track for our afternoon reception (We even had time to leisurely makan somemore! Yet another benefit of a combined reception - the time saved from having to bertandang can be used for more time for pengantin's lunch) but about an hour away to leaving our wedding venue for our outdoor photoshoot, the clouds started to rumble and it started raining! D:

But since I've prepped myself mentally a few days before the wedding, I knew I'd be able to survive (lol) not going for our outdoor photoshoot because of the weather - even though it'd be a bummer, I wouldn't be super affected by it or anything.

But in the words of his supermother - "Ramai orang doakan you all, Een" because the rain stopped about 10 minutes before we were due to leave for the outdoor photoshoot! So after saying our goodbyes, we left Silat Federation for Temasek Poly. Woohoo! Time to boogie!

The Solemnization (The Nikah)

And so, the long-awaited day finally arrived.

Woke up in the morning feeling like P Diddy a zombie, had my last mandi pagi as a single woman (squeeeee!) and waited for my photographers, videographers and make-up artist (MUA) to arrive.

While waiting, aku pun sempat ah gobble down lontong from the makan makan session the night before (appetite still intact, y'all) and sempat post this countdown screenshot on good old Instagram:

You know, I didn't really feel ervous or anxious during the days leading up to the wedding - whenever people asked, I'd say the obligatory "Yeah, I'm nervous!" or "Yeah, I'm anxious!" but I don't think the jitters truly, truly hit me until I opened up my house door that morning and saw the guys from CST Singapore arrive. The thought that ran through my mind the minute I saw them was "This is IT, Farna. This is the day your life changes forever!!!!!"

But before the jitters could settle down, my MUA arrived and so did Bliss! All of them went straight to their work, of course, and two hours later, I saw my pengantin self in the mirror for the first time. And my first thought was:

"ZOMG WHY THE MAKE UP SO CANTIK ONE?! IF AKU PENGSAN FROM HAPPINESS NOW MASIH SEMPAT PERGI NIKAH TAK AKU NI?!"

Hahahahaha AH YE sekarang boleh lah aku ketawa eh. Cuba kalau really happen. Telan balek sak aku punya ketawa, simpan buat perhiasan.

I think those who are on my MUA's Facebook would have seen this picture on my wedding day:

I don't know how she did it but it was just... PURE MAGIC LAH OKAY.

Would really love to gush somemore but this is not the time yet, I will give my full review in a separate entry! But let's just say lepas dah nampak diri sendiri macam gitu, I was sungguh psyched and raring to gooooooo ah. Hehe.

EXCITEZ WRITTEN ALL OVER MA FACE~ Y'ALLZ

Arrived at the venue right on schedule after which my dulang girls and I lined up outside the hall, and I was relaxed enough to take it that everything was going according to plan. Of course, it was at this juncture that my supermother decided to come out and have this conversation with me:

Supermother: "Ana, berkat belum sampai tau, macam mane ni?"

Me: "BERKAT BELUM SAMPAI?!"

Supermother: "A'ah. Bunga rampai pun belum sampai."

Me: "BUNGA RAMPAI BELUM SAMPAI?!"

SYABAS. 

Background story: We'd already received the bunga rampai containers that we ordered from Ola Lola the night before but since our order was for containers only, actual bunga rampai leaves NOT included, we made separate arrangements to get the bunga rampai leaves ourselves. 

My aunt's sister-in-law has a shop in Joo Chiat which sells bunga rampai leaves so I was actually prepared to get them from her, but my mamat insisted on another arrangement so I thought well, okay, let's just go with that then. 

Guess that decision turned out to be the wrong one because that other arrangement was late and the bunga rampai containers were not ready by the time we wanted to walk in for the solemnization (Our middle siblings were assigned to carry the basket of bunga rampai for each side for the pre-solemnization walk-in). 

Nasib baik my aunts were all ready at the guest reception table and helped to speed-pack the bunga rampai leaves into its containers once the leaves came and finished them in time for post-solemnization distribution! The favours for both sides came shortly after too so that turned out fine in the end. Phew!

Some (unofficial) pictures now:

Me, caught on camera receiving news about the missing-in-action bunga rampai and favours from my supermother hahahahaha (Ya now I laugh):

Me, caught on camera chatting with Zahrin from Kasai Sayang about god knows what. And Kak Nora caught uploading pictures on Facebook?! Muahahaha:

Me, caught on camera trying to sort out the problem of the sireh dara that was too big and heavy for any of the girls to carry:

Me, caught on camera asking my kakak sedara to help inform the photographers and videographers that we were ready to walk into the hall hahahahaha:

EH BUSY PE PENGANTIN YANG MINUTES AWAY FROM HER NIKAH NI.

Of course nothing else mattered by the time we walked in!

All photos from this point hereon were taken by our official photographers Bliss Photocinema (And yes, we've received our official wedding photos, guys, and it's only been three weeks since the wedding! Bet Speedy Gonzales was the one who worked on our photos...)

Note: Quality and resolution of photos reduced to be uploaded into Blogger. The quality and resolution of photos are much, much, much better in their original form.

My precious dulang girls! 

Consists of 4 bridesmaids, 2 sisters and 1 favourite cousin <3

Seconds later, it was the dulang boys' turn to walk into the hall...

 4 groomsmen, 2 brothers and 1 favourite cousin as well <3

Ceremony started with our wakils exchanging pleasantries but the exchange happened for about 5, 10 minutes only, I think?! Because I remember glancing at the big wall clock at the back of the hall cun cun at 10.00am then glancing towards the door right after... and seeing Ustaz Mohd Khair striding in.

Right on schedule!

I didn't think it was possible for me to love this tok kadi of ours more than I already do <3

My husband-to-be (at that time) listening intently to Ustaz Mohd Khair, who is his most favourite ustaz in the whole wide worlddddd, giving his sermon.

I can see why my mamat fangirls over Ustaz Mohd Khair, which led to him being our #1 choice of tok kadi by the way (story here) - there is just something about his entire being that makes you feel very calm and composed (you can see him in action in one of the videos which I posted here)

And the fact that both of us love his sermon during nikah proceedings helps - his sermon is awesome (we have the same favourite line from his sermon, which we've heard from another nikah that he officiated), he keeps it short and simple, his voice is fantastic, he has a very calming aura and he is... very easy on the eyes hahahahaha.

I still remember my heart fluttering when I heard our favourite line being delivered by Ustaz Khair ever so effortlessly and within the next few minutes, I heard him say the most anticipated line for the day: "Aku nikahkan kau..."

I might have held my breath for a bit until Saliheen habis lafaz, which he did just as... effortlessly.

And that was it - we were married. We are now husband and wife.

I don't know if I'm just biased (OH MAYBE I AM, SO SUE ME DAMNIT) but I loved Saliheen's lafaz of the akad nikah. It was exactly everything that I would have wanted him to do - he used 'Aku', he said out the mas kahwin amount (instead of 'tersebut') and he said the lafaz in one single breath (no pauses yay!) - and he did it without even me having to tell him beforehand how I would have preferred it to sound. Couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride swell inside me after he finished his lafaz :,)

You can watch him take the akad nikah in this lovely short video which my awesome baby sister did as a little surprise for us :,)

(And please don't get me wrong - as long as the lafaz is coherent and recognized by the two witnesses and tok kadi, and most importantly, asalkan betul di sisi agama and diberkati in the eyes of our Almighty, that is all that is needed. Even if Saliheen had done it differently, it would have been okay and I would have still loved him the same - and still wanted to marry him! - for who he is and everything that he has done for us. But it was just very lovely and very heartwarming to hear Saliheen doing the akad nikah in the exact way that I would have loved it to be, you know?)

I also love the fact that Ustaz Mohd Khair asked our two witnesses for their acknowledgement (the "sah" part) immediately after, said "Alhamdullilah" and everyone raised their hands up for the doa. We've been to solemnizations where the tok kadi cracks a joke right after the lafaz and that is something which we wouldn't have wanted.

Saliheen probably looking excited because he finally got to meet his favourite Ustaz in person again, and not because he was already married to me hahahahaha WHAT A FANGIRL FREAK

We then had a series of phototaking with our families and orang orang kuat as well as individual and couple shots which both of us absolutely hated doing hahahahahaha. You see - my mamat and I are NOT the romantic and the mushy mushy sort so we get crazy embarassed and crazy awkward when asked to take huggy huggy kissy kissy couple shots! Yelchhhhh!

Of course the pictures didn't turn out tooooooo bad in the end, but I think we'll keep those for our own future reference instead eh :P

WE'RE HUSBAND AND WIFE NOW, SUCKERS!!!!!!! :D

******************************

You know, months before the wedding, I had some people asking me a question - "Will you cry during nikah?" 

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect and couldn't really answer that ~burning~ question. You see, I've never really been a crier - I laugh or make useless observations during supposedly sad emotional scenes, and I don't cry during Hari Raya mornings while seeking forgiveness or while watching wedding videos like some of my friends - so while I didn't expect to cry during my wedding... you can never know with this sort of ceremony, right?

As it turns out... aku memang tak nangis punya orang dah. Hahahahaha.

I did, however, smile and laugh till my jaws hurt.

In fact, that's all I wanted to do throughout the solemnization ceremony - smile and laugh and smile and laugh somemore because I was so... happy.

I was happy to see our families and close friends gathered together, I was happy to see everyone dressed in their baju melayu best, I was happy to know they took the time and effort to come witness, bless and celebrate our occasion, I was happy to see all the pretty decorations around me, I was happy to see the man I've been wanting to marry for the past 5 years finally sitting next to me as my lawfully wedded husband. I was just... so happy.

I know the tears that people cry during weddings are tears of overwhelming happiness but I guess that's just the kind of people Saliheen and I are? We're not the sort of people who cry or even tear during happy occasions - not even those of happiness or pride - we're always out to goof around, we seek for fun and laughter, and we regard every gathering, every party, every event with our loved ones as an opportunity to give and receive smiles and laughter, and we strive to make as much merry as we can - and I love that this is just one of the many things that Saliheen has in common with me.

It's comforting, really, knowing that this was the man I married that fateful Saturday morning.