The Preparations

Dear Diary,

(continued from The Engagement)

The date had been set and agreed upon by both families. 30^th June was chosen to be my wedding day which leaves me with exactly 3 months to plan for a wedding. A gargantuan task to be shouldered by a naïve young lady. My parents also were inexperienced in preparing for a wedding since this would be the first wedding in my family. Thankfully gotong-royong spirit was still strong in my bigger family (aunts, uncles, cousins, relatives) and neighborhood. Many people came forward and volunteered to do something. Berat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing. A difficult and impossible hurdle seemed breezily easy in the end.

Overhaul the whole house

Isi bunga telur

Everybody lend a hand and worked as a team to make the event a success. My brother and his friends painted the house. My father’s friend agreed to be the chef and prepare the meals. All of my aunts offered one hantaran each as a gift. They also helped with bunga rampai, bunga telur and 1001 tiny details. Neighbors would act as bentara (ushers) on that day.

Potong bunga rampai

I dreamed of a simple wedding. What’s important for my parents and me were that family, relatives and guests attending the ceremony would have a good time and enjoy delicious food.

My future in laws were staying in Penang at that time. I was going back and forth between Penang and Kedah to ensure everything was on schedule and would be ready on time. There were kursus nikah to be attended, fittings to be done, hantaran to be bought, mak andam to be met, etc. So many decisions to be made. Along the same line, there were endless discussions between both families and also within my own family.

Neighborhood meeting

One sweet incident happened that I would remember and cherish all my life. On one of the weekend, Mr. F and me agreed to meet up and went shopping for our hantaran. We did our shopping at Island Plaza. When it was time to part, he dropped me at the jetty as I would be taking the ferry to Butterworth. After saying our goodbyes, I salam with him and out of nowhere a kiss landed on my cheek. I was on cloud nine all the way back home.

As for my own self preparations, I went to a spa for beauty rituals such as mandi lulur, mandi susu, mandi bunga, sauna, bertangas and facials. I also did hair treatments. Similarly, I also tried out the traditional way of naikkan seri such as bath with sintuk and flowers, recite doa, eat sireh and shave facial hair. I wanted to be as berseri as a bride could be on her wedding day.

I was counting down days….waiting anxiously for 30^th June. As Krisdayanti perfectly portrays in her song “Menghitung hari. Detik demi detik….”

ps: to be continued in The Akad Nikah

* Pictures courtesy of Yahoo! Images