Where there is love, there is life: Malay Wedding

Its Saturday and its public holiday. I was invited to the wedding of my colleague's sister this morning. It was held at a Malay village at Kampung Subak in Bekenu, about an hour drive from Miri. My iPhone map provide a much needed help on my way there cos road signs were few and far less.

It was my first time to a traditional Malay wedding held at a village in a rural area. Usually the weddings that I attend was held at some of the most well known hotels or restaurants in town. All the houses in the village were built out of wooden and zinc roofing. Tents were set up in the middle of the village to accommodate most of the guests.

The ceremony started at around 10 a.m. I reached there at around 11 a.m. Might have missed out on some of the opening ceremony, but just in time to join the other guests to start filling our stomach. The queue at the food stand was very long, so my colleague suggests that I join in with some of the guests inside his house instead. Where I was seated with some of the big names in the village like the chief of the village, YBs and Datuks.

Residents from the whole village and also neighboring villages came to give the newlywed their best wishes. The villagers were extremely friendly, kept asking me to eat more.

The interior of the house were simple and comfy. There were no furniture so all the guests just sat on the mat on the floor while enjoying the foods.

All the foods were prepared by the family with the help of some of the villagers. It was all home cooked traditional Malay style cooking. They slaughtered an adult cow and bought around 200 chickens to feast all the guests. The dishes consist some of my favorite meal like the Rendang and Ayam Masak Merah.

The bride and brides room just rooted at their seat for the whole ceremony. They had their foods there, cut their wedding cake there, and wave to the guests at the same spot. Towards the end of the ceremony, some of the guests took turn to take pictures with the new couple. The newly wed couple were like celebrities posing in front of all those "paparazi's" cameras.