Tuesday, April 22, 2008

If you wanna tie the knot, you better tie your stomach now

First of all, Selamat Pengantin baru to my sis & her husband shah. Congratulations!

For the past few days, i've been busy helpin' my sister with her wedding ceremony. since this is the first for our small family, now i realize that preparing for a wedding is not like a walk in the park. it can be fun at times, but most of the times it was extremely exhausting, complicated and tedious (especially if your relatives are 6-hour drive away). personally i've been involved in most of the major tasks, and i would like to share my limited knowledge and experience with you guys.

i) food
perhaps the most important issue in a wedding? besides looking at the bride and the groom dressing up for the special day, people actually come with an empty stomach, dreaming about the delicious nasi minyak while driving. the expectation is inevitabily high. people come all the way to the wedding to eat, or "mentekedarah" in that sense. therefore it's extremely crucial that the food is enough for everyone, and it wouldn't hurt to taste good. when my relative came for a visit, he told me that this issue is the most nerve-wrecking during the event, wondering all the time, sweating, if there's enough food for everybody. oh and there's also another issue, whether to serve (makan hidang) or to have a buffet.

in the traditional village or kampung, makan hidang is known to be the regular and preferred choice. people who came in one batch would be immediately invited to eat together in talams (big tray complete with food), but for individiuals, they will have to wait till a certain number of people to eat. obviously the host need to apply this system to avoid wasting all the good food. extremely easy and convenient, but some might argue this is not appropriate for the guests to wait. initially, my parents decided to apply this.

but to be honest buffet is a better choice nowadays, especially when you're having this event in a city. after greeting the guests, the hosts can immediately invite them to help themselves (perhaps they're in a hurry or somethin') regardless of the numbers. they can just sit anywhere they want, without having to wait for some other guests they might don't even know. of course if you're inviting your high school/college friends, they might wanna sit together in the same table to chat and gossip about the married couple, right? so yeah, i also agree that buffet is the best choice nowadays..

for my sister's wedding, we're had nasi beriani, ayam masak merah, rendang daging, dalca, acar rampai, buah-buahan & minuman sejuk for the guests while for the meja pengantin, we're had nasi beriani, ayam golek, dalca, ikan bawal masam manis, udang bercili, acar rampai, gubahan pudding, gubahan buah-buahan and minuman sejuk. i never knew that the typical menu for a married couple is ayam golek, seems like in every catering brochure/pamphlet i've came across, ayam golek is listed in the menu.

ii) venue
some parents choose their own house for the wedding, not necessarily to cut costs, but easier to decorate and more comfortable to hold the function. everything is conveniently within reach, but of course there would be a limited list of invitees, depending on the size of your house.

some parents prefer to hold the event in a hall (dewan) and the cost varies on per-hour rate, sometimes per-day rate. i'm no expert, but from what i heard, it can vary from RM60 per hour to RM2,000.00 per day, sometimes RM30,000 per day (perhaps the rate for PWTC, i heard that from somewhere), lookin' at how big & how grand. i got a close friends who had a wedding 2 years ago at dewan merak kayangan, located in jalan gurney 1, 54000, kuala lumpur. there are 3 packages offered by merak kayangan, package A with RM38.00 per head (RM380.00 per table), package B with RM40.00 per head (RM400.00 per table) and package C with RM43.00 per head (RM430.00 per table). and they took package B (RM40.00). the rental fee is already included, explaining how expensive for a single person to eat..

iii) equipment
since this is a one-day event, people just rent all this equipment, which is to my surprise, extremely expensive. seriously i never knew that it costs this much to rent for some tables and chairs. for the event, we usually need a wedding table (makan hidang) complete with skirting, scallop, royal dining, banquet chairs and flowers. we also need to rent some round tables (depending on the guests) with alas meja of course, buffet tables, banquet chairs and last but not least for the transportation.

iv) list of guests/invitees
i tell you, this is not an easy task. the main idea is, to invite everyone who would be offended if they are not invited. so far, from my experience (relatives and friends), the list of guests ranged from a mere 200 people to a staggering 2,000 people. pretty sure some rich folks would invite more than 2,000 but i never came across of them personally. my mom particularly spend a lot of time, figuring out who should we invite, and of course, not to embarass ourselves if the food is not enough for everyone. yeah, perhaps that's the major concern. not to embarass yourselves.

v) wedding cards
again,the usual rates for wedding cards ranged from RM0.30 to RM10 per card and some would require a minimum of 300 cards. expensive eh?

vi) wedding costumes
i don't know how my much my sister spent for her costumes, but of course there must be at least 2, i'm just guessing. not to forget we also need to buy new clothes for ourselves too, all gold color. me & my dad got a new baju melayu, complete with new songkok & songket, which we got in jalan masjid india (is that right?). my mom and younger sis also bought some new baju kurungs. damn, it's DAMN expensive to tie the knot eh? all this for a piece of paper, surat nikah. heh..just kidding.

vii) mak andam
in some traditional kampungs, mak andams are also the mak bidan. hehe talk about being all-rounder eh? but seriously, i think we should all re-define the term "mak andam" to "pak andam", who you can't help but wondering about their sexuality. nowadays, i came across with more pak andams than mak andams, but i'm not complaining since they are very very very good. maybe i'll have problems if they become my mak andam..hehe..can't really imagine the idea of another man touching your face.. damn. scary.

viii) hantaran
last but not least, hantaran is probably the most expensive in all expenses, or sometimes second after food. nowadays parents tend to put higher "tags" for this hantaran, ranging from RM3,000 to RM15,000 (malaysian standard). personally i think, the parents would feel relieved to let their daughter go to a man they hardly know, if the guy could afford such money in the first place. so guys (i mean the males only), start thinkin' about this if you wanna get married anytime soon. if you don't have the money, perhaps it's better to start saving now. seriously. you need at least RM20,000 for the whole thing. for real. unless you wanna get married in siam.. waahahahaha..hmm not a bad idea after all.

trends nowadays seem to be obsessed with numbers, as they want the hantaran numbers to be memorable, no matter how impractical or how expensive. my relative chose RM6,666.66, some would choose RM7,777.77 and some would just go for RM10,000 or RM15,000. you can get a second hand virago, with that amount right? hehe but of course it's different. oh they even want nice dates too, like 08/08/2008, 20/08/2008, or 09/09/2009 or 20/09/2009, even though they're not practical & inconvenient..

okay, i might miss some major issues intentionally 'cause i need to go, but DAMNNN this is A LOT of work. i need to go now..gettin' sleepy already. my sleep cycle still messed up.. later guys.

just my 2cents at 2:12 PM |

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