THE WEDDING

Marriages are made in heaven and on earth where the sun blazes relentlessly, where plans may go awry, where we never arrive on time, where buses breakdown, where perspiration is a matter of fact, where leaves wilt and wither and where, oddly enough, the modest hotel in Segamat in which we stayed was Greek inspired in name - 'The Neo Pegasus'.

Pegasus, the legendary winged horse from a Greek myth, was borne from the blood of Medusa. When Pegasus was stung by a gadfly sent by Zeus, the king of heaven and earth, he flew to Olympus, the home of the gods. Zeus received him and used him for a while to carry his thunder and lightning and later placed his figure in the night sky amoung the constellations. This hotel and the Greek fable behind its name made Segamat, Labis and this wedding oddly memorable.

The wedding was held in the little town of Labis, 40 kilometers from Segamat a small town along the the northern border of Johor. The oldest child and son of my husband's younger brother and his wife, Nasrun and Kartini, Fir was to end his bachelorhood in Labis and begin married life with his then wife-to-be Liza.

So let's have some fun.

The evening of the 7th, a Saturday, the vows and solemnization of the marraige took place at the bride's home in Labis...Liza had on a beautiful lace bordered head dress and a long trailing dress in white. She was one of the loveliest brides I've seen in a long time.

Fir takes his vows, signs and seals it with the Imam, witnessed by parents, uncles, aunts, family and friends. Finally, bachelorhood is history.



Liza waits, nestled between her parents. I caught Fir stealing a glance at her. Looking pleased. As pleased as only a man could be.



The bride returns the promises and vows that Fir has made to her with the promise of being a good and faithful wife to him and in Malay fashion with a kiss to her husband's hand...



The couple exchange rings whilst suffering some good humoured teasing from the oldies who surrounded them. :)





Fir hands the 'bouquet' of 'mas kahwin' / marraige money to Liza, all of RM 22.50, thus completing the officialization of the marraige vows.



I believe by this time the bride and groom have taken some deep breaths, thanked God and can't wait for the next ceremony to be over and done with because Fir still cannot stay with his bride until the 'bersanding' ceremony is over. That does not take place until 1 o'clock the following day. Patience they say is golden.

When all was done Liza gets a hug and kiss from her mother..



Sitting together as husband and wife I see the 'look' and I read Fir's mind....."Finally...she's mine!"



The next day...............Sunday, 8th March 2009

Firdaus, looking very heroic and very tall, dark and handsome, leaves Pegasus Hotel and making sure he gets to his bride are his father, and his bestman, my son Nik.

Waiting at the other end is the bride, Liza, looking gorgeous and absolutely beautiful in white.



God was kind and gave us a hot, bright day with open skies and a blazing sun. Shielded by a golden umbrella and treated like a sultan on his big day Fir strides towards his wife.



Liza waits to greet him at the entrance to her home.



On the dias at last doing the 'bersanding'. Looking perfect and I'm sure feeling perfectly happy and blessed as well.

Beautiful Bride.........



Now for the messy part! Cake feeding...



Now it's Fir's turn.



All in all this was what they really felt like doing.....



Apparently that was what the bestman had in mind too....."Peace to all !!"........ and........



...may the bestman be replaced by a ...............



The wedding favours and gifts from the brides family....

Beautiful mugs nestled in beautiful boxes! And fresh roses from the 'hantaran' (offering of gifts) trays......although they wilted some by the time we drove the 3 1/2 hours home..and when I took the pictures.









Porcelain 'egg' cases filled with sweets and toffees...



The 'bunga telur'. Stalks of artificial flowers with boiled eggs attached. Probably meant as a symbol of fertility.....it's a wild guess but I don't think I could be far wrong. Each guest gets a stalk.



May Allah bless our dear nephew and his wife and may they have lots and lots of children and live happily ever after! :)