whirlwind recap

Phew... last weekend was a huge whirlpool week in my life... it came like a tornado and left me speechless... in a split second!!.. and now, im back where im supposed to be... catching my breath after the lightning bolt jolt! week!...

Lets just say i had among the marvelous week of the past months...
considering next to the festive hari raya & the holy month.. which was a lil bit more quiet minus my loved ones....

anyways lets Recap-- the day before i came down to kl.. i was having chaotic moments with Linkin Park!! huhuuu.. it was one of the best concerts ever!! not forgetting we managed to get front row standing bebeh!! and see em' from a very very short distance..... and yes haha... i remembered being stuck in a mosh pitt!! it was havoc!! and so so crazy!!

and i forgot to mention we had chris connell (audioslave) as their opening act! (de guitarists are hot hot hot!) honestly i have no idea who until i realise ive been listening to their songs... and funny thing;;... zulz & man are fan of him!! uh oh.. now i should have taken de video...ooops :P

sigh.. and i still cant get over the fact we were carried out of the mosh pitt by the security .. (too much kicking and pushing so we asked to be rescued haaha) and worst having my butt exposed to the band!! .. lucky chester if he actually see em!! sigh sigh....what an embarrassing moment.. yet... memorable haha!!. .

Then the next day, i remembered hopping into the plane to go back kl!!.. seriouslyy... me & adek were still hungover of the night before concert and still undenyingly having sheepish smiles on our faces during the flight while listening to LP's newest unforgettable tune: No More Sorrow!!

And voila... we were back in kl home... hours later....

That night when we get home, it was a huge surprise seeing our home turned into a beautiful decorated house with lotsa flowers & huge-tents for didi's special e-day occasion... i was stunned!! overwhelmed with the lavender colored theme and the fresh flowers!! so loving it!! it was magnificent and the hantaran-s too were all hand made beautifully.... as i said earlier... i was so excited seeing it all!!

and although i was sleep-deprived the nite before due to the concert.. i still cant get over the goosebumps that nite for the next occasion... (i feel for her...) which is gona be held in the morning on the very next day....

And so That Saturday finally came....swiftly... All i could remember; my sister, didi looked absolutely gorgeous... she was dressed in this beautiful lavender long modern kurung with nicely sown beads & laces...and covered in beautiful bead veil/selendang (whatever u call it...)

She was nervous as the makeup artist made her up... i could see her being excited and butterflies knotting in her tummy at de same time... and while the crowds were filling our living rooms and the tables outside our house... i am proudly were among the dulang-gurls preparing for the next awaiting hour...

I was dressed in beadsy beadsy kebaya dark blue... and alia was in a lighter version kebaya.. basically we were all told to dress in blue for the theme of the day... and especially goes to the 7 of the dulang gurls and close frens who are witnessing this special special day.. we the dulang gurls were requested to carry the hantaran trays during the trays-exchange moments when the groom-to-be entourage arrives..

For those not familiar with malay's custom in engagement day.. let me brief y'all...
Engagement day for malay tradition is like a booking day to the gurls; the brides-2-b... what happened is; the groom-2-b will sent his entourage which consist his spokesperson, parents & relatives to the girl's place officially to ask the girl 's hand in marriage (in another words- booking)... and usually the groom wont be present during the booking ceremony but will come in later after the ring giving is done...

When the groom-2-b entourage arrives; the bride-2-b entourage will welcome them and they will sit in the hall and begin their so-called-booking discussion... Traditionally; there will be exchange of pantuns.. (the malay short short poetry sessions) which involve the saying "Kami datang nak memetik bunga" (we come to pick flowers frm your garden haha.... ) and until they finally agree on the pre-made booking terms, the hantaran trays will be exchanged to show gift given by both parties as to honour the booking agreement...

Normally the terms discussed during the booking discussions involves dowry; how many gifts given & to exchanged, the wedding date will be set, and agreement of both parties...

Then this is the part we dulang gurls come in..haha...
When finally both parties agreed on all the terms... trays are exchanged to show gifts given to the bride-2-b and groom-2-b... this also includes inspection of the trays ...hehe.... making sure the groom is serious and what gifts was given haha... (Note: trays include gifts such as sirih junjung (a must-have from both sides), engagement ring, chocs/cakes/fruits, men/women traditional attire, material cloth, perfume, accesories n etc etc)

Back to didi's E-Day;-

So... finally when we dulang gurls were called in... we walked in and place the exchanged trays next to given trays of the groom's in the midst of the hall... and yes... many eyes were on us and on what we were carrying on that particular day! haha.. (if im not mistaken i was carrying baju melayu.. tradtional outfit for de groom-to-be..hehe)


Well... at first it was sort of kelam kabut... but finally everything begin to fit to place.. and that was when they called for bride-2-b to come out to the hall for everyone's eyes... as it is a custom for the entourage & relatives to witness the bride-2-b in the wearing-ring-ceremony...

So this is the nervous part for my sister... hehe.. all dressed glammed up; with us the dulang gurls accompanied her as entourage....she entered the hall gracefully and sat down in the big chair (center of the hall)... she was stunningly beautiful and i could sense all eyes were all at her..... adoring her....praising her dress, her makeup.. bla bla and her outstanding makeover..
i must say.. bravo to those who helped behind the scenes for her (the tailor, makeup artist&hair... and us harhar)

And this was the moment she was waiting for;... the ring giving part... The groom-2-b mum (Azri's mum) sat on the chair too and put the ring on her ring finger... and everyone was applauding... and yeah i was asked to accompany her during the moment by sitting next to her by the carpet... with alia beside me... and we were all smiles..hehe... one part is almost done!

Soon after; there was a honey-feeding ceremony. Apparently the northern side culture embraces the part where the groom-2-b relatives & mother spoon-feed a lil honey to bride-2-b as a breaking ice for her and her 2-b-relatives. Meaning so that the bride would be more sweeter for the wedding day! haha

And yes didi was fed lotsa honey...hehe.... and it was actually fun... seeing them forcing spoon-feeding her honey one after another... hehe she got bullied all right...haha

And so that was the ceremony highlight and then all were invited to makan soon after.. food was yummy... bravo mum for the best caterer!! and everyone was everywhere... either photo taking sessions or eating the briyani meal served....hehe...

And thank god to the weather... it was sunny all day until 4pm when people already left...
Overall it was such a memorable day for us family & closest ones.... and...

**Here's my special thanks to those who made it...Dulang gurls; widia, bettina, inez, farainie, rina and our closest frens who made in blue too... adrina, lizzie, nic, sakhee, zulz, khairi (farainie's fiance), zam, amirf (he was in yellow!), saz, uni, haflin & more.. (sorry if i left out ur names)...

** Also special thanks to those behind the scenes.. (Along & crew.. without ur cam there wud be no show.. and the makeup artistes (u guys made her stunning indon artiste!!)... close frens & relatives involved that helped us make it happen... (aunty fazi, cik tah, aunty tam, adrina & lizzie, popo himself too, aunty viney, k.sumathi, unc.mat, pak ngah, kak sue, and apologies to those name not posted..)

Well... this is definitely the wrap of part I.. and to be continued.... for Part II... 2008...february...so till then next year!! huhuuuu......
looove u guyssss...

p/s: lookout for engagement photo updates in my photoalbum site (link in box upper left ya). :)