the long overdue post: MY RECEPTION

We got back around 2 a.m. after we were done with outdoor photo shoot post nikah. By the time I got the make up removed I crawled to bed at about 3ish, ALONE. Mr hubster had to go back - it's a pantang to stay overnight before the majlis bersanding. As nikah was meant to be an intimate affair, so the marriage isn't publicly announced just yet. The majlis bersanding a.k.a wedding reception is the occasion to announce to the world that - this couple is lawfully wedded. Then only could the marriage be consummated - well, according to adat that is. Anyhoots, on Saturday hubby arrived at 12ish and had shower and lunch at my place before we pushed off to the venue of our reception. It was Singgahsana Hotel, Petaling Jaya. We considered many venues during the preparation period and trust me venue selection was the trickiest because wedding is now a fast-growing business and with that many places offer cut-throat quotation for just a decent dinner. The venue we finally settled with was within my parents' budget and it did allow us to cater to a slightly large number of crowd, which was about 500 pax. I would still think that H.O.M.E is the best place for a Malay wedding reception, however given the limited space we had, we decided to take the wedding to a different location. We got to the hotel a bit late, there were family arriving at home, some visitors came to give their well wishes to us, we couldn't say no could we? The rehearsal was supposed to begin at 3.30 but got delayed to 4...I was pretty anxious as I wanted to see if the slideshow we had prepared was working but the technician was not around. It was pretty obvious that the wedding planner was getting pissed, I on the other hand started to worry but still maintained my cool. After waiting for a bit more we started the rehearsal but skipped the slideshow and video session. She gave me her word that she'd make sure it will appear that night. It better did! We were already running late. My make-up artist arrived at 5 and make-up was supposed to start by 5.30 but I hadn't even taken my shower at that time. So I rushed to the bridal suite and got ready for make-up. I put my worries aside, and told myself "What will be, will be! The most important thing is we're married"...My MUA did her magic again and wallah I was transformed from a tired-looking girl to a beautiful, glowing bride! I loved her job, I loved my look. Especially this one! And the best thing was hearing my husband telling me how beautiful his wife looked! Precious! :)) After striking a few poses we were summoned to the waiting room before making our entrance into the banquet hall. My heart was beating fast. I hope nothing goes wrong. Before we knew it, the moment arrived. Slowly we made our way to the bridal dais, all eyes were on us, cameras from every angle, we walked hand in hand, all smiles. That was a moment to remember - this must be how all celebrities on a red carpet feel, only 1000 times better because I am with my husband. I have lived for almost 27 years to finally found the one I want to be with for the rest of my life, InsyaAllah and the best part is he feels the same way too! (Lots of love in my heart) Sitting up there with about 500 pairs of eyes looking at us, we beamed with happiness. "Alhamdulillah", my heart cried. Once all the VIPs gave their blessings to us with just a simple 'bersalaman' session as a replacement to the 'merenjis' ritual, we marched to the high table. My husband was so macho! I love saying that because he likes to think of himself that way and it's not like he isn't anyways! Dinner started but I didn't think I savoured it as much as I should have, hehe, because I was still not settled...not until the whole event was finished. But based on words from our guests, the food was great! That, I was truly happy about. Unfortunately, there were things I was really unhappy about and they were the slideshow and video preview and the sound system! Even thinking about it makes me angry about everything. We paid good money for that night and it's just unfair that we weren't satisfied with all their services. First, the slideshow went crazy...the sound system in particular, same went to the video! They were also supposed to dim the lights! But it continued to be bright the whole time! And my dad's speech wasn't clear, I was so bumped! I was at the brink of tears but thankfully my husband was there. Lesson learnt: WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING. All in all I felt happy actually, and relieved it's all over. Despite the technical problem, I was overjoyed. How blessed I feel to have my family members doing everything they could for my wedding, friends coming near and far for our wedding reception, my BFFs doing their part as the emcee of the night. I couldn't be happier, we couldn't be happier. The slideshow and video were magically beautiful. We loved them, only the presentation didn't do justice to their beauty. We wish to thank our parents, our siblings, aunts & uncles, cousins and their family, our relatives, best friends, close friends, colleagues, family friends, Splendiferous Pictures, Yon Photography, Kak Ina who did our slideshow, Kak Affy for the gorgeous make-up!!! Ah-Ching for the outfits, Jue Eden for the pelamin, of course Ustaz Imran our jurunikah, I still thank Singgahsana BUT they have to work on improving their sound system PRONTO! Below (recently embedded) is our nikah video that many could have missed on our reception dinner. Credit to Spendiferous Pictures, please enjoy...

SDE Video Highlight - Aida + Rafei from Splendiferous Pictures ™ on Vimeo.