Malay Wedding

Rob and I were invited to attend the wedding of one of the local girls that work in my office. It was a truly unique experience and I'm so glad we went. Liyanah was just beautiful in her traditional wedding attire, her hands had been painted with henna. From what I gathered they were engaged on December 25th, 2006. They played a video on huge screens throughout the ballroom where Sunday's wedding was held that showed the engagement. It was a huge production in itself with her all dressed up and family all around. There was a lot of food too. Then (I'm not sure the date) there was the religious wedding ceremony and then Sunday was the wedding reception (at least that is what was on the invitation). I did a little reading on the internet to get some idea of what we experienced. Here is a little of what I found:

Wedding traditions
The institution of marriage in a Muslim community is important. The day before the wedding, the bride goes through a ritual called Berinai (literally meaning henna application) where the hands and feet are covered from the dye of the henna leaves.
Wedding preparation is based on gotong-royong (co-operation) were the women folk get together to prepare the wedding banquet. The bersanding or wedding throne is where the bride and groom receive their guests. Wedding banquets are an informal event with lots to eat.
The hadrah (entourage) troupe, of teenage boys heralds the arrival of the groom by beating on the kompang (hand drums) and chanting qaranic verses (verses from the holy book) for good wishes. Today, you may even see a girl or two beating on the drums. Guest's trickle in the whole day and leave with the bunga telur (flower and egg), which is given for luck and prosperity. A Malay band adds to the gaiety of the wedding.