06 Dec08 – Elisa Idris + Philip Von Huben

Elisa + Phil’s ‘traditional’ Malay Wedding reception, Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

I never actually met Elisa + Phil until a few days before their wedding day as Elisa’s sister, Melisa had been the one liasing with me all the while. Elisa + Phil live in Australia. For their reception in Tanjung Malim, quite a number of Phil’s family and friends had come to Malaysia and was staying at a hotel in KL. They we all looking forward to a traditional Malay Wedding ceremony and most of them couldn’t wait to ‘merenjis’ the couple on the pelamin. Cute ain’t it The day started with a group photo of Elisa’s mother and the group of ladies who were going to conduct the ceremony of Khatam Quran ie reading the final verses of the Holy Quran (the holy book for muslims). The event was held at the Rumah Tamu ie Guest House of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim. It was a lovely day with clear blue skies and lots of sun (of course) just the way westerners love it. Us Asians, of course, run for shady cover whenever we can When we were kids, the Khatam Quran symbolized our transformation from a child into an adult. Here, I guess it signifies the bride-to-be’s transformation into a married adult, who will one day be responsible to ensure the upbringing of her future children in an Islamic way. Elisa was a little nervous at first, but with Melisa by her side, no problemo.. maybe she stammered once or twice tho. Hehe.. it was nice to see mother and daughters sharing a light moment amidst all the nervous vibes flying around The ceremony whizzed by and before you know it, it was all over. Elisa was then whisked away for her make up session. As Elisa was being made up, Melisa said something like “Wow! This is HUGE! Are you actually gonna wear this? hehe” and she had her fun. We can only guess what will happen to Melisa when her turn comes And gasp.. check out the amount of accessories a Perak bride must lug around on her big day. Here is a before and after the bride is equipped with accessories. Accessorized and armed to the teeth, I’d say. Phil arrives with the entourage from Australia. Elisa emerges to join Phil under the symbolic yellow umbrellas. They are greeted by the Malay martial arts ie the Silat troupe The Pencak Silat performance is held as a sign of welcome and to pay respects to the bridegroom who is the king for the day. The bride and groom is greeting by the bride’s mother who blesses them with yellow colored rice. They then enter the home and proceed to sit on the pelamin ie the raised dias After the baca doa (prayers) was done, everyone had a chance to merenjis the couple! And BOY did they have fun! Macam-macam. As you can see, there was one who even poured the scented water like a tap onto the newlyweds hands