Wedding in Tampin

I flew back to KL on Thursday to coincide with three weddings. Two from Eric's. No he's not marrying twice! One from my cousin.

Even though I have been a "best man" on two past occasions, every ceremony was different from each other. The first was a Christian holy matrimony and the other was a low-key event. This time was a typical formal Chinese tradition with a rich array of customs and superstitions.

The pick up and return time from the bride's house were planned months ahead by the "Superstition Master" (sorry I have yet to find a suitable name for this person). The belief is that certain times of the day is the most auspicious time for an individual to do certain things; this include the time to get married, to pick up the bride, to return to the groom's house and probably to procreate?? Hmm...

But no one has bothered answering my question what if these times were not followed? After all, $h!T happens. Marriage wrecked? The sun turn green and the moon red? I guess no matter what happens, these times must be followed - do or die. Yes that is why we broke all traffic rules on the way to the bride's house in Masjid Tanah, some 45 minutes away from Tampin, just to be on time, as instructed by the Superstition Master.

Wedding car

We left to pick up the bride at 5.30am and this meant we woke up much earlier - at 4.30am! This was the earliest wedding ceremony I've ever attended.We flew past almost every red light but thank God the roads were deserted in the wee hours of the morning. Eric warned us to look out for cows (yes, we were in the suburbs) while we did a 140kph on a winding trunk road! As best man, I could only sit and act calm. With him telling us at every 5 minutes that the ribbon across the windscreen was blocking his view when he did 140kph made my stomach churn.

Eric pleading for the bride to come out

We arrived safely - of course we did. As best man, my role was varied. The role went from anything like wiping off the sweat of the groom to keeping a stash of cash (red packets) near him. Yes, read butler. Cash and tissue papers were the currencies of the day. Another important role of the best man and groomsmen is to help the groom overcome the "obstacle course"planned by the bridesmaids. This include doing all the silly things like eating a raw bitter gout, bursting balloons between legs, wearing lipsticks and dancing like synchronised swimmers.

Dancing our way to the next obstacle course

E&C 's wedding had one unique aspect that set them apart from the rest of the Chinese weddings I've attended. A pair of dogs were anchoring the set of their wedding photos and ceremony. This underlined their love for dogs. The couple even dressed the dogs up.

Hebe and Hugo

It was a tiring day but we had a few hours to rest before the wedding banquet. The nap made plenty of difference afterward. We had to show the guests to their seats and double as photographers at some point.

"Flower girls"??

One of the things I've learned in this wedding as a city boy, is that people in the suburbs are very punctual. All of the guests turned up by 7pm, as stated in the invitation card. We were served a 9-course dinner. Being someone who comes back from overseas occasionally has its advantage. I was treated very nicely by my friends. They fed my favourite dishes to my holding plate to the point I had double and triple servings! We even had extra portions from an adjacent table when we ran out of food. I was really touched. I guess I have drawn the sympathies of those who kept saying that I have lost too much weight.

Dinner spread

One done. Two more to go...