Written & experienced by: Ridhuan Abubakar @ Diwant

Renee was an ex- supplier for my company’s projects a few years back. Since then, we still keep in touch once a while because she’s been good with me and my boos throughout our business deals. So, one day she told me that she’s getting married and asked me if I would like to come and do a photoshoot on their wedding day. I said it would be nice as it’s going to be my 1st chinese wedding coverage after almost 2 years in this field.

To be honest, I did make some homework on how a Chinese Tea Ceremony usually went. But after a few readings on the net, I found out it was best to ask themselves about how their event is going to be.  Because although in general the event and tradition is the same, how they arrange it and what they are going to do differs from one to another.

I arrived at Jason’s house at around 6am, still feeling a bit sleepy but excited about the day ahead. We started the journey to Renee’s hometown at about 730am comprising of 4 cars including friends and family members. A one-and-a-half hours journey through highway and bumpy roads leads us to Tanjung Karang, Selangor where Renee’s parents has been staying there for quite some time. And then the game begins..

They were treated with good bunch of games before they can even touch the bride’s main door grill.  I guess this is some kind of get-to-know session or acceptance into the family. Once inside the house, there are more ‘obstacles’ they had to face before allowed to meet the bride. There are also some Chinese customs and prayer they had to perform throughout the 1 hour or so stay at Renee’s house before we headed back to Jason’s place in Puchong for the tea ceremony itself.

Back in Jason’s place, the actual tea ceremony begins when the parents and relatives being offered a cup of tea by the bride & groom in exchange of  angpau or other gifts. It also filled with a short speech by a priest and then the usual group photography session. All these ceremonial things were conduct quite brilliantly by a traditional Chinese wedding planner I think, who never manage to be quiet for 5 seconds or more. With his unique style and articulate, he lives up the place with his exceptionally humourous talking and movement for the entire event. His style might not suit everybody’s needs, but he clearly know his stuff well.

After all the customs and tradtional stuffs finished, we headed to the room for a short pose session, and head down for a brief lunch. From what I remember, we finished everything at around 2pm. Jason looks very tired, maybe lack of sleep the night before because of last minute checks to ensure smooth running of events. Judging by what I’ve seen the whole day, it’s been a successful and smooth event for all of us. Thanks to everyone especially Renee and Jason for inviting me to their special day and for the nice treatment. It was enjoyable, refreshing and interesting at the same time. I had to rush of to Penang at 4pm the same day, so I didn’t make it to their dinner that night. I hope they forgive me for that, hehe..

From my point of view, the most distinctive difference between a Malay wedding and Chinese wedding is that; in Chinese tradition, the bride and groom are treated in such way to bring them closer to the family members and relatives, while in a Malay wedding, the bride and groom are treated as an exclusive entity from other family members or guest’ on that day, hence the title ‘ Raja dan Permaisuri sehari’. Whichever way you look at it, both are traditional customs and should be treated with respect and pride so the day will be a day that you will remember for the rest of your life…

Hope you guys enjoy this entry and please leave down some comments…