1 Malaysia Wedding Fiesta Press Release

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KUALA LUMPUR: An event that everyone been waiting for and wouldn't want to miss is here as everything related to wedding planning will be under one roof and no need to exert energy travelling to deal with 20 different parties just to get a wedding arranged.

The “1 Malaysia Wedding Fiesta 2011,” will be a one-stop wedding resources and services provider which will highlight the diverse races and their many cultures and traditions in our country. The three-day fiesta, theme "Bringing Culture Closer Together", is organised by Exquisite Impression Sdn Bhd will be held from July 1-3 at the Putra World Trade Center (PWTC).

Promoting the 1Malaysia concept, in wedding functions, can instil the spirit of unity among the people of various races in this country said Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister, Datuk Maglin Dennis D'Cruz during a press conference cum launch at the Palace of the Golden Horses, Mines recently.

"This event which is also focused to invite potential exibitors from other places like Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Kuantan, Terengganu, Johor and other states including Sabah and Sarawak to partricipate and display their products."

Maglin also advised all the related service provider not to miss the opportunity as it is a good platform for them to expend their business and services. At the same time it also will help promote the Tourism Malaysia and Cultural awareness among the public and tourists.

"The 1Malaysia concept is seen as the best tool to unite the people in our country. Every race has its own unique wedding ceremony which made our country famous for its rich heritage, culture and tradition.

" We are confident that the 1Malaysia concept can be the best tool to unite not only the people but also to lift the tourism industry and the tourist destination sites."

Maglin said the fiesta would help to enlighten the public on the various tradition and culture found in the country. He also hopes that all the states will be involved in promoting their states heritage, products and services.

"Whatever our culture or belief, we should be proud to be Malaysians," he added.

Meanwhile, the advisor of Exquisite Impression, Datuk Freddie Fernandez said that there are about 350 booths in total and the booths are allocated on a first come first basis.

"Our vision is to set a platform of unique sponsorship opportunities to enhance the skills and the branding efforts of the community in experiencing the diverse ethnicities of cultures while creating an increased awareness about the wide spectrum of multi cultural heritage of various cultures that exist in our country."

He also said on the last day of the fiesta, about three disabled couples would have their marriage solemnised and there will be a mass wedding reception for a total of 111 lucky couples from various races on the 11 November, 2011.

The lucky couples are picked randomly based on their applications. The forms will be available on the day of the event.

Freddie also highlighted that the event caters to all peripheral services involved in a wedding ritual such as venues, wedding planners, honeymoon locations, clothing designers, caterers, video production, photography and other related service provider.

For those who are interested in participating in the exhibition and for more details, please contact Jeffery at 016- 2027 666 or email jeffrey@eisb.my or log on to www.1mwf.my.

The Palace of The Golden Horses Wedding Experience

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Planning for a perfect fairytale wedding? At Palace of the Golden Horses, they make the nuptials of your dreams come true. Set amidst the unique setting of the 150-acre lakeside next to a beautiful sprawling landscaped garden, truth be told its the only hotel in the city that you could arrive like royalty. choose to arrive in a wedding cruise, horse carriage, chauffeur driven Rolls Royce or even, if you are adventurous enough you can fly in with their private chopper.

"To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worst, for richer, for poorer, in sickness of in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness"

Recite your vows and profess your undying love to each other at a private setting by their man made beach or have a cosy gathering at one of their ballroom.

In Malaysia, that is not always the case. Palace of the Golden Horses is established as a pioneer in wedding events to understand weddings from different culture & religion. May it be a Malay wedding where couples will be greeted by Bunga Maggar along with a 'Pelamin' fitted for a King and Queen, or Emperor and Empress in their Chinese wedding packages encompassing significant Chinese traditional elements with a modern touch in it. An Indian wedding is often elaborate and is dubbed the essence of colours due to its vivacious nature.

with that in mind, Palace of the Golden Horses allows their wedding packages to be customized in accordance to your liking and most importantly accordance to your dream.

for more information about their wedding packages, log in to their website.

Chinese Wedding Ceremony Guide

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It is said that more than any other culture, Chinese weddings are full of gestures and ceremonies ripe with symbolisms. The marriage ritual is in particular packed with three major themes i.e., ensuring fertility for good offspring, appeasing the ancestors and expecting material wealth.

Getting to Know the Family
The consent and blessings of parents are essential in a Chinese wedding. In order to convince them, few criteria must be met first; potential in-laws must be in a stable financial state, possess a proper background or a good reputation in society. Informal meeting between both parents will be held for understanding and ice breaking. Heart-to-heart discussions between parents usually occur in their children’s absence. When both families are convinced their children will marry well into a good and respectable family, only then a wedding is made possible.

The Proposal
After parents have agreed to the union, the groom’s parents will send a female representative to the bride’s home. The date of visit is set for both families to discuss plans and details for the wedding. Among the topics touched upon is the amount of wedding dowry, arrangements for the wedding banquet and the wedding date. Any bargain attempts will only tarnish the groom’s family reputation. The groom’s representative may have to make a few more visits until both sides reach an agreement. Besides that, she must also obtain the bride’s date and time of birth for determining the auspicious wedding date which is decided based on Chinese horoscopes and calendar.

Engagement
First there is the official engagement ceremony, where it is one simple affair for the engaged couple to exchange rings in the presence of their families. It could be done to give time to couples who wish to make proper preparations instead of marrying hastily. Secondly, a couple without undergoing an engagement ceremony could be considered engaged from the moment they agreed to marry. Chinese people usually prefer couples to marry instead as marriage ties are considered stronger and more secured bonds compared to engagements.

Guo Da Li: Betrothal Gifts & Wedding Dowry
An exchange of gifts will transpire between both families with the groom giving more. If the groom did not prepare enough gifts, he has to replace it with cash. The bride may also receive household items which is essential for her future responsibilities and duties as a wife. The wedding dowry must meet the exact demanded amount as it is a token of appreciation for the bride’s family and also helps to exhibit the groom’s financial capability.

Hair Combing Ritual
On the eve of the wedding, this ritual will be carried out at the bride and groom’s respective homes to augur luck for a long happy marriage, harmony, offspring and wealth. They will bathe in water infused with pamelo or pomegranate leaves to ward off evil elements. Each the bride and groom will then slip into new clothes. A married woman of good fortune must carry out this ritual. She must have a surviving husband, children and grandchildren. She could be the mother, sister, aunt or friend. The ritual consists of 4 combings with different meanings each.

First combing
Continuous from beginning till end, may you be together all your lives,
Second combing
May you have closeness and harmony in your marriage for a hundred years,till a ripe old age,
Third combing
May you fill your home with children and grandchildren,
Fourth combing
May you enjoy a long life together, till your hair and even eyebrows are white.

After this ritual, a bowl of sweet soup with pink and white rice ball symbolising a complete marriage union is served to the bride and groom. The bride’s mother will present her daughter a farewell gift; jewelleries and ang pows as the bride will leave her childhood home the next day become an adult and enter a married life.

The Wedding Day
The Chinese wedding will be a one day event. It begins in the morning with prayers and traditional ceremonies, concluding at night with a grand banquet. Prayers and the marriage solemnisation will be performed at a church or a Buddhist temple according to the couple’s religion.

• Fetching the bride
• Paying respect to ancestors
  A middle person known as ‘Sam Poh’ will guide the bride and groom throughout the ‘Kow Tau’ and tea ceremony. During ‘Kow Tau’ the bride and groom must bow their head in respect 3 times to the bride’s ancestral altar.
• Tea ceremony
  The bride and groom will offer a cup of tea to the bride’s parents who will return the favour with ang pows. The ‘Sam Poh’ is given an ang pow too to thank her for performing her duties. The bride and groom will continue to offer tea to other older family members.
• The bride’s arrival
  

The Wedding Banquet
As traditional ceremonies have been done, the wedding banquet is one social affair. It helps to introduce the newlyweds to all guests present there and celebrates their union. The bride often changes her outfit three times during the banquet. According to Chinese beliefs, it is impolite for guests to leave before all dishes are served. A Chinese wedding banquet menu is properly planned according to traditions. 8 or 9 dishes are served because 8 signify prosperity while the latter bear the meaning everlasting.

Wedding Banquet Events:
1. Speeches from parents, the maid of honour, the best man and even the bride and groom.
2. Toasts to the guests and sometimes a tea ceremony.
3. Cake cutting ceremony.
4. Games in the form of teasing to loosen up the bride and groom while amusing the guests.
5. A photo slideshow or video recording of the bride and groom with the newlyweds’
favourite songs playing in the background.
6. The bride and groom will greet guests from table to table and are often given a toast. The
Chinese have a unique way of a toast; everyone would stand up with a glass filled
with champagne, wine or non-alcoholic beverage and say “Yum Seng”. The trick is to say
“yum” as long as you can before ending with a loud “Seng!” It’s advisable to take a deep
breath to hold the “yum” as long as possible.
7. Depending on personal preferences, some couples will organise a dance towards
the end of the banquet.

The common menu in a Chinese wedding banquet:
Lang Pun/Leng PanShark Fin Soup
A Whole Fish
Sea Cucumber
Roast Suckling Pig
Prawns or Lobster
A Whole Chicken
Fried Rice or Noodles
Desserts like red bean soup with lotus seed,
sweet lotus seed soup with lotus paste fried biscuits, sweet buns, mochi

Malay Wedding

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Observed in a spirit of utmost gentleness, the Malay wedding is steeped in rites and customs that have evolved over centuries. There are a few stages involved in a Malay wedding.

Merisik
‘Merisik’ means spying or seeking in Malay. Representatives or ‘Wakil’ from the man’s family will visit the woman’s family home. Through this friendly visit, the wakil will give a hint of the visit to the woman’s parents. This visit also serves the purpose of observing the potential bride and her family’s willingness to marry her to the man. In the case of arranged marriages, if the woman’s parents don’t agree to the union, the wakil will search for other potential brides. No formal agreements will be reached yet at this stage.

Meminang
This is only possible if the woman’s parents agree about the union. From here on, formal agreements will take place between both families. Meminang can be known as to offer or propose. Both families will meet up to set the wedding date and discuss the wedding details e.g., engagement ceremony, number of trips to be made, wedding dowries, etc...

Bertunang
This is known as the engagement stage. Some couples skip this stage to proceed with the wedding right away. This ceremony usually takes place at the bride’s home. During this ceremony, there will be an exchange of wedding dowries between both sides and usually the groom‘s side will receive more dowries. These dowries are given in odd numbers as the Malays believe even numbers will bring bad luck. The ceremony’s highlight is when the groom’s representative i.e., his mother or sister will wear the engagement ring onto the bride’s ring finger of her left hand. There will also be further discussion between both families and the engagement period will be determined.

Akad Nikah
The Akad Nikah is the most important ceremony in a Malay wedding because this is when the bride and groom will solemnise their marriage to be officially husband and wife. This ceremony can be held at a mosque, tok kadi’s office or the bride’s house. Tok kadi is a religious Muslim man whose duty is to solemnise the union between the bride and groom as husband and wife. He will act as the middle man and explain to the wedded couple the important duties of marriage from a religious point of view. This is done so that both bride and groom will perform their responsibilities well in their married life. In front of witnesses, the tok kadi will say the wedding vow which the groom must repeat after the tok kadi shake the groom’s hands. The groom must say the vow loud and clear. If the witnesses are not satisfied, the groom must repeat the sentences again. After that, the groom will wear the wedding ring onto his wife’s ring finger.

Adat Berinai
This is the process of applying henna artwork to the hands and feet of the bride and groom. This custom is said to be influenced from Indian cultures. This event will take place at the bride’s home. After it’s over, the groom will spend the night at his family’s home or a home nearby the bride’s. There are 3 stages in adat berinai.

• Berinai curi
  Held 3 nights before the wedding, only the bride, close family members and relatives will take part.
• Berinai kecil
  Held 2 nights before the wedding, all family members, neighbours and friends can take part.
• Berinai besar
  The final stage of the adat berinai will be held 1 night before the wedding. Invited guests from both families can take part. The groom will only participate in this stage.

Bersanding
The bersanding ceremony will happen on the day of the wedding, to allow all guests, family, neighbours and friends to offer their blessing to the wedded couple. Both bride and groom will be dressed in their best wedding attire. A make-up artist known in Malay as Mak Andam will ensure the bride look beautiful on her wedding day. The wedding starts with the groom leaving his house to go to the bride’s house. Turmeric rice will be tossed in the air to welcome the groom’s arrival. Sometimes pranks will be pulled on the groom before he could reach the wedding dais or pelamin in Malay. The bride and groom will be treated like a king and queen on their wedding day. Silat performances will be held while the bride and groom are seated on a beautifully decorated wedding dais. There is also a custom to bless the bride and groom. Guests must first scatter some turmeric rice and fried rice grains to the left and right of the bride. Then they must pat some tepung mawar water on her hands and take a pinch of henna to smudge on her hands. The wedding will end with a grand feast where the bride and groom will be seated together for the first time as husband and wife to greet their guests. The bersanding ceremony can be held again too at different places just to ensure everyone has the chance to offer their blessing to the newlyweds.