As I have mentioned in my
previous entry, I have always loved being part of a wedding, be it as the MOH or bridesmaid, down to the usherers and the
bunga telur girls (tho the latter 2 might be quite tiring, and sometimes you just
have to ponteng for atleast 5 minutes). It's just so much fun to be part of the chaos during the last crucial moments before the wedding (tho it can be stressful at times). The best part is, you get to witness the beautiful moments of when 2 people become man and wife.
I have had the pleasure and honor to be part of the wedding of the closest people in my life. And, well, when you play a role in weddings, comes the
matching outfits - be it the
material or
color. I have received quite a number of lace and satin materials for my roles as bridesmaid, usherers and the likes. This year alone I got 4 lace materials. Lucky me huh?
These past 2 years have been wedding frenzy, so I've got
a lot of
baju kurung, kebaya, kaftans to last me many
Hari Raya-s.
So, here are
some of my "
27 Dresses"
1. 2006 - Kakmira's Merisik at home, Subang
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Modern kurung with emroidered embelishments at the neck.
I love the multi-color-tie-dye effect. It is sari material if I'm not mistaken. |
This Merisik was very last minute and everything was done at the eleventh hour. We were told there were going to be hantarans, like the day before. We didn't expect that cause our understanding of merisik was just like a small informal gathering. (I deleted "small" because our family gatherings are never small bacuse my mum has a huge family). Anyways, the Merisik was right after Hari Raya that year, so we (including Kakmira) wore our baju raya. I included this in this list because I was Kakmira's pengapit - whose duty was to sit next to her and wipe off the sugar from her lips and hold the glass of water for her to drink while the aunts and grandmothers shoved her face with spoonfuls of sugar. Its'a Penang tradition. Supposed to make you "sweet" or something.
I don't know.
2. 2007 - MOH for Shyra's Nikah at her home, Subang
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White chiffon baju kurung with pink dyed trims and hand painted flower motives |
Shyra was the first of the gang to get married. She was 22 and was still pursuing her M.D. Me and Nell used to have sleepovers and sneak-outs and ponteng tuition and drinking coke and laugh all night (know what I'm saying hihihi). So one day she texted the both of us at the same time and said: "I want the two of you to be my pengapit, one for the nikah and one for the reception. Both of you choose which one and let me know." Nell immediately called Shyra and said "I want reception!". Hahaha. So, I got to be Shyra's pengapit for her nikah, which personally I would have chosen, and not because Nell was so fast on her fingers calling Shyra to cop the Reception. Hahaha. I think it's really special to be next to the bride and hold her hand when the the groom say the 8 magical words and then realise the hand you are holding are now the hands of a different person, a wife.
I'm sentimental that way :)
3. 2007 - Usherers for Shyra's Wedding Reception at Holiday Villa, Subang
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Materials for usherers were sponsored by the Bride's mother, sari material that she bought in India - very glittery :) Nabilla didn't wear hers cause her tailor botched her material. Yikes. |
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With the beautiful bride |
It was a small intimate dinner of close family and friends. So, the ushering was not that bad. Every attendees had been given table numbers beforehand. So all we needed to do was ask for their table numbers and usher them to their tables. We needed to memorise the table layout tho, but I think we managed to do quite alright. Just that we probably shouldn't have started taking pictures while on the job. Hihi.
4. 2007 - Pengapit for Kakmira's Berinai at home, Subang
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Dark brown thai silk for the top and dark brown abstract batik for the sarung |
It was the night before the Nikah. I was sooo comot that night because I was running around that morning to get all the last minute preparations ready. There were actually 4 pengapit-s that night because Kakmira changed clothes twice. First she wore like a javanese ensemble to represent my dad's side of the family where Nell and Dzu was the pengapit. Then she changed to an arabic ensemble to represent half of my mother's heritage where me and Syida became the pengapit. It was more like the "pengipas". Because all we did was kipas her. Ahah.
5. 2007 - Dulang girls for Kakmira's Nikah at home, Subang.
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Peachy-pink plain chiffon for the chest and sleeves combined with peachy-pink floral printed chiffon for the body and the sarung |
I came up with the "peachy-pink" theme. I fell in love with this color when I saw Sheila Majid wearing a dress of this color in one of her shows. The selendangs worn by the girls were sponsored by Ibu.
6. 2007 - Bridesmaid for Kakmira's Wedding Reception at Concorde, Shah Alam.
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Yellow crepe and chiffon for the top, songket for the sarung |
There were 11 bridesmaids - 6 of them were Kakmira's besties. The theme for the family was light yellow. But the Bride decided that she wanted her friends to wear green. This reception was a double duty for me and Syida. Aside from being the bridesmaids, we were also incharge of the usherers. So we were literally running to the bridesmaids line up for the bridal march when the last guests were ushered in the hall.
7. 2007 - MOH for Kakmira's Bertandang at Holliday Villa, Subang
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Silver glittery net and satin lining with twisted emroidered lace at the neck and bust |
It was the groom's reception dinner. The first time me and Aliff was the pengapit together for the same occasion. I don't think there'll be any other. Ahah. We get the usual "Ni, bila pulak?" :)
8. 2009 - Dulang girls for Aizat's Nikah
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Styling the kurung pahang in pink songket |
Aizat, the first of the 1985 cousin-trio to get married, at 25. The theme was pink. All 7 of us fit into the white allison behind us. The man in the baju melayu is Abang Imran, the so-efficient-and-organized wedding co-ordinator. He held a briefing before the rombongan went to the bride's place for the Nikah and the Reception, complete with white boards and the bride's home layout plan to make sure we know where to sit and put the dulangs. We were the most well-coordinated and organised rombongan, hands down.
9. 2010 - Head of Bunga Telur at Aizat's Wedding Reception-I, Groom's home, Subang.
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Golden-Brown thai silk with black beadings at the sleeves and chest. The sarung had umbrella-pleated chiffon at the side - last minute installment as the original slit was too high ;) |
As mentioned above, Aizat was lucky enough to have Abang Imran as the head co-ordinator. So the giving out of the Bunga Telur was also very organised. The cousins plus their plus-ones, (about 30 of us?) were split into 4 groups - which represents 4 shifts; 11.00am-1.00pm, 1.00pm-2.00pm, 2.00pm-3.00pm, 3.00pm-4.00pm. I was incharge to create a strategy/plan for the cousins to give each guest the Bunga Telur... the tricky thing was my aunt and uncle had bought different Bunga Telurs for kids and grown ups and for the grown ups different casings. Then the anak yatim who came also had different casings of bunga telur. So we had to make sure everyone got the right Bunga Telur. On top of it all, I had to make sure that all shifts were doing their jobs. Fuhh. It was a hot and tiring day. Oh, the theme was golden-brown. Aliff only owns 3 baju melayu - peachy-pink, yellow and silver (all three from Kakmira's wedding in 2007), so he wore yellow, the closest to the theme. Haish.
10. 2010 - Bunga Telur girls at Aizat's Wedding Reception-II, Groom's home, Subang.
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Turqoise chiffon shrug-tied in the front worn on top of a corset for the top. Light pink and turqoise embroidered lace and pink satin lining for the sarung |
Aizat had 2 wedding receptions, one during the day which was a laid-back reception for family and friends, and at night was a more formal dinner for close family and the parents's friends. Only the girl cousins were in attendance, beacuse we had Bunga Telur duties. The theme was turqoise.
11. 2010 - Usherers at El's Wedding at Holiday Villa, Subang.
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Two-toned pink chiffon kaftan with a line of silver beads encrusted from the chest down meeting a ribbon at the waist. |
El is Kakmira's brother-in-law. This was particularly hard because we didn't know the guest and who was who. Some people who were not in the "VIP" list were "supposed" to be in the list. The seating arrangements were very specific. The hardest thing was me and Aliff had to bring some of the family who came late to the coffee shop because the guests were too overwhelming. It was a tough crowd. El's reception and Aizat's reception was back to back, so I swore off weddings after that . But just for a while. Weddings are my thing. Can't let it go forever :)
Well this was the first wedding where Lulu made her first appearance, starting off her "career" as the flowergirl. More to come for sure. Brace yourself little darling. One day you will fill in my shoes :)
The theme was pink.
12. 2010 - Dulang girl at Endi's Engagement, Bukit Jelutong.
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Green french lace for the top and satin for the sarung with bordered lace patched at the trims of the sarung |
The largest rombongan I've ever been part of. It was a convoy of about 20 cars. Reason being that the bride-to-be (who is the sister of El's wife. Small world) is from Sabah and the wedding will be at Sabah, so, many of the groom-to-be's family can't make it. As usual, muka sama lah untuk angkat dulang.
Theme: green
13. 2010 - MOH at Shereen's Nikah.
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Creme cotton embroidered kebaya top and cotton batik sarung |
Shereen is one of my highschool best friends. We've actually known each other way longer because our parents are friends. We were inseperable in Form 2, going everywhere together. This girl was a heartbreaker. She has a long list of ex-boyfriends. And I was there for each one. I was also the shoulder to cry on for some of them. Ahaha. Nurman is a lucky lucky man to have captured her heart. And I felt so honored to be next to her when she became a wife. Poor thing, she had to rely 100% on her mother for the wedding planning, right down to the wedding attires, as she was so far away in Dublin. But she loved everything, so all was good.
The theme was creme.
The couple are currently still in Dublin, and we try to catch up every now then. I hope you guys can make it for my wedding!
14. 2010 - Bridesmaid for Shereen's Reception at Dewan SUK, Shah Alam
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Lace modern kebaya with a square ribbon at the bust enhanced with a big purple brooch and satin sarung |
I accidentally woke up late on the day and sped to Shah Alam, not exactly sure where the place was (altho I had went to the rehearsal the day before), I made illegal U-turns here and there, which caught the attention of a passing policemen. Shaitsss. Talked my way out of a ticket. "Sorry Encik, saya bukan dari Shah Alam, saya tak tau jalan and saya dah lambat untuk kahwin kawan saya. Saya pengapit ni. Janji tak buat lagi. Mintak tolong tunjuk directions boleh?" *smiles innocently*
(I think the Jabatan Peguam Negara sticker played a tiny part as well :))
He let me go on a "warning" and showed me the directions.Pheww.
The theme was purple. Lace and satin materials from Jakarta sponsored by the Bride.
14. 2010 - Bridesmaids at Y's Nikah, Masjid Al-Falahk, Subang.
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Embroidered gold lace short kebaya and satin sarung |
I knew Y when were in primary school but we belonged to different groups of friends. We met again in UIA for our undergraduate studies and this time, we were in the same group :) One of my closest friends in my varsity years. I was also asked to do her
hantarans, flower bouquets and floral pieces for her room. Read
this. The theme was gold. Lace and satin materials from Jakarta sponsored by the Bride.
15. 2010 - Bridesmaid for Y's Wedding Reception at Masjid Al-Falahk, Subang
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Silver lace short modern kurung with 6 panel sarung |
It was at the parking space of Masjid Al-Falahk USJ 9 (hence the selendang :)). Other than lining up at the arch when the bride and groom made their entrance, we were also responsible of distributing the Bunga Telurs. What's a wedding without a slightly irksome relative (in this case "uncle") kan? Ahahah. "Beri laluan, beri laluan" Ahahah. All is good. The theme was silver and green.
Lace and satin materials from Jakarta sponsored by the Bride.
16. Bridesmaid for Nabilla's Nikah, at her home, Bukit Jelutong
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short sleeved peach lace modern kebaya adorned with 2 big brooches and satin sarung with patched lace at the trims |
Nabilla is another higschool BFF. Just recently got married in December. Like me and Aliff, Nabilla and Hanafi got together towards the end of the highschool years and have been together for 8 years when they got married. Our anniversary is just 1 month apart. Theirs in September '08 and ours in October '08. Beautiful couple and
beautiful wedding. The lace and satin material was sponsored by the Bride. Tailoring was done in Bandung.
17. Emcee at Andy's Reception Dinner, Guthrie Hall, Bukit Jelutong
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Yellow chiffon short kurung with crystal swarovski and yellow beads embelishments. This kurung was the one I wore for my merisik, which I shortened and added beadworks. |
Me and Aliff were entrusted by my aunt MamaPoji to be the Master of Ceremony for Andy's wedding reception. It was my first time as an emcee, so you can imagine the level of nerves and sweats and stress I was under.
I prepared the MC Script, which was a combination of the sample scripts that I google-d. It was definitely last minute. The script was ofcourse edited by Bapak, where he corrected the protocols, the sentences and QC-ed the contents. After a couple of rehearsals infront of Bapak (I can still hear his "dua suku kata"), and a couple more during rehearsal day at the hall, I think we did a good job that night, for amateurs. We received a lot of compliments :)
All in all, it was a good experience, albeit, the sacrifice of my car on the way to rehearsal that morning...haih, something HAD to go wrong kan? (We hit a big-something, manhole? rock? we didn't see, and the car stopped, 2 minutes away from the hall...had to be towed)
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L: Lulu's second appearance as the flower girls. R: Me, Ibu, Kakmira and Syida | | | | | |
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The cousins and the newly wed. |
The theme was yellow.
Those are among my "27 Dresses" which were captured on camera. There have been many others especially relatives' wedding where me and my siblings and cousins were the
dulang girls or the
bunga telur girls.
I am sure many of us have our own share of "27 Dresses".
Good thing for me, the same with the ending of the movie, I'll be wearing my "
28th Dress"
soon.
I'll have my happy ending too.
Big Smiles.