the Reception

This was the day I was kind of dreading. It was going to be outdoors and hot and lots of people and that's all I knew going in. Thankfully it was really amazing and not terrifying at all. My dad and Nisa had traditional Malay wedding attire they wore, and both of them looked wonderful. I was in another Baju and Tie fixed my hair in a bun type up-do. My dad had to leave to go to Aunt Sal's to await the start of the reception. When he came back, we escorted Nisa down. He was waiting with his procession of guys and we had to walk her over to meet him. Then they were to walk over to greet people together. An amazing drum troop had been hired to play as they walked in. I want them at my wedding! :-) They sat down on these chairs in the middle of the parking lot area where the reception took place and a traditional wedding martial arts performance was done. It was really neat to watch. After that they greeted the elders and then off to the head table to eat. I actually got to sit at the head table as I was my dad's closest relative there. The food was absolutely amazing, especially the roast chicken. I even tried some fish. Of course the photographers were taking pictures the whole time and filming video. They did capture the impromptu singalong to "Stand By Me"! The song came on while a bunch of us were up there taking pictures and we all started singing! It was just a classic moment. The reception was mostly eating, greeting people and taking picture after picture. Eventually they went upstairs to change into different outfits to come down and cut the cake. OH MY the cake!! So yummy!! It was a bit different than the cake cutting at an American ceremony. Here the bride and groom feed each other and that is it. In this one they feed a lot of people and those people feed them. I didn't care so long as I got cake! hahaha!!

It was a blast, but it was sooooo hot. Thankfully people kind of came and went and it was never an overwhelming amount. That wrapped up around 6 and we all got to go change and kind of relax. Ate some more food of course. Later that evening when all had calmed down a bunch of us went outside with little cherry bomb type fireworks and sparklers and played with those on the playground. Played on the playground too! It was a blast!! (pun intended) I was exhausted that night and while we intended to just nap, Tie and I both passed out.

Sunday was just kind of a more relaxed day. We got KFC for lunch, and it was yummy!! A bit different than the KFC in the states, but not much. We also had these donut type things that you dipped in this mango sauce. Delicious! It was mostly family in and out saying goodbye and things. In the evening, Tie, Atin, Nana,Ayin Dyana, Ikah,and myself went to MINES and went bowling! I wanted to steal the purple shoes, but alas I didn't. Bowling is also different here. If you are playing teams on two separate lanes and one lane gets ahead, it stops them and sends the other teams bowlers to that lane to catch up. Often times you would be bowling on one lane and then switching over to another. It was quite odd. We ate corn in a cup (something I am determined to franchise in the US) and the waffles filled with chocolate! MMMM!

The rest of the evening consisted of my dad and Nisa packing for Phi Phi Island and just relaxing with leftover family. It was a really nice day.

I will update this weeks festivities later!