Malaysian Chinese Fairy Tale Wedding - Chapter Four
Bachelor night in traditional style....with some 'ooomph',
If one hears or mentions the word "Bachelor night".....imaginations run wild, going from all-out stag nights, strippers, lots of booze, laughter and the odd teardrop...
Stuff all that away, 'cos it is none of that at all, ........ at least here in a traditional Malaysian Chinese wedding.
The customs dictate that the families of the bride and groom each hold a dinner party at their respective houses the day before the wedding event itself, inviting closest acquaintances, friends, next door neighbours,...actually the more the merrier. Something to do with wishing the bride/groom God's speed and accompanying her/him through their last eve as a bachelor/bachelorette before they are joined in matrimony the following day.
And since that aunty Lily, Keanwai's mother, has been a permanent resident at our casa since the past 2 years, we had no qualms opening the doors of our house and acting as hosts for this bachelor party.
To lighten the workload, a caterer was called in to provide a buffet dinner for about 130 people, party tents were erected, round tables and accompanying chairs put in place, a free flow of cordial orange juice (alcohol was on our tab).
A posh bridal car was parked in front of the party tent, showing off to the whole neighbourhood that a wedding was taking place at our very own house......hey, I hope my dear neighbours don't assume that we're 'loaded'....the limo ain't ours....but wish it was, or at least we want the monetary equivalent of it in pure hard $$$ :p
Early birds get early pickings, our household took the opportunity to load ourselves up with the fresh food, and it all went smoothly and tastily down our throats, yummy!!! ....:p
Even a 'mobile' satay vendor was called up to add some 'spice' to the menu :)
This kinda bachelor eve is sure different from what I'm used to back in good old Belgium,
....Family members, friends and neighbours dropping by and paying their respect, congratulating the, in our case, the groom and his family, 'cause for sure on the wedding event the next day there won't be enough time for the odd chit-chat and so forth....
Kiddo's running around and forth, the smaller ones oblivious to what the party is all about, but nonetheless having a great deal of fun....
It turned out to be a cosy affair, people with whom we haven't kept in touch for ages due to everybody living their own busy lives, paid a surprising visit, old family ties were rekindled,....
The only thing that might have lacked was some....."oooomph" :)
Did I mention "oooomph"?
In the middle of the dinner party, the distinctive roaring sounds of big motorcycles approached our party. You know the feeling when you hear the rumbling sound of 1 bike, somehow the noise of it touches a nerve inside each and everyone of us, and peeps go 'gaga', be they male or female....
Well, multiply the roar of 1 superbike by at least 20........yadda, roughly 20 superbikers and their pillion riders dropped by at our humble bachelor party. Can you imagine the looks on our faces? Simply awe-struck by the sight of it.
Turns out that one of Keanwai's closest buddies is a member of a local biker's club (nah, don't think Hell's Angels.....these fella's ain't mean,.... on the contrary, it's more alike a Weekend's Bikers Club)...... and he promised to ride as escort with a few fellow bikers at the wedding motorcade
But for this bachelor's eve, the dude gathered up some extra MC members to make an 'entrance', add some 'oooomph' to the party and ofcourse, tuck in for some buffet dinner a volonte :)
Ofcourse couldn't resist the temptation to sit on these motorized 'beasts'.....quite tempting to purchase a superbike, but have to give in to reason.....they do look beautiful and am pretty sure that riding them around is a joy to behold, but traffic nowadays is so murderous out there, that it is asking for trouble = aka suicidal. Scratch the idea of having a bike at our house....no 'easy riding' for this fella....
As the night wore on, the crowd slowly took a hike back home, but ofcourse not the bachelor and his posse of close, life-long friends....and Keanwai being the first of the gang to be married, he sure merited the full-blown attention
U can say whatever you want about this kinda bonding, but it sure is something incomprehensible for outsiders who are not part of the 'group'....truly a 'Band of Brothers'
Am ofcourse I'm reporting this from the groom's side....
I do wonder how the bride & her entourage celebrated their bachelorette night......nah, better don't ask,.....sometimes it's better not to ask :p
All in all, the bachelor eve turned out to be quite a merry affair, .....definitely not raunchy :p.
Better save their energy for the following day
Stuff all that away, 'cos it is none of that at all, ........ at least here in a traditional Malaysian Chinese wedding.
The customs dictate that the families of the bride and groom each hold a dinner party at their respective houses the day before the wedding event itself, inviting closest acquaintances, friends, next door neighbours,...actually the more the merrier. Something to do with wishing the bride/groom God's speed and accompanying her/him through their last eve as a bachelor/bachelorette before they are joined in matrimony the following day.
And since that aunty Lily, Keanwai's mother, has been a permanent resident at our casa since the past 2 years, we had no qualms opening the doors of our house and acting as hosts for this bachelor party.
To lighten the workload, a caterer was called in to provide a buffet dinner for about 130 people, party tents were erected, round tables and accompanying chairs put in place, a free flow of cordial orange juice (alcohol was on our tab).
A posh bridal car was parked in front of the party tent, showing off to the whole neighbourhood that a wedding was taking place at our very own house......hey, I hope my dear neighbours don't assume that we're 'loaded'....the limo ain't ours....but wish it was, or at least we want the monetary equivalent of it in pure hard $$$ :p
Early birds get early pickings, our household took the opportunity to load ourselves up with the fresh food, and it all went smoothly and tastily down our throats, yummy!!! ....:p
Even a 'mobile' satay vendor was called up to add some 'spice' to the menu :)
This kinda bachelor eve is sure different from what I'm used to back in good old Belgium,
....Family members, friends and neighbours dropping by and paying their respect, congratulating the, in our case, the groom and his family, 'cause for sure on the wedding event the next day there won't be enough time for the odd chit-chat and so forth....
Kiddo's running around and forth, the smaller ones oblivious to what the party is all about, but nonetheless having a great deal of fun....
It turned out to be a cosy affair, people with whom we haven't kept in touch for ages due to everybody living their own busy lives, paid a surprising visit, old family ties were rekindled,....
The only thing that might have lacked was some....."oooomph" :)
Did I mention "oooomph"?
In the middle of the dinner party, the distinctive roaring sounds of big motorcycles approached our party. You know the feeling when you hear the rumbling sound of 1 bike, somehow the noise of it touches a nerve inside each and everyone of us, and peeps go 'gaga', be they male or female....
Well, multiply the roar of 1 superbike by at least 20........yadda, roughly 20 superbikers and their pillion riders dropped by at our humble bachelor party. Can you imagine the looks on our faces? Simply awe-struck by the sight of it.
Turns out that one of Keanwai's closest buddies is a member of a local biker's club (nah, don't think Hell's Angels.....these fella's ain't mean,.... on the contrary, it's more alike a Weekend's Bikers Club)...... and he promised to ride as escort with a few fellow bikers at the wedding motorcade
But for this bachelor's eve, the dude gathered up some extra MC members to make an 'entrance', add some 'oooomph' to the party and ofcourse, tuck in for some buffet dinner a volonte :)
Ofcourse couldn't resist the temptation to sit on these motorized 'beasts'.....quite tempting to purchase a superbike, but have to give in to reason.....they do look beautiful and am pretty sure that riding them around is a joy to behold, but traffic nowadays is so murderous out there, that it is asking for trouble = aka suicidal. Scratch the idea of having a bike at our house....no 'easy riding' for this fella....
As the night wore on, the crowd slowly took a hike back home, but ofcourse not the bachelor and his posse of close, life-long friends....and Keanwai being the first of the gang to be married, he sure merited the full-blown attention
U can say whatever you want about this kinda bonding, but it sure is something incomprehensible for outsiders who are not part of the 'group'....truly a 'Band of Brothers'
Am ofcourse I'm reporting this from the groom's side....
I do wonder how the bride & her entourage celebrated their bachelorette night......nah, better don't ask,.....sometimes it's better not to ask :p
All in all, the bachelor eve turned out to be quite a merry affair, .....definitely not raunchy :p.
Better save their energy for the following day
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