Guess what???!!!

We registered on 09-01-09 and that means our wedding anniversary's on 9-Jan every year!!! What a coincidence eh!!! Kekekekeke...

And so the journey back to Kuala Selangor (KS) continues... in our ultra comfortable Alphard... I was truly HAPPY each time it drizzles... cos old folks believe that if it drizzles on Actual Day, it goes to show that the couple's extremely loving! OWLoon told me that when his entourage left KS to KL, it drizzled... then mid way, it stopped... but when they were near my house... it started to drizzle again! And the BEST part was that, the exact same thing happened when we were on our way back! When we left my house, it drizzled, then stopped midway... but when we reached KS, it drizzled again!!! It's almost as if they knew we were reaching our destinations! So anyway, to the Hokkiens, door opening was not such a big deal, hence there was this stranger dude who opened our car door... and the minute I got down of the car, firecrackers were lighted...

Hokkiens being Hokkies... they have lots of customs and "laws" to follow... like how I had to walk over a pot of burning charcoal... Noticed how the house was empty when OWLoon and I arrived? Everyone was "hiding" at the back cos' they were only allowed to come out only after we have completed the necessary prayers to gods, kitchen god and most importantly the ancestors...

We had a few moments to breathe while they set up... And again, the tea ceremony started with OWLoon's parents... Have not seen them smiled so much before... they must be happy cos OWLoon's the youngest in the family... And I got additional jewelery that added on to the already HEAVY jewelery from my family. Came "ang pow" giving time... instead of singles and kiddos rushing over to get their share, it was OWLoon's older siblings who rushed forward... to collect "ang pow"s for their kids... hahahaha...

After the tea ceremony, the entourage has to walk to our apartment; 2 minutes away where a little boy was invited to roll on the bed to bless us with fertility. To encourage him to get on the bed, sweets were placed all over the bed. The little boy must have been terrified with a group of strangers cheering him on when he stomped his tiny feet on our bed... hahaha... After that, OWLoon removed my veil while I removed his jacket and placed them on the bed.

Outside, the 4Ms and the rest of the entourage were happily enjoying themselves... before we all went to have our lunch at OWLoon's parents's house.

These were some of the wedding props at our home. And at the end of it all, I could finally remove all my jewelery... (definitely felt like a Christmas tree)... but I made a little fortune that day... jewelery from my parents alone were already worth RM15k, imagine with the rest combined! Kekekeke... :-)

That marks the end of the Actual Day customs that we had to go through to be officially married! :-) Next post will be on the groom's side dinner held later that evening.

On the eve of Actual Day, my parents threw a pool side party for relatives and family friends... all was fine, everyone enjoyed themselves and many complimented the food... But as the night progressed, the drinking "kaki-s" went to my house and continued drinking... Since it was a happy occasion, on top of the bottles and bottles of Henessy consumed and the endless cans of beer consumed, my father brought out one of his many XOs which he has kept for over 20 years!!! That night, the last batch left at 3.30AM!!! And the following morning, the make up artist and my photographer arrived at 6AM sharp!!! In other words, I only had 2 hours of sleep and was extremely TIRED!!! Becos of that, I was rather quiet and grouchy... and found myself extremely dissatisfied with the hairstyle and the make up done... (the make up artist for my pre-wedding photography and dinner was FULLY BOOKED hence I was stuck with this 2 dumbos)!

While the make up and hair-do session was in progress, the photographer went around snapping photos of some of our props for the wedding.

When all was done... I had to get ready and my parents came in to put on my veil...

While I was quietly waiting in my room, outside my family members were having fun!!! I could hear their laughter even from my room... (Clockwise) My father ensuring that the cups on the altar are filled... My mom (in gold) alongside with my 2 aunties... dunno talking about what...My brother and his gf (who is also my bridesmaid) discussing door games... and surprise surprise... my "zimui" who comprises of 4 MOUNTAINS... hahahahaha... there were other female "zimui" but nothing beats my 4Ms "zimui"... kekekeke...

Downstairs, OWLoon and his entourage reached at 9-ish... and being Cantonese, door opening's an important event for the bride's brother... hence my brother was downstairs to nego for an "ang pow" first before OWLoon could get down from the car... kekekeke...

OWLoon and his 4 "hengtai" vs. my 4Ms and several other "zimui"... Must say, they got it so EASY... cos the timing was rather tight... we must be back in KS before 12 noon and the distance itself is ~ 1 hour and 30 minutes at best... Plus, my family members were on his side... could hear them saying "OK lor, OK lor... let him in already..."...

So all they had to do was to answer several questions by my 4Ms pertaining me... and sing a song out loud... and to provide RMXXX... and 99cents... :-)

After passing the 4Ms tasks... OWLoon came in and greeted me... his first few words were... "Lou po... lou kung is here to fetch you lor..." and for some strange reasons, female family members felt like crying cos they thought it was rather touching... kekeke... me... I was getting kinda bored sitting in the room alone...

Like all important Chinese festivities, the first thing is of course to pray and seek blessings from higher divine powers and most importantly, our ancestors...

Thereafter, the tea ceremony began with my parents first. All was ok in the beginning, I knew that my parents were trying rather hard not to mention anything tear-jerking... but someone said something like "Will you miss your daughter or not..." and that sent us all teary eyed... Altho' we no longer live in the era where once married, brides somewhat end their ties with their parents, it was still a pretty emotional experience for us... it's like after years of being a kiddo (in our parents' eyes)... we're now all grown up and ready to start our own family... and officially start to also be part of the "Ong" family...

After the tea ceremony... it was the "ang pow" giving time to all the singles and kiddos in the house... It was so funny seeing all of them greet OWLoon his new title / rank as part of the family...

Then after numerous family portraits, my father accompanied us to our bridal car and sheltered us using a red umbrella which signifies that we will always be sheltered in his protection... Then my father also threw a mixture of rice grains, tea leaves and salt I think, onto the pathway leading to the car and on the car... so ward off "evil spirits"...

And that marked the end of the Actual Day ceremony at the bride's side... Next post will be on the Actual Day ceremony at the groom's side...

The bed installation ceremony or "On Chong" in our Bridal Room was scheduled on 03-December-2009; several days before our Actual Day on 06-December-2009. That morning, my family (my parents along with my uncle & auntie) accompanied me to Kuala Selangor; where OWLoon and my Bridal Room is (our weekend home in Kuala Selangor).

[Clockwise. From Top Left to Right to Bottom Right to Left]

Prior to the "On Chong" ceremony, OWLoon and I spent like several months trying to get our Bridal Room ready. After installing our air cond and baby fan, painting for the entire house started. Then the wardrobe guys came to install our built in wardrobe... Furniture was then delivered... and additional furnishing were added like curtains, carpets, bedside lamps and full length mirror.

The entire bed installation ceremony is to be completed anytime between 11am and 1pm. So first thing first, my parents fitted the bed with the brand new mattress and pillows protectors, bedsheet, pillow & bolster cases along with a box of "lingzhi-bai-he" on the bed.

Then came the time to decorate the entire room with Double Happiness symbols... on the master bedroom room door, on the wardrobe door, on the walls, on our full length mirror, on our console table and even the bedside drawers. The mandatory props from the Bethotral / "Guo Dai Lei" were also placed in the room for example the basin, mug, cup etc, the rice bowls set on the console, the red bedside lamps etc etc.

Here's how our Bridal Room looks like... :-)

Since this is the weekend home which only OWLoon and I will live in, the decorations also spreaded to other parts of the house... like how our wedding photos were everywhere, and that almost everything around is in red... curtains, sofa pillows, table cloth etc. Additional deco items were also added by OWLoon to somewhat transform his bachelor pad into a lovely, homely home for us...

And with that, the ceremony was completed... within the stipulated time too thanks to my parents, uncle and auntie. Next would be the Actual Day di... :-)

Just the other day... November 21, 2009 to be exact, it was our "Guo Dai Lei" day ala Betrothal / Hantaran day equivalent... The time given to us was anytime between 11am till 1pm... and needless to say, OWLoon came closer to 1pm instead of 11am (he's forever LATE!)... but luckily still within the auspicious timing at 12.45pm... The main HERO of the day was of course the roasted pig brought by the groom's side... see him here in his full glory!

Apart from the roasted pig, the groom's side also came with baskets and baskets of other goodies... among which included 2 bottles of hard liquor... boxes and boxes of wedding biscuits, double happiness candles, "ling zhi bai he" and red dates, fruits... and most importantly... a red box containing my dowry... kekeke...

While the groom's side brought baskets and baskets of goodies... the bride's side too must reciprocate... and the act of reciprocating is called "wui lei"... where the 2 bottles of hard liquors were replaced with 2 bottles of orange juice... As for the rest of the goodies like "ling zhi bai he" and red dates... wedding biscuits... double happiness candles... and fruits, the bride's side is supposed to take what is required and return the balance to the groom's side... On top of that... the bride's side also gave out a box containing 2 bowls, 2 saucers, 2 spoons and 2 pairs of chopsticks... and oh... charcoal...

Same goes to Mr. Porky Pork... the bride's side will take what is required... and then replace the dowry in the dowry box with a pair of long trousers for the groom... Wrap it as part of the pig... and walla... Mr. Porky Pork looks complete again!

It was indeed a joyous occasion and both parties have started calling one another "chin keh" in Hokkien which meant in laws... :-)

Next task... bed setting ceremony at the bridal room several days before the Actual Day... :-)

OWLoon and I were chit chatting with my parents when it suddenly dawned upon him that he is supposed to get the "Gar Lui" biscuits (wedding biscuits) in time for the "Gor Dai Lei" on Nov 21, 2009... hehehe... So yesterday we went to Tong Kei Bread & Tarts in Sri Petaling to place our orders.

Overall, it was a pretty quick and simple process... RM6 per box... and each box has 2 biscuits... one in pink... and one in yellow... And since there is only 1 type of box available... we proceeded to order 53 boxes as requested by my parents for my relatives... Custom wise, out of the 53 boxes, we need to give 12 boxes back to OWLoon's family...

Good thing that Tong Kei opens 8-ish everyday so collection can be made from as early as 9am on the actual "Guo Dai Lei" day itself... fresh out of the oven... ;)

Last Saturday, OWLoon fetched my parents and I to XiLinMen Auspicious Services in Purchong to buy the customary "Guo Dai Lei" items...

Needless to say, nearly everything in the shop was "ANG" (i.e. RED)...

Here are some snapshots of the items we bought that day:

My favourite items from the list of things are the Chinese paper cutting designed tea-set that comes with matching bowls and spoons as well as the table lamps... ;-)

Total Spent: RM463

Disclaimer: Purely a "syiok sendiri" exercise...

Hmmm... since the previous set of dates are no longer valid, thought I'd just update the "diagram" that I worked out based on the key dates of our wedding milestones...



As you can see...

• The sum of the Proposal + RoM + Dinner in KL (Dates in Red) = 18
• The sum of the Dinner in KS + Actual Wedding (Chinese Customary Wedding) = 18

So the common denominator here... is...

• 18... (yat fat)
• And 1+8=9... (kau... cheong cheong kau kau)

But then of course you can argue that if all the months are added (Proposal, RoM and Dinner in KL)... why is the month and date added for the Dinner in KS and Actual Wedding? Well... it is because, the same day holds TWO special occasion... 1's the wedding dinner and the other's the customary Chinese tradition where I officially step foot into OWLoon's family as his wife... Thus, the SUM of both...

Hehehehe... as mentioned, this is purely a "syiok sendiri" exercise... Just trying to make sense out of the numerous sets of dates... :)

Wedding preparation is really not as easy as it seemed. It's been close to 2 months since Alan proposed. And yet, I've only got one checked item on my looooong list of to-do so far; the engagement ring! And yes... we're still stuck at the wedding dates selection stage...

Registration of Marriage

• 1st choice = 16-Jan but the conflicting animal sign for the day is both my father and Alan's father's animal sign!!!
• 2nd choice = 9-Jan but the conflicting animal sign for the day is Alan's mom's animal sign!!!

Actual Chinese Wedding Ceremony Date

• 1st choice = 13-Dec (which is a Chor 27) but Alan's mom said we should avoid having anything significant held on Chor 3, 7, 17 or 27!
• 2nd choice = 6-Dec seemed ok at first but then the conflicting animal sign for the day is again both my father and Alan's father's animal sign!!!

To be honest, we're confused and lost. For one, the dates were provided by a so-called professional (Kok Chong Ming) where the groom, bride and both side's parents date of birth were given. If the above were really not good, then why give us those dates in the first place?

Plus, this is supposed to be our wedding (Alan and I)... do we then look at our own date of birth? If yes then why do we have to submit our parents date of birth then???

Both our parents said that they're OK with our choice but they somewhat hinted that the dates shouldn't be conflicting with anyone of us (us and our parents of course)... So now, out of sheer desperation, Alan is going to ask his mom to look at the Chinese almanac to pick us suitable dates cos there's a million and one things to do but without firm dates, we can't move at all...

Sigh...

Hmmm, I've been thinking of numerous combo of numbers based on the dates given. After much deliberations, I thought that this formula is kinda unique.

You see hor:

• 08 is the day Alan proposed and 16 is one of the RoM dates given
• 05 is the day we have our dinner in KL and 13 is the day we have our dinner in KS

Irregardless of whether I minus the dates or add "8" to the dates, "8" remains the constant number:

• [Minus] 16 - 08 = [08] / 13 - 05 = [08] or
• [Plus] 08 + [08] = 16 / 05 + [08] = 13

Talk about coincidence!

Now that Alan has proposed and that we're engaged... What's next?

Wedding dates selection of course :). We had to wait several weeks cos the 2009 Chinese Almanac wasn't released until late this week. So anyway, we went to Kok Chong Ming today to submit our particulars:

• Groom & bride's date & time of birth
• Both sides' parents date & time of birth

Alan has to fill up the particulars on a piece of form in Mandarin... and here's a picture of him in full concentration:

We paid RM50 for a registration date and RM80 for a few wedding dates. To our surprise, we got an SMS that night itself on the set of dates:

Registration

• January 2009: 3rd (Sat), 15th (Thu), 16th (Fri)

Wedding

• October 2009: 3rd (Sat), 18th (Sun), 25th (Sun), 28th (Wed), 30th (Fri)
• November 2009: 18th (Wed), 21st (Sat)
• December 2009: 05th (Sat), 6th (Sun), 13th (Sun), 26th (Sat)

Honestly, the dates were not what we initially planned... Since Alan proposed on 08-08-2008 [8-8-8], we thought that our registration and marriage dates should also have a good numerical combo like: 3-6-2009 [3-6-9] or 10-10-2009 [10-10] for instance. But when the dates came back, they all seemed "plain".

We're supposed to revert with our choice of dates so that they can give us the full deck on auspicious hour to "jip san leong" (fetch bride) etc etc... But none of the dates appeal to us... So how??? Sigh...

Nevertheless... we opted for 05th December for the dinner in KL and 13th December for the dinner at Kuala Selangor. Next step is to consult our parents...

Update

One of my friends told me that the most important date is the Registration of Marriage date cos' that date would be our wedding anniversary. As such, we're gonna submit our preferred date to the "sifu" and hope for the best: 12-January-2009 (121) cos' easy to remember and has a nice meaning of 1 to 1... hehehe... Wish us luck! :)

Latest Update

The "sifu" reverted with 2 extra dates for the registration; 15th Jan or 16th Jan... (1-5-1) or (1-6-1)... Hmmm...