31 Mar Malay-Chinese intercultural wedding with Natalie & Amir
Love, love, love this mixed culture wedding with Natalie & Amir! The couple and family members looked after me so well during the luncheon, like I was part of the family, kept asking me ‘you dah makan? duduk la makan‘ means ‘have you got to eat? come and sit and join us’. Thank you and very much appreciates.
Again, this was another long due wedding because of the pandemic. Natalie & Amir planned for their wedding in 2020 and had to postpone when event restriction was imposed by the government. We could not even meet to talk about the wedding plan, but to communicate via emails and video-call luckily. Finally Natalie & Amir decided to have their wedding last December when the restriction was lifted.
Natalie & Amir are from different cultural backgrounds. So their wedding was rather unique. They first had their Muslim ROM or Akad Nikah in Malay at Masjid Al-Azim, the state mosque of Melaka, then continued with Chinese wedding luncheon with tea ceremony session at Nyonya Lin’s Kitchen on the next day.
To share each other’s culture, Natalie appeared in white baju kurung and hijab, and a beautiful bouquet made by herself, while Amir was wearing a white baju Melayu for their ROM at the mosque. Then on the luncheon next day Natalie & Amir wore the red traditional wedding Chinese kua. They were looking absolutely gorgeous!
The ROM session at the mosque was done at the mini auditorium and limited family members were allowed to enter and witness the ceremony. Strict SOP had to be adhered to for the safety of everyone. They kept the ceremony short, however allowed family members and friends to have photos after the ceremony at the compound of the mosque.
On the following day, Natalie & Amir invited their family and friends to their wedding luncheon for Nyonya cuisine at Nyonya Lin’s Kitchen. Before the luncheon commenced, there was a Chinese wedding tea ceremony session where members from both families participated. When parents and family members were offered tea by Natalie & Amir, blessing and advices were given to the newly wed in return. That was the moment incredibly emotional, so heartfelt!
Natalie & Amir enjoyed the luncheon so much, after 1-2 years of waiting, they finally got to share their joy with family members and friends from other states to attend their very special day. The party was going on with endless yummy Nyonya dishes, music and dances, and lots and lots of love and laughter!
Thank you so much Natalie & Amir again! It was my pleasure to be invited to photograph your awesome days and to witness such beautiful and special Malay-Chinese cross-cultural wedding! Stay safe you two and enjoy your new adventure.
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Photography : CJ Photography
Make up and styling : M Nicole Make Up
ROM/Nikah venue : Masjid Al-Azim Masjid Negeri Melaka
ROM luncheon : Nyonya Lin’s Kitchen by Baba Ricky, Kapitan Kongsi Hotel Melaka