Connie and John got married on Penang.
This wedding was held in a Hindu Temple in Dato Keramat (Georgetown). Most of
the arrangements were made by the hotel, because Connie and John live in the
Netherlands.
It was a dream come through for them to get married in Malaysia.
At 6.30 in the morning they took her to the beauty saloon of Jamuna in Little
India. A couple of hours later they were a real Indian couple and married!
The ceremony is conducted by a
Hindu priest at the Hindu temple in Dato Keramat.
In the morning of the wedding, the bride and groom partake in their
respective ablution rituals. The bride then got her wedding sari and
jewellery, gifts from her future husband that was given on the day of their
engagement.
After that she makes her way to the temple. Bright hues of yellow, red,
orange, peacock blue and green are favoured as they are believed to bring
good luck and blessing, while white and black, considered mourning colours,
were avoided.
A traditional Hindu wedding involves extensive
prayers and ceremonial rituals. The actual wedding ceremony itself comprises
some 10 rites. But the central part of the Hindu wedding is the agni
parinaya, the circumambulation of fire by the bride and groom, which
symbolises divine witness to the marriage.
The bride and the groom are wearing a garland each . The two garland each
have to change thrice for a complete union. A garland worn by a person,
should not be used by another, ordain the shastras. Here the exchange of
garlands symbolises their unification – as one soul in two bodies. It is
inward acceptance by each of the very fragrance of the other.
They also exchange rings.
Next the nuptial fire,
symbolizing the divine witness, and the sanctifier of the sacrament, is
installed and worshipped. Both the bride and the groom grasp their hands
together and pray to God for His blessings.
Samagree, consisting of crushed sandalwood, herbs, sugar, rice, ghee
(clarified butter), and twigs is offered into the sacred fire to seek God's
blessings for the couple.
After the ceremony, which took two hours, they
invited everybody to have the lunch with them in Little India. After the
lunch they went back to the hotel, where everybody was waiting for them.
They had champagne form the hotel, gave some interviews and everybody was
very happy and they took a lot of photo's of the married couple.
To get
married in Malaysia, you need to contact:
Registrar of Marriages,
National Registration Department,
5th Floor Bangunan Persekutuan,
Jalan Sultan, 46200 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor