The Customary Bridal Door Games
July 30, 2008
A time to make fun of the groom while his entourage of ‘brothers’ and groomsmen take on the challenges posed by the bridesmaids and friends.
Ever wondered how such custom came about?
A tradition passed on for generations, the door games are meant to test the sincerity of the groom before the bride’s family ‘hand over’ the bride to the groom. The groom with the assistance of his groomsmen are required to endure all the tests by the bride’s family before he can be allowed to step into the house.
As it’s so cleverly indicated, this is just the beginning of torture!
In Chinese saying, the door games should always include something sweet, something bitter, something sour and something spicy - metaphorically representing the 4 emotions that married couple will experience in their new life together, and the groom must be able to take on both sweet and bitterness of marriage. In short, it simply means in sickness and in health, for better or worse.
Some suggested games:
1) The Killer Wasabi
Everything goes with wasabi, at least for such occassion. Wasabi bread, wasabi biscuit, wasabi ice-cream, wasabi yogurt and even wasabi banana!
2) Fear Factor-inspired concoction
Actually, I think Asians are the ones who inspired Fear Factor since we’ve been known for eating just about anything that has legs and can fly except aeroplanes, tables and chairs *smile* (another common saying in Chinese). Anyway, for the benefit of this topic and the groom’s stomach, no creepy crawl-ies are allowed. For the impatient entourage, just mix anything sweet, bitter, sour and spicy into one signature concoction and bottoms up! There’s really no proper recipe to this. lol.
But pity the groom, I think the drink should limit to just 3 ingredients to represent something sweet and sour.
3) Display of Strength or Endurance
For the benefit of the ladies, I think this segment of game should always be included. It’s also a chance for the gym buffs to show off what they’ve got, or an indirect message to the groom that it’s time to hit the gym!
4) Expression of Undying Love
…which usually requires super embarassing actions by the groom, with the help of his entourage, nonetheless. Games can include spelling out the bride’s name by wearing disposable panties scribbled in letters, disposable panties as shower caps, donning on bright-coloured undies and doing funny actions to express groom’s love, shouting on top of his lungs, read out love poems, solve difficult quizzes about the bride and so forth.
Photography by Star East Bridal, Penang.
Antique Oil Lamps
July 27, 2008
I’ve always been fond of all things antique or vintage. With the right mix of decor, sometimes these little pieces of ‘junk’ are able to behold a venue by giving it an old-fashioned charm. Of course, provided they are used at the appropriate themed function.
These oil lamps in particular, are special because you won’t be able to buy them at the shops. These antique oil lamps were found at my grandparents’ old shop. When my mom showed them to me, all stained and dusty, I immediately knew I could do some good use to them.
The stains were not easy to remove though. These oil lamps were probably sitting in the store for more than 15 years. The old paints left sticky residue while the rusty metal joints left patches of rust onto the glass surface. The boxes reaked of delapitating cardboards and rat droppings. So, after days of soaking and cleaning, these lamps were put out to dry and repainted accordingly to fit the theme. I don’t think anyone would have guessed that so much work went into something as simple as these oil lamps for the cocktail tables. The preservation of such memorabilia was to me, a pleasure in itself.
Fusion Menu for a Chinese Banquet
July 26, 2008
The Menu
Hot and Cold Dish Combination
Braised Winter Melon Soup with Assorted Seafood
Hong Kong Style Herbal Chicken with “Foong Lut”
Deep Fried Prawns with Wasabi Mayonnaise Sauce
Deep Fried Sea Bass with Thai Mango Sauce
Braised Asparagus with Two Varieties of Mushroom
Garlic Fried Rice with Diced Chicken
Créme Brulee with Fresh Honeydew, Mango, Strawberry and Peach
Chinese Tea
Coffee or Tea
With a reception of 690 guests who gathered at the Mayang Seri Ballroom of JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur, Jennifer and Chee Kam wanted their menu to have some unexpected flavours from the usual Chinese 8-course banquet.
Adding a zest of adventure while remaining safe with some traditional favourites to please the palettes of guests from different background and age group, they chose to infuse some Japanese, Cantonese, Thai and Malaysian flavours into the menu. Braised winter melon soup replaced the usual shark’s fin or herbal soup. The prawns were deep fried topped with Wasabi Mayonnaise Sauce while the fried rice dish was switched to a lighter yet appetizing Japanese-style garlic fried rice.
The seabass was initially prepared with a Mongolian recipe but we then changed it to Thai mango sauce to add some sweet, sour-ish spicyness into the menu. I would think that the herbal chicken was a firm favourite due to the moist tenderness of the chicken meat which was properly marinated with the Chinese herbs and braised to perfection.
My favourite, however, was certainly the dessert!
The Perfect Proposal
July 24, 2008
This wedding proposal is soooo sweet and romantic that I couldn’t resist seeking the permission of these two lovebirds to be featured here. They have been together for 5 1/2 years, and as planned, Jun Hao, the groom-to-be, had planned to propose on November 2, 2007 which was the 2,000th day they have been together.
“Anyway, Nov 2, Friday finally came, I told her that I’ve booked a hotel in PD. And that I will go pick her up around 3:00pm. She had guessed that I would be proposing on that day, and then again she still can be late, she only came home around 4:15pm. Of course I was a rather disappointed with her, as that would have delayed all my planning,” he wrote in his blog.
When Elena, the lucky bride-to-be finally entered the car, he handed her the first stalk of rose for the day, a red rose with the message:
“Dearest Elena, today is our special day. Indeed, God has his own special way to allow us to come this far.”
Michael Buble’s ‘The Best is Yet to Come’ played in the background.
“Elena was all smiles throughout our whole journey to PD.”
The first stop was Port Dickson Methodist Centre. It was significant, because that was the place where they had their first ‘date’ during a youth camp back in 2002.
“With the original plan, we had sufficient time to stroll along the beach and enjoy the sunset, but since she was late for more than 1 hour, we had to skip that.”
Before they left, the owner of the centre, Mr Poh handed the second stalk of rose, a white rose, to Elena with a message that read:
“It has been 2,000 days, since we last step foot here in this wonderful place. It does bring back all the wonderful memories….”
Thereafter, they headed straight for Avillion Resort to check-in.
“The sun was setting soon, she kept hurrying me to get there before it sets so we can still have our sunset walk along the beach. After we checked in, we realised that we’ve got a beautiful view of the sunset from our room. So we scrapped the idea of the beach walk, and cuddled up in the day-bed to enjoy the sunset.”
After the romantic moment, they prepared for dinner. Jun Hao had made reservations for dinner at Crow’s Nest, the coffee house at Avillion Resort. Once they got there, they found out that they were the only ones dining there. They ha a nice 6-course candlelight dinner on the balcony, with a nice view overlooking the resort. The food was very nicely garnished, with heart-shaped butter and heart-shaped cream over the pumpkin soup.
“Just as we were sipping our soup, a band of strollers walked out to the Balcony and started to perform two of her favourite songs; ‘Tonight I Celebrate My Love for You’ by Peabo Bryson and ‘From this Moment’ by Shania Twain. She was stunned and speechless!”
“I was stunned too…when I saw the 6-foot cello!” Jun Hao exclaimed.
Once they finished their dinner, Jun Hao called for the bill, and together with the bill, the waiter brought along Elena’s third rose of the day, a pink rose with the message:
“All this time you have continuously proven to be a blessing to me. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life, with a wonderful person like you….”
This was just a prelude, he hadn’t got down on his knees yet 
After the dinner, they walked around the premise to ease digestion. They strolled back through the garden chalets, and sat at the Riao Deck to chat and enjoy the view.
“She said it’s all perfect, but it would be more perfect if I had proposed with a ring. I told her I don’t know which ring to buy for her as we have visited so many shops and she doesn’t like solitaire or rings with diamonds sticking out. ”
“She stopped and thought for a while, and said she really liked the Rose Gold + Platinum ring from D&P, and it would be perfect if I had proposed with that ring. Anyway, it was getting late, so we retired to our room. She did look a bit disappointed as we were walking back to the room.”
As soon as Jun Hao opened the door, low and behold, a bouquet of roses and some rose petals both in the shape of a heart spread out across the day bed. Elena had one final card to read, which was attached to the beautiful bloom of red roses. The message read:
“Elena dear, I love you with all of my heart, and will continue to always love you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
Just as she finished reading “Will you Marry Me?” while looking at the roses and petals for the ring, Jun Hao went down on his knees behind her and popped the question. She was speechless for almost 2 whole minutes.
“I reminded her that she still hasn’t answered my question, then she smiled and said YES!”
He got the exact ring that she wanted, the Rose Gold + Platinum ring from D&P.
After that, they simply cuddled up on the day bed to admire the roses and enjoy the moment, when out of nowhere, they hear fireworks in the distance.
“I didn’t plan that. But I thought it was a perfect proposal.”
Ahh……doesn’t it just make you grow with envy?? Such a loving couple and a really romantic proposal.
I just can’t wait for their wedding. Planning and coordination works are in progress. Counting down to November 2, 2008. Another four months to go before their big day!
Berry the Boom Bear
July 23, 2008
Hello there, meet Berry, my blog pet. Berry has migrated from my personal blog to this blog.
Berry is my boom bear. His role is to keep you entertained with some of my favourite wedding and cocktail tunes. I know he’s in the wrong colour - I mean, he’s a he but he’s pink in colour. I’m trying to feminise him so he looks a lil cuddlier coz he has this really serious look on his face that says, “don’t touch me”. But don’t worry, click on him as much as you want, he likes to be tickled.
Enjoy the songs. Berry has a lot more in store.
Sweet Treats
July 23, 2008
When a little baby turns one year old, parents are often excited about throwing the biggest celebration ever. In Chinese culture, this is even more important if your little baby is the first child or a boy. For little Marsha, the former applies.
Held at the poolside of Jasmine Towers in PJ, the birthday was a cozy affair with about 30 pax consisting of relatives and friends. The challenge was to come up with something vibrant, low in budget and functional. What can we do for a little girl who is too young to even know what’s happening?
I’m a sucker for lollipops, cupcakes, gummie bears and strawberry milk. So, I drew these little sweet treats as inspiration and used them as centrepieces that are eye-candy and edible!
Of course, at such celebrations, it’s usually a time for family and friends to catch up. It was really more of a party for them. But hei, at least little Marsha and the other little kids could also enjoy these lovely treats. I never knew though, that grown up men love Strawberry milk too. Makes you go…hmmm….*a lil milk for thought!*
Cupcakes by Cuppacakes® by +Wondermilk
Ideas for First Dance at your Wedding
July 7, 2008
Would you like to do something fun and memorable at your wedding? Then take the cues from these groovy couples who made their wedding unique with their signature dance moves. Something that their guests will definitely remember for a long time to come.
For example, breaking out of the ordinary with a surprise breakdance.
Or having the time of your life with a little dirty dancing.
Can’t touch this first dance to Hammer time.
More importantly, you’ve got to make the song and the dance uniquely yours. 20 years down the road, you can look back at your wedding video and still have a good laugh about it.
These two couples may not make it to the dance championship, but there’s nothing sweeter than couples who simply let loose (silly or not) and just have the time of their life!
Finally, my FAVOURRITEE of them all is none other than this awesome cool dance remix that definitely required tedious dance class practice, co-ordination with professional dancers and hours of finding the right songs.
Langkawi Yoga Retreat
July 2, 2008
Take a breather, leave behind the responsibilities of your daily life and indulge in a weekend of yoga and adventure between 25-27 July ‘08 at the geopark of Southeast Asia - the island of Langkawi… surrounded by tranquil, picturesque and lush surroundings… an ideal way to experience a deep sense of wellbeing and serenity.
No matter your size, age and fitness level. For beginners, this might be the place to begin a wellness journey and for the die-hard yogis, this is absolutely the place to renew and re-energize the mind, body and spirit. Experience yoga, experience life.
Activities You Will Indulge In
Yoga at Dawn’s Break
Surya Namaskar, a modern yoga tradition which is performed at sunrise as the orthodox believe that it is the most ‘spiritually favorable’ time of the day. This ancient secret of graceful movements helps in toning & energizing oneself at the beginning of each and every day. The practice of Pranayama is not to be missed especially when we are surrounded by nature with air which is so refreshing. What a wonderful and perfect way to start the day, by relaxing the body and senses.
Yoga during Sunset
Remedial Body Massage
Relax, Rejuvenate, Revitalize with the skillful hands of the professional massage therapist in a spa surrounded by natural tropical rainforest.
Accommodation 
Strategically hidden private chalets inspired by traditional Malay architecture with Western comforts, overlooking padi fields, with the most spectacular sunset followed by wonderfully clear night skies brimming with stars and a dazzling moon. Guaranteed to feed the apetites of nature lovers and those seeking peace and tranquility.
Vegetarian Cuisine
Food is an important aspect of a vacation and therefore the resort will specially prepare vegetarian dishes during meal time using fresh, high quality and interesting ingredients which have been approved personally by us. We guarantee the meals to be wholesome and delicious. Therefore, this will definitely be a good opportunity to detoxify your system without fuss. There are mainly two reasons why we are promoting vegetarianism. Firstly, ethical and the other one is health. The ill-effects of a meat centered diet is clarified by the enlightened being Swami Prakashanada Saraswati in 1987 when he said, “Every animal that is slaughtered for human consumption brings the pain of death into your body. Think about it. The animal is killed with violence. That violence causes the animal to experience very intense pain as it dies. That pain remains in the meat even after we’ve prepared and cooked it. When we eat the meat, then we eat pain. That pain becomes lodged in our body, heart, and mind. That violence and pain which we consume will also eat us too. It consumes us so that we must experience the same pain in our life also.” Secondly, fresh vegetables and fruits are the most important sources of vitamins and minerals in a diet. It has been found that a large number of diseases suffered by modern society are caused by the uric acid deposits which can be found in the muscle fibers of meat. Most importantly, vegetable as food is also the original energy source for all animal energy. By being a vegetarian we eat from the most direct source of the sun’s energy, not the second hand source.
Yoga Gurus
Dr. Baskaran Kosthi specialises in naturopathy and an owner of a stunningly located spa was taught the art of yoga at a very young age by his father. He then became a yoga guru and has been teaching for more than 10 years in and out of Malaysia. Other than that, he is also a dedicated reiki practitioner. He is highly knowledgeable and has travelled extensively. One who is always jovial and never fails to brighten a dull day.
Dorothy Ang, a law graduate from a well known university in the United Kingdom who upon obtaining her law degree returned to Malaysia and started conducting aerobics and steps classes in her mother’s 14 year old fitness centre. At the same time, she was also looking forward to having an unconventional profession as a fitness instructor. From being a fitness instructor, she became a yoga guru and has also been certified as a pilates instructor and reiki practitioner. With such fitness backgrounds, she is creative, open minded, full of energy and compassionate. Due to that, she is able to conduct her classes spontaneously to adapt to the fitness levels and ability of her students.
ITINERARY OF YOGA RETREAT (25-27 July 2008)
FRIDAY
PICK UP FROM LANGKAWI AIRPORT-LAST ARRIVAL BY 6PM
1930 WELCOME DINNER AT THE RESORT
2030 REIKI SESSION
SATURDAY
0700 YOGA BY THE BEACH*
0815 PICNIC BREAKFAST
0915 NATURE WALK*
1115 ONE HOUR MASSAGE AT ISHAN SPA
1300 LUNCH AT A CHINESE RESTAURANT
1400 TRANSFER BACK TO THE RESORT TO CHILL OUT AND REST
1800 YOGA SESSION OVERLOOKING THE PADI FIELDS
2000 DINNER AT A THAI RESTAURANT
SUNDAY
0700 LEAVE FOR THE TELAGA TUJUH ( SEVEN WELLS ) WATERFALLS*
0800 YOGA SESSION AT THE WATERFALLS
0915 REJUVENATE WITH HYDROTHERAPHY
1100 FAREWELL LUNCH AT THE RESORT
1300 CHECK OUT AND ADJOURN
PACKAGE PRICE: RM888
Book Your Package Today!
*Event subject to weather conditions. **Package does not include air tickets. All bookings must be accompanied by a 50% down payment & the balance is to be paid 2 weeks before the date of retreat. For further information, e-mail natashakhm@thepeakxperience.com.
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