We flew to Kuching on Wednesday last week for my niece’s wedding on Saturday, the 14th of December.
The beautiful wedding ceremony was held that morning here and after the lovely couple had exchanged their vows and rings, they sealed their union with a loving kiss…
In line with our Chinese tradition, there was the tea ceremony at The Commons, formerly Kopi C Cafe and the wedding banquet followed that night at a leading hotel in town.
Cross-cultural marriages is nothing new in my family and this one is no exception. The bride, my niece, is actually Bidayuh and her mum (my cousin) is Chinese/Melanau while her husband’s father is Chinese and his late mum was an Iban. They made their grand entrance in their very colourful traditional ethnic outfits, the groom dressed as an Iban warrior and the bride, a Bidayuh princess…
Don’t you think they looked absolutely smashing?
The food was all right – I did not bother to take photographs of all the dishes, just this one…
…and the prawns…
There was a band in attendance and what a surprise it was when I chanced upon my very old friend, going back all the way to 1976/1977 when we were together in college and we had not seen each other since. Matthew Ngau Jau taught for around 10 years only, he said, and he left the profession to join the Sarawak Cultural Village. Now, he’s a celebrity in his own right, Sarawak’s Living Heritage, known especially for his sape-playing and he even makes them for sale. He was invited to perform at the banquet that night…
…and so were these ladies who entertained the guests with a couple of traditional dances…
It was the atmosphere of love and joy in the air that made it a truly beautiful and most unforgettable evening, with a whole lot of merry-making, singing and dancing.
Heartiest congratulations once again, Sherene and Andy – may God bless the two of you abundantly with endless love and everlasting happiness in the years ahead…and congratulations too and thank you so much to my cousin, Isabella and Jawing, the father of the bride, for inviting my family and I to join you all in this joyous celebration.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
New hotel?? Whereabout is this hotel? I didn’t have the slightest idea of such hotel by that name, hehehe. Love their very nice traditional outfits. Congrats to the newly weds.
What? Are you sure? Come back tomorrow for the post on it. Thanks for your wishes.
Are those ngo hiang in the first picture of food, to the right of the siew mai?
Congratulations and best wishes to your niece on her married life, by the way. 🙂
Thank you. Yes, that’s ngor hiang all right, you call it that too? Most probably fish…or chicken, no pork…the hotels here.
Yes, albeit spelled differently; it’s “ngohiong” (one word) over here in the Philippines. It’s a specialty in the southern province of Cebu, usually served with puso (the local version of ketupat rice packets.) 🙂
I did not get to go to the Filipino restaurant in Kuching when we were there – the one that I went to in Miri is no longer open, I hear. I did go there on a previous trip some years ago and was hoping to go again this time, so disappointed.
Love the beautiful blend of mix culture. Beautiful newlyweds.
Yes, it was beautiful, indeed!
love the look of the traditional clothing … intricately beautiful! 🙂
Yes, I thought that made a stunning entrance that night, very very nice. We must always be proud of our own culture, our heritage.
Ooooh I love the Iban warrior and Bidayuh princess outfit. So beautiful, so rich in culture. I love to attend weddings such as this. Congratulations to the lovely couple.
Thank you. Yes, the outfits were so colourful, so very nice plus they look really good on the dashing groom and the pretty bride.
The traditional costumes look so colourful and vibrant on the couple. Lovely! I would enjoy the cultural performances too. I bet you must have enjoyed the wedding dinner very much.
It was great. All of us sure had a wonderful time!