Malay wedding is fascinating and steeped in age-old tradition.

THE MERISIK ("SPYING") The adat merisik (asking ceremony, or more literally 'spying custom') is the Malay system for arranging marriages. When it is time for a man to get married, his family will look around to identify a number of potential brides. For this ceremony one or more representatives (wakil) of the man will pay a friendly visit to the family of the woman whom they have in mind as his potential bride. The visit is purely for the purpose of further investigation, and it gives the visitors the chance to see the woman. The merisik does not constitute a formal proposal. Following the visit both sides can begin to think more seriously about the possibility or otherwise of a marriage. As soon as a man announces his wish to marry, an engagement date will be set when families of the couple meet to discuss the wedding plans. The adat bertunang (engagement custom) is normally held at the bride's home. THE PERTUNANGAN ("BETROTHAL" OR "ENGAGEMENT") A Malay wedding begins with the akad nikah ceremony. The groom signs the marriage contract and agrees to provide the bride with a mas kahwin. After that, their hands are dyed with henna during the berinai besar ceremony. The bride's hair is also trimmed or her eyebrows shaped by a beautician known as the mak andam.

THE PERSANDINGAN ("WEDDING CEREMONY") The next day, the groom is accompanied by friends, relatives, musicians and bunga manggar (palm blossom) carriers to the bride's house where they are usually greeted with the sprinkling of yellow rice and scented water. Sometimes, the pencak silat or the traditional Malay sword dance is performed. To add happiness to the joyful affair, the groom and his party are required to overcome humorous obstacles before being allowed to go in. Each guest will receive a bunga telur, which means 'flower' and 'egg' - a symbol of a fertile union. After the bersanding ceremony, the wedded couple and their guests will attend a celebratory feast called the makan beradab. This involves the bride and groom feeding each other sweetened rice. POST WEDDING CUSTOMS The nuptial night is spent at the bride's house. The following day, similar festivities, normally on a smaller scale, are held at the bridegroom's house. Then, for the next one month or so, the couple will be invited for meals at one house after another in order to usher them into the married community. However, the modern trend is to immediately go on honeymoon, postponing the socializing rites for later.

Proposal & Betrothal Two families pick an auspicious date as the Betrothal Day. This is a formal meeting between the parents of the perspective bride and groom. The groom's family presents various proposal gifts that represent fertility and prosperity in Chinese Culture, which is also known as "Grand Gift". Thus, the two are considered officially engaged. Pre-Wedding Ritual After the betrothal meeting, both families will make announcement to their relatives and friends by sending out "Double Happiness Cakes" along with invitations. The bride's family then prepares dowry and give a list of the dowries to the groom's family. The groom's family performs "setting bridal bed" ritual... The groom's family decorates the bridal house for the wedding, while the bride's family prepares household accessories, mostly bedding and dining necessities, for the new home. Wedding Day Ceremony On the day of the wedding, two families perform "hair dressing" ritual and "capping" ritual for the bride and groom respectively. Then the groom sets out to the bride's home, and he will inevitably be blocked at her door by her friends, and the bridesmaids will play door game with the groom and his attendants. The bride and groom will then leave her home and proceed to meet the groom's parents for Tea Ceremony. The wedding date ceremony ends with a feast which features elaborate Chinese wedding food. At a Chinese wedding, guests who attend the wedding dinner are to give red envelope called angpow. Wedding cakes are usually served to the
guests at the wedding.

Wedding Night Ritual The night of the wedding, the bridal room will lit dragon and phoenix candle to drive away the evil spirit, the newlyweds will drink wine from two cups tied together with a red string, arms crossed from each other. This is the formal wedding vow in Chinese culture. Then the bride will be offered dumplings that's boiled half-raw. The pronunciation of "raw" is the same as giving birth to children, an indication of family prosperity. Post-wedding Customs The next morning of the wedding, the bride should get up early and make a meal for the groom's family to demonstrate that she is well-nurtured. Three days after the wedding, the groom and bride will go back to visit the bride's parents