The “4 am” Indian weddings are getting to be more “usual” these days, so it was not a big surprise when my younger brother decided to have his at 4.30 in the morning.
We have received similar wedding invitations before but it was the first “wee morning” wedding in the family, so everyone was typically curious and excited. They even wondered whether the ceremony will be different.
The wedding guest list ended up being almost 500 (not many were able to wake up in time to attend the ceremony but a big bulk of it made it to the temple, although not at the same time). The wedding was scheduled on a Saturday morning, so Friday night was buzz with activities…until of course, it was time to take a quick nap before the big day.
On Friday, we had the usual last minute shopping in Klang (it has to be one in every celebration) and somehow managed to “sneak in” back to the house before the crazy “buka puasa” traffic jam starts. Meantime, my cousins and my siblings were busy at home decorating the house for the big day.
I was designated as the official driver for the bride & bridegroom, so I had made sure that I had a good rest (ha, just an excuse to sleep early) – the next day is going to be very hectic.
The day started 2.30 am when I woke and got ready to pick up the bride from her house at 3.30 am. Being the one that usually sleep more than the rest, I had expected the rest of the household to be up and busy for the wedding but it was not the case.
I sensed trouble when I noticed the dark rooms and the living room. I then realised that I was the only one awake and everyone else was fast asleep (the bridegroom was sleeping soundly and was snoring due to tiredness) – damn, this was not good news.
With everyone at home fully awake (with less than an hour to get ready, panic was in the air), me and my younger sister headed to the bride’s house to pick up the bride. It was good that the bride was up and ready for us when we arrived at her house at about 3.45 am. In less than 2 minutes thereafter, we were heading straight to the temple for the wedding (scheduled to start at 4.30 am). We just hoped the people at home made it in time to the temple.
We are probably the 4th car to reach the temple. There was one Kancil parked right in front of the temple and I hated Kancils. I made one phone call and the driver of the Kancil came out (he did not look too happy) and moved his car for the wedding car to park on the spot (he he, so evil of me). Except for the priest and the bride’s & bridegroom’s family members, the temple looked almost empty (just perfect!).
We did not have to wait long – sharp at 4.30 am, the guests started to trickle in and it was almost “house full” when the actual ceremony started.
The wee morning wedding ceremony was good – it was cool (except those being videoed by the videographer with his hot spot lights), quiet and void of any traffic (easier for those faraway to arrive at the temple on time).
There was an official photographer and videographer for the wedding – so, I was free to move around to look for interesting shots. It is that or it is me sitting down with the rest of the “elders” facing the priest in a warm part of the temple and seeing the couple being married. Ya that was the original plan – me being the elder brother of the bridegroom, had to sit down with vesti and jippa and had to go through 3 hours of the ceremony, unable to move much.
But with a camera in my hands (and a handful of excuses and blatant ignorance), I escaped – instead, I was in my favourite jeans and jippa (for some formality sake) and was able to move around freely (even had time to chit chat with my cousins outside the temple).
By 7.30 am, it was almost over – there was enough time for breakfast – fresh vegetarian nasi lemak, roti canai and thosai served hot in the temple grounds (the best part of the ceremony). Being the driver for the newly weds, I had to stay back longer because the newly wed was not ready to move (there still had several more camera shots – family members keep lining up for photo shots, chit chats with the guests and other formalities).
One trip to the photo studio for more photo shots was needed before I could return back home for a good sleep (I have been on “active duty” for 17 hours straight). Thankfully, the next day was a Sunday – the wedding is finally over, rather successfully and the newly couple is spending their time in the bride’s hometown far from KL, it was truly time for everyone to sit back and have a good rest.
To my brother, welcome to the club…
Read Also
Indian Wedding Part 1
Indian Wedding Part 2
Indian Wedding Part 3
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