The 50th Golden Anniversary ~ The Day

After months of preparation and sleepless nights, the day that I have been waiting for finally came. I started the day early, met Fazu at JDR at around 8.30pm. We went to Petaling Street to get some flowers and bouquets, had a quick breakfast and began the work. We prepared the centre piece for all the twenty tables and later decorated the guest book table. BJ and Nordin dropped by around 10am to say hello and was impressed with the place. That gave me a lot of comfort. They later left to get the mannequin which they borrowed from a friend’s boutique for the wedding dress.

The story of how we manage to get the wedding dress is also interesting. Shasha was task to get the dress from my Mum. I know that she still keeps the dress but I couldn’t simply take it from the house. So, one night Shasha took her Chinese friend, a lecture from Taylor’s College to the house and told them that he was doing a research on Malay culture which includes weddings. They bought their story and Daddy even told them how he met Mummy and the interview was recorded. I was at TLG when Shasha text me to say that “mission is accomplished, managed to get the wedding dress and recorded the interview on how they met”. Well, did they really buy the story? I later found out after the ceremony that they totally bought the stories. Amazing job Shasha.

When I met Bj for coffee and told her about the preparation, she came up with the idea of dressing up the mannequin with the wedding dress and some accessories to make it look real and the result was just awesome although we had difficulties trying to get the wedding dress fit into the mannequin. My Mum’s waist was smaller by 2 inches than the standard size of a mannequin! Wow…..that’s how slim she was on her wedding day 50 years ago! Truly remarkable…

Later Ida and Angah arrived to lend their expertise and assistance. They are my close relatives and are wedding planners. They helped us did the setting up of the dessert table and the main buffet tables and the décor outside. By then, I was already very exhausted.

Abah later arrived with the kids after fetching Dini from the PLKN Camp in Benum Hill Raub. I was worried that Dini might miss the ceremony and was against the idea of sending her for PLKN. We sent her off on the 3 January 2012 and I doubt they would release her just after a week she reported to the camp. But I never give up hope and I prepared a letter seeking the Commander’s consideration to allow her to come back for the occasion. So, Dini very much eager and excited to join the celebration made a brave move to see the Commander with the letter and to her surprised, he let her come back. I was jumping with joy when she called on Friday asking us to fetch her from the camp. So, Abah has no choice but left after subuh prayer on Saturday to fetch her. Alhamdulillah.

At around 7pm, the whole place was set and ready. Everyone started to freshen up themselves in the rooms that we have reserved. We booked 7 rooms for our family and TLG crew and were given one complimentary suite by JDR for the golden couple. In fact, we booked the other honeymoon suite for us (there were only two suites at JDR). When the first guests arrived, I started to get panic…I have not changed and freshen up. So, I rushed to the room before other guests arrived. Since I was doing the invites, I couldn’t rely on my brothers to accept the guests. To my surprise, my luggage was missing. I frantically searched for it in all the room but couldn’t find it. Called Abah to check if he left my bag at home and he was confident that he brought my bag when he came earlier with the kids. At that time, my parents were already in the car on the way to JDR. So we could not talk over the phone and had to rely on text messages. Gosh, what should I do, all my stuff were in there! Luckily the blouse that I am supposed to wear was there because it was hanged and Adik brought it along earlier. Later Abah called to say that he indeed left the bag at home unintentionally. Too late, the guests are all here and I have to get ready. I was lucky to be wearing a black pants and Aunty brought extra tudung that I could used! I was so relief. Well, it was not that bad after all, still managed to remain within the gold and black theme.










Intan and Liz were assigned at the Guest Book Table, welcoming the guests, making them sign the guest book and handing over the door gift. I was busy receiving the guests, most of them I did not recognize. Some of them were shocked to see me since they last saw me when I was in the primary, cute and slim little girl. I did not realize that the band has not arrived and it was almost 8pm. Abah told me that he will be arriving in 10 minutes time. Gosh, I started to get panic, called them and they said they would be arriving soon. So, I text Abah asking him to slow down a bit until I get everything organized. Aunty Mie was busy lining up their friend who would be doing the “Sword Arch” on their arrivals. The army tradition of saluting newly wed couples where they would walk under it. But this time, instead of using swords (since it is against the rule for retired army officer!!), we used the golf clubs. Six of Daddy’s golfers’ colleagues already stand by at the gate with their so called sword ready to receive them.

The 50th Golden Anniversary ~ The Preparation...

Since it would be a golden anniversary, everything has to be in gold and we decided on a gold and black theme for the occasion. We were lucky since Christmas was approaching and we got all the Christmas decorations from Petaling Street. I wanted to have a nice guest book table for their guest to jot down their wishes for them to keep as remembrance. With all the golden decors, I asked my brother in Pekan to help me get some branches where I could hang the decors and some of their old photos. I search for a nice guest book in Pavillion and look for any gold decorations at home that I could use to decorate the table. I even asked Aunty Mie to help me sew a gold with black spot table cloth. All set for the Guest Book table and this is the final outcome, just as I imagined it would turn out to be.

I also wanted to make a nice dessert table with all the mouth watering desserts. Thank God for the borderless world. I ended up admiring the dessert tables that I goggled in the internet. They are just gorgeous. We don’t normally take much interest in decorating dessert tables unlike the western. They even offer services for preparing dessert tables for parties and weddings. I started listing down all the desserts and candies that would go on the table all have to fit the gold and black theme. I made food labels for all the desserts and for the food served on the buffet tables. Although it sounds easy but it takes a long time especially when you are doing it all by yourself. I know for sure that Puding Di Raja will be on top of the list plus the macaroon, apam polkodot, cheese tart, almond chocolate and the highlight of it all is the chocolate fountain dip. I even search for candy jars, food tiers and trays that I would use for the table. As for the main dish, I left that to Pak Ngah from Pesona Rasa and the Chefs from TLG to handle. They are the expert and I trust that they would deliver.Well, too bad the dessert table was not captured in full...

Other decors include banner and bunting which I have asked the girl at a printing shop in Cosway to help design for me. She has been doing all the stuff for TLG. Aunty Mie helped me search for a nice doorgift. At first I wanted to give mugs to the guests but when Aunty Mie found a nice plate at Giacomo with design similar to the Old Country Rose of Royal Albert (it's Mummy's favourite dinner set!)at a very reasonable price, I straight away changed my mind and settle for the plate.I asked Himawari, a souvenir shop in Cosway to come up with a nice art work with their picture on and the design turned out well. In fact the printing cost three times more than the cost of the plate. Then, I went to the place where I normally ordered TLG T-shirts for its crew and asked them if they could help me get a bag to put the doorgift. I was lucky that they have the black woven bag on offer and would do the printing as well for RM3. Well, who would have thought that I get all these done in Cosway.






Later when I met Fazu, a close friend of mine who is the expert in event management to seek her advise on what else that need to be done, she suggested to have specially designed place mat like in Pizza Hut and KFC as decor. I thought that was a great idea, something different and unique for the table setting. As for the centre piece, I bought a shallow bowl which cost me RM5 and a candle stand from the RM2 shop and would think of a way to decorate it on the day itself. Aunty Mie and Is helped me during weekends to prepare for the decors and the doorgifts. Thanks so much for helping me out.





Just a month before the big day, I gathered my cousins, Ira, Shasha, Yana and Lin and together with Aunty Mie, we planned the programme for the night. Who would be fetching them from home, how to surprise them, who would be the MCs, photographer, video man, speeches and doas and not forgetting some entertainment. The highlights for the night were the slideshow, pulut kuning cutting, sharing moments and some tokens for the special guests. One of their friends came all the way from Sibu and one of the couple celebrated their 48th anniversary on the same day. Not forgetting Tok Uncle, being the eldest of all and is still around to tell us how it all started. I thought their presence should be acknowledged.

The preparation did not stop here. Two weeks before the ceremony, I started ordering the desserts from Pistachio Bakery and Pulut Kuning and Red Velvet Cup Cakes from Noni, my junior in STF. Then I saw facebook photos of my junior in school celebrating her in laws golden anniversary and the hall was decorated with helium balloons. The giant golden 50 balloon really caught my attention that I immediately went to the Ballonbuzz in Pavillion to search for it. To my disappointment, the 50 jumbo balloon was out of stock. I did not give up and went to Balloonbuzz in WangsaWalk and they were very helpful. They even went to JDR and gave their proposal on the decor. Of course it’s nice but that surely come with a price. Nothing is cheap these days and I was worried that I burst the budget. Alhamdulillah, some of Daddy’s friends called me up to ease some of my commitments. I truly appreciate their kindness although what is more important for me is their presence that night.

The 50th Golden Anniversary ~ The Thoughts...

Tok and Tok Wan celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 7 January 2012. 50 years of marriage is truly a great milestone for any married couples and warrant a grand celebration. I have been thinking about it since I sent a bouquet to them last year for their 49th anniversary. The thought became a reality when I started planning for the big occasion in October 2011. I wanted to make it a surprise for them since they don't always remember their anniversary! The person that came to mind to share this great idea and help me organizing the event is non other than my dearest Aunty Mie, Tok Wan’s sister. We have been doing a lot of family gatherings together before.

We started the ball rolling by booking La Rumba, a group of four who play acoustic music at weddings and dinner show. Aunty Mie has seen them performing before and I trust her choice. I quickly paid the deposit when they told me that they were available on that day.

Next was to decide on the venue. Abah quickly suggested that we do the celebration at his friend’s place. Uncle, a close friend of Abah is the care taker of a small boutique hotel in Bangsar. Abah has been to Jeumpa D’Ramo (JDR) when he had his lepak session with Uncle. When Abah told me about the place, I was a bit skeptical. The name sounds weird but Abah convinced me that JDR is the place. So, he took me there and I immediately fell in love with the place. Jeumpa D’Ramo means “Berkumpul di Serambi” in Aceh dialect. So, it fit nicely with the ceremony that we wanted to have. It’s a small hotel with 16 rooms furnished with Aceh interior and has a small hall with a nice lawn with a little swimming pool. The place is just perfect for our occasion. There were few queries received by JDR to hold function on the same date as us and we were lucky to have reserved the place earlier.



We started planning for the big day and I started goggling for ideas. I spent a lot of time watching the videos in the youtube on how people made the slideshows for the golden anniversary. So, what I need is lots of old photos, photos that would bring back their memories 50 years ago. I went to their house when they were not around to search for their old photos and got Adik and Abang to help me scan the pictures. When Abang was at home for the year end school holidays, we started our project. Abang has this hidden talent with computer and we only discovered that when he showed us the short movie he was asked to make for his school, IQKL.

The highlights of the event would be the slideshow, reminiscing their journey of life since 1962. So, every night we would sit down in front of the computer and I would tell him what to do. Trying to squeeze 50 years of marriage life in a 10 minutes movie is not an easy task. It took us almost 2 months to get the movie done and the result was just awesome. . It was a job well done by Abang and I must say that I am very proud of his work. Too bad I could not share the video here because the file is just to big. When I showed the movie to some of my friends before the occasion, it brought tears to their eyes. Infact whenever I play it over and over again, I just could not hold my tears from falling. Suddenly I realised how much they meant to me and have I done enough to make them happy. I know for sure that I would make that night so special that they would never forget for as long as they live. I know it’s gonna be tough but I would do what it takes to make it a grand celebration for them. After all, they deserve it.

What is a celebration without the people close to their heart and have been with them the last 50 years. The ceremony is supposed to be a surprise for them! So how on earth would we know who to be on our guest list. Luckily, Aunty Mie knows some of Daddy’s friends and some of them are regulars at TLG. So, we got a few of his friends to help us compiling the names. We had quite a long list of their friends, close relatives and neighbours. So, we started calling each and everyone of them.

Calling their friends proved to be quite challenging. Most of them are in their seventies and they don’t answer their mobile when the number is unknown to them. So, what we did was to leave a voice mail asking them to return call due to some urgent matter. And true enough, they returned our calls almost instantly thinking something is wrong with my Dad. We told them that they should keep the invitation under wrap and they all have been very supportive. In fact they were very excited to join the celebration and kept asking me who else I have invited. Some of them even extended the invitation to other friends and the list kept growing. We ended having almost 150guests who have confirmed their presence when the place could accommodate around 120 pax.Here goes the self-made invitation.