D e l i s i o u c i t y

After attending a cousin’s wedding yesterday, it reminded me of my own  just a little over two years ago.  What can I say about the man who I can, at the very least, best describe as my best bud? He gives me such support that often I sit back and think, ‘can I not live on my own anymore?!’ or, ‘where’s that independent woman that I used to know?!’ That’s when red alert sirens go honking about in my head But for that matter also, I never fail to silently thank the Almighty for the love he gives me through my husband. Marriages are a true blessing; even in their darkest, more dramatic hues, they epitomize our will and ability to brave through any storm and emerge as wiser beings.  And for that we grow, we become sensitized to other people around us, and we offer our empathies to show that we too, can support. For the love and laughters that we all hope to last to eternity, a wedding truly only marks the beginning of a completely new and different life. Maybe it doesn’t for some, but it does beg the whole question of how much we reflect on each day, and to what extent our personal evaluations (Muhasabah) can come to any form of positive materialization. I do not think that there is such a thing as a perfect marriage or even a perfect couple, but I do believe that there are people who will go all their way out just to inch closer to that utopic notion. After all, perfection is only characterised and reserved for the eternal hereafter. And we strive to live for that.

This life, at least and so far for me, has been a sweet one, but never a life that is not punctuated with bits of drama You’d need that occassionally, I think. Let me indulge in a bit of metaphor: I like my omelletes with colourful tones of tomato, spinach, onion, cheese, mushroom… the works. You may call me a drama queen; and in fact at some point in the past, a colleague made sure she told my then future husband, that I was a lot to ‘maintain’. I wouldn’t so far as to go there, but I do know that some men enjoy ‘maintaining’ women. Whatever it is, and for whatever reason that that judgment was made pre-emptively  by an almost complete stranger to me, a marriage itself is often about maintenance work. You strive to uphold its  preciousness;  and I realise maybe that sentiment is a bit naive on my part. But when I silently watch my siblings’ marriages sometimes; the utter respect I pay to them who have lasted so long, is so tremendous that I can only hope to measure up. Let’s not even forget to mention our parents now, shall we? It is very possible that we learn from them, or from parents of others… of their mistakes and triumphs in many a challenge in life. Whether they faltered or not, I know that at least for my parents, they never lacked fogiveness and the hopes for better days. Marriage, my dear cousins and friends, is a little easier if both individuals make it that way And because we weren’t born with a “marriage manual” embedded in our heads, it also means that that new life after your wedding is all about learning, compromising and giving it your best shot. Cliche? I’d like to think not.

Anyhow, weddings are a downright joy and yesterday’s was no less. My cousin married a man from Tutong, a district in Brunei whose wedding culture is slightly more unique than others because of the feet-washing ceremony. It was quite exciting because this is the time when people who would pour water on the couples’ feet will hand some money to them. The amount received can be quite staggering at times ^_^  And whilst I was peering about amongst the many photographers trying to snap a decent picture of this ceremony, I got my shoes wet from stepping on the resulting splashes and puddles! No matter though, for the couple received quite a hefty amount yesterday despite being drenched on the feet I was happy for them (but felt quite small next to the heavy artilleries of the professional photographers!) haha.

I hear the bride absolutely loved the cake I made for them, and didn’t want to cut it. The cake itself was spot on with the colours of the dias, which was white with bits of green foliage (and golden hues). I especially enjoyed the fact that my intended lone red flowers on the top that was meant to represent the bride and groom became a literal manifestation as they were indeed wearing red/white. Although, I was told by the bride’s sister that the theme for the family was brown and cream for yesterday’s ceremony, but all I could dare to use was cream for the cake’s ribbon and flower centres. Perhaps I’d be more comfortable to marry pink with brown, like Peggy Porschen’s signature cakes; which is much to the effect of utter girlishness ^_^ I also wanted to try the stems-all-over effect, and boy did that take the whole night to make! Quite satisfying at the end though, especially when everyone liked the overall look

Have a great week ahead!

p/s. And thank you to my sisters who gave a lot of constructive criticisms and suggestions with regards to the colours and pricing of my cakes, which I will of course, take on board ^_^

xoxo
nikkita