Recently in Weddings Category

I wasn't going to blog about this but as soon as I reviewed the photos taken on my point & shoot, I couldn't wait to share the excitement, the sweetness and the fun.

So here are a few snapshots of how these two crazy kids (Suze, The Biscuit Tree baker who doesn't seem to have a limit on the amount of Mother or sugar she consumes, and Noods, my fellow DesCompie who is obsessed with footy) celebrated:

Hehehe... I know that was more than "a few" snapshots, but come on, how can I summarize giant gummi bears, a Wonka themed wedding and a superb Asian seafood banquet into just "a few" pictures?

Sugar high + food coma!

Dearest Suze & Noods, it was such an honour to celebrate this special day with you guys! Congratulations ;)

Jen
xoxo

The Bengali wedding consists of a series of sophisticated celebrations, including the bride's holud ceremony (sort of like the bridal shower), which I had attended 2 weeks ago. The wedding reception of course was even bigger and better.

Over 200 guests, consisting mainly of the bride and groom's relatives and family friends, were invited to this cultural extravaganza at Conca D'oro, in Riverwood.

Following custom, Yaz and his mates had to bribe their way through a barricade of Nora's family and friends. I witnessed a hilarious episode of banter about different currency accepted for admission. Dressed in an amazing costume and headpiece and after some pushing and shoving, he eventually made his way in and sat alone on the swing, waiting for his bride to arrive.

The bride's entrance was more grande. Suspense was built up with clouds of heavenly mist and guests oohed and ahhed as she was hoisted in a classic sedan-chair down the red carpet. Her sari was a stunning red and green ensemble with gold trimmings. Beautiful gold ornaments were studded in her hair and her arms were patterned with henna. It was tradition for the groom's family to present the bridal sari on the day so lucky Nora didn't have to stress about finding the perfect wedding dress!

In between speeches, starters were served on a 3-tiered stand which had been decorated with luscious lilies and roses. The batter on the cauliflower pakhora was thick and absorbed the natural fresh flavours of the vegetable but the other items were delicious. There were fish cocktails, Indian potato scallops, and lamb seekh kebab which were cooked on a charcoal BBQ. I usually don't eat lamb but these were so tasty and surprisingly didn't have the stench I often dread.

The main meal was a feast of plain pulao, which is rice cooked with a mix of Indian spices. This was fragrant with its garnish of fried glazed onion. There was also lamb korma, garden salad, roast chicken, a vegetable curry of mushrooms, shami kebab (lamb with grounded chickpeas), really salty but delectable pickles (achar), raita and naan bread. We had enough leftovers to feed another table of 8!

Dessert consisted of traditional Indian sweets - gulab jamun (donuts in sweet syrup) and rasgolla (milk balls in sweet syrup), followed by espressos and dark chocolate and hazelnut truffles.

The evening ended with a bit of dancing and lots of queuing for personal portraits with the newlyweds.

A huge congratulations to my gorgeous friends Nora & Yaz. xoxo
And also special thanks to Chanderika for dressing me :))

Groom pushing through barricade of bride's family and friends

Bride hoisted on sedan chair

The very pretty swing

Nora's lovely family

The newlyweds

Performance of Thank God I Found You, with Nora's sister on the piano

Wedding cake

The menu

Chandelier

Me in a saree (sari)

Zen and Daniel (Eugenia's hubby)

Floral arrangement

Starters on 3 tiered stand

Entree of seekh kebab, Indian potato scallops and cauliflower pakhora and fish cocktails

Plain pulao, rice cooked with a mix of Indian spices and garnished with glazed onions

Naan bread

Garden salad, mushroom curry and shami kebab (lamb with grounded chickpeas)

Raita (yoghurt, cucumber, mints and mix of spices blended together in natural yoghurt

Achar (mixled pickles)

Lamb korma, diced lamb slow cooked in a marinade made of onions, tomatoes and mix of Indian spices

Roasted chicken quarters

My big feast

Indian sweets, gulab jamun (donuts in sweet syrup) and rasgolla

Espresso coffee

White and dark chocolate mud cake

Zen & I with the bride

Me and my (uni-classmates) girlfriends dressed in saris [L - R] Me, Sarah, Olivia, Laurachel, Rennae, Jenny, Eugenia, Jodie

Guests hit the dance floor

Zen & me smiling

Me growling :)

Click here to continue viewing photos from Nora & Yaz's wedding.

Nora's holud was held 2 weeks before the wedding ceremony (which was last night; watch this space!). It was my first sneak peak into the elaborate celebrations of the Bengali culture. I have put together this quick list of 4 things you could expect to experience at a holud so perhaps you could be better prepared than I was!

1. It starts late. I think this is an "Asian" thing because from memory, Chinese and Vietnamese weddings have always started several hours later than the specified time. I haven't been to many weddings, but this is what I've noticed so far. This holud commenced 3 hours late. Therefore, don't rock up with an empty stomach.


2. There's colour and lots of it. Don't be shy to join in the fun and wear a saree or at least dress in bright colours to fit in. You could pretty much get away with wearing any colour of the rainbow and expect to see lots of splashes of gold jewellery.


3. Break your diet for the amazing buffet dinner and dessert. I can't express how much food there was or how amazingly delicious it all was! Do it!


4. Don't be shocked the bride doesn't eat while you are. Towards the end of the holud, guests queue up to apply tumeric paste to her face which is meant to soften her skin. Guests also feed her after this. There were canape picks of fruits, vegetables and meatballs.

The gorgeous bride with stunning hand art

Gifts and food carried in my groom's family

Me with girlfriends wearing saree

Spreading out gifts

The bride with friends

Crowd seated

Jodie & I in saris

Starter of pan pooris (gol grappas) served with spicy chickpea curry

Gol grappas in the making

Peacock made from fruit and vegetables

Giant deconstructed garden salad

Eggplant curry

Crepes filled with coconut

Lots of food in the kitchen

Canape picks with watermelon, pineapple and meatballs, to be fed to the bride

Sweets!

Curry puff looking sweets

Buffet dinner table with chicken curry

My dinner plate with pilaf, raita, roast chicken, adana kebab, curries, roast tomatoes, garden salad and more

People seated in hall

Sweets buffet table

Our plate of assorted sweets

Putting tumeric on the bride

Me in a saree with the bride

Check out the rest of my photos from the holud here.

Firstly, you'll have to excuse my watermark on the following photos. I'm experimenting with the watermark at the moment as I think this site is due for a design refresh... and looking at these photos just again now... they look ridiculously big! < rant > I wouldn't even need to use a watermark if people stopped linking to my images direct from the jenius.com.au domain. I don't enjoy paying for the hosting of my images on YOUR site!! < /rant >

It was only 2 weeks ago that we had attended Eugenia's Hens Night... and now she's married & off on the honeymoon! Saturday, 24th November was a day to remember...

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Tello!!! :-D

The food first; the reception was held at Liverpool Golf Club. We were spoilt with wall-sized window views of the golf course over sunset... and a delicious three course meal. There were starters for us to nibble on... calamari rings, samosa triangles and spring rolls, all goldenly fried.

Entree was a salad with cooked medium prawns, garnished with bits of dill. It was leafy and refreshing. There were alternate servings, so Zen had the second entree which was a tomato-based pasta dish.

entree of prawns and mesculan salad

alternate entree of penne pasta tossed in roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, spanish onion, kalamata olives with shaved parmesan

Then with the main course, some of us ate a tender pepper crusted sirloin fillet with crispy sweet potatoes and a side of herb and garlic potatoes and seasonal vegetables. I had the over-baked chicken breast with sage which was a little dry, although compensated with a creamy mustard sauce and the same hearty herb & garlic potatoes and vegies.

main course of pepper crusted sirloin fillet with herb and garlic potatoes and vegies

alternate main course of oven baked chicken breast with prosciutto and cream mustard sauce

Dessert at the Golf Club was underrated. I finished off the best pavlova I've ever had... craving for more. The meringue base was perfectly dressed with cream, fruit and a divine passionfruit sauce. I wonder if the same pavlova is served on a normal business day?

dessert of pavlova with fruit salad and passionfruit sauce

The alternate dessert were strawberries marinated in port wine and served with ice-cream. These were coincidentally similar to those at Machiavelli.

alternate dessert of strawberries with port wine and ice cream

Just look at this beautiful cake... I was a little too full to try any, but I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks!

And finally, working backwards... here are some pics from the ceremony and the early bits of the reception:

[L - R] Zen and I

[L - R] Richard, Zen, Brandon and Yaz

down aisle

back of bride & groom

bride at Camellia Gardens, Caringbah

[L - R] Rennae, Olivia, Sumali, me, Jenny, Jodie, Laurachel, Nora

the gorgeous bride & groom exchange rings

rose petals

the table

Zen's tag & glassware

group shot

spotlight on maiden of honour, best man and groom's sister

ribbon and chairs lined up

Zen & I with the bride & groom

newly weds cut the cake

first dance

descomp girls with the bride

full moon

See more wedding pics here.

On Saturday 17th November, Zen's sister, Lily got married to Simon. What turned out to be a warm sunny day, commenced at 8am with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at both parents' residence... then we drove off to St Andrew's Anglican Church at Summer Hill where they were pronounced husband & wife. The big day ended at Maxims Reception at Bankstown... with live music and a delectable banquet... it was a gorgeous evening indeed.

Congratulations again, Simon & Lily.

suckling pig cold dish and fried mantao (buns)

deep fried crab claws

seafood stir-fry with snow peas

shark's fin crab meat soup

lobster braised ginger shallots

deep fried taro duck

deep fried taro duck with thick shitake mushroom and coriander sauce

steamed fish and soya sauce

deluxe fried rice

fried noodles

oranges and rockmelon

peanut cookies and coconut jelly

red bean soup

me!

roses

tea cups after morning tea ceremony

Zen's nephews, William and Jacky

stage inside the church

flower girl and boy

father walks bride down the aisle

bride and groom

family portrait

first dance

Zen's niece, Nina

Simon's sister and flower girl, Jacinta

The big cake!

Wanna see more photos? Click here.

You know you've grown older once you have attended the first wedding from your circle of friends...

Saturday afternoon was beautiful and crispy. The sky cleared up from Friday's rain and the sun was radiantly bathing us in warmth. We attended an awesome ceremony at the Baulkham Hills Hillsong Church... and later, hit the dance floor at Ambassador Lounge, Fairfield. Congratulations Sarah & David!

David waits at the alter

Bridesmaid

Walking down the aisle...

Hand in hand

Walking out as husband and wife!!!

Newly weds happily pose

Pretty flowers

The boys... Alan, Zen, Will Ly, Terence & Will Lieu

NJ & Alan

Maiden of honour & her man...

Me and Zen

Ooh... ahh... a Rolls Royce

With the bride and groom

Reception at Ambassador Lounge

Bride and groom cut the ribbon

Entree... chicken caesar salad

Starter - option one... Beef adana kebab with sweet chilli sauce, salad and rice

Starter - option two... crepe

Mains - option one... here fishy fishy fishy...

Mains - option two... chicken, prawns, potatoes with a cream sauce

Dessert! Apple and blackcurrent tart.

The cake

Group shot...

I can't believe the big day is over. Wonder who's turn it is to get hitched next?