Pertunangan Shadrini

There is a saying, a woman looks the the best when she is dressed in her wedding gown.

I was invited, by MK(Singapore's) to join her in becoming one of the photographers for an engagement event. Well, both us are the only photographers. This would be my very first wedding-related event photoshoot!

To my surprise, a very positive surprise, it was a Malay's Pertunangan! I tried to search within my brain, no memories of Malay engagement, Perfect time to learn culture and photography!









About this adat pertunangan, the bride-to-be, which is Shadrini on this day, was not allowed to meet her fiancee and can only stay inside her own room until the ceremony ends. That was when we first went inside, anxiously, and found her sitting on a chair beside a big queen-size bed which took up 80% of the room's space. Shadrini was not allowed to see her fiancee according to adat resam Melayu on this day. The fiancee followed a traditional rule of Perminangan, where he had to ask family members and representative of him to come to Shadrini's house on behalf of him with a lot of beautifully decorated gifts. As for exchange, Shadrini's side would also have to prepare gifts to be brought back by the fiancee.


The gifts sitting on Shadrini's bed, waiting to be offered.

About 4pm, the atmosphere inside the house suddenly became merry and a lot of people came inside and sat on the carpet. Perminangan, this was the perminangan where the representative of the fiancee came offering their gifts to marry Shadrini.





In exchange, Shadrini's family would have to give the representatives gifts too if she agree to the representative's offer (if this is in the old days). Gifts offered by the fiance were so interesting and unique(at least I had never seen one of those before)! As usual, the gift was so well decorated by Malays' favourite green.



The most exciting moment, the ring was being put on to Shadrini, didn't manage a good one here.



And the moment of compassion and love... The gestures of love.



Everything happened too fast for me to have handshake-free pictures, even at ISO1600.

Time for feast, vegetable curry, chicken curry, mutton curry, rendang... and we were fully filled up and went back home, satisfied.

Condition of lighting: dim artificial pendafluor light plus window light diffused by the curtain.

Seriously, I did not do well... Portraits are hard. Perhaps I understand why they pay so much for wedding photographers.