#48 Elaborate Wedding Dinners

There comes a time in a Malaysian person's life when they take the next step and venture into that foreign realm the rest of us call matrimony.

The process is more or less the same as it would be in your country except that customs and tradition run rampant and the emphasis is placed on the wedding as opposed to the marriage itself.

The wedding dinner is much more than a celebration of two people's union, it is a momentous occasion in which the couple and their family announce to the world that they are happy, successful, accomplished and basically everything you are not.

You will witness an indulgent and decadent display of extravagance as well as nauseating sentiment. You will bear witness to the couple's lives unfolding and converging through a professional and calculated slideshow presentation. You will have more than your fair share of alcohol and food to compensate for the token of appreciation you parted with at the welcoming/cashier counter.

Throughout the night, you will be sufficiently entertained. The obligatory website/movie inspired wedding vows, grudging speeches from both sets of parents and a performance from a drunk relative or two. And that's not even the singing on stage part.

If you should be so fortunate as to be at a wedding dinner with someone you have not pledged your undying love to, you will at least be able to share the awkward silence on the ride home followed by an inevitable guilt trip in the months to come. But let's dispense with all this cynicism, one should be merry and rejoice in the infinite possibilities and symbols of hope that weddings accord. Don't worry, it won't be long before you have your bride and gloom.