Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Last Saturday I was bridesmaiding for NHT and Minh's traditional official engagement party. It was a real honour as I'm obviously not Vietnamese and not a family member. In fact, Saturday was the first time I even met NHT's family.

They actually asked me during my birthday dinner if I would be one of the gift bearers for the ceremony and I immediately said yes and took leave for it. The catch was, if it was a catch at all, that I would need to wear an au dai- the traditional Vietnamese costume. That wouldn't have been such a problem if NHT wasn't so skinny or myself so bloated from too many birthday celebrations. I told them to give me a few weeks before I went for my 'fitting'.

My 'fitting' happened to be on a major water retention and fat day which meant that it didn't go so well. The first au dai I tried on belonged to NHT's married aunt and was apparently the biggest size they had. It was also really really tight. It only had stud buttons holding it all together and I really really couldn't breath very well in it. Both NHT and her mom thought it was a good fit though which only goes to show how tight those things really are.

Thankfully, there happened to be another one I could try on which turned out to be a much better fit for me. (All au dai's are custom made for the wearer hence the difficulty in trying to borrow one). One Saturday though, I turned up only for NHT to realise that she couldn't find the au dai and so she pulled a random one out of the common au dai cupboard. It was a little too big but since I wasn't used to wearing one, it made the whole experience a lot more comfortable.

From L-R: Me, NHT, Nhi- As you can see..the au dai is made to really really fit...mine was considered extremelly loose...


The engagement was actually held in NHT's house itself. Her family and friends really put in so much effort to get the garage looking like it did. It was so nicely done though. There were aunts everywhere frying spring rolls (a Vietnamese staple) and cousins underfoot everywhere else.

All the food was homemade and there was SO MUCH FOOD. They even made their own preserved red meat. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's a little like bakkwa but not as fatty and on a skewer. I figured, since I already fit into the au dai, I could take a break from healthy eating *grin* Unfortunately, half way through the meal, the stud buttons on my au dai starting popping. HOWEVER, the stud buttons on the girls next to me also popped and apparently it's normal, so there :)


NHT's little cousins put on a dance story which was really cute. It was a story about a boy and girl and how the boy finds the girl. I didn't understand the music though...it was a little reminiscent of Chinese opera...


I stayed back to help clean up and after a while got bored. So, Minh and I tried doing 'typical' Vietnamese poses :)
This is just me trying the Vietnamese pose. It was being directed by a Vietnamese so we're assuming it's Vietnamese. hehee..

And finally, the amazing couple and my dearest friends here in Melbourne. Congratulations Ngan-Ha and Minh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!