Malay weddings take place over the course of several days, so it ends up being kind of like a countdown. T-3 days has the bride showing off her trousseau, making enough costume changes to rival Lady Gaga for the benefit of friends and family. T-2 days is when the Henna-staining ceremony takes place and both bride and groom get their fingertips painted. T-1 days is the all important Nikah ceremony, which legally and religiously legitimizes the marriage. T-0 is, of course, the actual wedding day. Called Bersanding, literally “sitting together of the bride and bridegroom on the bridal couch,” the day features precisely that; two bridal couches, called pelamin, are placed in the houses of the bride and the bridegroom. The bridegroom will visit his bride’s house first, where he sits with her on the couch in front of an astakona, a giant tiered tray full of yellow rice and red-dyed eggs, after which the same thing is repeated at the groom’s house. Merry feasting and frolicking follow. Read Less