Hantaran Ideas To give to Brides

I received a tag from a reader asking about Hantaran gifts for brides to be. As a woman and a major shopaholic, that is a definite "jackpot" question for me to answer. I love shopping, which woman doesn't right? So when my wedding day came, the thought of getting all those gifts on the Hantaran day gave me goosebumps. Bear in mind, it wasn't the "cherry on top" moment that I was all excited about. The thought of finally being tied down to my soul-mate and being joined in holy matrimony was the cream of the crop so it wouldn't of really made a difference if we only exchanged 9 trays (which, personally I think is the ideal amount of trays to be exchanged). Lucky me was given 25 trays by my hubby and my in-laws, tray after tray entered the room consisting of jewellery, shoes, bags, material, etc etc etc.

So, for this month's feature, I will be helping out this lil'reader of ours, what to suggest to her future hubby to buy for her for her trays of Hantaran gifts. Apart from the rest, the main four trays required are :

i) Daun Sirih (which is the number one tray)

ii) The Holy Quran

iii) Mas Kahwin
(accompanied with the wedding ring and optionally Kain Jongsarat)

iv) The Belanja Hangus (Belanja Dapur)
(which can be any amount ranging from B$3000 to B$10,000, B$5000
being the usual amount.)

Some couples that have been dating for a number of years, immediately set a hantar berian date and so if the Pembuka mulut tray hasn't been given yet, this should be included too. Normally this pembuka mulut tray consists of B$50 - B$100 and a ring. If the future bride & groom are not engaged, the Engagement tray should also be included in your hantaran, which consists of the engagement ring and B$50 - B$100.
(NUMBER OF TRAYS: 6 + jongsarat)

Pembuka Mulut Tray
(From Leny's engagement)

Tanda Tunang Tray

(From Leny's Engagement)

The main trays aside and once the number of trays has been determined, it just leaves the bride and groom to do their shopping. Since every month, ideas to buy the grooms gifts for brides are viewable on the Hantaran/Gift page, I will be concentrating on gifts that can be bought for the brides so I advise those Grooms to be to get your wallets ready and calculators to see how much of a budget you might need.

Tasbih, Telkung & Tikar Sembahyang

Praying outfit or Telkung is one of the gifts a groom should give his future bride. There is no harm in a woman having more than one praying outfit, right. To fill up the tray, you may also add the praying mat (tikar sembahyang) and praying beads (tasbih). These items can be purchased from those little stalls at Plaza Athirah or if you drop by the Mall in Gadong, there is one boutique in the Hotel area selling material and praying outfits.
(NUMBER OF TRAYS: 1)

Casual & Evening Shoes & matching Handbags

Shoes and handbags are also another common gift during the Hantaran event. One may feel that one set of these items would be enough but if a big number of trays has been determined, then two or three sets would do. One set of shoes & handbag for working, another for casual day wear and one more for evening functions. To save money and time, one could even buy the shoes that the bride will require to use during her Bersanding event that will match her outfit. Some nice casual shoes can be bought at shoe boutiques that sell handbags too such as Charles & Keith and Vincci as well as other shoe stores. For Flashy evening wear shoes, you could have a look at the Shoe Lovers Boutique or Mercier in the Mall Gadong. As for working shoes, Bonia at Hua Ho have a nice selection and are comfy too.
(NUMBER OF TRAYS: 3)

Kain, Tudong & Sarung

More Kain

Lina's Kain Hantaran
(Pic courtesy of DC)

Material is of course another gift on the list commonly included in the Hantaran Gifts. The more you buy, the happier she will be, thus it saves a lot of time and money when preparing for Raya. One does not need to search high and low for those expensive Italian Silk materials to fill up the trays. If you have a quotation of buying 12 pieces of material for your future wife, then six of those pieces can be the good quality ‘dry-clean-only’ material and the rest you can purchase the washable kind which can be used for your future wife’s work attire. Scarves (Tudong) to match the material should also be purchased and as the day approaches, they should be decorated nicely on one tray.
(NUMBER OF TRAYS: 3)

From Faizul to Mardiah
(Courtesy of Pg Sofian @ PausebyBald)

Jewellery Set to Fezah From Fezul
(Picture Courtesy of Bride Grooms family)

Jewellery and Watches are also commonly included in the Hantaran Gifts. Firstly, find out what type of jewelry is the future bride into. It would be a waste of money if one bought jewellery that the bride would never wear. Some first find out her taste then buy her a set consisting of a necklace, earrings, bracelet and ring. This certain set can be one that she’ll use everyday or one that she should only use for special occasions. Really nice sets of jewellery can be purchased at Million Goldsmith in Gadong and Kiulap. A watch or two even would also be appropriate to be included in your Hantaran gifts.
(NUMBER OF TRAYS: 2)

Toiletries, makeup, Perfume & Towels ~ a girl's grooming essentials

Perfume, Toiletries, Towels and a Bathrobe are essential for the Bride. Of course a groom wants his bride to always smell nice, so these should definitely be included in the hantaran. Besides smelling good, a bride should also look good, so makeup is another item on the list.
(NUMBER OF TRAYS: 4)

If you have already purchased most of the above mentioned items and you still have a big budget left, simply email me at akadnikaheditor@hotmail.com and I will try to help you sort out what other items you can buy. Happy shopping!

(Courtesy to David Cheok for some pictures of Lina & Kit Hantaran Gifts and to Pg Sofian@PausebyBald for the pictures of Faizal & Mardiah Hantaran Gifts and Shikin&Adrin's too..Thanks Guys!)