By, Aqielah Harithuddin and Nura’in Ahmad Zaki
Aqielah had imagined her wedding all her life, but now, sitting alone at the table with scattered files, booklets, and brochures around her make her realize that a preparing for a wedding event was not that simple. Having to consider people’s suggestions around her did not make this any easier either. Her mother insisted to go with the traditional wedding style of preparation – rewang and gotong-royong – while her father wanted everything to remain modern and simple, and this was not what Aqielah had expected how her wedding preparations should be.
Coming from a collectivist society, Aqielah did not want to reject her mother’s idea totally. She too, would love to gather her relatives and see them working together while helping with the preparations. According to Lestari and Satyawan authors of a 2025 article in Indigenous: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi (see: https://doi.org/10.23917/indigenous.v10i1.11590) rewang could be seen as more than an effort involving mutual cooperation, it also can be considered as an area of social identity construction where people feel recognized as being part of a group. However, as a part of the younger generation herself, she was more drawn to the idea of being efficient and simple. This is a normal occurrence today as Humaedi et al. in their 2025 article published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (https://doi.org/10.1057/ s41599-025-04577-6) explain that youngsters nowadays tend to prioritize independence and efficiency over achievements in groups.
In Aqielah’s family, meals had always become a priority and a measure of care.
The wedding goes beyond the mere celebration itself, as guests’ satisfaction matters too. She recalled her experience attending a wedding with food arriving late, food running out too soon or food failing to reflect the occasion’s significance. Thus, by having all these in mind, she decided to plan with different approaches for her wedding theme. Instead of viewing the catering as part of her checklist, she began to see it as an important part of a partnership. Where can she find a reliable catering service? Careful research would separate the bad caterers from those that truly honour the occasion.
In exploring her options, Aqielah discovered that catering services are more than just items on a menu. There were full-services caterers that coordinated food timings with event schedules, managed service staff, and ensured presentation aligned with the formality of the occasion. Some specialised in cultural and religious requirements, while others focused on customisation and flexibility.
It was during this process that Aqielah encountered Tuns Anuar, a local entrepreneur known for its leading catering services as well as managing wedding events. Zain and Ahmad’s 2024 article on IIUMToday mentions that Tuns Anuar, “…is a business that has gained attention on social media platforms under the guidance of its founder, who wants to be known as Mrs. Ruby” (see: https://news.iium.edu.my/?p=179900).
As she went through the reviews, and positive feedback from other customers, Aqielah finally understood what a dependable catering meant. Many described their experiences with Tuns Anuar that emphasized detailed and transparent menu breakdowns and clear communication throughout the preparation process. For Aqielah, knowing the details such as food quantity, serving flow, and timing had reduced her anxiety that often accompanied her during her wedding preparation. Through this growing understanding, Aqielah can confide more in Tuns Anuar due its professionalism and reliability.
The uniqueness of the Tuns Anuar business is that it provides a wide range of goods and services with the emphasis on quality and diversity. Tuns Anuar has two types of food sets; namely catering sets and village sets. Customers who prefer the catering set can get nasi minyak, ayam masak merah, daging berlada, and others. Meanwhile, for customers who like village sets more, they can get, “nasi putih basmati, daging salai, as well as ayam berempah,” mention Zain and Ahmad.
As Aqielah grew up in the village, she preferred the village cuisine and it so happened that Tuns Anuar provided a catering service that provided a set of traditional Malay dishes that are usually cooked in the village. Even though the prices were not very cheap compared to other catering services, investing in quality products ensures that the event leaves a positive and lasting impression. At times budget services will use lower-quality ingredients or hire inexperienced staff, according to a 2025 article on the Cooked Goose catering blog (see: https://www.cookedgoosecatering.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-event-catering-services/).
Aqielah already made up her mind as her parents also agreed with her decision to proceed with the catering service of her choice. She convinced her parents that Tuns Anuar can satisfy their expectations because according to Spahic and Dathran article’s on IIUMToday, “Tuns Anuar had everything from burgers to nasi kukus to desserts and murtabak and a lot of other delicious offerings to showcase the tastes of Malaysia” (see: https://news.iium.edu.my/?p=182817 ).
Even though the wedding is all about Aqielah, she also wants to make sure that her beloved parents, other family members, and friends also enjoyed her special day. There was no need for her to order extra desserts or foods from other vendors because Tuns Anuar can prepare almost all the food they wanted which was a relief!
Aqielah decided to proceed with Tuns Anuar catering service immediately after discussing it with her parents. Aqielah says she was very thankful for the Tuns Anuar staff involved in the wedding preparation as everything went smoothly not just during the wedding day, but also before and after the wedding. “They knew how to manage a wedding from preparing to serving the food,” she said. “It’s a service where I can trust people,” she continued.
Tuns Anuar will be in Gombak Food Festival 3.0, from 6 to 7 January 2026 in Human Sciences Square of IIUM Gombak with their specialty, daging salai.***
(This advertorial is a part of assessment from a course, COMM 2312 Basic of Writing)
