#trending: Malay groom shows respect for bride's heritage, offers her parents tea in traditional Chinese wedding

SARAWAK, MALAYSIA — In a heartwarming show of respect for the bride's heritage, a Malay-Chinese couple held a traditional Chinese wedding on Sunday morning (Oct 16), Sin Chew Sarawak reported.

The couple, both 29, held the ceremony in the bride's hometown, the coastal city of Miri in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia.

At 7am on Sunday morning, Mohd Amin took the bridal limousine from a hotel in downtown Miri to Chen Yanxin's family home in Tunku Village, accompanied by a lion dance procession and his groomsmen — all of whom were, like him, clad in traditional Chinese wedding garb.

Mr Amin and his brothers were then put through a series of gatecrash games by Ms Chen's bridesmaids, a lighthearted Chinese wedding tradition that is meant to "test" the groom's love for the bride.

In a video posted on Facebook by Sin Chew Sarawak, the group is also seen serenading the bride with the famous Teresa Teng hit, "The Moon Represents My Heart".

"Lao po (my wife)!" Mr Amin yells in Mandarin. "Wo ai ni (I love you)!"

The couple is seen adopting Chinese wedding customs throughout the ceremony, including partaking in a tea ceremony where they present tea to Ms Chen's parents, relatives and friends as a sign of respect.

Malaysian netizens were touched by his dedication, with one praising the couple's multiculturalism: "It's a scene that can only be found in Sarawak!"

"My wife and I met in a gym," Mr Amin later tells the camera. "She was practising Muay Thai and I was practising jiu-jitsu."

After training in the same classroom, they dated for about five years before getting married this year.

Learning about the customs of each other's races is "extremely interesting", he says. In fact, the couple already held a traditional Muslim wedding in his hometown of Rawang, Selangor on Aug 6 this year.

As for Ms Chen, her father had this to say: "As long as they are happy, as long as they take care of each other, race isn't a problem.

"It's best when people of all races are together. That's what makes an enlightened world and builds a more ideal country."