Malay Wedding Run Sheet: The Full Programme

A Malay wedding runs in much the same order whether it is held at home or at a dewan: the visiting party enters, the couple process to the dais, they are seated, then salam restu, the formal meal, the cake and the photo session. What changes is the clock, because the clock is set by the hours your venue is approved to be used. This page gives two run sheets that are genuinely published in Malaysia, plus the list of things to confirm with the hall and the caterer.

Updated 26 August 2026

The order is fixed, the clock is not

Every wedding run sheet you find online carries different times, and that does not mean one of them is wrong. The order of events is close to identical at any Malay reception: the party enters, the couple process to the dais, they are seated, salam restu, the formal meal, the cake, then the photo session. What differs is the clock, because the clock is bound to the hours your venue is approved to be used and to when your guests can realistically arrive. This page separates those two things. The first table gives the order with no clock times attached, as published by a wedding planner working in Melaka and the Klang Valley. The second gives one full dewan run sheet with clock times, as published by a wedding emcee. We have not added times that no source published, because invented run sheets are exactly why the ones circulating online contradict each other.

The order at a reception held at home or under a marquee

The order of a wedding reception held at home or under a marquee. This source publishes the order without clock times, so the Time column below marks the stage of the reception rather than an hour.

Time	Programme	Notes
Before the couple arrive	The visiting party enters and is seated at the tables prepared for them	ISDA recommends the party goes in first so the narrow marquee walkway does not jam, especially once the party is over 30 people.
Arrival	The procession from the car to the entrance arch	Accompanied by a live kompang troupe, recorded kompang, bagpipes or other music.
Past the arch	The procession from the arch to the dais	ISDA notes that some couples process straight to the dais, accompanied by a theme song, recorded or live gamelan, or the kompang.
At the dais	The couple are seated	Performances such as silat or dance, where there are any, go in at this stage.
Once they are seated	Bacaan doa	The source places this part after the couple are seated and before the merenjis.
After that	Merenjis or salam restu	ISDA notes that merenjis is used less and less, and that the company itself has replaced it with salam restu.
Midway	The formal meal (makan beradab)	Performances can be slotted in here instead, where there are any.
After the meal	Cutting the cake	The couple's chosen song is played at this point.
Towards the end	Photo session	The photographer and the emcee work out the order in which people are called up.
End of the reception	Free time with the guests	Listed as the ninth item in ISDA's order.
After the reception	Outdoor photography	The last item in the published order.

ISDA Catering & Wedding Planner (LLP0009189-LGN), “Aturcara Majlis Perkahwinan di Rumah” (6 August 2024) — http://www.isdacatering.com/2024/08/aturcara-majlis-perkahwinan-di-rumah.html (2026-08-26)

A dewan run sheet with clock times

The standard run sheet for a reception held in a dewan, as published by DeejayKahwin.Com. The times below are that source's own times, not our estimates.

Time	Programme	Notes
11.00am to 12.30pm	Guests arrive, the meal is served	The emcee welcomes arrivals and invites guests to eat where the setting is a buffet.
12.30pm to 2.00pm	The couple arrive	The meal carries on. The couple process from the hall entrance to the dais, and DeejayKahwin puts representatives of both families carrying in the hantaran trays first, where there are any.
Within the same window	Seated at the dais, the emcee's welcome, bacaan doa	The source puts the emcee's welcome first, then this part.
Within the same window	Salam restu, the formal meal, the cake and family speeches	Family speeches only where there are any. Where there are none, the reception goes straight to family photos.
2.00pm to 4.00pm	The meal and the photo session carry on	Free and easy until the reception ends.

DeejayKahwin.Com (Deejay Adam), “Tips Aturcara Perkahwinan” — https://www.deejaykahwin.com/p/tips-aturcara-perkahwinan.html (2026-08-26)

What to confirm with the hall and with the caterer

The approved usage hours. Johor Bahru City Council splits hall rental into two sessions, 7.00am to 7.00pm, and 8.00pm to 12.00 midnight, unless the renter obtains the council's approval for other hours.
The setup window. For MBJB's daytime session, setup is allowed from 8.00pm to 12.00 midnight on the night before the rental date, so the dais and the table layout do not have to start on the morning itself.
The hard stop. MBJB's terms state the hall may only be used up to 12.00 midnight.
Cooking on site. MBJB allows no cooking of any kind in or around the rented area and permits reheating only. The caterer needs to know this well before the day, not on the morning.
Marquees and canopies. The same terms do not allow a marquee to be put up in the hall grounds without the council's approval.
Traffic and parking. MBJB puts responsibility for controlling traffic in the rented area on the renter, not on the council.
Date-change terms. MBJB deducts 10 per cent of the deposit for a date change made more than a month ahead, 30 per cent for less than a month, and 50 per cent for less than seven days before the date.
Those figures are MBJB's terms. Every local council and every private hall sets its own, so confirm them again with the venue you have actually booked.

Common questions

How does a reception at home differ from one at a dewan?

ISDA publishes two versions of its run sheet, one for a home reception and one for a dewan, and both carry the same order of events. The company writes that a dewan reception is usually the same as one at home, and that what differs depends on the performances included. Two differences are practical: the marquee walkway at home is narrower, which is why the party is advised to go in ahead of the couple, while at a dewan the approved usage hours set your start and end times.

What time should the couple arrive?

There is no official hour. The dewan run sheet we cite puts the couple's arrival in the 12.30pm to 2.00pm window, after guests start arriving and eating at 11.00am. Those are one source's times, not a rule. Your own clock is bound to your venue's rental session, so fix the end time first and count backwards.

Does the run sheet belong on the invitation card?

The UTHM reception and protocol manual lists the run sheet among the details an invitation card carries as needed, alongside a location plan. On a printed card it takes a lot of room and usually gets cut down to a single start time. On an EkadInvite digital card the run sheet has its own section that takes a time and a list of events for each day, so guests can read the whole thing without crowding the card face.

Once your run sheet is settled, put it straight into the Aturcara section of your EkadInvite card. Each row takes one time and the list of what happens at it, and a reception running over two days can be split into two separate days. If a time changes after the cards have gone out, edit the card and guests opening the same link will see the current run sheet.

Sources

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