#41 - Click Click Part 2

My deco is settled. My Bridal house is more or less settled.

The only one that i find very very hard to settle has to be the Photography Services.

There's too many good photography services in Singapore, it's making me spoilt for choice.

I am only interested in the DVD copy actually cos i have an intention of doing some editings of my own and do my printing for the album and the coffeetable album. Told you, i'm a DIY and budget bride!

So he would be great if you are not looking at those Coffeetable Albums etc.

TRQ Irfaan Photography

He is quoting me $700.00 for:

1. Outdoor Photoshoots (up to 2 locations)

2. Coverage of Solemnisation Event

3. Coverage of Wedding Reception

4. DVD Copy of all Editted pictures from all events.

5. 200pcs of 4R Print-outs in a slot-in album.

Below are some of his works. He is currently my 1st choice for now.

I am still looking around for Photographers. Do let me know if you know of anyone with a good portfolio apart from the usual ones :)

#40 - Good News!

It has been a relatively good last week cos me and the boy sat down listing our financial commitments and the things we are supposed to do for the wedding and the house.

We have finally came to a decision to do a Nikah + Sanding this October.

To be exact, 15th & 16th October 2011. I will let you know how we came up to that date later. lol
So, we have about 8 months to prepare for a wedding (albeit a really small one).

Like, seriously, 8 months?? Orang mengandung pun 9 bulan sey, aku ada 8 bulan je to get things together. Bearing in mind Ramadhan would be on end July and Hari Raya is on 30 August. (i know, cepat kan??? )

Ramadhan & Hari Raya would be a busy period for me, so that means i only have 6 months to prepare for a wedding. God bless the both of us.

Selamat aku jenis kancheong and the moment we decided and confirmed the date, dengan pantas bukak segala notebook, email and segala2 nya to take down all the quotations.

Anyway, why did we decide on this date?
HDB called me up last week to say that they can put up my appeal to defer my submission of Marriage Certificate up to 6 months from taking my keys. However, i would need to submit receipts of most of my bookings to HDB to support my appeal.

Ok part tu dah start kancheong pasal satu haram pun belom book.

So i sat the boy down and told him, die2 also we need to book the major ones to secure the receipts for the appeal.

Initially, we wanted to just do a Nikah remember, and then do a Reception one year later?

In the course of tengah tulis kita punya budget and also how much money we have to save chop2 before October, it made us realise that the Nikah Gantung will cost much more than having the normal reception at one shot.

Cos we will end up paying for 2 majlis. I don't know korang paham ke tak lah up to this point.
But when we think about it, we will end up spending more.

It also finally made us realise that after we are done with the Nikah, move in to the new house, we still need to save money for the Reception AND buy furnitures for the house. Now, saving money for a reception when you are already married and living in your own house would be even more dificult than trying to save money while you are still single and berkepit bawah ketiak mak.

So, we figured, just go ahead with the Reception in October, get it done and over with and once we are married, we can use the money to slowly buy furnitures for the house instead.

So, we decided on an October wedding. Mainly because October is a special month for us.

He proposed, and we got engaged on 5th October 2010. My birthday falls on 25th October each year. lol

Having October in mind, i still couldn't decide which date to take.

02.10.2011 - Tak boleh because the boy ada show at another wedding. lol. Mcm mana peh rockstar je. nak kahwin tak boleh pasal ada show.

09.10.2011 - Was one of the ideal date 09.10.11. But..dah lah wedding aku kena prepare in less than 8 mths, ada hati nak amik hot date. Kang aku kahwin pakai baju raya tahun lepas je nyah. Takde org nak makeup kan aku.

16.10.2011 - One of the dates we considered pasal dia kat tengah2 the 2 special dates in October. It is 10 days after our Engagement Anniversary and 10 days before my birthday. Cun-cun kan?

22.10.2011 - Tak nak pasal dekat sgt dengan birthday. Nanti the boy pandai combine kan Birthday Present + Anniversary present. Mana aci.

30.10.2011 - Also one of the considerations.

So, why did we finally decide on 15th & 16th October?

Because of this:

Jais Decor had an available date for 15th & 16th October 2011!!!!!

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Serious, aku tenyeh mata aku pasal tak percaya.

Apparently, that date has been available since last year. I was so excited, i left a comment on Multiply, i left him a message in FB and i sms-ed him to ask him: "Betul ke 15th & 16th masih kosong??"

Belom apa2 dah terserlah ke-Bridezilla-an aku.

Yes, it was still available and the date is now confirmed mine!!! Ehhhh sukanya!!!

Do you girls know how long i have admired his work and last time, i keep second-guessing myself whether i will be able to get him because we all know how much is he sought-after because of the price and the designs.

The best thing is, i am still entitle to the same price. $1580.00 for full deco. Cheap kan!

So one down, few more to go.

Today, i'm going to meet up with Kak Yatee from Lyanaz Bridal to view her portfolio and packages. I have a feeling we might just sign up with her.

I have been stalking her website for so long and i love that the makeup is natural but not too pale and the Traditional Costumes doesn't look too over nor do they look they were bought off from Joo Chiat during the Hari Raya Sales.

Will update you ladies about my bridal soon!

#39- Belog Kawin-Kawin

Somedays, i see the viewership of the blog goes up and i really wonder who has been dropping by my blog regularly.

Do say Hi if you are one of them! It would help if you leave your name too!
That would make my day.

I also mentioned before that i have a few Belog Kawin-Kawin that i follow, either from Malaysia or Singapore.

So i'm gonna share the links here to share the love with all of you.

Malaysia:

1) 4weddingku
This blog is really great for all malay bride-to-bes. There is a lot of information shared there that made me wish that KL is just one hour's drive away.

2) Miss Bride To Be
Dekni dah kahwin pun, but still, you can find quite a lot of kawin-kawin nya post.

3) Babbles of an Ex-Bride

4) Anil Lutaze

5) Adventures of the mad otaku bride

6) Of Blacks and Whites
That lady with the gorgeous baju nikah.

7) Dia Terima Nikahnya



For those who wants something closer to home, whom can help you with all your DIY stuffs etc, you can check out this blogs from Singapore:

1) Rockstar Diaries
I love Fei's blog! In fact, she was the 1st wedding blog i came across from Singapore.

2) Sapphire Sky
One of my frequent reads. :)

3) Raihan & Sofia
That girl with the beautiful wedding!

4) Nona Kirana
The latest celebrity who got married and has got a blog! Not a wedding blog per se but expect her to blog about her wedding, like soon?

5) Super Atirah Girl
I just found out, this blog belongs to the girl of that Pink Wedding i featured.

6) )Blushing Bride
Another blogger from Cozycot forum!

Come to think of it, banyak betok blog aku baca.
Padan lah kerja banyak backlog! lol

Anyway, if you have a wedding blog too, do share it with me, will you?

I would really love to read about your wedding planning, be it small or big. :)

Have a great weekend people!

#38 - Nak tido?

I am pretty sure that some of you are planning for your Bedroom Furnitures already and we all know that Mattresses are a killer. They can cost more than the whole bedroom set itself.

So, when my manager told me about this website, i was so excited cos finally, there are mattresses suitable for my budget.

Click on image to be redirected.

You should be able to find affordable Bedroom sets and Mattresses on their website.

The only thing is, because they are an online seller, they don't have a physical shop you can go to.
However, they only accept full payments upon delivery and you can also exchange your items 7 days after receiving it if you think you don't like it.

Fair enough kan?

When isay the mattresses are cheap, i really mean cheap lah!

Expect to pay about $170+ only for a Queen Size Mattress. Murah kan?
You can check out the products and the reviews and see lah whether it's suitable for you :)

p/s: I am not affiliated with them nor am i doing an Advertorial Post for them. I am only excited about it and figured it would be nice to share!

#37 - The sneak peek to the new home.

Yesterday, me and the boy went down to inspect our new home with the officer from the HDB Branch Office. Everything was fine, no patchy ceilings, toilets were fine, everything was to our liking except that the floors at the Living Room and Bedrooms are quite bumpy and i have to get them to flatten it for me.

I also met the contractor from Supreme Floors who is gonna do our floorings for him to measure our area and give us a quotation for Laminate Floorings. Will tell you more about our floor choices at the next post because that deserves a post by itself.

It was surreal to be in the house where we will be staying together in future. It was a mixed feelings of being happy and worried of having to be independent very very soon.

But since we be bringing his parents over, i am quite confident we'll get through it. :)

A sneak peek on the new home.

The common toilet.
It is relatively spacious but i don't quite like the colour of the floorings and the tiles.
But, at least we save $$ on renovation costs.

The kitchen is small but believe me, it looks bigger than my mom's kitchen. Or most of my friends kitchen. So no complains and smaller kitchen means lesser cleaning to do. haha

The 2 Bedrooms.
One of it will be for his parents and one of it will be for our Entertainment purposes.

The Master Bedroom Toilet

The Master Bedroom is huge enough for the two of us. It should be enough to fit ion a bed, wardrobe and a dressing table.

I know the angle of the pictures are weird but these are what i managed to grab from HDB website prior to us selecting this flat. I took some other pictures yesterday but i didn't bring my camera cables to work today so maybe i'll upload it later.

I'm so excited, i can't wait for HDB to invite us to collect the keys in April hopefully. :)

#36 - Wedding of Ayu Raudhah & Zaquan

I don't know if you guys recognise this lady.

But do know that gorgeous Rozita Che Wan (above)?

This is her sister whom also happen to be one of M'sian Actress whom recently got hitched to a Malaysian footballer.

This couple tak lah popular sgt. Ok ok je.
But the wedding so gorgeous, i can't resist featuring them.

I love everything about the wedding.
The wedding dais, the nikah outfit, the pink dress, her makeup, her groom (ooops!)

I especially love the Pelamin. It's so unique.
Kenapa lah Singapore takde pelamin macam tu eh?
Nak cari Pelamin rumah pun dah susah.

#35 - To tie the knot

I was inspired to do up this post because of Mia's question on Nikah Gantung and what's my take on it.
Instead of replying her on the tagboard (kang panjang berjela nanti), i figured doing up a post would be even better!

I think i have mentioned somewhere on my blog, now that we have secured a house, we may need to Nikah Gantung.
By Nikah Gantung, that would mean going through the Solemnisation first, (it can be at home or at the ROMM) and then have the reception later.

I know the norm is for people to do a 2-day reception and get things done and over with.
But circumstances are different for me. I got my house early and i'm left with no choice but to expedite the Solemnisation.
(Not that i'm complaining)

Furthermore, we have no plans to take up any Renovation Loan as we are currently paying for the Car.
So , it's either the car or the renovation loan. I prefer the car. Honestly.

However, we are able to manage our renovation without taking up any loan because the Kitchen and Toilets are already renovated by HDB.
We only need to do up the Living room and Bedrooms.

Furnitures and some other stuff we need for the house will also take up a huge chunk of our savings.
Hence, we decided it would be best if we settle the house bit by bit, Nikah and then have a reception a year later.

As cliche as it may sound, i still think the most important thing is to Nikah. The Reception is secondary.

Lucky for me, some of my cousins have done the same things, so i figured it will go well with my older relatives.
However, i do anticipate people talking behind our backs. Seriously i do and to be honest, i don't care what they wanna say about me and this arrangement we have.

Thought i should share this story with you guys:
I have a cousin (Let's call her A) who badmouths about my cousin B cos she had to Nikah Gantung cos she got a House early. (Same situation as me.)
Cousin A, will be getting married the following month after Cousin B and just have to compare her wedding with Cousin B.
Kept telling all our cousins that her deco mahal lah.. Her baju all tailor-made and yada2..

The breaking point was during my Cousin B nya Nikah Day. She saw Cousin B punya Hantaran.
She asked Cousin B "Hantaran kau tu aje?" after the whole Nikah ceremony.She then proceeded to tell the rest of us her FH bought her a Prada Tote bag as part of the Hantaran gift.

I then told her off and told Cousin B to display her House floor plan and all HDB Documents as part of the Hantaran.
That would surely make her Prada bag pale in comparison.

Bottomline is, people will talk and there is no way you can stop them. Let them talk about it. They just need something to talk about.
At most, they will talk about it for one week, until something more interesting comes up.
You will be blissfully married by then. Who cares what people wanna say?

Ultimately, u are paying for your own wedding and you did not ask their help to sponsor for the wedding.
Talk is cheap. They can talk but if we throw them in the same situation, they would have done the same.

So to fellow Nikah Gantung brides, don't worry.
People who gossips and talks about you, they should not matter to you.
The ones who matters to you are the ones who are genuinely happy about you.

#34 - Pink Deco by Daun D'co

My boy and his bandmates were playing at this wedding for one of their clients at Jurong West.

The bride used Daun D'co service for her wedding. Pink Wedding!!!
Very lovely, but the boy said it's too pink. lol.

Oh wells. I love it! Daun D'co paid so much attention to all the small details.
I am almost inclined to take their services. lol

Will be going for their Dinner Reception at Chinese Garden this weekend.
I wonder how it would be. I've never been to any weddings at Chinese Garden.

Cantik kan all the details? Love the Frame with flowers behind. I know how to do it already!
DIY Project nanti. lol

The gorgeous chandelier at the mini runway.

Kalau interested, can go to their website and view more of their works.

More and more pinks!

The mini runway thingy which is so cantik.

The Bride & Groom Table

Love how the Purple chair complements the whole Pink setup.

I think the last quotation i got from them is $2,600. Quite affordable lah.

I also tasted their food from Vsion Wedding. It is sooooo delicious. I love the Ayam Masak Merah and Sambal Goreng Pengantin. They even serve Soto Ayam and Lontong on Sunday Reception. So nice, thumbs up from me. If you have not found a caterer, you can try recce them!

#33 - Why i choose u

Our search for the perfect house was not an easy one.

It was our first time balloting for a Flat. Right at the start, we foresee, there's gonna be some obstacles. There were only 43 4-room flats available in Bukit Panjang.

Only 41 flats are available for Malays.

We got the Email Notification from HDB on our Queue No on 25th October 2010, my birthday.
That was the best birthday surprise i've got this year.
Until i realise that our Q no is 0049. oh sheeesh.

I hate that feeling. So near yet so far. You know, macam kasi harapan palsu. lol.

We told our families about it and they were very confident that we will get the house.
We, on the other, do not want to put too much hope into it for fear that we get dissapointed and be back to square one.

After a long wait, HDB finally send us an Invitation Letter just before Christmas to come down for our Flat Selection on 18/01/2011 at 2.15pm.

So we did.

We arrived HDB at 1.00pm, got our Q no and had lunch at Delilfrance.
It was the most intense 1-hour wait i ever had. Throughout lunch, i keep refreshing the HDB page on my laptop. 10 units left and the unit we love is still there.

At 2.20pm, we were called in and when asked which unit we wanted, i immediately told the CSO i wanted that flat and we sealed the deal. No questions asked, no turning back.

The house is almost ours.

We went through a lot of houses in Bukit Panjang and only a few met our criteria.

Our criteria for the houses:

1. No Malay neighbours right smacked next door.
   
2. The unit must be at least 100m2 and above.
3. Must be of walking distance to the LRT and a Supermarket etc.
   
4. No messy neighbours
5. No Loanshark paints on the door.
   

Trust me, if you got invited to select a Balance Flat, please do the following:

1. Before going up to the unit, look around the vicinity. Are there supermarkets or convenience stores? Is the MRT/ LRT near? If not, look for the nearest bus-stop and check out the bus that stops there and would it be convenient for you? Remember that you be staying at that house for at least 5 years and you sure do not want your house to be inaccessible for yourself and your guest.
   
   
2. Once you get up to the lift lobby, look for signs or those loanshark 'drawings' O$P$ and unit no etc. Go to the unit and check if there paint marks or sometimes dodgy paint-over jobs. We came across at least 8 units with paint jobs on them, One of them even had a black and red paint splashed all over the door. wth.
   
   
3. Look around for the neighbours. My theory is, if the neighbours have a whole lot of shoes and bicycles lah, skate scooters lah, taman bunga lah, confirm ramai anak or a very messy family. I hate messy stuff so that was a no-no for me. But if you can live with that, why not?
   

There are a couple of things we look out for especially the view. Kita tak nak pagi2 bangun, tengok luar tingkap, nampak orang block sebelah tengah gosok gigi. potong steammmm.

We actually love the location of the house and everything about it so it was no surprise how ecstatic we were when we found out we got it.

At first, we pretty much apprehensive. Kept asking ourself why people rejected that house and took some others less favourable ones.

Then i realised. My Unit No is #04-40. It is deem as unlucky to the chinese.
But oh wells, i don't care much about these superstitions.

Their loss is my gain! :)

Bus-stop nearby - checked.

2 mins walk to LRT Station - checked

Long Corridor + Neat Space + Chinese Neighbours - Checked!

No paint marks - checked!

Only 1 neighbour will be walking past my door every day. Next to my unit is the lift lobby. So technically speaking, i only have 1 neighbour. Cos the other neighbours are quite far and i don't need to pass by their door. Neither do they need to pass by my house.
God, i sound like a social outcast.

Don't get me wrong, i am a people's person. I love talking and all that but i require a certain amount of privacy especially since it's a corridor flat. I don't want the whole of the 4th level to know what TV show i'm watching or what i'm cooking today. lol

Side view from the corridor. Neighbour bawah orang melayu.
Pokok dia peh banyak, dah macam Botanic Garden.

Front view from the corridor / living room.
Open space + Carpark. Good enough for me.

Towards the Lift lobby.

I took this picture through the window panel. My house, naked.

I'll be going down to the house again on Monday with the HDB officer to check on the house. Will be bringing my contractor down as well to measure the area and get him to do a quotation for me.

I can't wait!

#32 - A place of my own.

Yesterday was my 1st appointment with HDB to select a flat.

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!

We got the unit we wanted!! Happy, happy, happy!

Sumpah sebelum nak masok Sales Room, my hands were all sweaty and i was so scared (don't know why!)

But Alhamdulilah, everything went well. :)

The boy signing for our BIGGEST purchase ever. lol

Anyway, if all goes well, we might get the keys in April.

However, i am facing a dilemma. We are applicable for the AHG (Grant) of about $20,000. But that would mean that we need to produce our Marriage Certificate when we take the keys in April.

If i don't take the Grant, they will give me about 6mths to get married after taking the keys.

I have emailed HDB to appeal for an extension. We'll see what they say about it.
2011 is gonna be interesting for us.

Looks like it'll have to be a simple solemnisation for us 1st and then followed by the Reception maybe one year later. :)

#31 -Wedding Dress Creator

Cute kan? I saw this while blog-hopping and decided to create something i would want.

It basically fits my criteria.

Nak try? Wedding Dress Creator

#30 - Before and After

please take this with a pinch of salt :)

#29 - Wish upon a Tree

Tired of the ol' Guestbook Albums?

Actually i am, already.
Although i do scrapbooking quite often, i think i would want to try a different approach for my wedding.

I came across the Wedding Guestbook Tree which is a brilliant and whimsical idea.

The idea is to provide a 'Botak' tree, and let your guest hang their wishes on the tree.

What you need to make this work:

1. Small pieces of paper lined to match your color theme with ribbon loops tied through one end.
2. Lay out colored pens, markers - whatever you want to give your guests to decorate the cards with.
3. Make a small card instructing them to write a few sweet words and then hang it from the tree.

How to get the Tree Branches? Collect them if you are free.. East Coast Park confirm banyak.
But if you have no time to go branch-hunting, you should be able to get them at Florists or Craft stores.

If you want the branches to be of different colour to suit your theme (eg; white, gold or silver) you can spray paint them!

After your wedding, you can place all the notes in a Photo album for keepsakes. :)


There you go, you save at least $100 - $200 on your guestbook :)