#57 - These bantals are not for sleeping.

Remember my post about the white dulang hantaran i've managed to secure? Now this is why i wanted a Dulang berkaki, but pasal aku cerewet tak nak silver/gold, kena lah cari merata singapore.

I was browsing a few Malaysian nya wedding blog (I heart them seriously!, budak2 tu semua pro-diy.), and i came across a lot of them trying to DIY bantal hantaran. I had always wanted Fresh Flowers for my Hantaran, cuma tak tau aku ada time ke tak nak gi Thomson beli Fresh Flowers and i was scared it would cost me a bomb.

The idea is to make your own bantal (stuff it with the kekabu and what-nots) and then decorate the hantaran using Fresh flowers and the Oasis sponge.

Ideally, the kain, jangan pakai satin pasal dia licin sangat and takut nanti susah pulak nak handle benda tu. So far, yang aku tengok, tak yah jahit, just glue everything together. Bagus jugak lah, pasal kalau nak harapkan aku jahit bantal, sampai kahwin pun benda tu tak siap.

For the fillings of the bantal pulak, maybe jangan cari yang original punya bulu, pasal tu mahal. Maybe kena cari those synthetic nya. Alah, asalkan at the end of the day, bantal tu gebu2 lah.

Semalam i tried to call Far East Flora (Thomson) to get their pricelist for the Fresh Flowers. The lady said ni harga semalam lah pasal harga bunga turun naik (macam stock pulak).

I love Rose, Carnations & Gerbera the most so i only got those flower nya pricelist but if you are interested in other flowers, can just call their Fresh-cut department at 6251 5151
So far, this is the price she gave me lah.

Roses:
China - 20 stalks at $13.00 | Malaysia - 20 stalks at $8.00
I know, u be thinking, "aik?? apasal Rose China lagi mahal? Selalu made in China lagi murah pe.."
The difference is actually Rose China lagi lawa. Dia nya tips is pointed, while Malaysia is rounded.
China punya pun kalau kembang, besar and lawa sangat... So kalau you all nya bf or husband kasi you all Rose, pi tanya dia beli yang China nya ke or Malaysia nya ok.

Carnations:
20 stalks at $7.50
I love carnations (especially pink ones cos of it's pom-pom effects)

Gerberas:
10 Stalks at $3.50.
Gerberas always make me happy cos of the bright colours.

Baby breaths:
Big Bundle at $23.00 | Half bundle at $10.00
Yang ni, mesti beli. I feel that it adds a very nice touch to the flowers.

Oasis Sponge:
1 box of 20 pieces at $17.00
This is not the normal green sponge that you all cucuk bunga plastic tu. This sponge is specifically good for you to rendam dalam air and baru cucuk fresh flowers so that your flowers taklah mati siang sangat.

They said delivery is Free kalau kita order more than $30.00 but i suggest you go down to Thomson, pick the flowers you want and then order and get them to deliver nearer to your date lagi bagus then just calling in to place your order.

You can try looking for Betty, such a patient lady, she helped me answer most of my questions =)

#54 - Nak cari dulang.. Nak cari dulang.

I think by now, you would have known my tendency to DIY most of the wedding stuffs.
Tu pelamin kalau boleh DIY pun aku DIY agaknya. Tapi pasal Uncle Jais bikin confirm lagik lawa, takpe, kasi chance. muahaha.

So, the dulang hantaran tu pun, i was thinking of DIY-ing as well.

The boy's mother intends to give me Yellow dulang. Yes, yellow. Ye saya, YELLOW!
Nak aku cakap apa lagi, walaupun Yellow is my least favourite colour. Tapi takpe, cool.
Tak nak gado pasal dulang. lol

I am still undecided what colour i wanna give the Boy. Tu ari ada ter-mention nak kasi dia Pink Dulang. Mata dia punya besar dia bukak. Wah wah.. dia kasi aku dulang kaler kuning boleh, aku kasi pink tak boleh!

Anyway, i knew i wanted the dulangs to have a white base. Tak kisah lah, white bakul ke, white tray ke, white styrofoam ke, janji white.

I wanted to rent only pasal kalau beli, lepas tu apa yang aku nak buat ngan dulang tu kan?
So bila part nak recce mana nak sewa dulang, balik2 dulang kaler silver and gold je ada. Punya lah susah nak carik dulang or bekas kaler putih.

Tapi aku persevere, kuatkan semangat (cheh cheh).

At last, i found it!

It's made of those heavy-duty plastic, so according to the owner, it won't bengkok or retak kalau aku letak barang kat atas. Should be ok lah. Bukan aku nak letak batu-bata ke apa kan.

The owner have about 22 pieces of these trays and guess how much it is?

Rental is at $2.50 per tray!
I took 10 trays so i only pay $22.50.

The security deposit is $2.00 per tray and it's refundable once u return the trays to her.

So if you girls have not got your tray or tak tau mana nak rent, you can go to her website HERE

If you girls are still looking around for those Silver or Gold nya Dulang berkaki, this girl takde..
But i can recommend you another person who has it and she only rents it out at $3.00 per tray.
Cheap cheap! You can add her at Facebook HERE.

#51 - Decisions and choices

Things are definitely looking up so far.
We have confirmed our photographer, Chase Hasemi last Saturday after a not-so-short meetup with him and his wife.

Both the boy and me felt very comfortable with him and decided to just engage him for our wedding and pre-wedding shoots. I love that we both had that chemistry with him and could talk and crack jokes with him. He seems like an easy guy to work with so we are keeping our fingers crossed definitely.

Like i mentioned before, Photography is one of the things i really recce-ed for and prior to meeting Hasemi, i actually shortlisted a few of the photographers, some of which i met and did not have a connection with and some of them, i did not even have a chance to meet up with.

Knowing me, the boy told me not to meet too many people and just settle with the one whom we have chemistry instantly cos he knew, the more people i meet, the more confused i get and the more fickle-minded i become. Yang seksa dia nanti pasal nak kena layankan aku nya what-ifs and all.

The same goes for the bridal house. I actually shortlisted Lyanaz Bridal and Weddingku Gallery. I met up with Lyanaz Bridal, liked Kak Yatee and confirmed on the spot. Tak sempat pun jumpa Kak Lynn from WKG.

Back to the Photographers, i have actually shortlisted TRQ Irfaan Photography, Anis from Innovazione and Studio 41 (Eyeris Studio).

Alas, we only managed to meet Irfaan & Hasemi. If only we could afford multiple photographers. lol. Machiam paparazzi. Tapi kang nanti mata aku plak sepet, asyik kena flash je.

Hasemi was great right from the start. He was willing to listen to our ideas and explore it and gave out some good pointers that we should take note of. We arranged for our Pre-Wedding shoots to be taken in July, just before Ramadhan so that I would have ample time time to design our Wedding Cards.

Talking about Wedding Cards, i don't even know how i wanna have mine. Each time, when i do it for my clients, i can throw off ideas to them to get their ideal wedding card designs. But bila part aku, satu benda pun aku tak tau apa nak bikin. I only know that i wanna DIY part of it. Of course not the printing part. But i will most definitely have ribbons on it etc to set it apart from the ones i did for my clients. I probably would take the longest time to design mine cos i can be so anal sometimes. But that's the fun part isn't it?

I would also DIY my own Sticker Labels for the favors, the labels for the food etc and I am thinking of what i can DIY for each Guest tables to add our personal touch.

Yesterday, we met with Uncle Jais as well for our deco. I have told the boy numerous times to take a look at their multiply site to get an idea of how the deco's gonna look like tapi pasal dia busy macam Menteri nak pi election, sampai kita jumpa Uncle Jais pun, he still don't know how his works looks like.

So imagine his surprise when Uncle Jais showed him an album of his works. Muka dia mcm Menteri baru menang election. He went "woooooahhh!!!!" at every flip of the album.
Buat malu aku je. Kejap2 tanya "betul b, dekni charge $1580? betul??" haha.

Right there, i knew we made a good choice. We chose Baby Pink with a touch of cream and black. I am still contemplating whether to let him have the black chair covers. Sedapkan hati bakal laki ler. Kesian pulak black yang dia suka amat tu setakat setotet net je.
Maybe kasi chance ah kat dia.

Uncle Jais pun best. Such a nice person whom you know, does this for passion and not for money only. I told him of my requests, nak add ni, nak add tu, macam2 lah aku nya request all at no additional charges. Yay!

Up to this point, i'm blessed. It has been pretty much easy and straight forward so far.
Let's just hope it stay this way!

#48 - Doing it myself.

I consider myself a creative person. I am considerably good with crafts and other hands-on project.

So it does not comes as a surprise to my Family & friends when itold them i wanna DIY most of my wedding stuffs.

One - because it is cost-friendly (ni paling important)
Two - because it will hold a certain sentimental value to me
Three - because i enjoy doing it. It gives me a kick when i manage to DIY anything successfully.

So far, i have managed to DIY my Cake Stand.


Next, i'm gonna DIY my favors.

I went to Phoon Huat yesterday to look for Baking Materials. Yes, mak nak try buat cupcake.
Kalau senang, then boleh buat untuk Hantaran.

While looking around, i saw some white boxes. (will show you girls the boxes in details in another post pasal semalam lupa nak amik gambar box tu inside out)

I love the box cos it's of the right size and it's white inside out.

Yes, it's not those Cake boxes yang luar white, dalam cardboard tu. It was selling at $1.25 for 5 pieces so i just got 1 set of it to show the mother and also to try testing how it would look like with ribbons.

Here's how it looks like with ribbons. But, my ribbons for the favor box will be a lighter shade of Pink though. Ni kes pakai je ribbon apa yang ada untuk testing2.

I'm also gonna paste a Monogram Sticker at the sides.

What am i gonna put inside?

I'm gonna bake some cookies (which lots of friends love cos it taste like the Famous Amos ones - sumpah tak bedek! lol) and my mom is gonna have Egg & Pulut Kuning to accompany.

The cookies will be baked at least one month prior to the wedding and kept in air-tight container and then sealed in party bag to ensure dia tak lemau.

The Egg & Pulut Kuning, my mom say hari Jumaat boleh bikin..

As for the egg, i was thinking of doing the Lace Eggs that Sofia had during her wedding.
Cun-cun pulak she posted a link to Martha Stewart's Lace Egg Tutorial.

It looks easy enough lah for me and 300 eggs are still manageable.

But i don't know whether to dye the eggs in Red or Hot Pink!

Another DIY project will be the tempat Bunga Rampai that i have to give during Nikah.


I'm thinking of DIY-ing this cute little bottles with Black Lace and Pink Ribbons and stuff bunga rampai in it.

Guess where i got these little bottles from?



Hahahah yes! Brand's Innershine. There's six bottles per box and i reckon i will have lotsa spare bottles which i can use for other DIY stuffs.

I have not start the DIY process for this yet. Will update you gals when i think of something!

#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!

#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!

The Perfect Setting

I was browsing through Wedding Chicks and i saw the perfect setting i would want for my wedding! It's loads of White with touches of pinks and a lil bit of Grey which i could easily substitute for Black instead.

Love those flowers in that big-ass vase!

Pink Chandeliers! Ohmaigawd!

I absolutely love the Table Setting.

#14 - Pocket full of flowers

The boy and I were talking about how our wedding would be like. Trust me, the boy does not talk about weddings very often because guys being guys, they don't really like weddings don't they. They are not fascinated with the colour scheme and what not's.

So when we were just sitting in the car, he was talking about the wedding decos etc.

I whooped silently and took the chance to bombard him with my wedding ideas. lol

As i have guessed, wedding planning will prove to be a difficult task.
He is kinda particular about things like colours etc.
His favourite is black, black and black and maybe also red.

There is no way i'm gonna have Black & Red for my wedding.
No offence to anyone having a Red & Black Wedding but it is just not me.

He does not like Pink while i Love Pink immensely.

So we have decided, it will be a bit of White, a little bit of Pink (only baby pink is allowed) and a little touch of black. I only allow a bit of black. No black Table or Chair Covers. lol.

I showed him Jentayu's website and while he love some of the deco, when i told him that their deco starts from $4500, i swear i saw him 'telan air liur'. Macam ada speech bubble kat atas kepala dia "$4500 tu aku boleh begi guitar fender 2 Biji ngan Amp sekali."

So i showed him Kasaisayang's website instead (and all these are done thru my iphone!)

He loved it! *happy dance*

Our Favourite Deco so far: The English Garden.

For more pictures of the deco, click here

However, i would prefer to have more pink! Maybe baby pink pillows?
See those Black Feathers? Itu pun jadi lah eh.. lol

Some other deco from them that I like are:

For more pictures of the deco, click here

This would be nice too but probably with Pink flowers instead!

Another colour i won't rule out would be Gold & Cream like this one.

For more pictures of the deco, click here

This would surely be a hit with our parents! :)

#9 - The Perfect Shade of PInk

Was doing up some work while i thought of what would be my colour palette for my wedding.

I like something sweet, romantic and girlish and i have always love Pink but i do not want to have it Pink all over considering we be doing a combined wedding and it will be a little too sissy for his likings.

I love those English Garden theme kind of weddings or perhaps something Spring.
So i suppose my colours would comprise of White, Pink & Green.

I was browsing through The Perfect Palette and stumbled uponthis pallette i have somehow 'shortlisted'.

Inspiration Board # 264: Shades of Pink & Green

However, i would just keep the Green to a minimal and concentrate more on Pink and White cos the boy hates green. bleargh.

#5 - In or out?

One of the things that have been bugging me is to have my wedding indoors or outdoors.
To be really honest, i would really much prefer an outdoor setting and i have fell in love with The Lake House at Bottle Tree Park.

I have envisioned myself to have an evening wedding on a Saturday.
The reception will start at 4.00pm till 7.00pm just for relatives and that would also includes Nikah. It will commence again after Maghrib till about 10.00pm just for our close friends and colleagues.

Why do i want to be in the Evening?
Because the ambience is oh so romantic lah!

Have you seen the Lake House yet?


Here is the Lake House from a Distance. It sits atop a small pond with lots of lotus leaves and water lily. It would have even more perfect if there are swans. lol


Now this is the aisle walkway that i totally love! If i'm doing it there, i would surely put lots of tealight candles along the aisle or maybe those smaller block candles if i want them to last longer.
Can u just imagine how pretty it will look when it's all light up! I can also decorate it with white chiffons at the rail as well to have a dreamy look.

However, there might be some restrictions with the place lah that i am now having second thoughts about.

Firstly, i won't be able to get my parents and relatives to cook there of course. I would have to get in catering and that would mean extra $$ spent, and also because BTP will impose a surcharge of $4.68 per pax if i bring in external caterer. So if i am inviting 400 pax, i would have to pay an additional $1900 at least.

If i really have to get someone else to do the catering for me, i probably will get Sweet Memories to do it for me.

She does it from home and her price is negotiable.
eg: if You have a budget of $6.00 per pax, she will work out the menu with you.
Currently, her wedding package is at $7.50 per pax which i feel is reasonable enough.

The best thing is, because she works from home, i do not need to go and book a tentage or whatever for her to cook and she can do it from her home and deliver it to me.

Problem solved!
But i must be prepared for a bigger budget because i foresee there will problem with the deco logistics as well!