#28 - Dollars & Cents

Just how hard is it to manage the Wedding Finances and keep within your budget?

Very hard!

I was browsing through and looking for ideas on how to manage your budget for weddings or a checklist but most of it are for wedding-wedding Mat Saleh.

So i came up with a modified version. Suitable for Malay Weddings.
It is quite comprehensive and should be able to cover all aspects of a Malay Wedding.

But lumrah manusia, mesti ada yang terlupa. So if you think ada yang tertinggal tu, pepandai lah tambah sendiri k cos this is done on an Excel Sheet so it's easy for you to add and delete whatever you think is necessary. :)

Please download the files below:

Budget and Checklist for Engagements

Budget and Checklist for Malay Weddings

Hope these would be useful for you!

#26 - Pretty lah sangat!

Macam biasa, pasal nari Friday, mood nak kerja ada lemau sikit.
While blog-hopping, i saw some pictures of the brides and alah...cantiknya!

I don't know about you. But i am particularly drawn to brides that has the soft, dewy kind of makeup and flowy dresses etc.

Yang ni Anne, deejay Hot.FM. Tak kenal sape tapi dia sangat jambu plus baju dia cantik.
Love the material. Love the beadings! But Ni empire cut.. a no-no for me. haha

I love her makeup. Very sweet and subtle.
The grey dress is also to die for!

Diana Rafar.
Makeup cun. Veil dia cantik!!

If i'm free, i will list down the Wedding Blogs i have been reading ok!
Sumpah banyak, baca satu hari pun tak habis.

#26 - Cuts and necklines

Please click to enlarge image.

I found this while surfing around and this would be a great reference for Brides-to-be.
Janganlah choose dress because awak tengok model tu pakai cantik.

Dah nama pun Model, kebanyakan nya dorang ni slim and tinggi.
Kena kat aku yang pendek and berisi ni, jauh betul panggang dari api! hur hur

It's good to recognise your own body shape and what is most suitable for you and then narrowing it down to that.

It would even be great if you are tailoring your own bajus so you can tell ya tailor which cutting and neckline you prefer.

I myself have big hips so i probably will stay away from cuttings that will accentuate it more.

#25 - Wedding Cake Cookies

Aren't these cute!

Lil' mini wedding cake cookies that would actually be perfect for favors if you have a battalion of friends and relatives to help you with the baking and packing etc.

Or you can also use this as your Nikah berkat? Maybe make about 30-50 pieces?
Mesti cantik kan?

Kalau lagik malas, can consider baking this and using it for Dulang Hantaran.. :)

This is actually Martha Stewart nya idea but u can get the recipe from HERE.

#24 - Nona Kirana

Nona Kirana's wedding which was held on 1st January 2011.

Such a sweet bride! Some pictures i manage to google of her wedding.
Love that her wedding is so simple and sweet.

Top Eight List for all Brides-To-Be (BTB)

Ok pasal i pun tengah boring2, i came up with these
8 things BTB must take note of to kickstart their planning of their wedding.

Afterall, not everyone can afford a wedding planner kan?
I still feel we ourselves make the best wedding planner for our wedding.

1. Be Organised.
Get yourself a small notebook. Not as small as Buku ceti mintak hutang tu.
But small enough to fit into your handbag and big enough for you to jot down your
ideas and paling important, your budget and your checklist.
Somehow, it will all seems more real when u have it on paper. When u be organised, you will
see all your expenses clearly and it would definitely help with your planning!
You don't need to get those expensive notebooks lah. Borders ada a few cute notebooks that are less than $10.00!

2. Visualisation is important.
If you can, cut pictures or print pictures of weddings that you like or dresses you like etc
and share it with your vendors. Sometimes, it is hard to explain things to other people.
You can visualise everything in your head but when it comes to explaining, and getting people to understand our
concept can be quite hard. So create a scrapbook or a mood board and discuss with your deco people and your bridal.
The same goes to your photographer. If you like certain type of post-treatments to be done to your pictures,
tell him and show him examples. I bet they will appreciate it as it would make things easier for them.
This is especially important if you are going for a specific Theme Wedding. Kumpul all relevant pictures of the theme
to make it clear to them.

3. Research, Research and more Research!
In today's time where everything is easily accessible over the web, it should not hurt to google for information and vendors.
Don't just settle for the 1st photographer you see. Google up, read more wedding blogs and you will see there are other
vendors who can give you the same things at a lower price. But if you malas, what can i say? :p

4. Be Kiasu.
Yes, i know of people who book their wedding vendors at least 3 years in advance.
The good thing about booking early? You get good prices.
Every year, vendors jack up the prices because they know, the wedding industry is indeed a lucrative business.
Once people start to recognise their name and works, you will see a huge hike in price on their packages.
on top of that, if you go to wedding expos etc, u get more freebies!

5. Document your wedding journey
I know, not a lot of orang2 kita suka blogging about their wedding.
Believe me, i see a LOT of Malaysian Wedding blogs that are oh so fun to read because they are so creative and so animated when they write about their wedding.
When u blog about your wedding, it can be a source of reference to yourself and also because planning a weddings takes a huge chunk of your time.
After your wedding, it will all be gone and all's left is the memories. So why not, do up a blog and document the things you go through to plan your biggest day of
your life.

6. Decide on your Colour scheme / Theme.
Trust me, it will just make wedding planning a whole lot easier because you are focused on the colour you want.

7. Look beyond Singapore.
Singapore's Wedding Industry is growing steadily and to be honest we do have more options available compared to those that got married like 5 years ago.
But, it also means that packages get higher and higher! One of my girlfriends got married 5 years ago.
Her catering for 1000 pax cost $3,000 only. When she heard that catering nowadays starts from $10,000, she was shocked because that is the cost
of her entire wedding! So, look beyond Singapore if you are on a tighter budget or you want something different.
Some worth looking at are Malaysia, Jakarta, Bandung and Bangkok. With the singapore currency being the stronger one makes the whole deal sweet right?
Other than that, go search at eBay! They have a whole lotf stuffs you can find especially if you are looking at lots of DIY stuffs on your wedding day.

8. He's the Man!
Get him involved in the wedding preps. It is after all his Big Day too!
He might be a bit resistant at first and leave everything up to you. But make it more fun for him!
If he refuse again and again, then tell him to just be quiet and just show up on the wedding day.

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.

#21 - I wish for a 4-rm flat

We finally got an Invitation Letter from HDB to select a house from the Sales of Balance Flat at Bukit Panjang.

It is not a confirmed offer though.

Our queue no is 49.

No of flats available for malays - 41.

Wish us luck!

#20 - Zombie wedding anyone?

Would you dare do something like this? Maybe kat negeri omputih, where they are naturally more sporting, ok lah.

Kalau kita2 orang melayu suruh makcik2 dress up macam Pontianak on our wedding day, mau kena sumpah seranah ngan orang tua tu.

It's cool only if you can get your guests to participate as well. Even the Pastor participated for this couple's wedding, so it definitely upped the cool factor!

#19 - brand new year

Happy New Year you all!
For those getting married in 2011, start counting down you all! :)