Maha beautiful wedding up ahead!!!

(Source: Kudegraphy)

Don’t want to slow down the loading time so I’ve only included a few shots, but the rest of the gorgeous pictures from this couple’s gorgeous wedding receptions and photoshoot are here: Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV, and Chapter V.

I think I’ve spent 10 million hours gawking in awe at their wedding pictures *dreamy sigh*

Actually, it’s not just this wedding that looks maha beautiful, it seems like everything that Kudegraphy (they’re based in KL) captures will turn into magic and becomes ah-mazing ok. Unsurprisingly, the owner of Kudegraphy was featured in Signature Weddings’ January 2012 issue as one of the top 30 photographers in Asia!!!

And you know what makes this so much more beautiful? His business partner is his wife-to-be, and they’re getting married this year!!! Awww.

Quite obsessed with their stuff now, don’t mind me if I flood this space with more.

I think out of all the wedding-related items, wedding favours are the ones that we’re quite nonchalant about.

Probably because both our supermoms are footing the bill for wedding favours so we’re giving them free rein on what they want to give out as our wedding favours! Korang nak kasi periuk ke, sudu garfu ke, happy call pan ke, lantak korang lah.

Hahahahahaha baik pe majlis orang kahwin dapat happy call pan as berkat. Makcik blok sebelah pun sure datang untuk redeem siot.

Oklah, actually both our supermoms have decided on food items because dorang sepakat cakap: “nanti kasi kipas lah, bowl kaca lah, bukannya orang pakai, nanti dorang buang… sayang“.

Which I agree with, actually. I’ve been to countless weddings where they give such things and I’ll just chuck it on my living room table or selit bawah carpet and before you know it, my mum has already thrown it away. Buat menyemak, she says.

I usually appreciate food items more because I get to enjoy it, even if for a few minutes. At least tak buat menyemak, but boleh buat jadi kenyang, betul tak?!

(Side story: I think one of the wedding favours I’ll never forget is Iffah’s! She gave away these bloody ~divine~ chocolate cupcakes baked by a girl who actually does it for leisure and not for business! SEDAP GILZ LAH SAK.

Iffah also gave away wet tissues (don’t ask me why she had two different favours) – I know that sounds quite weird – like, huh, wet tissues??? As berkat??? – but it is super damn practical lah please. We put ours in my mat punya motorbike box and dude used it everyday since Iffah’s wedding to wipe his motorbike whenever he’s waiting for me

(Side, side story: Dude refuses to acknowledge the fact that he has mild OCD. I have ten million pictures of him cleaning, wiping, washing something in my phone and I’ve threatened to publish a “Saliheen Cleaning Things” album, as inspired by “Kim Jong-il Looking At Things” blog so he better not dismiss me the next time I fret over his OCD.))

Because I have a lot of time to waste (as always) I’ve decided to do a list of possible wedding favours just to see what other options there are out in the market. This might also help in case our mothers change their minds and want something else instead.

Food Item as Favours

Strawberry Jam / Blueberry Jam / Blackberry Jam / Honey

(Source: Elizabeth Anne Designs)

(Source: Delightfully Engaged)

Received jams before from local Malay weddings. Very nice idea, something that people will eat so tak akan wasted and tak akan terbuang. Plus you get to be all cute and creative with the packaging!

I wonder why a lot of people give jams and honey and not peanut butter, though. Nutella ke. Kaya ke. Discrimination seh. Must be because more mahal or something.

(As you can tell now, I don’t buy kaya or butter or jam or honey or peanut butter or nutella for my family so I really have no idea which one is more expensive than the other.)

Chocolates

One of the more popular type of favour that I always receive at weddings!

This favour can come in different shapes and forms: There’s the personalized chocolate bar types, the chocolate pop types (which can come in different shapes and designs), the chocolates-in-a-box types…

(Source: Divine Tables)

(Source: Bakerella)

(Source: Project Wedding)

(Source: Unknown)

Of course if you want something simple and fuss-free, you can just buy Toblerone or Snickers or Mar bars in bulk, wrap with ribbons and there you go! Some might call this method malas ah but hey – if there are other important things to attend to or pay for, malas pun malas lah.

Pulut Kuning with Telur

Simple and traditional! As an adult, whenever I go to weddings that give out eggs as favours, I will always feel very nostalgic. Remember the times when weddings decor only consist of a plain dais, white curtain scallops and hanging lightbulbs, families bergotong royong to masak for 1000 pax themselves and red-stained boiled telurs sitting on top of pulut kuning in brown glass cups were the de rigueur wedding favours???

Fuhhh… classic stuff.

Of course nowadays most will give the boiled telur as berkat, but that’s it ah, it’s just the telur wrapped with ribbons or packed in boxes je… yang comes with pulut dah jarang.

(Source: Mykeuken)

(Source: Rose Nani)

But in case you want to bring back the glory days of giving traditional pulut kuning with telur as berkats, there’s Ovenly Sweet who does very simple but cantik ones:

(Source: Ovenly Sweet)

… and Rasa Syiokur @ Beezee Bait – they have it in different shapes!

(Source: Rasa Syiokur @ Beezee Bait)

There’s also Rita Pretty Pastries, but I don’t know if she does pulut kuning for berkat because I didn’t see anything about berkats in her albums.

(Side note: Showed my mother the Facebook pages of the abovesaid vendors and she told me to get quotes! She thought there’s no such thing nowadays which is why we never get pulut kuning berkats from majlis kahwin anymore.)

Macarons

This is an option that my future mother-in-law is considering. (She is also considering chocolates-in-a-box but my mat secretly wants her to choose macarons heh)

(Source: Marriage Favors)

They also come in pop versions!

(Source: Bridesmaid)

Macarons can be quite pricey though, I think it’s about $3 to $4 per piece? I’m sure we can get a discounted bulk price for 500++ pieces but will still be pretty pricey as compared to other favour types.

Muffins / Cupcakes / Brownies

(Source: Cupcake Chic)

(Source: Unknown)

Popular berkat choices! My mother’s no.1 choice for berkat now is cupcakes.

Of course there’s also the modern cake in a jar but that’ll be too expensive for a 500++ pax order.

Lollipops / Candies

Back to the mother of all ‘pops’ – lollipops!

(Source: Wedding Favor Set)

(Source: My Wedding Favor)

(Source: Unknown)

Easy to buy and DIY (or buy in nice packaging terus) but might not be “appropriate” to give to makcik pakcik datuk nenek moyang all. Nanti they sure say things like “Eh ape ni, kau kasi aku gula gula gini, ni semua untuk budak budak je!“

Eh engkau. Kalau aku bukak kau nya gigi palsu, lollipop jugak one of the few food items yang kau boleh makan without kau peh gigi kan?!

Cookies / Biscuits / Wafers

(Source: The Knot)

(Source: Labelle Bride)

Ok lah, pun not bad. Might seem a bit like school carnival/ school fair-ish, though. Last time during secondary school banyak seh orang will sell cookies during school fair, sampai bosan aku dibuatnya. Abeh semua rasa sama je. Biskut betul.

Popcorn

Korang ingat tengok wayang jer eh boleh makan popcorn?! Weddings pun boleh kasi popcorn as berkat ok! Cuma so far I haven’t dapat popcorn as favours from the weddings that I’ve been to ah. Sedih pe hidup.

(Source: Leaf O Photo)

(Source: Real Simple)

Ok lah maybe because popcorn boleh cepat lemau if never package properly and maybe because makcik pakcik auntie uncle datuk nenek moyang tak reti nak makan popcorn so tak makes sense lah eh to give such things to them.

Most of the time, pengantin nowadays yang nak popcorn at their wedding will just rent popcorn machine jer, like those provided by Petitfour Express. (Nani engaged them months back for her wedding! One of the things that I’m looking forward to this September is hogging the popcorn machine at her wedding hahaha)

Cinnamon Rolls

(Source: Grey Likes Weddings)

(Source: One Wed)

One of those favours which is impossible for 1000 pax guestlist (or even 500++) because I’m sure it will became lembik and tak shiok but I’m listing them down anyway because they’re sedap and lawa and sedap and lawa AND SEDAP.

And also got the ‘pop’ version!

Bagus eh sekarang, semua pun turn into the ‘pop’ version. Maybe should ask the vendors who sell pulut kuning for berkat whether they can buat into ‘pop’ version jugak hahaha

Teabags

I’ve only gotten teabags as wedding favours once before but I really loved it ok!

Probably because I’m a hardcore tea lover – the only downside was that I couldn’t bear to brew the tea because they were so fragrant and so pretty

(The one I got had five different flavours in one box somemore)

(Source: The Gloss)

(Source: Project Wedding)

(Source: Off On My Bicycle)

Somewhat related but actually tak penting…

How freaking cute are these teabags?! Nye heh heh heh.

(Source: The Artist and His Model)

(Source: Donkey Products)

Eh… idea…..

Might just be something that we can seriously consider…

(Oh, and if we do end up giving out teabags and you’re my guest and you don’t like tea then whatevz ok, soak it in and suck it up, bitch.)

*****

Of course the concern with food items is that it might cepat basi or berdanau, especially if the vendor tak jaga the timing of when they bake/make the food items! (One of my girlfriends’ cake berkat started berdanau around 3pm, I think the earlier batches yang dah give out to guests might have been affected as well if they belum makan the cakes)

Which is why some people opt for non-food items as wedding favours instead.

Non-Food Items as Favours

Fans

(Source: The Roche Shop)

(Source: Unknown)

I’ve received the sandalwood cut out fan kinds and the paper fan kinds from weddings before! So far belum pernah nampak pengantin kasi rattan fans as wedding favours ah and I wonder why hahahahaha. WHAT WHAT. Family melayu kan always go beach go chalet to barbeque barbeque! Very penting to have these rattan fans to kipas kipaskan the charcoal so the food gets barbequed properly ok. Got guna ok.

I actually suggested giving away battery-operated handheld fans because as a guest, I probably wouldn’t mind getting one to battle the heat during train rides and in the office! But my mat was being a loser about it so… we’ll see how that goes.

Fork and Spoon

(Source: Wedding Souvenirs)

(Source: D Gift Chateau)

I think giving fork and spoon favours is good and practical! I once received this at a wedding and am now using it in office whenever I pack lunch from home. Some even come with chopsticks! Will be even more bermakna if your spouse-to-be is Chinese lor.

Travel-sized Grooming Kit

(Source: Wedding Favours Now)

Pun pernah get travel-sized grooming kit as wedding favour. Can be quite useful for some people ah… for some reason I didn’t have a reason to use it so I decided to throw it away after keeping it for awhile “just in case”.

Hand Towel / Handkerchief

Not really a big fan of hand towels because I don’t really have a use for it. I think my mum usually use them as spare kain for air tumpang, kuah spills, that sort of thing ah.

The omputeh handkerchiefs are very nice though!

(Source: Style Unveiled)

(Source: Elizabeth Anne Designs)

Unfortunately, I don’t know how practical it is to print personalized handkerchiefs as wedding favours here in Singapore. Might cost an arm and a leg?

Soap

(Source: Susan Soaps)

(Source: Wedding Inspirasi)

I don’t usually use soap berkats that I get from weddings but soaps make such pretty berkats!

Candle

(Source: Cherry Marry)

(Source: Wedding Favour Set)

Terus terang cakap kalau dapat lilin as berkat selalunya aku tak pakai ah. Haha.

I do have friends who minat this sort of thing though (you know, aromatherapy, potpurri, stuff like that) so this might appeal to those who are into that sort of thing.

Salt and Pepper Shakers

(Source: Super Gift Place)

(Source: Unknown)

Quite cute, but I don’t use the salt-and-pepper-shakers favours that I’ve received. They usually end up under my bed for months before getting thrown away during my bi-monthly spring cleaning exercise.

My mother pun tak pakai, because she will continue using her trusty gedabak containers where she stores her rempah ratus and stuff.

Mugs

(Source: Etsy)

Quite ok as wedding favours!

Having one extra cup to use in the house is not really a bad thing, what.

Ok sidetrack sikit, please tell me how adorable is this:

(Source: Unknown)

So cute, can parking your biskut bawah your cawan.

Mini praying mat

(Source: Kealambarzakh)

Quite a good idea, yes???

My friends and I went out for dinner one night and we were joking around about berkat orang kahwin (I have no idea why and how we can even come up with jokes about berkat orang kahwin haha) and someone said in jest “Kasi kau sejadah baru tau” or something along that line, and all of us burst into laughter – before finding out that one of the kahwing-kahwing couple at the table is going to give a mini sejadah as berkat at their upcoming wedding! Haha whoops!

I MUST clarify, though, that it was NOT the idea of giving sejadah as berkat that we were laughing at! It was in response to something someone said and the reply “sejadah” just made it funnier, that’s why kita laughed lah.

The idea of giving mini sejadah as berkat itself is a good idea seh. And so mulia!

Glass Coasters

(Source: Wedding Style)

(Source: Wedding Style)

Hmmm ok ok lah, my mother pernah received coasters as berkat before but as with some of the other things, itu bendealah kumpul habuk je lah dalam her kitchen cabinet.

I don’t think my mother would want to give glass coasters as berkat but if she did, I’d totally bug her to engrave this pantun on them:

“Pecah kaca, pecah gelas, sebelum minum, harap alas.”

Hahahahaha amaciam baik pe aku nye pantun skillz.

***************

I’ve browsed through several sites yang ada provide berkat services and I think I’ll do a run-through on their prices when I have time at home – and yes, I will have time at home since Ramadhan starts tomorrow! (Cannot go dating dating with my mamat so kena stay home and main angin only ma)

Since I’m on the topic of berkats kan, can I just say that I was so tickled when my mother dapat Maggi Mee as wedding favour?! I’m sorry lah to those who have given out packets of Maggi Mee to their guests or planning to do so but macam a bit lepak kan kasi Maggi Mee as berkat hahahahaha.

And the one that my mother got was not even the whole package with five Maggi Mee kat dalam seh, it’s ONE packet of Maggi Mee. ONE. LULZ

At least kasi lah dengan telur sebiji ke, boleh jugak masak Maggi Mee dengan telur.

Oklah, maybe because nak budget lah, nothing wrong with that, cuma kalau budget pun, to kasi Maggi Mee as berkat seems… unconventional. Bimla ada ape kalau nak budget!

Ni dah bukan “No problem, ada Bimla!” lagi tau, ni dah jadi “Don’t worry, ada Maggi!” seh hahahahaha

Last few weekends before bulan puasa started I was busy preparing and executing two back-to-back bachelorette parties for two girlfriends whom I love WITH ALL MY HEART. Both of them are getting married in September (lat two weeks of each other) and thanks to them my September’s going to be busy busy busy!

How my September looks like:

1st weekend – Jalan raya with primary schoolmates

2nd weekend – 3D2N Bintan trip with my polymates

3rd weekend – Elvy’s wedding

4th weekend – Run errands

5th weekend – Big Bang Alive Tour concert (Birthday present for my mat! Dude is superly excited to see his one and only T.O.P live) + Nani’s wedding + Natasha’s wedding (someone really lovely I’ve had the pleasure of knowing through this blog )

But yes yes, before the wedding comes the bachelorette partehhhhh so jom nengok some pictures from Nani’s bachelorette party!

Nani’s Bachelorette Party

Theme: Pin Up Girls | Venue: Upper Changi Road, Dbl O, Clarke Quay

I think the most horrifying thing of the night for the bride-to-be was when she realized she is too old for the nightscene at Queen’s Street hahahahaha

Dah, sudah. Lupakan sudah zaman gemilangmu itu. Dah nak jadi bini orang kan!

Oh, did you know that Nani met her husband-to-be at a *jeng jeng jeng* wedding??? Macam romantic lah sangat kenal each other at a wedding and then end up planning one together kan

So all you single people yang dah start rasa the kahwing kahwing itch, you can ikut contoh from Nani and try to cari your jodoh at weddings lah ok. Abang pengantin ke, adik pengantin ke, best man pengantin ke… asalkan they all single mingle, try try lah eh, asalkan jangan kacau bapak pengantin and the pengantin himself lah yer.

I’ve been really blessed to have Nani as a good friend because she’s been super helpful and very active in my quest for good wedding vendors and we’ve shared truckloads of fabulous kahwing-kahwing and non-kahwing-kahwing moments together. Love!

Buttt now that she’s due to get married… who’s going to layan my bakal pengantin rants after September ends ni?!?!?! *wails*

Ok ok, enough wailing tak tentu arah, now some pictures from Elvy’s bachelorette party!

Elvy’s Bachelorette Party

Theme: Little Miss | Venue: Amara Sanctuary Resort, Larkhill Terrace, Sentosa

I remember the times when we were young and free and marriage was an incredulous idea that will only happen 10 million years later – we would tease each other about who will get married and have kids first! Banyak lah sangat conspiracy theories kitaorang dulu… abeh in the end the quietest among us got married first! (Little Miss Shy – not pictured above because she was late for the party… shy sangat sampai malu nak datang siang! Haha) So girls, siapa siapa yang paling pendiam and tertib in your group of girlfriends, ah itu lah si dia yang akan kahwin dulu

Current count as of now: Three of us are married, three of us are getting married next year, one planning to get married in 2014, three are in relationships (including Rai, our Little Miss Wise, who is not pictured above as well because she now lives in Geneva) – which means slightly less than half of our group are still single and ready to mingle.

Amaciam boys? Mau try ka pa?

Anyway. I chanced upon the fantastic idea of doing a Little Miss party for Elvy because she is the smallest one in our group and I knew it’d be so much fun to put a character on each and every one of us! We had so much fun allocating each character to each other! The beautiful thing about our friendship is that all of us are of different backgrounds, different personalities and different perspectives (and are in different shapes and sizes lol) but somehow when all of us get together, we get along insanely well, we complement one another and it’s like we’re all really sisters born into different families. It’s been crazy wonderful knowing and growing up with these girls

(And OH. Why is it, upon hearing the theme of the party, both my mat AND MY MOTHER knew exactly which character I was?! )

It was a super kecoh night with ten million lepak multi-shots, and good food from Spize, our usual story-sharing sessions and dips in the outdoor jacuzzi at 1am.

The highlight of the whole party happened for me on the morning after -Elvy hugged each and everyone of us, started bawling about how blessed she feels to have all of us in her life etc etc etc and gave me a hug so long and tight, I almost fainted from lack of oxygen! I was kacau-ing Elvy about what a gembeng crybaby she is but deep down inside I WANTED TO BAWL JUGAK LAH SEH. It seems like it was just yesterday (12 years ago, to be exact) Elvy gave me her creepy serial killer smile (lol inside joke) on the first day of class… and us having the time of our lives sitting next to each other in upper secondary… and now SHE’S. GETTING. FREAKING. MARRIED.

To her childhood sweetheart, no less! Very manis semanis kuih koci right their love story!

Bagus sekali… time primary school dua dua dah gatal miang nak steady steady ni semua eh. Heh heh heh.

Ok now I nak share share some of their pre-wedding pictures jugak:

(Source: Nasz | Glowing Iris Photography)

… and go ahead and click for their pre-wedding video trailer by Nasz | Glowing Iris Photography!

KAU TENGOK SI GEMBENG NI. Cerita pasal sendiri punya love story pun nak melalak. Check out Sadiq’s “Ok what the hell do I do now what the hell do I do now what the hell do I do now what the hell what the hell what the hell” expression hahahahaha

In case you guys are interested to know how these girls are coming along with their wedding preparations… you can read all about Nani’s preparation here, and all about Elvy’s preparation here.

And so there you go. That wraps up all the bachelorette parties that I need to plan for this year! The next bachelorette party is due mid next year – Shafilah, it’s your bacteria party next! HAHAHAHAHA

Sorry, inside joke! Shafilah works as a nurse and while we were talking and joking around about her party, I suggested a bacteria-themed party for her since she’s always talking about illnesses and diseases and kuraps and bacteria and excrement and bodily liquids and disgusting shit like that. Dekni memang dari secondary school memang suka cakap pasal all things gross sak. Tapi alhamdullilah, ada jugak jodoh eh kau

(Hello Syakir! Shafilah tells me you read my blog! Anyway thanks for loving Shafilah, man… germs and all. Haha!)

I am in LOVE with the photobooths from Hello Forever!!!!!

(Source: Hello Forever)

I’ve mentioned in an earlier entry that the style and setup of local photobooths are different from the omputeh ones I like, and this is exactly why I love Hello Forever above the rest: their backdrops are superb and lawa and somehow their lightning looks really good!!! Almost similar, if not the same, as the stylish omputeh ones that I like and rave about. Plus! They will upload the pictures on their website so family and friends can just surf the album on their websites and download copies for themselves. So convenient.

I also like that their name is Hello Forever… like, y’know, you’re getting married and it’s supposed to be for-evuhhh so you’re saying hello to the forever moment in your life? (Nampak sah tak tau macam mana nak explain hahaha)

Might also be the fact that it sounds very close to one of our favourite movies Hello Stranger (mentioned here). Nyahahaha silly reason, I know, but whatevz let me be lah!!!

Unfortunately, unlike the other photobooth services in the local market, whose services range from $600 to $800, their services start from $999… which is pretty pricey, considering that photobooth is a suka suka add-on feature for our wedding. Another one of those items that we will have to settle for 2nd or 3rd choice instead…

Unless someone really kind wants to sponsor this for us, of course

Trying to find inspiration on how to do my hair for our engagement!

Since we’re trying to keep our engagement simple, Nani will be doing my hair and make-up instead of a professional MUA. (When did this trend of engaging professional MUA for engagements start, anyway?) I trust her skillz because she has made me up fabulously for a few of our past night-out shenanigans heh heh heh so hopefully I’ll look bright and glowing to terima my future parents-in-law over at my place.

Might have to remind her yang ini pertunangan yang suci eh, bukan crazy girls’ night out eh – so all the smoky eyes effect and face glitter tu semua tolong letak tepi esbok. I think I want fresh and light make-up for my engagement! Itu pun kalau menjadi lah, I don’t have enough natural beauty to pull off light make-up lah actually HAHAHA

But for now, hair! Hair! What hair shall I have!

I’m thinking along the lines of messy side swept hair, something like this hairstyle which I’ve posted in an earlier entry before.

I’m especially liking this one – a side-swept ponytail:

(Source: Unknown)

(Tutorial here.)

I’ve been bragging to my mother and my sisters and my mat about how my hair is now long enough for me to tie my hair without using a hairband (I now tie my hair by using my own hair to lilit and ikat instead). It saves me the trouble of having to search high and low for hairbands in the house!

(I have 10 million rubberbands at home tapi dorang semua macam bandits, suka hilang hilang sembunyikan diri so everytime aku rasa macam nak put up reward poster just to get one of them back.)

Unfortunately, I don’t think my hair is that long to be able to pull off the hairdo above… nanti sure nampak weird because my hair will be pulled up shorter

Maybe just a simple side sweep with a hairband? Will that be too casual?

(Source: Style Bistro)

Or with fishtail braids?

(Source: Unknown)

Keep it simple but interesting with a side ponytail and flower?

(Source: Summer Wedding Tips)

Feeling feeling macam nak channel some Beyonce elegance?

(Source: Hairstyle Twist)

The downside about this style: I think I’ll be conscious about my jawline! Sooo I might just end up leaving my hair as it is (buns and ponytails are a no-no – my jawline lagi kena exposed seh gitu). Maybe just add an accessory?

Flower clips?

(Source: Spring Crafts)

Silk Ribbons?

(Source: Zimbio)

Bulu ayam? (Not a fan of feathers but this is pretty nice heh)

(Source: One Wed)

Flower head garlands are pretty too! But not something I’d wear for an engagement…

(Source: Luulla)

(Source: Etsy)

(Source: Twigs and Honey via Strictly Weddings)

A dressy hairband so it won’t look too casual?

(Source: Candyband Accessories via Strictly Weddings)

My, my, my, I very like this lace one very much!

(Source: Love Wed Bliss)

Especially love this one!

(Source: Etsy)

Ooooohhh how about putting bendealah yang kelip kelip ni to my hair??? Sempena tengah musim kita berpuasa dan nak berhari raya ni, ambik inspiration from lampu lap lip lah pulak hahahahaha

(Source: Stylish Hairstyles)

For that extra glow lah konon!

Hahaha I’m kidding, of course. Gila pe nak pasang lampu kelip kelip gini kat rambut bila time tunang?! Nanti end up mak aku tak gantung lampu lap lip, dia gantung aku pulak kat luar tingkap.

And since I left off on the topic of our engagement the last entry…

A week or two back after our Zumba session, Nani asked me whether I’ll be holding a bouquet for my engagement day. It didn’t occur to me that I’d need a bouquet for an engagement and even though I don’t think there is any real need, it might be fun (and good practice!) if I just try and DIY one if I have the time.

I shall repeat the magic words: “if I just TRY and DIY one IF I have the time.”

Maybe I can attempt this lovely piece:

(Source: Wedding Chicks)

(DIY white lilies bouquet tutorial here.)

A fellow bride-to-be blogger Minute Blogette blogged about DIY-ing a tulip bouquet for her friend’s engagement before and I thought that was so cantik as well! Yang lilies cantik, yang tulips cantik! Can’t decide! As it is I don’t even have a favourite flower

(To be honest, I’m not really a fan of receiving flower bouquets as gifts because I think it’s a waste of money. FLOWERS DIE. Why are you giving me something that lasts well and good for only one freaking day??? My mat has only given me a bouquet once when we were still dating back in 2008 and while I thought the gesture was really sweet, I am not going to accept anything that dies after a day from him anymore, thank you very nice.)

Oh! I actually found a tutorial for fabric flower bouquet before Nani mentioned having a bouquet for my engagement and I wanted to try doing that just for fun when I have the time. But now it seems easier to start off with fresh flowers so maybe I should start off with the DIY white lilies or tulips bouquet instead of a fabric flower bouquet?

Although the good thing about fabric bouquets is that they don’t die within a day lah.

(Source: Rock N Roll Bride)

(Fabric bouquet tutorial here.)

Innovative pe pakai egg beater untuk buat bouquet??? Tahun ni lepas habis buat kuih raya can pakai your egg beater to buat DIY bouquet. Senang dan ringkas! Hahaha

Another type of bouquet that I also think is nice is the brooch bouquet (and boleh tahan lama!) but the tutorial looks too difficult so tunggu jelah for buah tak jatuh eh my friends.

(Source: Unknown)

Of course if DIY is not really your thing, there’s always Blushing Bouquet! Tinggal submit order je and the kakak can do for you.

Ea$y pea$y lemon $queezy!

We finally signed our lease agreement last Wednesday!

The probable completion date of our new home is 1 September 2014, which is slightly less than a year after our wedding! (Which will also be his 30th birthday! Eeeee umur dah tiga posen eee hehehe) This is one aspect of our marriage that my mat is especially excited about because he is into home decor and such and he is always telling me how he would arrange this and that and this and that if his current home with his parents were his own, or if my current home with my parents was his own.

We actually struck a deal before we embarked on this wild wild ride of wedding and house planning preparation journey; I am the main in-charge for our wedding preparations (research, shortlisting, proposal submission, etc) whereas he will be the main in-charge for our house planning preparations. So even though I am more inclined to home decor that looks like this, I am willing to settle for home decor that looks like this, which my mat prefers.

He is already planning on boring basic colours for our home, mainly black, white and grey booooooooooooooo but he says he’ll compromise and will allow me to bring in one bright colour provided it complements the whole home setup. Yay thank you, B!

I think the three main reasons why I’m ok to let him make the major decisions for our future home is because:

(1) He is letting me make major decisions for our wedding so it’s only fair he gets to make major decisions for something that he loves, which is home decor;

(2) I don’t really mind how our future home looks like as long as I can go home to him for the rest of my life; and

(3) He’ll be the one who will do most of the housework anyway. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Ok I’m kidding about letting him do most of the housework lah! (Ah kan, takut kena bash kan.) My supermother has always cleaned up after my sisters and I when we were younger so we were never exposed to doing our own household chores… but now I’m learning ok! Thanks to my mat who kept urging me to do so because “your mother isn’t getting any younger” and “you need to familiarize yourself with household chores so that you don’t struggle with them when you live away from your mother after marriage.“

Which is why I’m washing, drying and folding my own clothes and cleaning and vacuuming my own room now! I still need some help with washing the dishes and ironing, though. OMG I HATE IRONING!!! It’s so tiring and mundane and lembab. With the exception of my mamat, I hate anything and everything that is lembab ok.

Same thing with cooking OMG COOKING. If it isn’t 2-minute Maggi Mee cooking, then I have no idea and no patience to cook it. (My mat on the other hand cooks freaking awesome cheesy scrambled eggs, creamy chicken mushroom pasta, mushroom soup, cinnamon pancakes, sliced beef tortillas, mee goreng, macaroni goreng… mmmmm…)

I recently saw someone tweeting something about telling mothers to teach their sons on how to do housework chores because their future wives will thank them for it? It’s very true ok. I cannot thank my future supermother-in-law enough for teaching my mat how to cook, clean and wash well (told you I can open a “Saliheen Cleaning Things” album) – he has already promised me that we’ll share our household chores 50/50 fair and square! Needless to say, I am very pleased to hear that!

Kalau lah giving birth pun boleh share share eh…

Anyway, back to our BTO story.

I remember how freaking elated we were when we got the unit – I’ve always been a huge fan of my good old hometown of Tampines (We are a freaking country on our own, yo) and I’ve always wanted to stay put in Tampines even after marriage. My mat was not keen at first but I pushed through with it (as with everything else that he is sceptical about heh heh) and he finally relented. He is still a bittt iffy about it (“Tampines is so far from CBD!“, he cries) but we’ve agreed to take it one step at a time so now he’s looking forward to decorating our future home to his heart’s (and our bank account’s) content.

(We figured a small 3-room flat will be more than enough for the two of us since we’re not planning to have children right after the marriage – we’re planning on waiting for 3 years after getting our flat before starting a family, which freaked me out a little because I realized I’ll be 30 by that time eeeeekkkkksss. We have the option of upgrading to 4-room or 5-room flat once our child grows up and needs his/her space OR swopping our place with my parents (my parents have floated the idea of swopping their 5-room flat with our 3-room flat once they get older, my sisters move out and they don’t need that much space) OR taking over his parents’ 5-room flat if they ever decide to get another place (his parents have played around with the idea of getting another property for themselves). And then there’s that option that we’ve considered but shelving for now until we stabilize ourselves further – migrating to another country. But these are alternatives that we can look at again in the future, which is why I say: We’re taking this one step at a time.)

Our initial journey to getting a unit in Tampines was far from smooth, though. We didn’t get a favourable queue number when we applied for the first Tampines BTO exercise and ended up not getting a unit. It was made worse by whispered news that one half of the couple we knew who scored a unit was a cheating partner and another one of our friends who also scored a unit had to flippantly tell me over dinner that “she wasn’t sure whether she wanted the unit, because she’s not serious with her current boyfriend and they applied just for fun“. I was bitter and frustrated but hard-headed Taurus girl me refused to follow suit with some of my fellow Tampines-residing friends who decided to apply for Sengkang and Punggol, where chances were apparently higher, after their failed applications.

We then applied for another Tampines unit under a Balance of Sale exercise and I was even more hopeful because it is one block away from my parents’ place! One freaking block away aje! Nak pergi rumah my parents tinggal buat standing broad jump aje! But alas, we didn’t get the unit so kirim salam lah eh nak standing broad jump segala.

By the third time, I was subdued and jaded by the whole process and we decided to make two changes to our application method:

(1) We decided to apply for 3-room flat instead of 4-room flat because the latter was always grossly oversubscribed and made our chances slimmer (kalau kasi badan kita slimmer takpe jugak, ada jugak untung) – this was also a good move because it meant that we can more than afford the flat; and

(2) We decided to put my mat’s name as 1st applicant, instead of mine. It started off as joke about how we’re doing it wrong because him as the “ketua keluarga” should be listed the 1st applicant but we decided to run with it because out of the two of us, he is always somehow luckier when it comes to booking flights and rooms and such.

(We’ve travelled to Phuket on $60 flight tickets and Bangkok on $140 flight tickets – during peak periods! – thanks to his luck when booking flights. Lucky bugger once scored two-way flight ticket to London via SQ at $1200 when he wanted to visit his brother!!! Somehow there’s always crazy flash sales going on whenever he’s lurking on flight websites seh. No prizes for guessing who’ll be in-charge of making bookings for our honeymoon!!!)

Alhamdullilah, berkat kegigihan dan doa restu ayah ibu, we scored a 3-room unit on our 3rd try on our 3rd year and 3rd month anniversary! 3 turned out to be such a lucky number for us in our BTO application! Even our ballot number was 30. (It would have been better if our ballot number was 3, of course, but hey not like I’m complaining heh heh) We would have even chosen unit #13-333 if the block was attractive but it wasn’t so we settled for another block and another unit. Whatever it is, tetap Alhamdullilah!

But the best part of our whole future home journey? Our BTO is located directly opposite where we first met – Temasek Polytechnic. Romantic fanatic pe?! We’re already planning on taking leave and having lunch in the school and reliving our poly days once we move in to our new home

(Sesiapa yang dulu dari our poly, korang kenal ‘Mushroom’ tak? Ah kat situ ah aku selalu tunggu kehadiran bakal laki aku masuk sekolah pastu stalk dia dari belakang hahahahaha what what not my fault my mamat is blessed with a very sek, uhmmm, posterior ok. Hahahahaha! As you can see, way before I stalked wedding vendors, I sharpened my skillz by stalking my eyecandy in school mua ha ha ha)

My mat was especially pleased and said that it was a blessing in disguise kita tak dapat our first two applications because he loves the current location of our BTO due of its proximity to some road or expressway (I am clueless about roads and expressways, sorry) and we’re directly in front of a mini hub consisting of 4 coffeeshops, 3 supermarkets, 2 fast food restaurants, clinics, atms, bookshops, bakeries, minimarts, hair salons, video shops, etc! Very convenient! Plus, we’ll also be very near to our favourite chendol and bubble tea stall, the awesome Penang A1 Chendol shop! (If you’re ever around the area, please, give their popular favourites a try. Their drinks are awesome gilz, I tell you.)

With the signing of our lease agrement, we recently talked about our living arrangements after the wedding while waiting for our new home to be completed – we’ve always had vague ideas on how it would be but never really got down to discussing details – but even after the recent discussion, we’re still quite stuck on how to go about doing it. He prefers if we stay with his family because his parents’ place is 10 minutes away from CBD which will really ease our trips to and fro our offices – something that I am totally fine and agreeable with.

Unfortunately, both of us also agree that his room is too small for the both of us. Can you imagine – his bedroom is 1 freaking third of my bedroom ok?! Baju baju aku je dah take up half his room, mana nak sumbat katil, rak buku, almari baju?! Takkan nak pasang atas dinding kan?! My bedroom, on the other hand, is very spacious and “boleh buat golek golek main badminton” as quoted by one of my girlfriends (can’t really remember who it was but I think it was Kartika!) and can fit both of us and more. Unfortunately, he grumbles about the 30-minute rides to work and back… although my argument is: Get used to it because you’ll be living in Tampines come 2014!

My mamat has also suggested renting a room while waiting; but I’m not keen on that idea at all because it is so wasteful to pay $600 – $800 rent every month when we can save that money for our future home!

Our current position now is still unclear but it’s something like this: I’m ok to live at his parents’ place while waiting for our new home since we only need to squeeze in his room and make do for less than a year (and since BTO units nowadays are so freaking small, it might do us good because after almost a year of squeezing in a teeny weeny room, our tiny 3-room flat might not seem so tiny after all ha ha ha) – but he needs to ask his parents first whether they’re ok with it in the first place. Check check mak bapak dia nak dia berambus dari rumah dorang hahahahaha cerita sedih pe kalau gitu

Ok I know this is not a wedding-related entry but sooner or later the content of this blog will change direction anyway because as exciting as our wedding preparations are, there are bigger and bolder adventures out there for us to experience and conquer once this whole wedding preparation journey runs its course. I’m still undecided whether to end this blog after the wedding is over and done with or continue writing our grand new adventures of home-building and child-bearing days (insya Allah).

But that, my friends, is another decision for another day

Looks like I’ve found the colour scheme that I want for our wedding decor!

My mat and Nani dah happily approved the scheme and I’m a happy camper, guys!

I’d love to care and share tapi I think we should keep the more-or-less confirmed items to ourselves because macam tak shiok lah kan for our guests who read this space kalau dorang dah tau the concept/colour scheme way in advance!

Plus, it will still depend on what our decorators have to say (whether they can pull it off + mana tau they might have certain constraints that we do not know of + takut tak kena dengan colour of wedding venue – I am especially concerned with this! ) so I’ll keep what we’ve decided on as #1 choice first, but will continue to source for more ideas as back-up.

Plus plus plus, some trends, some ideas, some things might change and evolve in the course of 15 months so we shall keep it under wraps for now.

And yes yes, I know, some other people lagi five, six months dah nak hold the majlis tapi masih belum decide what colour scheme and all abeh aku kat sini sebok dah choose ape colour scheme aku nak for aku punya wedding. What to do, akak ni memang jenis suka blaze down the expressway to the highway.

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In the course of trying to find the colour scheme that I like and getting inspired by moodboards after moodboards after moodboards, I’ve noticed that the main colour that usually gets included in the ones that I like is… wait for it… wait for it… PINK.

Which is really weird lah! Because, well, I’m okay with pink, and I quite like it, but it’s not exactly high up on my favourite colours list. But since it kept appearing in the moodboards that I liked, I decided ok let’s try and go with it.

Tanpa ku sangka dan tanpa ku duga, aku berjiwa Barbie rupanya.

See how pretty shades of pink (and its cousin, purple) can be!

(Source: The Sweetest Occasion)

If I do go with pinks and purples for my wedding decor, I’ll only like it if the pinks and purples are in miniscule amounts, though, so must jaga jaga the amount. Too much pink might make it too sickeningly sweet, don’t you think???

I once went to a wedding exhibition and a vendor did top-to-toe wedding decor setup in varying shades of pink and seriously my mata lagi sikit nak lompat out of its sockets and terjun diri. Tooooo much pink for my liking! And tooooo bright! Cannot cannot cannot. If that was my wedding decor, my mata sure koyak rabak seh. How to duduk atas pelamin like that kalau pengantin mata koyak rabak?!?!?! Tak cantik nanti our wedding pictures.

And pink-loving Barbie and Ken would have disapproved jugak ok. Their cute little wedding had lots of pinks but tak excessive sampai kena gadai mata segala.

I’ve been thinking.

I’ve been thinking of shifting this blog here but thought I’d do a little poll before I finish transporting everything over.

Gimme your thoughts, please!

Thanks for the taking part in the poll, guys!

I’ve decided to do a trial move to Kahwin-Khronicles for a month or so, and if it doesn’t feel right, I’ll pack everything up and come back.

In the meantime… MOVED: Kahwin-Khronicles

I think I’ve decided on the colour palette for our wedding decor!!!!!

(Source: Rock N Roll Bride)

Something similar, but with different feel:

(Source: Green Wedding Shoes)

Bright bursts of blue, pink, yellow and purple against white base.

Ok I think I like this idea much better than our previous idea of rainbow-themed decor!!!

Shall submit this to my chief kadam for approval (lol) but I think this will be an easy yes.

Similar colours packed in a moodboard:

(Source: The Sweetest Occasion)

ARRRGGGGGGGAAARRRGGGAAAARGRGGGRG I’M SO EXCITED NOW!!!

Kasai Sayang, please say you can pull this off. PLEASE.

Maha beautiful wedding up ahead!!!

(Source: Kudegraphy)

Don’t want to slow down the loading time so I’ve only included a few shots, but the rest of the gorgeous pictures from this couple’s gorgeous wedding receptions and photoshoot are here: Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV, and Chapter V.

I think I’ve spent 10 million hours gawking in awe at their wedding pictures *dreamy sigh*

Actually, it’s not just this wedding that looks maha beautiful, it seems like everything that Kudegraphy (they’re based in KL) captures will turn into magic and becomes ah-mazing ok. Unsurprisingly, the owner of Kudegraphy was featured in Signature Weddings’ January 2012 issue as one of the top 30 photographers in Asia!!!

And you know what makes this so much more beautiful? His business partner is his wife-to-be, and they’re getting married this year!!! Awww.

Quite obsessed with their stuff now, don’t mind me if I flood this space with more.