Hall Layout

Layout 1

Layout 2

Layout 3

These are what I have in mind for our hall layout. The hall isn't that big. It's just nice. With maximum capacity of 375pax in one time, I have to make do with whatever the space allows. But 375pax in a hall means everything will be so crammed, with no stage allocation and such. My pelamin decorator told me, 24 round tables (capacity of 240pax) will be more than enough to fill up the whole area, and it'll leave some space for buffet areas, stage and other misc stuffs.

Okay, the plans seem weird because these are just the rough ones. Once we've made a confirmed arrangement, I'll show you the proper layout. For the time being, just bare with the mock-ups yea.

My personal favorite is Layout 3. We decided that we're gonna spread the walkway around the hall, so it's fair for all guests to have a better view of us from every angle, nook and corner (since we are the center of attention!). That explains why the pelamin stage is quite a walk from the main entrance and meja makan beradap. The dancers will perform at the carpet area. Once they're done, it'll be transformed as a lepak place with pillows and all.

Well, these are just plans. Johan hasn't confirm anything about the layout yet. As usual, we'll sit down together and brainstorm whatever that we have in mind for the arrangement later.

Honeymoon Destination

This is merely a plan. Since we're saving a lot (mostly it's more to spending a lot) for the wedding so the thought of going for honeymoon hasn't even made it to our priority list yet. Well, at least not right after the wedding. Few weeks after that or best, until we are financially stable to splurge would be much better.

However...

That doesn't stop me from finding the best deals, especially for beach escapade. The one place that is within our range of budget is Phuket and yes, Krabi, which seems to be the current favorite place for honeymoon among bloggers (or so I think..).

In this post, let's talk about Krabi alone, shall we?

I've made tedious research on these two island and found Krabi to be the most affordable among them. Well, for our budget at least. After hours and days spent on googling online and visited each respective websites, I have shortlisted these hotels as the best accomodation that meets the requirements and most importantly, BUDGET!

Aree Tara is modern and chic. The pool is shaded most of the time but it's still pretty. They have pool access room. Bonus!

Buri Tara have pool access room too. I think Sha stayed here on her honeymoon. They have two separate sinks in the bathroom. I loike!

Aonang Paradise Resort is beautiful! They are surrounded in greenery, which is very relaxing and laidback. Heaven!

These resorts are located in the Ao Nang area. I've always looked up for real reviews from travellers in Trip Advisor for the the real insights and honest opinions before I book on accomodation. Normally, pictures shown on the resorts' websites are perfect but Trip Advisor shows the real flaws and actual things. Those pictures above were taken from visitors on Trip Advisor who have visited the resorts. So I could assume that these places are actually almost the same as they depicted in their websites. Pretty, aren't they?

These resorts are affordable, considering the location, ammenities and room. Tapi untuk penjimatan terhebat, do book early. Direct booking with the hotel is cheap but I found cheaper option if you book with booking.com. They don't charge your credit card. It's only needed to guarantee your booking. All payment must be made directly to the hotel when you arrive. It means, they don't take your credit card details and simply charge you the total rate of your booking. Yeay!

I have set my eyes on one of these resorts. Can you guess which one would it be? Hehe.

On the next post, I shall write about Phuket and its heaven for honeymoon escapade.

Another Red Heels Post!

Okay. Saya tahu. Sila muntah. Online shoes obsession lagi. I can't resist. It RM200 plus shipping. Ini lagi cantik! Uhuhuhu...

UPDATE! Gable Boxes

Okay. So I finally found a local supplier for gable boxes while simultaneously searching online. It's from PPH, located in Penang. Finding this, I know I can finally save my time, energy and petrol. No need to go all the way to Jln. Pudu or Brickfields for paper printing.

I got an instant quotation from the sales admin. The box is priced at RM0.70/pc. The delivery fee is charged at RM50 (sape-sape balik kampung ke Penang I nak kirim this just to cut cost. Hehehe.. ;p). So the total price for 800pcs of this box including delivery is RM610. Cheap? No. But I think it is relatively reasonable considering the box is quite big and is made of hard paper. For sure it is sturdy and able to hold the weight of an apple.

I did ask them if they are able to custom made the boxes in certain color. It is possible but it must be in large quantity. For 800pcs, no, tak layan. You have to buy their ready-made white boxes jugak. It's ok then. We can play around with ribbons and stickers. Not a problem.

On the other hand, my mom is still undecided on the favors. Since both of our family has agreed to sponsor the favors, and there's a greenlight from the other side, so now I'm just waiting for my mom's. I'm annoyed whenever she suggested on giving out the 'expected' favors. I strictly told her I don't want those regular bekas mengkuang, handkerchief, candle, things that collecting dusts later on, etc. I'm demanding, I know. But it's our wedding, at least let us (mainly ME!) have it our way. Since the other side has decided to give out edible items as wedding favor (which I think is cool considering they won't be such a waste after all), I thought my mom should do the same. But she loathe the bahulu idea. Bleh! I know there's gonna be a HUGE row between me and my mom later on regarding this matter.

Back to the boxes, it's not confirmed yet. I haven't placed my order as I need to discuss further with the others. Budget, it is important!

Restricted

Someone told me I shouldn't be too frank on my blog. That I shouldn't write everything in detail and post it online. Because what I wrote could be offended to some. Sometimes, it could backfires.

Oh wells...

From the bottom of my heart, I apologize if I've ever, in any way, caused harm and offend anyone of you.

But...

That doesn't mean that I'll stop blogging yo. I'll keep on writing my thoughts, but with extra cautious for the next coming entries. Cheers!

Red Wedding Shoes

Remember my wish to buy the red diamonte peep-toe heels at Charles & Keith for my reception? I went to Pavilion last week to buy them. Can you believe that they don't have size 7 in stock? Arghhhh! And yesterday I went to their outlet in Pyramid. Again, same story. No size 7 in red but they have others in black and champagne. I just lost hope and never want to search again even in their MidValley or OU outlet.

As good as it can be, I resorted to online shopping. I now specifically want platform-type heels, so I don't have a bad backache after hours of standing, walking and running in heels.

A gem found on Ebay. Just what I've been looking for! Priced at RM175 including shipping.

Why I Insist On Wearing White for Wedding

The title sounds a bit controversial. Ecehhhh... seeing that each bride has their own opinions regarding color, style and flow of her own wedding. The same goes to me. This is just merely my point of view. Hope it won't offend anyone out there.

I once have this vision of having my dream wedding in pink, where everyone wears pink. If possible, I want everything, EVERYTHING you know, from the scallop, dais, doorgift, deco and such to be in pink. And so it happens, I finally made my dream comes true by holding my engagement ceremony in yeah, you've guessed it, PINK. My whole family wears pink. Johan wears pink. My hantarans are in pink eventho they're for Johan. I even asked the caterer to prepare air bandung since it's in pink. Thank God he refused the idea seeing that it's not suitable for older people since they mix it with soda. Oh wells.

Anyway, I was happy, you know. Because finally, what I dreamed of has been realized. But not until I saw the photos from my OP. It's nice actually (ayat untuk sedapkan hati) but.... people often get confused when they look at my album. It was hard to acknowledge who's getting engaged because all of my family members were dressed in pink. To make matters worse, my older sister even wore her super sexy lace short pink kebaya with corset. Whilst me, the one who got engaged just wore a simple kurung pahang in songket with simple veil. So sekali pandang, macam my sister pulak yang bertunang dengan bajunya yang beriya-iya itu. Hahaha!

Mistake number one from my engagement ceremony. My lil sister, me & my older sister all in pink.

My boss' daughter during her wedding. See... everybody wore the same color combination. (but I do heart her dresses from Rizman Ruzaini though. Pretty!!!!)

Since then I make a pact of never want to wear my wedding dress in the same color as the family member does on my wedding. However, it's hard to please everybody. What's more with me having a combined wedding. My family would be okay since I knew them inside out, so a little persuading from a daughter should do the trick. But I know it's gonna be hard on Johan's family. He told me last week that his mom and aunt commented on our choice of color for nikah and reception. We're gonna wear ivory/off-white/cream color, whatever you calls it, for both event. I wanted white, but I know it's gonna make us both look fat so I opted for a bit yellowish color in it thus ivory comes to my mind. MIL said it makes no difference on Johan since he'll be wearing ivory baju melayu for both nikah and reception.

Okay, so this is what I suggested to Johan. For nikah, he should make baju melayu from ivory colored crepe (no satin please, I don't want him to look awful and shiny and bulging in the photos later on. It's for your own good, sayang...). To make things different, he can wear teal samping (or hints of blue) since my solemnization's theme color is teal.

This is just an example of baju melayu with blue samping. Of course Johan's would be just a simple baju melayu in ivory, minus the tanjak and overcoat.

A for reception, I advised him to make baju melayu from shantung or duchess in ivory. He can team it up with keris, tanjak, keris-shaped buttons (I saw one in Jedan at SACC Mall priced at RM55) and samping in the same shade or whichever suits best. There is a difference for your outfits dear eventho they are in the same color.

An example for complete outfit on reception. I hope Johan changed his mind and wears proper shoes rather than capal. Maybe I should wear super high heels just to intimidate him so he'd wear shoes to be at the same height with me. *evil grin*

I hope this clears you up, dear. I'm thinking about your outfits too okay.

White/off-white doesn't have to be boring. At least, people will immediately acknowledge who's the bride and groom because we are the only one who wears white. And it left me with no worries thinking that my sister and other people can wear french lace whichever way they want because for sure they aren't gonna be in the same color as us. I do think it's rude when you wear white/off-white while attending weddings because for once, let's just reserved the color to the bride and groom, yeah?

On the other hand, Johan and MIL have bought red colored materials for their whole family to be worn on our reception. It got me thinking to propose my family to wear black, you know, just to let people know the red team is Johan's and the black team is Elly's. Hahaha.

Gable Boxes for Reception

Uhhhh pening! Pening! Johan told me this evening that his mom and sister wanted to sponsor favors of chocolates and red apples at our reception in Putrajaya. There goes our plan to give custom CDs as wedding favor.

Obviously, I was having my bad-mood-bridezilla moment right there and then!

A few moments later, I do realize it does us good anyway. Imagine, the favor department has been taken care of. It left us with no worries. Plus, my mom did say something about wanting to contribute something as part of the favor as well. So I guess it's just fair for both sides to give something since we have combined wedding. Deyyy...brape banyak something daaaaa! Huhu..

Then, I was thinking about boxes and bags to put all the stuff together. I loathe paper bags with 'SELAMAT DATANG / TERIMA KASIH' wordings/tags. PERIOD! No offense but I just don't fancy them. Sorry. I like brown lunch bag, but Johan hates it. Too simple and too cikai, maybe? I remembered Sarah's post regarding print shops in Jln. Brunei. Maybe we can custom design our boxes at one of the shops there? I sooooooooo heart gable boxes. Too cute and I think it's large enough to stash everything inside but still look pretty and appealing, right?

Pictures are from Manolo Brides, Coral Creations & Nichole

Okay. Okay. These are just too cute! With ribbons and stickers, they'll be pretty. And I bet they are expensive. Let's just think positive eyy. Hopefully it's within our budget.

Birdcage Veil & Heels

We went to Pavilion yesterday in search of peep-toe heels for my reception event. I was influenced by Ami. Yes. Pointed kitten heels are so common. But since I've bought one already, let's not waste it. I'm gonna use it for my nikah then. Nikah pun ala-ala sopan, so I guess it'll be just alright for that ceremony. It matches my jubah as well, so no harm done. :)

Johan says it would be fun for me to wear heels that matches our reception theme. Certainly no black. So we opted for red then. I've thought about wearing colored heels for my wedding awhile back but I need a thumbs-up from Johan. Since he approved it, we went over to Charles & Keith searching for red peep-toe heels. I found one like in the picture in red. It's pretty and makes my feet look slimmer. Wheeeee! Priced at RM199, I'm gonna buy it soon since I have so many things pending this month.

On the other hand, I persuaded Johan to let me wear birdcage veil for the reception. I ni degil. Selagi tak dapat, selagi tu mintak. And finally he gave in sebab malas nak layan his bridezilla ni kut. Hehehe. So I contacted Dramatic Bombshell whether she can custom-made my birdcage veil. Let's wait for the reply and quotation then I'll share with you ladies.

All-time favourite! Hope she can meet my requirements and budget.

Happy Anniversary to my E-Day!

Today, this date, on 2009, was my Engagement Day. Pejam celik, pejam celik, it's been exactly one year since I'm engaged to Johan. This coming October we'll be husband and wife. The title scares me sometimes. Being a wife means new responsibilities, new families and new experience. But I can't wait to explore it with him!

It was a quick decision though. I have roughly 2 months to prepare everything from scratch. Making calls, buying materials for the attire, frequent trips to Jln TAR, fighting, headache and more fighting. After all, it all went smoothly and accordingly. There were flaws, obviously. Since this was the first BIG ceremony ever for my family, we have no clue at all where to start. The weather was hot and sunny that day, I was sweating and we had a fight the day before. But I was overjoyed when the whole family wore PINK! Hehe. Memories.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SAYANG! I LOVE YOU FOREVER!
Can't wait to marry you and together we make beautiful babies yeah?
*Cheesy, I know..*

Feather Trees

Pictures from Hostess Blog, Red Carpet Events & Jessica

I'm in love with these pretty table centerpieces! They are fluffy and resemble palm trees very much. For bolder look, you can change the color of the ostrich plumes to your liking. For fun addition, make it bright pink or electric blue! For weddings, it's appropriate to be in white. Cantikkkk!

So me, being a fickle-minded bridezilla, went online and search for wholesalers of ostrich plumes here in Malaysia. The result? Na-da! There are a lot in Ebay tho, and they are international sellers. The price is cheap but take into account of shipping charges to Malaysia. I did ask one of the sellers. They quoated USD$150 for 240pcs (medium size) ostrich plumes in black and red + express shipping. You do the math. Yes, RM500+ for feathers ONLY! So not worth it ok. I can do a lot with RM500 than just pay for feathers.

The solution? Just buy any color of your preferred bunga manggar. Thank God we bought these cheap bunga manggar earlier during last Christmas at Ikano (they were having SALE for christmas deco and I can't resist!). Paste the bunga manggar to a wire, make about 20 pcs per vase (depends on the size of your vase). Arrange and stick them together to form the leaves of palm tree. Then assemble them in your long vase. Haha. I know this is just merely an instruction. I haven't tried it out yet. Will do so in the future for your reference.

Oh wells, gotta hit the book. Got an important exam tomorrow.

Wedding Cake vs Pulut Kuning

I'm still undecided. Whether we're gonna have cake or pulut kuning for the 'cutting' ceremony.

Here's my two cents:



CAKE
I like cakes. But I hate wedding cakes. They are pretty but they're just what they are, a display. Simply a dummy, for show. Not edible, not for tasting. Most of the wedding cakes that I ate are tasteless. After the cake-cutting ceremony, most people are already going back so there'll be a huge leftover of that tasteless cake. Who's gonna eat all the fondant, icing, creams and the hard cake? Plus, they are overpriced. A 2-tier cake is priced at RM300?! That's insane! *ok, I'm a cheapskate. ;p * But the best part is, they can be made custom according to your liking. You have choices of design, color, flavor and yes, tier.






PULUT KUNING
They're traditional, suit Malay weddings well and are a favourite among the elders. My mom's a huge fan of pulut kuning. Me myself would rather eat pulut kuning rather than a slice of wedding cake. Plus, you can put any type of gravy to your liking. Mutton, beef or chicken curry. They are all tasty. People won't think twice to pack it home, compared to cakes. But unlike cakes, you can't change the color to suit your wedding theme. Just imagine if your wedding's theme color is red and you wanted the pulut to be in that color as well? Horror! I pun takut nak makan pulut kaler merah. Bukan pulut kuning dah namanya tu.




SO
my vote goes to
















PULUT KUNING! (obviously, duh!)
Let's see what Johan gotta say on this then. But, I'm still gonna have a cake anyway. For the candy table. Hahahaha!

Vendors

I'm on leave today. So I spent most of my daytime googling for vendors and giving them a call. Let's start with videographer. I've contacted Avicenna Studio, Dina Wedding and Telaga Pictures. All of them have reasonable rate and package. I need to discuss further with my dad, buat muka kesian sikit for sponsor. Harap-harap berjaya.

Next, scouting for entertainment. You know I want a traditional performance for my reception. I wanted zapin. It'll be just awesome if I managed to get kids as dancers. I have this thing for kids who dance for zapin. My Johorian side would be proud. Hehehe. And yes, I finally got a very reasonable quotation for my request. As usual, mail me for more info.

Phewww! It's 8 months left. Times flew by so fast! But seeing that my checklist are half-completed, I felt so relieved. Boleh la rilek jap pasni. This coming 14th February would be the anniversary of our engagement. I'll post an entry for that, seeing that you ladies never saw my engagement pictures.

On the other hand, I'm jealous that Johan snatched Nik Erwan Roseli to do his entourage's attire. I nak jugak! Tu la Elly. Siapa suruh tempah baju awal sangat!

My fave from his collection! For nikah would be awesome added with some blings on waistline and hemline.


Nak menangis tahap gaban terasa seperti nak buat baju baru. Elly, please calm down. Don't simply waste your money.

Hall Entrance

I want a simple wedding hall entrance just like that for my reception.

Next mission: buy easels, take professionally-photographed pictures and get 2 pillars with flowers as decoration.

Monthly Checklist

Following Ainun, she made an entry of checklist each month to remind her what she'd do to keep her preparation in order. I think that's a brilliant idea. I have 8 months left, so that means I should post an entry of checklist every month to keep me going.

So here's my checklist for February:

1. Call up Zatul (one of my bridesmaids) and ask her to send me her measurements for tailoring.
2. Find white + blue lanterns for my nikah deco & black + red lanterns for my reception deco.
3. Finalized the card's draft with Johan.
4. Collect my nikah outfit from Zaza.
5. Start planning for our honeymoon destination.
6. Surveying potential videographer.
7. Finding bridesmaids for my reception. (still pening kepala ni...)

I think that's enough for the time being. I should stick to this checklist for the entire month of February.