Wedding FAVORS

So from the start we've decided that we'll be using brown paperbags for special guests favors, since we know where to get them directly. Of course that was purely coincidental when we were looking for paper bags for our online business (Note: Pherry Clucker == Naz).

Haven't decided yet though whether we should do the top right (refer image) or bottom right. Maybe we'll do both! Ahh yeah that's the best decision kot. But for sure there will be doilies coz we've bought them at Syarikat Bunga Reben, RM6 for 100 pieces of 3.5" height cute white paper doilies, there are other large sizes as well. If my wedding isn't *this* near and if I haven't started into planning yet I would surely make my wedding theme as lace & doilies, imagine that. *salivates*

Anyways, I wanted to write something simple for the thank you tag but ofcourse printing on doilies would be a disastrous and writing Merci instead of Terima Kasih sounds cocky and will not be approved by mothers, aunts and uncles. And maybe even frowned upon by kids, well coz they won't understand the word. My friend has a different opinion though, haha! Read the re-tweet below.

RT @vulfadli:RT @sptnikswthart: mengada tak if tulis merci instead of terima kasih on wedding tags? ahaa. -- lagi mengada kalau tulis menci :$

So I've designed a few thank you tags and showed them to Naz and this one just melts his heart, I supposed so coz he just went "COMELNYA!" followed by a few moments of silence in the instant messenger. I imagine he has melted off the chair. Yes, pretty sure he didn't went off to get soda in the kitchen.

I use the same type of heart shape as in our save-the-date card, it will be printed out on purple & blue turquoise paper with black ink. Full heart shape, not cropped out like the image above. And then pasted on the doilies.. We've also bought similar colored ribbons at Syarikat Bunga Reben, it's situated at the building next to Semua House, at the very end, opposite of CapSquare. Very hard to miss. There's so many things in Syarikat Bunga Reben, even party stuffs! Gonna drop by there again tomorrow.

Those above are for special guests favors, as for normal guest we've asked the help of Kerol's (Naz's lil brother) father-in-law in Jakarta to bring in a few chosen stuff, preferably coz it's a lot cheaper to buy from there :)

And on another fashionable note, I was featured in Eh! March edition for style shot taken during Old Blossom Box's opening :)

pardon the stumpy knees.

p/s: Found a few affordable chandeliers in my area, around RM200-RM300++, quite worth it considering the design :D. Contemplating.

Save The Date!

Click on image above to view a larger version.

A mini save the date I made, I don't know what is sanding called in English unfortunately haha. And of course guests will receive the real DIY card we made with the help of Naz's siblings for all the tedious cutting & gluing. Me and Naz came up with the idea, bought the stuffs and I designed the inlays and monograms. I'm pretty satisfied with our card actually and here's a mock-up for your viewing pleasure;

Naz's card will be in blue-ish turquoise and mine will be in purple. Even our envelopes has our monogram ♥

It's not majestic, but it's personalized and it's ours.

p/s: Original reason I made the save-the-date? Coz Naz wanted to give it to his Japanese colleagues so they would stop bullying him & send him home early & coz it's pretty tiring when people asks you when's the date all the time (not that it didn't put a smile on my face everytime I answered hihi)

calendar via

Wedding PHOTOGRAPHER pt II

Received through email from colleague;

Petikan dari photographer Faisal Rahim.

Aku harap tips ni membantu serba sedikit kepada pasangan yang mencari photographer kahwin mereka.

Konsep - Mula-mula sekali, duduk bincang dengan tunang. Cuba cari photographer yang sesuai dengan konsep wedding korang. Sebab setiap photographer mempunya style berbeza. Photojournalism ke, formal ke, klasik ke dsb. Takkan korang nak suruh photographer yang karekternya cool/alim2 tapi korang nak buat beach wedding pakai bikini loncat2 atau buat wedding dalam air? Mau demam seminggu photographer tu.

Recommendation - Oleh kerana majlis perkahwinan ni merupakan pengalaman paling berharga dalam hidup, seharusnya kita kena percaya hasil kerja orang yang terlibat dalam majlis kita. Jadi, adalah lebih baik kalau photographer yang dipilih tu daripada recommendation dari kawan2 atau saudara mara yang pernah bekerja dengan mereka. Jadi kita boleh agak camne nanti kalau dia jadi photographer kita. Kita juga boleh nilai sendiri hasil kerja sebenar mereka. Bukan setakat tengok sample album photographer yang biasanya hanya compile gambar2 terbaik mereka yang kekadang ada yang amik gambar orang lain punya (kisah benar),hua hua..

Budget - Wedding photographer ni bukan dinilai dengan harga album. Tapi dinilai dengan kemahiran ataupun pengalaman mereka. Sebab tu kalau nak pilih wedding photographer pastikan mereka dalam budget korang. Kalau tengok harganya lebih mahal, cuba tengok berbaloi ke tak pilih dengan perbezaan harga tersebut. Part-time photographer harganya lebih murah tapi ada risiko macam2. Full-time photographer biasanya harga lebih tinggi tapi mereka professional dalam kerja mereka. Masing2 ada kelebihan dan kekurangan. Yang penting pastikan mereka ada kamera sendiri, bukan pinjam sedara dia atau girlfriend dia punya, whoahaha.

Personaliti - Benda ni bagi aku sangat penting. Takkan korang nak kerja dengan photographer muka macam Hitler yang masam dan garang mcm nak gigit orang. Pastu pendiam dan tak mesra alam. Itik serama nak kena sembelih pun lagi mesra dari diaorang. Sebaiknya kenal dan berjumpa bertentang mata (tapi jangan terpikat-bahaya. Tapi ramai photographer hensem dah kahwin, wakakaka). Sebenarnya kita boleh tahu dia tu sesuai bekerja dengan kita atau tak. Orang jawe panggil ‘ada chemistry‘.

Deposit & Payment - Tang ni memang kena jelas sejelasnya. Kalau boleh tanya byk2 kat photographer korang. Camne dengan deposit kalau cancel majlis? Kalau majlis lebih sejam cas tak? bila kena bayar? malam ni nak masak apa? dsb. Jangan ambil mudah. Ia bagi mengelakkan kita di cas lebih sebab kita pandang ringan hal ini. Pastu melenting dan buat page ‘Hate Fan‘ kat Facebook, kekeke..

Tempahan - Photographer yang bagus biasanya sibuk. Jadualnya sentiasa penuh dan ada sebab mereka begitu. Kalau mmg dari kecik dah tengok hasil kerjanya dan dah besar mampu plak nak bayar (dalam budget) cepat2 tempah. Tapi janganlah 17 tahun lagi nak kahwin dah tempah. Entah2 photographer tu dah arwah. Sebab sehari bertangguh ada kemungkinan tarikh tu diambil orang lain. Lagipun bukan korang berdua je nak kahwin, orang lainpun nak kahwin gak, hehehe.

Lain-lain - Perkara lain ni kekadang perlu diambil kira. Antaranya adakah photographer tu ada pembantu semasa majlis, ada tak back-up equipment, camne dia pakai masa majlis nanti (korang boleh lempang dia kalau datang pakai seluar pendek time shoot nikah) dan perkara2 lain yang berkaitan. Apa yang penting photographer tu mmg wujud dan bukanlah photographer professional negara Pandora dalam cerita Avatar tu, hoho.

Kesimpulannya senaraikan beberapa photographer pilihan. Jumpa mereka dan lihat hasil kerja mereka. Kenal karekter mereka. 80% pelanggan aku datang dari bersemuka seperti ini. Mungkin sebab aku sangat comel, baik hati dan berhemah tinggi, wakakaka *perasan. Survey harga mereka dan pekej yang ditawarkan. Oh ya, photographer biasanya kurang entertain pertanyaan yang tidak serius terutamanya melalui mail.

Seeloknya pertanyaan tu disertakan dengan tarikh, lokasi, jenis album dll. Ini bertujuan nak jaga market dan pastikan hanya orang yang benar2 nak kahwin yang tanya. Bukan kanak2 bawah umur (boleh kena penjara ni) ataupun pesaing2 yang ada niat tak baik dengan mereka :) Ia juga bertujuan supaya mereka masih available pada tarikh yang ditanya tersebut.

Perlu diingat photographer juga manusia. Bukan robot, mereka juga ada perasaan. Ada masanya buat kesilapan. Itulah perlunya berbincang supaya benda camtu dapat diminimumkan pada hari bersejarah korang semua. Akhir sekali, tepuk dada, tanya pada diri sendiri sakit ke tak? hahahaha *takde kaitan, sekian. Wabillahi taufik wal hidayah wassalamualaikum warah matullahi wabarakatuh.

SEE

What do you see in these photos?

Yes, that. I want a chandelier for my wedding. Rent/Buy? Ofcourse it should be lucite white or smoky lavender or atleast dusty pink - the theme color for my reception (fussy much? -_-). Any suggestions on where to get this? Preferably cheap aka not crystal :D

images via citified

Wedding PHOTOGRAPHER

Hmm, wedding photographers is a tricky area since I'm quite fussy about the photographs, angle of shots, editing, how the photos are arranged in the storybook and whatnot (okay, I'm fussy about everything in my wedding -_-). The truth is, I once wanted to be a photographer myself, ofcourse that goes way back during my myspace years (aaaages ago!), art indie deviantart, geez haaaaaa lalala..... Now I think anyone can be a photographer if they have enough determination and know how to google. But to be really, like really reaaally good at it?

First of, I looooooooove most of the dreamy yellow tinted retro styled photos by the legendary L.A based Max Wanger:

And also most of the shots at Green Wedding Shoes, the style, the angles, depth of field, usage of white space etc etc. By golly all is tres parfait! But (there comes the but) then again, let's come back down to reality and remind myself that I am not anywhere in USA, not even Canada not even Europe. I'm in 1Malaysia BolehLand and no way I can afford to fly in Max Wanger or any Green Wedding Shoes featured photographer to be my wedding photographer.

Plus, I'm pretty sure we have our own Malaysian Max Wanger waiting to be discovered, or is there one already??

If I have the big bucks, I'd totally hire any of these big names;

Fad Manaf

Recently was the official photographer for Awesome Dzu & now husband Khairil. Dzu owns the wonderful cupcake house - Wondermilk Cafe.

Janggut Touch

Honestly Janggut Touch was among the first few photographers that we looked into for our wedding and we were HOOKED! Love the classic touch, grainy roughness that actually worked for the photos and umm yeah the subtle colors. Failing to afford these guys made us feeling down down down for a few good weeks (time a fleeting!). They were also the official photographer of Adlin & Emelda (knew that after flipping through the archives).

Fatiniz

A little different than the two above but talented none the less. And Fatiniz is a lady, mind you. How often do we come across a professional lady photographer for weddings? Nada! Imagine how comfortable it would be in the dressing room, and ofcourse with her being a woman - she would know best which angle and which shot the brides would looooove. Oh come on, every girl has that little vain camwhore 'tude!

Daniel Zain

Vibrant, natural colors. Not heavily editted but still looks pretty superb to me. Knowing that he was the official photographer (after I asked for the package price) for Anwar Ibrahim's son's wedding was like a sure NO for our tiny budget. Meh, atleast kami berpijak di bumi yang nyata :)

And then for the ones that's up our alley, the ones that we can really afford and LIKE!

Considering:

BlissCandid

Love the editing and angles. Uber friendly & handsome couple Nadia(manages Bliss Candid) & Aizat (main photographer). Best of all, affordable.

Digital Syndicate

Love the most recent editing, soft and retro. Owned by an old friend of ours, Dell & husband. I've known Dell since my myspace years (aaaages ago!), art indie deviantart, geez haaaaaa lalala.. & Naz has known Dell since his foundation year in MMU *cough* old crush *cough*.

AbouttheletterA

A really good friend of Naz and has been doing professional photography for quite some time. Got a really nice offer from him too.

Choteng2x

A friend of a friend, he's part of Manggis group so we're pretty sure his work is comparable to his teammates. Pretty nice offer too, thank you dear friend ;)

Last but not least, a new group of photography team that did our engagement photos;

DarkLightsPhotography

Totally love what they did for us, Arif's creativity is indeed undeniable. I've known them since Naz's uni years, really really good friend of Naz infact they were all his schoolmates back in STAR. We're comfortable with them, especially Naz since he cannot pose for a photo even if his life depends on it, don't worry baby - mama got your back -_-". Offering us three photographers with a very sweet deal. Oh yeah $$$$$ --- EDIT 25/02/2010: We've decided to take them but after confirming, they had to cancel us because one of them can't make it due to work commitment and the other one wouldn't do it without his partner. Hmmm :[

Now who shall we choose to capture our moments?

p/s: sorry I haven't been commenting in anyone's blog in awhile, totally busy with wedding kompang aclapping near my ears every second of the day.

EDIT: Naz won't let me DIY them cute boutonnieres :( he said it's better if we buy the ready made ones. Hmm....

44DAYS

Is still a long way to go right?

Reception Dais

• I have nothing else to add but turns out Naz's side will be doing the same design of dais, damask damask no more. Stress, sad, stress, sad.
• Will it be weird or boring if both events have the same design of dais? And from the talk of his bridal house, looks like theirs will be much more grandiose than mine.
• Should I feel intimidated? Should I change the design now? I still want to keep my theme as sweet & shy with white bases and lilac & mauve as the accompanying colors.
• Got a pair of lace umbrella from Naz's bridal house, only RM15 rent for two pieces! Worth it :D

Solemnization Dais

• Bought the pillows and white table. Needed to buy laces or something to attach at the edge of the pillow because we bought plain colored square pillows. Naz bought something before asking me and when he showed me the lace, I tried as hard as I can to suppress the bridezilla in me. But he saw it anyways and we're gonna buy something else to replace the not so nice lace he bought, so sorry dear.
• Yash already gave me her white fur carpet. Thanks love. Not sure yet what to do with it.
• Will probably make more pomander balls to throw around the dais. Gonna check out Semua House tonight :| Thanks to this sweet lady for her write-up.

Hantaran

• I'm gonna do everything on my own, it's gonna be fairly simple (mostly coz I suck at crafting -_-)
• Tiny beads of pearls, ribbons, felt, and maybe carnations? And nope, not gonna use fresh flowers since I'll be doing it myself so I really don't want to think about dying flowers on my big day.
• But would it be weird using carnations for hantaran and roses for all other crafts/dais/bouquet etc?
• Do both parties really need sirih junjung as hantaran?

Boutonnière

• I'm gonna DIY 'em myself, possibly using craft papers or felt. And some feathers for Naz's side. Yes, I'm gonna do for both events. They're all la familia, why not right?
• But probably gonna do about 15 special handmades ones and for the helpers/little angels I'll make a simpler felt boutonniere.
• A special custom-made illustrated buttons for friends, KIV :)

Madre

• Mom has already handed in our forms to Pejabat Agama and we're waiting.
• Mom is also sewing up the curtains for our old house. All by herself, poor mommy.
• I need to buy fabrics for mom's outfit for Naz's reception, baby blue with black lace :)

Photographers

• We've made our research and we'll be deciding before he goes.

You have no idea how freaking out I am right now, Naz is leaving this Sunday for five weeks and I can't help but cringe that he won't be around at this crucial time.

Family members ...... what? Thanks & thanks for your help.

p/s: Opinions needed pls..

EDIT: Thank you all for the comments & encouragements ♥ I'll definitely call up you guys if I need any help, count on it ;)

Sidetracked into DETAILS

NSFW pictures ahead, proceed with caution.

Sorry Feyonce (better known as fiance), bride-to-be friends and twilight-hater readers; I got sidetracked into DETAILS & think I've fallen in love all over again:

I've actually forgotten how I fall head over heels over this guy (for Twilight & his delightfully funny interviews which followed after) after watching New Moon, got disappointed and completely Do Not Want to know anything about him ever again. I was like a little girl who just got her cotton candy stolen by the boy whom she likes so very much. The boy was mean, and the girl (metaphorically me) no longer likes him.

Though Rob was in no way at all mean to me, I was just expecting more out of his acting in New Moon, and the glimpse through Remember Me has crushed me more & more (still a little too stiff? In my opinion at least). But coming across this DETAILS interview, I was once again reminded why exactly I loved him in the first place.

From beers to elephants to skin eating diseases to porn and back to elephants and some more beers, he is nothing but amazingly quick witted, shy, utterly self-deprecating and humorous too. Looking gorgeous is a bonus. ILUROB.

Read the interview, pls?

I also love the comments about the DETAILS photoshoot:

"I thought he was quite witty and he is obviously very intelligent if not a little dark. These photos are very tastefully done...sexy and mysterious without being pornographic, it was artful. I thought his detachment from the models made it sexier. Like he was yearning to touch them but never quite did."

"As much as Rob would love to entertain the thousands of invites he is receiving from his immediate stardom he has to refrain. Mostly doing this to protect who he is and always so cautious about relishing the moment because someone is always watching him waiting to distort his joy."

Oh Rob. Can't wait for more outtakes from this photoshoot!

And scratch that, I'm looking forward to Remember Me ♥

JEWELRY fit for a Queen (& King)

Custom designed by Alfad & Amir Mirza for my 3 days wedding.

I'm ready to rule the world! (Yeah, you may barf now -_-")

On one fine Sunday, as planned, once both of my wedding dresses is completed on the tailoring stage, we will have a fitting session. To see if it needs any alteration before patch work and beadings are done. It is one of the most anticipated days because then I'd get to see my dream wedding design materialized. But first, they showed me the collection of silver plated jewelries they ordered for my wedding days. Honestly, I'm very amazed that they did so much more than I expected. Even up to customizing the accessories for Naz (dude got a blingin' keris, literally), brooches for his tanjakand two blingin' necklace if he wants to wear 'em for our two days occasion.

I'll, I mean WE'LL be wearing pearl accented accessories on my reception day to match my pearl beaded modern kurong outfit. The clothes (oh-my-god) fits perfectly! No alteration needed, I'm so glad it wasn't too big or too small for me. Less worry there. Being the fussy bride, I so not want to wear the usual pointed kitten heels Malay brides most likely wear (any bridal provides the same type of shoe). And it is so so hard to find white peep toe pumps in KL city. I finally resorted to online shopping *prays hard it will arrive in time*

Amir & Fad is currently finding two similar pearl accented brooches to the one Naz will wear on his tanjak, for me to glue on top of my shoe. So nice the boys, hehe. Yeah well the red sole is very much a cliche to any shoe store right, sorry Louboutin. I'll probably paint it black later (if I can remember to do so, 50 more days OMG!)

Then for the other dress for Naz's reception, here's a sneak peek to my dress;

Black french lace with turquoise satin silk. Complemented with baroque styled jewelries, complete collection are the ones I'm wearing above.

Totally love the baroque jewelry, and the dress is TO-DIE-FOR. Thank you so much Amir & Alfad for making this happen. I can't wait for the dress to be beaded with swarovski and such. I don't know just do your magic, so far it's working! You guys made me feel like the Queen! And as for the shoes, tum-tadam;

The black ruffled beauty from Charles & Keith, Amir suggested adding a few turquoise swarovski on the edges to match it with my dress? Hope it won't be OTT.

Anyways that wasn't all that Amir showed to me, he was designing two dresses for the upcoming Anugerah Bintang Popular, sort of like the Golden Globe's for Malaysia. He just finish tailoring two of his dresses, I hear ombre fabric is popular now, locally.

It looks so much softer, more graceful in real life! Must've been the flash, the color is creamier too supposingly. Love the pleats, so sweet. It's not yet fully finished, still needs to be added with beads & whatnot. I wonder who will wear it that night, hmmm :)

Oh well, I can't wait for the next fitting when the beadings & lace patch-work is finish! Then I'll get to choose & try on the make-up and hairstyle suitable for my wedding :D

p/s: bought Ikea's Lack side table for the solemnization table, yay!