Pfft

Pfft

I wonder why it seems easy breezy enough when i helped out with the hantaran for my sisters & cousin. Tapi bila nak buat untuk diri sendiri… ada je yang tak kena, tak puas, tak betul, tak sesuai.

Kenapa?? Kenapaaa????

Ouh. I need double sided tape and more pins.

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Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah

:)

I feel so blessed. Thank you, Allah.

We had our first appointment with Lady Sophia Bridal last Thursday. It was difficult to choose the baju. Semuanya lawa! Wish i could pilih them all *sigh*

eventually picked 4. An off white, a gold, a very soft baby pink, and a bold pink+black for the two days :)

They go sweetly with the cream, gold & champagne with a bit of pink ribbons + flowers pelamin :)

Am keeping pink to a minimal, i hope.

Eh, tidak! Spoke too soon. Hehehe.

My family will be in pink thai silk + brown songket baju kurung pahang. My bridesmaids will be in pink top + pink & orange polka dots kain for their baju kurung. Tapi semuanya different shades of pink from my baju pengantin. So it’s still ok, kan kan kan???

And and and… Another fab news :)

One of my best girlfriends, nurul, is doing the props for our photobooth. To be used for our nikah and sanding photobooths for guests…. as well as the outdoor photoshoots after nikah, the casual outdoor (yes, another one!) one week after our nikah & after the sanding *yes, stop rolling your eyes*grins*

So, anyways, back to the props story… She did a fabulous job! Awesome sangat. I didnt put any expectation. Just a vague idea in my head how it should look like. Showed nurul some pics so that she knew what i was talking about.

And last night. She whatsapp-ed me the work-in-progress. Amazing sangat! Masya Allah, it’s 12345678x nicer than what i had in mind!

I super sangat love my girlfriends!

Anyways, here’s the sneak peek :)

ps: some of the phrases that dont make sense are actually memorable ones from students’ karangans over the years. The ones that still tickle me (and us) till now.

‘Assalamu’alaikum polis’ is circa 2003 when a student wrote in his compo. Character called police to report a robbery.

‘meletup kegembiraan’ popped up in 2008, i think. Student wrote a direct translation of ‘bursting with happiness’.

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fast back

fast back

the title makes no sense… except to me.

amilia from facelift has sent me a beautiful sketch of my bridal room yeserday, as promised. she works fast! i’m the one who is not. have yet to reply to her. after i’m done with my work, i hope.

ola lola has messaged about the desserts deco. they work fast and have started on the desserts deco, as well. i’m the one who is not. masih belum sempat buat deposit *guilty* again, after i’m done with work, i hope.

honestly, i’ll be more than happy to let them (facelift & lolas) decide the best combi and doll up their respective corner until they are satisfied :) me? i’ll be glad to have sedap desserts to munch on and a presentable bridal room to get our pics taken. hehehehe

cos macarons, popcorns and chocs are the only things in my mind… i’m leaving the deco to the experts cos i’ve always been wow-ed by their work.

seriously, macarons!

*not thinking mode* lalalalalalalaaaa

17 days…. seventeen…. tujuh belas.

stay calm.

casual outdoor photography with Little Fairies by Nasheda

casual outdoor photography with Little Fairies by Nasheda

the mr and i went for our first photo session last sunday. An evening date with Little Fairies by Nasheda. Do check out the Little Fairies page in Facebook.

Raffles Place on a sunday :)

Nevermind that it rained that day. In fact, i love it! Perhaps we could get good pics with rainbows, was the first thing that crossed my mind. However, tak dapat rainbows…. tapi dapat many shots of water reflections and splashes of water when we jumped. When else could we get such awesome pics if not on a rainy day :)

The grey skies might appear gloomy but, fret not. It worked perfectly well for us cos we both wore white (+khaki pants for him). When we were specifically instructed by the photographer to “wear white, khaki pants, no prints”, little did we know the reason why. They look effortlessly timeless :)

And the hot pink heels made their debut! :)

The pictures turn out amazing :) much thanks to our dear friend for the truly unexpected wedding gift. We love everything about it.

The entire photography session was fantastic. Everyone was in good spirits, smiles & laughters all around although the shoot overshot by 2 hrs. We were supposed to end at 7 pm… tapi akhirnya selesai at 9 pm. Even till the very last pic, semua masih lagi senyum, ketawa, berbual walaupun dah penat, kaki dah lenguh :)

ps: i did my own make up. It was a quick-quick rush-rush job cos i only had abt half an hour between my class that ended at 330 pm and the photo session that started at 5 pm. Nasib baik muka tak jadi macam joker *LOL*

i used MAC primer. Awesome, i say. It stayed throughout the photoshoot. Despite the rain, jumps, sweat, oil. It stayed :)

Sneak peek!! :)

The MAC face primer, eyeshadow primer, lipstick & lip gloss.

Other make up that i used not in this pic, chanel foundation, estée lauder concealer & blusher, doll me up eyeshadows, and some off-the-counter mascara, eyeliner & eyebrows powder. No time to put on the fake eyelashes, tho. Tapi tak pe :)

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On our way to raffles place. Us in a cab. I main-main experiment with the tudung style. Nasib baik menjadi *phew* god knows berapa banyak pins i used to make sure that tudung stays in place throughout. And it did! After so many jump shots this and that, the tudung stayed good throughout :)

Plus: i bought the lace tudung at the last minute – day before photoshoot baru sempat beli tudung, cardigan to be worn over the sleeveless empire cut dress, his shirt, his pants. Nasib baik sempat! :)

I still have a lot to learn in the ‘draw eyebrows’ department, as you can see. But nevermind, janji tak macam wayang pekji, tak pe. Hehehehe.

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And these are the ones by Little Fairies! :)

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Glad we did

Glad we did

I’m glad we booked almost all the vendors one year before the wedding. Saves me the headache of looking for and deciding on services+stuff at the last minute.

And all i had to do in 2011 was duduk diam-diam and save up as much $$$$$ as possible, upon knowing very well how much i have to put aside and not overspend (too much). And the only things i can sibuk-sibuk on are my own DIY projects just cos i wanna have at least one hasil tangan sendiri :)

It has been a long journey for a year so brief.

Lets recap the timeline of what/when we booked to help btb out there. I purposely staggered my bookings so that i only need to focus on one aspect of the wedding at a time. One aspect a month so that tak rasa stress :)

Oct 2010:
we decided to get married but delayed the engagement date.
mak andam & deco for sanding (sangat kiasu abt this one cos i know these are the most susah to get kalau buat last minute) opted for open booking (meaning: dah buat deposit tapi belum confirm date & specific package)

Dec 2010:
our very lowkey & simple engagement.
videographer

Jan 2011:
booked caterer (another impt one. Cos food is the make it or break it for any event. Must ways cepat-cepat get your preferred caterer)

May 2011:
mak andam nikah

June 2011:
photographer
desserts corner for nikah

Aug 2011:
confirmed menu with caterer + deposit

Oct 2011:
deco & caterer for nikah reception

December 2011:
confirmed menu for desserts (nikah)
bought rings & barang-barang hantaran
collect baju nikah
start rolling out senarai tetamu and collate addresses (this one paling susah nak selesai. Trust me)

Jan 2012:
bridal room for nikah
henna for sanding
finalise invitation card design
confirmed wedding reception venue
bought fabric for baju bridesmaids
scheduled appointments with all main vendors

I have to admit that Jan 2012 is the busiest (+paling penat) month cos inilah masanya to meet up (after office hours, no less) with so many different vendors. Keep a diary so you can schedule your meetings with ease, especially if you have to juggle work that selalu ada meetings and/or deadlines, and also orang yang kerja shift. No point scheduling a meeting with a wedding vendor on a day/week when you have an important deadline to meet or a long and draining meeting to attend. It will definitely affect the decision making & throwing of ideas when you meet up with the vendors after work. (in my case, i always end up very hyper and very hungry. Donno why)

One big tip. Leave the last month before the wedding exclusively for meetings with vendors. Do not attempt sourcing for anything at the last minute. And pace your meetings + facial/spa/ what-have-yous. It’ll be exhausting to have wedding related appointment every evening after work.

Good luck, babes! :)

shall vs shall not

shall vs shall not

i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website. i shall not look at any wedding ideas website.

so there.

the bridal room deco will be coming in this evening. the videographer, soon after that.

what shall it be? vintage modern? contemporary modern? vintage chic? modern classical? what? what?

and while we have a good idea of what kinda background songs we want for our wedding video (piano), we have not decided on THE song.

anyways, for those who have not seen the following video, do take time to b tickled pink by it *grins* and you’ll soon understand this blog entry.

in the mean time, keep all those junk food away from me! *nom nom nom*

a respite

a respite

a respite, no matter how brief, i iz much thankful.

and tonight, cosy dinner with girlfriends and their partners (- F who will be working) at the hangout place in the east, it will be. much needed break from all the planning. (and then the apointments will whale in. starting… tomorrow. 2 appointments in the same evening!)

right now, i have a lot to do at work. siibuuuk.

so last weekend i dapat my baju dulang hantaran. dah disulam. sungguh lawa! saya suka :)

we have bought his songkok and capal for the nikah as well as quran translation (his gift for me) for the dulang hantaran.

sempat juga ke orchard road that sunday to buy white long sundress for the outdoor shoot this weekend. i bought two while long dresses. nonsense, i know.

and to orchard again yesterday evening for my dermatologist appointment at DRx Clinic. went for my skin review and to take measures of ‘what to do’ in case my skin breakout nearing the big day(s) – nikah and sanding events. i super like my doc, Dr Tan, yang melayan my skin-woes whines. LOL. + he said kalau ada any ‘skin emergencies’, datang aje jumpa dia, no need to make appointment. yeay!

true enough, i think due to stress (they call it ‘excitement’) dah ada 2 huge pimples on my forehead and satu right above my lips yang baru di-burst semasa facial last week *sigh* selalunya tak ada pimple… tapi dah nak dekat dengan harinya, semuanya nak buat cameo appearance *pfft* tapi tak pe. doc gave me some antibiotics to help clear up the pimples fast as temporary measures. i think it’s just the stress and lack of rest. they say its normal. *weargh* they should dry up in time for the photoshoot this weekend as well as the solemnisation next month, insya allah :)

and and and … i will be doing my own makeup *wish me lotsa luck!!!!!!* for the photoshoot. i still belum decide how i wanna style myself. nak pakai tudung apa, kasut apa, what accessories to match the long white dress. the photographer sendiri yang request we wear white. kita follow along aje :)

must cukup tidur the next few weeks. must must must!

my schedule/deadlines dah dipindahkan ke bahagian ‘checklist’ for easy referral.

To be human again

To be human again

For i’m just human. A normal human being. With ups and downs, highs and lows.

I need a break from all these, can? A break from juggling work and wedding preps which date is drawing real soon.

I wish i can just pack my bag, grab my passport and fly off to some place where i can take a break from all these planning and coordinating.

I’ve never felt more loved than now when dear friends offer their sincere help. I’ve never felt more alone than now when i am the one who runs errands and going from place to place to get things done. I’ve never felt more satisfied than now when i see my ideas spring from conception to reality. I’ve never felt more …….. dont continue, huda. It’s the hormones, i blame on. I tear easily past few days.

I just need a break. A day when nobody pounds me with questions about this and that. A day where i can just say, can u settle that for me instead?

A day i can spend the day with a good massage, mask on my face, cucumber on my eyes, soothing music at the background, nails manicured/pedicured, sips of fresh fruit juice at my beck and call. A dat of doing absolutely nothing at all.

Can i? May i?

I guess even that i have to plan for myself. I am after all, simply unimportant. It’s about te wedding day – not about me. Not about celebrating me and him.

I should have expected that, somehow.

Pseudo-auntiemo, signing off.

Reminder to self

Reminder to self

1. Buy nude/skin colour undergarments specially for nikah/sanding so that it wont show thru the baju.

2. Buy new lingerie. No but about it.

3. Refrain from trimming/cutting the hair. Nanti nightmare bila nak kena tie up the hair.

4. We have a last minute prewedding outdoor shot, yo! Thank you, little fairies! Check out the fb page :)

5. We still donno what to where & where to go for our lifestyle outdoor shoot with farhatphotography. Likewise, we also dont know what to wear for our 22 jan outdoor shoot with little fairies :p

6. Time to go shopping for nice clothes for us! :)

7. Another new appt slot. This time, it’s with smartmat.

8. The appt schedule in this blog has been very very useful in helping me organise my schedule. Venue & time cant be disclosed, tho. For obvious reasons :p

9. New kain to be sewn has been sent to manja. Praying hard it’ll turn out ok. I think ada hikmahnya why it has to be changed.

10. Need to buy petticoat and a thin material nude coloured top to be worn beneath my baju nikah. The off white baju a bit jarang.

28 days. More scared than stressed. Will we get to complete ‘em all????

Strike ‘em off!

Strike ‘em off!

Strike them off!

Managed to do everything that i have planned to do today :)

romm was quick & easy. Took a number, went to counter to verify our documents (IC & marriage prep certs), dad went in first to meet the kadi, the mr and i went in after that. We took turns to take our oath. That was a bit funny at first. I tried to hide my giggles. Hehehe.

And then reality hit me hard. In less than a month, akan lepas segala tanggungjawab my dad towards me. And i started tearing *sniffles* emosi pagi jumaat tau…..

January
12 – work related meeting
13 – romm, facial
14 – family buffet
16 – dermatologist appt
17 – dinner with girlfrends
18 – bridal room appt; facelift design & videography appt; smartmat
21 – beauty room appt
22 – prewedding outdoor shoot; little fairies
21-24 – transport flowers to my place & die die must complete all dulang hantaran.
26 – 1st fitting appt; lady sophia
27 – work related meeting
30 – mak andam nikah appt; juls dsweet
31 – work related meeting

February
30 jan – 2 feb – indonesia sch visit
2 – facial
3 – work related meeting
9 – bridal room set up
10 – work related meeting
11 – beauty room appt

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Collected his ring at mbs. Quieter, compared to high traffic takashimaya branch. The way we like. Engraved with our initials & nikah date :)

Mine will be ready by next week, hopefully.

Our conversations tend to center on our wedding plans past few weeks. Honestly, i cant wait for this to be over soon cos hearing ‘dear, _________ dah siap/settle/confirm/buat appt/etc?’ can get exciting, exhilirating, adrenaline pumping, frustrating, irritating all jumbled into one.

Oh Allah, give me strength.

It’ll be a long friday

It’ll be a long friday

It’ll be a long friday tomorrow. But first, lemme add that it has been a long day for me today. Baru abis meeting.

i’ll be taking a day off tomorrow.

Friday’s to-do:
1. ROMM at 8 am

2. Quick run to arab street to buy kain and then to Manja to get it tailored. The kain portion of my baju nikah needs to be altered a bit. Think i shall also buy some tassels while i’m there.

3. Facial at 4. For that 1 hr or so, i can squeeze in some sleep :)

4. Pay credit card bill.

In the mean time, i dont wish to total up the wedding expenditure. Not just yet.

And if his ring is ready, i’ll collect it from mbs.

And gotta thank pau for helping me book the inai for march sanding :) Another one off the list :)

For the next four weeks

For the next four weeks

January
12 – work related meeting
13 – romm, facial
14 – family buffet
16 – dermatologist appt
17 – dinner with girlfrends
18 – bridal room appt; facelift design
21 – beauty room appt
21-24 – transport flowers to my place & die die must complete all dulang hantaran.
26 – 1st fitting appt; lady sophia
27 – work related meeting
30 – mak andam nikah appt; juls dsweet
31 – work related meeting

February
30 jan – 2 feb – indonesia sch visit
2 – facial
10 – work related meeting
11 – beauty room appt

The appointment dates and schedules are filling up fast!

DIY white flag

DIY white flag

i surrender 1 DIY. with 4 weekends to the wedding, meetings filling up my calendar, and this and that… i have to be realistic. i have no time to doll up my own bridal room. and upon learning the number of people in his rombongan, i know i have to leave this to the experts to prettify the room.

welcome facelift design & interiors onboard, people.