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Kahwin Kahwin!}
Wednesday, 25 September 2013 | 4:32 pm | 1Comment As mentioned in my 1st post, I'm gonna talk about something associated with "Bells", "Sundays" & "sometimes Saturdays". For us Malay people, weekends are usually occupied by wedding invites. Be it on Saturdays or Sundays, u can easily come across a nicely decorated void deck or multi purpose hall & know that there's gonna be a Malay wedding that weekend. Just go around this small country &u will definitely come across one. Or two. In fact, u can actually come across a lot (sometimes I see my MIL getting 2-3 wedding invites for just that particular weekend so I assume lots of couples getting married in 1 weekend & then the next & so on). U may already know (if you read my profile) that I am a married woman. Yeah. Turning 24 this December but am already married with a child. U may think, "Gatalnye die kahwin siang²?" or "Ni confirm bomb tu sebab kahwin siang!" For those who didn't even think that way, Alhamdulillah, thank you! For those who did think as per say, Astaghfirullah hal adzim. Tak baik tau, Allah marah! I know my husband since secondary school. In fact we dated for quite a bit last time (puppy love), on & off but what I can say is that he's the guy that I had difficulty getting over. Don't know why la but thats just how it was (probably because of the boyish look back then). So we got back together in 2008 & tied the knot in 2011. Now the interesting part (I know, boring right just now read my history!). Let me just share with you on what were the things done before & after the wedding (good for budget soon-to-be-brides). BEFORE I got engaged in January 2011 which means we only got less than a year to save money & do necessary preps for the BIG day. A short story on how this (engagement thingy) happened. Some time in November or December 2010, ZR (initial for husband instead of typing out "Husband" or "Hubby" or "Zaid Rahman") & I were talking about marriage & settling down but looking at another 3 years from then hence we decided to seek advices from the elders (FIL & MIL) on the necessary things that needed to be done in order to get married. We were hoping to be advised on marriage course that is compulsory, how much roughly do we need to hold a malay reception, do we need rings & stuff & all other things except this reply. "OK, tahun depan korang nikah! Nanti Abah & Mak jumpa Papa & Mama kau untuk bincang/merisik. Tak payah tunggu lama²." Immediate heart attack! Haha! So thats how it started. OK so, back to engagement day, we didn't prepare anything fancy. The plan was just to have ZR's parents, their orang kuat, my parents & their orang kuat meet up (for a talk? a discussion? something like that la). To my surprise, my paternal grandmother told my uncles & aunties hence they tag along for the meet up session too. Mind u, ZR only came 1 vehicle however my side was like more than 10 people! (Malu patik cos it was suppose to be a small affair & I promised ZR's side that it will only be a small group.) Whatever it is, the discussion went on & we fixed on a date that very same year. As mentioned, no plans on making it an event hence not much was done. ZR got me a gold ring that costs about $200+ but coming from a Malay community, bargaining is just part of our nature & eventually he only paid about $160 or something close. A little gift from my aunties which was cupcakes, kuehs & also Mee Goreng cooked by my stepmom to make the meet up a little more "eventy" (if there is such a word). Wore a pair of my past raya outfit & dolled myself up on my own. Have a look at the only photos suitable to be shared below;    Pathetic right the photos? I know! Now the wedding preps. Initially the idea was to be solemnized on the same day as my BIL & SIL but due to some superstitions my elderly had (will elaborate on that later), they solemnized 1 month before us. Despite knowing that I only had less than 11months to prepare for everything, I was determined that its possible eventhough at times it felt like I needed to kill someone or myself. (Dramas!) I was working for Bodynits as an ERP Asst (don't ask me what it stands for cos I can't remember) & my salary was only $1400 then. After deducting CPF, only brought back like about $1000+? How did I survived u ask? I saved $1000 each month by not eating at work, a pack of cigrattes can last me about a week instead of 2 3 days, walk home everyday from Changi to Tampines (it helps to lose a bit of the weight) & I paid my bills like partially each month. Oh besides, as agreed by my parents, the $8000 that ZR will give me as duit hantaran will totally be mine & same goes to the duit salam. So that amount helped me a lot too. So these was how I prepared.
  
(Sad. Noone helped me take pictures of the gifts I have for ZR. Only this. Sorry couldn't share much.)
Next on the list will be wedding cake. Mine was sponsored by my aunt, Bibik Jamaliah (sponsored trays was Angah, also Jamalia but w/o the h). We had a couple of choices but in the end, this is what she ordered for me & am definitely happy with the taste of the cake! (Ordered online by a home-based baker - if any of u wanna know from where, just holla at me &; I'll check with my aunt. Sorry I don't have the price.)   
(OH! there's mars or snickers chocolate in the cake! Yummms!)
Now comes the BIG & IMPORTANT service providers in a Malay Wedding. Void deck deco & dais, something I took a lot of time in deciding who to engage. These group of people really was nice to me. Especially Kak Leha who was the consultant & Kak Emma, the big boss. I engaged Decorama Wedding Services. Both of them took care of every detail I wanted for my dais & they serviced me well. Check out their FB Page, Decorama W S.
To beautify someone who seldoms wear makeup! The job of my Mak Andam. Too bad I can't recommend you the Bridal company cos they no longer exist, due to the seperation between them & Decorama. Initially was a sister sister company, something of that sort. It was Lady Sophia Bridal. The consultant, Kak Ria is a very nice, supporting, funny & helpful lady. She is now working for some other Bridal so u may want to contact her personally by clicking on her name if you wish to maybe enquire on her current Bridal services. As for my makeup artist, she is now with Padi Bridal & her name is Kak Sophie (thats what I call her, not sure if real name). Can contact them personally too through FB. But just so u know, Kak Sophie's touch is amazing. Kinda love how I look during my wedding, again from someone who don't really wear makeup!
        
One of the things essential for me to have on my wedding was Dikir Barat. Since ZR needed to engage Kompang, I decided to look for a Dikir Team that caters both Kompang & Dikir Performance. Ended up engaged Makyong Kedek. I don't have their FB page & what not but if you wish to engage them, just holla cos I still have the leader's contact no. (But don't know if still in use.)
   
I guess I've covered most of the things. If there is any that I've missed out & u would like to know about it, give me a shout out at my tagboard & I'll get in touch with ya!
(I've got some work to do now, will update on the After-Wedding-Expenses soon!) Labels: KahwinKahwin, Memories, Wedding |
