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2 sides to a coin}
Wednesday, 2 October 2013 | 5:50 pm | 0Comment I thought I could end the "Kahwin Kahwin" subject with my previous post but what happened last weekend is too "HOT" to not be blogged about (being 1 of the makciks headquarter here & also because my #EnamJahanam gang are getting married soon & I hope they will not chance upon such situation, Insyaa'allah, Amin). As a lot of you might already heard (or read), Enchanted Wedding did it again (not in a good way). They stood up a newly wed from Woodlands, leaving their not so pretty decorations & cooking ingredients to waste. I really pity the couple (sumpah!) but I still wanna know what Enchanted have got to say about this. Afterall, there's always 2 sides to a story, especially when it involves 2 or more parties. Hold up! Hold up! Some of u might immediately get worked up with what I just said. Thinking that I am not sensible wanting to even listen to what Enchanted's excuse(s) is but really, if u think about it, it just doesn't make any sense to why they left when everything were already there. I do agree that the materials (for decor) they sent were rather, how should I put it? Inexcusably disgusting. Torned, dirty, ugly-looking & what not. BUT they got it there. So why leave? I mean, the stuff they left behind definitely are assets to their company right? It is afterall their valuables (business-wise). WHY THE HECK DID THEY DO THIS? Is it because the couple didn't pay accordingly as promised? Or could it be because Enchanted overbooked? MAYBE, just maybe because the whole team got possessed? (They were all doing up the deco, pealing the onions, potatoes & cleaning the chicken meat when suddenly, a gust of wind blew each & every worker. In zombiefied state, all of them left the scene. Not forgetting, 1 of them was specifically possessed to throw all the chicken meat into the bin.) NOT WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED! Just something I imagined after knowing that their previous reason for ditching some other couples or wedding events in 2012 were actually because the husband (1 out of the 2 owners - husband and wife partners) were possessed (as in dibuat orang). Really? Possessed? I can't say that I believe them, but its hard to say that I don't cause even in this modern century, there are still people out there who believes in Black Magic (bomoh-bomoh u know?). Not that I know of anyone who practice it but there are stories I've heard. Oh & in a malay community, it is not something uncommon for someone to be sending u things ("hantar barang") when that someone is jealous of u. Be it against ur beauty, ur success, ur love life, ur bla & bla & bla. Sad huh? How could someone stoop so low just because they can't achieve what others have. It could also be that one of their (EW's) past customers who weren't so happy about their work or worst, maybe the ones they cheated before, got really angry hence am trying to seek revenge by using black magic. Explains why all this started happening. MAYBE lah hor! But again, I'm not saying that I believe in all this. Its just that it could possibly be true. And if it is, then I really pity both sides. The Bride & Groom especially. If it is not, then SHAME ON U! Shame on u people who cheat on ur fellow community. And if its true what others assume of u, then I hope Allah forgives u, for doing such a thing to people who have worked so hard & trusted u. So to all (soon-to-be-brides/grooms especially), do a thorough research before engaging or entrusting a supplier that requires u to pay thousands of dollars. For the matter of fact, even if its just $50. Try ur best to look for vendors with clean records. Like my caterer, Seri Wani, I have never heard of them before but since I googled them and found no bad remarks, I decided to engage them feeling quite safe. To the vendors that once cheated on people and am trying to change, perseverance is all u need. If that same line/industry doesn't grant u that chance, perhaps its the consequences u have to face so move on with some other path. Its never easy trying to regain trust, especially when it involves moolahsss $$$$$. Anyways, another Wedding vendor that u need to beware of is Cherizsta Bridal. My wedding videographer was the one who told me about them and its just plain nasty lah this people. Not forgetting, my BIL&SIL also got cheated on their BIG day as well by their (supposingly) photographer. I can't remember his production name but I can surely remember his name. KHAI from Dreamworkz (according to my BIL). Beware of this dude OK? He uses excuses like his wife pregnant & in delivering stage & what not & then go MIA. Like EW, his production too came up in the newspaper about cheating other couples. Click on the link below to find out more about Enchanted Wedding & other vendors that the blogger had reviewed on. Also, may try to google Cherizsta Bridal & Khai from (Dreamworkz) to find out more. Kahwin Khronicles - I hope she don't mind me putting up her link here. Just to share with other bloggers. Moral of this post; Homework, Research, Homework, Research. Its not kiasu, its playing safe! Labels: KahwinKahwin, Wedding, WeddingVendors Kahwin Kahwin! (Part 2)}
Thursday, 26 September 2013 | 5:02 pm | 0Comment I'm still on the same subject people cause didn't get to cover all of the necessary wedding preps in my previous post (just because I blog at work & suddenly got work to be done hence the halfway & lots of forgotten issues). OK so back to it, I remembered 1 more important thing u gotta have before ur wedding. Of course lah. Wedding invitation card. If not how to invite? Via FB? Just meet up & announce? Or publish in newspaper? Sungguh tak senonoh dan tak sopan bukan? Hahaha!
Well, I did mine at Tampoi Johor, Malaysia. A little frustrating engaging an oversea supplier cause communication will somehow always be an issue. I got frustrated cause each time the designer sends me the sample, for sure will have typo error. After correcting the typo that I pointed to them, there will be another typo somewhere else. Especially in names. Haiz. But since my toleration level was quite high (as if!), I actually managed to calm myself down & the end-product met my expectations (not exceeded eh). Below for ur viewing pleasure.
 
Sorry, photo quality terrible. Hehe. So if you wish to get urs customized or choose from a variety of designs, you can head down to Giant Tampoi. Thousands of apologies cause I can't remember the exact address but the shop is at the first level, very easy to spot.
Next forgotten thing is Henna! How could I forget that. One of the best moment, for me I guess cause I just love how it looks on out hands & legs. However, I was somehow cheated (cheat my feeling only the lady). I signed up for my henna night with Saheli Bridal at the wedding expo when the lady said "Bridal henna for just $80 if you deposit now. All designs." So I browse through their photo albums & yes, was quite impress with their artwork hence ZR said "Go ahead! Just get them!" and so I did. On my henna night (2 nights before wedding), the henna artist came & showed me all the designs she have and asked me to choose. So happily browsing & when I decided on one, she said "Oh cannot. U signed up for the $80 one. So u can only choose this, this, this, or this or this... If u nak yang itu juga ar, u kena tambah $100 sebab hari itu u sudah deposit $50. Ini design harga $150 punya." My heart was beating so fast when she said that, but again, being a kind girl with lots of patience (again, as if!) that I am, I told her nicely that noone informed me & that its ok, I'll pay the $100. So yeah, exactly what happened but kinda happy with the results too. (I was being very nice to people & tolerating a lot of nonsense because I didn't want anything to go wrong with my wedding. As in no bad karma will come after me & also because I am indeed a very nice person! Haha! Well my close friends would know how short-tempered I can be at times.) Have a look;
 
Nice right? I loved it! So if you wanna engage Saheli, by all means do so cause their designs are very nice but just be sure to ask questions & confirm before making any payment ok? U can go to their FB page by clicking their name above.
What else?? Room decor, were done by my Uncle & Aunty. Room furnitures were bought from IKEA Tampines.
ZR didn't mind the cheap ones first as we will be waiting for our home & once it is ready, we will definitely buy new furnitures.
Anything I left out? Holla at my tagboard if I did miss anything out OK?
By the way, remembered I mentioned about the superstition my elderly had about us (ZR & I) solemnizing together with his brother & wife? The elderly were saying that there was once an incident that left them believing getting solemnized on the same day as ur sibling will cause bad luck! Their don't know who, this is from my stepmom's family, got married (siblings - brothers) & not long after their wedding, one of them died and the other got divorced. Bad luck they said. I call it coincidence & takdir. That was how Allah planned their lives. Not because of how they got married. (Please, I love my stepmom & her family, but doesn't mean I agree with everything they believe.) In fact, I think a couple of old people have the same thought. My friend ever told me that her family also thinks that way cause of the similar tragedy that happened to his uncle. So believe them if you would, but just so u know, everything is in Allah's hands.
To those going through wedding prep stage, all the best to u. Eventhough it could be very stressful, enjoy this moment. Its once in a lifetime thingy, HOPEFULLY! Now that I'm married, I wish my stress was all about wedding preps & not about all the other matters that married people face.
Labels: KahwinKahwin, Memories, Wedding 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 |
