"Tukang amik gambar"

They say... "memories last a lifetime"

But memories with pictures lagi awesome kan?
*mood killer*

Nonetheless, I was rather cerewet when it came to photography and videography. Basically, the ones who will keep evidence of the wedding. I needed to be sure the ones I chose would do a very good job to capture the essence of the wedding (ceh banyak nye essence). I really wanted to see emotion and more of the people who attended the wedding. Because frankly, at the end of the day, me and the tunang will be just sitting and looking pretty on the dais whereas the backbone of the whole event are the family and friends.

but still.. spotlight's on me. Heeeee....

Ok so we had a hard time choosing which one we wanted, eventually delaying the whole process. The first choice we had was Bliss PhotoCinema.

Unfortunately, on our event date, they were left with only one photographer. Like I said, I was rather fussy and I was looking forward to at least having 2 photographers.

I have understood the concept of photographers at a wedding. Yes, we all can make do with one photographer. But if we really want to capture moments, emotion of the rest of the wedding party, we can't split the photographer into 2. I understood that when there are at least 2 photographers, one will follow the pengantin, taking portraits and poses, the other one will capture moments. So it was rather essential to me and the tunang to have at least 2 photographers. It's once in a lifetime right? Insyallah...

So when  Bliss PhotoCinema wasn't available, we had to look for another one and almost instantly, we made an appointment with TheProjectPixel Photography because that was the other first choice. And lucky for us, they were available!!! *throws confetti*

We took the package with the pre-wedding shoot. Initially, I and the tunang discussed that we didn't need a pre-wedding. Because we thought... kan belom halal. But we came to an agreement that the concept of the pre-wedding shouldn't be intimate like hugging, want to kiss but shy shy, holding hands. We wanted it to be more mysterious. Macam paham la pulak mysterious.

If you all went down to the recent wedding exhibition at Singapore Expo last weekend, you should have seen their eco-chic booth. Totally out of the box.

Picture taken from TheProjectPixel Photography

Kalau makcik-makcik, mesti diorg dah cakap "Ni apa ni booth macam gini? Takde bunga-bunga, kosong macam gini. Betul ke diorg boleh amik gambar?"

Makcik, ni zaman minimalist la makcik. A little goes a long way. It's all in the details makcik, details.

Some of the awesome works by TheProjectPixel Photography:
*taken from their Facebook page*

All images are copyrighted material and all rights reserved.

I am so in love with all their works. Really. Nothing very typical or cliche about their photos. Our "tukang amik gambar" is settled!

Hope I've helped some of u olls to look out for your ideal photographer for your wedding.

Marriage Prep Course

Frankly, I never really did research on this particular subject. It was basically..

A: Eh kau pergi kursus rumahtangga kat mane?
B: Oh aku pergi kat ...
A: Oh ok tak? Brape eh? Camne nak book?
B: Ok ah. Price is ... Kau pegi kat website dia ....

Yup.

That was it. We just made a choice based on recommendations from our fellow friends. Well, I mean, why have added stress of doing so much research when you can channel your energy into something else? Ok, I tau, ini benda important. But I mean, the concept and motives of the courses are all the same.

And one more thing. I had to take into account that the tunang is on shift work, and with no fixed shift schedule, we had to settle for a one day course. At least we can have a safe bet that he can get at least a day off on the day of the course.

Oh and whats more, we are going together with 2 other couple friends! Mereka pun akan mengahwininye pada tahun ini nye aduiii.. So kita adalah members pergi together u ollz. Their other halves are also on shift work and have only at most a day off. So timing was a bit of a concern.

And the chosen one is..... *drumroll* *or maybe rebana roll sebab tunang I budak dikir barat*

Details of the course are:

1-day Course

1 Couple to 1 trainer

$300/couple

Course structure:

9.30am - 12.30pm: 1st session; personalized pre marital guidance course

2.00pm - 6.00pm: 2nd session; small workshop session with other couples discussing relevant issues in a marriage

Information and image source: http://www.apkim.sg/

The 1-day course is conducted daily from Mon-Sat and first 2 Sundays of the month. So we had the liberty of choosing whichever date yang suitable for our other halves.

There are also group sessions which is a 2-day course. But I believe slots are limited as they only take in a small number of couples for the group sessions. I think it's 8 couples per group session. You can chekkiddout at their website for more info.

Anyhoos, booking was "easy, breezy, beautiful, Covergirl". Payment was done via fund transfer. So it was all done in the comfort of my office chair. What's more, they provided us reading materials to prepare us and give insight on what we can expect during the course, all via a form of an e-book. Barang baik dok.

Tunang: I nak tengok e-book tu. I nak baca.

*I downloaded it on my iPad so he had the luxury of reading it, lying down on the sofa*

Tak sampai 5 min....

Tunang: zzZzZzzzzzzzzzz....

Speaking of which, I pun belum baca. HAH.

Anyway, if u olls are looking out for course providers for the Marriage Prep course, here is a small list of providers that u olls can look at:

www.apkim.sg

www.kasihsejati.com

www.romm.gov.sg

www.bdmi.sg

www.sapphirepearl.com.sg

I cannot say who I recommend and who I don't recommend. Sebab ni baru first time pe pegi course. Duh. Your best bet to know which is good and which is not is to ask your friends who kahwin already.

Happy prepping for marriage u olls!

Let's get down to it: Bridal

Ok. So I thought no need for a lengthy introduction. It's clear on why the blog. But let me just make it clear that I am not doing this to pull in any form of advertisement, promotion or any of those along the lines.

This is personal. I am doing it because I want to share and document the process of planning my wedding. MY wedding.

*sempat selit disclaimer*

Back to where I was.

First and foremost on the list of things to consider for bridal was the cost.

Living in sunny Singapore, where prices are going up, and bank accounts are going down, cost was the most important thing I had in mind. Nevermind that prices are going up. Soon-to-wed couples were also competing to block their wedding dates to get the best services for their big day. I've seen people asking for quotations, 2-3 years ahead of their dates.

That aside. So I was browsing through portfolios of various bridal companies, asking for quotations. Average prices are above $2k/$2.5k. I don't get it sometimes. Y SO EXPENSIVE?! We are renting out the costumes and the only service/product we get to keep is the make-up and styling.

But I am in no right position to discuss that. Nonetheless, we were blessed with a little bit more rezeki and decided that it's a once in a lifetime event. So why not put our money where it deserves. Right?

The other item on the list of things to consider was the styling and costume.

Being an ideal size 18 *pfft*, I had a long time trying to decide on which bridal I wanted to engage for my big day, because firstly, mass media always wants to look good. I don't blame anyone for that. Like c'mon. We get attracted by first looks. So, I needed to ensure that whoever I chose needed to be able to cater to the "ideal" size that I am.

I am not saying that I put in zero effort to lose any of these flab. I did work on it. A little. C'mon don't judge me. But progress was slow. So I told myself, the dress should fit me. Not me fit the dress.

Of course. Looking good on your wedding day is what every bride wants. You don't want to be looking at your wedding album in the future and go "Was I drunk throughout the whole wedding?". So of course I had to look out for the make-up and styling. I had to be sure that whoever I chose could make me look good without overdoing it.

After a whole lot of discussion and thinking and calculating, me and the tunang have decided.

Lucky for us, we had a friend who became our consultant. We had to balance out the pros and cons of every bridal company that we've enquired. Alhamdulillah, we finally made the decision to engage Padi Bridal for our big day.

And like what I said earlier, we were blessed with a little bit more rezeki and we were thankful that Padi Bridal could create brand new, custom-made outfits for all the 3 outfits that we are having. We were gonna keep our solemnisation outfit, so 2 of the outfits will be added to Padi Bridal's collection.

Me and the tunang have already designed the outfits. We will share it here eventually, when the time comes. But as of now, I am very excited to see how the outfit turns out. Hopefully, the sketch that was done by the designer would come to life. Teehee...

So brides-to-be, I am very sure we will share same sentiments on deciding the bridal for our BIG day. Relax, breath, believe and it will all be worth it in the end.

We Nak Kahwin... Hello!

It's a new year.

(Image source: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-get-married-61.png)

And we nak kahwin! (meaning "we are getting married" in Malay)

I had planned this blog to be published on new years. But I was busy being 23 at that time.
And with the new school term, work has been crazy busy.
And I was busy being a busybody.

ok no.

But I had to document my journey planning my wedding.

And looking at it, I have about less than 8 months left.

Really?

no way.

Last I remembered, I had 2 years. Now I have only 8 months. LESS than 8 months. 7 months and.... 21 days, as of today.

So here's to planning MY wedding, avoiding bridezilla moments, avoiding stress, getting enough sleep, shedding a little weight and having the time of my life.

It's 2013 and WE NAK KAHWIN!