Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

After deciding that we did, indeed, want a ballroom reception, that led to a KL-wide hunt for a suitable space. It turned out to be quite limited because we didn't want a large scale wedding attended by 1500 people oh noooo.. We were looking at more or less 300 of our nearest and dearest friends and immediate family so finding a ballroom that would accommodate to that and still tick all the boxes. Honestly I personally had no time to go touring around KL hotels because of work and other commitments, so after my momzilla's hard work and head hunting, it finally came down to:

1) Mandarin Oriental - Diamond Ballroom

2) Double Tree Hilton

3) Le Meridien KL

These ballrooms can accommodate about 300-450 pax each, which was wonderful, and narrowing it down to one final choice was a no brainer for me! KLCC is like a second home to me and it's like a minute away from our family home so DING DING DING we had a winner! Since this is not the main ballroom, of course it is smaller and less grand and somewhat low ceiling, so that led to a new Google search - low ceiling ballroom wedding! It's just amazing what you can find on the net, just a click away from the comfort of your own bed and Revenge playing in the background. There are a few pictures i nicked away for safekeeping:

I am having my wedding reception in a ballroom that has lower ceilings than I would have liked (9ft). Do you have any wedding design tips that will help transform the space without feeling small or claustrophobic?

Use mirrors or mirror runners on your tabletops. An inexpensive way to do this is to purchase back-of-door mirrors from IKEA. Remove the frames and lie them flat on the table to be used as a runner. You could also purchase mirrored tiles and alternate them on the table for a similar effect. Though it may seem counterintuitive, mixing taller arrangements in with low centerpieces is a great idea. The taller centerpieces will add some height to the room. 

How on earth did people plan weddings before the world wide web?!

Tray Bearers

I was so lucky to have met up with Ezzati right before her recent buying trip to China - she came back with sooooo many fabric swatches for me to choose from. RAMBANG MATA MAK! I showed her a few ideas that I got off Google and Pinterest and magazine cuttings, and it's like she literally went inside of my head and picked out the exact fabrics and materials and textures that I would have picked myself!! And we found one especially nice sequined piece that would look so great on my baby sister - in non other than BLUSH and GOLD, my exact colour theme for the Nikah. *somersaults* So over some frappucinos and poorly made pastries (sorry Starbucks but your food really needs to "buck" up!) we finalized the colours and materials I liked for all the outfits. At the next meeting she will be showing me the sketches for all my 10 girls based on that.

My maid of honour and dulang bearers will look sooooo friggin cool in custom Ezzati Amira KL dresses, can't wait!! :D

BAJU KAWIN

Had a good first discussion at Innai Red regarding my two wedding outfits - one for nikah and another for the dinner reception. Yes TWO receptions, I now have a hotel dinner as well despite our earlier agreement to have one home reception from nikah to sanding to dinner haha. Plans keep changing left right and center, every week it's a different outcome but I've been told by old brides that this is a normal occurrence and that I should take it in good stride. And that I will! ;) There were a few designers that I had in mind when it came to my dresses, what with having so many talented people in KL to choose from, but when i found the dress of my dreams to copy be inspired from after countless hours or googling and pinning and magazine page tearing all that jazz, IR immediately popped into my mind as someone who could execute it. 

I chose a kind of twist-on-traditional for nikah - very covered, very modest, as syariah compliant as I possibly can as there will be tok kadi and pak imam and orang-orang masjid in attendance he he he, and then for the dinner I went down the route of a more western evening gown Hollywood glam kinda feel, but still modest and covered of course, for fear of being disowned by my father at the alter lols. Erin and Juliani the two main designers from IR were very forthcoming; I could tell that we were on the same page from the get go, and their rough sketches were exactly as I had envisioned! Will meet them again in two weeks for the final sketch and review of some fabric swatches, and also the most important thing - costing! This bride has a budget yawwllss! 

Updates on that to follow. 

Anyway, if you've never been to their boutique in Plaza Damas, you should! So many nice things off the rack to touch and feel and smell and gather inspiration from. Of course all in a size ZERO so i didn't get to try anything on *cry* #notasiansized

Colour Me Pretty!

I've decided to go with a gold & blush theme for my Nikah night. I've always envisioned my maid of honour and bridesmaids, or in this case, dulang girls, all decked in mismatched metallics and since we've decided to have the Nikah ceremony at night, BRING ON THE BLING! Blush was a natural progression from gold, as I still want the tone to be soft and flirty, very romantic and ethereal, so the soft blush will set off the strong gold. I've set an appointment with Ezzati Amira for tomorrow to discuss the girls' outfits, will see how that pans out. Ezzati is such a talented up and coming designer and also happens to be my junior in high school and close friends with my niece Natrah, so that's how we like to keep it in the family ;) Her designs are very edgy, definitely not your run of the mill wedding designer and that's what I like about it! Hopefully we can work well together.

Mint was another one of my final choice colours, but to avoid headache and chaos I omitted it from my colour palette. Too many colour combinations can cause confusion especially when it's not a common colour like MERAH or BIRU LAUT (Daun pudina? Macam atas laksa tu ke?) But how does one still incorporate your colour of choice without having to do it yourself? MAKE YOUR FUTURE HUSBAND'S SIDE WEAR THE COLOUR! *evil laughter* Luckily my betrothed is quite flexible, has never heard of the colour "mint" before, and is game for whatever theme I throw his way so YAY. This way, my photos will have blush and gold aaaannnnddd mint (how diviiiinnnneee) and of course, bride and groom will be in white all the way.

The where, not quite the when (yet)

A lot of going back and forth (and then back again, then forth, you get the picture) about where exactly we would hold the ceremonies for the wedding. The very initial plan was to have one nikah ceremony, one hall/hotel reception for very close family and friends, and one post-wedding party of sorts. After a lot of research (during free locum slots and in between patients, lol) regarding halls and capacities and menus and packages, my mom(zilla) has decided to have just one big reception at my grandma's house in Taman Melawati. I was thrilled, of course, that being the place i grew up in and spent most of my childhood. So many fond memories of my late grandfather in that place, and what more we have just finished renovating the front porch and terrace.. SO WHY NOT!

That led to countless Google searches and screenshots and pinterest pins on "pelamin rumah 2014" and "idea hantaran" and "kanopi sewa" and the endless list of wedding planners and their jaw dropping work, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a lot that you can do to make even a home wedding feel very special. After all, you get married only once. That's the plan anyways. We have set up a meeting with Pak Abu who is also a dear family friend, and we shall see where that takes us. Plenty to discuss - the pelamin, hantaran, decor, main table, guest tables, marquee vs tents, bilik pengantin, photo booth, and most importantly... FOOD! If all else fails, I know that at the very least I want GOOD FOOD at my wedding because that's what I personally look forward to the most when attending weddings. Well the bride and groom, too, for sure, but the food better be damn good!

 So, six months to go (or is it five? I wouldn't know because my dad STILL has not decided on a date yet, well that's another issue all together) and I've finally done ONE thing - Pick a venue. Ha ha. So screwed ;)

New Chapters

Significant other and I have decided to take the nuptial trains to the chapel (masjid?), leading to my recent "merisik" ceremony in August. The men's side rombongan, which included my future husbands (!) parents, sister and BIL, aunty and uncle, and two cousins, came all the way from Kuantan to our family home in U Thant, all decked in blue (everyone's outfits were hand made by my future MIL!) and met my family for the first time. Everyone had a good chat , my dad gave a sermon (typical) and then had lunch before they headed back to the East Coast.  Very relaxed, very casual, just how I wanted it. Didn't want to make a big fuss about the whole thing in fear of jinxing myself hehe. Even got a few scoldings from close friends who had absolutely no idea what was going on, sorry guys! :))

Isn't my tepak sirih just so beautiful! Crafted with love by Team Mak Cinta aka my beautiful mommies Sofia and Ieja especially for this occasion. I absolutely love it, and I also love the ring that came with it too! ;) Sooo... my life now basically revolves around work, wedding planning, and setting up house ( that's a whole new entry on it's own I'm guessing). 6 months countdown starts... NOW!

Watch this space ;)

Surprise dinner

Thinking of ideas of hosting my mother's surprise birthday dinner for her and a couple of her close friends.. Bouncing ideas of the top of my head as I always do before I physically come up with a proper theme. So excited for it! Hope mama enjoys it : )