So last two weeks was our final reception and our last day as bride and groom. I'm so glad everything is over now...So we both can start having a normal life again! hehe. I started planning my wedding after
our engagement in July 2013. I had 4 months to plan everything. Well...actually it was only 3 months, because during Ramadhan last year, I didn't really do anything for my wedding works.. So yeah..I had 3 months to plan for 4 events. Quite a short period of time, ey? But alhamdullilah we managed to do things as planned. Anyways, my parents have given me the privilege to be my own wedding planner. My dad was the banker. My mom was the decider, and I'm the planner. Well, kinda like the researcher actually. hehe. So I did my research..my planning and my notes and everything else in between..all on my own :)
My mom was the one who inspired me to do a wedding book since she's an organized person herself. She has this one diary/organizer where she would jot down all her activities and her spending each and every day. Or even some
Things To Do/Buy or something like that.. So when my parents have appointed me to plan my own wedding, I decided to have a
Wedding Book of my own version! teehee..
At first, I thought of having a much simpler version of the book...but as time goes by, I realized...I needed to have a more detailed and organized book and file because wedding definitely is a big thing and I need to be well organized! Plus, planning your own wedding is half the fun of getting married to the man of your dreams! I mean...all the headaches, the researches, the shopping and etc are all part of realizing your dream wedding, no? So I want to remember all of this part. I'm a forgetful person most of the time. That's why I needed to document every step of the way and every choice I make, so that one day when I look back at my wedding pics, I remember why I wanted to have this vendor or that thing or something like that... I don't want to have a wedding ceremony without remembering or even knowing how or why I did that or chose certain things, and give that fun part to someone else to be the decider! After all, we're only gonna do it once (inshaallah), so of course you want it to be perfect...at least in your own eyes! (Note: I'm a perfectionist and a detailed person/I don't trust others opinion unless you're my mom or Victoria Beckham. lol. Kidding! :p )
The reason why I wanted to have a say in my own wedding is because when two of my sisters got married 7-8 years back, they didn't really know anything about their wedding except their wedding dresses, I think? All have been taken care by my parents and a wedding planner. I personally think that, that wasn't fun enough because I LOVE to be involved with my own wedding! hehe. Doing and executing all these pretty and
romantic job just seems SO fun to me! Anyways, when it was my time, my mom thought she's an expert in weddings now that she has two married daughters already! Initially, she did ask me who to hire as the wedding planner. I have decided not to waste RM 20k (or more) to someone, just to help us decide which color or which flowers should we choose or some things like that because we thought or at least I thought that we (me and my mom) shared the same taste. Mom agreed and she said she didn't need a planner. She just need a coordinator or secretary for that day. That's all. So yeah I agree with her too because after doing a lot of research on weddings, I realized a lot of vendors overcharged the customers. I heard my dad's friend's wedding planner charged him over 300k to plan the wedding! Crazy world I'm living in! huhu - Well if you have a lot of money and didn't mind spending for things that you can plan or even find info yourself on google, then go ahead. But for me, I would rather spend that money on other things instead, like my wedding dress for example...and food! haha. Hence I gave the coordinating task to my best friend instead,
Farhana as she's such a perfect coordinator, floor manager, secretary, planner, you name it! She will execute it exquisitely! hehe. Thank you darling! Love youuu! ;)
Anyways so I showed my mom a couple of things that I have done on my own for the wedding.. She was impressed a little and let me do my job since then. How nice of her! I think it's such a privilege that my mom let me pick what I want for my big day and trusted my taste! I'm blessed, mashaallah..Thank you God! ^__^
So this is my wedding book. Or file as you may call it. Or maybe even a wedding scrapbook I guess? haha. I spent every Sunday sticking things in here! It was fun!! hehe
Anyways, I started doing a lot of research and travel since I got the green light from my mom. And when I found some pretty good deal, I'd show my mom and propose them to her. If she agrees, then we get the deal! hehe. Ahhh....such fun times I had, going here and there on my free time! Seriously planning a wedding is such a nice experience, that I think I wanted to make it as my full time job! hahah. ;p
Buying a dress in Nurita Harith's boutique
Bringing my mom to meet the beautiful Vicky, the Marketing Director of Hilton Hotel. She's such an amazing person! I love her!
Fitting for the groom at Jovian Mandagie bridal boutique
Canopy searching at a wedding fair
Hantaran shopping - the second most fun part of any wedding, after shopping for the white dress!
Bridal dress hunting
Food tasting
Choosing and designing the cards
Fitting for bridesmaids dresses
....and lots and lots more preparations!
Some of you are so curious to know what are the contents of this little book. Well....it's just some typical list of a wedding. You know like things to do, things to buy, the checklist, the receipts & invoices...etc etc. But.... with a little bit of details and infos I would say - Cuz I'm a pack rat like that...I love keeping things, even in book! haha :p
This book still put a very big smile on my face every time I open it, even after the wedding!
- Well...we've only been married for 2 months now. haha. But still! I never get bored flipping through it, and remember the ups and downs of our journey to the wedding! :')
Yup..it's that thick (and heavy!) haha
I keep this too! Our first wedding fair that we both went to! The asian Signature Weddings Affair! - The best wedding fair I've ever been to! Classy and elegant compared to the other 7 weddings exhibition that I went!
The journey...
Will blog soon on the contents of this book! I know most of the brides-to-be out there wanna know more on this! I get that a lot.. Don't worry sweetie, I'll share with you soon k? :)
P/s: This week I've received 3
appointments already with my friends who asked about weddings! And I shared a lot with them with what I've learned and know so far. Glad I could help them! Ahh...being a wedding consultant is fun! hahah. So who's next? Let me know, I'd be glad to help! ^___^
XOXO,
Shazzy.
