Drama, Dilemmas and Decorations

Hi again everyone! First and foremost, Eid Mubarak to all!

Work has been hectic as usual because I spent 90% of my June holidays back at work for longer hours than usual. And as all teachers would know, the second semester is a really short one (read: non stop, cramming everything in 12 weeks). Nevertheless, I still made some unexpected progress on the wedding front.

After booking my nikah venue, I thought I could just take a breather while my parents try to firm up their decision on my sanding venue for Saturday before booking my decor vendor closer to the 1 year mark - maybe September or October. As usual, I always think I have more time than I really do.

Of course, I did have a few vendors in mind already - Anggun Decorations, Jentayu Gallery, Signature Bridal and RH Bridal. The drama all started late one night, when I was browsing through all their social media and decided that its a good idea to maybe just ask for their packages or price range first since I have some time now to mull over it and do my finances before arranging meet ups after Eid. First one that I contacted was Anggun Decorations.

Now, these people are true magicians with drapery. Every time I look at their work I am just in awe of how much cloth they use to truly transform a hall into a stunning masterpiece. Because the look that I want for my reception is the ethereal-drapes-flowers-white-silver-cool vibe, I thought they would be someone to look out for. So I dropped them a message on their Facebook handle at 12 midnight asking for a price range and to arrange for a meet up soon. Kak Nyta got back to me instantly with the price ranges and then...

Bam! That was the first harsh slap of reality that told me to wake up my idea and get moving with my wedding preparations if I want my wedding to be what I want it to be. Nothing to wake you up quite like your first ever vendor rejection, really.

This just basically made me drop everything and sent me into bridezilla freakout mode. I quickly contacted Signature Bridal to set up an appointment to meet up with them and see what they have to offer. Signature Bridal is actually more of a photography and bridal company I think. Meaning to say their anchor service is not really their decorations. But I really like how they keep their daises quite elegant and polished - something I really want for my own.

Before I go on, it is time for another disclaimer:

All information and opinion that I have on this blog is a result of my own personal experience with the said vendor. I am simply sharing what happened and how it made me feel. I have no intention whatsoever of breaking anyone's rice bowl or dragging my own race (not really) down to poverty. Neither am I motivated by vengeance of any sort, my mother, father, uncles and aunties and grandma's don't own any wedding business. Basically, I have no personal vendetta against any vendor or service provider. I just feel that in order for information to help others it has to be truthful and transparent.

Now, where was I?

My scheduled appointment with Signature Bridal was for Saturday at 1pm. Two of their staff had confirmed this with me earlier in the week and I was really looking forward to meeting them. So on Saturday, I woke my man up and we headed over to their office. When we reached, it looked awfully dark and the door was locked with a sign that said they would be away at this time. Confused, I just rang the doorbell anyway. After 5 minutes of no response, I was getting rather impatient and I gave them a call.

When they answered my call, I tried my best to sound pleasant and calm because God only knows how little tolerance I have for incompetence. It turns out they forgot or "saw the date wrongly" and had just landed from a shoot in Korea. Sorry but, what the flamingo?

How can it be that 2 staff from the same place can confirm the date with me wrongly?! Definitely as a service provider you want to show from the get-go that you are a reliable company. So, this my friends, was already a bad impression and its just been 5 minutes into our relationship. The consultant asked if I mind waiting for half an hour or coming back tomorrow instead. In all honesty, I wanted to just go home. But since I am actually considering their work, I opted to wait for 30 minutes - seething no less.

During my 30 minute wait, I decided to contact Abang Joji from Jentayu Gallery to check if my date was even available. You may remember me mentioning him here, when I met him late last year. Jentayu Gallery has seriously been one of the dream decor companies for the wedding, and I am so sure I am not the only BTB who shares these sentiments. So of course, after I've tasted rejection once, I was so nervous and had such low hopes for Jentayu's availability, seeing how sought after it is.

So anyway long story short, when I finally met up with the consultant from Signature Bridal, even though she did seem pleasant enough and she was patient in explaining what they had to offer - I just really was not feeling the right vibes. Of course I did not walk away and reject them on the spot because I know that they are my next best option if Jentayu doesn't pull through for me.

The next morning, Abang Joji texted me again to let me know that he'll have his colleague attend to me during my appointment as he is out for another meeting. So...I asked him if it was confirmed that my date is still available. (I mean, I ain't gonna travel from Yishun to Eunos just to be told they can't do my date!) Unfortunately, Abang Joji didn't manage to check for me yet - meaning another few hours of suspense ...

By lunchtime, Abang Joji texted me again to update me and...Alhamdulillah! Last slot for my weekend! I was at work when I received the good news so I had to maintain my giggling to a minimum, lest it betrays my cold distant personality that my colleagues are used to. But boy oh boy was I so relieved and excited and over the moon and on cloud nine?!

Now I was really counting down to Tuesday for my appointment with them to see more of what they have (not that I wasn't 100% sold on them already) and to put my deposit down to secure my date. You know how the auto-response to someone not knowing something is "google it"? Well, if there is one thing that Mr Google does not know it is Jentayu's price points and payment terms. I spent a good 2 days scouring the ends of internet earth for any information at all on this and didn't even get close! I mean, as a BTB, money in and money out is important as I am sure you all know. There is a lot of pacing and planning of bookings and payments to make sure you are not left in debt or eating grass. 

So when Tuesday came, and I still have not found any information, I decided to assume that their terms would be similar to Signature Bridal's whereby blocking the date would come at a deposit of 2k. There I was, dragging so much money in my bag from home to work and then all the way to Eunos by myself. And ya'll know how much anxiety I have carrying around wads of cash so, that was one hell of a long journey and I couldn't wait to hand it all over to Jentayu and stop mentally freaking out. 

When I reached, Kak Fay attended to me. And she was the nicest most polite and helpful lady ever!!! She just brought me to a room and let me take a look at their albums of all their works including those not published on their social media. The thing that I loved most about her service was that she did not rush me! I absolutely hate pushy and rushy consultants who behave as if they do not have the time of day for you unless you shove your money in their face first. *rolls eyes* Anyway, nothing like that happened at Jentayu. In fact, after I was given a good 10 min alone to gush over all their pictures, Kak Fay came in and showed me even more of their work in different venues that they have done. She asked me where I am planning to hold my reception at and then let me have a look at their work in those venues and also gave me great insight onto some of the challenges and benefits of different halls.

GUYS. I CANNOT HANDLE, GUYS.

She was super patient when explaining to me their price packages and what they include. Jentayu really has a wide variety of options available so that they are able to cater to the different needs for different brides. Their full deco packages are an upward of 6k and depend on the complexity and drop dead gorgeousness of their designs. Their full deco packages are really FULL okay - complete with chiviari chairs, table, buffet table deco, bridal table, doorgift table, registration table, aisle, pelamin, wall drapery, ceilings, eveything lah! They also have packages that include gubahan trays, doorgifts and invitations that are done up by TWC. These packages would be an additional 2-5k on top of the deco price. To me, for the quality of Jentayu's work and service, it is worth every cent. (Again, these prices are conservative estimates and ballpark ranges okay, please go and check with them directly for the most updated and accurate information)

Kak Fay then explained to me and reassured me that I don't have to commit to a package or a design right now. All I need to do to secure my date is to pay a small deposit of a few hundred bucks (haha, all that anxiety of carrying so much money for nothing), then arrange for another appointment with Abang Joji where I can bring in pictures and inspiration for us to conceptualize on the design and set up together. It is during this 2nd meeting that I will have to know which package I am taking up and what the design would be like - and also a more accurate estimate of the final total cost, of which I would need to pay a 20% partial payment. And the final meeting before the wedding would be 3 months prior where a 50% partial payment is due, and where I will go with them to the venue itself to finalize placements of the different tables and pieces and get a good sense of our vision coming to life in the space. So good right?! I mean, for someone who needs to be in control alot, this is a dream come true. I feel so involved and hands-on and that makes me so assured that I know exactly what is happening and what the hall would look like when I walk in. Love love love major love! Of course the last and final installment for payment will be on the big day itself - pretty normal for most vendors out there.

So without any hesitation...

Venue decoration - DONE!

Alhamdulillah! So happy to have struck this one off the list, albeit unexpectedly and in just the short time frame of a week. Haha! I guess it just goes to show that in the crazy world of wedding planning, sometimes things just never go as planned but they always turn out for the best, InsyaAllah! 

As for my venue, my parents and my sis would be taking a look at Begonia Hall next week and hopefully by this month we can finally make a decision on this and get the venue secured before it gets taken up. Once this is done, we can settle the last heavyweight vendor - catering. For now, I am just pinteresting my life away to collect enough material to bring to my next meeting with Jentayu and also exploring ideas on the smaller bits and pieces like wedding favors, invitations, henna and wedding cakes. Also trying to piece things together for my bridesmaids!

Hopefully it won't be too long  before my next entry and I can finally share my selected venue! Fingers, toes and eyes crossed hehe. Till next time dearies!

Love,

Z

Just A Quickie

Hello again everyone!

As mentioned in my last post, we had decided on the nikah venue and Alhamdulillah, we have managed to secure the venue without a hitch. The team at Royal Plaza on Scotts has also been so patient and accommodating in acceding to my requests and being open and forthcoming in discussions on the room layout and itinerary. Being able to envision the day in its actual venue makes the wedding planning experience so much more real and exciting!

Moving forward, the top of the priority list is to secure the venue for Saturday as well and hopefully Azli's family to secure Sunday's venue as well. Since the school term is starting soon, and I foresee another 5 month hiatus from wedding planning, I've asked for my sisters help with sussing out just a couple more venues in the East - Begonia Hall @ Downtown East and SIA Sports Club. My family is actually pretty settled on The Joyden Hall but my dad still feels that where possible he would rather have a location in the east. So hopefully by the time we hit the 1 year mark in October, we would have secured all 3 venues so we can finally move on to other vendors like decorations and catering, InsyaaAllah.

I'll definitely try my best to keep this page updated as the wedding planning progresses despite my hectic schedule. In the meantime, I have updated the Get Connected tab (finally), so now you can just click to be directed to the vendors listed down so far!

Love,
Z

Balmoral Hall, Royal Plaza on Scotts

Holy cow, it has been a good 5 months since I have updated anything on this page. If there are readers out there, don't worry, I didn't die. Its just that honestly, since my last update of booking Colossal Weddings as our photographers, absolutely nothing has progressed.

My parents and I have been briefly throwing ideas around for the nikah venue and arrangements since the start of the year. As you all know, there are 3 events in totality for the wedding - the nikah on Friday, my side's sanding reception on Saturday and my man's side sanding reception on Sunday. This would be my first entry on the nikah itself as all this time we've been researching more on the Saturday event given that it is bigger and more difficult to manage. In selecting our nikah arrangements, we had to be very clear on what our specifications for the event were - timing, budget, guest list, etc.

My man and I wanted to nikah on the weekend of 27 October (Friday), specifically because it means something to us. It would be our 100th month together and we think that it is important that the date holds a special meaning in our hearts. However, having a nikah on a Friday does pose some logistical limitations. Firstly, it being a weekday, the event has to be an evening one seeing as everyone's gonna be working. Why is this an issue? Because, my family is not open to having it at my house due to the relatively large number of guests that we are expecting for the nikah itself - about 120 or so. So if we can't have it at my house, we are only left with 2 other options which is at a mosque or at a separate function hall altogether.

Initially, I was so on board with doing it at the mosque really. I love the narrative starting to bina masjid in a masjid itself yknow? Like where better to start building your paradise than in the home of God himself. And here comes the big BUT, we have to consider that the masjid is and ultimately will always be first and foremost for the purposes of supplication and that we are not the only ones using it. Having it in the evening would mean it would tend to clash with either the maghrib or isha' prayers - unless we have it between the 2 times which only leaves us about less than half an hour. My dad and I agreed that squeezing it in the short time frame was not something that we wanted, because the nikah is what means the most to us. Furthermore, we have an obligation to our guests to serve and feed them decently which I do not think we can fulfill in that short time frame.

So, all in all, after the long story, I guess you'd be able to conclude that I've got to find a whole new hall or function room for my nikah event. My dad has always wanted my nikah event to be in a small room in a hotel - something quite exclusive and intimate I suppose? So he suggested that I take a look at the Balmoral Hall at Royal Plaza on Scotts. And as usual, as with all BTBs, we are so busy that we often subconsciously leave all wedding planning tasks to the bottom of our to-do lists. But luckily, it was so coincidental that a couple of weeks after my dad brought this venue up, RP on Scotts was having a wedding showcase and I got their mailer invite! It was a sign.

So I told my man that we have to go and check this out, and got us registered. Eventually the weekend came for us to check it out. And oh my god, was I floored or was I floored?!

Look at those gorgeous floor to ceiling windows all round! And the decorations that come with it (either purple and silver on top, or white and gold below) are so pretty and girly just like what I love?! I also love how the decorations on the walls and the dais area is not too gaudy and kept simple. Below are some images to show you what the hall itself looks like without the full on decorations and the adjacent poolside. (This is so good for the makciks and aunties who love to linger around!)

To be honest the hall is not very big. It would probably only be able to accommodate about 10 round tables including the dais. But having that wall of clear glass windows really just opens up the entire space! They did have some food from the menu for us to sample as well, but I didn't take any photos. All I can say is that, the price is steep, BUT for the amount you are paying per pax, it is worth it. For the view, the poolside, the hotel room that comes with it, the doorgifts and invites, the extensive menu and central location - I think it is a reasonable price tag. Of course if it is within appropriate means based on your own budgetting lah.

So after months of negotiation, back and forth on the proposed packages. Removing and adding this and that, working out logistics and number of pax. and exhausting other potential possibilities, we have decided on Balmoral Hall @ Royal Plaza on Scotts as our solemnization venue! I cannot even express how relieved I am to finally have one of our venues decided on. Even better, because this comes as a package, it kills many birds with one stone - caterer, decoration, etc. In fact, I have pretty much nothing left to worry about for my nikah except the invitations and doorgifts. (Oh and the kadi booking of course! Haha,)

Through these past 2 months, any time I meet up with my girl friends and they check in on my wedding planning progress, they are more panicked than I am that my venue is not booked when we are just a few months away from the 1 year mark. In fact, for a couple that's getting married next year, we are really quite far behind in terms of planning. My man suggested that once Ramadhan is over, we could really set aside a few hours every weekend with our laptops and devote that to wedding planning, and I could not agree more really.

So that's that then. I have arranged the meeting to be next week, with RP on Scotts to secure the venue and put down my deposit. InsyaAllah, all will go smoothly and this will be another step closer to getting our big day(s) put together!

Till next time, Ramadhan Kareem my sisters and brothers!

Love,
Z

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.

Since the new year has started, it also means that the new school term has started. So, as you can expect, I have been pretty much swamped with work for the first couple of weeks of 2016 - resulting in close to zero progress on the wedding planing front. Now I know why my dad was pushing me to make the most of the 2015 end year break to get started. To some people, starting planning and making bookings 2 years ahead may seem too early but my man and I agree that for us, given our busy schedules, it definitely was a wise move.

Despite the hectic start to the year, Azli and I did manage to make some progress on our bookings. We have officially secured Colossal Weddings as our actual day photographers! This booking was a fairly straightforward and fuss-free one because my man and I pretty much had our hearts set on them from the very start. The moment we scrolled through and laid eyes on the magic made by Afiq Omar and his mega talented team, every other photographer portfolio that came our way paled in comparison.

Some of you may be wondering why we chose Colossal Weddings, given they are fairly new to the wedding photography scene. This is true to a certain extent, but for those of you who have been doing some research on them or considering them for your own wedding, you'd know that Colossal Weddings is newly formed arm of one of the most well-reputed nightlife photography companies in Asia - Colossal Photos. So they do have experience taking photos in crowded, unruly, noisy, messy places with poor lighting (haha, abit like our malay weddings, no?)

all images retrieved from Colossal Weddings

Also, the team is lead by Afiq Omar, whose work, as you can see, is pretty jaw-dropping. And the team is a group of really talented guys, including Azli's childhood friend, Nasri Ibrahim. All in all, the reason is really simple, we are in love with their work and we have full trust in their craft.

For 2017 BTBs who are interested in engaging them, I believe they are having a 5% off promotion now for the first 10 couples to sign up! (make that 9 since one spot has already been grabbed by yours truly, haha) Their packages are quite versatile, ranging from those with pre-wedding shoots included to actual day packages that cater to single or double photographers and between 10 - 15 hours. We opted for The Colossal Package, which includes two photographers for 15 hours, a flushmount album, a photo canvas and 2 framed photos along with our digital copies. Their payment schedule makes their packages much more affordable - 30% retainer/deposit, 50% after the wedding and 20% upon collection of deliverables 2 months after the wedding. Another plus point! I love vendors that offer a non-cash mode of payment, because I am one of those kiasu people who just do not feel safe carrying tons of cash on me. Colossal Weddings only accepts bank transfers & cheques, which make me feel more secure! Those who are still on the fence, please make an appointment to meet up with them at their office on Arab Street where they will be more than welcoming and willing to show you their work up close. I dare you to walk away after that.

Right, well that was our one step forward, now for the 2 steps back - otherwise known as the major headache bane of my existence and wedding planning. THE VENUE.

Yes, I know that I said this was the first thing that needs to be settled, and yet here we are. Basically, I think for my side we have narrowed it down to 2 options - The Joyden Hall and The Star Gallery. From my previous post, I think you can tell that I was definitely swooning over the latter. Sadly, they have a list of approved caterers that we have to use, and the caterers are pretty pricey. Not only that, these caterers don't exactly cater malay wedding style food, you know? So it seems like a no brainer that I should go for The Joyden Hall, where they allow external caterers at no levy and where I know malay weddings have been done before. Right?

Alas, just like all things that we love and cannot get, we will refuse to let go till we try everything we possibly can. I wrote in to The Star Gallery to ask if they can make an exception for me to allow an external caterer in. So far, the response I got was a phone call after a couple of weeks to let me know that "in principle, we will allow it" but they need some time to get back to me with a list of T&Cs that I have to abide by. Which probably means a levy, and a lot of limitations in terms of what and how my caterer can bring in their food. And just a recap, this venue is already the more expensive of the two mind you. SIGH.

So, I am now just awaiting an official response from The Star Gallery on this caterer issue, and a good time to talk to my dad about these developments to see what he feels about it. To be honest, it seems so ma fan to work my way around all this red tape with The Star Gallery, that a part of me feels like I should just settle for The Joyden Hall? After all, it is a decent venue which does not have as many loops to jump through. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. And this is just one venue, we have not even come anywhere close to this progress for our nikah and groom's side venues.

So, I guess that's pretty much it for now. I can't move on to other key vendors like deco and food until this venue is finalised. InsyaAllah, we will be able to secure the right venue soon enough so that we can move on to other decisions like our other vendors and our nikah venue and arrangements.

Till next time dolls!

Love,
Z

Site Visits, Food Tasting, Open House & ...

For those of you who have been ardent followers of my blog (all 2 posts of it thus far, haha), you'd know that I wrapped up my last post with a list of potential venues for me to consider for my sanding reception. I actually have a half-crafted draft that was meant to be the elaboration to my venue search, but because so much more has happened while I was progressing at 1 word/day, I figured what the hey, let's just include everything in one big update instead. Of course before I go on…in true responsible BTB fashion, it is time for me to unveil my first ever *cue drumroll*…

DISCLAIMER:

All information on venues below are true to the best of my knowledge and have been obtained through legal and reliable means (asking sales and events teams of the venues/vendors directly). However, please note that price points, packages and terms and conditions may differ because of the date of the event, number of pax, type of reception, time of booking etc. Even if it is exactly the same as mine, it may change at the sole discretion of the venue management itself. Thus, if you are planning a wedding and are looking at these venues/vendors, I urge you to contact them directly for the most accurate quotation and proposal from them. Also, the information provided below is based on what I find important (duh, my wedding what), so it may not include all the details that you are looking for. Don't worry, yo grrl gotcha back ~ all links to venue websites will be included in this post and under the Get Connected tab.

Venue Search (Bride's Sanding Reception)

Since the last update, I went ahead to email the venues that I had listed, requesting for their existing wedding packages or venue hire quotations. Because I did not have a vision set in stone for where I want my reception to be, I went in with quite an open mind to see what my shortlisted venues had to offer. 

I emailed them with my dates, expected number of pax and specified that I require halal food as it is a muslim wedding. I then requested for them to advise me on existing wedding packages that may be suitable for me and for the venue hire rates. Wedding packages usually come with a lot of things included (decorations, door gifts, food, invitation cards etc.) BUT it is usually limited in terms of choice and options. So, if you are a fussy BTB like yours truly, it may be wise that you check venue hire rates as well (this would include really just the hall/room and basic furniture and tech if any at all).

The 3 hotels that I contacted are Furama Riverfront, Fairmont and Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy. They all got back to me super promptly with their malay wedding package options - most of which did include decorations, invitation cards, door gifts, catering and even accommodation in their hotel for the bride & groom! Sounds like a good deal right?! After bersanding can catch pseudo staycay vibes with your spouse hehehe. But…like my mum always says "Good things are not cheap and cheap things are not good." For both Furama Riverfront and Fairmont, you are looking at a price point of between $90-100 per pax. Since my dad is looking at a guest list of about 1800-2000, taking up the packages at these 2 hotels was almost a definite no. I mean, hello?! 200k is the worth of 2/3 of my future home! As for Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy, I must say, their package is much more affordable in comparison ($40-60 per pax). This is pretty reasonable if you consider that it is a hotel setting and their package includes many things like floral arrangements, decorations, 8 course buffet, faux wedding cake, accommodation and even a freaking smoke machine?! But I had to say no to this option too, because sadly their maximum number of pax is 1000 only. Sobz. Oh yes, in case you were wondering about Fort Canning (which I mentioned last time), we decided not to even bother asking because we felt that it was not accessible enough anyway.

I then moved on to function halls - The Joyden Hall and The Star Gallery. The good great best thing about function halls are that they are versatile. Both Joyden Hall and The Star Gallery did not offer me a wedding package because I don't think their venues are typically much for malay weddings. Instead they quoted me a venue hire rate for my date which comes with some extra room(s) for getting ready and some extra outdoor spaces.

The Joyden Hall is located on Level 7 of Bugis+, and has been used as a venue for quite a few malay weddings before in recent years. Plus point is that its definitely located quite centrally and it is easily accessible by public transport. The maximum seating capacity is 380pax (38 x 10) and one of its major selling points is that it used to be a theatre! Read: high ceilings, huge stage, state of the art screen & sound system ~

Those are some visuals of the hall and some weddings which have been done there before. Pretty right?! The venue hire comes with not only the hall, but also a bridal changing room and a small prayer room and a backstage area. Another huuuuuge plus, is that they allow you to bring in your own caterer and decoration vendors - no levy, no questions asked. That is a rare thing for such venues because they usually have partnerships with certain catering and deco companies that they have to honour. Do note however that they do not have a kitchen, so only food warming can be done and the washing area can be used at an extra charge. That did not bother me much though because it is quite expected in these kinda venues. The only thing that I felt fell short a little was the hall size. My dad was looking for something a little more spacious (450-500pax max seating capacity). In fact, when I left my site visit there I was 75% sold on the venue!

After convincing myself and my parents that maybe we do not need so many tables since it will be in-out style we felt quite alright with what The Joyden Hall had to offer. Through my research I know that The Star Gallery is considerably larger and it is also accessible by public transport (Buona Vista MRT), so I had the mentality of "Okay lah, just go and see for what its worth and just get it out of my system to confirm plus chop that Joyden Hall is the right choice." And boy oh boy was I dead wrong!

I mean just look at that studio room for me and future hubs to get ready!!! Bigger than my future plz. High chance we'll end up trying to spend as much time as we can there away from the crazy crowd haha. Though this does not come with a prayer room, we have the option of renting an additional smaller studio room for that purpose at an hourly rate. And they more than make up for it with the generous terrace space adjacent to the hall. I also love that they have a ceiling grid and the twinkle-twinkle starry lights in the hall. What was not so great is that I am limited to their list of approved caterers (meja buzzkill) which are honestly speaking quite upmarket. Of course $22++ per pax may seem reasonable when you say it like that but add that magic multiplication sign….sell my kidney also cannot make it.

After falling so hard in love with The Star Gallery, and having my spare tyre The Joyden Hall, I didn't really bother checking out country club ballrooms. They are usually less accessible anyway. So which did I choose? Neither, yet. Right now I am waiting to hear back form some of the approved caterers for The Star Gallery to get a more comprehensive idea of the cost when compared to market rate of other malay wedding caterers out there. According to our timeline, our target to secure venue is by Jan 2016, so I am still keeping time pretty well and I don't want to rush my decision when I am not 100% sold yet.

Food Tasting with Marvelicious by MLC

This particular escapade was not something that I had initiated or even planned to go for. After all, caterers are usually engaged on the year of the wedding itself so I was not really in a rush to check out caterers just yet. But as I was sharing my experience at the site visits with my mum and lamenting to her about the limitations in catering options, she said she coincidentally had an invite form one of her friends to come for a food tasting at Gardens By The Bay last saturday and thought it would be good if we go and check it out anyway. 

I swear, on that day, I had zero mood to be in heels with make up, walking through gardens by the bay with 7 billion other people. I was so close to just telling my mum that we can skip it. But she had already informed her friend that we would be coming…so for courtesy's sake, we carried on. After dragging our butts through public transport to get there, we finally reached the hall and looked for Kak Su (mum's friend) who is the owner of Marvelicious by MLC. After some over-enthusiastic hugs and giggles Kak Su introduced us to her husband Anthony and got us a drink. By this time, my interest level was sinking faster than the titanic because of the number of people there, and I was hot and tired from walking all the way in my heels. All my effort was going into trying to look pleasant cause, if I have a bitch face when its resting what more when I am actually uncomfortable and tired right? Hahaha.

Then suddenly Kak Su came up to me and ask if I have booked my deco vendor yet. Of course the answer was no. Then…she said "Have you heard of Jentayu before? Let me introduce you to Abang Joji who is the boss and he is here today." And Jentayu Gallery has been one of the deco vendors that I have in mind so…

It was great talking to Abang Joji who just briefly shared with me what he did for the event that day and asked me about what are some of the venues I have been looking at and for my dates. He explained honestly that wedding vendors are pretty much swamped in December as it is peak wedding season. Long story short, we set up a date in January to meet up where he can explain to me what Jentayu has to offer. Hehe and I am just as excited about that post as you are!

So finally mum and I decided to eat and taste the food. The spread there was really extensive - 2 types of rice, beef, chicken, prawns, dalcha, noodle soup, congee, a few different salads, about 6 small desserts, cakes, hot and cold desserts and a choice between iced water, punch, coffee or tea. Honestly I was pretty impressed because the cost per pax mentioned by Kak Su was really reasonable for the amount and variety that was there. The quality of the food was also pretty good! I would say the dishes that stood out to me were the black pepper beef because it was really sizeable thick succulent cuts of meat and not those pathetic slithers of cardboard that is too spicy to even swallow, as well as their sambal goreng pengantin. Kak Su told us that for dishes involving coconut, she always cuts down the amount so that the shelf life is longer for guests who pack some food home.

Overall the experience was pretty new to me, and despite starting it off feeling very grumpy, things turned out okay and I am really glad that I went. I didn't take pictures because I felt like it was a bit rude to do so at someone else's majlis? The above images are just from a simple google search of their past works. It was great to be able to meet Abang Joji and Kak Su who were very helpful in giving me tips on how to select catering vendors and what to look out for in a venue to make sure logistics run smoothly. Those of you who are planning for a wedding next year and are still looking out for a caterer, please check Marvelicious by MLC out!

ISHQ by Nora Zee's Open House

First and foremost, if you are reading this sentence, I have to congratulate you on making it this far! Hahaha, I really did not intend for this post to run on for so long. But oh well, I did say it was one big update. Don't worry, your efforts are not for naught, because this is the highlight of the entire post!

Those of you who follow ISHQ on their instagram or Facebook accounts would know that they just held their open house for 2017 BTBs last Sunday at their office in Oxley Bizhub. I have been eyeing, targeting, stalking ISHQ for yeeeaaaaarssss thanks to this super compelling post by Farhana of KahwinKhronicles. And really they are my number 1 choice for bridal & andaman. 

I mean, really, how can they not be?!

So the moment they announced the open house, of course I told my man and we decided we'll definitely go and check it out. Now, if you are a noob like me, you would think that open house means, like hari raya lah - come anytime, makan, look around, ask dumb questions and go. Let me tell you now, that is NOT how it went down, babe. 

The open house was between 4 to 8.30 pm. I had some errands to run also, so by the time we reached it was close to 6. And as we were walking down the very panas corridor form the lift to ISHQ, we saw a queue! So apparently its not a free for all open door entry kinda thing?! Hahaha. We just joined the queue, were given an invoice form with a number and waited till it was out turn. Our wait was pretty long as there were many couples in front of us. And it was so hot that by this time our invoice paper has become a salted vegetable make shift fan. I told my man "Maybe this is like to mentally prepare us for the pelamin next time." Hahaha. While we were in the queue, other vendors for bridal bouquet, photography and Photo Booth services approached us and showed us their portfolios and services. These vendors usually have a package deal with ISHQ, but not all of them. I wish I was able to provide a little more info on this, but I swear it was so hot I could not focus on anything they were saying. I'll leave their links below later anyway, so please feel free to contact them directly.

While we were in the queue, one of the ladies from ISHQ came out and asked the crowd queueing if any of us are looking at some weekend in March 2017. A couple raised their hand and was replied with "I am so sorry we are fully booked at that time already." Omgggg, how heartbreaking can it get to hear that when you are so close to the door?! Almost as nerve-wrecking as unit selection at HDB okay. This repeated a few times with a few other weekends. So my man and I also got quite kanchiong lah. Though initially we thought of just going in to browse and mull over it, suddenly the risk of losing our chances to have ISHQ on our special day(s) became so real. I checked with my dad if its okay that we make our booking today without him actually taking a look at ISHQ first. Once we got the green light from the king, we made our decision, we were gonna secure our package that day.

Once it was our turn, we were attended to by the lovely Kak Nora herself. And she was so funny and down to earth. Very patient with our my questions and basically just exuded really good vibes. She did ask if I want to request for any specific MUA but I chose not to, because it would cost quite abit more. Plus, I would trust that Kak Nora trains her staff well to have established such a well-reputed company. So fingers crossed that all will be okay, InsyaAllah. Did we get to see their collections? Well, no. And this is what I was slightly disappointed about. I think the purpose of the open house was more of asking questions, making appointments and bookings. Not so much the hari raya style I had in mind haha. So for those of you thinking of going, please be prepared that you may not be able to view the outfits. If you want to take a look at the outfits ISHQ has, it may be a better idea to follow them on instagram! Other than their counters, the vendors that I had mentioned earlier, namely Shamsydar Ani Photography, Allure Blooms, Blissful Studios had also set up some small booths for you to take a closer (and more comfortable) look at their services.

So when we left Oxley Bizhub that evening…we had officially made OUR FIRST VENDOR BOOKING!

We got their Ethereal Package, that comes with 5 sets of outfits, accessories, makeup, hairstyling and 1 bridal bouquet and had to pay a 30% deposit for the total package price. Those of you who need huge packages like me (that's what she said, haha), don't worry about bringing wads of cash around with you like gangster, because ISHQ accepts NETS! Lastly, to my fellow 2017 BTBs, if you are thinking of getting ISHQ to be a part of your big day, I would suggest you really hurry cause I won't be surprised if they're fully booked by next month! Honestly, so excited for all there is to come after this small step. Next up, would be securing our venues, deco vendors and our photographer within the next few months. Will probably update in the new year because nothing much lined up for these 2 weeks with regards to wedding preparation.

See you in twenty sixteen huns!

Love,
Z

The Limiting Factor

Good morning dolls! Woke up this morning finally feeling inspired to blog. Over the past week, I've gotten a start on my research for a suitable venue for my side's sanding event. Now, some of you must be wondering why I started with venue, when most CCs only allow bookings 6 months prior to the date. Which brings me to the key message of my post today - Always start with the limiting factor.

Limiting Factor (noun)

The piece of the puzzle that would affect how you move and select all the other pieces of your puzzle. 

Okay lah, this post will make a lot more sense with some context right?

If you take a look at my checklist you'll see that in totality, we actually have three events to plan for. For my man's side, of course I won't be involving myself much. This leaves me with my side's sanding event and the nikah event. So I chose to start working on my side's sanding event first.

*teacher mode on* Here boys and girls, we have example numero uno of what a limiting factor is:

If I were to start with my nikah event, I can start with thinking about bridal house for outfit. But, I need to know how many outfits I will have for sanding, to know which package I am looking at with the bridal house. So, it depends on the sanding. Neeeeeext! Okay, let's do catering then. Next to make up, makan is important always (golden rule of life #692). But! catering for a small group would be quite expensive, usually catering can be done with the sanding catering as a package. So, it depends on the sanding. Okay let's do venue then! Mosque or function hall? Target date is a Friday, so mosque might be ootq (out of the question, teehee) considering Jumaat prayers at Zohor. Function hall it is! Eh, but that means, need to book venue for this small event? Might as well do at the same place as sanding and top up abit for extra hours right? So actually it all depends on the sanding.

So between my 2 events, the event that would affect the other event's planning is the sanding, which makes it…? The limiting factor! 

Alright, so that's why I chose to work on the planning of my side's sanding event before I work out my nikah event. If you have noticed my blog title banner, it would describe my wedding as "not-so-conventional". The reason I labelled it as such is because my side alone would be inviting a large guest size of about 1800 to 2000 pax, and my dad is not too keen on having the event at a CC because we would need a seating capacity of about 450 to 500 pax. We also do not have a void deck, so that's quite ootq (should be pandai by now ah).

Let's start with bridal house. I will be going to my top choice bridal house for their open house later this week, and really my outfit choice won't bear much consequence on the choices of my other vendors. Okay, settled for now. Moving on, to catering. Yes, many caterers would be able to cater for a large number of pax, but how many venues will allow these caterers to come in? So, it depends on the venue. Next, let's check out decorations. But, some venues do come with decorations in their wedding package already right? So why am I searching? I guess, it depends on the venue.

*teacher mode on* Okay boys and girls, did you spot the limiting factor? Very good.

As you can see, finding the right venue is important for me because it would dictate the direction for me to take in selecting caterers, decoration vendors and even things like invitation cards, wedding cakes and door gifts because some venues do include these in their wedding packages. How has the search been so far? I must say, not too bad. I've looked at a number of options and even ruled some out.

Here's a list of venues that are in consideration:

1. Hotels: Fairmont, Fort Canning, Furama Riverfront
2. Function Halls: The Joyden Hall, The Star Gallery
3. Country Club Ballrooms: Orchid Country Club, Serangoon Gardens Country Club

I would love to include more about the venues specifically in this post, but girl gotta gather more info first lah. Plus, I'll be meeting with the teams from some of these venues this coming week, so my post on venues will be more worth reading once I get the juicy details. Until then, I hope that this post will help those who have no idea where to begin their research. Remember that starting with the limiting factor will be able to direct your research better subsequently and prevent you from doing unnecessary work by researching and contacting vendors that you may not even have to!

& of course, for those of you who may still be struggling to understand what I have been going on and on about and still figuring out where to start, feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line okay? Teacher explain to you again slowly.

XOXO,
Z

& so it begins.

A big hello and welcome to my bride-to-be blog!

For those of you who have known me for a long time, you would know that I used to be an avid blogger in my teens. Of course, that online diary was filled with the immaturities and angst of a growing girl (good times, good times).

Fortunately, I've grown up a whole lot since then, met the love of my life 7 years ago and now, we are planning our big first day of our lives together! So I figured that this would be a great opportunity to try and resuscitate my love for writing and sharing, and tadah here we are.

I'll fill this space up soon with more information about me, him, us and everything else in between. Be patient with me, a 10 year blogging hiatus is not easy to recover from. The purpose of this blog is basically to document our journey as a couple through the planning process for our wedding events. I hope that it will firstly function as a good tool for us to keep track of all that is going on through the planning process, and secondly serve as a bank for good/bad memories for us to look back on. Beyond ourselves, I do hope that the little nuggets of info and insights I share here will benefit future brides-to-be out there, just as many BTB blogs have helped me so far!

Let's see how this goes.

Love,
Z