Another Fruitful Bridezilla Weekend

Last Sunday met with Alin Anuar. She runs her business under the name of Asian Atelier, which also does custom made shoes, make up (by her sister), wedding planning and a fashion line. Her bridal wear and kebaya line is known as Cantik Skaly.

The entourage this time consist of me, Nell, Kakmira, Lulu Alani and the two guys; Adri - the brother-in-law (BIL) and Aliff - the groom-to-be (GTB). The appointment was at 2.30pm at Alin's studio apartment which was converted into an office/studio, at Damansara Perdana. The BIL and GTB didn't stay for the discussion, they went to have drinks at a nearby mamak. Good thing, cause I've decided that I don't want the GTB to see my bridal wear until the day itself. Nothing to do with the mat saleh "bad luck" belief. I just want it to be a surprise :)

I knew of Alin Anuar from a former bride and a close friend, Nabilla. Alin was her bridal wear designer for both her nikah and her reception dinner. She looked absolutely stunning in both. Her wedding was featured here. Nabilla described Alin as "cool", so I decided to check her out.

Alin is definitely cool. She's a petite lady but full of energy. I described to her what i envision my reception dress to be while she took notes. Once I was finish, she reiterated what I have said and added her own ideas and suggestions, some of which I agreed to. Alin, unlike the other designers which I have met (including my Cindy) did not sketch a picture of the dress for me. She was more of a visualiser and descriptive in what she saw the dress to be like.  No qualms about that, I got the picture. She also sometimes talk to herself about the things she intended to do. It was really cute. She is really cute.

So, she told me that the fabrics that she would be using would be incorporation of chiffon and tulle. She also suggested to add some lace at the bodice, which, although I have decided not to use lace, I thought I could agree with, since the way she described how she is going to use the lace is to create texture and the illusion of a figure in the dress and the amount of lace to be used would be minimal.





Then we discussed the budget. She said she can work with my budget but she'll have to discuss it with her team and get back to me the day after (which is today). I have received her quotation and it is slightly more than what I asked from her, but still within my budget.

All in all, I think Alin got the idea and I like her and can see myself working with her. And she shares my adoration of Queen Rania, Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel. Which is a plus plus in my book :).

The only thing is that the beadworks that she is offering within the price that she quoted is not as elaborate as I would want.

So, I'm still waiting for Syomir's quotation. I don't know whether I'll be meeting with other designers or not because I really don't have enough free time this month. Planned to meet Arma after meeting Alin, but he was busy with weddings and events. So, we went to see Duchess Place and Carcosa Seri Negara. Will blog about that later.

At Carcosa Seri Negara

*all pictures from Nell*

I need to confirm a designer by this month. So, there's some thinking to be done within the next week for this HUGE decision to be made. I hope I make the right choice.

Watch this space. xx

December is Wedding Dress Month

It has been a while since I wrote anything about my wedding progress in this virtual wedding diary of mine. November was a bit hectic of ... I don't know what. Probably I was just plain lazy.

Anyways, I have made some progress on the wedding planning! Yeay!

Yesterday (when I first wrote this it was "yesterday" - but now it has become 2 days ago), before Nabilla's Wedding Reception, I brought my troops to see 2 wedding designers; Syomir Izwa and Qudyn. They are top 2 in my list because I think their work is simple, yet never short of elegance and poise, modern but timeless, not too busy with so many materials and designs incorporated in one piece. And I have read and heard of good reviews of the both them with regards to quality and service/customer relations.

So, I asked my Wedding P.A aka Kakmira to set up appointments with both of them on Tuesday the 7th because it was a public holiday due to the Maal Hijrah celebration - BTW;

To all my muslim friends and readers, Selamat menyambut Awal Muharram!

In other words, Happy New Year!

Buka buku baru, tutup buku lama...Semoga selepas ni buku sebelah kanan lebih tebal dari sebelah kiri. Amin.

Initially it was just going to be me, Nell, Kakmira and Aliff. But, Aliff ofcourse had to go in to office, public holiday or not. I asked Syida and Ibu to tag along. Ibu told Mama-ina (Nell's mum and my aunt who is my mum's sister and BFF), and she wanted to follow. So did Adik (Nell's sister). Kakmira decided to bring precious Lulu Alani. So it was 8 of us, 2 cars. Big troop I brought. Haha.

Part of the Bridezilla Troop.
L-R: Nell a.k.a Kakak, Lulu Alani, Syida
(picture courtesy of Kakmira)

Me and my troop started with Syomir Izwa. His shop is in Solaris Dutamas, Mont Kiara. The appointment was at 12. We reached there just in time, probably a few minutes past 12 because we got a lil lost finding his shop. It was a really nice shop, very exclusive and drama :) Loved the white dress on the mannequin situated at the end of the display room.

Ms. Lulu checking out the shop
(picture courtesy of Syida)

It started off with everyone pee-ing. Haha. seriously. Semua tak tahan nak kencing. Ahah. Then we started discussing on my reception dress. I described to him what I had in mind and showed him clippings from magazines of some designs that I had brought. Then he started sketching. He sketched 2 designs. Everyone liked the first one. Then we discussed materials. As I have said in this entry, I was thinking of incorporating chiffon and tulle and satin as lining. I've decided I don't want lace, since the nikah baju kurung will have lace. Syomir agreed and said; "lace is overused. yang datang wedding pun pakai lace." Hahaha. I also told him that I would like the dress to be encrusted with beadings for the bling effect. What I learned from my meeting with Syomir is that he is in love with chiffon! Haha. I am too. But I think him more than me. Hahah. He's not into tulle sangat. He even wants to use chiffon for the veil. All in all I think we are in the same page. He's really nice and friendly. I like him. He told me he would get back to me with the quotation. I have a feeling it's going to blow my budget because of the bead works.

*praying hard it would be right within, if not on the dot, of my budget*

L-R: Me, Mama-Ina, Syomir
(picture courtesy of Nell)

(picture courtesy of Syida)

(picture courtesy of Syida)

We spent about an hour with Syomir. Ibu and Mama-ina loved his ready-to-wear designs and shoes and clutches so they spent some time trying on his shoes and querying him on his work. We finished around 1.30-ish. Kakmira scheduled our appointment with Qudyn at 3pm. Qudyn is at Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, which is about 20 minutes from Mont Kiara (info based on google-map). So we had about one hour to spare. We went to Solaris for lunch. Aliff met us there before he went to work. His office is just nearby, at Jalan Semantan, Damansara Heights. We ate at Meatworks. One of the best beef ribs I've had so far. It has been a while since I ate at Tony Romas, which is famous for its beef ribs, so I'm not able to compare between the two.

We ran a little late, because of our darling Lulu Alani. She was sleepy by lunch time so she was a bit grumpy and took time eating her food, which she tossed here and there.

Lulu Alani still clean - before she started her tantrum
(picture courtesy of Mama Nell)

To make her eat and behave, Kakmira promised her ice-cream. So, after lunch we had to stop by Baskin Robbins. I told Kakmira to call Qudyn to change the appointment to 3.30pm.

It was my first time (at least that I remember) to Bandar Tun Razak, and Cheras is definitely not a familiar territory. I googled-map the way, and we didn't get lost ... until we reached Bandar Tun Razak. Haha. We had Qudyn's address but we were not sure how to get there. Google was right, it was about 20 minutes from Mont Kiara to Bandar Tun Razak, but we forgot to include the lead time for getting lost. I called Qudyn for directions and finally reached his place at 4pm. Shishkebab, 1 hour late. Sorry Qudyn!

Qudyn, true to what I have read, is really nice (eventho we were late). He runs his business from his home which he converted to something like a studio. Same as at Syomir's, everyone took turns to pee. Haha. A family of small bladders. So, we discussed the designs, the concept and the materials for the reception dress. Qudyn, suggested to incorporate tulle, which bodes well with my innitial idea. He also said he'll use tulle for the veil. He asked me my budget and gave me a quotation then and there, which is exactly the amount of the budget. Nice. I told him I'll get back to him to confirm. We left at about 5pm, just in time to reach home and get ready for Nabilla's Wedding Reception.

So, now I have 2 amazing designers. Different approaches but good reviews each of them. At the moment I'm not sure with whom I am inclined towards. They both have their pros and cons. Both really nice. I'll wait for Syomir's quote because that will ultimately decide my decision. I am also thinking of meeting Emma, Arma and Alin Anuar, just to make sure I am making the right choice, economical wise. I know right, five different options just for a dress? Ahah I know some people who would just go to one and confirm. Haha. I am meticulous that way. It's tiring, but I realllly have to make sure I stick to the budget, which is already bloated. I think I need some trimmings here and there. My new year's resolution is:

Not to get tooo carried away spending for the wedding.
(big fonts as a reminder to myself...I tend to stray away from this from time to time)

We'll see whether I'll have time to go the remaining 3. This month's weekend is all full (which reminds me I've to call for the kursus kahwin) and I HAVE to decide on the designer by this month. Both Syomir and Qudyn told me they atleast need 3 months to make the date. The faster the better, so my dress won't be lined up in a long que of other brides-to-be and there'll be enough time for fittings and alterations.

If you realise, I'm only concentrating on my reception dress for now. This is because I think I'll invest more on the reception dress because my vision for it is quite elaborate and would require special hands and touch. I already have the lace for the nikah ensemble, so I'll start sending the materials once I've confirmed the budget for the reception dress. 

Will write again on this :) Toodles.

Nabilla and Hanafi Tied the Knot

CONGRATULATIONS NABILLA AND HANAFI!!

Nabilla and Hanafi have been together for 8 years and this year they finally tied the knot.

Before the Big Day, us girls organised a Hens Party for the then Bride-to-Be at PNB Darby Park, Jalan Ampang. The theme was Little Black Dress. It started with the cake, then the early dinner, followed by games and then the mandatory gossipping. Innitially we planned to go out and party it up, but we were too tired (OMG tuanya we've become!), so we changed to our pyjamas and had a x-rated pyjamas heart-to-heart session by the balcony until about 3am :) The next morning Farina woke us up for breakfast and after we checked out, we went to have a light lunch at TGI Friday's at Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P.Ramlee, off Jalan Sultan Ismail. It was a fun fun fun Bridal Weekend!

The layered oreo fench crepe cake sponsored by Hudra. Looks may be deceiving Haha because it's soooo delicious. Hudra asked us whether we wanted a novelty cake which looks really pretty but with thick fondant, or an ugly looking cake but feels good in the mouth and tummy. Picture-friendly or Tummy-friendly? All voted tummy!

The dinner spread by everyone. Seafood Aglio Olio from Nell. Roasted Chicken from Farina.  Mash potatoes and Potato Salad from Me. Blueberry and Cheese tart from Hanna. Strawbery pudding, muffin, choki-choki and jar of sweets from Shikin.

L-R: Hudra, Shikin, Me, Hanna and Keysha, Farina

Arrival of Guest-of-Honor

Bride-To-Be

B.R.I.D.E bingo by Shikin. the Bride won.

Bridal Charade by Nell (Sangat Susah OK!).
L: Nabilla doing the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Ahah. Someone guessed it right.

The Kissing Game by Me and Nell. Blinfold and Kiss :*

L: Hudra dizzy after the twirling by Shikin.
R: Farina checking out her "score"

*Click* *Click*

R: Hudra showing Nabilla her emcee script

Lunch the next day





**Pictures by Nell. Editing by Me :)

On the 4th of December 2010, Nabilla officially became Mrs. Hanafi. The nikah was attended by close family and friends. It was a lovely solemnization and the house was beautifully decorated by Karyan Events with the pelamin and the stairs filled with pastel colors of my favorite flower, hydrangeas. The Bride's room was beautifully scented by the au naturale scent of tiger lilies and bunga rampai. The Bride wore a stunning modern white lace kurung accentuated by beads of pearls and a white veil with lace trims by Alin Anuar. The Bride had her hair pinned to the side with little pieces of hydrangeas in between and a crystal headpiece from Evita Peroni. There were white tents with colorful lanterns and white chairs also by Karyan Events. Guests enjoyed the food by JM Bariani. The ceremony was blessed by a short rain, hujan rahmat.

It was a beautiful day.

Getting ready

Last minute Bridesmaids :)

The sangat Beautiful Bride

Loving the headpiece and the pearl beads

The highschool sweethearts

To be wed. Loving the Pelamin

Pretty pastels hydrangeas

R: A Perak tradition - the father of the bride exchanging the songkok with the tanjak. A new tradition that I learned :)

Me and Nabilla

**Pictures by Nell. Editing by Me :)

On the 7th of December 2010, Awal Muharram 1432 Hijrah, was the Reception Dinner hosted by the Bride's Family. It was at, Ciao Ristorante, a little italian restaurant situated at Jalan Kampung Pandan, off Jalan Tun Razak, KL. The guests were greeted by drinks inside the restaurant and mingled about and later ushered to their seats outside under white tents filled with fairy lights. The Bride and Groom made their first entrance as man and wife at about 8.30pm and proceeded to the pelamin for the merenjis. The Bride was elegant in a  coral dress with white lace and tulle, again by Alin Anuar. The Groom was handsome in a grey suit. The guests then enjoyed a scrumptious spread of itallian dishes for dinner. The reception was relaxed and informal with minimal protocols and warm hospitality.

Hudra was excellent and non-chalant as the emcee of the night.

The father of the bride gave a short and sweet speech welcoming Hanafi into the family.

The cousins of the Bride serenaded the guests with their oh-so-beautiful voices.

The night ended with the guests posing for the cameras with the newly weds.

A beautiful way to start a new year.

Beautiful Couple

.one for the album.

**Pictures by Farina and Shikin. Editing by Me :)

All in all, it was one of the most minimalistic but at the same time beautiful and exquisite wedding that I've ever been to. Congratulations again to the beautiful couple.

The wedding might have ended, but your life is only just beginning. 

Love you two to bits! xx