Of (More!) Wedding Dresses...

More wedding dress ideas! I'm still in love with the dress that I found at Shah Alam, but I'm looking for some ideas to add more details - particular more laceworks as the dress itself is a simple chiffon&shantung combination.

I love the cutting and lace patchwork of this dress.

A vintage 1950's tea dress - an ode to Audrey Hepburn's wedding dress.

I love the top!

Love the boatneck. Love the belted waistline. Love the 2-piece concept.

My personal favourite.

A gorgeous combination of lace&chiffon.

(Can I wear this please?)

And since I'm in a sharing mood, my original concept for a wedding dress was based on this:

I think I'm in love

I think I'm in love. And I feel so guilty because it's not with my fiancee! I have never felt anything so strongly as this before. My head is cloudy... I can't think straight... my heart is pitter pattering hard with excitement... and all I want to do tonight is dream of ... it. And I think I've finally found it! My dream wedding dress!

What do you think I was talking about?

Was out the whole day with my girlfriend, and we had started out bright and early covering bridal boutiques in the Wangsa Maju-Melawati-Ampang area and all the way to Shah Alam. Early on in the day, I found something that I like at Gezal Mihat, and was serious enough to take the dress on the spot. But I hate making rash decisions so I told myself that I'll give it some serious thought. And my friend agrees that the dress was nice but she knew that it wasn't something that I'm in love with. And her good advice to me that afternoon was, if you love something it will be at first sight. And it'll be something that can take your breath away and you will just know that it is the one. And I came to a swift conclusion that:

Finding a wedding dress is just like finding a husband.

Oh yes... I am being totally serious.

So we went on ahead scouring for wedding dresses at other bridal boutique, and we were in Shah Alam when we passed by the shop. The boutique itself was unremarkable - on the small-ish side, no designer brand names, a pelamin decoration in the middle of the shop and a few mannequin parading their latest bridal design. They didn't even keep any of their bridal collection out front, so me and my girlfriend could have easily passed over the shop without much thought.

But... my eyes was instantly drawn to one of the dresses worn by the mannequin. It was brown and simple - no beading, no lace, not a single extravagant decorations on it. People who would only pass by with just a glimpse could have mistaken it as a 'jubah'. But I noticed the empire waist cutting ... the boatneck line ... the satin trim on the skirt ... and I was hooked like a fish to a reel.

We went into the shop to ask about the dress and the lady said that it was still in the making, so the dress is not yet complete with all the beading and lace patchworks. I wanted to at least try it on, but the shop have a strict policy on trying out clothes. *grumbles* So I went a few times inspecting the dress on the mannequin, and OhMyGoodness! I was so in love with it that I didn't know what had hit me!

What followed was a good 30 minutes of discussion with the lady on my options. And since I love the dress but not the colour - my only option is to have a newly made one just for me. Of course I was ecstatic at the very idea! And I was already imagining myself wearing a white version of the dress already and the lady seemed keen at my excitement over the dress. But alas... my dreams are not perfect. The lady gave me a price quote - which basically includes the price for a newly made dress, a new suit for the groom, accesorries and shoes and etc... - and it's a bit beyond my budget. *sigh*

Now I don't know what to do!! Should I go on ahead with it and compromise on my budget? Or should I try to get a quote from another dressmaker for the same design? Or should I just move on and find another?

M.I.A.

Heyya! Sorry I've been missing for awhile. Work has been hectic these past 2 weeks, so life and blogging has to be put in the back burner. But I'm back! Well... at least for the weekend anyway. I've set-up a date with my girlfriends and we're going wedding hunting! Yay! And I've also a bunch of appointments with potential vendors this weekend. So I promise I'll update with an entry on that later.

In the meantime, I'm also planning to re-do my page and create a new layout. So if you ever visit and see the page is a mess... well... you know who to blame.

Take care and do come back by Monday!
xoxoxo

Of Wedding Dresses and Audrey Hepburn

I'm 10+ weeks away from my wedding day and I still don't have a wedding dress or a wedding dressmaker. *smack!* Yes... I deserve that. Been so tied down with work lately that I really can't spare a weekend to go wedding gown hunting. So last Sunday , I managed to squeeze some time-off from work to go scouting. Visited a few bridal boutiques around KL and... well.. have to say that I was a bit dissappointed with some of the collection but it gave me some ideas of my ideal wedding dress!

One of the dress that I had tried out reminded me so much of this:

Who can forget that opening scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn in this dress?

(psst... btw... I love that movie!)

And I love Audrey Hepburn sense of style. Simple silhouette and clean lines that whispers feminity and elegance like old ladies gossipping behind their hankerchiefs. So... I googled and found a few Audrey Hepburn's inspired wedding gowns!

Pictures courtesy of (from top) Stylish Soiree , Weddinggowntown, Ciarla Bride & SoVintagePatterns.

And of course... can't forget our very own local talent: HATTA DOLMAT! I'm in love with his new bridal collection: Sogni Belli because it has a few of my favourites which would've made Audrey proud! A few of his dresses unveiled at the recent MIFW 2009.

(I love this!)

So girls! Now I need your help! Should I keep hunting down my dream dress at bridal boutiques (please recommend me some!) or should I just go straight to a dressmaker to make my dream come true?

Of Popcakes!

There are just so many things... ideas... that I would love to incorporate into my wedding, and I just have too many... 'stuffs' in my WeeFile that I just need to start organizing them in a systematic order! So, this will become a series of things that I love. And to start it off:

POPCAKES!

I fell in love with the idea of popcake about a year ago, when I stumbled a food blog that featured this cutesy little cake balls on a stick(!), which was first made famous by Bakerella. People in the States fell head over heels over these miniature desserts. Even Martha fell in love with it!

Picture courtesy of Bakerella

My initial idea was to have these as edible table centrepiece (because I just love edible centrepiece)...

Picture courtesy of TheKitchn

But I think it'll work better as a wedding favor instead. So far I've seen this mostly been given out as 'hantaran nikah' or personal presents... but not much as a wedding favor. And I must say that the novelty of this idea has yet to catch up here on our shore... which is good for me! Because this'll be something 'new' to give out to guests.

And we're absolutely lucky that we have our very own Popcake Queen in the lovely Kak Ena of Popcake2U. I don't think there are any other bakeries out there who makes these popcakes.

Idea: Wedding Favor Buffet?

I saw this on Martha Stewart's website and fell in love with the idea of having a wedding favor buffet. Don't you think it's cute?? The idea is to have a few options as wedding favor to your guests, and they can choose whichever they like!

(All pictures and ideas are credited to Martha's Wedding Site)

Have your pick! Soap? Candle? Or a surprise goody bag?

A chocolate buffet for takeaway! How cute is this?

Guests are provided with cute boxes to mix-n-match their own chocolate favors!

(But I'm holding my breath just wondering how much this will cost!)

Or... what about a cookie buffet? Just pick-n-choose your favourite cookies.. yummy!

(but... tak lemau ke cookies tu nanti?)

Okay... this isn't exactly a buffet but an alternative of putting your wedding favors as centre pieces!

Cute and practical.

Another favor centrepiece! Candies all nicely wrapped up with some flower deco.

The idea are quite 'niche' in a way and in Martha's website, she provided a lot of ideas on favors display if you're not planning to have someone to go around and distribute them to guests... (like me?). But I'm considering if it'll actually be practical  - in terms of $$ and in light of our asian values/customs.

For one... it's only polite to return the favor to the guests personally. (This is where the flower girls comes in)

And secondly... if you lay it out buffet-style, there are risks that people will not be considerate and take too much for themselves. (Unless you have a 'bodyguard' tolong jaga the favors. )

But then again... I think it'll be nice to have a wedding favor display right next to the guestbook. So that means, people have to write in 1st before they can get anything! Ok... just kidding... (^__^)

Idea: Invitation Card

One of the main thing that I defnitely have to get done this month is ordering my wedding invitation card and... well... let's just say that I'm kinda stuck.

My problem is that I have this awesome (AWESOME!) idea for the invitation card and I can't find a suitable vendor that can help me pull it off. Also, I'm having a bit of a disagreement with The Parents on the concept of the card. While I heartly agree that simple, nice yet economical card fits-to-a-tee the idea of avoiding unnecessary wastage to the constant limited sources of this precious earth (ie. GO GREEN!)... but... but...

I'm in love with this card already!!

Picture courtesy of Graceful Whimsy.

Another example, picture courtesy of ... google image?

Have I mentioned how much I'm in love with Erin Walsh's wedding? And her card (top) could definitely fit in to the theme of my wedding. I love the simplicity and the colours involved. Anyone knows any card vendors that can help out and yet give reasonable rate?

Another sort of card idea that I love: simple squared-one piece wedding invitation.

Idea and picture courtesy of WLT

This was my original love for a wedding invitation card with an added touch of colour coming from the ribbon. The idea is still on the table if the first one doesn't work out and I can get a reasonable quote for this.

And I know it's not really customary to have an invitation card for the solemnization ceremony, but I want to have a go at making my own card for this, as it'll be better manageable with 100+ or so invites to make. I want to contribute at least  one personally made item for the wedding.

The Concept

I've sooo many ideas for the wedding that I want to share and yet, I still owe you guys my Inspiration Board!! And trust me... I was in the works of creating one, but it just took me longer than expected trying to choose and crop and edit from the abundance of stock photos that I kept in my e-file. So... impatience won out and I've decided that I just want throw out all of my ideas and pictures that I've been keeping very close to my chest, right here and now. Inspiration Board be damned.

So! You've held my hand when I was struggling trying to come up with a colour pallete (read THIS and THIS). Now, I'll present to you the concept that I had in mind to pair these colours with!

THE CONCEPT

Picture courtesy of Google Image (Sorry! Can't remember the exact source!).

The first time I saw THIS picture, I fell in love with the vibrancy of the colours, the merriness and cheerfulness it evokes and (especially) the lanterns!! I remember rushing to show my mother the picture and for once, both of us agreed that it is utterly beautiful. And from there, the concept for the wedding came almost naturally. Both of us decided that we want something... FUN. It's as simple as that. I had even joked around with hubby that the wedding will be aptly titled: CARNIVAL. Of course, he thinks that I was crazy but I know somewhere deep deep in the recesses of my chest that I was half-serious about it.

The idea of having an informal setting, with bright colours and an open green venue was something that constantly teased the child in me. It helps that The Parents are supportive of the concept. Mum was quick on suggestions for wedding favours (hint: one of it is in the picture above already) and Dad agreed that we should have lots of sweets and desserts (perhaps more than food?). I think I was just dumbfounded that for once, we're in tuned on something!

So.... have I come up with any name for my wedding ala birthday party concept? I'm still stuck with 'Carnival'. (^___^)

January Checklist

Before I start on my very first blog entry for the year, let's revisit my December Checklist to see how's my progress is like:

1. Secure a venue
2. Meet-up with WP
3. Send 'kain' for tailoring. > discussed with my tailor that I can send in my materials for 'nikah' outfit in February. Yay!
4. Do HIV test
5. Pick up Sijil Kursus Kahwin
6. Get a head-start on the paperworks
7. Start ordering wedding invitation cards
8. To finalise decorations & theme for wedding (nikah & reception) with WP
9. To decide on make-up artist, photographer & bridal boutique for reception dress.

*sigh* So many things yet to settle, but I definitely have to start making a dent on the outstanding items this month! Or else I'd be trouble!

So... my January Checklist!

1. Start doing up my paperworks.
2. Order wedding invitation cards
3. Confirm make-up artist
4. Confirm photographer (too many choices! don't know how to choose!)
5. Search for reception dress at bridal boutiques.
6. Start ordering wedding favours (soo many ideas...!)
7. Get all my families and dayang-dayang materials for clothes and organizing them for wedding
8. Look-out for live band for reception
9. Finish shopping for 'hantaran'
10. Make plans for 'Singles Retreat' with the girlfriends 
11. Get sample measurement for hubby's 'baju melayu'

Aiyoo... how come my lists are getting longer??