7 Days Before...

Guess what I'd done exactly a week before my wedding?

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Yup. I went running!

Did my 3rd quarter marathon (10k) since I started running last year. Maybe it's not the best way to spend my last weekend as a single lady, but the sense of accomplishment is very rewarding. Especially when you ran 10k in just under an hour!

My medal of honor.

Can you find me?

And THAT is my reason for not being able to attend the very 1st B&B gathering last Saturday. Only managed to drop by just before it started to pick-up some stuff from MarryMe2U. And from all the blog posts that has been circulating so far, it looked fantastic! Sorry I had to miss it. Would've loved to meet other bloggers.

Dear ex-brides and bride-to-bes

Dear ex-brides and bride-to-bes,

When you first tried-out your wedding dress, how was your feeling? Ecstatic? Speechless? Happy? Accomplished?

Because I'm not getting any of it.

So this evening, I went over to the bridal boutique for a fitting. Here I was stewing away and biting at my nails all week because the designer has been too quiet since we last met. So when I contacted her, apparently the dress has been waiting for me as well! *dush!* (btw... that's suppose to be the sound of an anvil landing on my forehead)

Since I'm fairly busy with work this week, I couldn't do any day earlier other than this evening. And when the designer showed me the dress from a distance and asked me to try it on, I was so nervous! And how did it go?

Well... to put it in simple words: anti-climatic. The thing is the dress seems exactly like I had imagined it. Empire waistline; chiffon-draping; laced top. I honestly couldn't find any fault with it except for some extra pinches here and there. But... I just wasn't feeling it. I felt like something was off with the dress but I just couldn't put my fingers on it. And now I'm worried.

Of course, the dress still needed a bit of work here and there, so maybe my eyes are deceiving me. But throughout the fitting, I was more interested with the dress on the mannequin than the one I'm wearing!

Should I be worried?

xoxo

a.i.n.u.n.z.i.l.l.a.

Of buttons and bags

Good morning girls!! Just a quick entry today because I'm rushing off to work now! (sempat lagi...) Anyways, thanks for all the suggestions for the videographers! Really appreciate it. Hopefully I'll be able to get in touch with one of them soon and confirm it by end of the week. But I've just been sooo busy!!! With work... socials... weddings...

Ok. Now the purpose of this entry is also to ask for more help. I'm on the look-out for these 2 items:

Silk-flowers boutonnoires

(borrowed this from sputnik who borrowed it from SMP)

(bottom pic courtesy of Unaisah. Isn't it cute that they have the 'moustache' piccie?)

Cloth favor bags

(picture courtesy of The Knot)

I've been thinking of having the boutonnaires as a 'corsage' (sort-of) for my family members and close friends. Does anyone knows where I can find it in bundles? As for the cloth bag... saw a sample at Bangsar yesterday, and since all the favors has arrived at my house and we've yet to have any ideas on how to package it... thinking of having a plain small cloth bag to put it all in and just get a stamp and DIY it with me and hubby's name on top of it.

Btw... have I mentioned that I've only 2 weeks (!!!!) left to WeeDay? So any help is very very much appreciated!

To Video or Not to Video(??)

It's something that I've been considering for quite some time now and I am so very very tempted to have a videographer around during the wedding! Why? Well... there are certain moments that simply cannot be captured by images alone. And the thing with a video is that it's more interactive and personal than pictures. Ok. This purely depends on who you talked to for advice.  (^__^)

I asked the groom-to-be and he says that it's just a waste of money and he doesn't want it to be seen as something grand. And initially I was apprehensive about having a videographer around, for the simple fact that I'm camera-shy. But thinking back on it now, I do want to be able to look back and re-lived the moment when I officially become his wife. I do want to catch moments during the wedding - between friends and families or something just purely random! - that I will most probably miss-out. I want a keepsake of the performance my friends will be staging for me. I want something ... tangible ... that I can share with my future children.

So now I've decided on having a videographer! But since WeeDay is 2+ weeks away, it is very important that I get something done about it FAST! So here me out dear readers. Please recommend me any good and reasonably priced (!!) videographers out there! I'll.... figure out on how to repay your kindness. Maybe throw in some sort of freebie? (~_~)

Musical!

To me, there are 3 things that makes a wedding. Well... at least for MY wedding.

1. Good food (and tons of desserts!)
2. Good company (cherished families and friends)
3. Fantastic music

In all honesty, all of the above points basically defines any good dates that I have had with my girlfriends whenever we hang-out at Delicious @ Dua Residency. I love 'live' music and I'm almost always there on a Thursday night (the quietest night), sitting back on their 2-seaters corner, a mug of hot coffee and their signature classic chocolate brownies and I'm sold!

But whatever it is: I love my music. I know my music. It varies a lot, depending on my mood most of the time. From folk-rock to acoustic to cheesy pop to classic blues. From Frank Sinatra and Rod Stewart to David Gray and Coldplay.

So when it comes to choosing songs for the wedding, I'm all glee and smiles because it's something that I love doing! And I had a head-start on it too since I started compiling songs since November! So of course, what eventually happened was that, my songlist got too long and I realised that not all of the songs are appropriate for weddings. Thus... self-censorship ensues!

So these are a few songs, that (sadly) did not make it to the final list:

1. Still  -  Matt Nathanson
2. Always  -  Switchfoot
3. She's Got You High  -  Mumm-ra
4. Yet  -  Switchfoot
5. Baby, It's Fact  -  Hellogoodbye
6. Falling Slowly  -  Glenn Hansard & Marketa Irglova
7. Here Comes the Man  -  The Pixies
8. Wonderwall  -  Oasis
9. Collide  -  Howie Day
10. Crazy Ever After  -  The Rescues
11. Across the Universe  -  The Beatles
12. Hey Jude  -  The Beatles
13. Where We Gonna Go From Here  -  Matt Kearney
14. Grow Old with You  -  Adam Sandler
15. Come So Far (Got So Far To Go)  -  Hairspray OST
16. In The Sun  -  Chris Martin & Michael Stipe

I have to admit these are far from your typical wedding soundtrack but I think that's the reason why I love them more! So after extensive consideration, 27 songs made it to the final playlist and even then, it has to go through another round of consideration by the wedding band and singer - especially since they are not familiar with most of the songs as well. (hehe....)

But do you want to have a sneak-peek at one of my MUST HAVE songs?

It's Here!!

I finally got my wedding cards! They came - as promised - last week, 2 days earlier than I had expected but since I was still away on an outstation job at the time, I had my mum to take care of it. And I've been nothing but short of nervous to see the end product ever since! My mother did not entertain my request to send pictures of the wedding card, and she sort of (!) complained about the colour... which made me nervous even more!

So! The first thing I did when I came home this afternoon was to look at the cards. We had ordered 800 pieces and had gotten 100 pieces extra and even then my mum had said that it was too much! When I found the cards this afternoon, the box was 3/4 empty accompanied by a nagging suspicion that I might have to order more. But.... what's important is my reaction right?

And guess what?

I LOVE IT!!

I can't wait to start sending these out to my friends!

Much thanks and credit have to be given out to Hazlan of warna inspirasi 

for helping us so much for the cards!

And to add a bit of a personal touch to the cards, I bought some coloured origami papers and a silver pen, and made a small but personalised note to all my friends and colleagues. Sure, it'll be a bit of a work to go through all the namelists and handwrite everything, but I think people can appreciate the small stuff.

Grow old with you

I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad

Carry you around when your arthritis is bad

All I wanna do is grow old with you

I'll miss you... Kiss you

Give you my coat when you are cold
Need you... Feed you

Even let ya hold the remote control

This is one of the song that didn't made it into my wedding playlist due to censorship. *grins* But it was one of the first song that I sang and dedicated for him when I first came back from Manchester, and we were grasping on how to deal being in this relationship via long-distance... yet again. That was more than 2 years ago, and he's coming back in 3 weeks time to become my husband!

So call me out on being sentimental right now. The distance is particularly harsh these past few weeks, and now I'm scared to be contemplating the post-marriage issues ie. LDR vs. LDM. I'd miss him the most when the stress of preparing for the wedding starts to get to me, and it just feels like one of those days where you rolled-out of the wrong side of the bed.

But for now, I think I should just look forward to being a married woman. Wedding is 3 weeks down the road and I just can't wait to get it over and done with. It's been 5 year overdue!

ps: updates on the wedding plans will be up this weekend once I get back to KL! Btw, if anyone is interested, do come support me and my friend on our TARA audition this Saturday at Sunway Pyramids!

My Muse

So here's a question: Who/What inspires your wedding?

Is it a cultivation of your childhood girlish dreams, all wrapped around fairytales and prince charmings and tiaras and happily ever after?

Or is it the idealism and believes that you stand for - be it religion or earth conservations or a bountiful duty to  your inherit culture?

Or is it just the idea of having fun and run away with it as you please? Well... this is, after all, you wedding day and you can get away with the most outlandish themes/ideas ever!


Well... if I were to be frank, my muse are these:

PAPER LANTERNS

(Of course, you can read my love story with the lanterns in this post )

Lots and lots of multi-coloured, multi-sizes and multi-hued...

Aren't they just a bundle of fun? I especially love the colours! And when I look at all these pictures, I think of birthday parties and fun fairs and squeels of children's laughters and bubbles and balloons and lots and lots of chocolates. And basically, that has been my ideals for the wedding. I really do hope people can let loose and have fun. 

So... consider this as me running away with the idea of having lots and lots of colourful paper lanterns for my garden/carnival wedding!

ps: Safely landed on the land beyond the sea. No wi-fi here other than the ones at cyber cafes. Hopefully I can still  update from time to time.

February Checklist revisited

It's that time of month again!! And I must say that February has been a very productive month for me, especially since I have a cartoonish-looking anvil hanging over my head, what with me not being around for the next 2 weeks. And for once, I'm seeing a totally different side of my father, who is like a military commander, barking orders and status updates everytime I see him. Mum tries to be helpful and sympathetic at times so.....  *shrugs*

And me? Well... much dramas ensues. (T__T)

FEBRUARY CHECKLIST

1. Order wedding invitation card  + DONE! Finalised the mock-up last weekend and hopefully we can start printing by end of the week!
2. Confirm photographer  + photographer that I wanted is getting married this weekend, so no chance to meet-up last week. Hopefully will still be able to confirm once I get back or just via email.
3. Start ordering wedding favors  + Still not yet done but it deserves an entry by itself!
4. Look-out for live band for reception  + DONE! And yes... this also deserves its own entry!
5. Finish shopping for 'hantaran'  + Erm..............
6. 'Singles Retreat' with the girlfriends  + Went to Taman Negara for CNY and my girlfriends wants to throw me a 'hen night' party after I get back. Yay! 
7. Finalise decorations ideas with Kak Wanie of KK  + I love the fact that she considers my ideas that I've been throwing about in this blog, captures it and transforms it in her own distinct style. And from what I've seen so far... totally can't wait to see it materialise! Should I spoil the fun for you guys? *1000x winks*
8. Send materials to dressmaker for my nikah  outfit.  + DONE! Will be able to pick it up right after I get back from outstation.
9. Fitting and finalising concept for my wedding dress. + DONE! 1st fitting right after I get back from outstation. Crosses fingers that it'll turn out ok. 
10. Confirm caterer and canopy for nikah ceremony + My aunt have offered to handle the logistics and etc for this. Woohoo!! Less things to worry about!
11. Book honeymoon (??)  + Waiting for MATTA fair? Wait... when is it again this year?
12. To lose 2kg!! + Bleurgh. I've been too busy and too stressed out with workloads to even consider dieting or exercising. I'm bringing my running shoes along with me to oversea so maybe I can fit in some jogs. Should I bring my protein shakes as well?
13. Order Wedding Cake + DONE! But haven't gotten a feedback from the cakemaker yet. Hopefully, the team will be able to pull through with the ideas I had in mind.

7 out of 13 ain't soo bad. At least the major ones have been covered. Kak Wanie have set out a few 'homeworks' for me to do for the next week, so maybe later I'll share with you all what's these homeworks are all about. *grins*

In the meantime, I'm trying to come up with a March checklist. I know there's a lot to be done but it's 3am and I can't seem to wrap my head around the entirety of this whole wedding event. If you have any suggestions on the important milestones that I need to get covered in this last month of preparation.. well.. don't be shy to drop a comment! Loving all those emails and comments!