Assalamualaikum and hi everybody, I am officially a Mrs now! hehehhehe it is such a wonderful feeling, being married to the man you love. After all the planning and the stress, it is finally over. I will definitely say that i miss being a bride and i would definitely do it again - only if it doesn't cost a fortune! Lol. Today i'm just going to write about a few things i learned about the "perfect" wedding. Every girl I know has that perfect picture on how their wedding is gonna look like, whether it is realistic or not, it doesn't really matter. Once you're really planning it then you'll know what kind of wedding you're gonna have, because honestly, weddings are ~really~ expensive. I really do feel that even if you have some extra cash to spend, and you feel like you only need it "just because", you don't really have to spend a lot on your wedding. But some crucial things like the pelamin and dress, even if its just for the day, i totally understand the need to have the perfect dress and pelamin (for me) bcs thats where you'll be most photographed at! I know, with all thats going on social media, the thought of having an insta worthy wedding will definitely cross your mind. Lets be real here girls.
Some tips from me,
1) Before anything, know what you really want girls.
What color palette? - 2nd most important thing
What kind of wedding dress?
What is your budget? (the most important thing)
Have everything in order, then only proceed to planning stuffs. Anything that doesn't fit in your budget or your colour palette goes. I mean it. Because there are gazillion choices of things that you have to make, and if you cant make up your mind initially, its easy to drown yourself in all of the wedding things. Plus, its easier to have a theme so that everything will look nice and complement each other.
2) Another point in the know-what-you-really-want tip is that, if you're particular like me, know what kind of shots you want the photographer/videographer to take. For my event, I already have a list of shots that I want, and also the flow of my nikah video, even the song! Haha. Sometimes i feel like it makes you more satisfied with the results rather than just waiting for it from the photographer/videographer. Plus I think they are more than glad to have some input from their client on what kind of results they are expected to deliver. The only shot i didnt get was the bukak langsir shot hahahha
Check out my same-day-edit nikah video, done by my awesome videographer --> @the.azpf on instagram
3) Ditch the wedding cake. Crazy right? I feel that way too. But after being let down by my cake (it was different than what i ordered, and it was so so sooo dry) i feel like it was not worth it. Unless your venue or your wedding planner doesn't provide a dummy cake, i'd suggest you just forgo the wedding cake and just use the dummy. I know they often look tacky but i promise you you wont even care on that day! Just have a normal cake (that you know tastes good) as your hantaran and eat it later that night. You'll thank me later. Plus like i said, everything wedding related is expensive so if you insist of having one, be prepared to fork out atleast RM 600 for a multi tiered cake - and if you can, have a taste test first. I didn't, so that was on me.
4) Taking a page from my mum's wedding planning here - make a list. of EVERYTHING. This is crucial girls. This is not just a checklist of things to do months before the wedding, it is the guest list, budget list, things to buy list, and also things to bring on the day of wedding list. My mother, she is the master of lists. And even with a super organized mother like her, some of us (read: me) still forgot to bring this one list during my reception. Hehe sorry Ma! so better be safe than sorry!
5) My sister was honestly surprised that i had time to eat on the day of my Nikah. I often hear brides saying that oh you won't really eat on the day etc. but that wasnt me. I NEED to eat. Lol. So yes, brides, please do not starve yourself. There's nothing to lose anyway. Just keep a spare lipstick with you for touching up afterwards. I even regretted not eating my fruit platter during my reception bcs i was busy doing god knows what. But on my nikah day, I genuinely enjoyed the food bcs I was looking forward to it even before the event. Lol but yes, there is no shame in taking some time to eat as a bride. You'll need that extra energy to smile for the rest of the day anyways.
6) On your nikah day, wear white. This is a no brainer.
7) To save extra, have your nikah at a masjid. This way, you won't have to spend on pelamin and also khemah. You'll save loads. At first my plan was to nikah at Masjid Wilayah, but again, because i was late to book, the eating hall was fully booked. The nikah room was available to use but my mum wanted a proper place for the guests to eat. It is such a hassle to nikah at the masjid and to come home and eat eventho the masjid is not so far from my place. So we ended up doing it at home. I've always wanted to do it at home, but it is way easier to do it at the masjid (read: mess-free house!) but then we ended up still doing it at home. Alhamdulillah, my dream did come true. Although we could save a few thousand ringgits by having it at the masjid, is it not recommended actually due to some girls might be on their period and stuffs, so yeah. But we ended up going back to the masjid for the photoshoot after the nikah! Lol
8) You can always find some service at a great quality but with a lower price. Lol coming from me, i spend days scrolling through instagram to find that perfect makeup, henna and pelamin person at a slightly lower price but with quality results. But then again one of the reasons why i searched high and low for a lower price was bcs the makeup person that i wanted was already booked on my date. I was ready to spend up to RM 750 for one makeup session lol but alhamdulillah i ended up with a great MUA at a better price. Better yet, get a famous MUA to be your friend so that you can get a "friend" price from them! Haha. I had three different MUAs for my 3 events. I didn't really want this but the MUA that i wanted wasn't available for both of my events so i had to hire a different one for my reception. Even from the start I wanted 2 different MUAs, one for nikah and reception, another for bertandang. I even had another re makeup session from the same MUA on the day of my reception for my photoshoot.
Tip: some MUA give extra discount if you book more than one event so book wisely!
Another tip: Hire people that are near to you so you won't have to pay extra for transport! I made a mistake on this for my hantaran person. I had to pay quite alot for the transport. That doesn't include the time i had to go all the way to send my hantaran stuffs. But it ended up being super close to my husband's house while his hantaran person lives near to my house. Hehe alhamdulillah on how things work out perfectly in the end.
9) Another thing that I value most during my wedding is the music. I absolutely adore my wedding playlist! Haha this may be masuk bakul angkat sendiri but it’s the little things that made my event special and a little bit more personal to me. Of course, I’ve had help on the songs but there were some songs that I had to have playing during my event and there were also some special songs catered to the specific moments during the event - walk song, cutting cake song, video slideshow song etc. My tip to you is to have something personal that makes the event more unforgettable to you and your guests.
These are solely my recommendations, if you don't agree, then don't do it. Its as simple as that bcs every girl's dream is different. You might look at another girl's wedding dress and not like it but to her it is perfect. To each their own. Amirite?
All in all, despite some let down, I thoroughly enjoyed being a bride. I loved every single moment of it! I can safely say that I didn't have any major bridezilla moments & that I was a calm bride (quoted by my friends k! not self proclaimed :p) but I did have a mini tantrum when i saw my pelamin the morning of my reception. It was again, not exactly what i wanted. Even until now when I look at the pictures i cringed a bit, but it was done and all I could think of is how happy i was that day. Everything else was perfect. Thank you so much to everyone involved. My parents first and foremost, I couldn’t have done it without them. They are my biggest supporter and I love them so much even way before my husband came into the picture. My bridesmaids, my pengapit even my pregnant sister, everyone was super helpful during the event. I couldn't thank everyone enough. And to everyone who came that i couldn't meet and thank properly, thank you for coming and it was an honor to have you at my wedding! I on the other hand was the only one who contributed the least! Well except for preparing my own doorgift (with help) and actually being there on my wedding day of course lol
If any of you wants the wedding checklist, feel free to comment below with your email and i'll gladly email it to you!
With all the love in the world,
Alhana
