The (Unprofessional/ Part Time) Wedding Planner Notes- D' Kay's Bridal Boutique

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Okay, as I promised earlier on, this is the first bridal boutique that I visited at Segamat.
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Shop: D' Kay's
Address: No 16, Tingkat 2, Jalan Susur Utama 2/1, Taman Utama Segamat (this shop is located at the second bridge)
Packages offered:
i. Silver- RM 750.00
ii. Kristal- RM 1650.00
iii. Gold- RM 1850.00
iv. Diamond- RM 2650.00
*(prices are correct at the time I visited the shop)
Make-up: MAC and Kryolan
Other infos:
i. Malay owner
ii. Most of thier clothes are from Indonesia (except for the gowns)
iii. Minus feature: Most of their clothes do not have linings, therefore, brides to be need to be prepared with camisole
iv. You can choose either the male or female make-up artist. If you go to the shop, they will show you the difference between brides done by male and female
v. They have three photographers cooperating with them
- eddy zulkifli (operating at home- Taman Yayasan)
- azizi lensa melayu
- zuhaili zainal
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These are some of the photos taken at the shop (sorry for the low quality of pictures)

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Please note that the prices are negotiateable. Depending on your preferences, you may add or eliminate some of the things stated in the packages (e.g.: number of clothes)
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Hari Ini Birthday Ayah Gua

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Mula- mula ingat nak pergi Pizza Hut. Tapi, tak jadi. Nak jadikan cerita, handphone gua buat hal hari ni, kena sawan. Jadi, lepas solat Asar petang tadi, gua hantar handphone gua pergi hospital. Kena tahan wad 2, 3 hari. Bagus juga. Tak ada lah gua asyik main Facebook ja. Yang tak seronoknya, handphone gua nanti akan hilang ingatan. T_T
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Lepas hantar handphone gua masuk hospital, Ayah gua ajak makan rojak kat kedai yang tak berapa nak baru buka. Gua layankan ja. Baru dua suap Ayah gua makan, dia dah komplen, 'tak sedap', gua angguk 'ja. Tapi gua makan sampai 80% licin gak. Gua tak makan sengkuang, pelik ja rasanya.
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Masa nak bayar, gua yang bayar. Dapat gak gua belanja Birthday Boy gua ni. Sebelum gua blah, gua ada satu sajak untuk Ayah gua:
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A-Y-A-H

A- Aku

Y- Yakin

A- Ayahku

H-Handsome

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p/s: Sorry, mood gua tak berapa nak elok.

el tigre Pun Baca Kekah!

* Siapa kata cuma manusia ja baca Kekah? (merujuk kepada Siapa Kekah Bidan Sepiah?). Tengok, el tigre saya pun baca juga!

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el tigre sedang membaca nota harimau jadian oleh Tok Rimau.

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Membaca Kekah membuatkan saya tegak bulu tengkuk. Kenapa? Sebab sebelum saya menghadamkan Kekah, saya menelefon ayah. Ayat terakhir ayah adalah, "Tidur malam ni baik- baik. Duduk sorang tu". Maummm! Itu bunyi yang menyahut dari Kekah.

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Memandangkan saya bukan pakar mengulas buku, di sini saya menurunkan beberapa sebab kenapa anda perlu baca Kekah:

i. Setiap tajuk/ bab dalam Kekah terpisah tetapi bersambung- sambung. Dalam ertikata lain, setiap bab boleh berdiri dengan sendiri tetapi lebih seronok jika di baca secara berturut- turut

ii. Pemilihan nama watak sangat bersangkut paut dengan perwatakan mereka. Dengan membaca nama mereka sahaja, anda boleh membayangkan perwatakan mereka

iii. Nota/ diari harimau jadian membantu anda untuk menjejak siapakah antara harimau jadian di dalam Kekah

iv. Membaca penghujung Kekah membolehkan anda menyimpulkan bahawa cerita ini sedikit sebanyak terbina dari pepatah Melayu, "keluar mulat harimau, masuk mulut buaya" ha ha ha...
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Pastikan anda membeli Kekah sebelum kehabisan stok! Tanda tangan The Sol Jahs juga akan anda dapati di dalam buku anda (kecuali tanda tangan Tok Rimau). Siapa- siapa yang dapat tandatangan Tok Rimau, bukunya lebih rare dan bernilai tinggi. Sila sampul elok- elok dan tunggu dalam 20 tahun lagi. Cuba jual di e-bay, pasti harganya melambung tinggi.

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"Saya mahu baca lagi!" kata el tigre.
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The (Unprofessional/ Part Time) Wedding Planner Notes- Extra Notes For Budget Wedding

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You want a grand wedding, you you do not have enough budget. These are some of the tips that you can use.
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1. Asks for sponsors!
Just like artists in our country nowadays. Do not be ashame of that, although some will say that you are just like Jamal in Of Bunga Telur and Bally Shoes by Che Husna Azhari and they will start singing "... duit tak ada tapi hati ingin kahwin... la la la...". But make sure that you ask them nicely or give some hint that you need their help indirectly (do not ask me how, because so far, I am the one who offered to sponsor them). This is because some of your relatives or friends are more than willing to sponsor you. Some of the things that can be sponsored are invitation cards, bunga telur, eggs, contents for goodie bags and the goodie bags itselves.
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2. Budget wedding invitation
Look for a simple yet nice and affordable invitation card. Afterall, most of the time people will throw it away after the wedding. Only certain people will keep it. (just like me, collecting invitations from my TESL friends)
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3. What's inside?
Select for the stuffs that you want to put inside the bags, recommended for foods as people will eat it. Stuffs like towel and cutlery (the actual ones) are also suitable. Things like minature of cutlery and car ornaments might be nice, but they might not be useful afterall.
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4. Extra cash
Be extra happy if you get money or voucher as presents instead of houseware and electrical appliances. Money form gifts and salam kaut can be recycle to pay for your caterer and mak andam. Voucher, especially for electrical items can be use to buy washing machine or refrigerator for your new home.
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Up coming in the next entries, bridal boutiques/ mak andam around Segamat. Tunggguuu!

The (Unprofessional/ Part Time) Wedding Planner Notes (part 4)

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continued from the last entry (this is the last entri for this topic)
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M. Spa/ henna
Pamper yourself while preparing your wedding. Have some massage sessions, spa, bath, manicure and pedicure. If you plan to do peeling, make sure that you do it at least two weeks before the day. This will give some time for your skin to peel and produce a better skin for you (wallah!). Do facial if needed. For pedicure and manicure, do it around two to one and a half week before the day. If you do it too late, the henna will not stick to your fingers and nails.
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There are many types of henna that you can choose. If you want your hand to be decorated with henna, it is up to you. You may ask professional or your talented friend/ realtive to do it for you. Wear it at least two days before. This will allow you to repair it if there are flaws.
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N. Wedding cake
The easiest way for you to have your wedding cake is to buy it from a cake shop! However, for those who want a special one, you have to look for it by asking your friends/ relatives. If any of your relatives that you know have the talent to bake and decorate a nice wedding cake, you may just ask her/ him to do it for you. Maybe, she/ he will give you discount and even do it for free! Latest trend nowadays is to have cupcakes or cake balls as your wedding cake.
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O. Entertainment
If you can afford a DJ and live band, you can have it. Most of the time, you can ask mak andam about it. People around the wedding industry (should I call it an industry?), definately will know each other (even if they do not like that person). But for those who want a simple one, you can just put a CD player and play endless Malay wedding songs and English love songs (make sure that you appoint someone to handle it). If you need kompang and silat for berarak, the cheapest one might be the school students. But to get them, at least you have to know one of the members of the silat/ kmpang team or any of the teachers from that school. Their performance might not be as good as the adults or professionals, but hey, at least you can help their team to gain some money and exposed them to the actual events (other than school events).
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P. Maid-of honour/ bridesmaid aka pengapit
Oh, I heart this job so much! (-_-") Maid-of-honour is just like your right hand during your day or maybe she can help you throughout the journey to your big day. You may ask her to remind or help you anything related to your wedding. Inform her what colour of clothes that she has to wear on your big day. She should not outshine you on that day.
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The (Unprofessional/ Part Time) Wedding Planner Notes (part 3)

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continue for the previous entry...
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I. Goodie bags
Based on my observation, it is not a Malay custom. However, as time goes by, more and more people give this to their guests. One of the reasons that I can think is, those days, the hosts will give the guests a small plastic bag, contains the foods form the kenduri (the Javanese call it as bontrot- if I am not mistaken), but since nowadays we do not have a lot of people to help during the wedding, they prepare the bontrot earlier by giving away the goodie bags!
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So, for this goodie bags, make sure that you know how many guests that you want to invite. What are the stuffs that you want to put inside the bags? Are there any difference between the VIP/ family/ close friends and other guests?
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J. Penanggah/ kendarat
Some might not be familiar with these two terms. Okay, let me explain. Penanggah are the people who works around the cooking area and washing the dishes. Most of them are male as this area need extra strength. They will also bring the dishes if the dishes inside the buffet trays are almost finish. Kendarat are the ladies who wear the same clothes whose jobs are to collect the plates and glasses as well as cleaning the tables. Sometimes they will also guide the guests where to seat and distributing the box of telur or box of sweets.
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Now, you have to indentify them. If your family are not the kind of person who will help during any kenduri, it is better for you to hire people to do this. Although they seem not to be important, you will realise that they are small people who give great impact for you wedding. If the caterer provides them, then you will not have to worry about this.
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K. Hantaran
Determine how many and what are they. You can buy it bit by bit and always be alert of sales and stock clearance. There's nothing wrong with that as it is one of the way for you to cut costs. Plan what you want to put as ornaments on your hantaran. This will keep you away from visiting the shops more then five times (since you always do not have enough this and that).Make sure too that you have the pahar and alas. You can borrow it from your relatives/ neighbours/ friends. The last resort is to rent it from the mak andam (but it also mean extra chargers!)
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L. Distributions of works
Ask help from your family members/ relatives. Some of the jobs are:
i. welcoming the bridegroom's side
ii. incharge of goodie bags (for VIP/ family/ close friends and normal guests- if only you seperate them)
iii. banker! (make sure that she/ he is someone that you can trust)
iv. runner (always running!)
v. asisstant for mak andam and photographer (they may need anything)
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will be continued in the next entry...

The (Unprofessional/ Part Time) Wedding Planner Notes (part 2)

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continue from the previous entry...
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E. Canopy
Renting canopy can be quite costly. Those who will held their reception at a hall will be very fortunate I guess, as they do not have to think how many canopies that they have to rent. Bear in mind too, that most of the time tables and chairs are not inculded in the canopy package. Therefore you have to look for others. When renting the canopy, consider about how many guests that you invite, when will be the peak hour, how long is the duration of your reception, will they inculde the decorations for the canopy?
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At the same time you should also know that there are many types of canopy and you have to be sure which one is frequently use for a wedding. Make sure also, that you have to reserve a canopy just for makan beradab. Once you have decided the canopy, the tables and chairs, do not forget to buy kertas mahjong, kertas minyak or table cloth to cover the tables. Prepare along thumb tacks, stapler gun, celotapes and scissiors.
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F. Invitation Card
Fancy or simple one? Combine or seperate? Custome made or ready made? You can look for it at any shops who are specialised in making wedding invitations or you can also look at photocopy shops. Some online shops also offer a great deal of discout if you book online. Make sure that there are no hidden charges.
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Once you have booked the invitation card, have a sesssion for proof reading. Make sure too, that there are not mistakes about the spelling or information (e.g. date, venue, phone number, tentative programme and maps).
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G. Bunga telur
DIY or ready made? Certain types of bunga telur are way much cheaper if you DIY (e.g. dip flowers). For each pahar you will need 25 bunga telur. For Johorean, the bride need to prepare a pahar for the bridegroom's side. If not, you will have to bring along one pahar of bunga telur during majlis bertandang. Those who are from Negri Sembilan, their custom is to include the bunga telur as a part of the hantaran.
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H. Perenjis
Ask your mak andam, does she/ he has it. Will it be included as a prt of the package or you have to pay extra to rent. Make sure that you are prepared with the stuffs for merenjis as the mak andam will not prepare it for you. Some of the stuffs that you have to prepare for the merenjis are beras kunyit (a raw plain white beras will also do- no one will know about it), inai (henna) and air mawar (you may mix colonge with water or just plain water- again, no one will know about it, unless you tell others about it, ahaks!).
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will be continued in the next entry...

The (Unprofessional/ Part Time) Wedding Planner Notes (part 1)

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Now, take a deep breath. You are now planning to make another step that will change your entire life and moving to the next stage of life. You want to make preparations for you big day, where should you start?
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A. Go for pre- wed course
It is a must. When you attend the course, pay attention to the paper works (the forms that you have to fill in later). If you have chosen the date, you can start buying the forms, complete it, go for HIV/AIDS test, etc. and submit it. Bear that you will be interviewed when you submit the form, so be prepared. You may submit your form as early as three months befor your wedding. Once you have submitted the form, you can book the jurunikah. Be sure where do you want the solemnization to be held; home, surau or mosque.
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B. Look for your mak andam
This is a tedious job. If you want the best with affordable price, you have to survey, survey and survey. Words of mouth will als0 help. One reminder for those who are not working at your home town, make sure that you take a leave for one day just to go round and survey the bridal boutiques in your hometown. Avoid weekends, as most of them will be working on weekends.
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Ask if they provide you with trial make up, that's where you can judge them. Pay attention to whom is going to make up you. Based on observation, neat people will produce a good result. If the person who make up you a sissy, again you have to look at their appearance. It is very much reflected through their appearance.
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Look for packages offered. Do not be shy to ask questions, even the silly ones (but not too silly), because you are going to pay for it (if you choose them). When you look for the packages, consider about
i. make up -> neat/ pretty, how many sessions
ii. clothes -> will they make new clothes by the time of your wedding/ look at their ready collections. Are you satisfied with it, any particular preferences in clothing?
iii. dais -> filp through the albums in the boutique. Ask yourself too, what kind of dais that you want and will they be able to do that for you?
iv. extra offer -> do they rent the bedsheets and decorations for your bedroom? is there any extra free make up for you mother of maid-of-honour?
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Ask if the mak andam has any contact for photographer, caterer, spa, etc. This may ease your burden.

C. Look for photographer
Most of them have their own fotopages, blogs, etc. Look at their works. Do they focus on the photography technique or editing the pictures? Know the personality of you chosen photographer. Will they work alone or with a partner? Are they friendly? Once you have chosen them, ask if the have any packages as most photographers prefers to calculate on their own the price as they will ask you about your wedding. When, where, how many days that they have to cover, on side or both sides? You can also ask about the albums that they will prepare. Will it be in pocket album, sticky album or custom album (some will call it as coffee table book or storybook).
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D. Caterer/ food
Consider how many dishes that you want based on how many guests that you will invite. Know your budget too as this will help you to focus on how may Ringgit that you want to spent per head. Ask them if you can taste their food and words of mouth will also help you to get to know about the caterer that you want to choose.
Things to ponder:
Will they have seperate dish for makan beradab?
Will they rent along things like plates, cutlery, glasses, buffet set?
Will they cook at their own place and ask you to fetch it or will they cook it at your place?
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will be continued in the next entry...

Abandon (part 2)

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I know I have a blog, but I really don not have time to update it. There are a lot of things that I want to tell through my this 'so called' not-so-private-diary. Sorry, I will not write anything that had happened to my school. Oh ya, one of the main reason for me not to update my blog so frequent is because I am extremely busy and tired about sports. And every night, the moment I lay my on my bed, that's it! No more staring at the celling, thinking of stupid things, dreams, etc.
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I can now pronounce that I am just like Nobita who can fall asleep in a split seconds. (-_-") That's exaggerating, I know, but that's my life for the past one and a half month. I cannot promise that in the upcoming months that my blog will be back to normal again, I cannot. This year, I have to teach 25 periods (which means 5 classes). And to make thing worst, I have two end classes where most of them do not understand English. For my Form 1F students, it is such a relief that some of them are still interested to study and hey, they actually passed their PK 1! For my Form 2E, I think that I'm blessed with the non-Malay students and the Malay girls for they are very supportive and eager to learn. The Malay boys? It is better if they are not exist in the class.
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Before I leave, I would like to show you my burung besi. It is second hand, but that's what I can afford. Afterall, the car is still in fine condition and can bring me to longer distance. Not that I am underestimating my precious Datsun, but I think it is time for him to rest. Whatever it is the feeling between riding and driving Datsun is stil the best. It is a great experience and I just cannot express how it feelis to be behind its steering. It's awesome and the confidence is different!


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