PDA!

Anyone up for a bit of a PDA (Public Display of Affection)?

Beautiful wedding of a friend, Syafiq and his wife Rita

Hailed from Penang, the weddings that I can recall attending in most of my childhood + teenage life were the ones of the relatives, the more traditional type at the kampung-kampung where the food was cooked via gotong-royong by the villagers, then makan bawah khemah atap zink tengah-tengah panas. Main menu for the kenduri would be kari. Kari ikan, kari daging lembu, kari daging kambing, kari ayam.

Then bila dah besar sikit, baru dapat attend the ones held at a more proper hall, or hotels. Cuz by then the daughters/sons of my parents' friends in the city pun dah besar-besar and dah nak kahwin.

But the first time that I witnessed the actual preparation of a modern-type wedding was a few years ago in KL. Everything abt the wedding was so beautiful, but the one thing that caught my attention was this one big framed-portraiture that stood at the entrance of the hall.

I was so mesmerized at the beauty of the picture and thought to myself that I want the same thing for my own wedding.

So, here I am, only trying to fulfill my teenage dreams :)

Insha Allah we are going for a simple pre-wedding photo shoot in a few weeks' time. Can't wait! Hihi. My sister's friend in KL agreed to do it for us. So hopefully we are able to choose a nice pic out of the many.

And thanks to Bang Hus for agreeing to lend me that tripodlike-thingy so that I am able to prop up that big frame on it :)

All You Have To Do Is Wait...

"All you have to do is wait for your nikah day". That was what being told to me by the helpful people at the Pejabat Agama Islam today after I submitted the borang nikah.

Submitted!

There was a brief interview or rather, a chit chat session with the Ustaz before he allowed me to hand in the form. On the way to the Pejabat Agama with my mom, we were quizzing each other on Rukun Islam, Rukun Iman, etc; the basic Pendidikan Islam stuffs. And then boleh pulak both of us terlupa 1 rukun for each the Rukun Islam and Rukun Iman! Punya la dok ingat... apa benda la yang termiss tu?? When you're panic-stricken, you simply forget! Errr...and why is my mom panicking again?

My dad told me that last week his friend's daughter ke son went to see the Ustaz, and he/she was asked to recite the Qunut. Maybe he/she was too nervous, and could not complete the recital. In the end the Ustaz asked him/her to come back once he/she is ready. Thanks Abah, does not help calm me down!

At the last moments before I went in to see the Ustaz, alhamdulillah I could recall each of the Rukun Islam and Iman. *phew*

But not that the Ustaz quizzed me on those anyway. Just a simple recital of the istighfar and syahadah, with the meaning. And he advised me on the do's and don'ts for a blissful marriage...tiba-tiba rasa sedih T.T

Domes and Table Centrepieces

Went to discuss with the caterer yesterday... Amongst the things discussed is whether they are going to provide us with maybe 4, 5 "domes" for the VIP tables (untuk rombongan lelaki). Cuz we will be having buffet-style lunch and I think the rombongan shouldn't be queueing at the buffett line with the other guests for food? Well, so far tak pernah tengok lagi, kalau ada, do tell me ya. So the idea is that the food will be served in that dome.

Unfortunately, the caterer they don't have any domes to provide to us. Well, our caterer ni small-time caterer aja. Semalam pergi discuss pun dekat rumah dia kat kampung kat Penang ni :) Food dia, insha Allah belum ada orang complain tak sedap lagi. They did the food for my engagement party last February and everyone liked it.

OK, so, tak da dome. The caterer is not aware of anyone whom we can hire the domes from. He said if we want to hire pun maybe about RM50 per dome, or more.

Anyway, later after meeting the caterer I went to find this one florist recommended by the bridal boutique. She told me that this florist memang tak charge mahal, and will do his best to work around our budget. I am trying to get quotation for my hand bouquets... And true enough... this florist memang tak sombong langsung. He showed me so many pics and samples together with price quotation. Eg if my budget is RM60 this is what I will get... and he also advised me on the alternatives to cut down on the price.

And I found out that he can also do table centrepieces... Quite cheap too... And I don't think I will be needing the domes anymore... Lauk pauk tu, I think dihidangkan atas meja dalam pinggan ke apa... And I am thinking of simple table centrepieces, like these pictures:-

From here

From here

From here

From here

...and I really2 want candles in the centrepieces too! Boleh tak? :D

Tomorrow (Monday) he invited me to his house cum showroom to see his flower arrangements... Can't wait!

Alhamdulillah...

My request to transfer to the firm's branch in KL is accepted. Now am waiting for the clearance date, as in when can my current office effectively release me. Don't wanna owe the office anything, do we? Leave the office as a clean slate.

Hmm...do I really want to continue in the line I'm currently in? Those late hours, high stress levels...in KL it's gonna be even worse (the traffic jam's gonna make the whole thing worse)... Not good for married life, they say.

I tell myself to give myself a chance. Should things do not work the way they are supposed to, maybe Plan B will take into action (note to self: to formulate Plan B :P) There are so many things about the wedding to think of, rather than nak peningkan kepala nak cari kerja lain!

Before "I Do"

Tiba-tiba timbul keinginan entah dari mana nak amik gambar pre-wedding. Mungkin berkat usaha kawan-kawan Chinese kat ofis asyik dok tanya aja bila nak amik gambar pre-wedding. To the Chinese, it's like a must to have pre-wedding pictures. Mula-mula memang tak pertimbangkan langsung nak amik gambar pre-wedding ni, banyak lagi benda nak difikirkan selain dari posing-posing depan kamera. Nanti masa kawin nanti, dah nak posing dah pun.

Tapi, bila duduk dan fikir-fikir...

Why not? Ngee...

Nothing too fancy and elaborate. Just me and Ide in our normal clothes looking pretty in front of the camera.

Something like this, perhaps: -

Pretty, isn't it? Thanks to Bang Hus

I talked to Ide abt it... He thinks it is a good idea too... But we haven't really decided on it. If it happens then the event will take place somewhere in KL, and I plan not to go to KL again what with the wedding is so near now... my Mom cakap nanti takda seri pulak... asyik menunjukkan muka kat KL ja :-S But there is still so many things for me to do! Pick up invi cards, groom's ring, fitting for KL reception, bla bla blaaaa....

Absence...

...makes the heart grow fonder.

Miss my darling... It was only yesterday I sent him off on the bus back to KL, and I miss him already... (ngada, ya I know :P)

Did I tell you how much fun we had during his short 2-day trip to Penang? His last trip to Penang as an ineligible bachelor...

Day 1
Turun2 bas ja, he said his stomach was grumbling and needed to be fed Nasi Kandar Line Clear... off we went... hmm tapi tak sedap sgt la... I prefer Nasi Kandar Kg Melayu hands down... then we went home and talked and talked... listened to beautiful music, I am so in love with Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major (flute and piano version), but Ide likes the violin and harp version.

Day 2
Went to Transfer Road to try the Ceri Roti Canai... It is years since I've been wanting to try that infamous roti canai... But always tak pergi cuz my thought is roti canai is very fattening. But whenever I'm arnd Ide, my diet always seem nonexistent. The roti canai sedappp...but mcm kena tipu ja bila time bayar? :( Note to self: Next time tanya betul2 harga setiap benda yg diorder.

Then off we went for facial... It was his first experience, he seemed very excited but did not show it (tak macho lah, excited nak pi facial :P). He kept asking me to tell him what's gonna happen during the process... I told him just enjoy the process lah... Hehe. We were placed on adjacent rooms, and throughout the facial I can hear him making weird noises... Like when the lady put on a steamer he snorted few times. I guess he slept for some time cuz I heard him snoring!! Grr...

Then we went to place deposit to rent his tuxedo, after that to the mall in the quest to find him the bow tie and waist band as described in the previous entry. Watched the movie "Surrogate" (interesting movie! - pursuaded him to watch "Papadom" but he refused to) and had Thai dinner at a kedai makan tepi jalan.

Day 3
Rode on the motorbike to the local neighbourhood market to have breakfast (ya you read me right - motorbike!). It was his first time carrying a pillion rider hehe. Nasib baik tak tertunggang terbalik OK. It was our first time riding together on a motorbike.

Went to the shopping mall to find him his pair of shoes for the wedding... Then we went back home to eat Mama's homecooked lunch and get him packing for his bus back home to KL.

And today... here I am... missing him :(

The Groom

Ide darling is in town this weekend, yay! He is here to hand-deliver his completed borang nikah forms and such - I am proud of him for actually completing the necessaries for his nikah application at such a short time. Me? I haven't even get the form from the local Pejabat Agama *embarrassed*

He is also here to get his size for the tuxedo rental. Erm...kami rent aja, don't have the budget to custom made a full tuxedo set. But we have to get the pants on our own, if we are to rent one from the bridal shop, the pants provided are all rubber-waisted (means kat pinggang tu semua getah, pakai sarung aja takda cakuk2). Eee...don't want! Macam lau pek lah...

Then we went on the hunt for his bow tie and waist band... Not that the bridal shop does not provide one, but the shop only provides a clip-on...and Ide wants a proper bow tie that he has to tie himself. Emm...mengada tak? :P

But then it is his wedding as much as mine, if he wants to be a gentleman, let him be. He grew up idolising James Bond. I suppose he has been dreaming of being as suave as the Bond on his own wedding since childhood...who knows? And that he is only realising his childhood dreams.

This is the look he hopes to achieve on our wedding day:

My fave Bond - Daniel Craig...handsome kan? :D

And we had fun learning how to tie the bow tie, it is quite tricky actually but the SA at the shop was really helpful, we practised until we managed to get it right...and again, YouTube does help too! :)

And all I can say is, the groom's attire is almost as expensive as the bride's! - Yea...my dress is just a simple affair...nothing too fancy :)

His tuxedo set is almost complete, only left with his tuxedo shirt aja...I am not sure where to get a tuxedo shirt...(is it what they call it?) We thought of getting a normal white shirt if still couldn't find the tuxedo shirt...

I told Ide that his next trip to Penang - he'll be a married man! Hihi.