Wedding Directional Signs Ideas

Among all the wedding details in a wedding, this may be the most I don't give much thought to it. Every couple is different. Some want their wedding themes fit to the T but for me a simple one will do.

With that said, I DO appreciate those really nice directional signs like these...

Cool pe?

It's cool and does adds to the atmosphere. It can DIY with the right resources or sometimes, some decor vendors can provide for you.

There's nothing wrong having a normal poster too. Some card vendors like Cards Maison also do directional posters or just go to a printing shop with your design to print.

As for me, no need to go printing shop even. We were thinking of buying 2-3 pieces of pretty stationary paper, type with pretty font, print it, laminate, punch holes and voila!

Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.

Just tie it with cable tie and decorate with 2 bunga manggar sticks. We are drafting it at the moment so when it's ready, for sure, I will share it here.


   

They.Are.Coming!!!!!11!

It's been a long time coming and it's one of the worries/ stress Jhon and I had which is whether his family is coming to our wedding or not.

It's not a matter if they wanted or not but if they could.

It is without a doubt that it's best that his family is around to witness our wedding. Unfortunately, no one in his family has a passport. What makes things worst, his mom does not have her birth certificate which would make the application even more tedious.

Philippines' passport application is unlike Singapore. In a week, the Singapore passport would be in our hands. There, such speed only applies to senior citizens and the average wait for others is 1 month.

On top of the case of the missing birth certificate, it actually took Jhon's mom more than 6 months to get it all processed. No doubt, as the date gets closer, Jhon and I got more and more pessimistic because not until recently, we didn't know when everything will be processed. It's a mean waiting game.

It was only 2 months before our wedding, Jhon's family told him that they got their appointment to apply and after applying, will be receiving their passports at different appointed dates. Unfortunately although expected, Jhon's brother will not be following because he is swamped with projects and someone has to take care of the many pets they have at home.

But Jayden is coming! I finally get the see my cute Pinoy nephew who looks like he weighs a ton. lol This picture is him at 8 months old. By the time he visits us, he is about 1 year 4 months old.

 Of course, I am excited about Jhon's parents and sister too. They will experiencing their first flight and visit outside of Philippines! I am so going to take them to the touristy places and I hope they will enjoy it too. As much as they had accommodate to me when I visited them.

As I am writing this, they had already book their flights while waiting for their passports. I hope everything will go smoothly. I need to plan their itinerary!


   

Malay Weddings: All-in-1 Packages or À la Carte?

In the beginning, like any to-be-wed couples, Jhon and I also considered on whether should we get those all in-one-packages or go à la carte for our wedding. I considered the pros & cons and of course, price differences.

But let's go through the advantages and disadvantages of both together for the newer BTB and GTB okay?

All-in-1 Packages

❣ Less research needed
Besides researching for vendors that do such packages, there's not much else research to do. Since majority of the stuff are already in the main package. Less hassle!

❣ Convenient
This is a no brainer. Having all the vendors under one roof is convenient because you have to deal with lesser appointments, lesser receipts and lesser considerations. Not to mention you don't have to go to more than 5 different vendor offices that may be all over Singapore.

❣ Save costs
This depends on the packages and vendors engaged so make sure you go through the description carefully. With that said, vendors do absorb some costs of the smaller components of the wedding. Such as candy corner, photo booth, bunga rampai, etc. Note that not all vendors covers everything though.

BUT

❣ Can't be picky
This depends on the couple. If you are not very particular on every aspect of a wedding, it would not be an issue. BUT if you have intentions of having the wedding of your dreams or even has specific criteria, all-in-packages may not work for you. Unfortunately, it's difficult to have the 'best' of everything. Beautiful decor may not guarantee delicious food or bridal and vice versa. Then again, preferences varies.

À la Carte

❣ Achieve the wedding of your dreams
Different vendors has their signature style, whether it is photography, decor, food or bridal. Having to choose vendors of your choice for your specific tastes makes it easier to achieve the wedding you have been dreaming of.

❣ More research needed
There are practically thousands of wedding vendors out there which one is the right one? If you know exactly what you want, it would be an easier job but still require plenty of time and effort. Rule of thumb is to book minimum 1 year before your wedding so you probably need to start researching way before that.

❣ Save Costs
À la carte weddings can save costs too because you can decide which vendor you wiling to splurge on and which you are willing to budget with. If you want to budget all the way also can! You will be surprise how much you can save with proper research.

BUT

❣ Dealing with many vendors
Vendors galore meant appointments galore! Not that you will having appointments upon appointments, lah. Depending on each vendor, they require 2 appointments on average. Not to mention you have to sort the receipts and make sure everything is in check.

Initially, Jhon and I were tempted to get those all-in-one packages especially with Pu3 Wedding Services when we met at a wedding expo. Jhon was jumping up and down for the mere convenience. Lucky for my need of screening every letter and full stop and the fact we found out the lady had made a mistake and that the cost was over our budget especially for our small wedding. I knew there and then, I rather go à la carte. Mostly because I can decide what I exactly want design wise and cost wise.

I hope I help in some way or another with this post.

If any of you are considering a combined wedding, read this: Pros and Cons of a Combined Wedding


   

Please sign here and here and here and here...

Wedding Guestbook!

Sometimes I want to forgo this because who REALLY sign guestbooks? Majority of the guests are always busy photo taking, eating, socializing, singing and eating... lol Even if they do, it's always the standard "Selamat Pengantin Baru! Semoga kekal hingga ke jannah" or something similar.

I remembered for my sis's wedding, I did a DIY album with personal photos. Guests get to see their photos throughout their relationship and also sign on it. I had to keep reminding guests to sign and we still had a lot of empty pages left. haha

Wedding guestbooks are definitely a westernized concept because during my parent's time, there's no such thing. It probably came about because sometimes guests missed the bride and groom so they sign on the book as a sign of proof of their attendance. This is clearly before everyone has a camera unless you make the photographer take a picture of you at the wedding lah.

It then evolved to those scrap booking versions which I personally find too gaudy.

[Etsy.com]

Wedding guestbooks are now getting more and more creative. Thank you internet so we can get ideas from super creative people within a click!

Polaroid/ Photo Guestbook 

You can do this DIY if you have your own Polaroid or borrow someone's. Have small table setup and get friends or family to manage it. Nowadays, people engage actual vendors for this and this also evolved to a standard photo booth where you have an option to ask your guests to sign next to their photos.

[mywedding.com]

Rustic Guestbook

Unless you are handy with your hands, you can DIY or buy it at Etsy. I find this pretty cool and is readily framed for your decorate your place. Clearly, this is for a very small wedding unless you want a humongous frame in your home. haha

[Etsy.com]

Not Guestbook but Guestpainting?

I have no idea what would this be called but instead of signing on a book, you make an artsy wall art frame thingy and ask guests to sign on the available place. Most common theme for this are trees and leaves.

[deerpearlflower]

You can make it fun too by asking the guests to put their fingerprint with colors of their choice.
[insert identity thief jokes here] I remember a local bride did this and it was a riot with the makcik pakcik. Good for her!

Wishes and Advises in a Bottle/ Box

I am inclined to this idea. Guests are encouraged to write more than "Congratulations on your wedding!" They can write advises for the newly married couple, what to expect or even try to foretell the future if they would be having kids by the first year. hehe It's also very easy to DIY. Buy a bottle/ box and set up a sign and dah.

[Etsy.com]

There are more ideas such as signing on pebbles (mana nak simpan batu-bata? haha), sign on a quilt, sign on a shirt and more. Depending on how you relate to them and related to your wedding theme.

I don't think I want a another photo book with my official wedding photo albums nor want a guestbook that I have to hang on my wall. Like I said, I like the message guestbook thingy. So we will be heading to Spotlight or something to find the right items real soon.

   

Honeymoon Choices

Ahh…
The honeymoon the thing I truly look forward to after our wedding. Jhon and I had our share of travels together but we only had traveled alone once but I doubt it still considered as ‘alone’ because we visited his family in the Philippines so there was still ‘adult’ supervision if you know what I mean.

So at last, we can have a private holiday or vacation. It’s not for touchy-feely purposes eh? Okay, maybe part of it. Lol It’s just nice to finally travel with each other for once. We have fun with family trips but sometimes our preferred itinerary is not always the same as others.

ANYWAYS!

Jhon and I like plenty of similar things and that includes travelling. We love landscapes, architecture, history, food, new experiences, new scenery, new cultures and a little bit of shopping.
Since day 1, I knew where I wanted to go. Turkey.

It has beautiful history of Islam, Catholic and Greek Gods. What comes with history is beautiful architecture, weather is cool/cold and the food! No need to worry about Halal food and I love my share of kebabs.

The problem is as months and years passed, there seemed to be more naughty groups creating chaos in Turkey. Initially, it was not that bad since the commotion is only near the borderline. We just need to avoid those places but recently, there was a bombing in Istanbul itself. SEDIH! I was so torn because I’ve been eyeing solely on Turkey (my mistake) and now it’s getting more and more dangerous. The stubborn me refuse to let go, the logical me said withhold.

Next, was New Zealand.

It would be the similar price range but 11 days cut to 6 days. New Zealand is known for their beautiful snow-capped mountains and natural scenery. They also have a little adventure here and there and we get to visit the Hobbiton movie set! Food may be a little difficult. We would probably eat only seafood there which is not a problem since they are known for their seafood!

I also wanted to go Japan.

April is a perfect season to see the Sakura flowers and the sushi. ALL that sushi! We were never hardcore in sushi like Unagi or those squid tentacles thingys but we sure love our salmon sashimi, Udon, Ramen, Teriyaki and Oyako don. Plus, it’s Japan. I don’t see the need to truly explain.

But what do Turkey, New Zealand and Japan have in common? Jhon need to get a Visa. For me, it’s no big deal. Just apply lor. There’s nothing we can do even though it’s tedious. Tell me, why do they need a bank statement for??? Annoying sey. I was told it’s even more leceh to get a Visa to go Japan if you are a Filipino.

So, our plan B is finding locations where he can go without a Visa. Err… besides Asian countries, the places available are pretty out there in terms of location and expenses. Places like Africa, Morocco, Peru (although I wish to go one day), Columbia, Israel, Coast Rica and more. Perhaps I will put up a post of the list with pictures for my fellow Filipino readers or who have partners/ friends who are Filipinos. I know now why you all 'hate' your passports. =/

The only places we can consider are pretty limited since we have to consider prices too.
Although we have no issue having an Asian country for our honeymoon, we had saved a lot of money so we want to go somewhere special. But if all fails, I don’t care, a vacation is a vacation. At this point, I am just being choosy.

So why not Korea?
My sis went to Korea for her honeymoon, I just don’t want to be the same lol. Childish, I know. But I think Jhon can only go through Jeju only.

Why not Maldives?
I would LOVE to go Maldives but the money I can spend for a 10 days trip at Turkey is immediately cut down to 3 days. Wut?

Why not Fiji?
Yeah, why not Fiji, JHON?? I am somewhat inclined to them because it does have factors I like. Adventure, nature, landscape, culture, beaches and more. It does cost a little bit more but better than Maldives in terms of itinerary. (I drafted this quite sometime ago and recently, Fiji was attacked by a typhoon)

Why suddenly so stressed ah? I also blame myself for wanting the 'special' honeymoon. But I don't want just a beachy-shopping trip leh... I want adventureee!!

   

Swallowing My Words

Way back in 2015, I had wrote "To hashtag or to not hashtag. That is the question." I had concluded and declared that I will not have a wedding hashtag because I think it's mainly for socially popular accounts and/or has guests who are very active in Instagram. Jhon and I are neither.

Well, as the day got closer to my wedding date, I found myself posting just a tad more wedding related pictures on my Instagram. There's when I figured, hey, why not just do a hashtag to log our wedding stuff together so I am just a click away to reminisce to our wedding planning/day in years to come?

Sure, I have a more in depth log in my blog but even I have my short attention spans moments and don't want to read.

So.... yea... we got a wedding hashtag after all.

Zura + Jhon = Zurjon

Actually, Jhon has been actively using this nickname ever since we were together; 8 years ago. So I guess, no harm no foul. 

Itu je, I want to report. haha

   

Kisah Tok Kadi

[Tales of a Marriage Solemnizer]

Here's my one of my little secrets.
I was never the 'gatal nak kahwin' girl and never obsessed with weddings but one of my guilty pleasures was watching 'Say Yes to the Dress' on special days where you get free channels on cable. That and birthing reality shows. Yep.

We have TLC 24/7 by now and I still dabble in those shows.

I don't know why but something about watching these ladies choosing dresses and being happy was fascinating. Not to mention when the opinionated family members and/ or friends voice out. But ever since I am getting married, watching such shows actually gave me added stress when the BTB was having a stressful situation. It is because of that, I try to completely avoid them.

Until I came across 'Kisah Tok Kadi' on Suria at my sister's maternity suite.

"Kisah Tok Kadi is a light-hearted drama series that revolves around the life of a young popular ‘tok kadi’, Shahrul, who successfully conducts solemnization for couples each week. In each episode Kisah Tok Kadi shows some of the unique experiences that he faces during solemnization and how he tackles those challenges."
 - Kisah Tok Kadi (tv.toggle.sg)

It was the first episode and like I said, watching wedding shows triggers my own wedding stress but at the same time, it was interesting. It's like watching a horror movie or something gory. It's disgusting/ horrifying but you can't look away. I'm not saying the show 'Kisah Tok Kadi' disgusting and horrifying eh... lol I am trying to be relatable but I kinda went sideways there.

Anyways, the show is interesting because it shows the goings and in comings in a Malay wedding besides revolving the life of the tok kadi. I am pretty sure some of the situations are relatable to many BTB & GTB. You know, the standard 'war' between the elders & youngsters, culture & modern and many more.

Some moments can be pretty annoying but trust me, some of these things actually happen eh! Maybe in some instances are exaggerated for entertainment purposes.

The only thing that I am a liiiitle not keen is that the Tok Kadi is single. I generally try to be as open minded as possible but a single tok kadi who give relationship sermons are a tad hard to swallow. Sometimes having all the information in the book does not matter when emotions are on the rise. We are not robots, okay? =P Theory and practical lessons should come in hand in hand. With that said, the advises on the show are pretty spot on.

They also touched base a little on marital & single life too.

There's plenty to learn from watching this show AND some of the wedding stuff they used is from ACTUAL wedding vendors! So you can refer and check the vendors at the end credits.

You may check out on the tele on Monday at 9:30pm or just watch it on toggle.
Don't worry for my non-Malay BTB, there's English translation. hehe