Bicycle Obstructions

  Every block has their bicycle racks under the block. All these while, the amount of bikes parked under my block was not that bad until for the past few months. As weeks passed, it grew more and more! I am not exaggerating eh? It's like 3 bikes to 1 rack and 2-3 that loiters nearby.

Our décor people suggested us to make a sign for owners to temporary remove the bikes since we will be having our wedding ceremony there but that week we wanted to post up, town council themselves had post up a sign. Cun ah!

 

Some bikes even had a special note on them too stating that they have 1 week or the town council will remove the bikes themselves.

 

1 day passed eventually, 7 days and nothing happened. So we decided to also put our post lah, at least, there's a timeline. 

 

 

Then just a few days before our big day, I saw this.

 

Alhamduliah! It's obvious it's the works of the town council. What a wonderful coincidence. We felt so relieved! At least that area won't look such an eye sore. I just hope during the wedding, the owners won't suddenly scold us and ask us what did we do to their bikes. haha


 

Wedding DIY: Guestbook

So, our guestbook is not really a guestbook. It's more of a time capsule of notes/wishes/drawings and whatever of our wedding day. 1 year after our wedding day, we will open, read and reminisce.

As much as a standard guestbook will suffice, I was thinking of long term storage. I figured I could reuse the box to store trinkets, move the paper notes in a zip lock bag and use the mason jar for other type of storage.

Ribbons were from Sis's wedding, jar from some random household store, frame is from spotlight and wooden box and planks, hinges from Daiso.

Okay tak? Okay lah... Not a major criteria. hehe

   

Wedding DIY: Kid's Berkat

For the kid's berkat, we did the classic treats in a bag. We bought treat bags from Daiso, used twisty ties from my Sis's wedding years ago (happen to be gold & silver!), bought a toy, balloons and of course, sweets and chocolates for 100 pax.

We saw toys and balloons at a nearby small business stationary shop that also sells party stuff. In the end, we bought gold & silver balloons. I would've bought the maze thingy if it was not Christmas themed.

We got similar (but more colourful) spinners when we played and redeemed at the arcade, TimeZone City Square. As for the candy and such, we bought them at Value Dollar. We went all out in terms of types of candy. There are jellies, lollipops, chewy candy and chocolate Smarties.

Our baggies are not really packed to the max though but all I can say that it has variety and the items are small. Anyways, who cares? Kid's don't really care. hehe

 

Wedding Review: Berkat (Chia Heng Dept. Store)

Read the day we surveyed and booked our berkat here.

It actually slipped my mind that our wedding favors should be delivered exactly 1 month before our wedding but that was not the problem. The problem was that no one had call us at least 1 day before hand to confirm the time of arrival.

On the 23rd, I had 2 missed calls at 3:15pm and a SMS about a delivery. I called back and it turned out to be the delivery guy. He sounded like a typical angsty uncle and told me that he can't deliver anymore because I didn't answer. =(

In my defense, my handphone was in my room while I was in the living room tending to my nephew AND I was just 15 minutes late. The problem was, how come I didn't get a heads up on the delivery time? It's like the opportunity was there and then. They had to push the delivery date to the next day and even then they can't confirm a time for us.

The next day, they called 1 hour in advance so at least I was prepared. So take note, just be prepared on the date you had informed them to deliver.

Despite of the kecoh, we were happy with the delivery and items.

 

This maybe does not really matter but I really appreciate that the strings have these at the ends. It's better than a knot because it's more secure.

 

 

The berkat comes with a box carrier so we don't have to buy bags whatsoever. Unfortunately although not suprisingly, the bowls were dirty so we had to wash them to make them look new, shiny and presentable. While washing, we broke 1 and chipped 1. hur hur

 

The design I initially chose was a design without the legs but Mak wanted this design. Since she willing to pay the difference, okay lor! Actually, I am secretly very happy with this design. #makcik

 

   

Versari Ade Final Fitting

Firstly, Versari Ade's office has moved. They are still within Kaki Bukit area (9 Kaki Bukit Place) and EVEN NEARER to my place. Previously, it would be a 20 minute walk, now it's 10 minutes lah. hehe What I like about the new place is that it's definitely more accessible and safe. The only tiny bit leceh as a guest is that you have to call the office so they can bring in the lift for you to take.

We had already chose our wedding outfits about 5 months back while we were choosing our outfits for our photo shoot. You know, kill 7 baju birds with one stone. Click to read about how that day went. Note that usually outfit choosing is 3 months before the wedding.

Refresher:
 For our wedding day, we will be wearing,
❣ Off White/ Silver Malay Modern Outfit
❣ Purple Modern Songket

❣ Cream Western lace dress with Jhon's own Barong

Since it's just a fitting, it's quite a fast appointment. We just needed to try and the team would pin the necessary areas to fit. I tell you, the difference when we were trying out clothes and liking it to having the clothes fit us perfectly is a huge one!

Especially when I had the veil on while I was trying my nikah outfit. Yeah, Jhon and I can't stop smiling. Jhon even made a joke saying "let's go, let's get married". Tak sabar nampak. haha

Anyways, we finalized our bill, paid our final deposit and talked about what will happen on the wedding day.


 

Appointment with Nurie Creations

Click here to read about our first appointment with Nurie Creations.

Technically, Jhon and I supposed to meet up 1 month before the wedding with Cik Normie for the 2nd deposit but the day she wanted to meet was the weekend my cousin was getting married! She was so nice to want us to meet up at a wedding she is catering that is near to our place. But we had already told her, no choice and we don't mind traveling further just to meet and pay her. (nanti tak ada duit untuk barang dapur pulak hehe)

1 week before the wedding, Jhon and I went all the way to Yishun to meet her. I tell you, she and her husband is forever friendly and nice. They will always welcome us with open arms. They always serve us some kueh and always want to tapau food. EVERY SINGLE TIME. But that day we didn't take because it was an errand day and we will be out the whole day.

We discussed about table & chairs, set up day and we added more food to the menu such as black pepper prawns, sweet & sour fish and goreng pisang/ keledek & jemput2. Even with these additional, our grand total is still below $8k. Best!

What I also like that when I asked how much is the 2nd deposit (on paper is 50% of remaining but I want to double confirm), she said, any amount because she understand it's a crucial time and she understand couples need to pay plenty of stuff. How can a vendor so nice, flexible and trusting? Of course I paid the 50% lah because dah ready pun.

So remember that rule of the thumb of majority of vendors, especially the big expenses (bridal, caterer, photography, videography etc), there will be 3 deposits. 1st to book, 2nd before wedding and 3rd after wedding ceremony. No such thing as 2 deposits for these vendors okay?

 

Hantaran: What to Give?

Exchanging of wedding gifts between Malay couples is generally easy because it's mostly from experience as we grow up. Since a good amount of my readers are as international as my partner, I figured I would give a low down of hantaran. At least I try the best I can, okay?

Hantaran comes from the word hantar which means to send. There's really no special meaning on the concept of it besides it's a gift exchange. Over the years, types of gifts changes especially when everything is becoming more modern.


Here are the types:

📖 The Islamic Way

According to Islam, the only gift is from the groom to the bride which is the mahar. It symbolizes the beginning of a husband's responsibility towards his wife in fulfilling her everyday needs. It can be in cash (minimum S$100 according to ROMM) or some form of jewelry. In the past, Prophet Muhammad PBUH has even married off a man whose mahar is a verse from the Quran.

It is well known in Islam that getting married is never intended to be an inconvenience.

🎆 The Malay Traditional Way

You may hear facts about the groom has to give an extra tray (or more) to the bride. But from my Mom's experience from the kampung, it's actually purely depending of the situations. The groom may plan to give 8 but the relatives usually volunteer to add more trays (with fruits or chocolates) and 5 might turn into 11.

The amount of the trays exchanged between bride and groom is an average of 8 trays. It usually consists of

Rings: No specific market value but men are discouraged from wearing gold rings

Dowry: Groom to Bride - Cash amount to be predetermined by parents and that money is to help pay the wedding ceremony on the bride's side.

Mahar: Groom to bride - can be S$100 or form of jewelry. It can be the wedding ring too.

Sireh dara/ Junjung: To signify virginity of the couple

Bunga Rampai: 30 pieces - No meaning but to make the atmosphere aromatic.

Religious Items: Quran, Prayer Mat and or Telekung

Traditional clothes/ cloth to be tailored into one: This is to be worn on the couple's first Hari Raya as a husband and wife

Shoes/ Capal: Shoes that will be worn on the wedding ceremony

Misc. (any or all of these) : Fruit Baskets, Cake, Chocolates, Watch, Perfume set, etc.

💝 The Modern Way

There are no concrete amount of trays that needed to be exchanged but on average, trays exchanged can go up to 10 or even 12. In the modern age, the groom exchange the exact same amount with the bride. The items are more or less like the Malay Traditional way but with a more personal taste.

Rings: No specific market value but men are discouraged from wearing gold rings

Dowry: Groom to Bride -  Cash or cheque amount to be predetermined by parents or the couple themselves and that money is to help pay the wedding ceremony if the parents had helped. If not, it can be saved for future purposes.

Mahar: Groom to bride - can be S$100 or form of jewelry. It can be the wedding ring too.

Sireh dara/ Junjung: To signify virginity of the couple but now it tend to serve as a Malay wedding decor as meaning is forgotten.

Bunga Rampai: 20-30 pieces - No meaning but to make the atmosphere aromatic.

Religious Items: Quran, Prayer Mat and or Telekung

Clothes: Any shirt for groom and cloth to be tailored for bride.

Shoes: Shoes that will be worn on the wedding ceremony or shoes for daily wear such as sports shoes or boots.

Personal Choice: Items the individual couple likes such as a camera, helmet, sunglasses, gaming console, handbag, make up, etc.

Misc. (any or all of these) : Fruit Baskets, Cake, Chocolates, Perfume set, etc.

As you can see, as time passes, the more items and more personalized it gets. To be honest, there's no black and white guide to what to give except for the rings, dowry, mahar, sireh dara/junjung. bunga rampai and religious items. You may have an option to add items depending on your preference and yes, this too should be discussed between the old folks. Some Malay parents prefer a minimum amount of trays exchange while others don't mind.

Most importantly, please be logical and realistic. Spend only if you can afford. Never mind what others say because by the end of the day, they are not the ones paying the bills. For my wedding, we are only exchanging 4 trays. Follow traditions, do what is proper and do you.