cerita atas bumbung

So what were our plans after we left Jentayu Gallery Wedding Showcase last weekend?

Rooftop barbeque and hostel staycation with some of our orang orang kuat, that's what!

My mat and I rushed off to Shophouse the Social Hostel for our long weekend plans with our orang orang kuat after the wedding exhibition last weekend - we opted to go to a hostel instead of booking a hotel room to lounge around and be lazy and silly this time round so staycation with a difference lah konon! Asyik staycation kat 4-star, 5-star hotels, this time kita tukar angin - angin on the rooftop of Shophouse pulak.

I mean, kitaorang Melayu seh. Atas bumbung pun kita boleh ajak lepak, betul tak? :P

This was before Nani, Poji, Ahmad and Mus (one of the hostel owners who is also my mat's closest buddy) joined us for the barbeque and lepak session... Nina was in KL stuffing herself with Wondermilk cupcakes so she couldn't join us.

We ordered food and BBQ pit package from BBQ Wholesale because it makes things sooooo much easier for us! I've always disliked having to lug around a lot of things for barbeques and there's always something that you'll need to remember, kalau tak, leceh ah nak kena gi keluar and beli - the arang lah, the thongs lah, the firestarters lah, wire mesh lah, what lah. When we ordered from BBQ Wholesale, tinggal choose the package we want, add on whatever additional food items kita nak, and that's it. Everything else is in the package (except the protable BBQ pit itself which you'll need to add on from ala carte) and they'll deliver it to your location with a fee.

It was a very simple and laidback lepak session but I loved every minute of it!!! Took the chance to explain in detail to our orang orang kuat why we're having venue issues but it took all of 15 to 20 minutes before we started chatting about other things - it was great to be able to let loose and not think about the wedding for the weekend ok!

By the way, can I just mention that this rooftop space will be awesome for bachelor and bachelorette nights?!!! Asked Mus whether the space is up for rental for parties and he said yes, which is great because I think the space is awesome for small private events - it is right smack on Arab Street, there's ample tables and chairs, a sink for washing, and you'll get an awesome view of the sky (if your event is at night ah.) If you takut you'll be too tired to trudge back home after the event then you can just book yourself a bed in one of their hostel rooms instead and crash for the night (or do what we did if you're in a big group - we paid for all the beds in the room and had the room all to ourselves)

You can browse through their website here and email them for the rooftop rental rates!

Oh, one of the awesome things that happened that night was us making friends with an Austrian guest who wandered to the rooftop area at around 1am, I think? Everyone else was either sleeping already or not back from their partying so we got her to join us and it was really fun exchanging stories sampai pagi. Sham even took the opportunity to show her his and Aisyah's wedding video by Flipside Stories because we were telling her how Malay weddings work! Sempat betul promote wedding sendiri eh ini pakcik!

Then my mat did something that both of us have thought of doing before - he asked her whether she was open to us bringing her around Singapore... and she said yes!!! So after the night was over (at 5am eh lol), we slept for about 5 hours before starting the day as unofficial tour guides for our new Austrian friend, Katharina. Woot woot!

You see, my mat and I, we've agreed before that once we're married and have free weekends, we'll drop by the Shophouse to mingle around with the hostel guests and then bring out whoever's up for a free ride around Singapore just for the fun of it. But since we were at the hostel over the weekend and we were presented with such a great opportunity, my mat decided to just kickstart the whole thing!

We had a reaaaaally great time because it was so interesting to interact with someone who has different experiences and perspectives and was in Singapore for the first time and now we can't wait for the next free weekend to bring out the next guest that comes to town!!! Which might not be so soon lah since most of our weekends now are filled with wedding-related plans and stuff boohoo.

Really really really love the fact that I'm marrying someone who enjoys doing such fun stuff as much as I do!!! (Or probably more, that over-friendly bastard) Guess this is one of the great reasons why I know he is the one for me??? Hehe. Kekasih-kekasih lama aku mesti dah kirim salam seh kalau aku ajak buat kerja macam gini.

Oh! One of the good things that happened from bringing Katharina out to various spots in Singapore was being able to singgah the kedai which sells these colourful babies!!!

SUKAAAAAAA!!!!! Can't wait to use them babies!!! Sooooo tak sabar ok!!!

Now my head dah start ah planning macam macam for the photoshoot MACAM MANA NI NAK CONCENTRATE KAT KERJA NI. Step concentrate kat kerja in the first place je lol

yok kahwing di chinese chamber

 Just saw this on RH Bridal's Instagram!

Venue is tagged as Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Location: 47 Hill St, Singapore 179365), so I tried Googling for their rental rates and found them here. Might have considered this location and asked for their terms and restrictions if I knew about it earlier! (Although the exterior might turn some makciks and pakciks off heh)

weekend come quick!

Can't wait for the weekend sebab excited to look see look see the deals at Natas Travel fair!

(Blogged about it here)

You know where to be if you have no plans this weekend, bbs!

But if you're not looking for honeymoon packages (or any other travel deals for that matter), then there's a wedding show you might want to attend this weekend instead:

Dear Dyan blogged about it here - Charisma Bridal recently opened a new restaurant that you can book for your wedding event! One more restaurant venue to add to the current list so you'll have another choice to consider other than Lagun Sari, Desa Kartika, D'Pelangi, Gurame or Warung in the East!

XOXO

Woohoo! Settling our booking for chiavari chairs next week!

We were talking about our decor setup recently when I remembered that we have to book chiavari chairs for our reception soon (since our decorators don't have their own chiavari chairs in stock). Texted Zahrin from Kasai Sayang about it and being the superbly helpful darling that he is, he told me that XOXO & Co is having a promo rental price for their chiavari chairs!!!

Selection of chiavari chairs and cushions that they have in stock for rent:

 

(Source: Tiffany Chairs by XOXO & Co)

SWEE.

When we first set aside our budget for chiavari chairs, it was at $10 per chair but with XOXO & Co's awesome promo of $6 per chair, syukur Alhamdullilah for... *calculates pakai calculator sebab weak in mental sums* ... $800 savings!!!

Actually all savings are welcome when it comes to wedding planning lah - $8 savings ke, $80 savings ke, $800 savings ke, savings is savings is savings. The only thing yang lain is savings dulu simpan dalam kotak tin bawah katil, savings sekarang simpan dalam joint bank account dengan orang yang tersayang :P

And taaaaalking about savings! We recently made some savings on our wedding bands too!!! Went to recce for wedding bands last week, found bands that we both loved (even though they're not matching wedding bands - not really a big deal for us since I'm not that big a sucker for matching things and my mat doesn't mind, anyway) aaaaand the best part is - we got them within our set budget even though there weren't any Christmas sale discounts for the ones we picked out.

Yay yay! My mat dah boleh put a ring on it! Hee hee.

Tak sia sia overestimate and jack up our budget sebab whenever something we book or buy for the wedding falls way below or at least within our budget, the flood of euphoria bursting through us seriously awesome tak belum angz. If you're not doing this already, please do so ok! Always, always, always overestimate your budget for emergencies. Kalau takde emergencies, even better - you'll feel damn good when you have excess cash to save or play around with after paying off whatever it is that you need to pay for.

And I cannot thank Zahrin from Kasai Sayang enough for recommending XOXO & Co and their promo to me!!! Why you so tulen and so baik hati ni. Another vendor who is dengki and mata duitan might have done something devious instead: Book chairs on clients' behalf at $6 per piece, quote $10 per piece to the clients and diam diam about it in hopes that the clients tak tau about the promo, and pocket the difference for themselves as profit.

Sooooo kalau you all you all pun nak tempah chiavari chairs for your reception, don't miss this opportunity to grab them from XOXO & Co at a much lower price ok! Tapi promo sampai January 2013 aje tau, so you all tak boleh hegeh hegeh macam makcik ke pasar membeli ikan, membeli ikan si ikan tenggiri, lambat booking promo lari, melalak menangis lah you sorang diri!

I must give you all heads up, though - dorang maybe reply lambat sikit because apparently their admin person is away for maternity leave so manpower ada kureeeeennnggggg sikit. It took them 10 days to email me and their service is more business-like than warm, although I might be wrong - nak kena meet the owner in person next week before I know for sure.

Ok lah tu je goodie I nak share for today. Have a good weekend errrrrbody! XOXO sama you all!

tipah tertipu tertipah

With reference to one of my earlier entries about venue rental at Gardens by the Bay, it seems like the price range quoted in the article was inaccurate.

I don't know whether there was a mistake in reporting and if so, whether it was clarified the next day, or whether the price range quoted in the Berita Minggu article was for one of their halls which caters to smaller no. of pax and this information was unfortunately not fully disclosed to readers - but I guess it only makes sense for venue rental at Gardens by the Bay to cecah five digit figures!

I tried submitting enquiry for quotes from Gardens by the Bay but my office browser / their system was being a bitch so...

Thank you for letting me know, you guys! ♥

lelong, lelong! malay wedding for $50 only!

(Source: Facebook)

Ewah ewah ewah lancang sungguh jari jemari akak Amy Cheong kita ni yer.

After the intensive backlash last night, akak Amy Cheong opened a Twitter account to apologize for her comments and insist that her comment is "a stupid comment but not meant to be a racist one".

Ape je. Dah offend people from another race and community pastu claim it's not meant to be a racist comment. You think you put gambar Ted as your user picture, you boleh lepas with your insensitive comments is it.

Ya lah, got backlash already, kena hentam by the crazy internet mob already, scared kena report already, now then want to sincerely apologize ah kan. I know we should forgive and move on from this episode, but it's quite telling when we have such careless remarks made only a few weeks after the Eve Tan episode (comment yang sungguh tak penting and tak perlu, imho). 

I won't be surprised if we see more of such callous remarks in the near future seh. After all, you can post an insensitive comment about another race or religion on social media, hope it gains support from other people who feel the same way but if it doesn't and it goes viral (sampai you kena backlash), all you need to do is sincerely apologize, lay low and people will forget about it in the next few weeks kan? 

Nothing to do over the weekend? Oh hey, no problem ada Bimla, let's post an insensitive comment about this group of aliens because they're making sooooo much noise under the block, I only need to apologize and people will forget about it in the next few weeks if it does go viral! Splendid idea!

Last weekend baru je I woke up startled by loud chanting from Chinese funeral rites that started at 8am on a Sunday. My best friend, who was over at my place for a sleepover, asked why I seem unfazed by all the noise even though we only had five hours of sleep on a weekend (we slept at 3am) and I actually told her that I was quite used to it and it's not like it happens every weekend, what. (Seram jugak seh kalau asyik ada Chinese residents around my area mati every weekend.) 

Abeh this akak Amy Cheong baru kena sikit tempias Malay wedding for a weekend dah nak mengamuk the whole world wide web. Weak ah geng.

Cuba bawak bertenang and recite the Pledge sikit.

I usually don't comment on viral useless shit like this because sometimes the comments from my fellow budak Melayu pun melampaui batas until I want to tell them "Chillax ah bro, tak balek modal seh get high blood pressure because of this. Lu pun nak kutuk orang dia ape hal, perangai takmu monkey see monkey do lah sak." TETAPI ini akak Amy Cheong very daring and said that society allows us to get married for 50 freaking bucks!!!!! Ini part kakak kahwin khronicles takleh accept.

Wahai akak Amy Cheong oiiiii... where got Malay weddings cost $50?!?!?! Which zaman do you live in ni??? Zaman Singapura dilanggar todak is it??? $50 is probably for ONE day void deck rental aje seh. Usually the bride and groom will book the void deck for 3 days to accommodate setup and tear down of decor, which already costs $50 x 3 days = $150. 

And that's assuming the void deck rental is $50 per day ok! Some void decks in popular and/or heavily populated areas like Tampines and Bedok can cost up to a few hundred dollars. And that's only the venue rental tau. No need to decorate the venue is it? No need to serve food and drinks to the guests is it? Catering on average aje will cost $14,000 ($14 x 1000 pax). You think we all serve our guests kacang yang costs $5 per packet only is it?

And seriously, "Pay for a real wedding asshole, maybe then the divorce rate won't be so high?" Amboi, amboi, so sedaaappp eh your mulut, I macam nak sental with sebuk chilli Adabi. Excuse me kak, even if couples hold weddings that cost an arm and a leg, what makes you think the divorce rates won't be as high? The cost of the wedding does not determine the success of the marriage. 

You can spend $50 ke, $500 ke, $5000 ke, $50,000 ke for your wedding expenses, but if you and your spouse don't work hard to make your marriage work and immediately jump down the divorce route when things get tough, it boils down to the same thing kan? If baru get married in May 2012 but five months later, Facebook relationship status dah "It's complicated", do you blame the cost of your wedding or do you blame the failings of your marriage? Hmmm, Amy Cheong?

Ok dah, kakak kahwin khronicles already said whatever she wanted to say after she saw the viral post last night. I'd just like to point out my favourite response to the whole Amy Cheong brouhaha, which is this lepak jack straight-to-the-point one:

Ok maybe I'm just biased, because I very saaaaayang kat Chua Enlai because he very kelakar and I suka kelakar people. Hehehe.

 (Source: Facebook)

To all my fellow Malay brides and grooms, keep calm and rewang for $50 yok!

awak, jom kahwin kat gardens by the bay!

From Cyberita (Berita Minggu):

23 Sep 2012 - Majlis di tempat unik 

"Dari halaman di hadapan rumah kepada kolong blok dan kelab masyarakat, lokasi majlis perkahwinan orang Melayu telah menjalani banyak perubahan.

Menjadi trend sejak kebelakangan ini pula ialah kecenderungan sebahagian pasangan pengantin Melayu untuk memilih tempat-tempat yang lebih nyaman dan unik seperti taman bunga dan muzium untuk mengadakan majlis walimah mereka.

Belanja mengadakan majlis di tempat-tempat sebegini, bagaimanapun, tidaklah kecil, berdasarkan kelaziman orang berbelanja untuk sesebuah majlis perkahwinan. Ia boleh mencapai antara $40,000 hingga $60,000 dan ini dianggap terlalu tinggi.

Tetapi, bagi pasangan muda hari ini yang berkemampuan, bajet sedemikian bukan halangan buat mereka. Seperti Cik Nurul Ain Jauhari, 26 tahun, yang menganjurkan majlis persandingan dengan suaminya, Encik Nur Iskhandar Abu Bakar, 31 tahun, di Taman Jepun pada 21 dan 22 April lalu. Beliau menganggarkan perbelanjaan mereka mencecah sekitar $40,000.

Namun, bagi Cik Nurul Ain jumlah tersebut tidaklah keterlaluan berbanding dengan kenangan manis yang dilaluinya. "Yang penting ia kekal dalam memori sebagai majlis persandingan yang unik buat saya dan suami. "Pada masa yang sama, para tamu juga dapat menikmati keindahan menghadiri majlis persandingan di sebuah taman," kata pegawai pentadbiran itu lagi.

"Selain inginkan kawasan yang terbuka, satu lagi sebab mengapa saya anjurkan majlis persandingan di taman itu ialah sebagai memperingati arwah mak cik saya yang bertemu pak cik saya di situ," jelas Encik Nur Iskhandar pula.

Menganjurkan majlis persandingan di tempat-tempat sedemikian kini memang mendapat perhatian sesetengah pasangan. Berdasarkan tinjauan rambang Berita Minggu, sesetengah pasangan yang sudah atau bakal melangsungkan perkahwinan menyatakan mereka tidak keberatan melangsungkan majlis walimah mereka di tempat-tempat sedemikian sekiranya bajet mereka mencukupi.

Salah seorang daripada mereka, Encik Mohd Hanafi Mohd Sadik, 30 tahun, yang melangsungkan perkahwinannya di Mandai Orchid Ville pada 2 Jun lalu membelanjakan sehingga $45,000 untuk majlisnya itu. Ini termasuklah pakej berjumlah sekitar $20,000 yang terdiri daripada sewa tempat, katering dan bas ulang-alik untuk ke tempat itu yang terletak di Lorong Lada Hitam dekat Taman Haiwan Singapura.

"Ia bagaikan kenangan manis buat saya dan isteri dan kemanisan kenangan itu diharap kekal sehingga bila-bila, insya-Allah. Bagi para tamu pula ia juga peluang buat mereka membawa anak-anak bersiar-siar ke zoo selepas menghadiri majlis saya," ujar peniaga dalam bidang pemasaran rangkaian itu lagi. Isterinya, Cik Siti Rafidah Razali, 24 tahun, ialah suri rumah.

Adik perempuan Encik Mohd Hanafi, Cik Sara Begum Mohd Sadik, 27 tahun, juga merancang mengadakan majlis walimahnya di tempat istimewa - Bendungan Marina - pada 9 Disember ini dengan belanjanya dianggarkan mencapai hingga $60,000.

"Ini termasuklah kos menyewa tempat, khemah, kipas, alat penyejuk, makanan, pengangkutan, khidmat pembersihan dan lain-lain lagi. Kos khemah sahaja sudah mencecah $25,000 kerana ia perlu lebih kukuh agar dapat menahan tiupan angin yang biasanya lebih kencang di situ," ujar guru di sebuah sekolah rendah itu. Bakal suaminya, Encik Farid Jamal, 30 tahun, merupakan seorang peniaga. Pada ketika ini pasangan tersebut masih terus berbincang dengan syarikat perancang majlis persandingan mereka bagi majlis itu.

Sementara itu, pasangan suami isteri, Encik Kenneth Saif Chye, 40 tahun, dan Sofia Md Shariff, 34 tahun, yang bersanding dua tahun lalu pula telah menerapkan tema hari keluarga sempena majlis mereka yang berlangsung di Piai Plaza di Taman Pasir Ris. "Bagi menghangatkan lagi suasana kekeluargaan itu, kami telah menyediakan taman permainan yang diperbuat daripada belon untuk menghiburkan kanak-kanak yang datang," kata Encik Saif Chye, seorang guru.

Pemilik syarikat PutriMas Bridal & Beauty Gallery, Cik Masturah Abdullah, 57 tahun, berkata majlis yang berlangsung di tempat-tempat sedemikian sememangnya memerlukan belanja yang jauh lebih tinggi berbanding di kolong blok atau kelab-kelab masyarakat. "Kadangkala kos khemahnya sahaja boleh mencecah puluhan ribu dolar. Kos penghantaran makanan juga lebih tinggi kerana di kebanyakan tempat ini anda tidak dibenarkan memasak," katanya lagi.

Dalam jawapan e-melnya kepada Berita Minggu, jurucakap Agensi Air Nasional, PUB, berkata sejak dibuka pada 31 Oktober lalu, Bendungan Marina telah dikunjungi sekitar lima juta pelawat. Daripada sekitar 1,000 acara korporat dan privet yang dianjurkan di situ, 15 daripadanya adalah majlis perkahwinan.

Bagi tarikan terbaru Gardens by the Bay, majlis perkahwinan pertama di situ akan diadakan pada 29 September ini di Dewan Jubilee, Flower Dome. Jurucakap Gardens by the Bay, berkata: "Sejauh ini kami telah mengesahkan hampir lapan majlis perkahwinan (Cina, Melayu dan India) untuk baki tahun ini sehingga Jun depan. Kami juga telah menerima banyak pertanyaan bagi majlis serupa yang dijadualkan pada 2014 nanti."

Menurutnya, daya tarikan itu yang mempunyai beberapa kawasan untuk penganjuran acara, mengenakan bayaran bergantung kepada tempatnya iaitu antara $856 dengan $3,852.

Jurucakap Muzium Nasional Singapura pula menyatakan bahawa sejak dibuka semula pada 2006, bangunan bersejarah itu telah menjadi destinasi popular bagi pasangan pengantin untuk bergambar. "Sejauh ini kami telah terima lebih 2,000 pasangan bergambar di muzium ini," kata beliau lagi."

(Source: Cyberita, Berita Minggu) 

I kind of expected venue rental at Gardens by the Bay to start from $4000 onwards so to know that their venue rental is "antara $856 dengan $3852" is pretty surprising!

For Malay pengantins desperately looking for alternative venues that can hold 1000 or more pax, this might just be the perfect venue choice for you, provided:

(1) the venue rental fee is within your budget

(2) you've set aside $$$$$ for tentage since their venues are all outdoor venues; and

(3) your guests are not the kind yang akan complain they all kena hempas pulas naik bus turun bus naik train turun train in their traditional Malay wear just to travel all the way to Gardens by the Bay for your wedding hahaha

For more information, you can read the factsheet here or read the website here.

P.S. Wah Ain keluar suratkhabar two weeks in a row seh. Hahahahaha. I know I owe you a date to fawn over your wedding photos and video! Soon soon.