Monday 23 July 2012

Another Happiness Project

Last night my wedding dress(es) designer, Khalik,  PM-ed me on fb bertanya khabar and he asked how's the wedding, the dress etc. Such a great after-sales service you see :) ... Gaspppp! I realized that I owe him one nice review. Oh dear, I've kind of neglected blogging for a while, huuuu sorry! I'm now busy packing things for my permanent move to KL next week. My other acceptable reason (I think) is that I want to write reviews with good pics in hand, in which I still don't have much right now.

Dress No. 1

Dress No. 2

For the past 1 month gile cari rumah, sana sini househunting, then after setel dpt rumah, gile home deco pulak. I'm browsing IKEA, Home24, Apartment Therapy, Decor Diva etc. googling for ideas and inspiration like crazy! I have listed some of the stuff I wanted. Well, if I told you everything in my head, I would be deemed as a madwoman haha. My style for home deco is contemporary, fun, playful, sometimes colorful, and relatively practical.

Welcome

Living Room

Can't wait to put things together in our little love nest.
Moving to the big city, Bride #2.

Thursday 19 July 2012

Bride #1: The Venue

 Disclaimer: This post is in no mean to jeopardize the future of the suspect. Peace!

When it comes to talking about the wedding venue, I’d say I might be the unlucky one who received an unfair treatment from SOME of the people at the DP. It was not the worst experience ever but sure enough an unpleasant one. Come to think of it, am I that much of a fussy client? Well, you be the judge =)

I’ll walk you through the process of getting the venue of my dream when it first started back in October 2011. As most of you brides would do was to get in touch with the ‘front-man’ and that’s how I met Dominic (bukan nama sebenar). First meeting was like doing a ‘site-visit’, my first time to set foot at the DP, and true enough it was love at the first sight. There we talked about the packages that they have, what’s included and what’s not. And then came the quotation, listing all the necessary details for a client’s info which includes the date, time, no of guests, menu for the minimum price you pay, extras (PA system, rela, free rooms, surau), payment structure.

I had been very detailed at describing the ‘feel’ that I want for my wedding i.e: colors, props, the dais design (was informed that I was not allowed to bring in ‘outside’ vendors), the flows, the selection of the food etc. Ok, honestly not much of a theme, but at least I specified which shades of the colors that I preferred. I even created a document with photos from the net that I saved for inspirations, gave them a sample of the ribbons I used for door gifts. Talk about going the miles for people who should be ‘working’ for you.

The payment structure was divided into 3 parts, being the final payment to be made during the final food-tasting session (total of 3 sessions). One of the things that I began to question, ‘what would happen if they mess up during my wedding day? Will there be any compensations?’. However, as not to ‘mess up’ with their minds, I abode to the arrangements, which were all explained in a set of quotation they provided me. 

We requested to reduce the no of pax from 750 to 600 due to the number of people who had RSVP-ed but this was not agreed by them. After much persuasion the number was reduced by 30 pax. I, then, understood that, well, business is business. Kekecewaan tapi pasrah #1. 

The price per pax that we agreed was for the following dishes: 
Nasi Hujan Panas, Nasi Putih, Gulai Kurma Daging, Ayam Masak Bulbul, Udang Goreng Bercili, Sayur Campur Istimewa, Acar Timun Karot, Sambal Belacan, Keropok Ikan 

My parents and I almost agreed at the menu when we went for our final food tasting session. The above, but with fish butter replacing Udang Goreng Bercili. A then proposed that the dishes would go better with prawn butter instead of fish butter and so we had that changed. I was really surprised when they informed me that by doing the changes, I had to pay RM3.50/pax for replacing FISH with PRAWN. Can you see where my frustration started? They had specifically laid out a list of menu in the quotation which already included PRAWN and yet asking me for additional money for making the changes. I began to lose my temper (literally yelled on the phone ;)) so I stressed on what were agreed in the quotation, just to make my point. Did I really get what I requested for? The answer is: NO. And I only found out on the wedding day itself when I was being served at the ‘meja beradab’. Kekecewaan tapi pasrah #2. 

The buffet stations were taken away at 4pm, but I was ‘promised’, (again, it was all in the quotation, we might not pinky-swear but whatever that's in the paper is as good as a binding agreement) that my event could run from 12pm-5pm. Guests who came after 4 didn’t get to eat, not even a single drinking station was left behind. Kekecewaan tapi pasrah #3. 

Decorations were nothing short of amazing. The process towards getting the final result was however, a pain in the a**. I requested small cushions for the dais in turquoise/aqua blue, orange and silver. Can you tell me if these are really turquoise/aqua blue? 

Kekecewaan tapi pasrah #4. 

Despite of all frustrations, the food was GREAT (tak tipu, memang sedap!), Dominic handled my wedding AMAZINGLY WELL, my guests were HAPPY and to receive A LOT of nice compliments from them really saved me from going crazy.

3 weeks after the wedding, I sent an email to the people at DP, expressing my disappointment at those shortcomings which could have been avoided while of course, showing them my gratitude for their hard work. Kita orang melayu, nak marah pun kena beradab =) I did not expect a refund neither I want them to re-do the whole thing (a second round of the wedding?, probably not) but rather I want them to handle my complaints professionally. Perhaps, as simple as ‘WE ARE SORRY WE SCREWED UP YOUR WEDDING HAHAHAHA’ but but, as we speak, no signs of replies from any of them. Kekecewaan tapi pasrah #5

Anywayyyy, if you plan to have your wedding at the DP, by all means, go ahead. Arm yourself with truckloads of money cos that would kinda solve everything. 

 This place has a special place in my heart, that’s where A and I were officially announced as husband and wife. Therefore, there’s no such thing as me holding a grudge against them. As I said earlier, I might be the unlucky one.

Make love not war, Bride #1

Wednesday 18 July 2012

The Adjustment

Hello lovelies...

I have to apologize, on behalf of The Junetastic Brides, that this blog seems a bit dead at the moment. Each one of us are going through a significant changes in our lives. Moving in to a new place, going in and out of a job, picking up a new skill in the kitchen while enjoying every bit of being a married person. Well, that sound pretty normal but these are our struggles and we hope you could bear with us. We do, however, promise you that we have A LOT in store that we can't wait to share. 

As for me, more updates on the wedding are coming up as soon as I get my hands on the photos from the OP. When is a perfect time to start chasing them?

Have a lovely Wednesday, Bride #1

Sunday 8 July 2012

Life & Change

Wedding is crazy, fun, fast and exhausting experience. After 3 hectic weeks, this weekend I got my alone time in Kuantan. I've been cleaning up the bujang house all day, did 2 rounds of laundry, folding up clothes yg dah berbukit x lipat.

I also completed our honeymoon scrapbook album :) using the wedding gift by Aina + friends. I hope this album captures the details of our special trip and keep that elated feeling in our heart.


And soon I need to plan on packing my stuff to move to Kuala Lumpur in August. Life's big decisions are often made in an instant, like this one:


Yahhh, I resign from my job, for this I just follow my "go for it" inner gut feeling. I got instant hutang as I breach the 9-year contract with the company $$$ ppffftt (bcoz of my PETRONAS education scholarship).

InsyaAllah, ade rezeki lain demi niat nak jalankan tanggungjawab isteri utk suami. But no baby plan at the mo', that will have to wait dulu ye huhu.

I struggle, but I'll survive :), Bride #2

Thursday 5 July 2012

Mimpi Indah (Sweet Dreams) at Bermimpi Bali Villas



We had a very wonderful honeymoon at Bermimpi Bali Villas. Husband and I stayed at Bermimpi Manis for 4 days from 26th - 29th June. When we first arrived, Ari greeted us cheerfully and checked us in while telling us about the villa amenities and nearby attractions. We were excited to explore the villa immediately, we took pictures at almost every corner :p. Ari informed us that Hayley gave us a complimentary Balinese couple massage that can be arranged during our stay, such a pleasant surprise! Thank you so much :D! (We enjoyed the massage session on our 3rd day, by the pool)

  


Villa is nicely and richly decorated throughout. Manis is a very comfortable villa with homely atmosphere. I love the delightful smells of Frangipani scented soap, body butter and shampoo in the bathroom. I took them home so that I can be "transported back to Bali", to recall the happy memories. I can still remember the smell of it even when I'm writing this. The open shower concept is awesome! I can see the stars in the sky during my evening showers.


There are lots of shops, bars and restaurants along the "Eat Street" just within walking distance. We even futher walked to the beach, Potato Head and Kudeta on same evening! That's quite a distance actually, but we did. We had dinner at Kudeta (expensive but worth a try) on the 1st night as suggested by Ari. Other restaurants that we've tried in Bali - The Kitchen Club, The Junction, I Made Joni (Ubud), Koko Bar & Restaurant (Kuta). Some of the days, we prepared breakfast and dinner in the villa as the kitchen is well equipped with a lot cooking stuff - the kitchen is complete like a real home! We bought groceries at a mart nearby. In the afternoon, when the sun is out, just jump in the pool to cool yourself..ahh it's a great feeling, hubby loves that.


We were straight away happy with our choice of accomodation for our honeymoon. 4 days was not enough, we should have stayed a week or longer. Everything was faultless and we highly recommend this villa. You will not be disappointed. Thank you very much Hayley, Ari and the Bermimpi team. We'll be back, definitely!


P/S - This review is submitted to Trip Advisor

Monday 2 July 2012

Bride #1: Seoul on iG


menyesal a bit now we didn't go in =(


3rd wedding dress, kinda put on weight there


pixelated ride


blending in

  staple drink


Halal Korean food to whip your appetite

one for the album =)

Sooo, what's next for a holiday-deprived, Bride #1?