Category: Decor
Kassim Baba Magic
Guess who’s got little tricks up his sleeve?
(Source: Instagram)
Anak Cik Kassim Baba, of course! Back then(macam lama sangat gitu), Kassim Baba provided catering for my engagement, and now his son, who happens to be a good friend of mine, Matiin, has decided to be the successor cum creative event conceptualiser of the team! Mix young blood and a quirky family name to uphold, what do you get? Awesome rustic wooden logs!!! I swear I was impressed when I saw Matiin posted on IG that he was in the process of preparing these logs for a wedding soon that I immediately whatsapped him to ask which fairy godmother gave him those logs:
Bukan fairy godmother, Bangla rupanya!! Baik ah, best jugak ada kawan resourceful! Jadi I pun boleh jadi resourceful terhadap dia muahahaha. Kasi chance ni BTB ride on sikit ah, pinjam satu log nak buat wedding cake base macam ni!!! YESSAAA HOMAIGOD.
(Source: Etsy )
And oh, Matiin’s resourcefulness doesn’t just stop there, because I know for a fact that antique thrifting is just about his latest obsession right now! He’s always raving about his latest haul and how he bargained for it. Probably adding on to the family collection ehhh.
Visit them their Instagram or FB page if you’re curious. Or just to stare at their vintage collection. LIKE ME. Hahaha. Can’t wait to see these little babies being utilised in actual events! 🙂
The Exquisite Mariah and Sham
I’ve been putting off this post for way too long, but here goes…
Guess who can haz Mariah & Sham decorate their wedding???
YES MUA!!! Mehehheee.
As some of you would have probably known, my wedding venue provides basic decorations as previously mentioned here. And I really mean it when I say BASIC; one size-fits-all pelamin, guest table centrepieces, arch and chiavari chairs. Any additional components like drapery or real flowers will have to come at a costly add-on. Thankfully, the management is flexible with substituting the value of the decoration elements in the package to additional food if I didn’t want to use them, which is unavoidable anyway since the fathership plans to add on a whooping 400 guests to the initial 1k pax plan. So after a ruthless realignment to the wedding budget and countless temptations from attending weddings with gorgeous decor done by reputable companies, I decided forgo decorations at Gurame and consider other options.
So H and I went to the then on-going wedding exhibition at the expo for some inspiration and saw that Anggun Decor showcased the exact beautiful setup they did recently at the Japanese Garden, as seen below:
(Source: Anggun Decor)
I was so glad that more companies venturing out of their safe zones to customising designs from scratch that I sat down with their owner/stylist to enquire about customisation options. But I was met with reluctance from her part:
“Kakak dah penat tau, I spent so many months customising for that wedding. Kalau you suka vintage, you pakai design ni je lah ok? Exactly what you see, is what you get.”
MEHHH. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m being picky and refusing “hand-me-down” designs, but it was her un-enthusiasm that reminded me of adamant vendors who don’t allow changes to their niche designs despite requests from the bride/groom. Among other contenders were The Wedding Chateau , whose gorgeous work I was lucky enough to see at Aida‘s wedding at Orchidville!
And some other pictures kapo-ed from their hashtag #decadeoflove2013, because I could only attend the dinner reception:
I was whatsapp-ing Aida about how gorgeous her wedding was (!!!), and also comparing the quotation TWC gave me to what she was paid them. And there was a LARGE difference okay, considering only two years have passed since Aida first placed the deposit with TWC till now so I was a bit apprehensive despite their reputation.
And just in time, I received a reply from Mariah, one half of the sister and artisan extraordinaire, Mariah & Sham, who agreed to an on-site visit to Gurame to talk about my ideas. Which was really sweet of them considering how it was a non-obligatory meet up and also the inaccessibility of the restaurant. The duo has been around for as long as I can remember, known for their gubahan designs and candy buffet tables, or designer isles, with arrangements so detailed that it will literally blow your mind okayyy.
(Source: Mariah & Sham)
Only in early 2012 (and I’m glad they did!), did they decide to embark on major wedding decoration projects that further showcased their polished look and a suave penchant for customisation. Some of my ultimate favourites are:
Classy, London-inspired design
(Source: Mariah & Sham)
(Source: Bliss Photocinema)
….. The infamous Arts House Wedding!
Loving the clean, yet vintage look!
And not forgetting their latest work at Burkhill Hall earlier this month!
(Source: Mariah & Sham)
And did I mention the whole family is talented??! In addition to their mother who doubles as their co-designer and seamstress, they also collaborate with Haz Workz, who is actually Sham’s husband, for calligraphy, monograms and fine stationeries:
… and even invites!
How beautiful are these??
(Source: Haz Workz)
During the fruitful meet up, I was immediately thrilled by Mariah’s keen listening ear (thanks Kak Mariah for layaning my kerenah yang nak ni, nak tu, semua nak hehhh), her husband who was dutifully snapping pictures of the venue, and Haz’s enthusiasm because he was literally hovering around taking measurements and conceptualising the space around Gurame. Most importantly, what I truly appreciate is that never once did they shut down any of my ideas that might not work, but instead enhanced them with their input.
So with that, I decided to place my faith in them to frill up my wedding venue yayyyyy! Orang kuat, Ili, insisted that I would have never settled for Gurame decorations anyway. Guess she was right ehhh?? HAHAHA.
Like it, But Can’t Have It
You know that feeling when you have an image, an idea in your head, and then you come across the exact same thing in real life, and you’re like BAM. That’s it. That’s the one. That’s exactly how I felt when I saw these fairylights tentage on Chenta Weddings FB page.
This is exactly want I wanted okayy! Clear tentage so that it doesn’t block the view of the coast at Gurame, and fairylights after dusk to accompany the dreamy night skyline. How is it possible that they can read my mind so well? Is this fate?? I actually pushed my luck and enquired with Chenta Weddings whether they could ship to Singapore but sadly their prompt reply slapped me straight to the face. That they do not do weddings here in SG. Bleaaarghhh.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m meant to be a Malaysian? Hahahahaha. I blame my dad’s Melaka roots for that.
The Thing About Outdoor Weddings
It’s the tentage issue. As mentioned before here, my dad wants the lawn area of Gurame to be covered by tentage in case it rains or gets too hot. Personally, I don’t think it’s necessary as there’s more than enough covered areas like the indoor restaurant, the two cabanas and also the verandah. But if it gives him the peace of mind then why not lah kan. Plus he’s paying for it hahahaa.
And because Gurame is practically adjacent to the Changi Coast, I berangan lah wishing my tentage area will look like this:
Or if I were to incorporate my soft spot for fairy lights as mentioned here, then it would look like this:
Sighh. Kalau anak datuk takpa, dah dapat tent dah bagus.
So actually I ni longwinded sikit, the problem for me is the difficulty in getting a vendor to do up my tent!!! I don’t know whether it’s just me, or whether they donch like the venue, but I swear I’ve contacted sooooo many companies, like Lian Yick, Hiap Yick, Hup Chung, Hup Seng, etc etc. All of them either don’t reply to my emails, and when I call them up, they tell me they need a few days to craft up a quotation and then, they don’t call back. Am I doing something wrong here?? Help you gaiseeeee. Anyone with contacts of reliable vendors?
When It’s Cheaper Across The Causeway: Tentage
So I just came back from a majlis Aqiqah/cukur rambut for my niece. My cousin (the daddy) lives in JB with his family so they held the majlis at their property. Upon arriving, I was truly impressed by the canvas tentage propped in the compound of the house, siap ngan kerusi meja and simple decor.
Of course I had to find out how much it had to cost (bukan nya nak tengok the cute niece tau, sibuk nak tanya orang pasal tentage heh) so I asked my aunt about it. Terperanjat beruk when I heard she only spent RM320 on the tentage, tables/chairs, buffet table, lights and fans, all with installation service.
No wonder Malaysians can do up lovely events, tak kira kahwin or not, because everything’s so blardy cheap there!!! Like the Majlis Aqiqah below:
Photo credits to The Kliker
Haizzzz sugguh tak aci. Here, you’re lucky if you can get a tentage for under $2k. And fan units can go up to $30 per piece, apa lagi kerusi meja. Oh, on a completely unrelated note, another one of my M’sian cousin’s getting married in June and I flipped when I heard she hasn’t booked her actual day photography yet. She even said, “Alah, chill je masih siang kot.” MASIH SIANG YOU SAY?? Best perrrrr boleh chill gini. Pfffft.
Kdah enough of the ranting, and let’s enjoy the sight of three yummy baby nieces / nephew I met earlier.
Cute kan? Must be in the genes hehhhhhh.
The Throne
The Melayu adat of pengantins being Raja/Permaisuri sehari went back for as long as I could remember. I would assume that’s where the idea of a palamin came about, a “Throne” fit for the King and Queen, elevated from the rest, where they can be seen and admired as they please. And by throne, people often take it that it has to be as grand (and gaudy) as possible. Which is fine, whatever suits their fancy, but sometimes the pelamin design is so loud and colourful that the bride/groom “disappears”/tenggelam. I tak nak sey macam gitu!
My dream pelamin would be something simple, as played down as possible (i know my mom’ll will have fit about this but let’s say she agrees, shall we?). A pedestal that will complement my outfit and make it look outstanding, yet elaborate and prominent enough to be distinguished from the rest. Something like this:
UPDATE: I found out personally from Zakaria that the decor provider for this was The Wedding Chateau. No. Freaking. Wonder.
I actually found this picture a few months back on a random site and have always kept for inspiration. I recently found out that it was taken by Zakaria Zainal, whose photojournalistic style has always caught my eye ever since he was featured in Manja magazine a while back.
Check out his work here!
Another Accidental Bride 