Lucky Number #26

I'm officially 26 year-old today~! 

Been busy since I last updated this blog. Things have been running pretty smooth so far. Let me share little updates on what the double JJ did for the past 3 weeks :)

•  Singapore short trip on 6-7 August :: WY was sent to Singapore for business trip. WY's mum, cousin and myself went for a short trip over the weekend. Should name it as Shopping Trip instead. LOL

• Second photoshooting to Port Dickson on 12th (Friday) :: Sun tanning and I'm now 30% tanner than before. Gotta hide myself indoor until the big day :) Photo selection the next day. Our package consists of 55 poses/photos. It was kinda tough to select the photos our of 362 photos taken. 

 love this dress

• BIG surprise on the morning before we went for photoshooting. I won myself an iPad2 from Spotted Malaysia. Oh.. WOW... Birthday present that I have never expect!!! I have been talking about getting an iPad. And wish granted... *bliss*

ta-daa

• Besides the iPad2 as birthday present, I got myself a guest room voucher from Doubletree by Hilton and 4 TGV tickets from nuffnang. What more could I ask for? Million thanks for the freebies!!!!

TGV tickets + Doubletree voucher

• Met Grace from Stories to discuss about our photoshooting coming Friday. We have decided to settle at The Wok, a peranakan restaurant with lots of antiques, furniture etc. Definitely a perfect match to my kebaya!!! Grace came out the venue suggestion after knowing that I'm going to wear kebaya for the shoot.

• Attended makeup class with Pui at Malswisse, SS2 last Saturday (20th August). Class went pretty well. We paid RM88 for 3 classes and complimentary makeover/facial. Glad that I can redeem the makeover for Friday photoshooting. Save $$ for the makeup artist. Hehehe :p

• WY's grandmother birthday celebration at Puchong on 20th night. Huge gathering close to 50 guests.

 new member in the grandchildren list :)

Wedding Budget

Where to start with wedding planning? I'm pretty sure most women have their own dream wedding. Fancy reception, walk down the aisle with stunning and glamour dress, gorgeous wedding cake and perfect honeymoon. Well, not everyone can afford to fulfill their dream wedding. The fact is, you can spend as much or as little as you want - the idea is to create a memorable occasion that will carry you into a happy marriage.


The very first thing came into our mind was to set a wedding budget. It is essential thing for a successful of our wedding. We have a spreadsheet to keep track of our planned costs. (excel plays its role here) Need to know if we will be funding the wedding ourselves, bride's family, groom's family or a combination of sources. 

Steps to maintain the wedding budget accordingly :

 Image from Weddings Place

1. What is style or concept for our wedding?  * more on simple, elegant and affordable wedding (decided to have both receptions at restaurant instead of hotel with some reasons - food quality and cost). Of course hotel provides better ambiance. So, we came out with an idea for the decoration.
2. How many guests to invite? * the advantage of having the reception at the restaurant that we can at least cover the cost of banquet (exclude beers and liquors). Yet, there is still limit for the number of tables in the restaurants. Guest list is not the major issue in term of budget.
3. Do check on every hidden cost. * WY said, take note on every expenses for our wedding preps. We tend to ignore those small and little things that may cost a lot of money. Again, the spreadsheet helps to monitor the expenses and mange the money efficiently.
4. Google is my best friend - I have been reading quite a bit on wedding preparations. * there are plenty of wedding vendors and services out there. Research the vendors and get price quotes. Forum and some wedding websites are useful that take much of the stress out of planning a wedding. I found forums are a great way for couples to share details about their big day.

Besides having proper spreadsheet for budget, WY and I do communicate and discuss with each other in problem solving and decision making. Glad to have a considerate and happy partner.. :p 

August updates

What's up this month? My Birthday, of course!!! :p
2011 August is not about my birthday ONLY. We have other important things to do as well.

There are few wedding preps need to be settled by end of this month :

• pre-wedding photo shootings
• invitation cards printing (Malacca + KL)
• wedding heels
• wedding favors (Malacca)
• groom shirts - Singapore shopping and before Mega Sale ends

p/s : Wish to complete above list by Raya break.

Our photo shootings are scheduled on 12th and 26th August. Yet to finalize the props to bring along. Thinking of getting minimal, focusing on the scenery and of course we are the main characters in the photos. NOT the balloons.

Getting my heels next Wednesday (10/8) - right before our PD photo shoot. My very first custom-made shoes. *finger crossed*

I need to slot in an appointment with Hawa to further discuss on the wedding favors and cake. Mummy is planning to order cuppies for GDL as well. Erm... Minor change for the favors and cake.

Can proceed with our card printing once we get the photo from Lasposa. - confidence level HIGH (fail big time if we can't get these simple task done. Haha)

Now I see the importance of hiring wedding planner.. I am not saying couples MUST hire planner to survive. Here is an article "Is A Wedding Planner For You?" for those who are planning a wedding in the near future.
Planning for the big day can be the most stressful part of a wedding. Make your own time and appreciate every single moment - like we do.

Honestly, we never think of getting a wedding planner for our big day. We still manage to get most of the things done as planned (satisfied, although not as perfect we would like it to be). Wedding budget is absolutely essential and should one of the first things to do. (we have an excel sheet to keep track of wedding expenses - at least we don't use 555 notebook. LOL)
We enjoyed preparation process despite the stress and tiredness. Can't really remember if there is any argument in between.
Some good practice to be shared includes - plan ahead, prioritize and communication. :)
 
Apart from the wedding preparations, there are other activities/plans coming up this month. Excited about paintball, party with girls, birthday celebration and Raya break. *woot*