Post-wedding thoughts

Hey... I've been married for 1 month and 18 days!!!

and yes I admit, the frequency of my blog entries now is getting lower and lower! hahaha...

Sometimes I wonder what the heck I've been doing for the past few weeks coz I'm unemployed and I have nothing to study!

Well, time flies...

Although I know that Saiful and I are no longer considered as 'pengantin baru' but still, there are some people and services that I haven't acknowledged on this blog. I'll write a separate detailed entry on that but in general, I just want to thank everyone for coming to my wedding.

To be frank, I only expected very few of you to come, coz I know how far my house is, and that many of you are tied down by sooo many other responsibilities. Thus, I really2 appreciate your kindness, coming all the way to Kedah to celebrate my happy day together. It really2 makes a difference.

You can ask Saiful about how disappointed I was a few weeks earlier when one by one of my friends informed me that they couldn't make it to my wedding.

Thanks for coming, thanks for the gifts and any sorts of contributions. Oh dear, I'm running outta words to express my deepest gratitude. So faham2 je la ye... hehe



Sorry kalau ada yang tak sempat terlayan ke apa ye... harap2 smua ok when you were at my reception.

Anywayyyy, I'd like to share the things that you must expect on your wedding. This list is only based on my personal experience, so some pointers may be truly exclusive to my circumstances, some may be irrelevant or not extensive enough.

• PA System :
  

For my reception, I simply asked the caterer to find the PA system alongwith the MC And it turned out that the caterer chose an under-age hiphop boy to be my MC. Oh, it was horrible! hahaha.. I typed out randomly of the things he could say during the reception, and he ended up thinking that it was a script! My written Malay is horrible, so you could expect lah how terrible it was.


I also prepared a list of pre-determined songs, already burned in a CD in a fixed order. But he ended up jumbling up the order of all the songs!! Although this isn't really a big deal, but it would be better if you choose your own MC and the PA system.

• Wedding attire

If you happen to have tailor-made dresses like I had, make sure you iron it daysss earlier.


Ironing your wedding dresses on the day itself can be a lil bit nerve-wrecking..hahaha... Do it when you are relaxed...

• Bersanding

Bersanding is pretty embarrassing i must say..hahaha..well, at least for me. But, be prepared to put that feeling aside and pose with your most natural smile!


and also, always be conscious of your posture. Uhhh, I have always had this problem, so there were some photos of me hunched as if there's a Ju-On on my shoulders.

• Time-constraint

Time is vicious I tell you. And I managed to survive through my wedding simply because i have a detailed list of to-do things. Thus, no matter how prepared you think you are, a checklist is vital. Coz even with a so-called perfect one, you must expect that you 'd still forget about some other essential stuff. Phewww.... So, always have a back-up plan peeps!

• Make-up

This is the only thing that I didn't follow on my checklist. I think most of you knew that I actually booked a different makeup artist in the beginning, and ended up with a different one. I changed my mind 3 days before the wedding. Gila kan?? I dunno why, when i went for a spa treatment, and I asked this one lady if she could do makeup for brides, and she said yes, my heart was saying, GO FOR IT! The reasons I made the decision were: she's nearer, and she could come to my house, instead of me going all the way to Alor Star very2 early in the morning.
















With the time-constraint issues in mind, I decided to choose Kak Sha for my makeup. After all, it still cost the same! And wallla, I couldn't be any happier.! Although without any trials, I prefer her style much2 better.

So, my point here is that, follow your INSTINCTS in some matters. ;)

• Guests

Expect absence! Yes, you must be prepared to feel disappointed when some of your closest friends couldn't make it to your wedding. People have responsibilities and other things to do. So not all of them can make the time to attend your big day.


As mentioned earlier, I was sooo sad in the beginning, feeling dead worried that no one would come. But in the end, more than expected came, and I was sublimely happy! The presence of other friends managed to conceal the tiny bit of disappointment I had earlier. :)

• Exhaustion

Yes, prepare to be VERY VERY tired! and VERY2 stressed! I'm not trying to scare you bride-to-bes but seriously, with all the serious planning I made, still i was VERY exhausted and my stress level couldn't even be measured by words! My menses arrived one week late because of this madness! Oh ok, too much info. I dunno how, but yeah, prepare for the exhaustion and stress that will come along the way, but try not to be too tied down by these elements. Coz, in the end, you'll feel more disappointed when you get your menses at the most WRONG timing! hahaha...

• Mess

Expect some mess dear if you are having your ceremonies at HOME!

This one factor was not a surprise for me. I had expected it. But I still want my ceremonies to be held at home, because I know they'll be merrier. Having your reception at home feels more 'genuine' somehow as it's where you live. It has more sentimental value in a way. But yes, it'll be VERY2 messy! yeah, everything has its plus and minus points!

• Beauty Sleep

Don't expect it! I slept at 5 am the morning before my solemnization and reception. On average, I slept for 2-3 hours (at most) for the whole week prior to the ceremonies. Unless.... you have a very2 BIG family and HELPFUL family members. That'will lessen the workload for sure. On a related note, thus it is important to choose a very good makeup artist that has the skill to cover up all those eye bags and dark circles! hahahah.. and also, put on 'inai' 2 nights earlier.

Coz you can't do ANYTHING once your fingers and toes are full of inai!! There are so many things to be done the night before your wedding. Oh, and that rose my stress level even further. huhu..

• Package VS DIY

It really depends on your priorities. What do you seek for in your wedding? Fuss-free wedding OR originality?? You'll inevitably need to sacrifice one of them. And it's probably clear to all of you which one I prefer. Hehehe..

That's all that I can share with you for now. Will add more later once I remember.

Sorry again for the very few posts I have lately on this blog.

Will try to post any wedding-related entries later based on my experience.

Ciao!

Phew... I'm Married!!!

1 month...


Yes, I've been married for the past 30 glorious days!!!


I still feel like I'm in a LONG LONG dream... It's so surreal I can barely feel my legs!!!


Ok, I might have exaggerated (as always), but geeez, I'm Mrs Azrin ok! and that makes a whole lot of difference!


First of all, apologies for abandoning this blog for quite some time. I was HYPER busy during the whole week leading to my wedding. and of course busy after the two weddings, preparing for the Euro Trip and other stuff.


For the Kedah ceremonies, AGAIN, I was a superwoman. hahaha... Together with my lovely mother, we teamed up as SUPERWOMEN!!!

We worked endlessly to prepare for the wedding. As many of you might have known, things went pretty haywire for me because WE did many things by ourselves, FROM SCRATCH!


From my veils, to sewing sequins, sewing duvet, decorating the bedroom, decorating the staircase, umbrellas, making direction signage, cleaning the house, designing and making the dais, decorating the hantarans, sewing the curtains, sewing the flowerboy costume, making the flower bouquets as well as the flowers for the flower girls and boy, making the 'tikar sila', inviting the guests personally from house to house (my mom), pakai inai (with the help of ain. thx!), ironing our clothes (baju pengantin pun kena gosok sndiri, tak sapa berani tolg..huhu), ordering cakes and etc, making the wedding favours (the boxes), listing wedding songs to be played (altho M/C hiphop tu sukati ja pasang ikut suka dia..) ...oh, the list is endless!

So although preparations had started months and months earlier, there was always something that needed to be done until the last minute. Phewww..

Oh, btw, when I said 'WE', I meant ONLY my mom and I.

That's the drawback of a small family.

Aren't we superwomen???


The only things that we left for the professional to do were catering, canopy, photography, PA system, and make-up.

Pheww... But I'm glad that most of the things went as planned, or even better! hehehe..

Nonetheless, some of the things that couldn't be materialised were:

• sewing pouches for close friends and relatives
• preparing a guestbook

But still, alhamdulillah. For the level of madness and sleep-deprivation experienced by my mom and I, I think the solemnization ceremony and the reception went extremely well.

The days after were used wisely to recover my sleeping hours.

And the outdoor photoshoot was done 2 days after the reception, which was on the 14th of Dec. It was awesome! The photographers were so cool and creative! By the end of the session, dah rasa lenguh rahang dah..too much smiling!!!


Then both of us returned back to KL, spent a few days there, and went to Muar on Friday, the day before the Muar reception.
















Although there was another reception in Muar, but both of us shared the same feeling: NO MORE NERVOUSNESS!!! Thus, days leading to the second reception were a lot more relaxing than the first one. heheh...

The ceremonies in Muar went great too, for both of the Malam Berinai and the reception.


Glad that it's all over.

BUT, there is of course a tiny bit of sadness, thinking that there's nothing BIG to look forward to anymore.

BUT, wedding is exhausting.

I thus take back my words. hahahaha.

Another important event after both of the receptions was of course the honeymoon.

Shall blog about that in a separate entry! ;)


















I shall take this opportunity to thank Ain for her help throughout my wedding weeks. Where can u find a bridesmaid who would help you for 3 whole days before the wedding, sleep at your house, vacuum your carpets and whatnot, help you put on the inai (which is a seriously tedious job), and follow you all the way from North to South of Malaysia (even after her exhausting Hong Kong trip) to be your bridesmaid again for 2 consecutive days?

For that, Thank you, thank you, and thank you Ain. You know damn well I'm running out of words to express my gratitude. hehe..


So.... the commonest question I get lately: "So, how's married life?"

I am not sure if that is just an honest innocent question or is it a cheeky way of digging up the tiny little details of the things shared only between husband and wife. Heheh

I shall entertain the former. So, the answer is GREAT!!! I am sublimely happy with everything in my life now.


















So, if you are thinking of getting married, I'd say: GO FOR IT! ASAP!!! hahahaha..


And for those who have decided, who are waiting relentlessly for the big day, or who have just entered this new chapter of life,

I'd say: Welcome to the club!


Ciao!

1 week 1 day!!!!!

Geeee... that's scary!

What's even scarier is that there are zillion more things to be done!!!!

I think I'm gonna have a serious nervous breakdown anytime now...

It'd be awesome if there are more than 24 hours each day.

Wish me luck and courage to endure all this madness ya!

and surely, pray for my sanity!

3 weeks?

Oh how time flies!

Now I'm no longer counting the months leading to my BIG day, coz it's just weeks away!

Scary. i know.

So many more things to be settled, but they are rather trivial.

But still, I don't want to have any regrets after the wedding.

I will try to do as much as I can within these 3 weeks to materialize my dreams.

The rest, I shall leave it to God.

Hopefully, everything will turn out as planned, or better.

Insya Allah.

ciao.

post-solemnization registration

Hahaha...I know some of you might be laughing like mad looking at these innocent pics of mine.. These are actually the photos taken after I returned home from registering my solemnization at Pejabat Agama Kubang Pasu, Kedah last weekend. I wore the same thing on the day before when I needed to see the Imam Jurunikah.

It was clearly stated at the Pejabat Agama that visitors must wear decent clothing and jeans are not allowed at all.

Alhamdulillah everything was settled despite some confusion. *relieved*

So enjoy these 'rare' photos ya...hahahaha...

Oh the kittens were seman and munah...hehehe..

Aren't they just lovely???

More updates

Things settled:

• I am so relieved that I am done with all the hassle of registering our solemnization this morning. My mother and I had to go to Pejabat Agama twice, though, since we didn't know that copies of our sijil kursus kahwin also need to be handed in. I thought the original copies would suffice. *sigh*
• Imam Jurunikah has also been booked. Thank God no one else booked him during our time slot, i.e. 11th December (night). So the soleminization will most probably start at around 9 pm.
• Most of the wedding invitation cards had been posted and distributed to friends, relatives, lecturers, etc. There are still a few that i haven't posted since I don't know some of the guests' addresses. Will settle this matter this week.
• Have bought a long necklace and a diamond pendant to be worn on the solemnization night.
• My mom has bought most of the materials needed to prepare the dulang hantarans.
• Bridesmaid & Bestman: Thanks Ain & Elyas!!
• Baju for flower girls and a cute lil guy: done!
• Payung pun dah beli..cuma kena hiaskan ..hehehe..

To-do list:

• Received a call from 'Hati Emas' that the groom's band is ready! phewww.. It really took two whole months to arrive!
• Get the remnants of the laces for Muar reception dress from my tailor in Gombak.
• Distribute a few more cards around KL.
• My mother and I have 'drafted' my veil designs, and I will continue to sew the laces nicely in KL next week. Two veils to be exact! phew...
• Also, need to sew the sequins on my solemnization dress. Inilah gaya orang2 yang kurang budget yer...huhu
• Must buy earings and brooches for both solemnization and reception, and also matching shoes!!
• Burn suitable songs on a CD for the reception.
• Wat passport!!!
• Tempah accommodation
• "elect" a videographer..hhahaha..
• Do facial, spa, threading and whatnot SOON!
• Buy or make a guestbook.

PROGRESS REPORT 3

Kursus kawen: -done-

Daftar kawin: -this weekend, balik kedah.-

Kad kawin: -settled, but in the process of posting... tunggu ek...-

Wedding bands: -groom's band should arrive mid Nov-

Wedding favors: -kotak siap, isi jela will be ready soon sebab tempah- pouches lom stat wat...

Photographer- -done-

Wedding dresses- -done, tinggal nk jahit sequins je-

Accesories - dah booked tiara, rantai, and brooch. but must buy earings and shoes and jahit veil since takder yg berkenan kat kedai tu...

Dais- -DIY a week before reception-

Hantaran-- DIY soonish-

Room Decor- -my mom is in the process of sewing the curtains. duvet is done-

Hadiah Hantaran- -done-

HIV Test- -done-

Guest list- done.

Catering- booked.

Beauty preparations: NOPE! waaaa

Bridesmaid- confirmed! hehehe. Thanx ain!

Theme colour for bridesmaid and close friends - macam xde je...

Flower Girls- -done-

Wedding songs: tak burn2 lagiii!!!

Passport: -lom wat...waaaa-

what else ya??

Walimatul Urus

Assalamualaikum W.B.T.

Walimatul Urus

A wedding invitation to Saiful Izwan & Norazrin's wedding.

You are cordially invited to celebrate our BIG day.

Your attendance will be considered the biggest wedding gifts for us. ;)

Jemput datang memeriahkan majlis kami berdua.

Cheers!

Salam,

Saiful Izwan Zainal & Norazrin

P/S- For a bigger and clearer view of the card and most importantly the details, please click on the thumbnails. Thanks.

1 month, 1 week, & 1 day

Yerp. that's the time I have left before my long-awaited wedding.

Now that I am not burdened too much by endless assignments, research, and two part-time jobs, I have more time to think about THE day...

and the more I think about it, the greater the silent shivers are in my stomach, head, and hurmmm, practically every part of my torso.

Hey you newly-married peeps!! Tell me, is this normal??

Although my preparations are pretty well-organised, why do I still feel that I'm under-prepared??

Why do I still feel that I don't have enough time?

Why do I feel like no matter what I do, the real big day may still not turn out the way I really2 dream of..??

I am seriously suffering from weddingogitis!!!

And in between all those madness, of course feelings of eagerness slip in too.

The prospects of having a life-time partner who (insya Allah) will love me forever and building new family bonds do spark some blissful hope for me to attain a 'normal' life that I have always wished for.

It's just a real funny mix.

Frankly, however, the sense of trepidation creeps in more often than the latter.

What should I do??

I dunno.

Endless prayers would do. I hope.

Amin...

:$

I am officially back on my wedding journey track...

Helllooo hellllloooooooo -->(trying pathetically to imitate the sound of the lost shrimp in the KFC radio ad about a month ago)

I was soooo sooo busy juggling with my two part-time jobs, my research project, and my assignments that I did not have time to write any entries here.

My apologies to all...

Now, I am only left with one part-time job and one exam paper. That sounds a loooot more manageable, isn't it?

So, let me enlighten you with some of my wedding preparations update (yang tak seberapa pun...)

Last weekend, I went back to my hometown, Jitra, to settle some things relating to the wedding. Upon reflection, I should have gone back this weekend. wrong timing lak beli tiket.

I thought once the exams were over, everything should be ok.. Little that I expected that throughout the weekdays this week, I would be super super busy!!!! I had to mark endless exam papers and submit my research project and work all at the same time!! Thank God it's all over!!!

Tapi takpelah..nk wat camna.. dh balik dh pun.. Things settled were:

1) Amik baju kat Tailor

-There was a lil bit of drama here. At first, as my mom and I were on our way to Sungai Petani, my instincts kept saying that "rasa2 cam tailor ni mesti ada wat salah apa2 jahitan ni"

It turned out to be true. Memang dia salah jahit sket...eh kira banyak gakla coz the neckline style of the reception dress jadi lain trus....I explained clearly before how it should be done..tapi rasanya dia yang lupa kot...

BUT... u know lah..when it comes to baju tempah, I'm VERY fussy, I admit. what more when it's my WEDDING dress!!! apa lagi, I asked the nyonya to fix it in 2 days!! jahat tak?? mula2 igt like in 2 weeks I'd go back to Kedah and get it.. tapi pikir balik, hishhh, I went back to Kedah especially to get the dresses in Sungai Petani and 'book' the matching accessories..mana leh!!!

Thank God the Nyonya tak byk songeh..dia buat je. and it turned out to be fine. I am a practical person. I know it would not turn out exactly like Rizalman's design. BUT, bolehlaaa.

For one tenth of the price, I believe the dress looks decently pretty. hehehe.. alhamdulillah.

Kira dua kali lah pegi Sungai Petani that weekend!! *sigh*

Oh anyway, the solemnization kurung modern turns out ok too. *relieved*

So now, smua baju setel. tinggal nk jahit manik je..hehehe.. save budget nya psl.. tak mampu beli kain yg dah siap bermanik..huhu

2) Rent accessories

For accessories, it turned out that I only rented a few. Banyak yg tak sesuai dengan baju pulak.

In the end,I only booked the tiara, brooch (for Muar reception), and a necklace for the reception.

Kasut dah habih, subang takde yang minat, but I managed to book the whole set for the groom. Lega2...

Veil pun takde yg sesuai. So my mom decided to just buy net kain ela and jahit bunga tampal je from the lace lebihan buat my baju reception tu.. Memang banyak lebih.. n sayang sebab kain tu chantek (to me lah..). So alang2, my mom will tampal bunga2 tu kat veil, kat kasut (nanti beli yg kosong), and kat kain. Phewwww....

What should i do now???: Here's my short-term to-do list:

• Call pusat kesihatan Bangsar appointment HIV test.
• Balik Kedah lps exam ni, utk daftar kawin..hihihi..
• Kutip alamat smua untuk post kad...huhuhu
• Post the cards, and jemput face-to-face mana2 yg dekat...
• Jemput through Facebook, Blog & Yahoo Group
  
• Burn CD lagu majlis kawin
• Figure out how to use the camcorder I bought a month ago, and the person yg bakal menjadi mngsa utk recordkan majlis tu nanti *hint2*
• Jahit manik kat baju2..
• Buat passport
• etc2..

Quite a lot kan??? mati laaaaaa.... Please pray that I can retain my sanity throughout this whole journey to bliss. Insya Allah...

Taaaaaaa