A good wedding venue is important!

Have you decided where your wedding will be held, dearies?

Deciding on a place is obviously not easy. There's so many things to consider, and you need to write them down to make sure your chosen hall will be able to fulfil your once in a lifetime wedding dream.

As for me, I am not the one deciding on the venue because I ain't spending any money on that. Lol! So the job is taken by both the parents. Apparently, they have started their hunt yesterday and I am all excited! Though I am not directly involved, both Mom & Dad will usually discuss it with me over dinner and take my ideas into consideration. As of now, Mom knows my Yes-No venues and hopefully, the search will end with a beautiful place for my wedding reception. 

This is the clue for one of the venues that I am currently considering for..hehe!

Anyways, here's a checklist for you when it comes to choosing the right venue!

Checklist

How many guests are you inviting?

This is obviously important to know whether the venue can actually cope with the number of people you are inviting. It helps to determine how you would arrange tables and chairs and food quantity. Take into account how it's going to be like at the venue when the crowd is large or when it is at the peak hours of your wedding - eg : lunch time if you're planning for a buffet styled wedding. 

Food quality

A grand hall doesn't mean they serve good food, remember that! So it is extremely vital for you to request a food-testing session with the Sales person. Don't bluntly trust words of mouth, taste them for yourselves! Because at the end of the day, it is your wedding..so make effort to ensure the food variety suit your taste. In addition to that, read reviews by previous clients - on how the organiser cope during events, do they replenish food on time and what's the overall comments from the previous clients like? Also, ask the Sales person there and then if you require or need special menu, enquire them if they could probably serve your preferred menu if it is currently unavailable - cos it will be worth asking, who knows right?

Banquet Preparation

Read their packages, sales kit and marketing pamphlets carefully. Some halls do provide and include banquet services for the price they are offering - hence the explanation above! But some halls don't. So it is important to know and decide whether you want to proceed with another caterer or take the hall all-in package. Banquet does not only include food, but also the arrangements of tables, chairs, stage, pelamin, registration table, etc. Also ensure the hall provides enough and equipped staffs (waiters especially) during the event if they do provide catering services. This helps to ensure a smooth evemt when it comes to replenishing food & clearing used dishes tables. This will provide a comfortable environment for your guests and allow them to enjoy the wedding reception.

Audio and Visual Equipment

Right dearies, don't forget audio and visual equipment if you need any of them for karaoke session, making wedding speech, live singers, presentation of short film, pre-wedding video or photo slides during the wedding. Check whether the venue is equipped with the required equipment and if they do, do the equipment work? If you have requested for these items, make sure everything is working on the day of rehearsal. Identify any faulty equipment early and not on the day of your wedding! Check on the costing side too, because some halls do charge for these extra equipment - speakers, microphones, white screens etc. 

Decorations

Do they include decorations in their packages? If so, what are the decorations and are you happy with the listed deco? Let the sales person know what you need, what you want and also ensure that you understand what they could offer you. If they can provide you with pictures of the deco, do check them out! Remember 

that every detail is important.

Door gifts

Most high-end hotels or convention centres would provide their own door gifts as part of the package. So if you choose a hall which doesn't provide one, you can either request or order your own door gifts with a separate supplier. But if the package includes door gifts, it would help in reducing your cost!

Overall Cost

Here goes the scariest part! Ensure what you need or want to MEET your budgeted cost. Try not to go over the board, knowing where to give in. A grand wedding is dreamt by everyone, but not all can afford to do so. So try to minimise your cost wherever possible, reduce unnecessary "wants" and double check the "needs". And of course, know the difference between needs and wants! 

Last but not least, remember that a grand wedding doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive one. You could opt for so many other options to reduce cost especially on deco and food. So make sure you take effort to survey and ask around a few different places before deciding one. Comparing all your options is a must!  

This is just a guide line, there are probably other things that you'll need to consider when it comes to actual planning and discussion when choosing your venues. But hope this helps a little bit! 

Happy hunting!

Preliminary Dates

It's been quite a while since I last update myself here. I'm currently helping mom's business, so I am mostly in the office on weekdays. But oh well, that doesn't stop me from browsing bridal magazines, checking out promotions and organising my wedding! And I hope you guys are doing the same too.

Anyways, as the title suggests - A and I have now decided on our dates, yippee! The dates are still preliminary though, because it depends on the availability of the hall my dad is renting too. And speaking of the hall, dad is procrastinating his job!! He's been saying that he would go and survey the halls, availability and such...but no confirmation just yet.

Talking about dates, my heart jumps in excitement a wee bit! Hihi.

Deciding on a date was tough, extreeemely tough since it involves everyone in the family. Whoops, I mean..both families! At first, A & I decided to get married in December 2013. Both parents got involved in this too, but my Dad suggested November 2013. Lo and behold, he is suggesting that we get married on his birthday! Mmmm, well okay.

That was a bit awkward since Dad and my second sister share the same birthday!

Come to think of it, the date doesn't bother me much. So A & I agreed with the idea. As for now, our nikah ceremony will be held on the 8th of November and the reception on the next day - the 9th of November which will be on my Dad & sister's birthday.

As for the engagement, both sides have confirmed for 1st of June 2013. Six more months. Erk, I need to lose weight!!!

But at the end of the day, no matter how much planning we do..it is important to remember that Allah is the Greatest Planner. So from this point forward, I need to remind myself to be patient and accept God's decision if my plan doesn't work its way through.

Alrighty B2Bs, till then..have a great week ahead!

Glass Jars

Don't know what to prepare for door gifts? Well, how about little glass jars. I am quite interested to have them as door gifts...but since my wedding is well, too far away, engagement door gifts perhaps?

Glass jar is probably the easiest door gift that you'll be able to design and DIY. Ribbons, stickers, lace and probably square cloths would make yours a little bit more exclusive than just plain ones.

There's quite a few different shapes of glass jars, which also comes in various sizes. The most common one would be the IKEA jars like the picture below, but obviously go for cheaper ones!

Apparently, glass jars also come in hexagon shape like the one below..

And they also come in petite shapes like this .. more often seen for fruit jams.

For the favours, it is entirely up to you. People nowadays go for sweets, especially chocolate buttons and M&Ms. I would also suggest using Hershey's, but it will obviously add up on the cost side, hehe. Some even go for cake-in-a-jar, usually ordered..unless you're good at baking, it would be a plus point! If  you would like to try something else, try making a glass jar filled with homemade potpourri. Opt to use a cloth as the cap, and tie a ribbon or lace around it to tighten. That would make a pretty air freshener for your guests!!

But oh well, please do some research on your own and find the perfect glass jars of your choice and obviously..the best price in town too! Some may get as cheap as less than a ringgit for a jar, but I guess it depends on the size too.  

So to all my B2B readers, get your creative thinking cap on now!

Anyways, click these links for some creative ideas for your glass jars..

1. Dayang Amy's Glass Jars

2. Iggumiyeyo's Glass Jars
3. Maya Puri's Glass Jars
4. Shakina's Glass Jars
5. Fatieha's Glass Jars

Wedding vs Marriage

People say, 

"Don't just prepare for a wedding, prepare for a MARRIAGE instead because marriage is eternal, it's a life-time event"

That's heavy, real heavy. I'm not starting to worry or freak out about my decision (ooh, hopefully?!!), but I think it's time to take a deep breath and have a think about it.

Are you ready, B2Bs?

Merisik

Alhamdulillah, yesterday marked our first phase towards marriage. All praise is due to Allah and no one but Him. The 'other' family came yesterday for an introduction session and 'merisik'. Merisik is mainly an occasion where the future-groom's family comes over to the future-bride's house and ask if she is still single. Apparently according to google, this tradition is translated as 'spying custom'. It is when the family tells their intention and plan as a first step towards marriage. 

And mine was on a lovely Sunday, 16th of September 2012. He came over with the parents and his sister, also with a gold ring usually known as 'cincin tanda'. The ring is pretty much a symbol or an indication that I am now officially booked by someone!


I couldn't be happier knowing that both families have started to know each other and agreed with our marriage plan. After all these years of only the two of us knowing one another! Hehe.

With a ring on my finger, reality starts to hit me this very morning. This is for real! I will be someone's wife soon. Well, not just that.. I will be a daughter in-law and sister in-law too! Long-life marriage preparation is what I need to start focusing now. 

May Allah make ease of everything...and I am hoping that Allah binds our hearts to His, and lasts us till Jannah.

B2B Guide to Diamonds!

Well, diamonds ARE girls' best friends, aren't they? And I'm sure most of you B2Bs are planning to have a perfect, sophisticated and elegant diamond for your big day...including myself! 

But before buying any, make sure you do some reading on diamonds and its necessary attributes. Have you heard about the 4Cs?

Apparently, when it comes to buying diamonds..there are 4 important "C"s that you'll need to consider - Carat, Clarity, Colour and Cut! I'll make my own version of the 4Cs for all of the B2Bs reading this, hoping you would gain something useful from my writing. Am also learning for myself, it would be useful when it comes to dealing with the salesperson and yes, my future husband when buying one. Hehe. So, here goes..!

1. Carat

The carat chart

Diamonds are usually graded by its size and quality. Unlike gold, "carat" is used as a universal weighing unit for diamonds. Larger diamonds are classified as rare in Diamond Quality Pyramid because they are less frequent found in nature. So as you may expect, larger diamonds will definitely cost more...and ouch, hurt your pocket! 

Now, how do you convert carat into grams? One carat is equivalent to 0.2 grams but few women own diamonds of one or more carat. Money issues, girls! Hehe. Another important to take note is that, one carat is usually subdivided into 100 points. So if a diamond is 75 points - this means that it is 0.75 carat or 3/4 carat. On average, I see diamonds of 0.25c, 0.5c and 0.75c more frequent at the jewellers.

2. Clarity

Diamond clarity grading

Clarity means "clear" or in better terms, tells you how pure a diamond is. A diamond's clarity is usually defined by the internal characteristics (read: Inclusion) and surface features (read: blemishes). Okay, things will get a bit confusing here. During the formation of diamonds through crystallisation, other minerals in the surrounding area may get trapped within the mass and create irregularities (read: Inclusion) in the diamonds. As you may expect, irregularities will obviously affect the appearance of a diamond, but it is not visible to the naked eye and only visible by magnification. Clarity is classified by how big, how visible and how much inclusions are there in a diamond. However, diamonds which are "flawless" (FL) and "internally flawless (IF) are rare in nature thus will cost you a fortune. Slightly included inclusion varies from grade VVS1/VVS2, VS1/VS2, S1/S2/S3 from very very slightly included to slightly included. P1/P2/P3 means that the clarity is imperfect.

3. Colour

Diamond colour grading

I have my own preference of diamond's colour - colourless ones are stunning! But they are of course, very rare and by that I mean, very expensive! Hehe. Anyhow, I've never realised that diamonds have different colours..until after I did some research on the 4Cs. The colours range from colourless, white..subtle yellow, yellow...and surprisingly, vivid colours like red and blue! To grade the colour of a diamond, it is compared against a "master stone" of known colour. What makes the colours differ from one diamond to another is traces of impurities or other elements present during the crystallisation of the diamond. Colour grading starts from the alphabet D onwards. As you move further, the colour becomes yellowish. D-F are colourless, G-J are near colourless, K-M are slightly tinted, N-R are very light yellow and S-Z are light yellow to yellow. And if a diamond is graded beyond Z, it gives a distinct, well-defined colours like red, blue, pinks, etc. One thing to take note - although colour reduces the diamond's value, diamonds with vivid colours may be highly priced!

4. Cut

Cutting grades

A perfect cut is what makes the diamond one-heck of a beauty! You'll know if the craftsman did well if it sparks fire to the your eyes...oooh yes, it happened to me once! The perfect cut would spark the brilliance out of the diamond. It makes full use of the lights surrounding the diamond as it takes maximum amount of light and reflects it out off the diamond so brilliantly. It takes only skilful craftsmen to do this..for if the cut is slightly too shallow or slightly too deep, it will reduce the diamond's sparkle and beauty. So you gotta remember, choose only those that catch your eyes!

Other related information

-Shapes

Different shapes of diamond

It truly depends on you, ladies. Pick the one that suits you and obviously, WILL look good on your finger!

-Certificate

GIA certificate is a well-known certification in the jewellery industry produced by the Gemological Institute of America. It tells you the most accurate grading of your diamond and describes the quality of the diamond in detail. Why do you need one with GIA cert? Well..this is basically to reassure you that you are purchasing a diamond with certified claims made by trained gemologist. Therefore in the future, you'll be able to compare your diamond with another, with specified weight and quality .. giving you a better value and best pricing. As said before, you can never go wrong with diamonds that come with GIA - it is certified and accepted worldwide!

First step.

My first entry for this B2B blog, in which I'll try my very best to update it regularly and take you through my journey, preparations and well....unnecessary ramblings! 

Both A. and I had a proper discussion about our future plans today. We both took the opportunity of his Merdeka day off and went through all the necessary to-do and to-spend lists..over a cup of hot chocolate in Starbucks. Oh, but a regular-turned-large sized Chatime for me! 

Alhamdulillah, we've managed to sort a lot of things and figured out our budget and future expenses. But...we forgot to decide on a date for him to come over and meet my parents (which was initially the whole point we went for Starbucks, anyways!)

While discussing our plans together, a few things made me realise why I'm in love with A. at the first place..and well, fell in love over again. Cheeeesy! But I couldn't have gone this far in our relationship without his support, motivations and love. We used to be thousands of miles apart, but not anymore now. Hoping for many, many loving moments with you, A!

As for today, I need to do some reading on diamonds - oh yes, my sparkling best friend! I've heard the 4Cs - carat, clarity, colour and cut. Gotta do some research on that!

Important note for self: I'm a size 11, A. is a 13. Need to check my size again...I choose to disagree with the salesperson!