my lil brother's wedding

hello & happy merdeka day.

you know what.. today, i feel like blogging :)
i don't know why, it must be hormonal issue or something.
funny that i chose to blog about my lil bro's wedding that was held in march.

i helped him with his hantaran, pelamin, stairs deco, room deco, and a few other things which i don't really remember since the event took place months back.

the thing that i loved the most was the hantaran, i mean, among things that i did.
i chose to have arrangements of combination of bright colored fresh flowers and white.
normally for hantaran, ppl would go for pastel colored fresh flowers.
so i wanted to try something fresh & different.
and these are the results...

aren't they lovely?
they are, no?
haha nevermind if you don't think so, as long as i was & am still happy with my work.

by the way, the family theme color for the akad nikah was purple.
while bride & groom were wearing off whites.
i was wearing typical modern kurung.

with the groom @ my lil brother

the beautiful bride

the akad nikah & reception event were held on the same day.
for the reception, the newly married couple was dressed in brown colored suit cut baju melayu & gown.
honestly, i didn't really like the color, but the gown cutting was nice.

the following day was event at my parents' house for groom side.
the theme color was pink + gold, same theme color as my akad nikah.
i was wearing modern kurung with pleated chiffon skirt, while the groom & bride were dressed in white attire.
i love the bride's dress, well, i was the one who chose it anyway.
and i love the makeup too!

ohh did i mention that the pelamin was made by yours truly?
yeah, but it was just a simple one.
i wasn't really satisfy with the outcome, but still, it's better than my wedding pelamin.
the rule of thumb in making self-made pelamin - less is more.

not the pengantin!

here i present some of the best photos from the wedding from my sis camera.
see captions for description :)

Look! We have giant cupcake for the cake cutting.

rose petals to prettify the dressing table

we have gamelan on that day

mini banner that i made (with vector images taken from the net)

goodie bags

i don't have pictures of stairs & room deco made by me, well trust me it was just a simple one.
so i guess, that's it!
an eventful event it was :)

more items are up for rent

check out "items for rent" tab at the top of this page (below the header) or click here to view the full list of wedding items to be rented.
i have put in more items to the list.

these flowers in an english pot.

and this 2-tier cake stand.

well, if you are interested.. i think you know what to do!

little brother engagement hantaran

my little brother is now someone's fiance.
the wedding insyaAllah will be at the end of the 1st quarter next year.

i love everything about wedding preparation and i'm all ready to be his wedding planner!
hihiks as if he wants me to menyibuk lah kan.

anyway, i'm the one who is responsible for his engagement hantaran.
and since, there are still lots of leftovers (ribbons, flowers, etc.) from my wedding, i re-use them to make the hantaran.
i bought nothing new except the brown basket since the theme color is brown.

next project is for my bestfriend engagement this december.
can't wait!

p/s the giant white roses are from my stairs deco haha.

reviews on makeup artists

as you know or if you notice, i'm a cheapskate here.
but at the same time, i love beautiful things.
so that makes it clear of why i did a lot of DIYs for the wedding.

but i can't DIY my makeup because i don't have enough skills and tools for that.
plus, i don't want to have to worry about my makeup and i think that i deserve to be pampered on my wedding day.
so let's just let the experts do that for us, lovelies.
just sit back while a professional takes care of your makeup.
trust me, you don't want to deal with all the stresses that come with doing your own makeup.

the other day, i've promised to write reviews on my makeup artists, right?
so this is it.

there are two important things for me when choosing the right makeup artists.
1st - the makeups (duh, of course!).
and 2nd - the rates.

being a cheapskate, i don't want to spend a huge amount of money just to pay for my makeup.
well, if you are really capable and you can afford expensive makeups, why not?
but obviously, i am not.

still, i don't want to take risk and settle for an "include-everything package".
you know, there are loads of wedding packages in the market where you just have to pay a sum of money and you'll get everything from foods to makeup to photographer to pelamin and whatnot.

i've booked my makeup artists, months prior to the wedding.
mind you, you have to be really really fast and speedy in this.
or if not, you'll not be getting makeup artist that you always wanted.
it's like a wedding hall, once you have the date, quickly book your wedding venue and the makeup artist.

so babbling no more, aishah.
let's just tell my readers, who are the chosen makeup artists for my wedding.

Munie Ahmad
event: nikah and at-home reception

i knew her since 2004.
yes, that was before she became a makeup artist.
i knew her from a beauty forum which i joined since 2003.
i still remember, she once asked me to come over to her hostel because she wanted to "main-main makeup".
at that time, she was just using maybelline and l'oreal makeups and it was just for fun.

starting from 2006 (if i'm not mistaken), she became more serious and started to blossom as one of the famous and salable freelance makeup artists in malaysia.
so since then, i've marked her to be my makeup artist for my wedding which me myself still don't know when.
i really love her makeup.
you can check out her portfolio here.
well, she's maybe bad in updating her website, but i must say that she's an expert in creating a natural looking makeup.

with munie ahmad, 2008, assisting her in a makeup lesson at mmu cyberjaya

makeup for nikah by munie ahmad

makeup for reception by munie ahmad

tantek an?
ke i perasan lebih? hihi.

Zila Ziman
event: bertandang

well, i think you already know her.
she's like my personal makeup artist hihi.

with zila ziman, 2009

she did my makeup a few times already.
main-main makeup banyak kali, makeup pengapit 2 kali, makeup tunang and now makeup bertandang.
i knew her for years and i think i don't have to come up with our history again and again hihi.

simply, she knows how to make you look pretty and at the same time matching the look with the overall theme.

classic makeup look by zila ziman

by the way, she did makeup my bridesmaids for at-hotel reception too.

makeup for bridesmaids by zila ziman

ohh speaking of her, makeup class by zila ziman is now open for registration!

you don't have to have basics in makeup if you want to join her class.
in fact, you don't have to have the tools (you can use hers!).
visit her website for further info, lovelies.

Kak Liza
event: at-hotel reception

i've booked her months before the wedding.
i was dealing with her directly through phone.
and i've paid the deposit right away to seal the booking.

okay, this is the only makeup artist which i don't know personally.
but she has good reputation and her portfolios are quite convincing.
her price is more expensive than my other makeup artists, she quoted me rm950 for my makeup + to prepare the groom, well, i thought of having the best makeup for at-hotel reception.

but TWO DAYS before the wedding, she called me.
telling me that she can't do my makeup because she had double booked on the same date.
i was like, ohh okay, this is so not cool!

she asked me to switch and have kak saidatulnisa because the other bride cannot afford kak sai, as if i can??
kak sai is more expensive, that's one thing.
the other thing, kak sai got an appointment with the queen in the evening, so she will make me ready at 3pm.
again, to get ready as early as 3pm for an 830pm's occasion is so not cool!

maybe it was my mistake for being less careful.
but i did check with her / remind her about my booking a month before the reception, and everything was okay at that time.

i'm not saying that you can't have her on your wedding.
maybe that was the first and the last time she made that kind of mistake.
or maybe tuhan marah i sebab i nak membazir.
padan muka i kan.

so in that 2 days, i have to find another makeup artist for at-hotel reception.
of course i can't get munie ahmad and zila ziman within that short notice.

i don't have enough time to do extensive research like i always did.
thus, i asked for recommendations from friends.
zila gave me a few names, so did munie.
and finally, i settled with munie's friend, fuzzy.

Fuzzy
event: at-hotel reception

i don't know her personally, but i always saw her with munie & cikli (my other forum's friend) in facebook.
i know that she's in the same industry, but i never checked out her portfolio before.

makeup by fuzzy

overall, i can say that her makeup was quite good except that she can improve on her 'shading' skill.
with her makeup my face looked almost contour-less.
well, contouring is a great way to sculpt your face (if done properly) and can make your face look slimmer than it is, which is very very important for a girl with a big face like me.

anyway, do check out her blog here.

okay lovelies, as i said before, if there's a makeup artist that you are comfortable with and meets all your criteria, book them as early as you can right after you set your wedding date.

because good ones' schedule should be pretty full :)

hantaran deco

to prepare the hantaran was honestly a little-to-no stress moment for me.
probably due to deep passion and great interest towards it, i found it enjoyable.
the hantaran decorations are nothing extravagant.
i managed to apply the "less is more" principle to my hantaran decorations.

so these are the hantarans for him.

i love the artificial flowers & the pink and white pearls that were used on the bases.
they are beautiful, to my eyes.
also, the shocking pink fabrics.
they are adorable, no?

overall, i am quite happy with the end results / the outcomes.

on the other hand, these are the hantarans from his side.

the decorations were done by his aunty (same aunty who did his engagement hantaran).
i love them all too.
they are very beautiful, especially the white rose petals that they used for the base.

ohh by the way, i still have the bases (both sides) with me.
they are still in good condition and i don't know what to do with them or where to keep them all.
thus, i decided to sell them off at a very cheap price.

if you are interested with them, with the condition that you have to take all of them (both sides), i'm letting them go at rm150 only (for all 9 pink & 7 white bases).
meaning less than rm10 per base.
and that's about quarter of the cost price.

worry less, i'll give you some free gifts e.g. ribbons, pearls, etc. (extras from the wedding) so that you can do some addons and whatnot.

so lovelies, if you are interested with the offer, you know what to do.
send me email at aishah_ara@yahoo.co.uk.

update: SOLD already!

room deco

bedroom decorations were done by yours truly.
nothing much, just a moderate shift from A to B.

in fact, i do not fond the typical bridal room decoration.
you know, the one with drapery here and there.
so i decided to settle with modern bedroom look.

this is my bedroom before the makeover.

and before the wedding, it's always looked like this.

haha yes, messy, i know.
yelah kan, there were too many things in progress and all should be completed very quickly because the date was approaching.
and that explains the high level of messy-ness.

it was kinda hard actually to vacate the room to provide space for the new furnitures.
but i've made it!
and of course with many help from the maids and family members.

what i did, i got my room repainted, changed the curtains and the furnitures, bought new bedding sets and a new lamp for bedside table.
the new bedroom sets, which were bought from wescourt, were white in color to complement the wedding theme.
besides, the existing wardrobe, bookrack and towel hangers were also repainted into white.

and...


tada!

here's how it looks on the wedding day.
which i am fully satisfied.

how about you?
what do you think?

hantaran cake & wedding cake

hantaran cake

for him
2 tiers fondant cake with moist chocolate cake inside
vendor: citarasa ummi
note: the pearls on top are installed by myself.

for her
beautifully designed fondant cake with fruit cake inside
vendor: i'm not sure

wedding cake (for cake cutting ceremony)

at-home reception
2 pieces fondant cakes with moist chocolate cake inside
vendor: citarasa ummi
note: the fresh red roses on top are installed by myself. the original cake looked like in the 2nd pic.
extra note: the cake stand is open for rental at rm20 only. interested, email me at aishah_ara@yahoo.co.uk.

bertandang
3 tiers pulut kuning
vendor: specially made by my hubby's talented cousin

at-hotel reception
8 tiers dummy cake
vendor: supplied by the hotel

wedding official photographer

so finally, i've gotten my wedding pics from the official photographer.
i'm so excited because i've waited for the album for so long.
more than 2 months since the wedding.
but it's normal, especially for this particular photographer.
i never pressured him to deliver his job faster, because i wanted him or his team to do their best.

and he did.

nothing to complaint, he did the job very well.
i must say that he's very talented and enthusiastic, yet down to earth person.

i knew him from my friends.
and i started to 'fall in love' with his style of work during my friend's wedding.
he's very hardworking, knows photography really well and always well prepared.
he got so many experiences in photography and has his own style in every pic that he captured.

he started his career as photographer since 1991.
he once worked with berita publishing until 2006.
after that, he started his own photography business, ikram ismail photography.
so yes, ikram ismail is the chosen one.
anyway, his portfolios can be seen here.

so these are among my favorite shots.

ohh that's a lot of fav shots.
haha i had a hard time choosing the best one.

so bride to bes, get him as your wedding photographer.
highly recommended by me and my friends.