THROWBACK 30TH JANUARY 2016 - TYCA'S WEDDING

No recipe today...ha..ha infact today's post is very personal and I'm so excited to finally share it,  it's  my daughter's wedding day.

After 6 months of engagement, Allah unites them in this beautiful Ijab & Qabul. The ceremony took place in the Al-Azim Mosque Saturday 30th January 2016. The  solemnization started immediatey after zohor and ended around 3.00 pm. The timing is just nice After the pair was pronounced husband and wife, we moved to Farrar Place for reception dinner.

No words can describe how thankful I am for this amazing bond between two souls and two beautiful families, May Allah bless their marriage with sakinah mawaddah wa rahmah. May it be a smooth journey until jannah.

AZRAI & ATIQAH STORY

Atiqa & Azrai off beat wedding at a glance:

Tyca and  Azrai , both 22, met in college and became a couple when something ‘clicked in to place’.

Right after graduation they got engaged and knew they wanted to get married straight away. They  also knew they didn't have a huge amount of money, and and had a huge number of family and friends. They were trying to achieve a significant  wedding on a small budget. Initially they wanted a simple registry office wedding  but …then again it was an event of a life time so they decided to have the wedding simple but be significant for everyone to  have a reason to be there

For those reasons it made my life easier, and as a mom cum wedding planner it gave me a solid reason to do away with the "adat" which is costly ....I skipped that a lots. There's no "hantaran" no "hantaran money",  no "makan beradap", no "malam berinai"  no "bersanding and no "bunga telur"

We opted for  intimate gathering of guests to celebrate. Keeping the guest list to our nearest and dearest is a decision we think we'll always appreciated

Its Tyca’s choice.  In her mind, it was more important to put money toward her future with her husband than throw away thousands of dollars on one day

When all was said and done, her beautiful wedding was only a few thousand dollars, and all that cash that would've been wasted on an expensive reception hall or a five-star sit-down catered dinner went toward their future planning and honeymoon

THE WEDDING CONCEPTS

Tyca wanted a relaxed, informal  wedding away from the Malay traditional wedding with a big gathering after to celebrate  so we chose to have a backyard gathering. A great way to save on venue costs, they naturally add a homey vibe and make the day feel extra personal relaxed and having fun, so we picked a theme that we think our guests will enjoy and run with it also offering an atmosphere that's much more memorable.

THEME COLORS

When we were first picking out inspiration boards I think it was important to us to do something unique and bold. Then when we started to brainstorm I got really excited about all the different elements that were coming together.

I  love black and wanted to find a way to use black to inspire brides not to be afraid of dark tones. Black is chic and has a sophisticated mystique. When paired with the right balance it can make a grand statement so we chose gold as the perfect companion because it screams luxury. Our décor was simple yet significant and complemented our couples’ style so eloquently.

Tyca agreed with the black and gold and I worked my preparations around the theme color

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 THE VENUE

Our guests list was too small for a hotel or even a hall so we decided to go for a vacation home. We found it in Dengil. We can’t put into words how incredible everything about the venue was. Farar Place was the only place we went to see and instantly knew it was perfect for us. It is in the most beautiful setting with amazing trees and plants and we really feel like we’ve stepped into the countryside/Kampung . We love being outdoors, we chose to have a  themed backyard gathering. 

We had the evening reception at the backyard and it was breathtaking. With it sold rustic tents wrapped in fairy lights it truly is a unique magical place.

The compound is huge although it feels so quaint and cosy, it is set out so we can see all of our guests and the atmosphere was indescribable. The living too is huge, we can accommodate guests chit chatting catching up old time sake.

Not only that,  it has four rooms that we  accommodated family members from outstation

It is a family run venue and the staff are a credit to them, the time, love and care they put into the wedding makes it feel as though our wedding is so important to them.

The Wedding Venue - Farar Place, Dengkil

The Living Room

The Couple Bedroom

Bedroom For Guest

THE BRIDE’S DRESS

Tyca’s dress was from a boutique called Gubah Sanding. A very good package that we got through The Wedding Expo. Gubah Sanding knew that we wanted something simple and match with the wedding theme color so we were given a few selections to choose, we found two, one for the nikah with a sheer delicate chiffon lace and for the evening Tyca swapped  for gold satin with beads. The shoes and the hijab veils were simple colour to work with the satin lining of the dress.

To complete the look, she wore our DIY fresh flower hand bouquet.

With the wedding being quite small in size and very informal, we had no dress code for the guests. We wanted the wedding to be a very relaxed and no fuss party.

 THE GROOM AND THE GROOMSMEN

The groom and his groomsmen all wore standard black suits. "I've always loved this timeless look

THE BRIDEMAIDS

Tyca had 2 set of wonderful bridesmaids, her sibling, cousin and her bff. Siblings and cousin wore black with cream hijab and BFF wore white with cream and soft brown hijab.  They chose the dresses themselves. They all chose fantastically and they fitted perfectly together

Bridesmaid in Black and Ivory hijab - Tyca's sisters

Bridesmaid in White - Tyca's friends

THE DÉCOR AND THE DETAILS

We did  all ourselves. We based it on our theme color  black and and hints of gold. Turning the backyard  into a wedding venue was a huge family affair, we were so lucky with the help that we had bringing it all together. The caterer  help us with the canopies and fairy light ceiling

We wanted to keep everything looking simple, elegant and relaxed, with lots of golds, whites and creams.The groom  did an amazing job at designing and making the invitations card, all of our signage, including our initials on the reception and candy bar.

Tyca’s aunties did all of the place settings and the table plan, the favours,  We have to say an enormous thank you to Tyca’s cousin, who knocked up the incredible reception counter in a matter of hours. It was amazing that so many people chipped in and made it possible to DIY so much, it meant the day had exactly the feel and look that we wanted and imagined.

THE INVITATION CARDS

We organised the invitations in two ways, online and printed cards. Tyca did mostly online invitations but had about two dozen printed and mailed to family and a few older family friends who don't do computers. Both online and printed invitations were designed by the groom with hints of theme colors decorated with gold dollies.

They had a little wedding website which was nice; it had a section on the event with the bride and groom modeling ideas which took out a lot of the guesswork, as well as detailed location information. It was very convenient and the invitation was on the same domain, and when guest RSVP'd they were autodirected to all that information.  How wonderful technologies work 

THE SIGNAGE

Wedding signs are an extremely attractive addition to help decorate wedding venue, but somehow we don't really have much of it except for a simple signage with lighting "pelita" to direct people around at the wedding venue, hand-written chalked board welcoming guest and mini chalked board on the dessert table displaying different types of sweet treats and flavor served

THE TENT/CANOPIES

One thing good about canopies, it came together with catering. We just request our preference. We picked gold and cream for the scallop and banquet chair. My son helped out with the fairy lighting and I did the centerpiece

THE DAIS

Though we skipped the "bersanding and renjis-renjis' we still favor the dais. We were lucky it came together with the wedding dress package....a very good saving. Again we go for simplicity ...soft tone backdrop with cleopatra chair.

THE CENTERPIECE

Inspired by the idea in  Pinterest DIY wedding, I made this centre piece. I used mason jar for the candles and baby breath. Baby’s breath is long-lasting and inexpensive. I gt it from the whole seller in China Town. Baby breath makes it a perfect flower for couples trying to stick to a strict budget while wedding planning. Its so beautiful

THE GUESTBOOK

This is interesting, I found this in pinterest, got so excited about it and asked the groom to design the tree. Fingerprint Trees are a large scale tree drawn with only branches, and each of the guests is encouraged to print their thumbprint or fingerprint in ink on it as a leaf, and to sign their name beside their leaf. 

By the end of the wedding, the tree is covered in little fingerprint leaves. Its awesome, the result is a beautiful keepsake and piece of art that  can frame and hang on  wall as a constant reminder of a fabulous day

THE WEDDING FAVORS

It is traditional to give wedding favors to guests as an appreciation for their loving support. The cost of favors can be fairly expensive, but somehow we were lucky to have Tyca's auntie and uncle sponsored the wedding favors.

I made some myself, for the groom's families, Tyca's bridesmaid, groomsmen and families members helping with the arrangement. Something simple with personal touch.

 Paper Box decorated with gold dollies filled with chocolates, nougat, fudge, for groom's families

Mini Manson jar filled with candied nutmeg for all - sponsored by Tyca's auntie

Mini Glass filled with Ferrero Rocher for all sponored by Tyca's uncle

chocolate chip cookies  - perfect favor for guests with a sweet tooth!- dedicated to the working team

Guests with wedding favor

THE FOOD

Food Events were incredible. The catering was provided by Rampai Caterer, great professionals who only work with local produce of great quality The food was amazing, everyone loved it. They went out of their way to make it perfect for us from designing canopies to a top notch three course buffet menu, we couldn’t have been happier.

We wanted to make the most of the outdoors and the garden so, rather than having sit down , we organized some BBQ by Chef Lubis, we had a cold buffet which allowed people to mingle and catch up with each others

THE DESSERT TABLE

The dessert table you see is not any ordinary dessert table – it holds the time-tested and well-loved recipes from my blog. The dessert table was my favorite part because it showcased my blog recipes the perfect personal touch...ha..ha  I spent an entire week baking.

My sister in-law arranged the dessert table decor using what ever soft decor item found in the vacation. We don't emphasized much on the decor, we keep it simple but with lots of treats We had large jars filled with the Bride’s Favorite – fancy cookie – and the Groom’s Favorite – chocolate fudge

 

THE WEDDING CAKE

I  made the cake , it was four tier Victoria Sandwich Sponges stacked on top of one another iced with fondant, decorated with lacy sugarveils and a ivory intricate sugar flowers. This cake happened to be one of the best I produced.

SWEET HEART TABLE FOR TWO

Instead of the traditional, "makan beradap" we changed to "Sweet Heart Table" something that came out of sudden, when we first arrived at the venue we spotted beautiful dining chair, we thought it would be good to use it for the bride and groom.... less is more so we made it really simple.. flowers and candles

THE ENTERTAINMENT


We didn’t feel the need for a band or DJ. In the months preceded the wedding, both Tyca and Azrai worked on building a wedding playlist using Google Music.  Both spent months on their playlist grouping songs that would go well together, keeping in mind the flow of the night 

We wanted music playing the entire event, from the moment the first person walked through the gate until the last person left. 

Basically we had three main playlists,  dinner, cake cutting and all of the important moments. Thousand Years by Christina Perry was the couple wedding and entrance song and obviously a song to remember

Tyca's maid of honour Ms Juliana Chin and Ms Pui Yee stepped in as an Master of Ceremony helping out with program announcement  and music

LOVE STORY VIDEO

Honestly, I've not seen this yet....somehow Tyca and Azrai made this video, they showed their Love Story video on a projector screen at the  dinner.  

THE FAVOURITE MOMENT

It was a very emotional wedding all throughout. Tyca and Azrai  friends  made lovely speeches, which touches the heart. There was a lot laughter too...ha..ha all the mixed feeling.

FOR THE ALBUM - FAVOURITE WEDDING PHOTOS

Let's load them all, moments to capture.

The Bride's Cousins

PHOTO BOOTH

Its trending now, and something fun to have. The photo booth section was a compliment from the wedding dress vendor. Simple and cozy match with the theme color

THE PHOTGRAPHER

KRIKKRIK  was our wedding photographer they were outstanding, they managed to catch some incredible moments without being intrusive, and organize the most amazing group shots. They ere  truly very talented. We wanted someone who matched our relaxed and natural style. We  cannot thank them enough for what they  provided, complete with some incredible pre wedding shots.

THE FINAL THOUGHTS

We wanted Tyca’s wedding day to reflect their personalities, their lifestyles and the way we they do things. We organised it in less than 3 months and almost everything was planned and done by ourselves. Our friends and family traveled from different parts of the country to be with us so we wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. 

Quite a few of them arrived a few days before the wedding and helped us to prepare the big day. It felt like we had a small festival and everyone having a part made the wedding day very special.

We are so thankful to everyone involved in the big day it’s overwhelming to have everyone that we love and care about most all around. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was THE best weekend for us ever! ALLAHAMDULILLAH everything went perfectly as plan and importantly all done within budget. We are a strong believer in making things small and simple, ha..ha “small and simple” is our mantra. Ring? Small and simple. Flowers? Small and simple. Venue? Small and simple,  we believe at the end the day its better to have a big life than a big day. ..ahamdulillah