Wedding snippets: Planning the big day

We promised to give a little sneak peek into our married life. But before someone gets married, there is the wedding. And before that, a whole lot of preparation goes in to it.

We got engaged over a year ago on the 10th January 2009, after having dated for four years. Right from the beginning, we knew were meant to be. Of course, there was a lot of drama going on too (every relationship has its ups and downs).

However, me and Fai were very much blessed. Nothing major really stoppped us from moving forward. But that didn’t mean the wedding preparations weren’t stressful. Well, at least for me it was.

First stop was booking the andaman (bridal outfits and make-up artist). Right from the beginning, I knew who I wanted to do my make-up (remember my cousin’s wedding – Kak Raudhah and Abg Aziz?). Yup! I got the same lady (Cik Rita from Ratu Weddings) to do both my hijab and make-up. 

Getting my preferred make-up artist was not easy. We had to make our bookings at least one year before the big day – she was that popular! We booked her without setting a date.

And setting a date wasn’t easy. Having relatives from various parts of the world, we had to consider everyone in. On top of that, Fai’s mum (my mother-in-law), requested that we get solemnised on Thursday evening (malam Jumaat) because it is auspicious.

Meanwhile, my family wants the dates to fall within the first 15 days of the Islamic month.

After the dates have been picked, we set out to book our dais and hall decoration. I believe that this is one of the easiest task me and Fai experienced. We both fell in love with the same decoration design (we have similar taste). The pricing was reasonable too. We booked Krystal Wedding for their decoration services.

On the same day, I booked the wedding videographer, Cinematic Lens. While all these plans were happening, my parents and Fai’s parents booked the caterers – Draman and Sons Wedding Services, and Hassan Rabit Catering respectively.

After all the bookings have been done, all we had to do were wait. Wait for the big day while we plan other nitty gritty details such as wedding invites, cakes and gifts.

Another important thing we had to do is attend a marriage preparation course. In Singapore, Muslims have to go through a marriage preparation course. The course which we participated in (at Al-Falah Mosque) was very interesting and we discussed everything from communication, financial planning, sex, planning a family, dealing with in-laws and even dividing of chores.

When the big day draws nearer, about a month (at least) before the wedding, we sent out our invites and alerted our closest relatives and friends about their duties. Some of them even flew in from Australia, Germany and UK almost two months before the wedding.

For those of you who are planning a wedding, remember to send out your invites at least a month before your wedding. Also, remember to send them personally to relatives, close friends and their parents (if you know them and they know you). Failing to do so is just plain RUDE!

Overall, both me and Fai had fun planning our wedding but I think the stress got to me more than him. Thus, he felt my wrath. I chased Fai for every little thing (he was supposed to book the Kadi as well as the marriage prep course); but because I had no patience, and Fai was too slow, I did everything. LOL!

So, are you planning to get married?