Hi Guys,
I had been MIA for some time and so sorry for that as I was busy going back and forth to the hospital as well as planning my engagement party. I have the proposal story for you guys coming soon in my next post so do not miss it yah. Without any more nonsense, let me share with you guys the details of my engagement day/party. We have dated for almost 9 years now and as we had been through struggles (family issues, admitted into the hospital, my boyfriend’s car broke down,my boyfriend’s car got sabotaged, my boyfriend’s and his car got into an accident, guys who are approaching me to cancel the engagement) , I am officially engaged with my high school sweetheart/ long term boyfriend / my bestfriend !!! Everything was better than I imagined it to be. Since it was planned in a short period of time, I had to do the DIY kind of style and save budget.
Makeup by the wife of my fiance’s best friend – RM150
Photographer by my best friend since elementary school until now who freelances doing photography – RM250
Videographer by two of my colleagues who also freelances in photography/videography – FREE! because they want my engagement video as their portfolio. Nice right? I will upload it on the blog as soon as I get my hands on them. Still in editing process.
Dress from a local boutique – RM399
Veil from Jakel Shah Alam – RM100
Shawl from a small hijab kiosk shop – RM55
The Dias or ‘Pelamin’ (for those who do not know what ‘pelamin’ is, google it : ) yah ) – Well, it was DIY thing done by my sister-in-laws. So FREE.. Renting one would normally cost me RM300 so I cut it off and choose DIY style instead which turned out amazingly beautiful. So THANKS GUYS!
The ‘hantaran’ (decoration and items) – DIY done by me and the total costs about RM600. Some items on the ‘hantaran’ were sponsored.
Caterer sponsored by my dad which cost RM1700 for 150 guests.
Doorgifts costs RM150
I had a blast and my fiance loved how well it was planned. He was worried how the DIY dias will look like and was amazed to the end product. We had photos taken during the ceremony and despite of having people complaining about my makeup, I still had a wonderful time. What do you guys think? It wasn’t that bad right? But in my opinion, you should not complain about the bride-to-be makeup in front of the bride-to-be. Before you agree or disagree, you need to know that I am those type of girls who do not wear makeup at all..like really at all. The reason is because I do not want to ruin my skin as I have very sensitive skin. Also, I have small eyes so of course, I need to make them pop out a bit more. So they may not be used to it once I do have makeup on.
Here is what they said: ‘Makeup is too thick.Hate it!”
‘Hate the falsies’
‘Your eyes look so dark’
‘Hate it. Do your own make up next time’
Honestly, I thought the makeup was great and my fiance loved it. So who cares what others say right? As long as I am happy is what matters. But it did hurt when they didn’t consider my feelings at all. I do not have the budget to hire expensive make up artist and I hardly do not know how to do my own makeup to make it visible in photos. I like everything to be nice and simple, that’s all.
Please, I never judge people and their choices because everyone has their own reasons. So please respect my decisions as I am the one who knows what I want for my engagement day and future wedding day. At the end of the day, when everything does not turn out as I planned with my taste, I would not be sincerely happy. Every girls dreams of having their own dream wedding since being a little girl. Me too. I do not want bad feelings on my special occasions. I just want to be happy. So do take note, do not meddle in other people’s wedding plans if not asked. I am not a demanding girl. I want everything to be simple, sweet, nice and not over budget. Why? Because when all is done, I still have a wedding to plan and even after the wedding (which everyone seems to forget) comes marriage. Never forget that people. Me and my fiance need to plan our financial. People will not understand the behind-the-scenes stress we are coping with. But whatever, I am happily engaged with the man I love! No matter what others say, I will always have this man by my side.
So in the Malay tradition, this is how we get engaged. The mother of the boyfriend slips on the ring to make it official, not the boyfriend. The reason is it gives two families a time to get to know each other before the wedding. There will be two sides (the girl’s side & the boy’s side) seating in discussion of the wedding basic details. Only older men in both families can participate in the discussion. The boyfriend cannot see the girlfriend until the ceremony is done and also cannot seat together during the discussion. Meanwhile, the girl has to wait upstairs away from the discussion and only come down for the ring ceremony when the discussion ends.
Wearing a shawl / veil shows the sign of respect for the elders, but we can also do without one. I choose to wear one that day.
And there are two rings to be given on the engagement ceremony. A gold band ask a sign to ask if the girl is booked yet and still available. A white gold diamond ring to seal the deal for a wedding in the future. This is part of the Malay culture in Malaysia. Of course, there are a lot more which I did not state here or this post will be toooooo long. Haha Check out some photos I got from the photographer!
norelannie 