Planning a wedding in Bali? PART III

Are you ready for the third part of wedding planning? If you haven't read my 2 previous BlogPost, click on blogpost to read the rest. For readers who have read it, we are going to continue with the next chapter. Food & Beverage!

I basically found the best Balinese buffet style for the wedding day. My husband is european and he has many friends and family who flew all the way to the beautiful island of god. Because of that, we decided to do something different. I guess picking the right caterer is all in your hand. Do you have fancier taste e.g. set menu dining european style. We had attended a wedding where by the bride and groom preferred a set menu european style dining where waiters/waitresses served 3 dishes starting from a starter to dessert. Usually caterers have choices for you to choose from whether its 3, 4 or 5 dishes to serve, everything depending on your budget. They are a little cheaper than Balinese buffet style because of the portion.

We often thought the term 'buffet' will probably cost a lot cheaper than a fine serving set menu. Well, truth be told, we were both wrong! But come to think of it, it was worth the price. It was a pleasant moment dealing with KORI Catering. They are so professional and friendly to work with. We met them at their restaurant as per schedule and we did food tasting without the horrendous wedding planner we fired. We had learnt that food tasting alone with your partner and Kori crew actually gave more freedom compared to having a planner around because you get to give your opinion to change some dishes to your caterer upfront! You can also negotiate in a friendly manner with them (that's what we did). We really loved their professional manners!

We tasted so many food. Price we paid for food tasting was about Rp. 960.000* (SGD96) for 2 pax excluded canapes tasting. We made some changes with our menu and Kori was very easy and told us we could change and with the changes we made, prices were reduced too because we took out some menu we didn't like. There were so much food we couldn't really finish them all. But we enjoyed the time seeing them.

On the wedding day, we finally served:

• 4 types of canapes (Balinese/Western style) -Lumpia (Vegetables Spring Rolls), Cheese tomato with pesto, Bruschetta Avocado and Tomato Salsa and Lemper Ayam (Sticky rice stuffed with shredded chicken). 
• Soto Ayam Soup (Indonesian Soup with shredded chicken)
• Carving station: Babi Guling (Roasted Suckling Pig), Ayam Betutu (Balinese style chicken with special sauce), Nasi Kuning (Yellow rice with coconut milk), White rice and Sambal
• Stir fried vegetables, Potato and Cauliflower curry
• Dessert: Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Date Pudding served warm butterscotch sauce
• Coffee and Tea 

That was a lot of food and guests did not actually finish everything. We had so many left overs and the saddest part was that caterer did not ask if we wanted to keep the food as we were staying longer in the villa. So before we know it, everything was cleared. So much meat to finish. With all the menu we ordered, we paid approximately Rp. 600.000* per head. You could easily spend a good USD40* for a 3 course meal. But I recommend to have a try at kori even just for a nice lunch and dinner. Their place is in kuta, it is easy to find (small alley) and the place is really balinese style. A peaceful restaurant.

The most expensive I'd say would be the beverage. We only took the non alcoholic beverage with them because we brought our own bottle from another seller. They were not so keen to do such a service but they finally gave us the best quotation. Prices ranging from Rp.250,000 and above (per head).

I don't know how else I could praise Kori but we are now so thankful that you made our wedding day a memorable one. Thank you for dropping by to see me before you leave Fheny. You have been very helpful since day one and always reassuring me that there's nothing to worry in regards of the FIRED planner. I was worried but because of many other vendors reassured me, I finally had the best day of my life.

*Prices are subject to change without prior notice

**Sorry, I do not have photos of the catering side because I guess our photographers were too focused on the bride, groom and guests instead of whats on the plate haha. But here is a sweet sweet wedding photo to remember by! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and I'll be back soon!

Planning a wedding in Bali? PART II

So, how far along are you from planning a wedding? Having trouble looking for the right vendors? Don't worry because I have everything you need (not exaggerating) to know from the most important to the least. When a planner tells you "All you need is TRUST". but as long as you have that "GLITCH" inside you, don't let what they tell you about "trust" be the judge in your mind. Follow your heart and listen to yourself.

From the previous Blogpost I made, I talked about how you should start and slowly find your own vendors. I also listed the vendors I used for my wedding back in the 19th of September 2015. I hope those lists will help you (somehow) to make the right choices. If you find that your planner is making you wait too long for one answer, tell them that you couldn't be waiting all the time. Planner will always give you the excuses they can create at any time e.g Busy with clients, had a meeting, big night for client wedding preparation, you name it. We are living in the new era where you have your cellphone by your side 24/7 (don't lie now because I'm sure you sleep with it too). Sometimes it is just funny how they can give any excuses. They could have just replied and said they will get back to us soonest but they left us hanging. Anyways, if you are worried about that, it is best to get your own vendors because that way, you get quotations quicker than some planners. Basically that's how I did it. Fuss free and quick response from vendors. Quicker than a lightning bolt!

I know that there are TOO MANY vendors to choose from, so how did I get them?

- I took all the time I had at home. My husband would pat my shoulder and said "Well done". I did a lot of research and compare prices from all vendors. If you didn't mind a little more work, I'm sure you can do exactly the same. To hire a full time wedding planner (from day 1 til day end), it will cost you more but if you have the "Mula$" and that you have no time to do the things I did, I suggest you to just flow the mula! Back to the question, before picking the one, I also see how quick they responded to my emails. They were mostly QUICK and in the end, it all depends on how they do the quotations and charts. You need a clear chart that indicated e.g 1 boutonnière for Rp. 20,000. You definitely do not want a vendor that stated e.g 1 boutonnière from Rp. 20,000*. With that said, bill will comes out different than your calculation you had in mind.

- Don't be afraid of asking for prices because that's all we need you know!

I found many Florist in Bali. Too many to be exact but just because you do not have many updates on Instagram that doesn't mean you are not a reputable vendor. Communication with vendors is key! If you felt right after meeting with the vendors, you will know what to do next.

Upon meeting with Susy from Bali Wedding Florence, she was a pleasant lady to work with. Very helpful and she gave me ideas with the wedding set up e.g where the altar, food, dance floor will be even though it wasn't her job to tell me in the first place but it was nice to have the vision before. (FYI, my FIRED planner did not even give me any vision about it).

Though there was a little glitch with the flower arrangement, I was happy because the wedding was beautiful. I requested a royal/navy blue but it turned out to be a light blue. Far from what I'd expect on that day but I guess if the light catches the flower in every angle and it's still beautiful, I shouldn't be worried about whether or not its royal blue, navy blue or light blue.

We had roughly 60 guests and every guests had a cone of flower petals to shower us when we walked the aisle. It was such a beautiful moment! We had a beautiful and simple pergola for the ceremony, petals on the ground aisle, tiffany chairs, jars of flowers, white lanterns, candles around the villa, candles floating on the pool, corsages, boutonnières, hand bouquets for bridesmaids and bride. Flowers I pick for the evening was very simple, roses, hydrangea, baby's breath, carnation and tuberose. With those, we spent approx. Rp. 26million (SGD2600)*. I think we had the best deal with whatever we had that evening. If you could find lower price than we did, I salute your hard work ;)

I hope you enjoy reading and also I wish for your hard work to look for the right vendor :)

My beautiful Hand Bouquet by Bali Wedding Florence

Bridesmaids & Bride's Hand Bouquets by Bali Wedding Florence

Susy from Bali Wedding Florence, scattering flower petals

Altar for our ceremony by Bali Wedding Florence

My gorgeous Hand Bouquet and flower petals everywhere!

Just can't get enough of the Hand Bouquet by Bali Wedding Florence

The Best men with their Baby's Breath boutonnière by Bali Wedding Florence

Simplicity is key by Bali Wedding Florence

By Bali Wedding Florence

The night lit up by 80 lanterns by Bali Wedding Florence

We are so thankful for the work from Bali Wedding Florence

Planning a wedding in Bali? PART I

I've finally return from my trip in Australia. I have to say I LOVE AUSTRALIA! Anyways, let's get back to wedding talk. Since there are many couples out there planning to have a wedding in Bali, I'd be honored to share with you my experiences with the vendors I picked. Don't sweat because they are all reputable and guaranteed the best service. 

If you are planning to have a wedding in Bali, you need to bear in mind that Wedding in Bali is rather expensive. It is either you are super loaded or you are the type who would prefer an intimate wedding gathered with only close friends and family. With this post, I'll drop a rough idea about the cost you will have to pay. 

It is never too late to plan your own wedding and have only the wedding planner to help you 3 months prior to your big day. If you have the time of your life to be doing it (planning) then do it! I did my part, It wasn't easy but you learn so much from it. If you are planning to have someone help you from beginning to the end, you will need to expect accepting some vendors recommended by your wedding planner. And because I 'Fired' wedding planner (If you haven't read my previous post, do refer HERE and HERE) in the end I got the wedding I dreamt of having, WITHOUT HER.

If you are planning to hire 'Wedding planner on the day only', they will help you build your run down. All you need to do for yourself is to meet up and talk to your vendors of your choice. Make sure they are legit and as soon as you paid deposit, jot them down in your organizer and make a list. So it will be easier for you to send them all together to your Wedding planner. 

Here are the list of vendors we had on our wedding (I will also show some photos, they weren't the best but I patted myself on my back because I made it all happen):

• Wedding Planner: Bali Dream Day (Kiki)
• Decorator: Bali Wedding Florence (Susy)
• Food & Beverage: Kori Restaurant (Fheny)
• Entertainment/Band: The Soul Entertainment (Putri)
• Photography/Videography/Cinematography: Apel Photography (Pande)
• Photobooth: Photo Story Bali
• Cake: Ixora
• Balloon: Smile Balloon & Party Shop (Zsolt Bartos)

My wedding went smoothly thanks to all the vendors who worked very professionally with me. Conversation with them were very pleasant and easy. The best vendor was my photographer, Pande Kadek Heryana and crew. They were young and talented people. Their rate aren't as expensive as others and they provide you a stunning and memorable photos. Check them out HERE! Since we took all package with them, we received a book of about 100 pages of our photo printed. It is beautiful and also it came with USB and CD for the other photos and also videos. Be ready to spend from *USD3500 (Pre-wedding, Wedding and Videography). Price changes every year so drop by if you want to get the new rate. He's a nice guy and super friendly!

Kiki, Our wedding planner is young and ambitious. As soon as I fired my old planner, I started the conversation very quickly with kiki as we didn't have much time left. Kiki and her crew were very good. Click HERE for the rate! If you wanted a rehearsal (a day before the wedding), there's an extra charges of *Rp. 1million (approx. SGD100). It is optional for you! Every wedding needs a blessing ceremony, bear in mind it would be an additional *Rp. 3million (approx. SGD300). My husband and I were very happy with the priest. He is good and very fluent with english. If you are interested, please refer to Kiki about it. Kiki's coordination fee cost *Rp. 9million (approx. SGD900). 

There are 6 more vendors left to talk about. Wait for the next post if you are interested to have your wedding in Bali. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop me a message :) 

TIL THEN! XOXO

*Prices are subject to change without prior notice

Apel Photography by Pande Kadek Heryana (My Wedding)

I'm so blessed with the wedding I had 38 days ago. Especially everything was recorded beautifully by  my talented photographer from Nusa Penida, Pande Kadek Heryana. I am so happy that I made the right choice. I was given many options but my heart set to just one and only one. There were many others that replied to my email but it wasn't as relax and friendly as Pande aka Apel. He's a very young and carefree photographer along with his crew. They are all young and talented!

He recently posted up our wedding video on youtube. And because I love his work so much, I would like to share it to you readers. I HIGHLY recommended ApelPhotography to anybody who's planning for a wedding in bali soon. You can check his website HERE and simply write to him. He will get back to you as soon as possible. He's unlike other vendors, if you text him, he wouldn't ask you to not text him or that it's for urgent use. He will entertain you with any answers you need from him.

I'll also be continuing to share my vendors experiences and help readers and brides/grooms to make the right choice in picking your right vendors. Wait for the next post ;)  But for now, let's check ApelPhotography's work, Shall me?

Hair cut @ Trimmings Hair Salon and Spa Robertson Walk

A couple of weeks ago I made a big change to my look as soon as the wedding was over. My hair was pretty damaged from all the coloring and bleaching due to the prewedding photoshoot and wedding itself. It was very hard to get it right because I had previously colored my hair jet black. You can imagine what I had gone through in order to get even a tiny bit of color. It was simply impossible to get it. I had to go through many process to get a touch of brown. Bleached at least 3 times and god knows how many layers. 

My hair wasn't THAT long but they are thick. So it kinda made me feel tired to carry it around everyday. Needless to say, to wash it and to see how much hair were dropped and drained by the water. It was rough especially (if you spotted) the inner corner of my hair. They were slightly blonde. It was supposed to be lavender but due to the rapid wash, the color came off.

SO...

There are tons of hair salon in Singapore. They are everywhere in Far East but because I had a couple of hair cuts done there, I wasn't amazed by the result. I had no idea why but I felt the choices at Far East were just too overrated. 

I headed down to Robertson walk to check out Trimmings. I initially wanted the Creative Director to do the cut because I thought if I needed to cut ALOT, I might as well get the best out of the salon. But sadly, the creative director only works on Tuesday and Saturday when I needed to go on Monday. All I needed to do was to whatsapp them to make the booking. It was quick and easy! I was offered to go with the Senior Stylist Benson. He's a modern looking guy with (if I could remember) colored blond/plat hair. It took him quite a while to finish the cut. It is not a complaint, in fact I'd prefer someone to spend a bit more time with my hair and REALLY cut the hair. 

His rate cost me SGD70 and it was all worth it. I'm already planning to go down again for a color for my trip next month. If you are planning to have a hair cut and wonder where you might want to go? Just try out Trimmings. You can easily find them via Google. 

GOOD LUCK!

WORST WEDDING PLANNER IN BALI - BALI WEDDING BUTLER aka BWB

"There are more to the story"

That was what I received from a member from Tripadvisor

To cut things short, I've even more proofs of our conversation via Whatsapp

We used to exchange messages via Whatsapp

There was no issue at all

She never once told us (from the beginning) that we HAVE to email her in regards of the wedding.

UNTIL she decided to ditch us

After she received her USD1200 deposit

She clearly had no respects towards us

Just by reading her messages, it got us so deep!

She tried to be all professional but her messages usually are super long and worst, NO SOLUTIONS!

All talks but no works done! get it?

BALI WEDDING BUTLER IS THE WORST WEDDING PLANNER IN BALI!

It was shameful of you to ask PEOPLE on tripadvisor to write good things about you

You have no shame to do such a thing!

You don't have to act all active in tripadvisor because you were never there

No shame!

Check out below for some of the chat we had previously:

1. The last message we received from her before we contacted her back in March was that clearly she mentioned that she "PROMISE" to send the update on catering vendor. That message was sent somewhere in November 2014. 

2. We decided to message her after she disappeared for 4 months without any news. Even if you had no updates, as a WP you need to come back to your clients to tell them what's going on. Instead of leaving them aside (note: it was 5 and a half months prior to our wedding). Her reply was shocking! She was asking if we were ready for the arrangement!?!?!?!?

3. We clearly had nothing else to say... So, if we hadn't send her any emails, she will never ever get back to us??? Speechless with her services!

4. It is funny which kind of vendors willing to make clients WAIT for their new rate. It was already MARCH 2015! Why the hell did she say she's still waiting for the new rate since NOVEMBER til MARCH with no NEWS UPDATE??? We found it really odd! Call me naive but If you guys are in our shoes, you would have been so pissed by this pathetic wedding planner from BALI WEDDING BUTLER! 

5. So do you all get what I've been saying? The only thing she wanted to DISCUSS were "CONFIRM" and "PAY". There were no discussion about negotiation. The fact that she thought we will ever gonna be using iPOD, that was just ridiculously low of her.

6. She finally became rude by telling us not to message her via whatsapp. I guess everybody knows that everything is recorded when you exchange messages with time and date. We messaged each other since we started paying her so what's the big deal now? The reason why we left no choice but to text you because you took a long time to reply to us. To us, IT WAS AN URGENT DISCUSSION. What do you mean that you will have trouble holding phone and chat? Do you realised that you were handling clients situation and not "FRIEND CHAT"? We are not your friends! We got the procedure, we are just afraid you have no decency and no respects towards your clients. 

More on Bali Wedding Butler with emails exchange between us

It is funny that when someone wrote a negative review on tripadvisor, Tripadvisor members would share their own wedding story with my "Fired" Wedding planner and complimented her in the best possible way. In the middle of their compliments on her, they would say "something is not right with this post". DUDE, tripadvisor members have rights to share their experiences and what benefit do i get to create a "not right" story? I'm not working for anybody! I'm strictly a client who was mistreated badly by her. Just because she is tickling mostly Caucasian, European and American + Australian, that doesn't she will be flawless. Every now and then, when you made a mistake especially mistreating your clients, you bound to get negative reviews.

When you posted reviews on tripadvisor website and when you gave a ONE STAR review to hotel/restaurant/villa etc and other people gave a big fat FIVE STAR, do we call you a liar? do we call you out and say "something isn't right with his/her story because i had amazing time". NO! We are not forced to write our experiences. It is to show people that certain people can be very irresponsible and that they have to be extra careful. They might have had hundreds of client but that doesn't mean they are always perfect. You can always b*tch about your clients but if you are professional, you wouldn't abandoned your client right in the middle of the arrangement, especially after we paid deposit to her.

Just because all of them had a beautiful ending with her, that doesn't mean my stories were fake. If you had a terrible moment with a Wedding Planner and exactly like how my partner and i went thru, you wished to share the experience so others will not be treated that way. I do not care if anybody WILL listen to my story but there are flaws with Bali Wedding Butler. And the flaws she made were very unpleasant and unprofessional.

Because I couldn't share my conversation with her via tripadvisor, here are the screenshots (Sorry for the quality as i didn't know how to print screen via Mac but i finally found how to do it and there's a couple with clear view:

1. Desyana from Bali Wedding Butler quoted that she had already emailed Kathryn the GM of Villa agent. but look at what Kathryn's reply to me...

2. Kathryn said otherwise...  and i replied to her immediately.

3. She started to be rude at the end. It was not done on purpose when my husband sent her the email that he had forgotten to sign his name. but we have our own individual email address so i think it is logic that if it was sent via my email, that would be me who was typing but if it was from his email, that would be him. There's no necessary question in regards of who sent the email. Maybe you should start to ask yourself why we complained in the first place.

4. I simply asked her question regarding the band as i thought she would know better. With that said, her replied show basically she isn't as professional as she thought. She told me Villa has strict rules and that I'm not allowed to have music play until midnight or i'll have to pay etc. BUT... look at what she said in the email. I guess if we HIRED her BAND, we get to have the band til Midnight? and sometime 1pm? I think she meant to say 1am. but yea... from no midnight to 1am. How is it possible to have such an ignorant wedding planner? you have to book vendors from her in order to have her service? omg...

5. I replied to her immediately because i couldn't stand the fact that she's lecturing me after everything i've done and not her. It was all my work and since no problem with the vendors regarding their 'reputable status' and she tried to make everything about her. She told me to do this and do that, contact band, contact decorator, ask them this and ask them that. What is she going to do then? Whats the use for us paying her coordination fee of USD1800? when other wedding planner charges half the price she quoted. With no more patience and hesitation, i replied her as the way she replied to me. I think every human has their limit of tolerance with the kind of people who took kindness for granted. In green are all her answers.

Moses Band Medan

First of all, I would like to share a big Thank You to Moses crew.

It is pretty amazing to know that there is a talented bunch of young crew in Medan.

I was pretty unsure about their talent but boy, they are amazing!

I have to admit I did some mistake 3 days before my big day.

You had no idea how terrible I felt and apologetic.

I realized while going through the invoice Moses sent me.

I contacted Reffy (The leader of Moses Band) and he responded quickly.

Of course, I'm sure with a shock of his life too!

I've never met them in person so it was really hard to get to know the group.

All I could do at that time is to trust Reffy.

He told me not to worry and that he would try his best to fix it.

He's a very sincere and helpful young man.

The good news was that they were available on the big day BUT...

Since they had to hire a grand piano, that came the problem.

The vendor they picked refused to rent it out unless he made penalty payment.

I remember telling him if he needed any help (money wise for penalty) just inform me.

I know I made that mistake so it is obviously my turn to help one another.

He tried in that little days to try negotiate with the piano vendor.

I had so little hope that he could manage to negotiate BUT...

VOILA....!

I think he's a charming guy and probably well known in Medan.

The vendor decided to give a good news to him and to me.

If I hadn't had him and crew, I had no idea how the night would go.

Probably as screwed as you might have thought...

My wedding was very small.

Not more than 250pax but It felt so exhausted but...!

I remembered the MOSES so I made a quick turned (my head) to look at the band.

To see who was the one talking to me all these while.

I watched the singers (A young man and A young lady),

I watched the Pianist...

I think that were the only attractive area in the ballroom :)

I thought It was impossible to make eye contact and MIME to the singers,

So I diverted my vision to the Pianist,

And as you might have guessed, Pianist is Reffy himself.

I made the Miming with my lips saying "Reffy?"

While playing his grand piano, he looked and nodded.

At the end of the wedding, I made a quick Hello to him and his brother.

They are YOUNG, TALENTED ANDDDDDD GOOD LOOKING!

For those of you who are planning for a wedding in Medan,

And are looking for youngblood to play you some bubles, Check them out!

Prices are reasonable.

Again, Thank you for everything Reffy!

Bali Wedding Butler - STAY AWAY!

As some of you might know, I've just had my wedding in beautiful bali. And because of the wedding held in bali, i waited for it to be over so i can tell you guys out there my worst experience with the specific wedding planner.

I found her on tripadvisor posted by someone. She is from Bali Wedding Butler and her full name is Sri Komang Desyana. You can actually find her on google search and linkedin. My husband and I have never met anyone like her. 

I will try to make the story as short as possible:

She was very enthusiastic at first (before you paid her) and replied to us quickly as if she had nothing better to do. But because of her promptness, we picked her. We met up for a quick inspection of the villas and she brought us to villa anapuri and i decided to changed my wedding date from 19 sept to 26 sept (just for anapuri as it was full on 19th). we also initally liked villa arika but we preferred anapuri but we failed to negotiate for better price so we ended up with beautiful arika. (we missed arika)

There was some misunderstanding as i wanted the wedding on the 19th sept at villa arika, she contacted my husband without my knowledge (thru whatsapp) and asked if 26th is ok for arika. Both were in the wrong as they did not mention it to me. 19th at arika was booked by others and i was not too happy (that's why i prefer email with CC). We almost lost the villa to other couple but luckily, they released the booking. (i found arika on my own without her help)

After paying her the sum of USD1200 (coordination fee for 80 pax + commitment fee (both 50%)), we proceeded with vendors. We tried to ask her to help negotiating with the vendors of her choice but she failed to deliver. She did not even try to ask for best price. She insisted us to make downpayment (50%) and negotiate later on. I think smart people will never do that :)

Because of her ignorance, we decided to move forward with our own vendors (reputable one of course). She promised to come back with another catering vendor but again, failed to do so. She disappeared for as long as 4 months from november 2014 til march 2015. My husband emailed her and she replied that caterer did not give new rate. It was already march, i guess every vendors want to make a dime!

Since she refused to work, we decided to give her the vendors we will be working with. She was "OK" with it. She wasn't happy because we did not pick any of her vendors (if she worked well, we will take some from her). She even said we have to take their "BAND" called AZIMUTH. but i guess like every other couple, they would check out the vendor mentioned to see if they are really as good as how she described. again, failed to see information about such band. That's when i found Soul Entertainment.

I still took her as an experienced WP (she mentioned couple of times that her clients always said her work is beyond expectations) and because of that, i was looking for an advise from her regarding DJ. she did not try to help me (that's a wedding planners' job). Instead, she said "You talk to the band, You have to talk to decorator.. you this and you that." She also mentioned that her crew and herself will leave the premises before 12am regardless of other vendors still in the compound. My heart sank.. I wanted to cry because it was 3 months away from our big day. by now you know how i felt. It was a nightmare.

She used to scare us about other vendors outside her comfort zone. She is so negative about everything but herself. She mentioned other caterer uses cheap staff and that they will not deliver. But because i'm an indonesian myself, i was not scared. Everything is all about social media. We know good vendors from reviewers. 

She also threatened us by making a complaint with Bali Wedding Association. Little did she know, I know some people who had mentioned to me that she doesn't have good relation with the owner. 

At the end, We know we HAD TO fire her. Before we do so, i contacted bali luxury villas (villa agent for arika) and talked to the General Manager Kathryn Whyte. She was very helpful and we finally fired desyana. With proper and respectable email, we sent her one last email to tell her we no longer needed her services. 

After all the complications, she still managed to pat herself in the back. Mentioned she intro us to Soul Entertainment when the one sh intro was AZIMUTH. It was funny really... The Wedding Planner Bali Wedding Butler was so bad we had to dismiss her. If we hadn't, i wonder what it would become. But because we fired her, we had the best wedding ever in Villa Arika. 

Just a little advise for couple out there who are planning for a wedding, and if you have a bigger wedding (more than 50), find someone who is reputable from Bali Wedding Association. You can find good vendors via the website and if they did not deliver, you can make a report to the association. I've learnt my lesson and only advise i can give is to always make sure your planner is legit and well mannered. After all, you don't want your money to go to waste. We wasted USD1200 for her NOT doing anything but things happened for a reason. I guess the reason is this :)

Cheers!

(I've tried to summarize as much as possible, I might have left some informations. Feel free to ask any questions. But no questions from YOU DESYANA)

Twiggy Salon @ Penang Island (Malaysia)

What do you think of my new hair color? (Look below Before and After)
I know I'm not supposed to even chop my hair for the wedding but because it was too heavy for me to handle, i just had to do it.

If you travelled down to Penang island, malaysia, and if you like the style, go down to Twiggy Salon at Pulau Tikus or Macalister road. My hair stylist was Franson. Hair cut cost me RM50 and hair color for long hair is at RM280. But if you want to do the way i did, it will cost a little more.

But I had such a good time chit chatting with the stylist. He is a talkative man. I got my hair in brown with lavender ash.

Age doesn't define Maturity

Age doesn't define maturity. Some people can never grow up.
Despite all the experiences they have gone through.

Most people get older and they get smarter and wiser.
But for some, they stayed the same and forever be an ass.

A Wise man will not tolerate negative influence.
For some people, it is pure pleasure to ruin people's life.

A Wise man ain't a hypocrite.
They know what they are talking about and are usually make sense.

A Wise man will never shut people down.
Instead, they always have a better solution to work things out.


A Wise man knows boundaries.
Those who has lesser knowledge of being a wise person would go beyond your expectations.

A Mature man knows when to stop playing games.
Games that most people could see it wasn't a pleasant games.

A Mature man doesn't spread rumors.
They don't kiss and tell.

A Mature man listens but they never judge.
They judge only from what they see.

A Mature man doesn't need a leader/pack.
They always stand tall on their own.

A Mature man has many good friends.
Good friends that doesn't just gossip/b*tch about people but real good conversations.

If you realized that your life are basically the opposite of the above, You need a wake up call. May that be from your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, your lover but probably best to have a wake up call from YOURSELF. Stop being Vain just because you think its fun. Quit bitching just because you thought you can go anywhere with that. Mainly, STOP BULLYING! One day when life gets tough, you will taste your own medicine.

Photo courtesy: @Lifehackquotes

Cross them off the list!

Inviting friends aren't easy, especially our big day!

It is funny how we used to hang out, dinner, partying and as time goes by we all grew apart.
Friends become selfish, arrogant and envious towards one another.
Friends started to intentionally bullied (mentality) and expected to attend our wedding.

When those people we used to call friends started to disrespect us,
All we needed to do was to cross their name off the list.
Because of a petty little fights among the boys,
One of them started to be nosy and the other started to spit junk out of his mouth.

He quoted :
"I will not go to your Bachelor Party and I will not Attend your wedding"

If you were the kind of friend who knows how to appreciate Friendship,
I doubt you had that heart and mind to say such a thing.
If you had the guts to ruin a friendship over PETTY LITTLE THINGS,
Boy oh boy... You are nobody.
FYI, it was out of obligations that you were first invited,
But We are gladly uninvited you in the end because you know what...
You ain't worth it.

You lot know Bitchin' and that's all you lot do best.
Have you done anything great throughout your life?
The only thing you love doing are talk shit about other people,
Especially STRANGERS!

We are so happy that finally our real friends are attending our big day!
Let the losers find their way to shitty land.

Late post on the 6th of June 2015

The 6th of June 2015 was the most memorable day of our lives
That was the date we called ourselves Husband and Wife
We celebrated our Semi Big Day at Singapore Botanic Gardens
Along with my parents, sister and a friend from Penang
My husband's friends were there to witness too

A couple of months before we picked the date,
I struggled to find the right Solemnizer
As many as we all know that there were some negative comment on some Solemnizer
I was afraid I picked the wrong one.

There were a few that I contacted but most of them were busy
They are usually booked by other couples too

After quite a few emails, I received a respond from Dr. Eileen Aw
She is a pleasant woman and after a couple of emails,
We paid a visit at her beautiful home
She is a kind person and she joked too!
She told us what to do and reminded us of important documents

Since we were still confused with the location,
(ROM office is close on saturday and sunday)
I asked for Dr. Eileen Aw's advise as we were looking for small/informal ceremony
She suggested to go to Singapore Botanic Gardens
Both of us agreed to it!

The ceremony on that day was quick and easy
There were no complications whatsoever
We took a couple of photos with Dr. Eileen Aw
I was so blessed and happy to have her as my Solemnizer.

We also packed a token of Appreciation (Red Packet)
Since we read some comments about red packet,
We were quite nervous how much to give
And so we gave SGD60.
The ceremony lasted less than 5 minutes.
Like I said, It was QUICK and EASY!

Thank you Dr. Eileen Aw!
P.S: For some of you out there who is looking for a good Solemnizer, You can contact her HERE GOOD LUCK!

The Worst Quality from a Wedding Planner

When you are working in the service industry
the first thing that comes in your mind is Quality service
without quality, you might as well dump you job and find something else

I have never met anybody who works in the service industry that gave poor services
UNTIL!
I met the one and only, our (EX)wedding planner.
We are so disappointed with her work...

She did not feel any remorse when we cancelled their service
there was no QUALITY in her service at all.

For those who are planning to have your wedding in Bali and if it's max 100 guests,
All i'm saying is that YOU can manage it yourself
It is not hard to communicate with Vendors of your choice.

You have every rights to find them as long as they are reputable for Villas
I wish i could be a wedding planner and that way, you would know what they are charging you
and what direct vendors will charge you.

Beware and always follow your guts.

Cheers.

Fire your Wedding Planner before It is TOO late

Most people said "Do not be afraid to FIRE your wedding planner".
As soon as If your WP is unethical and has nothing but the wrong Etiquette to talk to clients
I have to say, THEY ARE NOT THE ONE FOR YOU.

My planner has been a disaster.
Note that I'm no BRIDEZILLA!
I've been nothing but patience with her (including my partner) but she gave us no solutions.

Besides bad job, she also threatened one of the vendor I picked.

But I'm happy that I'm about to get a better certified WP.

Stay tune to know who I was talking about.

Hate is a Harsh word

When I talked about people, It's a sin
But when YOU talked about people, It's suddenly a word of wisdom.

People may spread false rumors but If you wanted to do so,
At least look yourself in the mirror and do yourself a favor
Before you spread the city with all your germs.

Trying to make others think about the negative of a person
It certainly reflect back to you
About what kind of person you are, really.

Hate is a serious word to use
You hate a person
Let that be for yourself
Don't ever try to influence your thoughts to others
Not everyone will be listening to you

As much as I dislike them
I don't spread around the shitz about you lot.

Have some respect for yourself
Oh wait, you don't deserve one.

P.S: Thank you god for listening to my prayer. At least one of my wish came true :)

Peace out!

Bali Wedding Planner

All I can say for now is...

Wedding planner that I found from BALI is such a pain in the a**.

And also one particular Vendor that I hand picked myself (It's not even planner's PICK) wasn't grateful that I found her. I guess Balinese are just eager to rip foreigners off their pockets.

After the wedding, I will tell you guys more about the charges Balinese Wedding Planner (At least the one I have right now) make you pay. I've done by duties as the "Second Wedding Planner". Basically, I'm the MAIN wedding planner :) and once you know how much (double triple quadruple) they charge you, you'd be shocked! To those who are loaded, I understand you have sh** load of cash to throw and spoil the Balinese Planners but to those who are good and reasonable with the money, just take some time to do some research. It won't cost you a dime to be aware of what you are paying for.

I have to say, I've done a good job!

Stay tune and Sorry for the long break :P

Raw Kopi Luwak Beans

Ordered too much Luwak coffee aka Civet coffee
Originally from Sumatra Indonesia
For coffee lovers out there, you know Sumatra has the best Luwak :)
And also the most expensive coffee in the world!

Once you had it, you would want more!

I have 2 bags of 500gram, if anybody is interested please leave me your email add
I'll get back to you shortly.

Cheers!

Six months away from our big day

There are so much to do but so little time
I've been contacting many vendors for the wedding
Needless to say I have an unreliable wedding planner based in Bali
And yes, I'll be having two wedding events: My hometown and Bali
The island of god :)

I will sum up the stories after my wedding (About unreliable wedding planner)

Realizing how much things need to be done consumes me
Since I won't be needing much help from my planner,
I had to handle things my own
From F&B to Decorations and Entertainment (band and Photo Booth) to Wedding cake alone
I've had much fun learning to be my own wedding planner ;)
Sometimes it may seemed time is catching up,
But sometimes I felt the time is enough for me to settle everything
Now, that's a good thing!

So far, I've been lucky to have met good vendors and everything settled smoothly
(fingers crossed it will be smooth on that day itself)
Transactions/deposits went through smoothly as I hoped!

Thank god we are having an intimate wedding in Bali
I couldn't imagine what it would be like if you had more than 100 pax
Let alone 80 pax (Very intimate)
The fact that villas in Bali are very strict and that we were given a curfew
After midnight, there are no party allowed in the premises
With the existence of such rules, Villa is still a better choice compared to hotel/resort
Even though hotel/resort gives you less stress but the fact that you are given the privacy you need on you wedding day.

Last year we went to Ayana resort and there was a wedding event (outdoor)
Even though they blocked the premises, outsiders were able to watch and take photos
Something that some of you wouldn't like!
That is the reason why we picked villa

But bear in mind that if you picked Villa, you'd require to have a wedding planner
A wedding planner who will handle basically everything for you
All you need is a pocket full of "Greens" and a "YES" to everything he/she says

------------------

When it comes to my hometown wedding (it will be in medan),
Things are slightly easier and simpler
Since we will be doing it in JW Marriott, our event manager helps us a lot
Compared to the planner in Bali... oh boy...! *pissed*
And also I'm not picky whereas my partner is pickier* than me!
e.g1: He needs the table to be rectangular instead of round
e.g2: He wants to have petals shower
Boy has some wedding issue haha!

The most important question and many were asking...
What about the wedding dress?
I've decided to get it tailored;
Something simple and nice to look at :)
I've had some tailored for my pre-wedding photoshoot too
I'm super excited to see what it will turn out
So, stay tune to see and if it turned out beautiful I'll feed you girls information about the dress.

Wish me luck and thanks for reading!