A Decade of Love (Part 2: Orchidville Reception)

Just how overdue is this post?

Been very, very occupied with work, mainly and correspondence with Fadzil of Rolling Frames for our wedding video, as well as Fadly for our photos — which I’m happy to say are all now in our hands! I couldn’t be happier with they way they turned out and the fact that I didn’t have to wait like a year or something, unlike some of the horror stories I hear about other vendors.

So hooray, I get to use some of the photos here in my post! And I’ll post the videos in my next entry!

Continuing from where I left off, now that the serious and most important part of the wedding was over (phew!), true to my Mak Andam’s words, the next day’s reception was all about having fun.

That afternoon, while I was getting dolled up, my siblings and friends who were helping run some last minute errands at Orchidville texted me pictures of the decor which shot me straight up to cloud nine:

No words can describe the joy I felt when I saw the decor. Years of planning and seeing it on paper, and I finally get to see it in the flesh!

I knew from first sight that this hall in Orchidville would be the venue. I saw its permanent installation of rustic branches and traditional lamps set within birdnest-like fixtures and I was sold. TWC softened the look by draping soft chiffon in dusty pink from the branches.

I was a little alarmed though when I saw the dais (it wasn’t this green hedge backdrop that we fell in love with and requested), but upon explanation I had to agree with the last minute switch to a subtle white glitter tulle. The green hedge we wanted would’ve simply looked too crude in its soft surroundings. Well, sometimes plans change due to unforeseen circumstances, and I totally understand that. In fact, I came to LOVE our new dais. It was simple because it needed to be, but definitely classy! Kudos again to TWC for knowing design and applying it instead of blindly following requests.

Just how gorgeous is this outdoor seating area?! Love love love all the greenery! The vines hanging from the creepers gave a dreamy garden ambience and the parasols TWC added really completed the look!

Remember I had mentioned that one of my biggest worries was the weather? Despite my constant conversation with Him throughout my journey to Orchidville, the skies darkened and drizzled. I had begun to feel upset because I felt my prayers were in vain but I kept up my conversation with Him and although He didn’t give me sunshine, He did make me feel better about it.

By the time I reached Orchidville, it was pouring but any feeling of dissatisfaction completely vanished when I saw just how many people were present to celebrate us despite the rain. It was truly a heartwarming moment. In fact, the weather actually lended somewhat of a cosy feel to our wedding — but that’s probably because everyone was huddled together. I can’t speak for my poor guests who had a hard time making their way to Orchidville in the rain, though….

I don’t do so well in the spotlight so I felt pretty awkward sitting there all alone. But once I had the company of guests who started coming up to the dais for photos, I started to loosen up.

This was the pastel blue peplum songket I so fell in love with! Very Scha Alyahya. I have to thank Fatimah Mohsin for letting me be the first bride to wear this. My nikah outfit was brand new as well! I was ready to plunge into depression because I didn’t connect with any of the other dresses, but man, these two brand new pieces were screaming my name when she took them out to show me.

I arrive and the drama starts! Rainwater was creating a reservoir on the overhead netting that pushed against the metal structure, causing the metal to bend in precariously. So here Orchidville staff were trying to push the water over the edge. Kak Ros also had to shift the tables to make way for Faz’s alternate entrance. The plan if it hadn’t rained was to have the kompang accompany the groom from the carpark, about 100 metres away.
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

After what seemed like an eternity, the groom finally arrives! I waited up on the dais alone for so long lor!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

This type of picture is the reason why I had asked him to go for a mani-pedi just before the wedding. He scoffed at me at first but now look who’s thankful I made him go (and alone at that because I wasn’t free to accompany him)!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Faz and his best men and close friends, with Andika Prak Bing Bing following closely behind. My heart was beating fast in excitement when the kompang started. I’ve always loved this part of malay weddings, and it was just surreal that it was finally happening to me, at my wedding!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

First gantry: My godmother and cousins
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Some serious negotiation going on here!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Second gantry: My girlfriends. Clearly, they were not impressed.
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

So they asked him to sing a Jamal Abdillah song because he does a mean imitation. But as usual, he couldn’t remember lyrics to save his life, and only lasted three(!!) words! Lucky for him my girlfriends were feeling kind that day.
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Third and unintentional gantry: my grandaunts from Malaysia. They were so cute — they saw that we still had this “hadang” culture going on (they say it’s a culture fast fading in Malaysia), and automatically just formed a line to join in the fun! Faz tells me they got the best of the money stack — they had reserved bigger notes for last!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Finally together on the dais!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Andika Prak Bing Bing gave us a really superb performance!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

There’s just something very ethereal about the branches and soft hanging chiffon.
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Oh, the best thing about twin settees like this? You get to be close and have conversations, and not feel so isolated in individual chairs!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

It’s entirely true what they say about not having the time to eat at all, because guests just keep coming up to you to take photos! We got to taste a bit of the food, and CJS truly didn’t disappoint. I wish we had instructed our family to put aside a bit of everything for us to eat later at home, because everyone was RAVING about the food — how it was a nice change from the usual malay wedding fare, and more importantly how good it tasted! In fact, I did make a mental note to ask my sister to put aside food for us, but the days leading up to the wedding got so busy that it completely slipped my mind. Anyway more on CJS later in my vendor review post!

At about 6.30pm, we retreated back to the changing room to change into our eveningwear.

Photo credit: An Analog Affair

And at about 7pm, we waltzed back in to the hall to The Piano Guys’ epic Titanium piano and cello cover.

Faz was so bummed he forgot to unbutton that last coat button!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

We were welcomed in by our close friends standing on either sides of the aisle — something that wasn’t initially in the programme. We found out later that Fadly was the one who thoughtfully orchestrated it. I did think to do something like this for our entrance but I didn’t want to ASK that we be welcomed, y’know what I mean? So to have another person plan it was great!

That’s also the made-to-measure dress that I had done with Fatimah Mohsin. I found a pic of a dress I loved and asked her to replicate it, with some tweaks. I love it so because 1) it wasn’t a white wedding gown and 2) it was glamorous without being over-the-top. I had the option to top-up a couple of hundreds to keep the dress but I quickly decided against it because, really, when else am I ever going to wear it? But then just two weeks after the wedding I see Farisha Ishak wearing it during her Sinaran Hati performance on Suria and it pained me a little, well, because I’d put my heart and soul into looking for the right dress, and paid for the bulk of it — only for it to be worn by other people, at no extra cost. My heart says the dress should be mine, but the brain knows I’ll never wear it again and tells me we have no space for it in our new home. It hurts a little, but I know it was the right decision.

Anyway, moving on before things get depressing here…

By evening the rain had let up, and it was really just a relaxed and cool evening for everyone. We came in, fed each other delicious macarons from our pretty macaron tower, gave our speeches (which I really regret not preparing, especially taking into consideration how petrifying taking centre stage is to me — my speech could’ve meant so much more if I had actually been prepared!), and took more photos.

Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Thank God enough macarons were put aside for me to enjoy later at home because not only did my coral macarons look good, they tasted good too!
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Giving the speech that I regretfully didn’t prepare.
Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Photo credit: An Analog Affair

After a while we just got tired of sitting, so we proceeded to our photobooth to get a couple of shots, and ventured out of the hall for a mini shoot, allowing Fadly to conjure his magic:

Photo credit: An Analog Affair

Orchidville had put up their orchids for sale outside the wedding hall — a win-win situation because they wanted sales and we didn’t want guests hogging tables. It was the perfect idea to get people out of their seats, and true enough once the rain stopped, they got up and checked out the orchids. I saw guests leaving with orchids in their hands, looking quite happy. And why would they not be? Orchidville’s orchids are CHEAP! Even Kak Najihah of TWC who deals with a lot of flowers said so!

As the day came to a close, I remember feeling two things: thankful and contented. After a decade together, I was just so thankful that Allah had allowed us to continue being together and loving each other but only better — this time as husband and wife. And I see now in retrospect that every time Allah met us with a roadblock, it was to lead us to even greater things.  Classic examples would be our venue and outfit selection woes.

I also remember my heart swelling with content. The day had gone exceptionally well despite the weather, it was almost unreal.

Wedding reception DIY projects

Ahh, my DIY projects. They were my babies, and I’m so proud of them!

Canvas tote wedding favours

Canvas tote favours — our hard work.

The totes arrived only a week and a half before the wedding, which was pretty last minute but that’s because I took such a long time deciding on and designing the artwork. They didn’t arrive all bundled up and tagged like this, so there was no time to waste! I enlisted the help of my entire family, cousins and friends — whoever was available — and we’d form a production line. I think it took about five days to complete everything, inclusive of prep time for the printing and cutting of the thank you cards and jute twine. We did everything ourselves!

But the end product was worth all the trouble. Many guests complimented our totes and you wouldn’t believe how ridiculously happy I get when I see them in use!

Kids’ flower candy favours

Photo credit: An Analog Affair

I can’t say they were exclusively kids’ favours because even the adults were asking for them too! The idea was to create a flower bed of these bangle candy flowers (yes, it’s marketed as ‘bangle candies’ — though I think only the wrist of a baby would be small enough to go through).

A super inexpensive idea if you don’t mind the trouble of putting it together. We had to cut and sand the edges of the ice cream sticks to make them more child-friendly, gluegun it to the back of the bangle candy and tie ribbons around the stick to act as leaves.

Super cute, how it turned out!

Directional signage

Photo credit: An Analog Affair

My brother did an awesome job with this. He’s quite the handyman — the go-to person in the house to assemble any Ikea furniture we buy. But it was just unfortunate though because whilst the signage looked big at home, once placed at the roadside, it was drowned out by the surroundings. The heavy rain must’ve also affected its visibility. Nevertheless, I hope it did at least help those who saw it get to Orchidville.

And that’s it! I loved my wedding so much that I just wasn’t able to do anything much after the honeymoon except go over the photos in our wedding instagram hashtag over and over…and over again.

#kemarukweddingsendiri