a wonderland of our own

with just about 3 months left before our big day, I find myself panicking at random times of day - I could be marking books and out of the blue thought of a detail and quickly find my planner and jot it down. I haven't had a good night sleep for few days now because I keep playing how I want the reception to turn out in my head and each time, I'd remember something and quickly google for it and there goes my night.

You bridezillas know what I mean right? We hardly feel like the minute passes by when we look for wedding related stuff ;)

Our second reception means a lot to me. For one, everything is up to me - the concept, the theme, everything. I don't need to consult my parents regarding cultural practices because it's not gonna be a traditional reception. It also means lots to me because I get to share and somewhat showcase the love and the kind of relationship we have with my friends - I know that my friends are happy for me and what better way to celebrate and share that if not with a fun dinner party where everyone can relax, have yummy dinner, chit chat without having to worry about things like we usually do at a formal kinda reception.

So when I was looking at possible venues, I had 2 popular themes in my head; garden or beach wedding, with the later being my preference between the two. Initially a beach wedding seems like one that's gonna cost heaps and finding a location that's somewhat easy access to ppl is next to impossible. We'd have to go to an island which means that our guests would have to go to the island too and there was gonna be tons of other side expenses that I wasn't willing to bear.

Then I found Avillion and the second I looked at the site, I knew it was the one :) it's in Port Dickson, which is about half hour from Seremban and an hour from KL so location-wise, it's pretty strategic. The wedding package they have looks great too.

So I emailed the guy, Amir, who is officially our planner and he got back to me with a quotation - and I was surprised at how affordable the whole thing will be. It was within budget that we can afford to add things here and there to enhance the things they've already included. We love the bridal suite that comes with the package and we also get spa package for 2 and trust me, the spa is TDF! I plan to have a girly session with my maid of honor and bridesmaids there once we're done with everything :)

At first it was just going to be a beach reception - we're gonna say our vows and do something to signify our new life as husband and wife and have a dinner party follows after. But about 2-3 weeks ago, I browsed through my Aussie student's photos (her name's Nikki) and came across her 16th birthday party which was a themed birthday party - a tea party based on Alice in Wonderland. Right there and then I knew I want to incorporate the theme with my beach wedding :)


I told my bridesmaids and maid of honor to get their feedback and input and we right away started to look for things that we want to include. And I am really loving it :) I don't plan for it to be costume-y or done in great detail or done like a 5 year old birthday party. I plan for it to just have that whimsical yet fun ambiance where everyone could just relax and hopefully it will be a reception that they will like, enjoy and remember :)

It's also interesting when I found out that Ashlee Simpson used the same theme for her wedding and it was Mindy Weiss who planned it - Mindy Weiss is the lady whom I got my planner from :) I took some ideas from her wedding and it's surprising how many other people actually have used or plan to use the same theme for their wedding. It's very cool cos they help me with ideas and some people I've contacted gave me some good suggestions too. Etsy has also been a great site to find inspirations for things I can do on my own - like my invitation card :) I'll share the card here once I'm done with it :)


Gruffy, as usual lets me have my way even when I'm about to turn our reception cartoony :P

I've chosen my dress and I have set the theme color for my bridesmaids and maid of honor. when Gruffy's here, we're gonna look for a ready-made sleek suit for him and I was thinking of borrowing my dad's pocket watch and requests for Gruffy to wear it, to go with the theme - better than wearing a top hat right babe? ;)

I've also ordered cupcakes and macaroons for each table from Aishah Cuppylicious and have them customized according to the theme. I still haven't decided on wedding favors, which I need to decide really soon. People suggested customized teabags but I'd like to get things that people can keep. So I'll keep looking :)

What important is that I manage to so far get things I want well within budget and I'm happy about that. And it's good to know that there are still lots of people who don't over charge, give affordable price for extremely good quality items.

And blogging about this reminds me that I need to send the original copy of the invitation to Gruffy and have him fix it a little bit by doing something geeky =P So better do that now!