We actually made a decision to DIY our doorgifts cause it’s just so nice and thoughtful.
Furthermore I don’t know how many mugs and memorabilia we have at home unused and those we got from weddings. Many end up being redundant and useless.
For us, we thought, beach has panas potential so these paddle fans will help! At least they will be used once.
We started making these in December 2012. And it’s always a laugh. Hee. So DIYing doorgifts are something I highly recommend. 
1/1/2013
I am going to spring clean both my rooms today!!!
May do a garage sale. Or a bonfire.
3/1/2013
I totally love the date today 3113 hee.
Anyway, yesterday someone came to my house to measure my windows. Yeay!
Why? Because I’m getting new drapes. Haha. Also thinking of getting new light fixture cause the current one is super cannot see anything one. So dim!
Hmm, my dad promises to renovate my en suite toilet soon.
Also, should I get new bedsheets? Hmm.
Can I afford it?
Don’t want to do too many things to this room. It may get expensive.
1/1/2013
Hello again! Today I felt the reality of the wedding come to life haha (emo). It’s cause I just downloaded a countdown app called well, Countdown+. Yes no surprises on what it does haha.
60 days left!!!
Gulp.
Yesterday Boi paid for my wedding ring in full. And we decided on an engraving.
Reads “Maurina & Hazidiee 1313″ but if that is too long then just “M&H 1313″. Hee.
Funny story about the ring.
I first saw the ring last April 2012 (it was the first thing on our list) in Twinkles. Funny I’ve always liked diamonds (girl’s bestfriend) and in my head I’ve always thought I’d get a decent yet not enormous princess cut diamond ring. Now here we were shopping for a ring and yet I didn’t want one.
What I instantly fell in love with was a beautiful heart shaped aquamarine ring, surrounded with teeny tiny diamonds.
I know right! Blue is never my colour. Turquoise is my favourite stone but well it’s very out of character for me to choose aquamarine over diamonds.
But yes, that is what happened. When planning a wedding u discover many things about urself. When something feels right, it just does.
Upon further research:
- Aquamarine is my birthstone (and wedding is in march)
- It symbolises neverending love
- Of course, our wedding is on a beach
This is why blue is the theme of the wedding.
Anyway, yes its fortunate that aquamarine rings are less pricey than diamond rings but it did still burn a big hole in Boi’s pocket haha.
So here is something that you may not know about jewellery stores (I certainly didn’t know anyway):
They accept partial payments! So you can pay say $500 in the beginning to secure the item and pay the remainder monthly or when the time comes nearer.
Of course they don’t release the item until u pay in full but for me, who had more or less a year to plan the wedding this made arrangements easier! It is better than a bulk payment that’s for sure.
By the way I totally looooove the ladies at Twinkles Jewellery in Kiulap. They are so nice and lovely. I totally recommend u to think about them when you consider your matrimonial ring. Hee.
So thats the story of my ring.
Looked for a diamond and found a precious aquamarine ring instead. Love!
This I did obsessive research on!
YOU HAVE NO IDEA!
Ok so I decided early on that I dont want to be taking out a personal loan to pay off a wedding. Maybe for me, taking out a loan simply means I am spending beyond what I can afford.
No offense of course to brides and grooms who did take out a loan. To each their own. We all take calculated risks to reach our dreams but I am saying that, you always have a choice. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO.
Warning: Nerd Stuff ahead.
I tabulated all the expected wedding expenses. This required me to really talk to Boi. BOY DID WE TALK. How much are we willing to spend on flowers? Ring? Doorgifts? We discussed EVERYTHING! And then I thought we had it all figured out and rounded off to a final figure.
Then I spoke more with a friend at work, F, who jussst did her wedding. MATI. I left out sooo many things! There are little things such as: bouquet for flower girls? Sedekah tuk kadi? Guest book? Sound system?
Then she shared with me her budget table (best thing I’ve ever received) and so I created one that is based on that.
I also thought about stuff that I do not need vendors to do for me such as flowers, makeup, doorgifts, decorations and jewellery. I did that myself and saved myself a lot of money.
Finally I came up with a final figure.
Once I know the final figure everything is easy! I put myself on a strict savings plan immediately. Less splurging, less wasting, less eating out.
The table helped me stay on track and helped me see what items I haven’t done, what items I still need to do.
I update it religiously! So should you. Keep referring back when in doubt and keep asking yourself are u within budget?
Something that also helped was sharing the table with my family. I was upfront and clear of what I can and cannot afford, especially with the small guest list. This is something very important.
Brides to be: in honour of my friend F who helped me by sharing with me her budget table, I hereby attach with this post my own table for your download.
I sincerely hope it helped you as much as it helped me!
So one of the questions people ask me when I first revealed that I’m getting married (still feel weird saying that) was the following:
How did it happen?
Well I’m not really sure. But I did remember that it was sometime in April 2012 and we picked a date 1 year from then so we could have some time to prepare.
One thing we were adamant on doing was to organise:
1. A small ceremony
2. In a unique and unconventional venue
3. Shared with dearest and closest
We decided to invite 800 guests, of which 400 are from my side and 400 from his.
We picked an awesome venue! It came to me suddenly. I said we should have a beach wedding, and Boi said, “tapi cemana amenities nya?” And we thought about beaches that are near restaurants and I thought, TARINDAK D’BEACH!!!
The next day, I emailed them and instantly got a quote for 800 guests for breakfast. Booked immediately after negotiations with menu! I LOVE THEM!
(Ok I am in love with vendors that are accessible online and are responsive immediately. I urge all wedding vendors to create an online presence!)
And yes, we did breakfast! It’s damn early cause our function start at 8am, meaning everything needs to be ready by 7am but it is CHEAPER than a full blown lunch or dinner and we get to enjoy the sea breeze.
Yea that’s the plan! My next step was budget! I AM OBSESSED ABOUT IT. Talk about that next post. Bye!
Dont know if you follow my Pinterest but if you do you may know that today I become a wife.
Boipren is officially husband.
Hee.
Ok so I can now finally publish blogposts about my wedding and wedding preparations which I have been DYING TO BLOG ABOUT!
Haha it’s to maintain some element of surprise la. So, surprise!
Maurina’s Wedding Planning series is divided into a few posts and I’ve scheduled them to be published every few hours over next few days. 
Enjoy!
Yes, when Christmas holiday is on a Tuesday and u have to work on Wednesday.
Sleepy! I blame you, unputdownable book.
Have I mentionned how much I love the WordPress app?
