Bernard Chandran's "The Contemporary Malay Wedding" Exhibition

I travelled to Pahang for a one-night trip on Monday for internationally-acclaimed Malaysian fashion designer Bernard Chandran's "The Contemporary Malay Wedding" exhibition. The exhibition was presented in the stunning Sultan Abu Bakar Museum, in Pekan, the Royal town of Pahang state, and it explores Chandran's unique and contemporary interpretations of traditional wedding attire, through a discerning selection of his own past and present designs as well as related film footage, archive photography and text.

With the approval of the Royal Family of Brunei, whom - along with artists and celebrities from the international entertainment industries - rank among Chandran's most high profile clientele, the centrepiece to the exhibition is an array of original designs which he created specifically for some of their own Royal weddings, during the past two decades.

These remarkable creations have, with great generosity of spirit, been exclusively loaned to "The Contemporary Malay Wedding" from members of the Royal Family's own personal archives. The exhibition includes, among many other must-see pieces, Chandran's incredible designs for the 2005 wedding of Princess Hamidah, the daughter of Prince Jefri of Brunei; the 2007 wedding of Princess Majeedah, the daughter of the Sultan of Brunei; the 2012 wedding of Princess Hafizah, the daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, in addition to the design notably made for and worn by Dr Halina Mohd Yunos, the wife of Malaysia's first astronaut, for their wedding in 2010.

The spectacular Muzium Sultan Abu Bakar in Pekan, Pahang

My favourite piece worn by Datin Dr. Halina Mohd. Yunos, wife of Datuk Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysia’s first astronaut

Worn by Dayangku Ratna Siti Nooraishah
Design: Short modern Kurung in royal blue Jong Sarat

Another one of my favourites worn by Tengku Dato’ Nurul Kamalia bt Tengku Besar Pahang Tengku Kamil Ismail
Design: Short Kebaya in light gold beige Jong Sarat

From Bernard Chandran's Petang Raya 2008 / 2009 collection. A modern Kurung in pure white silk jersey

From the Swarovski Spring Summer 2003 Collection KL.
Design: Modern Short Kebaya in lace and songket

From Rias Fashion Show 1996
Design: Long Kebaya in beige Lurex lace

Also worn by Dayangku Ratna Siti Nooraishah at her Muleh Tiga Hari ceremony
Design: Modern Short Kurung in Red and Gold Jong Sarat

This piece was specially designed for the museum
Design: Updated version of the Kurung Pesak Gantung, traditional embroidery with ’Zardozi work’(wired-work) with pearls and glass crystals

From the Piala Seri Endon 2002 collection
Design: Modern Kebaya with beadings on lace and chiffon

An intricate veil to complement one of the dresses

"The Contemporary Malay Wedding" runs from 27th June 2013 until 27th February 2014. The exhibition is open on Tuesdays to Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9.00am to 5.00pm; Fridays from 9.00am to 12.00pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm and close on Mondays.

Sigh... seeing all those designs made me wanna get married all over again... The museum was modern and spectacular the, and the 4-hour journey by bus to Pahang was so worth it. Here are some photos I took with  my fellow travellers:

With all my favourite fashion editors the different publications

Yana, fashion editor of EH! is gorgeous as always. Love her floral pants :)

Dinner at 8

There were lots of travelling for us over the weekend for a cousin's wedding!

Weddings are lovely, but when it comes to searching for something to wear, it's ridiculously tedious! Does anyone of you share my sentiment? My closet is bursting at the seams, but yet it's never enough.

Alwin and I travelled up north out-of-state on Friday night for the Chinese wedding tea ceremony which took place early yesterday morning, before coming back the same day for the wedding reception.

I finally decided on this lace peplum dress for the reception at Mutiara Palace Restaurant near Ikea. This is my second time wearing this dress (the first was also to another wedding), but the first time I'm blogging about it.

Enjoy the rest of the day :)

My red gold fish pendant - a gift from Mum

A closer look

I used makeup from Bobbi Brown, Benefit and MAC. Gave my hair slight waves using the Vidal Sassoon curling iron

Silver glitter clutch

Peplum lace dress, Miss Selfridge / Red gold and crystal fish necklace, Swan, Hong Kong / Bracelet, Tiffany & Co. / Clutch, Nose

Photobooth Fun!

Again I went for a wedding reception and this time it's my cousin Jane marrying her sweetheart. Highlight of the wedding? A fun photobooth! I absolutely love photobooths at wedding and the photo print out is a great keepsake for guests. Of course, the bride looks beautiful too.

The next highlight was when my dad got 'high' on red wine and started to encourage my other cousins to drink with him. The result? An almost full table of young and dangerous diners... haha! No wonder my dad is such a hit with youngsters. Check out the happy pictures below.

Our photobooth picture - I love it to bits!

With the beautiful bride

The cousins and I - plus my dad. My dad so random right? I look like a giant :P

Gangnam Craze Invades Weddings!

Who hasn't heard the catchy tunes of Oppa Gangnam Style yet? Well, true to its fame, the song has now invaded weddings! This San Francisco Bay Area wedding video sports really good videography and art direction. It reminded me of the Marry You craze at weddings, after it was shown on Glee.

This is hilarious, fun and makes for good entertainment. Forget robot style, this is what I call making a grand entrance.

It's Wedding Season!

Alwin and I received a total of four wedding invitations just this month alone! September is a record-breaking month for weddings, I must say. I've just attended a colleague's wedding ceremony on 1st Sept, all decked in a sweet yellow, peach and pink theme. The weather was kind to the happy couple (and the guests) which means no rain and very little haze.

Here are photos I took of the invite cards we received. A fun one, a formal one, and one with a colourful insert. Such wonderful, happy occasions. We're so happy to part with our moolah to give away ang pows!

Isn't This "Suite"?

This destination wedding invitation suite is designed by the fabulous Wernlu of Daydreamer Design. She did our invitation cards as well and I adore her and her designs. She operates from home, so rest assured that her designs are originally-crafted. I'd call her a "boutique establishment" :)

Love the airmail and boarding pass concept.

The Airmail Envelope

The Boarding Pass Invitation

The Luggage Tag Tea Ceremony Invitation

Longest, Cutest and Fun-est Invitation Yet

I was browsing through The Juliet Notes (one of my all-time favourite blogs), when I stumbled across this fun invitation. The invite tells the story of how Jill and Matt met and managed a long-distance relationship, culminating in a fun wedding invitation that is at least 20cm long. 

It's funky and non-traditional. I can only imagine a super-duper creative celebration after seeing this.

{via The Juliet Notes}

Pre-wedding Shoot Anniversary

Alwin and I woke up super early at 3.30am one year ago today to get ready for our pre-wedding photography session. We had to be at the studio at 5.00am to get ready and so we grabbed the easiest breakfast ever - McDonald's.

Our first outdoor location was at Pavilion KL, and it made sense to be there by 7.00am to beat the peak hour havoc (it was a weekday). We crossed Jalan Bukit Bintang in full-fledged bridal attire and it was a bit malu-fying! We both wanted our photos to reflect 3 things - 'modern', 'classy' and 'tasteful' - so there were no tacky costume jewellery, no bee-hive hairdo and definitely no blue/green eyeshadow for me. And I wore my own jewellery throughout.

I'm sharing here just some of the outcome of our shoot. I love the frills and layers of this dress I wore. It got me as close to Vera Wang as it possibly could. My hair was kept au naturel for that windswept look.

The background looks so 'international'

Ralph Lauren has a bridal line now?

Next location was Putrajaya, and here are two of our favourite shots. I was wearing a halter-neck ruffled tulle dress and a fascinator on my hair that I became fascinated with. Alwin had on his jeans and Raoul shirt.

It was then back to the studio for more photos and I had 2 more dress changes, both of which I loved to bits and didn't want to part with. The royal blue dress gave an aura of old Hollywood glamour with thick beaded straps and a sweetheart neckline. The red and gold dress was more dramatic with a sweeping train and could be worn strapless or with spaghetti straps. I chose the latter and was very pleased that I ended up with 4 different styles - strapless, halter-neck, thick straps and spaghetti straps.

Alwin was wearing his custom-made Lord's Tailor suit

And last but not least, I made sure I took photos with my custom tailored cheongsam from Emerald Brilliant, which I wore again at the tea ceremony at our wedding. It was hand embroidered at the waist and I love the colour combination of fuschia and black.

The weather was great, the photos turned out lovely and everything else were in our favour. Will there be another chance for us to take such photos? Probably not (anniversary?). I'm so glad we enjoyed every planning process that led up to our amazing wedding celebration.

Bridesmaids' Attire Inspiration

A colleague was telling me recently that she'll be a bridesmaid at one of her friend's wedding in Singapore come July. The colour theme is blue and she's in charge of styling the bridesmaids. The bride didn't want the typical bridesmaids dresses you see in every wedding, so I could imagine the daunting task she has.

When she shared with me this picture of a Vogue cover, I thought she was genius. Crisp white shirts teamed with electric blue flowing skirts preferably with tulle underneath will make the bridesmaids look like they've just stepped out from a fashion spread. When styled properly, the effect will be stylish, unique and nothing short of spectacular.

I'd go for the powder blue tulle skirt anytime

There's also this other peek-a-boo dress that she shared which was also lovely but more suited for a guest at a ballroom wedding. Not so much for a bridesmaid for fear that she might upstage the bride. 

Seriously, one can get inspired anywhere.

Chiffon and lace - a perfect combo

The Wedding of Vanessa & Moots - 15.10.2011

Let me backtrack a bit here. Now, Vanessa and Moots' wedding is a wedding that's worth a mention. I usually don't remember dates of friends' weddings, but this one I remember very clearly. It was a beautiful sunset wedding held in a glass chapel called The Ritual in Bali and later on, the reception at a lawn next to it. The chapel was perched on a cliff and bestowed upon us a lovely view, but it was quite scary looking downwards.

Upon receiving a verbal invitation, Alwin and I promptly booked our flights and accommodation 5 months prior! It was such a privilege to be invited as it was also our first time attending a destination wedding.

Vanessa wore a custom-made wedding gown with see-through panelling at the sides by local designer Alvin Tay and then changed into a mini cocktail dress with a train which she bought from Australia. It was a good idea as I imagined that it could have been quite difficult to manoeuvre a long gown and high heels on grassy earth. Moots also changed into a more casual getup of a linen shirt and white pants - a combo that only a flamboyant performer can pull off.

I loved everything about the wedding, but if I had to choose one thing, it would be the fireworks that lit the sky after the champagne-popping ceremony!

Enjoy the pictures below, courtesy of Vanessa and shot by Iwan Photography.

Here comes the groom in his shiny suit

Vanessa with her dad

A magnificent chandelier just adds to the romantic atmosphere

Sharing a knowing look

Tossing of rose petals - I like!

I almost caught the bouquet but water from the flowers were spraying all over us so I lost focus

3 ladies, 1 gentleman and fireworks in the background

Save-the-Date Ideas

We Asians don't normally send out save-the-dates but they are important if you want to ensure that your intended invitees pencil in the date of your party in their calendars.   

Some choose to send out save-the-dates a year in advance. I sent out our wedding save-the-dates together with our official invitations about 2 -3 months prior to the big day. I'm a sucker for sentiments (and somewhat traditional) so only a physical hard copy would do for me. Technology has since caught up and stop-motion save-the-dates are trending now. Here are some save-the-dates to indulge in:

1) This was ours:

We put a map on the reverse side and contact number of our reception venue lest anyone gets lost

2) Debbie & Kevin's postal magnet which I received via snail mail together with a stack of brochures on what to do in Kota Kinabalu! How thoughtful!

Picture taken from my Instagram. The magnet is now stuck on my fridge

3) Wei Teing & Gan's Rainbow-Inspired Stop-Motion Video:

 

4)  Melody & Wai Nyan's Bubbly Stop-Motion Video, photographed, produced and directed by Cheem Photography:

 

Footnote: Kindly take note that you are NOT invited for these weddings. Please do not gatecrash. Gatecrashers will be prosecuted, thrown into the dungeon and never be seen again.

We Got Hitched on New Year's Eve! - 31.12.2011

I love weddings - whether attending one, being a part of one or being in the bride's team of chi muis. It's not everyday we get to dress up, go to the salon and spend hours painting our faces with makeup. And since I'm such a romantic, I thought why not have a tab specially dedicated to weddings? In here, I'll share creative, gorgeous, love-filled weddings that will hopefully inspire brides-to-be. Or they can just simply act as eye candy.

Late last year, I attended a wedding that was very dear to me. I was neither a guest, neither was I a bridesmaid. I was in fact, the Bride! Yes, Alwin and I officially got hitched on new year's eve and we rang in the new year in our own special way. Our reception was held at the Grand Ballroom of Doubletree by Hilton KL which overlooks the pool plus we had a great view of the KL skyline. A very talented designer friend of mine, Wern Lu from Daydreamer Design created our fuchsia, silver and white themed stationery. Theme of the evening was INFINITY.

We had about 300 guests which we thought was a nice, cozy number. It's considered small for a Chinese wedding banquet. Our wedding was even featured on the Signature Weddings Asia website. Read all about it here.

We're glad that we got to share this special occasion with our dearest family and friends. Here are just a handful of my favourite photos to indulge in! Special thanks to our team of talented photographers who managed to immortalize our story in lasting images of glorious simplicity.



Our wedding invites - thank you Wern Lu!

This is actually the tea set used by my mum when she married my dad! Talk about vintage!

The classic-ism of black and white

The spacious ballroom arrangement which everyone absolutely loved

This is us in our joyful, wedding-y mood

Bridal party - Violet, Dex, Rachel, Anson, Pam and Aus

Acting all girly-girl

Photobooth - double yay!

Adorable flower girl and paigeboy

Ray of light!

My 5" beauty designed by bridalwear designer Celest Thoi. She asked me if I was sure I wanted them in 5" and
I went "hell, yeah!"

I love the details and beadings on the bodice of this striking red gown my mum bought me

Can't believe our photographer caught this very quick kiss

Alwin and I pretending we know how to slowdance

Yes, I sang!



Peeking through the lens of another camera