Maple & Federico's Wedding Part 2 : Oriental Glam

"That's SOoooo you, Maple!" I can't agree more with Jeslina Hashim
my friend, my scrapbooking buddy and my wedding planner.
Our buying sprees covered Singapore and Thailand as well,
don't play-play...
Then again, nice things aren't necessarily expensive.
You see, the fun part is sourcing for the nicest things
tagged with the cheapest prices!
Ah... clever shopping is my forte.

I wanted a truly personalized wedding.
As a result, invitation cards, ballroom decor
and all table settings were crafted and manufactured
by Jes & I with the help of my siblings and Tamarind restaurant
staff. Certain things I preferred getting done myself
therefore rather impossible to just sit there to look pretty la...
Would love to have lived the "you should not be stressed, just relax
and be the bride that you should be" norm but somtimes it's
inevitable to not be involved when 'perfection' is my belief system.

The outcome : everyone had a blast!
Many said by far the most entertaining
and most beautiful wedding reception
they've ever experienced.
Many who noticed the details like the MENU
which I had labeled conscientiously, a title
for each dish with reference to things we both
care about, thought I had spoilt the market.

oh not forgetting my little 20-page keepsake
booklet in a pouch which turned out to be the most
unique thing ever!
I inserted pictures from our pre-wedding shoot alongside a poem and titled it 'OUR STORY'. Photos were awesome and the story of our love life too extraordinary to not share I thought, everyone should go home with a piece of our romance. Jeslina called me a psycho for doing all that work. I LOVE IT!!

More personal touches came in the form of articulation, song and dance. GLAM girl Sasha Bashir was the fabulous MC. I was so very happy to see Glamorous scuba enthusiast the gorgeous Fauziah Latiff who showed up looking so classy as usual. Glamorous dancers Yan & Firul opened the night with a very poignant performance.Then Glamourous dance trainer girlfriend Linda Jasmine
reworked Martha - a choreography we used to do alot.
During cake-cutting Glamorous girlfriend , soul queen Ning Baizura sang Sweet Love. Vince later serenaded
with such heart-felt emotions and called everyone on stage to yamseng. Followed by Glamourous Hooligan Colin's evocative & hilarious delivery on Federico having flourished
from underwear model to underwater adventurer to hospitality entrepreneur. That was fun. While my best pals from the Glamourous Kit Kat Klub (Pat Ibrahim, Khalid Ahmad & Sofia Jane) + Bilqis reminisced on my early days as a dancer, Dino CEO of WWF and Dr. Abraham ex-zoo vet recounted my love for animals and conservation efforts rendered. Of course where Ning is, Vernon is. Vernon being my darling Vernon, went on to talk about my hubby Federico's personal 'barang' la. Errr....put it that way, even Alla & Remy's salsa performance ain't half as spicy as his tongue... He's not put on Gang Starz for nothing ok.

My parents may have been stoic when they 'gave me away' in the morning, I can't say the same for Sasha. She couldn't contain the drama and sobbed sweet tears during her speech on stage. How romantic... what a friend. And my dad became the coolest father to have, an instant hero after his electrifying half-hour jamming session with classmate buddies of 50 years. The Classic '66, they call themselves, get together every week to play for fun. He waited his whole life for tonight, to gig in front of the world at his eldest girl's wedding. I've always thought my dad is cool.



'I Dolce Principi' or 'A Sweet Beginning' was how the night ended. Azwa's team delivered the punchy zapin funky routine I performed at Istana Budaya recently. Sweet indeed, it was a DREAM wedding, one any bride would die for. Definitely one to have and hold for a lifetime.