One Last Entry on Our Wedding!

So now that you have read almost everything about our weddings, including everything about Cloudy with a Chance of Wedding Bells, our wedding in Taiping, my Vera Wang-inspired wedding gown (which is still on sale by the way, please do e-mail me yo~!) and also the wedding dress I designed for our morning session and church session in Taiping, I'd like to conclude my blog posts on our weddings by sharing some other stuff involved in our wedding.

1) The Evening Gown
While in KL, we still have gowns from the bridal house we have engaged earlier, we didn't really engage to anybody in Taiping for our outfits. We basically D.I.Y everything - I wore the short wedding dress I designed and tailor-made in the morning, then put on the Vera Wang-inspired gown for the march-in at the our wedding banquet at night.

While we didn't have a second march-in, I reckon my gown would be too bulky to walk around for the toasting session of 50 tables (duh...), so I decided to find myself a straight cut evening gown. Knowing that I never really like those typical evening gowns from bridal houses which are mostly dark colours, I went straight online to look for a budget gown and finally found one at My Dream Gown.
The gown comes in sky blue with some lace details on top and straight down at the bottom. It was simple yet beautiful and I totally love the colour! Best of all, the gown only cost me RM380. I can assure you that it's quite hard to rent a gown with that price! 

I had doubt of course, although I ordered it with my measurement that I might not be able to fit into it but thank god it was okay (I left some time frame in between so even if it didn't fit I had enough time to alter)! My relatives and I were all really impressed with the quality and the workmanship of the gown (it's made in China) too! :) 
My advice here is, go online to look for gowns! You'll be surprise to find some gorgeous gowns with a much lower price! 

2) The Wedding Shoes
Here's the thing, I looked around and it is obvious that brides love to go for designer's shoes. In Malaysia there is the very famous Christy Ng which I have referred to but nothing catch my eyes at all! And then the search went on to other smaller names...
Until I saw blogger Kim who got her wedding shoes from Payless and even from Bangkok I went hey, famous blogger also never buy expensive designer's shoe so why must I? I think to me the most critical point is that I really don't find those designer's shoes any attractive. Perhaps because my requirement is that my shoes shouldn't be that typical kinda wedding shoes so I could wear them again for other occasions. 

So yeah, I eventually found my first pair at Nose when it was on sale. So it cost me I think slightly over RM80! The Fuchsia heels was perfect to my liking because of the colour and the fact that it wasn't too lacy or girly, yet has a little details in the design were the reasons I fell for the pair of heels. The chunky heels also gave it a unique kick!

Then I bought a same colour pair of heels from Zara also on sale at RM99 as back-up. The pointed-toe and unique cut made it looks really edgy and sophisticated (have I mention before that I have always love Zara's shoes?). In the end I wore it with my short dress for our morning session in Taiping and it has certainly gave the vintage styling a modern twist! Love it love it love it!!! 

So really, personally I think it's not necessary that you have to find an expensive shoe for your wedding! I think you have to pick something you really like and something that goes well with your gown/dress in stead of blindly searching for one at some designer's website. :)

3) The Hair Pieces & Earrings
Because of my short hair, I've been quite obsessed with hairbands, clips and hair pieces (some call it fascinator) because they are the only stuff I can use to decorate my hair! But because of that, I'm very particular with what are going on my head on my wedding and I certainly don't trust the bridal house giving me nice stuff. In fact they were trying to give me a princess crown hair piece which I quickly asked to change because it just doesn't suit me at all, don't you think so? Shirlexa? A princess? No way~!

So I was smart enough to buy a few hair pieces from Diva and H&M and am glad that almost all of them were utilised at our weddings! They are all bought at some bargain prices too! Of course I spent a little extra money on the tailor-made birdcage net hair piece but it was worth it since I've even used it after that at our annual dinner! :)

Most of the earrings I wore on my weddings were also from my own collections while the one that I was wearing at the morning session in Taiping was a wedding gift from 3e and family from Diamond and Platinum.
It is very important that you have your say in what you are going to wear at your wedding because people like your make-up artist or the person who pick the accessories for you from the bridal house doesn't know you. Hence, it is very dangerous because they are going to choose something that doesn't reflect your personality or give you something totally outrages to wear! So really, tell them what you want and don't let them mess you up on your big day!

4) The Wedding Bands
We went to a few shops, including the famous ones like Love & Co. and Tiffany & Co. to look for our perfect wedding bands. I wanted them to be something that is beyond just a round ring yet it was really hard to find something interesting and suits my finger because they are really small (yes, I have really small and short fingers).

We eventually settled with this pair of wedding bands from Diamond and Platinum, the same shop where Deardo bought the engagement ring when he proposed to me. Made of diamond and platinum, it has a little criss-cross details in the design. We paid a little over RM5k for the pair of rings and are until now very happy with the quality. :)

There you go! Finally, I've completed all blog entries on our wedding! I hope by sharing my preparations, wedding days' chaos and fun, as well as where I got my wedding items actually inspire and help you future brides out there to get your wedding done! :D

Shirlexia, the Fashion Designer in Disguise :p

As soon as we confirmed we were going to have our supposedly Registration of Marriage (R.O.M) at the church in Taiping (which later become a complete church wedding), I started to look for a suitable short dress.

I wanted it to be formal and not trashy (it's a church ceremony after all), preferably hi-lo bottom (read about my love for hi-lo dresses here) for a grand effect of train behind me when I stand in front of everyone, and most importantly, something that I can wear again after the wedding instead of finding ways to sell or give it away, which also means it has to be as simple as possible (no sequins, no over-exaggerating stuff).

I was looking at online boutiques and wedding magazines for ideas of what to wear and where to buy until one day it struck me, that I can actually design my own wedding dress! I mean, it was my dream to become a fashion designer back in high school and I was even doing some sketches back then! All I needed to do now is to absorb all these ideas and sort of mix-and-match to form a dream dress that has everything I want and without things that I hate! Then, just ask Erin (who made my Vera Wang-inspired gown) to help make the dress into reality! Oh yay~!

So I put together what I want into an ugly sketch, like this...

Originally wanted an ombre effect on the train but it was a bit too tough for Erin to do that.

Okay, so it's basically a heart shape top with a soft tulle toga overlay with some beautiful details at the shoulder, with a straight cut bottom that comes with a peplum. The train is detachable with those small hidden buttons underneath the peplum so I can decide to put it on or to just wear the dress as it is.

And yes, I didn't want it to be fully white, also because I don't know if you realise, I don't normally wear white cos I think I've been cursed that every time I wear white I would dirty it! And yes I always think it makes me look fatter. So the baby pink is a practical yet aesthetic touch to the otherwise boring white dress.

Then I went to Erin and this is either from herself or Pei...

Professional sketch it is! 

Okay, now I can officially allow you to say my sketch sucks! 

I also added a layer of white lace on the pink peplum last minute to add in some complexity into the otherwise plain dress.

All in all, my dream dress should be simple yet with a bit of sophistication, modern but with a bit of vintage twist, formal yet with a touch of fun and sweetness. I mean... If you get what I mean! :p

Trying out my own design was an extraordinary experience.

When I went for the first fitting, I thought it was flawless! The details I wanted at the shoulder looks amazingly perfect! And Erin must be a genius to add some buttons on my toga shoulder so I can actually transfer my train up to make myself look like a Greek goddess! LOL! But really, that was a really good idea and I really appreciate the creativity that Erin offers, without just following suit! :)

Closer look at the dress.

That's me all fresh in the morning! So #ootd dress by Shirlexia Tan... LOL! 

Of course at our wedding, I wore the dress with the custom-made birdcage net hair piece (also by Erin) and a feather hair clip from Diva, plus a girly diamond earrings from 3e and her family to complete the vintage look. I however chose to wear my edgy unique-cut Zara Fuchsia heels to give the entire look a modern twist. The fuchsia really stood out and I needed that because otherwise I will look damn pale since everything on me were light colours!

I'm still very much in love with the detailed work from the shoulder down and I really must thank Erin for such a fantastic job well done! :)

It came out just the way I wanted it to be in photos! 

As I stood and take loads of photos in that dress on my wedding day, I was beyond just feeling happy that I was wearing my dream wedding dress. It was excitement, happiness and pride that I was wearing my own design!
It was, indeed a fashion designer dream come true for me!!! :D

*Of course, my dream wouldn't come true if it's not for Erin and Pei who tailored out the dress for me. And after a gown and a dress, I must say I'm very thankful for them because I think I gave them some headaches with the designs I wanted but they were very patient with me. So to all you future brides out there, Neoromantic is a pretty good option to go to if you are planning to tailor make your wedding gowns/dresses! I can assure you they are one of the most affordable ones in town too! :)

Oh by the way, my Vera Wang-inspired wedding gown is on sale! Click here for details!

Our Lovely Wedding in Taiping Part 2

As mentioned earlier, during our one-day wedding in Taiping, I've specially requested for a photoshoot session after our church ceremony around Taiping town, mostly because I was wearing the short dress that is very fresh (never appeared in our KL wedding) and that was designed by yours truly (more about the dress a bit later). So this entry may actually look more like a pre-wedding photos sharing but it was actually taken on our wedding day itself!

The photos taken by Isaac from Juno Perfection Studio are simply beautiful!!! Some of them weren't even edited and they already look so nice!!! 

Love how vintage and romantic this batch of photos look! 

Haha, this one is just for laugh! :p

We really had a lot of fun taking these photos!

Since the dress and the entire look that day was a vintage one, I personally requested that we should take some photos at some old-looking building in town and this famous corner shop in Taiping was pretty perfect! :)

The normal ones...

The fun and creative one! 

The one that is unedited yet so beautiful!

Then we went to somewhere on the way up to the rest house to snap some photos too. I especially love the creativity that Isaac has in trying out different and difficult poses! LOL!

Some classic yet beautiful shots.

Last few photos were captured at Deardo's place before we started the tea ceremony and they look super gorgeous, don't they? Love them love them love them~!!! 

Our wedding banquet at night was quite huge with almost 50 tables of our parents' friends and family, which some of them we know, but some we have no idea who they were. Well, I must say I still enjoyed ourselves meeting some old aunties and uncles who I haven't seen for years and I truly enjoyed seeing how my parent enjoyed themselves! :)

March-in with my tailor-made gown which is now on sale!!! 

Some other photos of us on stage. 

Decided to skip all the 'yum seng' photos again but you can check them and more of other photos here.

So, that concluded our wedding in Taiping! Although in terms of numbers of posts, this is far lesser than our Cloudy with a Chance of Wedding Bells, but that one-day event in Taiping really made a lot of us super stressed-out and exhausted. My parent were organising the wedding themselves, for the first time so it was a little 'kelam-kabut'. I was extremely tired since I also couldn't sleep well a night before the wedding so I heard I was the rare bride who could still catch a nap in the afternoon (by nap I mean slept like a pig)! :p But all in all, it was a great and memorable day! :)

One thing for sure that I was pretty surprised myself was the quality of stuff we have back at home. Despite being a really small town in Malaysia, Taiping has so much of better quality stuff to offer! My make-up, hair and photography by Juno Perfection Studio were simply too awesome I think they are way better than many bridal houses in KL. I'm talking based on the photos and the comments that people have given to me and I can assure you I don't get paid for sharing this wonderful experience I had with them! I know a lot of Taiping Lang love to go around and spread the rumour that Juno is super lansi and all but well at least from my experience he isn't. And even if he really is lansi, based on he and his brother's superb work, he is allowed to be a little lansi wurt!

My bridal bouquet and corsages from Irene Florist were extremely pretty too! I mean, when I got them I was like... Man I didn't know an old aunty like Irene and such an old florist shop would have such 'imported-looking' flowers! I was really impressed!!! :)

So I guess my piece of advice here? Never underestimate your hometown! LOL! Seriously, to those who are getting married in Taiping, why hire people from KL when in Taiping there are better and probably cheaper services???

I hope my short sharing of our wedding in Taiping was good enough! More about some other details of the weddings coming up soon! :)

Our Lovely Wedding in Taiping Part 1

*Updated with link to photos! 

Since we are done with Cloudy with a Chance of Wedding Bells a.k.a our wedding in KL, it's time to finally have a look at our wedding in Taiping! 

We kick-started the day with the morning session and like all you brides out there, I had to be up as early as 5ish in the morning. Juno from Juno's Perfection Studio was my make-up artist and based on my short dress and the birdcage net (that were all tailor-made), I've requested for a vintage hair and make-up and thank god he really nailed it! :)

Love how the vintage look gives me a totally different style that I've never seen myself with!

Obviously the Loo brothers are very talented in their own ways! Juno's brother, Isaac was our photographer and based on his young age, we were extremely surprised and impressed with his work! I personally love how creative his shots are!!!

We kept our morning session very simple too. I had no 'ji muis' except for my two real 'ji mius' and a cousin sister to help out. All we wanted Deardo to do was to read out some love messages to me entirely in Teochew! Oh yes, by the way, he had some Heng Dais but I guess they didn't need to help him much! :p

Deardo arrived at my house and found a surprise obstacle in my crazy aunties who just asked him random questions about me! LOL!

That's our Teochew script! 

One for the album! 

Tea session was quite a short one, with priority given to those who weren't there at our wedding in KL.

Tea for one of the most important persons, Ah Ma! :)

Once again, I couldn't help but praise Isaac for his capabilities in capturing some really nice photos and surely, they are very unforgettable moments at our wedding!

These are truly precious set of photos of my two Ah Mas smiling/laughing their heart out! Some said it is very rare to see them smile/laugh like this! 

So we were taking our family photo and Isaac asked Papo and Mamo when was the last time they kissed??? 

Our crazy family photo!!!

Oh man, I tell you, that was the first and probably the only time I've seen them kiss in my entire life!!! Really owe this to Isaac man!!! Hahaha...

More crazy photos with the families and Heng Dais! :)

After the morning session at my place, we went off to the church to our supposedly small R.O.M but turned real church wedding! LOL! Kinda defeated the purpose of me making a short dress but then again, I thought well let's just be a different bride who had her church wedding in a short dress! I mean, nothing wrong with that too, right? In fact, I think it was kinda cool idea! *wink~*

Insanely beautiful photo of Papo walking me down the aisle.

I think we were reading our vows here...

Rings-exchanged! Deal is done!

That church wedding officially made us a married couple, like legally! :D

We did some photoshoot in town too before heading back to Deardo's place but I shall share that with you guys in another post. Here are some other snapshots at Deardo's place, before we wrapped up the first half of our wedding day in Taiping.

Yum Cha???

One cute family photo too! :)

More to come in the next post! See the rest of the photos here.