settlethekettles: make me up.

a #throwback post.

this is my story of my bridal woes.
okay, tak lah woe sangat. just me being dramatically decisive and then became undecisive, and then am pretty sure i made the right choice.
this is also where pemalas + kemarok all come in as very fine lines.

when abz and i took up the photog+videog deal, we were offered a bridal package as well. having pemalas not (yet) done much research on bridal companies and liking the makeup and costumes of the promoter's collection, i agreed with the bridal package. the deal was really good for our three-day event - three day bridal package for slightly less than S$2.5k. i didnt know why it didnt occur to me to do research first on bridal companies and hastily signed on the agreement.

couple of months later, i was curious about how many photogs and videogs we're gonna get on each side on each day and the payment arrangements. the curiosity led me to the bridal invoice: who is the mua (make-up artist)? where is the shop, etc. so i called the company and got to know that mua is going to be a guy.

here's the thing - as much as im alright with a male mua, i am sureeee to get: "dalam banyak-banyak mua perempuan, kenapa kena ambil lelaki?" from the mothurrr or any makcikpakcik who pops by the room where i will be getting ready. before kena sound, ada baik aku prevent, kan? so i told the company that i want to cancel the bridal booking and have the deposit moved to the photog+videog invoice instead.

of course, nobody wants to lose business. the lady was persuasive and offered to get me a female mua. she even told me to consider before making this decision because their policy for cancellation is irreversible.

ni ah budak mentel. kemarok nak sign up bridal package, dah ada deal, but just because of one male mua, terus tak jadi to stick to that package. orang tu dah offer nak carikan female mua lagi, but turned off by the knowledge of the male mua punya pasal and that there's no proper company name, terus tak nak the whole package. then, have to research all over again for a bridal company. minta kena piyat telinga ah ni btb.

this mistake, i must admit, is my bad.

i took that time to consider other bridal companies. honestly i wasnt aiming for big names in the market like VA, CTBG, FMTWG etc. naturally big names equals big money (to spend). i consider the makeup more important than their names, so it was fairly easy to strike away these big fishes in the market.

ofcourse, the requirements have to fulfilled as much as possible:

- cater to hijabis
- cater to our three-day event
- not over the top or too under makeup style
- flexible in complimentaries
- provide additional design and tailor services
- within the budget

shortlisted a few, emailed and whatsapped a few, and took time for appointments.

[ sidetrack: i like how each appointment gave us a better understanding for what we want/need, what we can expect and will get from each package. like its added knowledge with every appointment.]

after each appt with a bridal co, we did our review session in the car; pros and cons are listed and considered. like any other vendors, every company have its strengths and weaknesses. price, outfits' collections, distance. some are nice enough to tell what they dont provide and wont provide, some are pricier, some are not yet stable (to us), some are too insistent, some packages are not flexible, etc. macam-macam ragam ah these bridal packages.

see, how can this not be a woe! bridal is verrrrrrrry important hokayyy. its not just the bride's makeup. its the groom's outfits too, the accessories, etc. salah makeup, how? hijab style tak favourable, how? tak fancy outfits' collections, how? and it doesnt just affect me. it'll affect the groom, the photography, even mak bapak pengantin pun boleh terkejut okay. hahaha jauh pe fikiran.

i was leaning on one bridal co although her prices were a liiiiittle higher........ until we went for one appointment close to home.

its a home-based business. the lady looked so young and sexy trendy, no wonder she run a bridal company! i thought she sounded unfriendly during the first few minutes, but gradually she was accommodating and wasnt insistent that we took her packages.

abz and i had our review after the appointment. a couple of emails exchanged further, and he gave the go-ahead to proceed booking with them. with this one bridal company, we managed to reserve our bridal package and design+tailor the solemnization outfits. thats three areas considered settled! hooray! and the price? for three day event with two bridal bouquets sans the design and tailor, it is a couple of buckaroos cheaper than the prev bridal co! good shiok deal ah this one.

it also helped seeing photos of familiar faces of ex-brides and ex-grooms who took the service of this same company. sungguh melegakannnn, the assurance that a good job will be done is somewhat there. it may not be ultimate bridal company, but its not the worse as well.

headache no more!

now i have managed to cancel the initial bridal package with the first company and reserved my dates with the new one, along with my selected mua. sukaaaa!

#notetoself and #lessonlearnt -
dont be too hasty to sign up for a package. must ensure sufficient research before signing anything. and its okay if there are no deals; the price could be well within the budget itself. know exactly what you need, what they will/wont provide and what you can get outta the deal.

strike off another point!

okay lah, not so much of a distress but just being dramatic. heheee.