In my very first class, I started the lesson by asking the students what their greatest motivation is in wanting to become a wedding planner. Had the Principal been in the classroom at that very moment, he would have probably stopped me midway as soon as I presented my slide. How very discouraging to eager hearts. No refunds on the fees please. Either I suck big time as a trainer or I bring to class the exact characteristics and nature of my personality.

In the wedding planning industry where we are all targeting a niche market of clientele, it is so very important that any newcomers be reminded of the necessity to uphold the integrity of which every trustworthy wedding planner has built over the years in educating clients and changing the general market perception of planners which have been so polluted by errand and irresponsible planners.  

How well do you know yourself is just as important as how well you need to understand your clients. In the rat race world of weddings, it’s tempting to seek immediate gratification amidst relentless demands from couples who not only expect you to deliver efficiently, but expect instantenous information at your fingertips.   

Who are  you? What are your greatest strengths? What are your values? What drives you? If you are not focused on your direction, if you don’t know what you want or who you are, then it’s easy to have your morale stripped when times are desperate, or when you break down at 3am in the morning a day before the wedding working on the crazy last minute changes,or when you meet a gazillion people and yet not being able to close a single sale.  Running a wedding planning business is just like any other service businesses out there. It will test you left, right and centre, your emotions, your beliefs and your confidence. And after all these, you need to know the why’s to keep moving forward, and moving forward while upholding the very values that make you unique and valuable.

It was through this class that I relooked at my building blocks again, which I wrote on a piece of paper many years ago as soon as I started the business. Later on, I printed it out, framed it and stashed it somewhere. Feels great to be reminded of them again. It’s easy to get loss in transition when you allow your business to run you instead of you running the business. Of all the topics I covered on that day, the first two slides are ones I hold dearest (and stressed on). They are your building blocks to starting your business in wedding planning.   

“You spend a lot of time denying yourself certain foods to be a certain weight, but your wedding is a night for guilt-free eating. People will be wobbling home. We want them to leave us as Weebles. Have we got a chocolate fountain? I’ve always wanted to sit under one of those …”    – Robbie Williams -

I must have been living in a hole all these while, such that when I found out my idol Robbie Williams has wed his girlfriend of 4 years, Ayda Fields, it’s already considered as ‘2-week old, stale news’.

HELLO! magazine hit it spot-on, when the first paragraph reads  ”…the beautiful photographs on the following pages are destined to break an army of female hearts …..”

Who would have expected Robbie to settle down, having once committed himself to the life of a bachelor. The wedding was a celebration that embodied Robbie and Ayda’s fun personalities. All 60 of their guests thought that they were attending a James Bond Casino Royale party in celebration of Robbie’s 20 years in the business. It wasn’t until they stepped in through the front doors that they were presented with a silk box containing their invitation to the wedding of the year. Having to keep the secret from all their closest friends, they appointed all their 8 dogs to be their bridesmaids! How’s that for suprise!

What I’ve always liked about Robbie Williams is the honesty in his music. The purity of his emotions that pours out into the lyrics and music he makes - raw, simple and somewhat in-your-face direct. He’s a total class act and world class entertainer who can have the audience scream their lungs out at the palm of his hand while taking pictures of his ***** with the other. Call him bad ass nasty or sensitive prick, one thing he’s always been is being true to who he is and that makes him original. He’s Robbie Wiliams.

The following excerpts are some of my favourite bits quoted from the exclusive interview with HELLO! magazine.  Non-Robbie fans should really leave this page now because the following are gonna be blatantly, in-your-face cheesy : P

“I’d spent my twenties looking for a soulmate, but I was in no shape to commit myself to anybody. That was painful because you watch love in movies and it feels magic, it looks like the thing that will fix you.”

“So she walks into the house and I think, “She’s pregnant.’ And she’s had a few wines so she had this real attitude. Now because I’ve been in LA for so long, I’d got it into my mind that there are no good women in LA – maybe pretty women, but they’re all crazy and it’s not a sound gene pool to swim in. I thought she was another crazy.”

“Later in the evening, when the party got really crazy, with people in the Jacuzzi, she changed into a Bond-style Ursula Andress bathing suit. I thought, ‘Holy F**k! That pregnant lady is fit!”

“Ayda came into my life and my ethos cracked a little bit, and a bittle more, until it shattered.”

“She makes me want to do the best for her – she makes me want to be a good man with all the trimmings. She makes me want to be a better person. And in the process I have become a better person.”

“I’m an emotional guy. I’m a crier, a weeper. It will be difficult to hold it together. But what is absolutely amazing is that I’m not nervous, which goes to show how ready for this I am, and how right it is.”

“Now, believe it or not, I’m actually pretty socially awkward and one-on-one, if I don’y know you, I get sweaty and I don’t know what to say. If you’re beautiful as well, then it’s double problems. I revert into the fat, bumbling kid in the playground.”

Did anything else bond you together in the early days?

“Cake. We basically didn’t leave the bedroom, and ate a lot of cake together. My thinking was that if I didn’t eat anything other than cake, I would maybe lose weight.”

“You know Ayda is a proper brainbox – she speaks French, Italian, was training to be a lawyer before she became a comedienne, and now all she does is eat chocolate and watch reality TV. She is perfect for me!”

 ”We’re so cheesy. We are cheese. It’s a mush-gushy, cheesy kind of love. We’re never far apart.”

“We just want to build on this momentum of happiness, and I want to be as unselfish as I can be.”

I guess Robbie Williams has finally found his perfect Angel.

Now all the ‘real’ Robbie fans should go grab the September issue of HELLO! for the full story on the Wedding of Robbie and Ayda. I can’t wait for his upcoming release – Robbie Williams’ 39 tracks of Greatest Hits collection.

Lo Bjurulf at Agent Bauer designed this set for Ikea. Once again, she has demonstrated that you don’t need sky-high budget to turn ordinary spaces into a beautiful setting. Everything is so pretty I don’t even know where to begin! The grey, wash-out wall is the perfect backdrop for this shabby chic setting. The details are amazing including the two adorable doves! It’s not just about the style but also her great sense of colours. From mariam pink to champagne roses, the dusty pink to navy and light marine blue ribbons, oh.. and I must not forget to mention the equally cute macaroons in matching colours. Hope you have been equally inspired by this style spread as much as I did! Happy planning!

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• Inspiration by Lo Bjurulf for Ikea

Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ for your consideration. A mass wedding dinner package that includes usage of venue for pre-wedding photography. It’d be a good opportunity for you and both sides of your immediate families to enjoy a taste of what A’Famosa Resort has to offer for a beautiful wedding experience.

For further details, please contact Tess or Kelly at A’Famosa Resort. Click to download brochure.

Specially handpicked, suggested songs to daydream to your dream wedding as you cozy up to your other half on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Enjoy!

e prepared for a serious dose of daydreamin’. Well, aren’t we all dreamers anyway? All you need to do is dream the next big idea and a heart to bring them to life! Henceforth, the concept for this tablescape at The Tamarind Springs Jungle Luxe Bridal Fair was centered around the DayDream concept – surreal , artsy and a rustic freedom of expression. A tablescape theme that screams personality yet at one with nature.

DayDream to these Suggestions for a Budget-Friendly, Eco-Friendly, One-of-a-Kind Wedding:

1. Did you notice only a handful of flowers were used? In most weddings, decorations go to waste right after the party ends. Reduce flower wastage by opting for artistic posies that guests can take home. For this look, Creativelines recycled tree barks, used papers, coconut husks and twigs to create one-of-a-kind centrepieces.
2. Local flowers can be beautiful too! Don’t strike off orchids or gerberas from your flower theme just yet. A good magician can turn water into wine, as with a good planner and floral designer who can create couture, statement pieces out of ordinary things.
3. If you want to create a lasting impression, get an event designer. For the DIY couples, consider rentals. La Flaire also offers a wide range of decoration props, linen and furniture rentals for parties and weddings.
4. Miniature cakes are perfect for small weddings. TrulyScrumptious!’s adorable miniature cakes were almost too gorgeous to eat!
5. Consider a day time wedding reception. Not only would you be reducing energy consumption, you can also reduce the cost of food and beverage. Tamarind Springs is truly the perfect respite to nature with a jungle lush dining atmosphere that’s not only intimate yet romantic even during the day.

Stationery, Conceptualisation & Styling: The Peak Xperience / Floral Designs: Creativelines / Party Rentals & Props: La Flaire / Miniature Cakes & Wedding Cake: TrulyScrumptious! / Venue: Tamarind Springs

Special thanks to Sunday Photography and La Flaire for the photos. Stay tune for the next part of DayDream.

Flower girls and ring bearers are the cutest little angels at weddings!  That little twinkle in their eyes, their  robust energy, that crackle of infectious laughter and their sweet innocent presence are the cherries (loads of them) on top of the icing which complete your beautiful bridal entourage. The only downside is that assigning such responsibilities to children can be quite a challenge because you never know whether they are going to surprise you with a loud scream, start crying as they stop midway of the aisle, fall down and injure themselves just minutes before the ceremonial procession or simply throw a fit and decide not to participate at all. What’s important is to prepare these little darlings and ensure that they know their roles, confident and ready to walk down the aisle.

Choosing Your Flower Girls and Ring Bearer

Keep in mind that the younger the children, the greater the concerns you’d have of a last minute crisis. The younger ones tend to frighten easily especially when their mommies are not by their side at the very last moment just before they march down the aisle. I think a good age would be between 4 and 10 years old.

Preparing the Flower Girls and Ring Bearer

Most kids are restless. Especially when there are other kids around, it’d be hard to keep your flower girls and ring bearer still. It’s a good idea to provide the kids with colouring books or some toys to keep them occupied. If you are expecting many kids at your ceremony (e.g. friends with kids, little cousins, nephews and nieces), consider having a kids section close to the ceremony area where the kids have a confined space to run about without disrupting the order of service,  with two nannies, maids or chaperones to take care of them.

If you have a very young ring bearer, you may consider putting a pair of fake rings on the pillow. Your bestman can hold the real rings.

Do not put too much pressure on your flower girls and ring bearer. These flower girls and ring bearer are only children and often, they do not understand the significance of events. Whatever happens, whether the flower girl drops her basket, or forgets to toss the petals, or stops in the middle of the aisle in cold shock, she’d be easily forgiven for her adorable innocence. Do not strive for perfection or you’d be thoroughly stressed out and disappointed.

Seat the parents of these flower girls and ring bearer by the aisle towards the front so that they can easily spot their mommies and daddies and be encouraged by their reassuring nods and smiles.

It’s always important to do a full rehearsal to prep the children. It’s also good to have the children familiarise themselves with your bridesmaids so that on the wedding day, they’d have a sense of security among strangers.

Please click here for the Map to Tamarind Springs.

Feel free to download the files to DIY your own Thank You tags for your wedding. These tags are purely for personal, non-commercial usage only and cannot be resale or used for profit-making purposes.  Unfortunately, I can’t  customized the colours to the colour theme of every wedding, but here are two of the most common combination of colour themes.

Bubblegum Pink + Lilac

Red + Grey/Silver

Good morning and Happy Saturday! I hope everyone’s had a wonderful night of football as the South Africa vs Mexico match kicked off to a great start. I should have placed a bet since I predicted a 1-1 draw! lol … Alas, all’s well and I hope Sue, our wedding coordinator doesn’t wake me up at 2am to catch her favourite team, France in action.

We seem to be participating in a galore of wedding fairs within this quarter! I am quite picky with the wedding fairs that we participate in, so when we do join, you can be assured that these venues are ‘a must-check-out site!’ if you have yet to book a venue for your upcoming wedding. Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside Resort resides majestically by the lakeside of Putrajaya with its distinct ethnic architecture, overlooking the landmark bridge of Putrajaya on the east side of the resort. Inside the resort, the interiors are a total opposite with its modern, stylish and contemporary designs. We did a function at their Warisan Ballroom once, and I would love to have more opportunities to explore the endless possibilities that can be done with the multi facades that sit within this 2.1 hectares of land. I have not stayed at the hotel hence I can’t say much about the rooms but all of its 283 rooms are designed to depict the multi cultural ethnicity of Malaysia, so it’s also a great place for your destination guests to experience Malaysian hospitality under one roof!

This 26th and 27 th of June, Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside will be hosting a wedding fair so keep your weekend free, take a slow drive to Putrajaya with your partner and don’t forget to drop by our booth to say hello!

For further details, please click on the flyer below to enlarge the image, or download the map to Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside here.