My Wedding Reception at PJ Hilton

When we headed downstairs the first thing we had to do was go into the holding room and meet the VIPs. A couple of handshakes and introductions and then we were asked to take our place, just like at rehearsals. I don’t know why but I was so freakin’ nervous at this point. I was trying hard not to show it cause I know it would show in the photos and I wouldn’t want to have a nervous stressed look in my wedding photographs.

It was our cue to go in as soon as the sound of the kompang could be heard from outside. Initially the selawat was supposed to be recording as we could not find someone to do it for the reception. However that morning during the rehearsals, Farizal came to the rescue and volunteered himself to do it. Had a mini test run with my mom, who instantly approved it :)

The walk-in was accompanied by the song “I Finally Found Someone” followed by merenjis, dinner, slideshow presentation of the solemnization ceremony, speech by Kaklong and followed by a surprise sketch by Jonie, Audrey, Sheryl and Farizal. It was really amazing and I extremely enjoyed it. Once the sketch was over, Farizal and Sheryl sang their rendition of “I Finally Found Someone” an additional song...”Lagu Kita” by Aizat. Awesome!

My dad gave a short speech and the reception ended with the cake cutting :)

The Morning of My Wedding Reception

27 November 2010 was the wedding reception for my side at PJ Hilton. In hindsight, I was very thankful that the solemnization and the reception was not all in one day as I think it would have been very hectic.

We woke up in the morning on Saturday, packed our bags for a one night stay at PJ Hilton, had breakfast and were off for rehearsals at 11 am. When we arrived the ballroom there was another function taking place so we had to wait for our turn. We then practised our walk in (it looks a lot easier than it actually is!) and had to do it a few times to get everything right. In the end Aqil and Hannah had to be excused from their flower girl/boy duties as they just would not get in line :P Sheryl and Farizal had a go at practising “I Finally Found Someone” but for the second song, Jonie and Audrey chased Azmir and I out of the ballroom as the song was supposed to be a surprise :)

Once we were done with rehearsals, Azmir and I headed back to have lunch and get our things....more things and off we were back to PJ Hilton.

As we were on our way to our room I was thinking, Hamen and Tanya would have probably landed by now. Hamen is flying in from Hong Kong and Tanya from London to attend the wedding and both flights are scheduled to arrive on Saturday morning itself. I gave them my handphone number but did not receive any messages or calls from them.

When the hotel lift opened I was pleasantly surprised to see both of them in the lift!! Shrieks of joy and excitement ensued. They however said that they were really surprised to see how calm I was, bearing in mind that it was the day of my reception :P

As we had some time to kill, Azmir and I went to the hotel room to chill. We were accompanied by Jonie, Sheryl, Audrey, Hamen and Tanya. Most of us got ready in the same room. My makeup artist was a bit late due to the jam but she managed to get everything done just in the nick of time. It was the first time I ever tried the air brush! She used it to put on my foundation and it had a very nice feel :)

While she was putting on my lipstick, the phone rang. It was Kaklong giving us the cue to go downstairs. I heard Azmir telling my sister that I’m still in the midst of getting my makeup done when the makeup artist said “she’s done!”.

This is it!

My Akad Nikah

On 26 November 2010 I woke up bright and early at 6.00 am...prayed, took a shower and waited for the make-up artist to arrive. The photographers and the make-up artist actually came at about the same time. I already had a make-up trial run a few weeks before so there was nothing to worry about. I knew her style and I loved it :)

Mid way while I was getting ready, Audrey arrived and accompanied me in my room. She was wearing a baju kurung kedah and was asking me whether the head scarf she brought was okay hehe The solemnization was at the Masjid Wilayah Kuala Lumpur so she wanted to make sure her attire was okay.

By the time all the make-up was done we arrived the mosque at about 9.00 am. I was actually quite nervous that morning cause I didn't know what to expect. Unlike the reception at the hotel, we would have rehearsals so everyone would know exactly what would happen at a certain time.

When I arrived the mosque, I was not sure where to go, where to sit and hence was a bit jittery. All my relatives were around busy welcoming guests and I was thankful to have Audrey and my sister right by my side all along.

Everything went very smoothly with Azmir having to only pronounce the lafaz nikah once :) After that everyone adjourned to the eating hall and Azmir and I had our own portrait shots around the mosque.

Finally on Leave!! :)

So I went to the office yesterday after lunch (purposely dressed casual :P), discussed my legal opinion with the partner, had my mid term review session and managed to clear everything and made a dash out of the office at about 7. 45 pm :D

Most of the time when I was at the office I closed my room door and tried to lay low...at one point my secretary came in and asked "are you 'physically' here?" to which I said "No, I'm not" (i.e. I don't want to review or sign anything) hahahah But she looked so stressed so I decided too look into the matter...luckily it was minor :P

After that was bliss! :) Met up with Azmir to go for a karaoke session together with Farizal to celebrate his birthday (Happy Birthday Sayang! :D) and went home feeling so much better. From now on I can dedicate my time to preparing for my big day! :)

3 more days!!!

6 more days to go!!

In less than a week I will be married!!!

*mixture of nervousness and excitement all in one*

So technically I'm supposed to be on leave already. Technically.

Unfortunately I was not able to clear all my work last Friday. It was such a stressful Friday...things got a little better when I resigned to the fact that I will probably have to go in on Monday. I actually have to go to the office to clear some final assignments and do my mid term performance review :P

The plan is to work from home and then pop by the office for a short while to discuss some matters with the partners, attend to any amendments send it out and leave! I don't want to work at the office cause if I do that then there is a risk that I will never leave :P Monday has to absolutely be my last day..after that I can focus 100% on wedding preparations :)

So close already till the big day!!!

Space to breathe

A long time ago one of the partners at my firm was trying to explain why sometimes he can be rather curt. He said it's nothing personal but just that sometimes you're just so busy that you don't even have time to breathe.

Exaggeration? Maybe...but that was exactly how I felt last week.

Had court attendances everyday last week, including having to go to Seremban court twice and also Senawang for a client meeting. Files blowing up left, right and centre and clients breathing down my neck. Didn't realise it but on Thursday I woke up at 5.30 am to go Seremban and then client meeting in Senawang and didn't eat the whole day till I got home about 10 pm and by then I had a splitting headache on one side.

With all that running around I was fortunate to have my bb to be able to give instructions and attend to other client e-mails while I was waiting in court. I don't usually answer calls or reply e-mails while I'm driving but had to this time. Luckily it was a highway and a straight road. Boss e-mailed me in the afternoon while I was in Seremban to ask whether I had reviewed an agreement and I told her "yes, I have reviewed and sent it out". She was not in the office in the morning but because of the tight deadline, I needed to send it out asap...so I used my judgment call, reviewed it, discussed it with another more senior associate and sent it out before clearing it with the partner. I was so scared she was going to scold me for not clearing it with her first but she replied "ok". Thank goodness!

I also had a trial to prepare for, which fortunately I managed to settle the night before! Extreme negotiation skills put to the test at such a crucial moment. When the other side's lawyer called me at about 9 pm to tell me that settlement can be reached he asked whether I was still in the office and I was like "of course, I'm preparing for the trial tomorrow!"...I mean how was I supposed to know that the settlement would go through at such a late juncture.

Thank goodness for settlement, now I have some space to breathe....