In life, there are always the good things and the bad things. Sometimes bad things have to happen before any good can come out of it. But sometimes, you just can't help but ask yourself; "Why me?!".
I have had a good life. Alhamdulillah. But having a good life still didn't prepare me for some of the obstacles that I have faced in recent years. In October 2008, I was retrenched from my darling job at EMI Music. We had seen it coming cos ever since the introduction of mp3's, we had seen drastic decline in album sales. Take Ella for example; the 1st year that I was with EMI Music her albums were still selling about 75,000 copies. The 2nd year; her album sales dropped to 40,000 copies. And during the last year; her album 'Rama-Rama' sold no more than 25,000 copies. But who to blame right? Even I download mp3's. Then finally our worst fears came true when our MD announced that EMI Music Malaysia will finally be closing its doors in October 2008. Some of our acts like Ella, Amuk and Fiq were signed over to Warner Music. And me? Well.. I was out of a job. No more glitz and glamour of the PR world. No more traveling abroad with the stars for MTV Asia Awards, no more APM and no more AIM. So I moved on.. But I didn't want to go back to the music industry because I felt that if EMI Music can close down, so can other labels.
One month later, in November 2008 I joined the creative department of an events company. It was a whole new thrill for me. The working hours were long at times. Sometimes even until 5am in the morning. But it was worth it. My job scope included coming up with creative ideas for TV content, opening ceremonies and product launches. Also on my plate was stuff like marketing plans, site recces, designing and bla bla bla.. In this modern age, it's really hard to do just
one thing at work cos multi-tasking is a must. But this year, the events line took a downward spiral. We starting receiving less job offers and at some point we barely had anything to do at the office. And upon my return from Europe (just one week after I got back) , I received a phone call from my boss. Bad news. The company was shutting down. What?! Didn't I just get retrenched 2years ago? Last week I dropped by the office and packed up my desk. I was overwhelmed with sadness.
So here I am now; nearing the age of 30 without a job. But maybe, just maybe, it was all a blessing in disguise. Maybe this is fate. And maybe Allah s.w.t is merely pushing me in the right direction because I have decided to stop working and concentrate fully on Chenta Weddings. So in the last couple of weeks since my return from Europe I have kept myself busy with just that. Fellow bloggers and beloved readers, please do pray for the success of Chenta Weddings. And to all you brides-to-be, please do not hesitate to drop us an email if you're interested in our services and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with our low prices.. ;)
This Saturday will be a big day for Chenta Weddings as we have a wedding to work on where we're supplying everything like booking the venue, providing canopies and tables & chairs, the pelamin, the decor, the doorgifts, the catering and... Oh gosh, you name it and we'll do it. At this point of time, all I can do is pray that everything will go smoothly.
The canopies were already set up yesterday and today the hubby is already at the garden (yes, it's a garden wedding.. whee!) to set up the photo booth as well as the gazebo where coffee & tea will be served after the formal dinner. Tomorrow I'll be starting my first day of work at the garden in terms of setting up the decor. Can't wait! At the moment I'm still working on some of the preparations for the decor that will be used for the wedding. Here's a sneak peak:
That's all for now cos I have to get back to work. But insya'Allah next week I'll definitely be uploading some very delicious photos of the wedding. Till then..
ps. Shoot! I still have updated the blog about our Euro trip. I guess that too will have to wait for next week.. =/
Anyways, as mentioned I was sangat² busy lately working on a Black & White wedding. And I know I kept saying a goooood friends wedding but I never mentioned whose it was. Well.. Sekarang korang dah tahu dah! It was Mooky's wedding. Ataupun mungkin dia lebih dikenali sebagai Mooky One Buck Short. Oh, and not to forget; of course his brother Taq who with his wife Donna celebrated this happy day too!
Mundzir & Ayesha - 07.08.10 by Chenta Weddings
The Entrance: We hung rows of paper lanterns between lamp posts to usher guests towards the wedding reception as they drove their cars across the bridge.
Ceiling Decor: We hung handmade black & white ceiling decor at the entrance to greet guests before they entered the reception hall.
The Reception: An overall glimpse of the reception hall.
The Red Carpet: We scattered fresh rose petals along the red carpet that was lined with bird cages all the way from the entrance.
The Pillars: We covered the pillars of the hall in black cloth and then attached butterflies to them to add that little Chenta touch.
Wishing Tree: Mooky & Ayesha's Wishing Tree on the reception table with customized wishing tags.
Wishing Tree: Taq & Donna's tree.
Photo Wall: Right behind the reception tables, I set up a little photo wall with polaroids of their pre-wedding shots.
The Guest Tables: A fresh white floral garden in a customized black & white vase with handmade monograms to compliment the arrangment.
Meja Pengantin: Fresh white flowers in a candle-lit cage. Fresh imported white roses.
Meja Pengantin: The serviettes await the brides & grooms.
Meja Pengantin: I wanted to give them something glamorous yet romantic and simple for the Meja Pengantin. And this is what I came up with.
The Meja Pengantin
The Pelamin: by Zielynn's Boutique
The Pengantin's: Taq & Donna and Mooky & Ayesha
The Pengantin's: Mooky & Ayesha and Taq & Donna
Anyways, the theme for his reception is the ever so classic: Black & White. And I've got just the perfect reception planned out for him. So anyways, reception belah pengantin lelaki ni will be held in 3 weeks time!! OMG! I'm almost out of time. Haha.. Aku plak panic kan? Pengantin relax je.. Most of the things that I need for the reception dah ada dah. Fresh flowers pun dah order so tinggal nak pick up je nanti. The only problem is that his caterers tak ada table cloth or table runner colour hitam. And budget nak beli yang baru lagi lah takde kan. So skarang aku tengah fikir: Macam mana aku nak buat table cloth / table runner at ZERO cost?
Just like the title of this post reads, I'd like to wish Aim & Suffian (one of the cutest and bubbliest bloggers I've met) Selamat Pengantin Baru. I couldn't make it for her wedding and seeing the photos of her wedding makes me even more geram that I couldn't make it. The two of you are an amazing couple (walaupun baru jumpa dua kali) and I pray for eternal happiness and absolute bliss for the two of you. Bak kata orang Melayu, "Semoga berkekalan ke akhir hayat.." ♥
Other than of course wishing Aim and her hubby the best in life, I nak borak skit pasal her make up artist - Raja Feena; who I think did an excellent job! Aim looked extremely ravishing on her big day. She is everything that I've always been talking about in a make up artist sebab she made Aim "look beautiful, but still like herself". Takde la macam some make up artist yang taruk make up bertepek sampai kawan² dan saudara-mara tengok pun dah tak cam. Raja Feena punya fees pun sangat² reasonable so I would higly recommend her to all the brides-to-be out there! Oh and Aim dearie.. I love this shot of you in the car. The colours are so, so very beautiful and you look so gorgeously happy.
Cakap pasal beautiful photos plak brings me to the next topic: Photography. I simply loved ALL of the photos that were taken by Aim's official photographer Bakri Hafiz Hisham or better known as 'Bak'. I love the shots, the angles, the moments and the editing. Pendek kata, semuanya pasal si Bak ni pun aku suka. Sampaikan tahap semalam dah tanya kat Aim brape gaknya harga Bak kalau kita nak buat simple outdoor shoot just for fun hehe.. And once again, I perlu highlight bahawa harga Bak sangat² affordable berbanding dengan the quality of the photos that he takes. Kat atas ni is one of my favourite outdoor shots from Aim & Suffian's wedding bersama pengapit² mereka!
And all this talk about Aim's wedding brings me to the next, next topic: Chenta Weddings. Sambil berborak² dengan Aim online one day the subject came up that she was looking for cutsie little "Thank You" tags yang dia nak 'attach'kan to one of her VIP punya doorgifts. Dia tanya mana bleh dapat so I cakap ngan dia kalau dia nak, Chenta Weddings can do it for her. So after asking her about their colour schemes and the kind of concept that they had in mind, we came up with a cutesie little indie "Thank You" tag design (ye la, mestilah indie cos mereka kan Encik & Puan Rocker hehe..). And alhamdulillah, they loved it. Next plak she needed "Labels" for the CD's yang diorang nak bagi kat kawan² yang datang for their wedding as doorgifts. And alhamdulillah sekali lagi, they loved those too! Above & below are some pictures of the "Thank You" tags and "CD Labels" yang telah di'customize'kan khas untuk Aim & Suffian before I delivered them to the happy couple. Lambat post sebab tak nak la spoil the surprise before her big day.. ;)
Kalau ada sesiapa berminat to do stuff like wedding invitations, thank you tags, doorgifts and such; please drop me an email ya..