My blog was in a very long hiatus.
This space has been kept in the dark close to 4 years. Right after I lost all motivation to write. There were many significant distractions or should i say goals at that point of time; finding a proper job to fund my marriage, finding my own identity and reshuffling my priorities. There wasn’t just much time to sit back and write.
But all is about to change. I managed to strike a balance between giving time for myself, my job, my hobby in digital arts(photography/videography) and the people around me especially now that I’m married. I have lots to write about how i got into photography and videography but i’ll leave all that in another blog post in the future.
Talking about marriage, I’m finally someone’s husband! I got married recently. I tied the knot on 19 March 2017. Approximately at 8.10pm, i officially pronounced my marriage with Nur Aqidah Bte Latif. At that exact moment in time, i managed to heave a sigh of relief, mainly because the buildup and anticipation of getting married is stressful. Since i didn’t opt for a wedding planner, my wife and I had to properly choose the vendors for our big day. Safe to say, the event went smoothly and I was grateful to those who came to grace the event.
The real heroes of the day were the vendors, my groomsmen and my family members. Without them to coordinate the event, it would have not been gone to plan. To those wondering which vendors i engaged, here is a list of them. Quick review to all of them as well.
- NAFimages (Photographer) – Nuruddyn knows his stuff, i have been following his works on instagram. Wont leave you disappointed. You can check out at @nafimages on instagram.
- REDTAPE(Videographer) – A high profile video and editing company. They shot for Suria before. Highly recommended for wedding shoots. Check them out at @redtapeprojects on instagram.
- COMEL & MOLEK (Wedding Caterer and Decor) – Exceeded my expectations in every way. They blew me away with their designs. They made my void deck feel like a hotel ballroom. Check them out at @comelmolekwedding on instagram.
- CHERRIESMITTEN (BMW Rental Car) – Car was in tip-top condition. Driver knows his roads and drove very smoothly throughout the event. On the expensive side though. There are cheaper alternatives.
- THE WEDDING BROCADE (Bridal) – I need not say more. Im sure this came up in your list if you are planning your wedding. One of the best in Singapore when it comes to malay weddings.
- AKRAB (Kompang & DJ) – Their energy and gusto in their performances is second to none. I thoroughly enjoyed their performance. They make your wedding 10x better. The crowd was highly impressed as well.
- LYDIA’s OVEN (Pulut Wedding Cake) – Recommended by my cousin. Yummy is all i can say! Very fast and efficient when they set up the cake!
As you may have noticed, most of them are top-tier vendors and they are the best in the field. With such high-profile vendors, one would expect to pay much. That is the price i have to pay. I had to save up close to 1.8k monthly in order to reach my goals. I had to sacrifice my time with friends and give up a lavish life of buying the things i want. It was all for a good cause and i had no regrets of doing so. Of course there were dates with my wife(fiancee at that point of time) but it was a rare occasion and we limit it to about once a week. Lucky for us, our jobs tire us after work and we will mostly rest up at home and message each other. Our jobs occupied our lives so we wont feel empty. We had a simple endgame in mind; being together at the end of the road.
We got together on 12 October 2013. We got engaged on the 11th of October 2015. Married on the 19 March 2017. From the day we were engaged to our big day, we had a year and a half to prepare. The time allocated was more than sufficient for us. We just have to keep track of our savings. Just a few tips for those who are saving:
- Don’t spend more than what you need. Tempting yes, i have been seduced a lot of times but my wife prevented me from buying what i want.
- Buy things that you only need. Necessary things such as food and drinks to keep on surviving.
- Do OT if your organization or company provides the facility to do so. I’m not a fan of doing OT but i’ve seen my colleagues save up faster because of it.
- Limit your dates. This is a killer if you date often because if often involves lots of money for transport, food, and or movie.
- Stay at home often. This is a no-brainer.
- Pick up a simple, no-frills hobby to fill your free time. Recommended and provided if your hobby does not require you to empty your pocket.
Last but not least definitely, there will be challenges headed your way from the time you are engaged till the day both you and your partner exchange vows. They will come in many forms. I found the challenge of saving up for marriage the most hardest because there are just so many distractions. Especially so considering im a techie and a videographer. So many things to upgrade and purchase. If you are reading this and finding a challenge to save, just wait a little bit longer till the day comes. After with every hardship, ease will come.
All the best to all who are planning to get married!
anuartahir - a visual entropy 