Grow Old With You....

I've known this song for a while, obviously from Adam Sandler's movie (The Wedding Singer). The song is not bad, but it's not my type of song.
I have always loved jazz, i cant play any jazz instrument or even sing a jazz song, but i grew up with jazz music all around me.

Before the wedding, i asked Indra whether we want to give a special presentation to the guest, i wasn't sure myself what it was. Indra said that he's going to sing a song for me. The night before the wedding, i asked him again whether he's going to sing tomorrow, he said no because he didn't have time to prepare it. So i said ok, but deep down i really wish he sing, it would be romantic and sweet.

During the reception, the maid of honour, indra's brother and the bestman did their speeches. I've asked Indra to prepare it the day before, the plan was to stand there together but im not gonna do the talk. And it was our turn. Indra held my hand, and we stood at the podium, in front of our guests, thanking them for making the day special. At the end of his speech, he said he has something for me and he asked Wayne our best friend to come up and bring his guitar.

He did prepare the song for me and i didn't know anything about it.
And he started to sing:

I wanna make you smile whenever youre sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
All I wanna do is grow old with you

Ill get your medicine when your tummy aches
Build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you

Ill miss you
Ill kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold

Ill need you
Ill feed you
Even let ya hold the remote control

So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed if youve had too much to drink
I could be the man who grows old with you
I wanna grow old with you

When he finished the song, all i remember was everyone clapping their hands and Indra kissed and hugged me, he whispered 'I wanna grow old with you'.

Now this song has a special place in my heart, this is Indra's promises to me apart from our vows. The lyric is very simple, not poetic but realistic. This is what i want from our marriage, a simple and deep love between us, love doesnt always have to be extravagant, expensive, or out of this world. Love is love, accepting and loving ur partner for who they are, be a constant and faithfull companion for each other, and growing old together.

The Aftermath

God definitely played a BIG role in our wedding day.
We wouldn't have the perfect party with our budget, yet He kept His promise. He gave us the most beautiful wedding we could ask for. It wasn't glamorous and extravagant, but it was intimate, warm and beautiful.
With help from our friends, our dream came true. :)

Some of our friends said that the party was very enjoyable and smooth. Indra's colleagues told him many many times that they really enjoyed the ceremony. They said the ceremony was beautiful, simple and 'different'. They were also touched by Pastor D's message. These things matter a lot for us, how people enjoy our wedding.

At night, after the reception, before we go to bed, me and Indra prayed together. On our knees, we cried forever thankful to God for the perfect day that we had. Men can predict the weather but God own and creates the weather.
My colleague who attended the church ceremony said that the weather was weird that day. She lives in Mt.Hawthorn which is close to the city and she said she had a physio class that morning and it was raining heavily. She was driving 30km/ph and used the fastest wiper. She said for some reason, that morning, the rain was coming down around Perth city but not in city area. And, i just praised the Lord in my heart, THANK YOU GOD..THANK YOU!!!

Whenever we were outside that day, the rain seemed to stop. Before the ceremony, the rain stopped and we had no trouble getting out of the car. But it was raining once we started the ceremony. When we finished the ceremony, we gathered around outside the church and it was sunny, we took pictures with guests for about 1 hour.
When we had the photo session, the rain stopped all the way until we finished.
And the rain started again at night when we had the reception which made the atmosphere even better inside the function room, i think.

We found out that God gave us a bigger wedding present on top of the good weather. Remember in my previous post, God gave us a new challenge, a big one? Yup that's the one. Few months before the wedding, God opened an opportunity for us. We've been thinking of getting a new house for investment, we were not sure whether to build or to buy. In saying this, it doesnt mean that we have a lot of spare cash, but we thought we need to grow and expand. By God's grace we bought the current house at the perfect time, therefore we have enough equity on this house to grow our investment. If we see it from human's eyes, this step is ridiculous, there is no way that we can afford it.

We found a block of land with a good price and it's not far from where we live now. We were so excited about it. But we didn't want to make a stupid decision. So we prayed to God, we decided to try and let God do the rest. We surrendered averything to God, if we are not capable of taking this opportunity, we ask God to just close the doors and we will be happy to wait for the next challenge.

I forgot to mention that our hobby is visiting display homes hehehe..we loves beautiful houses and i spent my money on house magazines instead of clothing :P. There is one house that we really love, it's not too big, it has open living plan, with less walls and very very homey. I dont know how many times we've gone to that display house, until i remember every details of that house hahaha...

Weeks after weeks, God opened the doors one by one. Sometimes we still couldn't believe it. Until, few days after the wedding, the broker told us that the mortgage was granted without any problem and no mortgage insurance needed. He also enabled us to build the house that we love, the display home that we visited so many times!!!
I couldn't contain my excitement and happiness. I know this is not gonna be easy, but God has opened the way, He will provide what we need.

Now we are in the process of getting our Schengen Visa to go to Italy. It takes 2-3 weeks, and we are not sure whether we can get it on time, because im going back to Indo on the 12th. Even if the visa is ready before that, we wouldn't have enough time to get the Switzerland visa. Not sure what's gonna happen, but we keep praying.
Me and Indra have been staying in Australia for quite sometime, but we've never been anywhere. We saved all our money for the wedding, now that the wedding is over, we would like to have a proper honeymoon. We want to go to Europe. This would be our first trip overseas besides Indo, Singapore and Australia. Hope the visa will be ready soon.

*God...a BIG thanks from us, we love You*

.: THE DAY :. (Part 2)

Around 9.45, everyone's ready to go. My family went to the church first, Meli and Seng2 need to set up the music and all, my parents need to greet the guest. We were on track in term of time. We finished early and just sat down and relax at home until around 10am. At 10.00am, the bridal party went off to the church and we tried to relax, we chatted in the car, turned the music loud and joked around. I did not feel that nervous, maybe because of Tasia and Defy, they were crazy enough to keep me calm.

We passed the church and we saw guests coming in, but we decided to make another round in city, just to wait for other guests to come. Around 10.40, Medy called and it's show time. Thank God it wasn't raining that time. I saw my dad waiting for me at the door. I walked into the church and grab my dad's hand. I heard Craig start singing "Isn't She Lovely", and Defy walked into the aisle first, then followed by Tasia. Soon..it was my turn....

My feeling at that time?? Can't described it..i wasn't afraid, but i could hear my own heartbeat hahaha...my hands were so cold.

Then, it was my turn. When we took our first step, my dad whispered into my ear. He said "Today, i feel so proud of you. You looked very beautiful". And i just smiled back at him. Couldn't think anything else. Didn't expect my dad would say that.

As i entered the church, all guests were standing. I felt very nervous, i couldn't smile properly. I looked down several times to avoid akward moments. I saw Indra at the altar with our pastors and the bridal party. I saw him starring at me deeply. Then my hearbeat started to slow down. All i could remembered was Indra's eyes at me and Craig's voice singing:

" Isn't she lovely...
isn't she wonderfull.......
I cant believe what God has done......
Through us he's given life to one....
But isnt she lovely made from love"

I clearly remembered, when he took my hand the first time, he whispered to me "You look amazing!!"

The rest of the ceremony went very well, until the part where we supposed to present tea to our parents as a token of appreciation. First, we gave the tea to Indra's parents. As i suspected, Indra's mom had tears in her eyes. When Indra hugged his dad, his dad actually cried, literally sobbing (this i didn't expect!). To my surprise, Indra didn't cry at all, his mom cried even more and i didn't know what to do. Well, i couldn't put my sad face, the photographer was behind us. When the photographer showed us the pictures, i looked horrible, why?? because in that picture Indra hugged his dad, his dad cried, his mom cried as well, and there i was, standing and smiling!! yes!!! smiling!! i didn't realize that!! The photographer said "How could you smile when everyone's crying???".

When it was my parents turn, i hugged my mom and it was ok. Because i knew that my mom is a very strong woman, she won't cry over those things. She could watch the saddest movie ever without even a drop of tear in her eyes. But when i hugged my dad, somehow there was an overwhelming feeling that i couldnt hold. Me and my dad have a similar charateristic, stubborn and strongheaded, that's why i argued a lot with him. I spent the days fighting with my dad during my earlier year. That time, i felt a BIG guilty feeling towards my dad and regret why i did those things to him, and i cried. People must be thinking that im weird, because usually bride cries in "Mom & Daughter" time.

We walked out from the church with "Love is in the air". Thank you so much to the musician of that day, you've done a great job!!
After the ceremony was over, we took picture with everyone and we headed to city, king st, supreme court for our crazy photo session. Man!! that was awesome!!! we had SO MUCH FUN that day, we took crazy poses everywhere and people starring at us all the time.

Around 4.00 pm we went back home to get ready for the reception. During those coupled hours, we looked at the photos instead of taking a rest, and we all laughed like crazy. Around 6.30, the bridal party took off to Old Swan Brewery, we were there on time and the formal entrance went well except the part when the video man stepped on my skirt and i had to stop walking hahaha..but it was fine.:).
The food was good, the music and lighting were perfect. The slideshow didn't work properly that time because something wrong with the cable. The photos were there but we couldn't hear the song. I could see Tasia's sad face over the slideshow thingy, i understand she didnt sleep at all to create the slideshow, but it's ok Taz, we were so happy that day, those things were not that important to us :)

Towards the night, Daniel Bahk as our MC has prepared some games for us, crazy games!
It was fun, the best part was when Indra had to lift me several times and that determined how many times he can do "it" that night. Hahaha.. he lifted up 13 times, and his face was awfull, he had too much drink and he said to me he feels like throwing up!! Thank God he didn't.


When the reception was over, we drove to Burswood hotel. As i enter the room, i saw condoms all over the place..yuucckkkss...hahhaha. Rose petals in heart shape on our bed, with a really weird shape of undies and furry2 thing (like mini kemoceng hahaha). I spent nearly an hour to undo my hair, OMG tante Lanny surely used A LOT of harispray on my hair!!! and i forgot to bring my hairbrush. The only thing i used was a really small comb from the hotel, i felt like someone pulling out my hair the whole night.

And after we finished...
He.....me.....the.....I.....kiss.....hug.....then.....him....we.....
Hahaha...nah..... i wont share this one.....:P

Again, BIG thanks to all of you:
Tasia, Defy, Eel, Rey, Meli, Seng2, Artur, Wayne, Bon2, Frick, Zef, Medy, Ka Ira, San2, Liza, Chris, Yussi, Ivana, Jasper, Daniel Bahk, Adel, Mas Yaya, Craig, Kikis, Lia, Irene, Mikel......you know who you are....

.: THE DAY :. (Part.1)

Early morning, around 4am my alarm went off.
"God, this is the day..no more counting down.."
I still felt tired, but i couldn't close my eyes any longer, i was too nervous and excited.
The door bell rang, Tante Lany the make up artist came around 4.30am, i asked my mom to get ready first. While T.Lanny doing my mom's make up, i tried to practice the vows for the ceremony.

Yup i decided not to memorize it, just in case i got very nervous and blank in front of the church (knowing that im really bad with public speaking). At first, i asked Indra whether we want to use the standard vow, and he confidently said "No". He said it's not romantic and not personal. So i said "Ok..yeah yeah...whatever". I know in the end, he would be so busy and forget about the vow, and ask me to get the standard vow :P. And....i was right!!! Hahaha...

I asked him few days before we printed out the liturgy.
"Have you created the vow yet?"
"I dont think i have time for that, maybe we should use the standard one"
Knowing that this would happen, i actually have prepared the vow. So, we used the same vow for each other but customized. And just to avoid blank-ness hahaha, i asked Pastor Iwan to read that for us.

Around 6am, it was my turn.


It was really bright, no cloud, no rain!!! i felt relieve. God heard my prayer!!!!
But then, 30 mins later, rain started coming down quite heavy, and the cloud was dark.*Sigh*
Then, it was bright again 15 mins later...arggghhhh. It happened few times that morning. And somehow inside my heart, i didn't feel worry about the weather. I knew that my day is in God's hand, whatever happen that day will be according to His plan, and His plan is perfect.

Around 7.30, i finished the make-up. Time to put on my 'kebaya'. I've been waiting to wear it for a year!!! i love my kebaya!!!. My kebaya was ready, my mom ironed it the day before.The kebaya looked fine at first, but then my mom noticed that the skirt was too big!!! I lost weight eventually!!! and i should've tried it the day before!!
I always checked my weight on the scale, and i was sure that i maintained a constant weight. But apparently i tried the kebaya the first time in Indo, and i was weigh more at that time. Then my mom just put a pin at the back of my skirt, thank God, it didn't lose during the ceremony.

At around 8.00am, Wayne and my brother came from the florist to pick up our bouquets and corsages. I used a florist in Subiaco market and she is not that wellknown, me and Indra looked around for florist, not based on how wellknown their business are, but more to the person and the way they handle flowers. I found her in Subiaco market, her price range is cheap compare to others, the normal wedding bouquet will cost you around 160-200 dollars. She only charge 100 dollars for the bride bouquet and 50 dollars each for the bridemaids bouquets. She doesn't have sample photos of bouquet or floral arrangement that she created before, so i couldn't really see or choose which one i want. But somehow, i had this confidence that the bouquet will turn out great.

At first, i wanted to have Calla Lilies, because it's simple and beautiful. But then, Calla Lilies only bloom during winter if im not wrong, the point is she can try to get Calla Lilies in October but will cost me a lot more and she can't guarantee she'll get it. So, i browsed in the internet for my bouquet, i prefer to have the sample picture of what i want, so there will be no mistake. But after browsing and browsing for so long, i still couldn't decide what flowers i wanted. Rose is beautiful and easy to get but very common. Finally, i decided to go with white Lilies and white Orchid. I have little knowledge about flowers, i've never seen them together, but i need to decide very soon, so i go with them. For bridemaids bouquets, i chose pink Lilies and white Orchid. I had no idea or picture in my mind, how the bouquets will turn out.

That morning, when i saw my bouquet, i was surprised and relieved!!! They are beautiful and gorgeous!!! I wouldn't ask for any other bouquet than that. Here they are:

Wow, recaping the moments is not easy, i tried to note down all the little details so when im old, this blog can remind me every details, feeling and emotion that i had on my wedding day.
I will continue the story in Part.2

D -1

On Thursday we picked up the suits for Rey and Eel, and they were too tight for them *sigh*. We called Tony Barlow and asked for the right size, so on Friday early morning, me, Tash, Indra, and Kis went to city to get them exchanged.

I remember on that day, i felt even worse. I wasn't happy for the whole day. Tasia asked me what's wrong and i said " I dont think im making the right decision here". She was like "Huhhhh???? dont tell me you got cold feet!!!". I felt that i wasnt prepared to let the go the current status, in relationship but not married. I was afraid that the marriage life is not going to be beautiful and nice as i expected and i have to face it for the rest of my life!!!.
I've seen some married couples who excluded themselves once they are married, they rarely go out with friends anymore, they think that they are in a completely different level now and act like one. Tasia said to me "It's going to be ok!!!, I know you guys are not like that. Im sure we will still hanging out together. You are not gonna lose your friends".(Ooohh...what a good MOH you are!!).

We drove around on Friday to pick up this and that. In the afternoon, we pick up the rental cars and after that me and Indra went to Tante Noni's house to pick up the snacks for the ceremony. On they way there, i asked Indra "Are you afraid?". He said "I am nervous but not scared. A little bit worry about the weather, the schedule, the timeline but not the marriage". I said honestly to Indra "I am afraid". Being insensitive guy, he started asking me " So you still unsure about the whole thing? do you want to cancel the wedding?? why didn't you say it before??". He didn't make me feel any better, so i just kept quiet.

When we reached home around 7.30pm, some of our friends were already there to help us. They started to put the snacks into the boxes and some of them came to pick up the pictures and flowers that we gonna use on Saturday, we also have finished the liturgy (Indra designed the layout and i absolutely love it!!!). Tasia was doing the slideshow for us, she didn't sleep that night just to finish the slideshow (Thanks a lot Tas!!). My mom started to take out the wedding dress and iron it. And i didn't want to do anything that night, washed my hair, and just sat there doing my nails.

The weather forecast for Saturday was few showers and 19 degrees. That night i slept around 12.oo and i prayed hard to God so that He will make the weather good and the wedding runs smoothly, I prayed that God will lift up the uneasy feeling and burden from my heart so that i can enjoy the Day. Being a very fussy person, i asked God to give me a humble heart that accept everything that will happen on that day. Amen!!!

*Girls, the last point is very very important!!! this point played a major role during our wedding*

The Knot is Tied!!!!

FINALLY!!! WE ARE MARRIED!!!

It has been a long journey for us, well 5 years actually, but for us it felt like forever. Combining 2 different person with opposite background, family, vision, goal, habbits is not easy, that's why we call it long journey.

I dont even know how to summarize what's been happening this past week. For start, my internet was down from few days before the wedding, and i had taken my leave so i was practically out of touch with internet!!! there were so many thing i wanted to write in this blog before the D Day. I will try my best to re-cap the moments.

Tuesday, 16th October 07
I was in the office, couldn't concentrate at all. I kept ignoring my works and doing my wedding preparation instead. I felt really nervous, scared that i couldn't finished everything on time. As soon as the clock hit 3.30pm, i asked my boss to leave early, being a very very good boss, he actually gave me permission eventhough we had board meeting that day. I went home straight and started doing all the bits and pieces again.

I bought my wedding shoes in Indonesia (Mangga Dua), because it's cheap and they have various style. I didn't want to spend too much money on shoes, as long as they are comfortable and not too high, im fine with it. I bought 2 pairs, one for the ceremony which was white and another one for the reception, which was bronze colour.

I realized that the bronze shoes are very very simple and plain. I wanted to buy a new one in here, but i didn't have time to shop around so i had a crazy idea. I decided to put beads on the shoes with needle and string, and this is the before and after photos of the shoes.



I might get prettier shoes if i decided to buy a new one, but the satisfaction of creating my own wedding shoes is priceless.
I remember making the shoes until 4am in the morning, but it was worth it!

Wednesday, 17th October 07
On wednesday, we had our prewedding photo session again with our photographer (Rey from Antheia), he came on Sunday and stayed with us for a week. Early morning me, indra, tasia, rey and seng2 went to Swan Valley for photo session but we ended up in Chocolate Factory instead hahaha...

We were planning to go to the beach in the afternoon, but due to the strong wind and rain, we cancelled the photo session and went to Cicerellos, and had massive lunch, 2 seafood baskets, 1 fish and chips and calamari basket. We just sat there shivering while digging on the food.

Thanks to Tasia for my hairdo :)

Thursday, 18th October 07
We had another photo session, this time we went to Fremantle and City.

We found a very unique second hand book shop in Fremantle, it's very very classic and warm, we asked the owner's permission to take photo inside his shop.

In the afternoon, we had short photo session in Perth City and Tasia picked up the suits for Rey and Eel.

At 4pm, we gathered at Wesley Church for a rehearsal.
I actually walked from city to the church by myself because Indra needed to get something from his car, so we decided to meet at the church. On the way there, i had this uneasy feeling, i felt like calling off the wedding, my step was so heavy. I wanted to run away from the rehearsal and not meeting anyone. The closer i got to the church, i felt my throat was choked. I said to myself "No, this is not happening...it's only a dream".

But I managed to drag myself to the church and my parents were already there. Soon after that, my friends and pastors came. I got even more nervous. I remember, before we started, i sat next to Ka Ira and she held my hands, she was surprised that my hands were as cold as ice. I honestly said to her that i was afraid. She calmed me down, saying that me and Indra have a solid ground to build a family so there is nothing to be afraid of. I was gratefull that the rehearsal actually went well *Pheeww*

At night, Tasia created a more details timeline for the committees, she did that until 3am in the morning. She made 16 PAGES OF TIMELINE!!! but man, the timeline was perfect!!! very details and covers everything. Can't thank you enough Tas :). We should do this wedding organizer thingy very soon!!

Alrite, enough for now, i will post the -1 and D Day later.
Need to gather some pictures first.

Surprise Wedding Present..

Last Friday was awesome, some of our friends came to our house to celebrate Meli and Indra's Birthday. I ordered a special birthday cake from Tania (she is good!!) for them. She actually made 2 separate cakes, one was white piano shape cake for Meli and the other was black camera shape cake for Indra.

We basically just ate the cake and took photos and all the girls were helping me with the preparation. On Saturday, me and few others went to OSB to finalise the menu and things. It was ok except for the music, they dont allow us to use drum, how can you get a jazzy night without drum?? hope Meli can sort this out soon. In the afternoon we went to the Royal Show, it was fun!!! we didn't take many rides but we spent money on foods!!!! hahah typical!!

But in the end, all of us (well, except Lia, Indra and Meli!!!), we rode The Ranger. During the ride, i had to hold my glasses so it wont drop, it was pretty scary. When we finished, we all had headache, not sure because of the ride or because we haven't had dinner yet hahaha.

We went to Singapore after that and had a massive dinner party!!!

On Sunday, i had a BIG surprise from my friends!!! They booked a 2 nights Honeymoon Suite in Burswood Hotel plus Spa and buffet brekky and dinner, and errr...a toybox!!!! WOWW!!!! This means soooo muchhh for us guys!!! this is the only thing that i haven't organised. We love you guyssss.....kiss kiss for Tasia, Ferry, Wayne, Chris, Liza, San2, Sandra, Edwin, Ary, Eel, Defy, Rey, Medy, Lidya, Adel, Ivan and Raymond

We are trully blessed to have friends like you guys, BIG THANKS for all your helps and support.

On Sunday night, they had a crazy poker night and BIG KFC dinner. You are welcome anytime guys, we can use the house as a base camp and err...a casino..hahaha..

Can't believe it's next saturday, everytime i look at the calender, my legs are shaking hahaha..

A month to go...

Today is the 20th of September, exactly 30 days from the Day.

In 30 days....i will be someone's wife.
In 30 days....i will spend the rest of my life with him.
In 30 days....i will vow to be by his side no matter what.
In 30 days....i will be mrs instead of miss.
In 30 days....i will have a new and greater responsibility.
In 30 days....i will no longer dependant to my parents.
In 30 days....i will enter a new stage full of compromise and tolerance.

Invitations have been distributed, no turning back!!!

I'm happy with the way everything goes, all my friends helped me with the preparation and now we just need to finalise things.

One thing that makes me a bit sad is i've never had a chance to be close to my parents.

During the high school life, as a normal teenager, i hung out more with my friends rather than stay at home and spending time with my parents. My days were filled with me fighting with my dad. It was cool to rebel back then.

When i almost finish my high school year, i moved to Perth by myself. Life was so full with new challenges and excitements. Due to the expensive living in Australia, i only went back to Indo once a year and rarely called home. I was getting used by living alone without my parents.

Finishing Uni, i went straight to work. It made more difficult for me to go home, i had to save the annual leave and money. My parents work hard in Indo, they only came here for my graduation.
I remember asking my parents when will they visit me, they said 'Finish your uni first and then we'll come for the graduation'. Finally they came and i remember when my dad said he was very proud of me because i didnt live comfy life here, very tight with money, yet i can finish my study on time and got job straight even before the graduation ceremony. He said eventhough he is not rich in money but he is rich with proud.

Now that im going to get married, i called home very often and made me even closer to them. It's sad isn't it? you are closer to someone when you know you are going to let her go to a man.
I wish i can rewind the time a little bit so i can spend more time with them as their daughter not as someone's wife.

If you are not married yet, use your time wisely, be close to your parents, so there will be no regret.

44 Days

Today is the 6th Sept 07, which means 44 days left to the wedding day.

So excited and nervous.

On Sunday nite, me and Tasia worked on the time schedule for the day, sounds easy before started, but then a lot of small things came up along the way and we changed the times so many times. Well, but at least we started with something.

The invitation, gifts and photos are here, need to pick them up at the airport.

Me and Indra are having a new challenge and opportunity. It is a big challenge.
We'll see how it goes, hopefully this is what God has planned for us. Will share if everything goes smoothly.

My mom said the rings are ready, she said they are very good (im not sure what she meant, cos i remember i chose a very simple design), can't wait to see them.

With the box, i have managed to make 100 of them, so tiring...i make them every night.
Will upload the photos soon.

Gotta go back to work, im alone in the office, work pilling up.

My Man..

Love this picture (dagu pantatnya keliatan hahahah....)
I love you dear...

65 Days...

Goshhh....it's just 65 days left before the wedding...my 65 precious days.

The wedding preparation report:

- We have decided and made a sample of the placecard and the menu. Need to buy the paper this weekend so i can start.

- Still waiting on the noodle box for the ceremony. I ordered the wrong size last time, and they all wasted now (50pcs), anyoneneed noodle boxes?
Need to get the pink paper for the tag, hopefully the pink fabrics that i bought is enough, cos last time i checked Spotlight, they dont have it anymore.
Ribbon is ready.

- Waiting on the new menu from Swan Brewery, hope the price wont increase. I think the manager is quite annoyed by us since we kept contacting her about the menu, i know even 5 weeks before the wedding is enough to choose the menu but it's important to us to see the overall budget. The F&B takes up about 75% of the budget.

- I need to meet with the team: time schedule, PIC, activity, songs, etc...

- Need to confirm the rental cars (Ein, let me know ASAP!!)

- The wedding cake is done (need to pay in Sept)

- The invitation is done, should be here next week. Need to print names on the label.

- The video is done, im really happy cos he said it will be ready in 4 weeks, it means i can bring home the video and play it at the Indo wedding party.

- Wedding rings are ready.

- OMG!!! THE VOW!!!.....i got no idea...errr...let's skip this one...

- The dance, need to practice so he wont step on my foot.

- Need to book hotel for me and indra, where??? advice anyone??

- Tickets and visas for family, done!!

- Bouquet, corsages, buttoholes, centrepeieces: done!!! (Lets hope the flower arrangements turn out good)

- Cakes for the ceremony: done!! (need to confirm the amount in Oct)

- The honeymoon, need to check the packages in Sept, and apply for tourist visa.

- I need to do another wedding prep for Indo (start all over again *sigh*)

Well, that's it for now...will update soon...

Edwardian Mocha

*Saturday afternoon
*53 Stephen St
*Tazh & Fang
*Spotlight
*Ideas
*Ribbon
*Paper
*Scissor

Voila!!

....EdWaRdIaN MoChA....

The Photo II

Finally, after more than 6 months of waiting...they all finished, not in an album but at least in a thumbnails.
I would love to upload them here, but there are more than 30 of them.

So i give this link to view them :
http://www.8round.com/prewedd/Site/Photos%20by%20ANTHEIA.html

Overall we are so impressed with the photos, we really grateful that we used Antheia for our pre-wedd photoshot.
I cant wait for our D day photos here in Perth... :)

100 Days to go...

I know i know...i should be doing my work right now, but i can't miss this day.
It's 100 days before the Day!!! Ahh..terlalu bersejarah untuk dilewatin begitu aja..hehe..

As far as the wedding preparation goes, we have decided what flowers we want to use, and we have asked some of our friends to help us on the day, we have chosen couple of songs and etc..
Xenia gave me some 'wejangan' about what to do 'after and before', also had the rubella injection, she'll give me some more tips on that..hahah..

I have to say that we are glad we've been living together in one roof for almost 2 yrs, why?, because we have gone through that adjustment phase before we're even married. Now, we already know how to run household without a war involved. Yes, after the wedding, all we have to do is move to one bedroom..that's all.

I heard from some of my friends that the hard part is after the wedding, having to adjust to your partner's habbits, bagi2 tugas suami istri, buang sampah, bayar bill, masak, matiin lampu, cuci baju, potong rumput, cuci mobil, semua2 nya dhe...
We've done the fights and the shoutings long time ago.

So,100 hari lagi...siapa takutt???

The Groom..

Hahaha...tipical cewe mau merit, yg diinget cuman wedding dress, cake, photos...and forget to mention about the groom.
I met my man around 6 years ago, and believe me..i hated him so much that time, he was arrogant and ignorance. I was the new girl at church and no one cares about me, even just to say 'Hi', including him.
He was to busy mingle around with others and didn't look interested in saying 'Hi' to new people.

1 year after that..
I got a boyfriend and we were in the same care group, he was still the same person, still talking to the group except me. But this time, i didnt care, i already have my own friends outside the church and i was very happy with them.

1 year later..
I broke up with my boyfriend, and dia yg ngehibur gw, tetep aje gw gk suka. Dalem hati gw 'ngapain si sok2 berbaik hati, udah sombong ya sombong aja gih'. And we also worked together for the Christmas Celebration, and he really cared for me. I knew that he was up to something but i let him cos deep down inside my heart, i have this angry feeling towards him, sempet kepikiran buat bales dendam juga si hhehe *jahat bgt si gw*.

And now after almost 5 years, we still together, i wonder 'where is that angry feeling i used to have?'. Well, i guess it slowly dissapeared everytime he kissed me, hugged me, or when he put blanket on me when i sleep. Now, he is the man that i love and treasure. God's plan is always perfect and beautiful. His plan turns revenge to care and anger to love.

Final Fitting...

We went back to indo for a week...and it was a very exhausting week.
But we were so happy as everything turned out as we expected.

The first day we arrived in Jkt, we went to the photographer's place to see the results and choose the photos...now this is the tricky part...they showed us around 100 different photos which were really good, we really happy with them, he said we have to narrow them down...but he didnt say that we have to choose only 20 photos...only 20!!!! *nangis darah dhe milihnya*.
We spent hours and hours and we ended up paying more to save some of the photos that we were not willing to let go..hahaha...

On that very night, we went to Pwt by car, took around 8 hours...arrived in Pwt at 6 in the morning!
Woke up at 9am, and we went to see the invitation...we spent almost 3 hours to fix this and that...
After that we had lunch like crazy *sambel terasi, oseng kangkung, tahu goreng, tempe goreng, dst dst...slurpp*

The following day, we chose our wedding rings, since my mom knows the owner quite well, we got the good quality bling2 with good price as well. We chose simple princess cut bling2 with white gold band.

On Tuesday, we had a really full-on day. Early morning around 5am, we drove to Semarang to get my wedding dress. Arrived around 11, did the final fitting and waited for 3 hours before it's ready. The dress is beautiful, comfy and just....great!!!
While we were waiting, i decided to buy Anne Avantie's book at her butique, i got her authographs as well as Intan's. I must say the book is very inspiring and up lifting...spiritually!!
In the afternoon, we took train to Jkt and arrived around 10pm at night. So, on that day, we were in Pwt in the morning, Semarang in the afternoon, and Jkt at night....*what a day*

In Jakarta, my main goal was to find myself a dress for the reception...i spent the whole day finding it. I believe God has prepared this particular dress for me. I tried so many different dresses, they're either too small or too expensive, and i just knew that every shop has only 1 size for 1 dress. Then i found this shop, we were about leaving this shop because we found nothing, but suddenly i saw this dress in the corner and it's gorgeous, and guess what...there is only 1 size and it fitted me very very well... :)

Now we are back here in Perth, feeling grateful for every little things that God has provided for us....
Here are some of the photos of kebaya and batik prada for my 2 bridesmaids...enjoy girls..hope you guys like them.

150 days to go...

Today is May the 23rd and it's exactly 150 days from my big day..feelin excited?? yes!!!..worry?? Sure!!!..feelin weird, at one time i can feel sure about this whole thing and the next minute i feel the opposite.

But one thing for sure, we've been through A LOT for the past 4.5 years. He is the total opposite of me but yet i found comfort in him. We fight a lot..almost everyday, but when he's not around, something is missing in my life. I was by his side when he started his life from zero, when he was still immature and not ambitious. It was and is a tough one to change someone to become a better person.

I asked God soo many many times whether he's the one for me...coz we are just totally 2 different persons. You can name it...he doesnt like music, i love music...he is not ambitious, i am ambitious...he is very forgiving, i am totally not....he is very laidback and i am not....he eats anything, i dont....he likes sweet food, i like salty food...and the list goes on and on...and on...

The only thing that we have in common is art and of course...our faith!

But the fact that we still together ofter 4.5 years, it means something, something that is more than just love or hugs or kisses. Im not saying that 4.5 years is enough for people to get married, but knowing that we came from a completely different family background and up bringing...4.5 year is a long way..

These 4.5 years show me there is something more between us that can hold us together for the longer time. Love, hugs, kisses, gifts, flowers are not enough to hold 2 person for the rest of their lifes...then i realized..there is another thing that we have in common and is very important. It is COMMITTMENT.

No matter how sad i was with him, i decided to stay and make it work.

No matter how difficult it was to deal with his failures, i decided to be patient and stayed beside him.
No matter how dissapointed i was with him when he didn't get flowers or gift on my birthday, i still decided to stay.

No matter...no matter...no matter...i still decided to stay.....

And vice versa:

No matter how stubborn i was, he stayed with me...

No matter how selfish i was, he still chose me...

No matter how much i hurt him, he still there...

No matter...no matter...no matter....he is still there for me...

So now i pray to God and be thankfull for the committment that we have, we might not have the luxury life and huge deposit with high rates, we migh not have a big house, we might not have the expensive car to drive, we might not have plasma tv, but hey...those things won't matter one day. At the end of the day, the only thing matter is having someone besides you, holding your tiny and wrinkle hands and gently kisses your wrinkle cheek and stays still with you till end.

*You won't find the one unless you decide to make him one*

The Bridesmaid...

Now we move to the personnel..the bridesmaid, i always wanted only 2 bridesmaids for my wedding..less cost and less trouble hahah..:P. All along i have Tasia and Defy in my mind as my bridesmaid. Let see our stories:

Tasia (Green is her fav colour)
I think it was in 2001, i started CIC, my fist day of college alone and nervous. I went into my very first class..not knowing anyone, langsung cari2 mana bangku kosong yah yg kira2 sebelahnya orang baek. Eh ada satu.

Dengan sedikit lega gw duduk sebelah ce Asia,* yah paling gk ada temen senasib* pikir gw.
Sambil basa basi, gw senyumin tuh ce..and tanya
F: " Hello...whats ur name?"
T: " Anastasia...and u?"
F: " Onesti, where are u from?"
T: " Indonesia"
F: " Sama donkkk...hehehe (Asli legaaa bangettt...). Dari kota mana?"
T: " Dari Jakarta, u?"
F: " Dr Purwokerto.."
T: " HAH??? bonyok gw asal TEGAL loh!!!!" (dengan suara melengking)

After that, we just started to speak in Javanesse...and become inseparable :)
So many weird and funny moments happened whenever im with this girl...*Dr yang kena badai waktu pulang sekolah terus dia dengan hebohnya bergaya2, Demi clubbing kita nyebrang hutan gelap2, Gk pernah belajar yg ada ke Pot Black mulu dimana dia menyodok pantat bule dengan stick pool, de el el*

I love this gurl because she's loud & funny but yet shy, sensitive & emotional yet very forgiving, she is a great singer & artist, and most of all, she witness my ups and downs and yet she always there for me...

My next girl is:

Defy (Blue is her fav colour)
We were partner in crime at Curtin Uni heheh..me and Depy, we always sit in the same class, same subject, same group, everything!!! For me, Depy is a very mature girl *keibuan Dep*. When we were housemates, she always cook for me and really took care of me.

She's very smart and very reliable yet sometimes she acts weird hahah..*kalo kaget bilangnya...aduh terkejut gw hihihi*. I still remember my time with her in Benness Green house, kalo malem2 dia telp bonyoknya dengan suara keras2 pake bahasa Bangka heuheu...*Dep, nek hopis da?* cuman itu doank yg gw tau hahaha...:P. Gw inget juga penampilan perdana Depy clubbing ke METRO, and we had a little "incident" hehe..

Defy understands me as much as i understand myself, she always gives me advices and encouragement for the past few years. I am a pessimistic person and orang yg gk pe-de an, her encouragements and support have changed me alot over the years.

Those are some of the reasons i chose them as my bridesmaid.
They have been by my side over the years and i believe they will be on "The Day" because that's when i need them the most. I dont have a lot of friends in my life, but thank God i will have my true friends beside me when i walk down the aisle.:)

Thank you Tas for filling up my fun, crazy, hillarious side of life with ur laughter and thank you Defy for filling up my serious, tough, mature side of life with ur encouragements and support.
*Heheh..sorry gw ambil fotonya dr kalian :P*

The Church...

*Phewww..* Finally we got the church!!!, i thought having a ceremony at the church would be easier than having it in a garden or park, but it's not!! We were looking for a church for couple of weeks, and man..it was hard, plus the weird accident that happened in one of the Catholic church in city. Anyway, we tried every possible churches from UCA to COC, UCA doesnt allow us to have the ceremony there because we are not from UCA, the only way to have it there is to use their pastor and do their pre-marital class which we already did 2 yrs ago *speaking of basi*.

The only church left was Wesley Church (UCA), we went there and hope for nothing, but the church's very2 beautiful and perfect, i said to Indra "This is it!!!". We thought "well, if we have to use their pastor then so be it". Indra called them last week and guess what, they actually allow us to have ceremony there!!! with our own pastor!!! Thank God, He granted us the place :).

Not only we got the church, i just found out that the church has a piano...a grand piano!!! so happy...Here's some photos of the church.

Btw, i think i stressed too much about the wedding, i had a couple of bad dreams about my wedding, dari yg meritnya gk siap2 gk ada bunga and gk pake baju wedding sampe mimpi kebaya gw jadinya jelek bgt, sampe nangis dlm tidur hihihi :P.

The Dress...

I always thought that i'd got married in white strapless wedding dress, even Tasia drew one for me *still have it Tas*, i like simple and elegant dress. But, recently in Indo, there are so many brides wearing Kebaya Modern for wedding which look very elegant, i started to search the photos and pictures of this kebaya, especially the ones made by Anne Avantie, they are absolutely gorgeous!!! but when you look at the price...speechless.. (see pictures: beberapa contoh kebaya Anne Avantie yg bikin ngiler)

I showed my mom Anne's kebaya and she fell in love with her design, she insisted that i should make one with her *Gmn bisa nolak??*. But i dont want to spend that much money on the dress, so my mom looked for other designer and found out that Anne's daughter is designing kebaya as well, with of course cheaper price than her mom.

So, we went to Semarang, 5 hours with Honda Jazz from Purwokerto. She is very very young and talented, she's younger than me yet looks very mature. She knows exactly what her client wants, and makes it really quick and easy. Me and mom decided to have broken white kebaya, and im not gonna wear batik, i cant explain into details cos i havent seen it yet, im going back this June for the first and last fitting, hopefully it turns out as what i imagined *i will take photos this time*.

By the way, gantungan yg gw maksud di bagian punggung itu mirip seperti ini tas :P ,cuman warna putih, what do you think?