BOOKED: ISHQ X SAP

I'm happy to report that we got the bridal on the top of my list!

Our appointment was set for 18th Feb, so we went down to Oxley Bizhub yesterday at 7pm and placed our deposit to secure the date!

Such wow. Much happy.

The package we'd decided on was The Premium; a collaboration between ISHQ by Nora Zee and Shamsydar Ani Photography, which consisted of:

ISHQ by Nora Zee

3 pairs of bridal outfits

3 makeup looks

3 hair or hijap styling

10 hours of service

+ additional charges apply for designer outfits

Shamsydar Ani Photography

12 hours of photography service

300 4R printed images

1 slot in album

Personalised name and date stamps

16" by 24" framed canvas

High resolution images in thumbdrive

For both these services, I have to say I think it's quite a steal! And I'm so happy that we've managed to book 2 services in one day.

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So, I think some people are probably wondering how Kak Nora is..... hahaha. 

After hearing all the stories from various friends who know friends who either regretted taking up ISHQ for whatever reason, or found her 'sombong', I was actually really nervous when I went into the room.

Thankfully, we were greeted by Sham (the photographer) herself, and she was soooooo warm and friendly! Absolutely loved talking to her. She gave us tips on how the bertandang could be, and suggested we go for an outdoor photoshoot after the sanding. No qualms on her part about it being too dark (as I've heard from some photographers), and she even suggested we 'chase the sunset'. Loveeeeeeeee that idea!

Then Kak Nora came to us to collect payment, and that's when I got to meet THE Nora Zee. THE Nora Zee that everyone's been talking about.

I thought she was pleasant enough; self-deprecating humor (which I love!), perfect English and quite smiley, even though not as smiley and warm as Sham. Oh well, everyone's different la.

But as for Said, he told me later on that she sounded quite stuck up, and he felt quite turned off by her at one point. And he, not realizing that Sham is our would-be photographer, asked if Sham could be our mak andam instead, haha! So cute ah. But that's a testament to how warm and friendly Sham was.

Anyway... Something did happen during the discussion that kinda irritated me a little.

You see, all this while, in my kanchiongness, I'd been asking how much the deposit was. I'd asked Sham via email, and Dahlia (one of ISHQ's orang kuat) via Facebook, and BOTH told me the deposit is 20% of the package price.

So based on that, we'd both readied that 20%.

But when we got there, they told us they prefer a payment of $600 each (photography and bridal), which is more than what we'd prepared. So I was quite taken aback ah. Tibe2 nak suruh aku bayar extra $200 each eh when all this while you've said something else.

Long story short, I asked if we could stick with the 20% (nicely and laughingly of course) as I'd already asked 2-3 times prior to the appointment and everyone said it's 20% of the package price.

Thankfully, they agreed! Yay! They even decided to take $800 instead of the initial $860. Alhamdulillah.

And Alhamdulillah, that we've managed to secure my most wanted bridal and photography for our big day!

I mean, thisssssssssss:

How can anything top the amazing makeup by ISHQ?! And the designer dresses!

I rela. I RELAAAAAAA!

And not forgetting the ah-may-zingggggg photography by Sham:

SO FRESH. SO BEAUTIFUL. SO RELAAAAAAAA HATI I BOOK YOU ALLS!

Wrap botol, nyah

DIY is always interesting and fun to do because you never know what you can get with the various materials you have on hand - and I'm the sort of person that needs that kinda unpredictability in my life, you know? Hahaha

So there we were. At Darfina's house, and we were supposed to decorate those bottles / tupperware with the tutop merah. Ala you know the ones they use to isi kuih tart or kuih makmur or any other raya cookies.

Like this

And we. were. CLUELESS.

We had no idea what to do!

The idea that I had, involved some burlap material, but all we had on hand was this:

So we fiddled around with the paper, covering the red lid with it and trying out the white string. And then we came up with this!

Very the rustic vintage horrrr

Very easy, and yet VERY effective in covering up the tak-senonoh-creases resulting from our tak-senonoh-wrapping of the paper.

And all we had to do was:

1. Cut the paper into squares (big enough to cover the top of the red lid at least).

2. Paste the paper onto the red lid (double-sided tape).

3. Wrap the white string around the sides (like in the picture) from bottom to top, or top to bottom (using multi-purpose white glue).

4. Cut short pieces of the same string and tie them into little bows (again, like in the picture).

5. Paste the little bows onto the sides of the containers (using hot glue from glue gun).


We took about 3 hours to doll up 20 lids between the 2 of us. Not exactly fast, but that's just because we took some time to brainstorm and prep, AND because the white string can be a real B****. Pardon my French. 

I think the little bows really added just that little bit of classiness to spruce up the look. We used multi-purpose white glue for the wrapping of the white string around the lids, and it's a good thing we did because who the heck wants to get scalded by HOT GLUE while trying to hold the string in place?

NOT happening, ok?

The finished product:

Very, very simple, nyah. I like!

I just love the feeling you get when you look at your finished product and can feel satisfied after all the hard work you put in. This is one of the things I wouldn't mind doing until my back aches from hunching over too much, or my bontot being sore from sitting long hours on the floor. I'd seriously prefer to do this and nothing else.

So today was definitely a much needed break, doing something I love for a change! It's been a hard week of studying and hardly anything else until I want to cry and tear my hair out. Even my body's failing me now, giving me a slight fever and a horrendous flu. 

Next week, 2 more papers. Ya Allah, please give me the strength. I simply cannot wait for school to be over and done with, because I am seriously SPENT. Studying part time and working full time has worn me out to the extent that I no longer enjoy any part of it now. Last 2 semesters (this semester and next), and I will get my degree. InsyaAllah. After that, NO MORE studying k? Lol.