I believe that bumping into Dnas Qaseh wedding planner was no coincidence. Perhaps it was fate.

When I started planning for this wedding, I have a budget in my mind. That it will not exceed 20k. With the budget that I had in mind, I begun scouting for a wedding planner.

If you have many family members or siblings, uncles or aunties who stay around your location or maybe the same state, wedding planner is not necessary. But because my mum and dad were not locals, we had to get help.

My dad had a few co-workers who used to work with him last time, staying around. They actually helped a few things too. 

I had a few ideas in my mind. I wanted to combine the element of traditional with a little twist of modern into the wedding outfit. So, Scha Al-Yahya wedding outfit was my inspiration. I had 2 fitting session and even on the day of the reception, some amendment had to be made in the hotel suite itself *who said I grew fats?*.

Although my outfit was modern + traditional, I wanted to retain the traditional style in the groom's outfit. With the tengkolok and keris on him. I knew what I wanted because I had everything written in my organiser. From the color of the fabric for my outfit to the color of the deco for the wedding dinner. I made it easy for both the hotel event manager as well as the wedding planner. 

As for the pelamin, my mum specifically requested to have the traditional bench made of kayu jati. So my wedding planner had to use the one she had at home.

There are a few things consider when hiring a wedding planner:

1. Know your budget. This is the most important element even before your start planning for your wedding. Most wedding planner are flexible enough to play around with your budget. The cost to hire a wedding planner in the city will definitely be higher from the suburb.

2. Things will be easier if you have a rough idea on how would you like your wedding to look like. Perhaps, you can start with the theme and color scheme.

3. Prior to meeting your wedding planner, jot down your inspirations in a book or keep it somewhere in your phone. Show it to your wedding planner. Perhaps the combination of your idea and your wedding planner's idea would create a much better outcome. Above your expectations.

4. As a girl, especially, you tend to add the unnecessary little things for your wedding. Everyone wants to have fairy tale wedding but let's be realistic, not everyone can afford it. If you have a budget to stick to, keep it within that limit. Some things are not necessary or perhaps if you are creative enough, you can DIY.

5. Meet your wedding planner prior to your wedding date to discuss on the details again. Your deco, your outfit and whatever that is necessary. This is to make sure both side are on the same page. 

Lastly, don't FORGET TO LEAVE SOME FOOD FOR THEM.