Friday 12 August 2011

Safely married

Salam ladies~

It's been a long break, hasn't it?

Well, Alhamdulillah, as the clock ticker rightfully announces on the right hand bar of this page... Mr. A and I are now safely proclaimed as husband and wife. :)

After all the preparations and immense emotional turmoil over the past few months or so, it feels great to finally be at a stage of peace and relaxation. :) I can never forget the many faces who have helped on that very special day when everything came to be... my immediate family, to whom I am eternally grateful and to whom countless thank you's can never be enough; to my external family members, who came to our rescue in ensuring that things were laid out smoothly and as planned; to the friends and colleagues who turned up, equally as excited as I was; to the guests, who contributed to the merriment of the ceremony. I am sincerely grateful for the du'as, prayers and thoughts initiated by all and can only pray that Allah give you much deserved blessings in return. :)

Two weeks down the road since I've been a Mrs to the hubby, it's been quite an interesting change. It feels like the family has extended to include more sisters and an additional mother and father but when I reflect back, the reality is we have created a family of our own - of two people, directly intertwined with a set of two other families. Sometimes the realization brings tears to my eyes - both of joy and sadness, for a part of me is happy to be in a lawful relationship with my former fiance and ex-boyfriend, but another is sad to have been separated from a relationship and tight bond that has raised me for more than two decades - my parents and my family. When prior to this, I only had my parents and my siblings to attend to, that priority has now shifted to my husband. I am sometimes filled with a range of mixed emotions but I suppose this is part of the change in process. I hope I'll be taken gracefully through the process iA and ameen. :')

Sunday 17 July 2011

The walk

Sifting through old photo albums of people doing their nikah now and for some odd reason, I'm feeling nostalgic... wondering how it felt like for them , how their family members felt at the time and how relieved the couple must have been after weeks, months or even years of intense wedding preparations. I'm not even that stage yet and yet, I can still sense the feeling of happiness, joy and relief as I go towards the end of the album. I sincerely can't wait until it's my turn. :)

Anyways, salam ladies~

Lately I've been surrounded by a lot of baby bumps and baby talk, and it's making me think a lot about when I want to have them, how many and how soon. It may seem a bit too early to think about it but if any of you have realised, the countdown ticker on the right hand side of the page only indicates a solemnisation countdown. What happened to the sanding, you say? Well, that will be held at the end of the year/early next year. :)

Why the huge gap? Why not selajurkan saja tarus? Ohhhh I've got a whole list of reasons for this - one of which is financial planning and then there's waiting for my sister to be back in Brunei before we embark on a socially-official function... amongst a few others. The thing about doing something like this is: it's not widely culturally accepted yet, at least not within my parents and my grandparents' generation. They are so used to a full launch wedding ceremony, where the nikah precedes the malam berbedak and that precedes the bersanding ceremony so imagine their disbelief when this little, bride-to-be initially requested for a nikah only. Oh the heated discussions! Hehe.

Alhamdulillah, with Allah's grace and blessings, after all the discussions and initial hesitations, the parents and the grandmother eventually accepted the idea with a little bit of compromising of course - that we do the other events too but at a later date. And that, is how we got to be, ladies. :)

Saturday 16 July 2011

Updates

Salam ladies!

So as of yesterday's 'hunting' session, I have successfully booked myself a white tudung and tiara accessories! Weehee and syukur Alhamdulillah. :) I've been having these two things at the back of my head for the past two weeks or so now, and to finally get them somewhat-settled is very relieving indeed.

And to top it off, managed to scrap off a few things from the to-do list as well. Bought the other half a simple Alquran to finish off his hantaran and bought some lulur (lulut?) for yours truly. Hehe. The girls have been talking about this for as long as I can remember, might as well make a headstart now right? :D

Toodles~

Friday 15 July 2011

Happy happy

Salam again ladies~

Alhamdulillah, after a second fitting and after some minor alterations, my baju nikah is finally done and paid for. This bride-to-be has never felt so relieved. :)

Preview shot

I love the beadwork on the baju and I absolutely loved the veil. It's exactly the way I want it to be - not too blingey and not too plain. Can't wait to wear it when the big day comes! Hee.

Now that that is out of the way, it's time for tiara hunting and tudung hunting! Will be doing that this afternoon with a few of the colleagues who have kindly offered their hands (and listening ears) to me. Never in a million years would I thought I'd be doing my wedding preps with my work colleagues but I suppose outside of work, they're more friends than they are working partners. I'm so glad to be blessed with these ladies and eternally grateful :)

I'm off to work on my campur bags now. 180 of them! Wish me luck! :D

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Part 2

Also, my baju nikah is ready from altering!! Will be picking it up soon, within the next few days and then it will be white tudung hunting and tiara hunting. Wish me the best of luck! ;)

And look what I got in the mail when I arrived back from work last week?


My campur boxes!!

Looks like it'll be a fun-filled weekend this week! ;)

Pre-wedding jitters?

Two more days to workshop completion!

And two more weeks to the big day and my mandatory leave!

Is anybody excited? Because I know I am!! Hehe.

Salam lovely ladies :)

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've updated. As per usual, work has taken pretty much all of my time these days. Last week in itself was a crazy one - outstation trips here and there, conferences to attend plus a last minute seminar in which I was given the duty to present. Currently attending a four day training session and then there's another workshop coming up next week.

No wonderrrr my hormones are going cuck-oo.

I say that lightly but to be honest, it's the one thing that has been bugging me for the past few days. Been getting a lot of 'spotting' and unusual discharges as of late and this has never happened in this frequency before, it's kinda scaring me. :S The good thing is I've made a visit to the gynae and the doctor said that my 'peranakan' is normal so all of those were probably a result of the hormones. I sure hope so, cos it's making my life a bit difficult with regards to being 'clean' or not! And of course it conveniently comes two weeks before the big day.

So to conclude, wedding preps + intense work load = hormonal imbalances = normal?

Funny that this is happening to me too. People say that it's common to get pre-wedding jitters and everything before your wedding but I, for one, certainly did not think it would happen to ME! Not to say I was being ignorant plang, but I suppose with all the heads up and early wedding preps, I just thought that I wouldn't have to worry about anything else closer to the big day. But I suppose I was wrong. Mentally I didn't quite think I was stressed or burdened or overwhelmed, but it seems like my body knows me best. Hence all the hormonal changes.

Can't wait to get all of this back to normal! Wish me patience in my undertakings!

PS: My other half is awesome. :)

Saturday 2 July 2011

On my baju nikah

Guess what??

Credits: Google Image

My baju nikah is ready for fitting!! Much earlier than expected!! :D

Alhamdulillah. :)

I've had so many worries over this baju - should I do it short? Should I have it long? Should it be over-blingey? Or do I want it to just be simple and conservative? Decisions, decisions. I actually returned to the shop a few times too just to check that they're doing it the right way. Paranoid much? Lol. But now alhamdulillah, it's done and tinggal fitting saja lagi. Unfortunately the boutique is closed for tomorrow so I guess I'll have to wait to see how it pans out.

Aku nervousssss!!

Friday 1 July 2011

:(

Getting a bit disappointed that most of besties can't make it for the big day...

But I suppose work is a bigger priority. Sigh.

:(

Progression


*looks at countdown ticker*

Salam lovely ladies!

Four weeks to go and I think it's high time to review my progress and update my checklist, don't you think? ;)

So...

Baju nikah - Currently in the process of making it. Fitting is in 10 days! Mudah-mudahan tah okay, heee.

MUA - Booked! But need to remind her and re-confirm dates.

Photographer - Booked! To prepare payment for 2nd deposit.

Pelamin and room/house deco - Booked! To prepare remaining balance.

Morning campur - Bought! Waiting for campur boxes to arrive.

Campur bags - Bought! Waiting for them to be delivered soon-ish.

Videographer - Booked! To remind them of dates.

Catering - Booked!

Kems - Booked!

Evening campur - Booked! Need to remind them again actually!

Baju for Malam Silaturrahim - Done! The other half thinks it's a bit simple so I'm now contemplating on whether I should have something additional done to it? Hmmm...

Nikah rings - Done! Almost forgot about this in our laidback attitude, thinking that all the wedding preps have been sorted out, lol. But got them last week and they're now being re-sized. Hopefully they'll be done in time before the wedding! :D

Pengangun - Booked!

Wedding invitations - Done! Printed out names for the envelopes. Awaiting delivery to respective guests!

Barang hantaran - Everything bought! Just need to sort out the other half's cara melayu and send them for gubahan a week before the big day.

Room - Haven't decided on when to paint the room, eeeks!

Miscellaneous others - To book tiara accessories, to book bouquet arrangements, to buy a white tudung (taking ages for me to get one that I really like, haiyo), to send the other half's cara melayu to the tailor shop... is there anything else??

I guess at this point in time, I'm happy to have done most of the major things that need attention to but at the same time, takut jua ketinggalan the little details that make it work. Hehe. Guess that's the OCD side of me ;)

Till next time!

Wednesday 29 June 2011

One month to go

Salam lovelies~

I can't believe it. After all the scouting, after all the time spent with the preparations and after all the emotional outbursts... as of today, I have exactly ONE month to go before the big day!



One more month to...

being independent,
being untied to any responsibilities,
being a daddy's girl...

One more month to...

building a family of my own,
to being somebody else's wife,
being somebody else's responsibility...

I'm getting mixed emotions about this. A part of me is eager to step forward and assume a new phase in life but another part of me is too comfortable in the life that I've been accustomed to. And in the midst of all of that, I'm starting to question myself: Am I ready to be someone else's wife? Can I handle the burden and responsibility of being one? Will I be able to fulfil my roles? Does that mean I'm not a daughter anymore? :( These thoughts, they just keep playing in my head.

Am I getting cold feet?!

Hehe.

Friday 24 June 2011

Saving BIG

Salam ladies~

Bear with me as this will be a super, duper long post! Today's post will be about saving costs - let's just say I owe it to everyone for slacking off with my posts as of late ;)

Tip number one: Go to wedding showcases.

But go to a reputable and proper one, of course. I have to admit the recent Wedding Showcase provided the best foundation for any bride and groom-to-be to begin with. They had just about everything there - from photographers (CS!!) to bridal boutiques (including displays of amaaazing baju songkets from the well known Mutiara Ayu or better known as Hjh Lina's at Ong Sum Ping) to ideas for hantarans such as velvety Al-Qurans and cupcakes.

And best of all, they all came with amazing discounts and promotions! I only went there to settle my curiosity (since much of the wedding preps are already done with) but I actually ended up booking myself a pelamin for almost half its original cost! And the other half also managed to save about 40% by booking himself a vendor to do his gubahan hantaran for nikah. Save to say, we were one happy camper couple that day. :)

Tip number two: Utilise as much privilege cards that you have. If you don't have one, get one. If that's not an option, then borrow one!

Trust me, they will do you wonders! DSTCard has some great privileges if you're looking to get your wedding or engagement rings - they offer 30% discount on selected jeweller shops including a certain T jewellery shop in Kiulap. Ah-ma-zing!!

And if you're looking to get honeymoon tickets for cheap and happen to have ample miles on your Royal Skies, then this is probably the best time to redeem it. The most you would pay for an airfare would be about $100+ and that is the cost for fuel surcharges only, everything else is free!

Till next time ladies~!

Monday 20 June 2011

:)

I love this story.

Sometimes the simplest deeds can mean more than we expect them to be. MasyaAllah. :')

There was this beautiful woman, who wanted to get married, but she wanted a very pious husband, so she said that she’ll marry the man who recites the whole Quran every single day, fasts for the whole year and stays awake and worships Allah all throughout the night.

She was a very beautiful woman, and a lot of suitors wanted to marry her, but they knew they couldn’t fulfill the conditions she set. Until this one man stepped forward and said he could fulfill them. So the Imam got both of them married.

After the first night of the marriage, the wife sees that the husband doesn’t recite the whole of the Quran, nor does he fast, nor does he stay awake in the worship of Allah, she decided to let it roll on for a few weeks to see if there were any changes, there weren’t, so she filed a complaint and asked for a divorce.

They are both taken in front of the judge, and the judge asked, ‘What were the conditions of the marriage?’ the man replied ‘They were for me to recite the whole Quran daily, keep fast for the whole year and to worship Allah all throughout the night.’

The Judge asked, ‘ did you fulfill them? The man calmly answered, ‘…yes.’

The judge answers, ‘you lie, your wife has said that you don’t, that’s why she’s asking for a divorce’.

But the man insisted that he had fulfilled the conditions, so the judge asked, ‘did you recite the full Quran everyday?’ The man answered yes. The Judge, baffled asked, ‘how? How can you do that?’ The man coolly answered, ‘I recite Surah Ikhlas three times a day and according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), reciting Surah Ikhlas three times is equivalent to reciting the whole Quran.’ The Judge was intrigued, so he asked, ‘how did you fast the whole year?’ The man answered, ‘ I fasted for the whole month of Ramadan, then kept another six fasts in the month of Shawwal, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), keeping all of the fast of Ramadan then keeping six fasts in the month of Shawwal, is as if you have fasted for the whole year.’

The Judge remained silent, he couldn’t give a reply saying the man was wrong, so finally he asked, ‘ how did you stay awake all night and worship Allah, when your wife saw you sleeping?’ The Judge thought the man wouldn’t be able to answer this one, but the man, cool as a cucumber answered, ‘I prayed Salatul Isha with jamaat, then the next day prayed Salatul Fajr with jamaat, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), the one who prays Salatul Isha and Salatul Fajr with jamaat, it is as if he had stayed up all night worshipping Allah.’

The Judge sat there looking at the man; the final verdict was about to be released…

He said to the man and his wife, ‘…go, just go, there is nothing wrong with this marriage’…

Original article was taken from here.

Saturday 18 June 2011

The invitations are here!!

Well, actually, since Thursday and my heart has been brimming with relief, joy and happiness ever since. :)

Salam all bride-to-bes!

Hoping everyone is in the best of health and iman. :)

So as the title suggests, the coveted and long-awaited invitations are finally here! Alhamdulillah. I was so excited about them that I didn't even get to take a photo of the parcel that it came in and neither did I get to take a photo of them in their 'fresh' state! Hehe. Let's just say, they're all neatly packed in their appropriate envelopes now. :) But here's a replica of what they look like in blue, mine's in dark pink:

Credits: ilikecard

Pretty, if I should say so myself! My mum was saying, 'patutnya org lain lah cakap lawa atau nda, ani ia sendiri yg memuji kadnya.' Hehehe. Can't help it, aku suka! :D Next step: printing out invitation names! And note to self: to pay remaining balance!

Phase 1 photos are also out and I love them! It actually feels a bit weird to see your own house from another person's perspective (the photographer) but I have to say I love the way he captures them. Looks like a different house altogether! Of course I caught photos of myself smiling and standing very awkwardly as well but let's just pretend I didn't see those... ;)

And as for the campur boxes, I've got something like this in mind:


And they've been ordered, with full payment. :D So excitingg!!

Also went for my pre-marital screening blood tests earlier today at my local health centre. The lady who took my blood samples commented on how late the nurses tend to give out these tests to the bride and groom-to-bes: 'patutnya awal kursus atu sudah drg mbagi kamu test ani. ani selalu akhir bah. org kn kawin nda lagi batah.' Not that she was mad but I suppose it was a valid statement. Test results will be out in three weeks so I'll make my next appointment then. Mudah-mudahan everything okay, amin!

Tuesday 14 June 2011

A sense to reflect :)

Salam ladies,

Interesting read which I found. :)

Title: To Love her for Him

Many people have been talking to me about marriage lately. I wonder why. I still remember this one occasion when a friend of mine asked,

"Lutfi, are you married?"

"What!? No! Do I look like I'm married?"

"Engaged?"

"No, I'm not. Why?"

"Why don't you get married?"

"Well now that you ask, marriage is not that simple for me. And you didn't answer my question."

"What's so difficult? You're an able man. Get married quick."

"Easier said than done, brother."

"Look Lutfi, I got married at the age of 27 and the first thing I thought was 'Why in the world didn't I get married sooner?'"

Laughs. OK, he might have a point. I mean, he's not the President for nothing.

Why is marriage not that easy for me? Surely, there are so many reasons why it's not easy. It shouldn't be easy for anyone! Why do you think marriage is considered as half of our deen? There is such a heavy weight on marriage in Islam such that it is so highly regarded by Allah in many narrations of our Prophet PBUH. Many people do not consider the implications of a pure relationship between a man and a woman in a marriage. That's why many of them end in divorce. What are the typical questions someone asks when considering marriage? Spouse? Money? Education? Job? Wedding? Guests? Food? And the list goes on. Material things.

How many people even ponder on the most essential points? And this is especially so for the man. When I inquire about a woman for marriage, I do not want to know what she should do for me, I want to know what I should do for her. In my opinion, marriage in Islam is not for satisfying my needs. It's not for me at all. It's for Allah. It's for Islam. It's for my wife. It's for my children. It's for my family. It's about responsibility. It's about providing love and care to another soul as Allah has commanded.

If I marry, I will ask my wife of nothing, except that she obeys Allah and His Messenger. For I know that on the Day of Judgement, I will bear the weight of her sins on my back if she doesn't. Islam says, what's mine is hers, what's hers is hers. Islam says, she will be rewarded with the good deeds that I do, and I will be punished for the bad deeds that she does. My wife in this life, is my wife in the next. Marriage is eternal and transcends death. A marriage for Allah's sake may bring me to Jannah, while a marriage based on anything else may bring me to Jahannam. It's more than just 'tying the knot'.

But Allah knows, I want to hold her hand and guide her when she is lost. I want to protect her when she is in danger. I want to be her crying shoulder and wipe away her tears when she is sad. I want to laugh at her jokes. I want to be patient and understanding with her when she is angry. I want to forgive her faults when she makes a mistake. I want to accept her flaws and imperfectmemori hatiions. I want to be kind and gentle to her. I want to be her friend and companion. I want to be her guardian and supporter. I want tobe her teacher, leader and imam. I want to be the father of her children. I want to be there for her through sadness and sorrow, hardship and grief. I want to be there for her in happiness and ease. I want toplease her for the sake of Allah.

I want to show her compassion and affection like the Prophet PBUH, who used to show a great deal of affection towards his wives. Aisha reported that the Prophet would only enjoy his meals when she would sit next to him. They would drink from one cup and he would watch where Aisha would place her lips on the cup so that he could place his lips on the exact position. He would eat from a bone after she would eat from it, placing his mouth where she had eaten. The Prophet used to also help around the house. Aisha narrated, Prophet Muhammad used to stitch his clothes, milk the goats and help in the chores inside the house. I want to emulate our beloved Rasulullah SAW, and I know, this is why it isn't easy.

So ask yourself now, is marriage easy?

Original article was taken from here.

Saturday 11 June 2011

Doodles


Oh my days...

My room has been a warzone eversince I came back from that trip to Singapore. The other half's hantaran things are still in the luggage untouched and everything else is just splattered all over the side of the bed that I am not sleeping in. Not. a. very. pleasing. sight. to see after you return from an exhausting day at work. Nope. Amidst all the social functions and the events happening at work, it's just been very difficult to find the time to clean up and when fatigue takes over, the intention to do so just dies altogether. Maybe I should do it bit by bit? *ponders*

Speaking of 'social' functions... I had the chance to meet up with a good friend of mine earlier today, just after work. We haven't seen each other in quite some time now and being the girls that we (naturally) are, the talk of Phase 1 came up into the conversation and eventually the trip to Singapore too. There was one particular issue that has been bothering me since that trip actually and having to actually let it out and have someone understand my point of view made me feel... how should I say, relieved? Thanks to her, I came to the realisation that this IS my wedding and I should be entitled to feel happy about whatever I intend to do/get/buy, without having to worry about other people talking behind my back. If not now, bila lagi kn? :)

Anyways... on to happier stuff! :D

Guess who has a brand new Ipad2 now?

Yep, you got it right. And he was oh-so-pleased. :)

Queued a good half an hour or so at AV electronics too, to get that. ;)

Short wedding preps update:
* Pictures for Phase 1 to be delivered on Monday. Whoop whoop! :D
* Invitation vendor still to get back to me regarding remaining payment. Getting nervous about this as its been taking her quite a while to respond.
* Still waiting for another vendor to get back to me about my boxes. All this waiting is making me giddyyyyy.

Till next time bride-to-bes!

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Post-trip

Salam everyone,

Many apologies for the lack of updates. This bride-to-be has been very busy. :)

Unfortunately that hasn't been due to wedding preparations, hehe. Work has been taking its toll on me lately and it's just taking a bit of time getting adjusted to. :)

Anyhows, as the title suggests, yes, we have finally made our trip to Singapore! Weeheeee! The aim was to get our hantaran stuff there and syukur Alhamdulillah, things have gone according to plan. :) For the other half, we've managed to get the following things:

- Wallet
- Watch
- Ties
- Shoes
- Work shirts, and
- Camera

Which is basically half of his hantaran already, so I can't be more pleased! His ipad2 is still pending though, and until that is bought, I doubt I'm ever gonna hear the end of it, lol. ;)

As for myself, I've managed to get a few bags, tudungs, makeup as well as toiletries (skincare). The hantaran is still missing a few pieces but the rest are available in Brunei so I don't really have much to worry.

As for progress updates, I'm still waiting for my invitation cards to be delivered. Word is she'll be sending them today and it will arrive within the next couple of days so that's exciting news! I also had the chance to go to Masamichi earlier today to settle the remaining payments for the video coverage and that has been done. Feels like such a productive day :D

Till next time bride-to-bes!

Monday 30 May 2011

Phase 1


Salam ladies,

Finally, a time for a breather. The past week has been a busy one, filled with a lot of last minute preps for the start of Phase 1 in my life. :) You'd be happy to know that after a number of trials with many recommended make-up artists, I have finally decided on two final ones and I'm quite happy with my choice. One of them actually did Phase 1 yesterday and although I still looked a bit tired, the end make-up was exactly the way I pictured myself to be. I absolutely loved it. :) Plus she was a friendly person, which was a bonus, as it eased my nerves a little bit. ;)

Anyways, syukur ke hadrat Allah s.a.w., Phase 1 proceeded well. :) It still feels somewhat surreal to be in this position but I'm thankful to be one step closer to a new chapter in my life. :)

Wedding preps have otherwise slowed down generally. I've just received an email from my invitation vendor that the wedding invites are nearing completion and she is aiming to send them to Brunei by the end of the week insyaAllah, so that's exciting news! That's earlier than the expected timeline I had for them so I can't be more happy. :D

And the trip to Singapore to get the hantarans is coming lusa, so that's next on the agenda. Till next time b2bs!

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Alhamdulillah

I've reached the last session of the kursus pra-nikah without hitch and glitch. Syukur alhamdulillah, my prayers have been answered. :))

Sunday 22 May 2011

Bits and bots

Salam b2bs,

Apologies for the lack of posting, work has been taking its rightful priority these days. :)

Anyways, hope everybody is in the best of health and iman, as always. There hasn't been much going on in terms of wedding preparations these days. Only bits and bots of it sja... and they came through the mail! Heeee.


My tudongs for the engagement. Thanks to the lovely sister for delivering them all the way from the UK. :D So sooo happyyy!

Also, these came in from my Mum. She had the engagement folder designed by a friend of hers and we just got it back yesterday - it did not disappoint!


Sorry had to give in sneak peaks saja, do not want to disclose my identity here, hehe. But lawa kn?? Simple but nice. For once, I gave the entire responsibility to my Mum and I'm glad she made a good choice at choosing the designer. Not that I don't trust her, but I just have a little bit of an OCD perfectionist disorder. ;)

As for the designer, she is not well-known but I have to say, she's quite meticulous and neat with her work. I'm very fussy about my wedding preps and this was one situation where I did not have the chance to research and review, but her work still made the cut anyway. Definitely a high recommendation for this one! If anybody's interested, drop me a comment and I'll pass you her number or for those who know me, contact me sja *wink* *wink*.

Also, just a quick review on Roza Rohaya! The other half and I managed to drop by their boutique during one of our lunch breaks last week and we had a look at their boutique and prices. I have to admit, out of all the boutiques I've gone to so far, this has got to be the priciest place to rent your wedding things. But! I loooooove their wedding bajus and they pretty much have everything there, from the renting of veils, inner tudungs, kasuts, you name it. The ones that I've been to so far focused mostly on the bajus and wedding accessories but the wedding accessories are often incomplete so this was definitely a plus-point for this place. I suppose quality-wise, they're quite high up in the list so if anybody's looking for quality and is willing to pay the price, this might just be the place. Otherwise, other places pun ok jua and better pricing too! :)

Till then!

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Sesudah sampai serunya untuk menikah...

Salam all bride-to-bes,

Sometimes we take a lot of things for granted. When given opportunities, we always believe they will come again and again but neither do we realise that not everything is within our control or within our grasp. We can plan, but Allah decides for us everything else. Here's a reminder for all, but most importantly, to myself:

"Apabila datang kepadamu seorang laki-laki datang untuk meminang yang engkau redha terhadap agama dan akhlaqnya maka nikahkanlah dia. Bila tidak engkau lakukan maka akan terjadi fitnah di muka bumi dan akan timbul kerusakan yang merata di muka bumi." - HR Tarmidzi dan Ahmad

Saya tidak tahu apakah ini merupakan Hukum Sejarah yang digariskan allah

Ketika orang mempersulit apa yang dimudahkan Allah, mereka akhirnya benar-benar mendapati keadaan yang sulit dan nyaris tak menemukan jalan keluarnya.

Mereka menunda-nunda pernikahan tanpa ada alasan Syar'ie dan akhirnya mereka benar-benar takut melangkah di saat hati sudah sangat menginginkannya.

Atau ada yang sudah benar-benar gelisah tak kunjung ada yang mahu serius.

Lingkaran Ketakutan Berlanjutan

Bila di usia dua puluh tahunan mereka menunda pernikahan karena takut dengan ekonominya yang belum mapan, di usia menjelang tiga puluh hingga tiga puluh lima berubah lagi masalahnya.

Laki-laki mengalami Sindrom Kemapanan (meski wanita juga banyak yang demikian, terutama mendekati usia 30).

Mereka (laki-laki) menginginkan pendamping dengan kriteria yang sulit dipenuhi.

Seperti Hukum Kategori, semakin banyak kriteria semakin sedikit yang masuk kategori.

Begitu pula Kriteria Tentang Jodoh, ketika menetapkan kriteria yang terlalu banyak maka akhirnya tidak ada yang sesuai dengan keinginan kita.

Sementara wanita yang sudah berusia sekitar 35 tahun, masalahnya bukan kriteria tetapi soalapakah ada orang yang mau menikah dengannya?

Ketika usia sudah 40-an, ketakutan kaum laki-laki sudah berbeza lagi, kecuali bagi mereka yang tetap terjaga hatinya.

Jika sebelumnya banyak kriteria yang dipasang pada usia 40-an muncul ketakutan apakah dapat mendampingi isteri dengan baik.

Lebih-lebih lagi ketika usia beranjak 50 tahun, ada ketakutan lain yang mencekam.

Iaitu kekhawatiran ketidakmampuan mencari nafkah sementara anak masih kecil.

Atau ketika masalah nafkah tak merisaukan khawatir kematian lebih dahulu menjemput sementara anak-anak masih banyak perlu dinasihati.

Bila Iman Tiada Makan Muncul Putus Asa

Jangan ditunda-tunda apa yang menghimpit saudara kita sehingga mereka sanggup menitiskan air mata.

Awalnya adalah kerana mereka menunda apa yang harus disegerakan, mempersulit apa yang seharusnya dimudahkan. Padahal Rasulullah s.a.w. berpesan:

Wahai Ali, ada Tiga perkara jangan ditunda-tunda; apabila Solat telah tiba waktunya,Jenazah apabila telah siap penguburannya, dan Perempuan apabila telah datang laki-laki yang sepadan meminangnya." - HR Ahmad

Hadis ini menujukkan agar tidak boleh mempersulit pernikahan baik langsung mahupun tak langsung.

Secara 'lansung' adalah menuntut mahar yang terlalu tinggi. Atau yang sejenis dengan itu. Ada lagi yang 'tidak secara langsung'.

Mereka membuat kebiasaan yang mempersulit, meski nyata-nyata menuntut mahar yang tinggi atau resepsi yang mewah.

Sebahagian orang mengadakan acara peminangan sebagai acara tersendiri yang tidak boleh kalah mewah dari resepsi pernikahan sebahagian lainnya melazimkan acara penyerahan hadiah atau wang belanja untuk biaya pernikahan secara tersendiri.

Bila seseorang tak kuat menahan beban, maka bisa saja melakukan penundaan pernikahan semata-mata hanya kerana masalah ini.

Saya sangat khawatir akan keruhnya niat dan bergesernya tujuan, sehingga pernikahan itu kehilangan barokahnya.

Naudzubillah! Penyebab lain adalah lemahnya keyakinan kita bahwa Allah pasti akan memberi rezeki atau boleh jadi cerminan dari sifat tidak qona'ah (mencukupkan diri dengan yang ada).

Pilihlah Yang Bertaqwa

Suatu saat ada yang datang menemui Al Hasan (cucu Rasulullah). Ia ingin bertanya sebaiknya dengan siapa putrinya menikah? Maka Al Hasan r.a berkata:

"Kawinkanlah dia dengan orang yang bertakwa kepada Allah. Ini kerana, jika laki-laki mencintainya, ia memuliakannya, dan jika ia tidak menyenanginya, ia tidak akan berbuat zalim kepadanya."

Nasihat Al- Hasan menuntun kita untuk menjernihkan fikiran. Jika kita menikah dengan orang yang bertakwa, cinta yang semula tiada meski cuma benihnya, dapat bersemi indah karena komitmen yang memenuhi jiwa.

Wallahu alam bi showwab.

Original article was taken from here.

Sunday 15 May 2011

Reaching a plateau

Salam all bride-to-bes!

I feel like I've been on hiatus with the wedding preparations as of late but when I look back on my past posts, that hasn't been the case, has it? I guess the proper term for it is 'reaching a plateau' maybe? Everything else just seems like a waiting game at the moment - waiting for the invitations, waiting for dates to come and the list just goes on...

But anyhoos! Today the other half and I went to do some more preparations for the big day. :D

First up, I had another make-up trial session with a new MUA in the afternoon. Quite liked this one compared to the first MUA trial that I had - the make-up was shades lighter and natural-looking. Most importantly, I felt more confident bringing it around but I still have a thing with the eye make-up. :S Antah ah, I don't quite know how to explain it but it just makes me look older?? Maybe it's my eyebrows kali. Balum be-usai. Or maybe my face is just too dry?? I don't knowwwww. Mama says that it looks good in the photos but I don't think I can put that up as a deciding factor. Ndakn dlm gmbr sja lawa kn??

Either way, I think with regards to my make-up for the other events, the decision is still up in the open. Gonna try out for more make-up trials while I can!

Later on, we made a visit to Ruzz Enterprise (Batu Bersurat). The other half had to book some gangsas for the engagement so we decided to drop by there. I've been wanting to have a look at this place for aaaaaaagess but just didn't get the chance and now I'm thankful that I did. I absolutely loooooove their gangsa decos there! Lawaaa berabis!! They charge at a price of $25 per gangsa (which is relatively standard) if anybody is interested. ;)

I also had a look at their pelamin collection album and these too, were gorgeoussss. I have this thing for ceiling decorations (I'm not quite sure what they're called) and they had a lot of those. Might actually consider these guys for my bersanding nanti. :D

Till next time!