1st Anniversary

I wanted to dedicate this post to my fiancee who has been nothing but amazing throughout this year.



This may be our first, but I'm beyond excited to spend the rest of my years with you.

Xoxo

S.S.

-3M Wedding Update

Yellow!

Kembali kita ke acara update-updatean kawinan. Sebenernya kalau dihitung bener sih hari ini lebih mengarah ke H - 3.5 bulan, tapi kalau dipikir-pikir sih 2 minggu sebelum hari H itu harusnya kita sudah ga ngapa-ngapain dan sudah masuk dalam waktu dipingit (yes), makanya gue kasih judul -3M Wedding Update.

The Great:

1. Invitations – Waiting for the batch to be finished by end of month


2. Photographer – Done


3. Videographer – Done


4. Pre-wedding / Engagement Photos – Done


5. Venue – Done, altered menu - paid second down payment


6. Wedding Shoes – Two pairs for the ceremony and reception, Done.


7. Wedding Outfit – Fitting in Feb


8. Reception Outfit – First fitting in mid December


9. Midodaren Outfit – First fitting in mid December


10. Wedding Car – Antique car provided by Dad


11. Photobooth – Paid down payment – Background board finished, need to be submitted and be printed


12. MC – Done


13. Hotel – Done


14. Paperwork / Marriage Permit – 90% Done.

The Anxious:

1. Rings – will go to the jewelry store in few weeks


2. Wedding jewelry – TBD


3. Food – Need food tasting


4. Bridesmaids – Fabrics are bought for 3 bridesmaids to be tailored.


5. Honeymoon – Thinking of Cherry Blossom in Japan


6. Decoration – Paid downpayment and sign contract. Need to get the details down.


7. Groomsmen – Unsure


8. Wall of Fame / Photo Gallery – Need to compile, print and curate photos


9. Seserahan – Got few items but not much really.


10. Hair and Makeup – Need to schedule test make-up


11. Wedding Organizer – Still not secured


12. Music – Hired a DJ – need to put together song mix. -  need sound system vendor.


13. Siraman Outfit – Need to get this tailored

Kalo diliat sih list "The Anxious" nya lebih byk sekarang dibandingin dari update -5M. Tapi along the way baru ketauan items-items apa aja sih yang diperlukan detailsnya yang sebelumnya ga keliatan. Stress.

Pada intinya, tiap weekend selalu kita coba kerjain dan selesaikan meskipun mikirinnya bikin rambut botak (aselik). Harus tetap semangat :)

xoxo,

Sari

Balada Kebaya Pernikahan

Urusan kebaya pernikahaan ini gak kalah penting dari si Wedding Shoes. Lantaran dalam adat Jawa, setelah gue hitung ada at least 4 kali ganti baju untuk Siraman, Midodaren, Akad, dan Resepsi. Jadi total ada 4 baju kebaya yang harus disiapkan.

Untuk posting-an kali ini agak panjang karna gue akan ngobrol-ngobrol seputar Kebaya Resepsi yang akan gue pake di acara pernikahan gue. Gue sebagai cewe awam yang kurang tau-menau soal kawinan Jawa, my last resort adalah internet. Setelah gue search dan baca puluhan (kalo ga ratusan) halaman forum mengenai kebaya pernikahan, konklusinya adalah untuk Akad Nikah, pakemnya biasa mempelai wanita dan pria memakai kebaya dan beskap berwarna putih. Di acara Resepsi lah dimana ada beberapa opsi pakaian untuk adat Jawa, in my case, Jawa Solo.

Tapi, seperti yang gue mention di post sebelumnya bahwa di resepsi gue akan pakai jawa modern, gue dan MM sepakat kalau kita akan pake pakaian sesuai dengan yang kita mau keeping in mind unsur-unsur Jawa nya. Untuk gue sendiri, gue decide untuk memakai kebaya brokat, sedangkan MM ingin memakai beskap modifikasi yang modelnya mirip dengan tuxedo berwarna hitam. Sebenernya karna MM beskapnya warna hitam, gue bisa lebih leluasa memilih warna brokat kebaya gue.

Gue sempet galau waktu harus milih warna kebaya, karna sebenernya di bayangan kepala gue sebuah pernikahaan itu pengantinnya selalu memakai warna putih. Dari semua temen-temen gue yang nikah di Amrik, meskipun di dua acara berbeda (Marriage Ceremony dan Reception), kedua dress mereka tetap putih meskipun beda model. Concern nyokap adalah kalau pake putih lagi, nanti di foto ga bisa keliatan bedanya yang mana pas akad dan yang mana pas resepsi.

Alhasil, gue memutuskan untuk pake warna merah nyala (firey red) untuk kebaya resepsi gue. Bayangin, kebaya merah, lipstick merah, kuku di kuteks merah bak Femme Fatale aja.



Ini hasil jepretan MM dimana gue lagi galau ngubek-ngubek toko kain Centro Moda di Mayestik. Kalau naik ke lantai paling atas disitu semua koleksi French Lace mereka (Brokat Prancis). Disini gue minta semua brokat prancis berwarna merah dikeluarin dan gue liat satu-satu. Tapi setelah satu jam lebih gue disitu, masih juga belum sreg.



Setelah hari itu, gue sedikit ngerasa "buntu" dan gue berdalih ke penjahit gue Mas Heri Permadi, dia menyarankan untuk coba ke toko brokat bergengsi di Gajah Mada Plaza bernama Top Lady. Mas Heri bilang disana brokat Prancisnya BEDA (tentunya BEDA nya itu berbanding lurus dengan HARGA a.k.a MAHAL).

Karna lokasinya agak jauh dari rumah, gue sama nyokap baru bisa kesana sekitar sebulan setelah ini. In the meantime, nyokap pernah mampir juga ke toko-toko kain Fatmawati dan kurang lebih barangnya sama kaya di Mayestik. Temen-temennya sempet nyaranin juga ke toko kain di Pasar Baru, cuman karna gue emang kekeh dan penasaran sm si Top Lady gue ga mau ke toko-toko kain lainnya dulu sebelum gue ke Top Lady. Konon, di toko inilah Mba Vera dari Vera Kebaya selalu beli bahan brokat untuk kebaya-kebayanya yang kece-kece itu.

Dengan berjalannya waktu dan kegalauan gue, gue break dulu cari-cari bahan kain dan mulai kepikiran lagi tentang si warna kebaya ini. Apa iya gue mau pake warna merah? Sampai pada suatu hari gue terbangun dan gue balik ke konsep awal gue - the wedding concept that I know - gue akan tetap pakai kebaya putih. As a bride-to-be I can't imagine myself wearing any other color than white. Biar ga sama banget sama kebaya akad, gue pilih warnna broken white/off-white. So it's settled.

Akhirnya di suatu weekend, gue sama nyokap sampe juga ke Top Lady. Tokonya kecil banget dibandingin sama layaknya toko kain lainnya yang pernah gue liat. Semua brokatnya diplastikin dan dilipet rapi. Jadi mereka ga akan ngeluarin (gelar-gelar di meja) unless lo tunjuk dan bilang mau liat. Dan mereka juga sebelum mulai ngeluarin barang tanya dulu ke kita lagi nyari warna apa dan untuk dijahitin baju apa. Alhamdulilah banget, dalam waktu sejam gue menemukan brokat putih yang gue suka. Dan Mas Heri memang bener, barangnya BEDA. Dari brokat-brokat Perancis yang pernah gue pegang dan liat di toko kain lainnya, kain brokat Perancis yang di Top Lady bener-bener jauh lebih bagus. Di toko ini brokat-brokatnya itu ada merknya: Vera Wang, Valentino, Prada, etc.

Besoknya kita langsung meluncur ke workshopnya Mas Heri, dan dia seneng banget ngeliat kain brokatnya yang sudah gue beli. Setelah konsultasi, dia mulai nge-sketch beberapa design kebaya gue.



Untuk fitting kebaya, Mas Heri bilang kalau untuk kebaya resepsi biasanya ada 3 fitting, jadi sudah disepakati fitting pertama di bulan Desember, kedua di bulan Januari dan final fitting di bulan Februari. Semoga semua lancar; gue udah ga sabar ngeliat hasilnya bulan depan. :)

Wedding Shoes Part I

Setelah gue pikir-pikir, untuk postingan yang berkaitan dengan persiapan kawinan, gue akan tulis dalam bahasa indonesia aja karna, gue yakin yang nantinya bakalan baca itu juga pasti calon-calon bride-to-be di Indonesia. :)

Ulasan tentang si Wedding Shoes. Ada yang bilang sepatu kawinan itu yang penting nyaman dan tinggi. Bagi gue seorang shoe-lover, tentu tidak bisa hanya nerima gitu aja. Justru, dari semua items rentetan pernikahan, yang paling gue tunggu-tunggu adalah hunting sepatu kawinan.

First destination gue adalah Rococo karna gue tau banget disitu koleksi sepatu2 pesta dan bridalnya keren-keren. Sampe sana gue liat deretan sepatu Badgley Mischka dengan berbagai warna, tapi gue fokus dengan warna putih/off-white. Sebenernya pengennya Manolo Blanik cuman apa daya  T__T

Gue naksir banget sama satu pasang sepatu ini (sempet liat di Instagram juga) cuman menurut MM (calon) itu ketinggian dan hiasan di bagian belakang ga akan keliatan karna ketutupan kain. *sedih* Gue dibilangin sama MM kalau di acara kita itu banyak berdiri especially di pelaminan, jadi heelsnya jangan tinggi-tinggi *karna menurut dia toh gue jg udah tinggi*

Penampakan sepatu "Kasih Tak Sampai"

Akhirnya gue menemukan satu model sepatu yang pas banget sama yang gue mau, tapi sayangnya sizenya kosong di Rococo yang gue kunjungin dan di toko Rococo lainnya *gue minta di-cek inventorynya*.

Sedikit sedih dan putus asa, gue mulai liat-liat ke toko lain, tapi entah kenapa si Badgley Mischka itu masih terngiang-ngiang di kepala gue. Besoknya gue langsung cari online dan karna ini sepatu model last season, memang sudah ga banyak dijual. Gue nemuin sepatu ini dijual hanya di Amazon.com dan size 7 yang gue cari cuman ada satu pasang.

Saat itu juga gue message sahabat gue yang masih tinggal di NYC untuk order sepatu itu dari Amazon, dan Alhamdulilah banget ada temen nyokap yang kebetulan lagi liburan kesana dan bisa dititipin sepatunya pas dia pulang ke Jakarta. Bener-bener gerak cepet.

Penampakan sepatu "The One"

Sesuai dengan inputan MM si Badgley Misckha sling-back ini heelsnya jauh lebih pendek dibandingkan dengan yang sebelumnya. Modelnya simple banget dan hiasannya ada di depan jadi masih kelihatan ketika pakai kain jawa. WIN.

Penampakan foto aslinya pas nyobain di Rococo

Xoxo,

S

The Wedding Photographer

Before I post my monthly update on the wedding prep, I wanted to share some stuff surrounding wedding photographer. Fiancee and I went through several photographers for quite sometimes and finally made peace and settled to one that we thought suits us the most. Both fiancee and I are very picky when it comes to "still documentation" - we look at everything (tone, composition, style, & lighting).

Here are the steps and tips we took to find the right photographer for our wedding:

• Know what you like or don't like. At the beginning of the photog search, I have no idea what I want from the photog, but fortunately I do know what I dont like, so it kinda helped me filter out the photogs that fits that criteria.


• Look through their portfolio several times. Most of the time their website will have a "wow" factor which makes you feel "oh yeah this is the one" every single time. But be cautious and don't make hasty decisions. Relook.


• Email them for their price list. Once you're comfortable with their portfolio, contact them for their catalog or price list. I honestly dislike wasting time, so if I know the photog is way out of budget, then I would cross it out and look for another.


• Meet-up. When the price is right, check if your wedding date is still available with the photog and schedule for a meet-up. Meeting the photographer is the most important part prior to settling. You need to get the chemistry with the photog whether he/she understands what you want and what is expected to be delivered from the photographer.


• Negotiate. Often times, photographers are open to negotiation on a case by case basis. In my case, I requested custom quotation from them since the packages that they offer on the catalog don't fit what I need.

After thorough and endless research we finally narrow down to these four of our favorite photographers below:

Antijitters



Bernardo Pictura



Lumia Wedding



David Christover



If any of you would like their catalog and price list for their service packages, please feel free to comment/email me.

xoxo

S

Wedding Inspiration

Hello lovies,

I wanted to share several list of INSTAGRAM accounts I followed for my wedding preparations. You know, I am not the girl who had planned their wedding since they're 5. And at some point in time, I just get stuck in the moment. So these IG wedding accounts really helped me to revive my mood and to look for inspirations.

• @thebridedept (local)


• @thebridestory (local)


• @myweddingprep (local)


• @thebridebestfriend (local)


• @bridetobelux (international)


• @weddingplus (international)


• @impression_bridal (international)


• @brides_blog (international)


• @greenweddingshoes (international)

For the local ones, they're also a good source for you to look for wedding vendors because they usually curate their favorites and will mention the IG account of the vendors within the caption.



Hope these helps!

Xoxo,

Sari Soepono

-5M Wedding Update

We started preparing the wedding ever since fiancee and I decided to commit ourselves to each other. Obviously, our parents wanted everything traditional Javanese for our wedding like everything everything. (read: 2 day event).

So what does Traditional Javanese wedding concept entails:

1. The endless symbolic ceremonies


2. Javanese wedding outfits


3. Javanese traditional music


4. Invite everyone you know in your life. Literally.

Well, you get the point.

Fiancee and I spent a good amount of time of our adolescent and young adulthood (10 years) abroad which translates all that mentioned above as frightening. We want to remember our day to be fun and special, which is far from what the idea of a Traditional Javanese wedding (at least in my thinking). After a long back and forth conversation and negotiation with the parents, I think we came into a good middle ground to balance the concept into a Modern Javanese Wedding.

Adjustments:

1. A DJ will partake the music for the reception with the music of our choice


2. Our javanese wedding outfits will have a modern flair to resemble a black tux and a white gown


3. I will have my own make-up artist of my choice working tandem with the traditional javanese "dukun manten"


4. Dance floor. Yes, we will have a dance floor


5. Few other twists that is still work in progress

Before we jumped into the wedding stats, I just wanted to say that the one thing that you need to define before ANYTHING else related in your wedding is BUDGET. Without it, you're blind and paralyzed because you have no idea how much you're able to spend on anything. With my experience, we wanted to start early surveying venues, but we missed the budget part which then made it difficult to book a venue.

I'm pretty happy with where we are right now, although there still a list down to the to-do list but I think we did pretty good. With a few inevitable meltdowns along the way here are the list of the wedding stats.

The Great:

1. Invitations – Designs are submitted, waiting for the mock-up to finish. Need to submit the updated map to the venue.


2. Bridesmaids – Fabrics are bought for 12 bridesmaids to be tailored.


3. Photographer – After a long search and reading reviews we came back and settle to our first photographer that we picked. Done.


4. Videographer - Vendor found - will meet next week and hopefully secure the contract then.


5. Pre-wedding / Engagement Photos - Will do photoshoot this weekend in Bali.


6. Venue – Done, although have not done food tasting yet.


7. Wedding Shoes – Shoes for the I Do's arrived safely from NY and another pair for the Reception is ordered and should be finished next week.


8. Hair and Makeup – I have two separate companies who will be responsible for my FACE. The first is with the "dukun manten" for the traditional hair and head arrangements and second is the Make-up Artist who will put make-up on my face. Both are booked, but still need to schedule a trial-makeup prior to the big day.


9. Wedding Outfit – For the I Do's ceremony Fiancee and I agreed to rent the complete outfit for both of us. Paid down payment - need final fitting (alterations) in Jan/Feb.


10. Reception Outfit – Selected a beautiful ivory french lace fabric to be tailored. Kebaya design sketch has been drawn by the tailor - will have my first fitting in Dec.


11. Midodaren Outfit - Received a beautiful gold prada lace fabric from future Mom in Law which will be tailored by the same tailor who will make my reception outfit.


12. Siraman Outfit - Bought a Javanese fabric called "Jumputan" in pastel colors last week. Need to get it tailored.


13. Music - Hired a DJ - need to put together song mix.


14. Wedding Car - Antique car provided by Dad


15. Photobooth - Paid down payment - need to submit design for background and props. We will have unlimited photos on the photobooth to serve as wedding favors.


16. Decoration - Found a vendor, will sign the contract this week and pay down payment. This includes the decoration for the entire venue + my bridal bouquet and bridesmaids.


17. MC - Done

The Anxious:

1. Rings – Reviewed several styles but still havent decided on any particular one yet.


2. Wedding jewelry – No idea


3. Hotel – Have idea but still unsure.


4. Honeymoon – Vague - Fiancee needs to renew his passport this month


5. Groomsmen – Unsure


6. Wall of Fame / Photo Gallery - Need to compile, print and curate photos.


7. Seserahan - Got few items but not much really.


8. Paperwork / Marriage Permit - No where near.


9. Wedding Organizer - No idea; I have trust issues

For all the bride-to-be in Jakarta, let me know if you want any info for vendors at this email 3soeponos at gmail dot com or comment down below. Because I'm not planning to reveal the vendors until the big day along with the reviews.

Engaged

I'm engaged.

So happy to be sharing this news. Now let's the wedding preparation begins!

New in: Marc for Marc Jacobs

This new baby was love at first sight. When all the other shelves were screaming SALE, I was just so in awe on this simple cross-body purse hanging on the front display. Maybe it’s the turquoise pebbled leather, maybe it’s the clean semi-circle design with a flap opening, or maybe it’s because it was the last purse they have in stock. Whatever it is, I found myself at the check-out register in no time. HAPPY!

MJ Softly Saddle X-Body

Cheers,

Sari Soepono

Bali, again at {Woo Bar}

This one is a bit old but I really want to share photos from this awesome trip with my family back in December. Didn’t do as much as I’d like due to my sprained lower back the day prior to the trip (yeah!), but the trip itself turned out to be rather content on its own. Maybe because the whole family was there; the togetherness sort of balanced out the absence of activities.

You again, Sydney - Diary

We just met not too long ago and here we are again, Sydney. But this time is a bit different; it’s my brother’s graduation – couldn’t be more proud. A different kind of dynamics occurred travelling with my folks. But what’s the same were the things I love the most from this city - the clear blue sky, the large harbor with clear blue water, the perfect pedestrian walkways, crisp air and the mild temperature. All that allowing you to be outdoor forever. Simply bliss.