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French and Vintage Themed Wedding at Renaissance Hotel

written by Joan December 11, 2022

Attended a wedding in December whereby the newlyweds actually took part in a flash mob!

What was the theme of your wedding?

I had 3 separate weddings because I am from KL and my husband is from Butterworth. The first reception was on the 3^rd of November last year at the Renaissance Hotel in KL for the bride’s side so our family members and relatives could gather today to share this moment with us. I wanted a unique wedding reception and finalized on a theme called French Vintage. So, the main colour used was lavender. The second wedding was on the 11^th November which comprises of the whole “jip san leong “(bride pick-up) processes. It was hilarious with all the games that were played on the best men. My entire bridesmaid wore a lovely shade of pink customized dress. The last reception was on the 12^th November at the Sunway Carnival Convention Center in Seberang Perai with the Shanghai Night theme.

2. How long did it take for you to prepare your wedding? Was it difficult?

It took a year to prepare everything for my wedding as 2012 was a dragon year and almost every ballroom was fully reserved for weddings and conferences. Fortunately, there were availability for the Renaissance’s ballroom and that’s when everything felt perfect. Boy, I was wrong! The massive amount of preparation required months in advance and had to be finalized. Weeks prior to the wedding night, everything felt wrong and I felt suffocated with no time for anything else. I was close to giving up.

The whole preparation turned difficult because I had 3 wedding in separate venues. Initially, my mother wanted the jip san leong to be in Penang. Standing firmly on my feet, I made it clear and firm that I wanted my friends and family members to be around for this special moment with me. Fortunate enough, my in laws were considerate enough to allow me to do it my way. It is important for a bride to have both families trying to accommodate the bride’s need. It helped minimize the stress and tension during the discussion.

3. Who helped you in the planning?

My husband and I were fortunately enough to be sponsored by The Peak Xperience. Back in 2011, my sister, Vicky, encouraged me to participate in a contest which was organized by the The Peak Xperience, TrulyScrumptious! and La Flaire. We won RM10,000 worth of wedding products and services which includes a Wedding Planning Package (The Peak Xperience), couture VIP table top design and décor (La Flaire), 100 pieces of custom-made wedding cupcakes (TrulyScrumptious!), and 200 sets of Bespoked Wedding Cards (The Peak Experience).

We also engaged The Peak Xperience to assist us in the wedding day and I must admit that a wedding planner does help reduce the stress a lot. It was an excellent service by Natasha Khoo, who was on standby the whole time to assist me and to supply me with creative ideas.

Putting that aside, the biggest credit goes to my family members who had gone beyond their means to work things out for me. Each of my family members took up a set of responsibilities to lessen my burden. For example, my sisters and sister in law worked hard for the wedding reception in Penang. We had no wedding planner and my siblings and sister in laws handled most of the task while I coordinated with the hotel’s wedding coordinator on the decor for that night.

4. What was the biggest challenge in this?

There were bound to be challenges throughout the whole process from day one till the last day. First, it was the Renaissance ballroom itself. A week before the wedding reception, Natasha informed me that the hotel had just received a booking for a conference meeting on the afternoon of the wedding night and the meeting would end at 5 or 6 in the evening. Natasha was worried that there won’t be enough time for the decoration. The ideal time to start decorating should be at 3pm because the cocktail session was scheduled to start at 5pm. My heart fell but fortunately, the conference was called off! The second challenge was being so frustrated when calls were coming in for some cancellations. I broke down on my way to the hotel and went to my sister. She calmed me down and just told me to be the happy bride. So, I did as I was told….. until my dad came to me asking for the wines. It was 6.45pm and the wines were not in the hotel. Apparently, there was a massive traffic within KL and my biggest fear was the white wines would not have enough time to be chilled. I was very close to passing out and fortunately, it arrived at 7pm and I was glad that there was alcohol to be served after all.

The last challenge was the wedding cake. My sister, Candy, who personally dealt with the baking to the decoration of my wedding cakes, feared that there was insufficient time to bake two cakes for two separate themes and venues. Plus, the decorations were made from sugar paste and would melt on the way to Penang. So, she started the cake décor at the convention center in Penang on the day itself. It was tedious and it took her 5 hours to finish it. I appreciate her professionalism and thanked her with all of my heart for making it happen.
5. I remembered something about a flashmob during the wedding reception. Where did you get this idea from?

I actually participated and recruited the dancers for the flashmob! But the person in charge behind the scene was my sister, Kitty, who randomly threw out the idea for a flashmob over dinner. Everyone is doing flashmobs now, and we should do it. And that was it! It was kept hush hush between the dancers and was a beautiful surprise on that night.

Initially, I wanted the song from Grease because I loved the movie. But, Gangnam Style was trending at the point of time. So, we decided on using the hitz.fm’s version of Gangnam Style. Believe it or not, Kitty actually choreographed the dance routine. I was amazed by her efficiency because she made it all possible with only 2 weeks in her pocket.

6. Do you have any advice for the brides to be out there?

Always, always stay calm. There were quite a number of arguments on the decors, themes, and even on the beverages selection. The key to be calm is to listen, especially on what your parents have to say. They would want nothing but the best for you, so try to listen and you might be in for a surprise! In certain circumstances, they would provide you with the point of view of an outside to allow you to see a bigger picture. So, please try to put your ego away and accept people’s opinion.

I am a firm believer that early preparation is crucial for the perfect wedding. But do trust me on this, nothing is perfect, or will ever be. So, sit back and enjoy the planning process. I actually missed the adrenaline rush and the planning process more than the wedding night. It is acceptable to be a bridezilla but, hey, don’t overuse that power!