Senin, 18 Mei 2015

7 Tips for Wedding Preparation

Ahhh... Finally it's already middle of May.

Me and my boyfriend decided to marry from last year. I can't remember the exact time, but it's around September near his birthday. At first we agreed to hold the engagement on December. So, no such thing as in the movie, no surprise proposal or flowers because he is not a romantic and sensitive person lol. We told our parents about this, but you know parents. My future parents-in-law asked someone in the temple who is considered capable to count the 'fine day' for us to engage and marry. So, our engagement was planned to be held in February and the wedding and the wedding around end of year. Now he is my fiancee :)

I would write in Indonesian to make it easier hehe..

Saya percaya kalo banyak banget calon pengantin yang sedang mempersiapkan hari pernikahan yang cuma sekali seumur hidup, jadi persiapan pun bisa jadi setahun atau bertahun2 sebelumnya. Kalo menurut pengalaman saya, ada beberapa tips yang mungkin bisa jadi masukan dalam wedding preparation:

1. Be patient
Kita mungkin sudah sering denger dari cerita temen2 yg sudah menikah, kalau menyiapkan pesta pernikahan ini butuh time and lots of effort. Di saat kerjaan numpuk di kantor, ga mudah buat kita untuk membagi waktu dan tetap konsentrasi. Kuncinya adalah time management dan bersikap sabar. Saya sendiri sudah ngalamin yg namanya pressure, dalam beberapa bulan ini mimpi 3x telat dateng ke pemberkatan haha.. Sempet juga marah2 sama pasangan karena bolak balik urus administrasi dan ga tau mau ngomel ke siapa (jadi kambing hitam, maaf yaa). Belakangan saya udah sadar itu semua cuma bikin tambah keruh suasana, sabar2 dan sekarang satu demi satu urusan wedding ini beres.

2. Cooperate with your fiancee
Pentingnya kerjasama! Bagi tugas berdua akan jauh lebih memudahkan kita supaya urusan jadi cepat selesai. Bagi tugas dengan pasangan kamu, terutama dalam hal pencarian vendor. Karena cewek biasanya mau lebih perfect, ambilnya portion seperti gaun, make up, bridal, cake. Cowok bisa bantu cari jas, souvenir, dan kartu undangan. Venue dan foto harus cari bareng2, karena ini termasuk dua yang paling crucial. Jangan biarkan pacar kita kerja sendiri ya, karena walaupun excited pasti tetap ada pressure :)

3. Communication
Ini juga cukup penting, secara kita pasti butuh persetujuan kedua belah pihak (dan pihak2 ketiga seperti orang tua misalnya). Kalau ada apa2 yang kurang berkenan, jangan disimpen di hati. Komunikasikan baik2 dengan pasangan, kasih tau apa yang mengganjal. Kalo ditumpuk, yang ada nanti jadi bom waktu sampai hari h.

4. Being open to any suggestion
Karena orang Indonesia punya banyak tradisi, maklum kalau akan banyak mulut yang ikut mengatur persiapan pernikahan. Tapi harus tetap disaring ya mana yang perlu diikuti dan tidak, karena makin banyak ga ngerti soal tradisi, makin tenanglah hidup kita hahaha.. Hargai orang tua dan calon mertua kita dan dengarkan sarannya. Kalau memang kita ga mau ikutin, bisa utarakan alasannya baik2 ke mereka.

5. Make a checklist and outcome table
Supaya kalian tetap ingat apa aja yg perlu disiapkan dan kapan, banyak checklist yang bisa didownload di internet. Kalau bersedia keluar uang lebih, boleh juga pake jasa Wedding Planner supaya mereka bisa bantu kalian untuk decide vendor dan remind semua step2 sampe hari h. Jangan lupa untuk bikin outcome table, dimana isinya adalah jumlah uang yang udah dikeluarkan untuk vendor, lengkap dengan tanggal2nya. Kadang kuitansi menyusul, jadi in case si vendor lupa, kita juga bisa minta mereka cek ulang.

6. Being decisive
Kalau udah merasa cukup survey dan decide untuk DP dengan pasangan, kalo bisa usahakan tutup mata aja waktu liat vendor lain yang lebih bagus (kecuali vendor yg udah kita DP bener2 mengecewakan dan mau ga mau kita pindah vendor). Ingatlah kenapa kita DP, karena kita dan pasangan udah setuju dan kita pasti pilih yang terbaik lah buat pernikahan dan kantong kita :D So, misal liat punya teman ada yg lebih bagus, yang penting dari sisi mana kita lihat. Yang penting kita puas kan, why bother with others?

7. Still spend your time with your fiancee without any of wedding thing
Di bulan2 pertama persiapan, biasanya kita akan selalu sibuk untuk survey vendor setiap weekend. Setelah 3-4 bulan, biasanya udah mulai agak tenang. Di sela2 kesibukan kita survey, usahakan punya waktu pacaran bareng lagi kaya biasa hehe.. Lumayan banget buat masa2 refreshing sama pasangan.

Ini hanya pengalaman saya pribadi, so feel free to add ya kalo memang ada tips juga buat kami :)

Good luck!


Senin, 13 April 2015

My First White Christmas!

Hi all....
It's been third years ++ since my latest post in blogger. My blog has been too dusty :( I have just bought a new notebook and I felt the urge to continue sharing in my blog and to learn Adobe Photoshop.

Okay, the first thing to share in 2015 is about my year end trip in 2013 (yeah it's been to long, because I just had a chance to continue writing). It's on December to the land far away from Indonesia. It's the land of dream. Yeah, it's the United States. First I was offered to visit Chicago for 5 days training. I was quite reluctant at that time because, seriously: I never went to the sub-tropical countries and everybody knows it's winter time in the US. Must be freezing cold, since Chicago is also known as windy city. After few days of consideration, then I decided to take the chance. I thought that this was a rare opportunity that possibly no one else could get. My family or I might have not afford the trip to the US this time, so I agreed. I prepared everything from visa to winter clothing. I could share you some tips.

After I completed visa online application, paid visa fee, and made the interview appointment, I went to US Embassy in Jakarta for my B1/B2 visa. The training was just five days. It's categorized as the same as tourist visa (less than 3 months visit to the US). I brought the necessary documents as complete as possible since it's safer. If you are interviewed, make sure you could provide brief and clear answer. The most important thing is that you could explain your purpose of going to the US. As I was there for business, then I could explain the purpose and what was the training about. Next thing is providing the financial capability. I showed the letter and bank statement from my company as my sponsor, and also the letter given by the training provider showing my purpose. Make sure the documents are original, it won't be collected by the interviewer. After that you are told about the visa decision. White paper means your visa is approved, green paper means there is subsequent interview, and red paper means your visa is rejected. No worry if you go there for business (with official proof), most likely you'll get the visa. Except you go there for pleasure, it depends on the interviewer and other things such as financial capability, your age, with whom you're going, etc. I got a white paper after a 5 minutes interview. My trip was confirmed, so I started to prepare everything else.

I flew to New York on 10 December 2013 midnight, with transit in Abu Dhabi (took Etihad flight). I arrived on the same day in JFK airport at night, and I rode shuttle service with affordable price (about USD 20) which I purchased online in advance. The driver sent me first to my hotel because it's located in the downtown Manhattan. I stayed in YMCA Vanderlbilt, about 15 mins walk to Times Square. So the next day I was a solo traveller, I bought a USD 45 voucher of hop on - hop off bus valid for 2 days. The first day was quite challenging for me as the temperature was very low and I still had jetlag for 12 hours time difference from Indonesia. I went to National Museum (very big!), Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park. I like museum so it's quite worth to see for someone who loves history. Then at the evening my collague arrived in New York so we had a salad for quick dinner near the hotel.

The following days in New York, we explored to ground zero (ex WTC), financial district, Times Square, Hell's Kitchen area, and Liberty statue site. Unfortunately, we didn't expect that the Liberty was very far from the main island. It's located in Staten Island, where we didn't have a chance to ride the ferry as it's already dark :( So it's like more than 1 km away! Next day, we went to Woodbury outlet where there are hundred of brands from all over the world definitely only for shopping. It's about 45 mins from Manhattan, but they have very good deal for some brands with excellent prices. That day was snowing from the morning, so the snow was piling and it's quite dark at the evening. Some close were closed before 6 pm due to the snow.


After New York, we headed to Chicago by plane. The training was delivered in the campus 20 mins from Downtown Chicago. Kendall College has culinary, pastry, business and hospitality program for undergraduate. Within the traning, there was a sightseeing in the city. We managed to see 'The Bean' in Brent Park and view the skyscrappers and frozen lakeside. I believe in the Spring it will be much more interesting. Overall, it's a nice city to live rather than the crowded Manhattan.


When you travelling on winter (especially if it snows), male sure you use the proper layers. Using the long john, sweater, and a puffy jacket or wool coat will do. I'm not used to cold weather, but I could endure the cold because I use down jacket (goose fur). Very warm outside but so hot inside the building, because they usually use heater. Transport in NYC and Chicago are okay, but don't compare with London or Singapore. For the long flight, you better bring travel pillow or inflatable pillow (to avoid neck pain). My flight was about 8 hours + transit + 15 hours to NY, but I bring a Mitch Albom book to keep me company. This was my first white Christmas (although it's still early December, there were so many Xmas decorations).

Now I will go to London for another training in about 2 weeks ahead. I have not prepared anything. I love travelling very much but don't like packing. Anyway it will be another adventure!
Good night from Jakarta at 23.27!