Laman & Bayu Kampung House Styled Shoot

Venue: Laman & Bayu Kampung House
Concept & Styling: Eventistry
Photography: LaFame Bridal Mansion
Hair & Makeup: LaFame Bridal Mansion
Gown & Suit: LaFame Bridal Mansion
Floral & Decoration: For Fleur Studio
Cake & Desserts: ECAS De Patisserie

Set in a tranquil village just outside Malacca city, we recently did a kampung inspired styled shoot in collaboration with a few local vendors. Inspired by the local Nyonya heritage, we hereby present a traditional and cultural take on the modern day wedding through this concept shoot.

Led by our co-founder Juvien, this was a project close to heart as Malacca is her home where she was born and raised. She hopes to showcase the heritage city’s growing potential as a wedding attraction and to further boost the wedding scene in the region. This shoot was meticulously planned by her as a first step towards that ultimate goal.

Check out the key elements of this shoot below!

1. Venue

A 45 – minute drive from Malacca city, Laman & Bayu Kampung House is a charming little village with a few traditional houses and pondoks (huts). Currently vacant, the venue has a vast compound surrounded by an abundance of greenery along with a water lily pond situated right at the heart of the kampung.

The water garden is one of the main attractions of the venue. With blooming pink water lilies emerging on the surface and delicate green lotus leaves floating about, the serene environment sets off a soothing and romantic tone. Indeed, nature’s perfect backdrop for a celebration of love!

2. Ceremony Setting

The outdoor ceremony setting was centered around a big tree in the compound. Surrounding greenery provided a scenic backdrop and minimal decorations were needed to enhance the beautiful natural setting.

Topped with a wooden “Love” signage, blush fabric was draped across the tree branch and swing set to resemble a ceremony arch. The existing swing set at the venue was re- purposed as bride and groom seats. Compared to the usual couple chairs, the “couple swing” is definitely a unique addition as it brings a magical and nostalgic effect to the setting. Complimenting the garden ceremony concept, it also looks great in photos and couple portraits!

Just under the tree, vintage suitcases, candles, lanterns, local / dried flowers and a wooden frame acrylic signage for decor. Antique wooden chairs taken from the kampung houses tied everything together and completed this modern vintage rustic ceremony setting.

3. Florals

Floral decor used in this styled shoot had a combination of local blooms, artificial and dried flowers. Most of the flowers can be reused which contributed less to wastage. No floral foams were used as well to minimize environmental impact.

4. Family- Style Reception

Sharing platters (also known as a family- style wedding meal) are a great way to ‘break the ice’ and get friends and family to interact on the wedding day. This style of dining brings your guests together in conversation and conviviality as nothing quite breaks the ice like asking a fellow table mate to pass the food. A more casual and relaxed dining experience, it is also an eco – friendly alternative to reduce leftovers and overall food wastage from the wedding.

Some helpful tips for planning a family – style reception:

• Choose a wider table for more dining space.
• Discuss with your florist / decorator on table decor arrangements that could work well with the addition of three to five large dishes.
• Pick out platters that are easy to hold with one hand. Large, heavy platters may be difficult to pass around the table, especially for your older and younger guests.

As featured in this shoot, Malaysian favourites like nasi lemak and satay are great options for shared dining. You will also be supporting local businesses which in return promotes sustainability in our community.

Loved by guests of all ages, local Nyonya delicacies like the kuih lapis (steamed layer cake) and kuih seri muka (pandan custard with glutinous rice) make great choices for dessert sharing. Placed along a table runner of leaf garlands and dried flowers, the dishes could also double function as table centerpieces. Hence, not only are they nice to look at, they also smell delicious and are edible!

5. Wedding cake

Matching the theme, a rustic style one – tier wedding cake baked by a local vendor. The cake is also meant to be portioned and shared as dessert over reception.

6. Avoiding single use items

Disposable / single use items tend to contribute a large amount of waste at a wedding. Hence, for this shoot, we did our best to avoid single use items and focused on some suitable alternative options in replacement.

• Reusable utensils – Opt for porcelain plates and stainless steal cutlery instead of plastic / paper utensils.
• Bamboo glasses –  A sustainable alternative as it is biodegradable. The plant itself is a sustainable crop as it can grow quickly without the addition of pesticides and can be harvested multiple rounds.
• Rattan fans – The hand-woven rattan fan is one of Malaysia’s traditional crafts. Part of our cultural heritage and identity, it can be a purposeful yet meaningful favor for guests. It can also be brought home and reused time and time again.
• Bamboo placemats – The bamboo placemat featured here was rented specially for this shoot. Available at a reasonable price, consider renting one- time use items instead of purchasing to reduce unnecessary wastage.

And that wraps up our latest styled shoot! We sincerely thank all vendors involved for contributing to this project. We also hope we were able to spark some inspiration and ideas to everyone out there through this local concept shoot.

Thank you for reading! :)