Blooming with illy 2.0 | Fancy Hat Picnic Party |


Assalamualaikum and Olla everyone! 

How are you? Hope you are feeling wonderful. Today I would like to share with you my experience organizing Blooming with illy 2.0. The theme was voted by some of my lovely friends on instagram and it we came up with a Fancy Hat Picnic Party theme! On every #Bloomingwithilly, the plan is to host a knowledge sharing session. As I said it before and I am going to continue saying it, we can always learn from each other. All of us goes through a different kind of experience in life, with that we gain info. After all, our current human intelligence and knowledge depend on how we collect and use sharable resources. Sharing knowledge has always been a key part of human evolution. Come to think of it, it seems like we have this strong urge to do a knowledge transfer even from the ancient time. If not then why would those ancient Egyptians spend their time to craft those symbol on the walls? It is for the sake of knowledge sharing. 

Maybe that is the same reason why many people started a blog a decade ago. Look around. The conversation we had, the book we read, the video we watch, the song we listen to. We crave for all kind of information and we are just genetically programmed to then spread the knowledge to people around us.


  
This time I decided to host a knowledge sharing session among content creator peers about outdoor picture taking. Yes, it does not solve world hunger. However, I also think it is quite a necessity to have a picture taking skills in the current world. Even if you don't want to be a blogger or social media influencer, it is always great to capture and edit a nice portrait of your family member during a vacation or any other special moments. It will be one of the things you cherished once your trip is over. 




This is exactly when the picnic idea came. My family decided to spent our time together having picnic, enjoy some good food and be around nature. I find it to be therapeutic and memorable than going to the mall. Just like when we tried a nice restaurant and we have this urge to come again and bring our friends or family to also enjoy it. After the picnic, I have this feeling to share this experience with others. I want people to feel the joy of being together having a picnic, enjoying nature. Those simple thing in life that can actually bring out joy. 

So, I start getting some feedback on insta stories, then planning, then reaching out to sponsors and the next thing you know it comes to reality. 



I  was nervous before the event because it is going to be outdoor.  I was literally chanting the whole morning, "please dont rain.. please dont rain". Voiced out my nervousness on social media and I am so touched by everyone who gave encouragement and helps to pray for the event. No matter how much we want things to go out way, God has been proving me many times that if it happen it is always for the best. Well, it rained hahahahaha and it was fun. Talk about it later. 



picture by Ruby 

Before that I would like to express my biggest gratitude to all kind sponsors who are willing to support this humble knowledge sharing. Thank you  Farah from Guardian Malaysia for believing in me and for the opportunity to work together after all these years. Thank you for also bringing in Nature's Heart so that my guest get to enjoy healthy snacks during and after the event. Thank you for Guardian Mineral water that comes from natural resources that are not treated with fluoride. Those who know me well would understand that I am prone to healthy eating. With that, I would prefer to only collaborate with brands that I truly believe in. 

To only serve food that has the best quality, the kind of food I would feed my kids with (not saying i'm perfect, like anyone else I am trying). Thank you Junita from Yogood Malaysia for being one of the first to respond to my sponsorship request. If you want a healthier option than a sugar-coated cereals than do try out Yogood Glow Gourmet Muesli. 



Thank you to Sean and Amrit from KL Mobile DJ for being kind enough to provide the event with a sound system. Sean is one of those guys who burst out high positive energy. It is impossible not to smile or laugh if you hang around him. He is also a great DJ. If you need someone to spice up a wedding event or corporate event that I would always recommend Sean. 

Thank you Dr. Chee, from Signature Clinic for giving out RM150 worth of Body Analysis voucher to all my guest. You can read my weight loss journey post to know more on that. Last but not least, thank you Kiran and Nicholas from Hilton Malaysia PR team. Thank you for spending your time to coordinate and helping to provide not 1, not 2, but 3 sets of 2D1N Staycation at Hilton Garden Inn Puchong as the Grand Prize for the contest that was held. 


Nope, I did not hire Zandria to be the mc for the day LOL. 

I want to talk about Johan. Can never thank this all "rounder" guy enough. As round as his head, he is also the one that has been supporting me from day one. The one that listened to my crazy ideas,  being a practical person he doesn't see the return of me hosting this and why do I have to go through all this trouble like my time does not worth much. Regardless not being able to see the "financial" value he still supports me regardless. I told him that, it is okay. As long the intention is right and that we did our best, everything will turn out for the highest good. 

Anyway, he did end up helping me to secure the location and event licenses. He sponsored the picnic throw. Yes, he went all the way to pick the cloth from the shop and sent them for sewing. He help me set up, run from the car to the picnic area to transfer all the event stuff and didn't ask for any credit. He also the unpaid mc for blooming event (again) hahaha.. I am forever grateful for his unconditional love and support. 




Thank you Taariq for the knowledge poured on the event. You can check out his work on his instagram. He is an excel master by day time and also a very enthusiastic photographer by night time. On the day, he shared smanych valuable tips and those who are wondering.. yes he is single hahahaha.. Sorry Taariq, this is the best picture I took of you but do let me know if you want me to change it to other macho picture haha.. 



Staying true to her blog name, Kelly shines the day with her sunshine smile :) Thank you for sharing the posing tips to all of us. She is one of the most humble and loving people I know. If you want to have lots of picture inspo do follow her insta and give her blog a visit. 



Look how sweet Ruby is looking with her hat! Thank you for your willingness to support this humble event. Ruby is actually the first honorable guest that arrived. Her whole family was sporting enough to join the theme. You can check out my "blooming 2.0" highlight on insta to see how cute Adam and Alif with their hats! I should have take a picture of them with my kids. Keep it as memory and maybe re-create it once they are much older haha... Thank you Ruby for cherishing everyone at the event with your knowledge. I went home and straight ahead googling about the lighting gadgets that she shared. 



Everything went well for a bit. We had the whole space to ourself and everyone is busy mingling. Then,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it rained!! Hahahahaha... 



I am glad that we booked this Bamboo Hut area instead of the other main area because it comes with a shaded bamboo hut. When it started to drizzle, all my friends have to run to shelter together. Some with baby and toddlers. IM SO SORRY!! I hope none of you get sick the next day. Thank you for helping to carry those picnic throw, the food, and those ballons to this bamboo hut. Also, thank you so much for the love poured. 


The rain turns out to be a great blessing. We get to stay together under the shade. It is quite romantic when I think about it. We seat closer to each other, and bond even better. Looking at all your smiling face makes the effort so worth it.




The rain stopped towards the end of the sharing session. What a timing huh? We get to go down and take a group photo to keep as a memory. From the left husband anfaal (sorry forgot to ask for your name!!), Choy PengCharmaine, Rara, Diya, Ayue, Yuki, illy, Anna, Pika, Kelly, Nannie, Ruby, Mimy, Mira, Farah, Sabby and her husband Iwan. The kiddos didnt have their insta account yet so hahaha.. Well, not forgeting Laura who came over with Nic and Roal. Thank you!!






Here are some of the insta stories captured, It gave me a motivation to host event better event in the future. Talking about that I am currently planning to host Blooming 3.0 on April 6, 2019 most likely it will be a bbq on a roof top. Still in the midst of securing the location and trying to coordinate awesome sponsors to work together. Next knowledge sharing will be about makeup and fashion tips. Havent really reach out to speakers yet. Let's see who would be kind enough to share some tips. I already have few people in mind but I haven't really talk to them yet. Let's see how it goes. 




If you want to see more do check out the #bloomingwithilly on insta or just follow it so you wont miss any new update. I usually share invite and announcement via my instagram timeline or my stories. Alright. We are at the end of this post and I would like to end it with a non glamour peace! hahaha 




This time I didnt cry while packing the goodie bag. I had a mini helper that cheer me up the whole way. So glad we have an extra room in our house that we can convert into a "project" area. Alright, that's it for today. Hope everyone that came to the event had a memorable time, and gain some knowledge.

Stay tuned for more details on the next one!! 
















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