Local Talents/Businesses: Why Should We Support Them?

Sabah is blessed not only with its unique cultures, nature diversity and fantastic cuisines, but Sabah is also blessed with so many talented people just waiting to be discovered, developed and supported by its own government and community.

I began to notice that there are so many talented people around me when I was planning and shopping for my own wedding. Before that, I attended few weddings of my friends and took the opportunity to check which business owners or services they engaged with for their weddings.

So, I started hearing, A: "Oh! I bought my wedding dress online but ended up spending more money for alteration".. B: "My makeup artist flew all the way from KL. No doubt her make up & hairdo is pretty, but the price is expensive, in addition, I have to buy return air ticket and 1 night hotel stay for her".. C: We flew all the way to Taiwan for our pre-wedding photography and it costs us almost RM25K".. Okay, don't get me wrong people, I am not judging anybody and in fact, if you can afford it, why not!..

Coming back to my wedding planning, @dilresh and I wanted a small wedding and we wanted to engage with local talents and local vendors as much as we possibly could. Reason being is that, we know where the product came from, the creators behind it and the quality of services offered by these local talents and businesses.

Here are some local talents/vendors that we've hired for our wedding:

I've known Benny for quite a number of years when he was still a lecturer and just started his photography career. I followed him on Facebook and have always amazed by his artwork and put his name on top of my list as my wedding photographer. Thank God we managed to book him for both our pre and actual wedding day photography. (Now, who says we don't have talented local photographer?)

I can't thank Nancy enough for taking up the challenge to design and make my wedding dress just 2 weeks before my wedding day! I swear I'm not a bridezilla but I can't find anything that I like from the wedding studio. (You see, local talent can design beautiful dress too)

Nisa, a freelance Make Up Artist from Kg. Likas, graduated from Snips Academy of Creative Arts. I found her in Instagram and booked her for make up and hairdo for all my wedding functions. (Again, do we really need to hire make up artist from outside when we have talents like Nisa?)

An Accountant by day and Henna Artist by night. Look at how beautiful and neat is her artwork! Nope, she is not from India.. she is a proud Sabahan (you see people, Sabahan Got Talent!)

Yes, you read it right! HOMEMADE wedding cake delivered to my wedding venue. It tasted as good as its look..

We have also engaged few more local talents/vendors including entertainment and videographer which we are very satisfied with their services.

Why we chose to support local talents/vendors?

When you support local business owners, you get a better level of service. This is because they usually connected to every employee under them. Therefore, any problem you have with their products or services will be taken seriously and problem will be solved immediately.

Local businesses are normally just around the corner. That means, it will safe your time, energy and money. Also, no additional cost incur for transportation and accommodation when you buy products or services locally.

When you personally know the people behind the business, you enjoy a connection you would not otherwise have. They will offer personalized service to cater for your needs.

When we support local talents / businesses, more of the money stays in the community. We indirectly help these small businesses to survive and grow. When their infrastructure expand, they will create more job opportunity and thus helps to boost local economy.

When you know your own community has lots of talents to offer, why waste? Help them to show their talents!

There are so many other reasons to support local talents/businesses. When you invest on them, you’re not only helping local business owners but you’re actually helping yourself. You’re making your town a better place to live in.

Note: I am not sponsored by any of these local talents/businesses. I am sharing this because I know they've got talents and that talents are not to be wasted just like that.