The wedding day is probably one of the most cherished moments when one ties the knot and preparations for it are all geared towards making it a memorable one. Heidi Burarak of Ketvondee Wedding Studio helps turn the bride and groom’s dream for a fairy tale wedding into reality. From ethereal gowns and dashing tuxedos to dreamy photographs and gorgeous makeovers, Heidi shares with Top 10 of Malaysia how she runs her business to become one of the most trusted wedding studios in Kuala Lumpur.
It all began in Australia, where Heidi kick-started her career in retail while finishing her diploma in electrical engineering at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. It was then that she discovered that the kind of fulfillment she gets from being able to understand and help the customers was unmatched by what she was doing in her previous careers in other fields of endeavour. “I was born in Thailand and migrated to Australia when I was 16. After I got married and relocated to Malaysia in 2015, I knew I wanted to get back into retail. That was how I decided to start my own business, Ketvondee. It started off as an evening and bridesmaid dress rental shop in response to the growing trend of sustainable fashion that encourages consumers to buy less and opt for rentals instead. It was a fairly new concept in Malaysia back then. We are one of the pioneers,” explains Heidi.
Derived from her Thai birth name, Ketvondee began to grow, expanding to cover other necessities in wedding preparations such as wedding dresses, suits and shoes, make-up and hair-do services as well as photography. Heidi waited until after the COVID-19 ‘storm’ began to subside in December 2020 to officially launch Ketvondee Wedding Studio as a one-stop wedding and events center. “The pandemic was definitely tough for us. I guess if we survived that, we can survive anything from now onwards. I worked really hard with my employees to get to where we are today. I always believe in creating a healthy and happy work environment in order to build a stable and long-term success in the future,” says Heidi.
Heidi sees herself as a mentor who coaches her employees to become good assets for the company. In doing so, she involves herself in every level of the business operation on a daily basis to make sure that her employees get immediate support when they need it. Heidi also believes in democracy. She makes sure each campaign proposed for Ketvondee Wedding Studio is tabled to her team first. Each feedback is taken into consideration and every aspect of the campaign is thoroughly explained to ensure that it reaches the target. “Instead of asking my employees to simply follow orders, I always listen to their thoughts and suggestions. Some of them are working on commissions. It is important for them to understand and agree to every campaign so that they are able to communicate and deliver information to customers accurately and efficiently,” says Heidi.
Being a wife and a mother, Heidi is always grateful for the flexibility that her business allows her in balancing her professional and personal life. She is supported by a good team that always delivers every task given at their highest standard. “The ability to be part in helping customers to plan and create beautiful products for their wedding gives me the greatest satisfaction. I have been very fortunate to be able to manage and shape my business based on my vision with the strong support from my husband and my employees. They are one of the reasons that motivate me to keep going, even after the rough patch that we had during the pandemic. I can never let them down,” says Heidi.
There is nowhere to go but up for Heidi. Ketvondee Wedding Studio currently has 22 employees and two branches (Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru) with the third one to be launched in Penang soon. “I am looking into the possibility of opening more branches abroad in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Cambodia. That would be something that I would like to achieve with Ketvondee five to ten years down the road,” shares Heidi.
