CHANDELIERS? Check. Soft, cushion-covered chairs? Check. Luxurious drapes billowing gracefully from the ceiling? Check.

If you think void deck weddings all look alike, think again.

Malay wedding planners these days are giving hotels a run for their money, transforming bare void decks into smart ballrooms in just two days.

Ms Masturah Esnaim, 41, who runs Anggun Andaman wedding planners, started experimenting with these dramatic makeovers about five years ago.

She says: 'It's very difficult to hold Malay weddings in hotels because of the large number of guests. You can have 1,000 to 2,000 people at a wedding.

'But it's also not that pretty in a void deck.'

With that grouse in mind, she started covering void decks with fabric. Lots of it.

The concrete pillars are draped in satin. The same material sweeps down dramatically from the ceiling. Even bicycle racks - commonly found in void decks - are covered in fabric.

Chandeliers are standard issue, while the dais is erected in front of a wall panel that looks as if it was borrowed from the Arabian Nights.

'I'm very particular,' says Ms Masturah. 'I have a passion for making something out of nothing.

'A lot of our guests are pleasantly surprised and they will go, 'Wow, it's so beautiful.''

Cooking is normally done on site at a Malay wedding, but Anggun will make sure the kitchen area is hidden from the guests, behind fabric covered panels.

Asked how much fabric she uses, Ms Masturah is at a loss for words, eventually coming up with 'reams and reams and reams'.

'We can easily use 20 reams just to cover one ceiling.'

Each wedding requires fresh fabric, which is cut on the spot to fit the particular void deck.

Anggun does about 50 weddings a year, and for its services, customers pay anything from $30,000 to $70,000.

It is a big contrast to Ms Masturah's own wedding. She says: 'I was married in a void deck 15 years ago. Back then, even the plastic chairs were not covered!'

The only times an Anggun-decorated void deck does not quite feel like a ballroom is on sultry days, or during thunderstorms. The open design of the void deck means rainwater gets into the dining area, while loose fabric gets blown out of place.

Although the majority of Malays still prefer void deck weddings for the celebratory atmosphere they bring to their neighbourhoods, some younger couples these days are choosing other venues, like the Asian Civilisations Museum, Orchid Country Club, and Fort Canning.

The irony though is that because the owners of these more upmarket venues give wedding planners too little time to decorate the place, Anggun cannot produce that Arabian Nights look that it does so well in a void deck.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.