Back to our old school days

Remember that this lecturer was showing us the students' comments on his teaching. All of us tried to be innovative after that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOqXlbWf9Io

MIsS school sometimes............


Those in NTU might find the voice familar..... our fav lecturer.

7. Preparing the invitation cards

Sigh... I dread this part...... Anthony really dun like the design that Marina Mandarin provide. Girls, please do take this into consideration when deciding your hotel. Otherwise it will amount to higher costs.

Initially I tried designing my own cards. hee.....not that successful...... so we have to source for other available cards designs.

Some of the printers that I have checked out:

• FocalAD
  
• TheWeddingGiftShop
  
• Kentrich Trade Press ( Helen 98383187)
• Craft Inc (Provides unique handmade cards. Pretty neat)
  

WeddingGiftShop is a one stop service shop that provides car/KUA/ring pillow rental etc.

My sis passed me some contacts too. But I have not checked them out yet. Cos I visited FocalAd and decided on one of their card design. But do check them out if you do not like those listed above:

• Alvin Khoo (96636913)
• Shirley Yeo (93672060)

If you are printing the inserts, please give yourself around 10 days to 3weeks. If you are making handmade cards, at least 1.5 months.

Ahh......after the printing...guess the tough part is actually distributing it.

Just for Laughs - Loving Husband

6. Things to prepare for PS

Thanks to Puroland who summarise the things that I need to prepare for my PS:

For HER

• Bridal shoes
• EG and tea dress shoes
• OD shoes
  
• Wedding bands
• Accessories (Depends if MUA can provide and match for me. I dun have much anyway.)

For HIM

• Shirts and pants
• Suit (Anthony made a new suit from Suit Collection) going to collect it this Saturday! :)
  
• Ties
• Black and white socks
  
• Matching shoes

For BOTH

• Mints sweet, dun drink too much water
• Wet tissue (for Outdoor to clean ur sandals)
• Blotters
• Wedding Bands
• Causal clothes ( not intending to do casual shoots. Maybe bringing just in case)

Going to start my mask routine today. 2 weeks to PS. A few pimples popping out. Not sure if there is enough time to get rid of them. Maybe I go get some whitening mask later.

5. Filing Notice of Marriage

At a glance

1. File notice of marriage - You can file your wedding online at the ROM website. The earliest you can file your wedding notice is 3 months before your solenmnisation.
   
2. For solemnisation outside ROM, you have to obtain the solemniser's signed consent before filing online. Can find the list of licensed solemnisers here. Download the 'solemnisater consent form' and checklist.
   
3. Things to prepare for efiling
   
   • Personal information
   • Date/Time/Venue for ROM (venue have to be endorsed by ROM)
   • Solemniser's license number
     
   • Credit card
     
4. Verification and Statutory Declaration - This is done before solemnisation and both parties must be present. ROM issue a marriage license for solemnisation to proceed only if VD/SD done in order, include collection of marriage documents if your marriage venue is outside ROM.
   
5. Solemnisation ceremony - 5 to 15 mins.
   

4. Choosing Actual Day Photographer / Videographer

CHeck YOur Budget!!!! Choose something that suits your taste.

The following photographers/videographers are those that I came across and shortlisted. Not exclusive. I am not an expert in photography. So I shall not comment on their skills. Think most importantly, choose a style you like and a photographer you are comfortable with.

Note: Click on the name to go to their website! Sorry I did not include their HP. In case they get spams. :p Express highlights is a video footage of the morning events. It will exclude the evening dinner. Wedding summary is the summary of the whole wedding, inclusive of the dinner. Some studios can only provide either one due to crew contraint. Please contact and get the details (e.g. no of DVDs, hours etc) from them.

Studio / Freelancer	Videography	Photography	Remarks
Atelierx contact@atelierx.tv contact@rueyloon.com (photographer)	Basic: around $1000 (without editing) Add-ons: Express Highlights Photo Montage Wedding Summary	Tie-up with 36Frames Offer bundle package price.	Very very romantic style. Those who see the wedding summary will fall in love with it. They make effort in summarizing the whole wedding into a 10 min MTV. Not just putting a video footage and music together. They actually integrate the music and video together. Pro leh.
Ciderjuice Yee Wei contactus@ciderjuice.com	Around $1.7 (with editing) Add-ons: Express highlights Photo-Montage	Around 1k.	Choose either photography or videography! Cos he is a one-man show! :p very nice and talented and creative chap. Very comfortable with him. Heard he is moving into production. So call to check if he is still doing weddings. All CD jewel case are customized. Like real movie production leh.
Moo MediaAndrew sales@moomediaonline.com	Around 1k	Around 1.5k	I chose this for my actual day. Cos they can come up with cranky and stupid stuff. Hee. Suit my love story. They got several packages available. The last time I heard they change their rates again. Call them to find out more.

Here are some of the photographers list which I shortlisted but no time to check out. But I reckon it will still be easier for you if I put the website and contact for you.

• Yew Kwang
• Ron Lee
• Desmond Ho
• Derrick Ong
• Gabriel Mendes
• Kelvin Koh
• Piczturesque
  

3. Wedding tips for choosing bridal studios

Please set a budget when you choose your bridal studio! Heee.... It is very easy to get out of hand. Please note that the below is not a comprehensive list of bridal studios. Just some samples that I come across.

Bridal Studios Types
There are typically few categories:

1. High end (above 8k)
   
2. Good Mid-range package (3k above wihout photoshoot)
3. DIY package (Chim Culture, Zann & Denn)
   
4. Comprehensive package (comes with car, off-the-rack / made-to-measure gowns with in-house photographers)

High End (Sorry, my homework in this category is quite limited, because it is way beyond my budget.)

• Vera Wang
• Marianna Harwick

Good Mid-range
They typically tie-up with professional photography studios which provide studio or outdoor photography service. Generally cost above 2k. Strongly recommended if you have the budget. SO the whole wedding typically adds up to 5k++. They provide good service. And if you have a special gown (especially embroidery, lace) in mind, they are most probably the ones who can do it. Please do make appointments before going down. For instance:

• Wedding Present Bride
  
• Silhouette
• Jawn Happy Ever After
  
• Flamingo
• Irene's creation
• MargaretBrides
• Emanuel B. Couture
• Ted Wu
  

(Click to go to their website.)
Pros:
- They allow you to wear your own gown for outdoor shoot.
- Good service
- Quality gown esp embroidery/lace. Lower range Bridal studio may not be able to make them, even though they also do made-to measure. Otherwise they charge a premium and end up more costly than the mid-range ones.
- Reputable

Cons:
- Limited selection of gown for your studio shoot. Usu only your wedding gown, evening gown and a Kua.

Comprehensive
Typically the "Taiwanese" style where they allow few changes, five hair-dos for the studio shoots, and you "pose" for the photos. Usually they do not allow you to wear your actual gown for your outdoor shoot. Most of them have their in-house photographers. For instance:

• Yvonne Creative
• Flamingo Bridal
• Diogiobridal (Sister company of Golden Horse Awards)
• Bridal Zone
• Bridal Veil
  

Pros:
- More variety in photoshoot (in terms of number of hair-dos and gowns). Largely because their main stream of revenue is from the photos rather than the gowns.
- More comprehensive. Car deco and car included. SOme even include the dress for the bridemaid and jackets for fathers.
- More flexible ( You can have a good bargain if you are really good with it.)

Cons:
- There are more "sharks". Be careful where you choose from. Do check out the SingaporeBrides forum before signing up. Some have really lousy after-sales service and use hard selling tactics. Find out all the hidden costs.
- Cannot wear actual gown for outdoor shoot. Only for in-door shoot.

Bridal Studio Style
Just to let you have an idea of some of the strengths of some of the bridal studios:

• Embroidery: Blush Blush, Amanda Lee, Ted Wu
• Coloured Embroidery: Emanuel B. Couture
• Laces: Margaret Brides, Julia Wedding News
• Frills, organza, chiffon: Tan Yoong, Kai, Bridal Wardrobe
• European Influence: Sattine
• Swarvokski Crystals: Bridel Veil
• Cheongsam style: Dang
• Knots: Ivoiry Isle
• Beaded Gowns: Federick Lee
• Low Back: Divine, Silverlining
• Ethnic Influence: Hanna Huang, Style Bridal

R.O.M / Bridesmaid dress
Heard about Olive Suite and Empire. Personally, I never try them. Cos mine all held on the same day. And I intend to ask my bridesmaids to get their dress from Just Fashion, located at Century Square/North Point. Sometimes there are nice collection that cost around $80+. :p

Men Suit
Boy got his from The Suit Collection, also known as Dickson Menswear, Suntec fountain, opp KFC Tel:68369078. You have to make appointment. That uncle is a super busy man. Quite reasonable price. Good cut and design. ;) hehe..I think it look great on boy lah.

You can check out Raffles Tailor and Kingsmen too. We din check them out. beyond budget. :p But most of the Mid range packages tie up with these two shops.

2b. Banquet venue summary

A bit hard to post the table here. I just did a print screen:

After the NDP

Boy is not working these 2 days. GRRRRR.......Feel like taking leave too. Wed - Sun. 5 days!

2a. Wedding Tips on choosing banquet venue

These are some stuff that I have compiled from the forums:

Things to look out for when considering a Banquet venue:

• Try to get a rough guest list ready when you're looking at venues. At the very least, bug, nag, harrass and use all possible means to get parents to give you a figure to work with. That way, you are less likely to end up with a venue that's too small or too big.
• High ceilings are important.
• Banquet halls should generally be a regular shape. Weird corners make it difficult for guests to see what's actually going on.
• If numbers/the venue permits, you may want to consider booking two banquet halls in one hotel. A friend did this earlier this year: he left the colleagues and relatives in the bigger banquet hall and had his rowdy friends in a smaller one. The bride and groom unfortunately had to do a bit of running about, but they (and their friends) enjoyed themselves more than if everyone had been packed into one big hall.
• Make sure that the hotel has a wedding planner/coordinator of sorts. Ask about the planner's credentials and work experience. The industry is unfortunately a competitive one and good planners tend to move / get poached by other hotels on a regular basis - hence you may have had a good experience with one planner and then found out closer to your wedding date that the person actually doing the work on the day itself is a different person. NOT good.

When negotiating a banquet package:

• It is important to do your research. When we negotiated the package for our wedding, the package did not include a barrel of beer on the house. However, we told the wedding planner that we knew of packages from other hotels which included this. She eventually agreed to let us have a barrel of beer on the house.
• Usually one barrel of beer is enough, unless you have friends/relatives who drink beer like water.
• Negotiate for a corkage waiver. At the very least, if you are not getting any alcohol from the hotel at all, the waiver should be around 1.5 bottles per table. Generally, if you commit to a larger number of tables, hotels are more willing to negotiate the corkage waiver. The corkage waiver should be for both wine and hard liquor (although I understand that less people consume the latter these days).
• This is not really related to the banquet package. But when you are considering what wines to get, reds generally go down better with most Singaporeans. I've found that usually a third of the wine consumed is white whilst the rest are reds. Note that reds are also easier to serve as they are good at room temperature. I find that most whites need to be chilled thoroughly before serving, hence it's harder to ensure that white wines are served at a proper temperature throughout dinner.
  
• If your wedding is a whole day affair (church/tea ceremony in the morning and afternoon, dinner in the evening), try to get a helpers' room included in your banquet package. Your friends will be running ragged the whole day to ensure that the day runs smoothly. They are unlikely to have the time to go home and rest during the day. At the same time, you don't really want everyone trudging in and out of your bridal suite. A helpers' room servers two purposes: it lets your friends have a time to rest, and at the same time, preserves the privacy of the bridal suite.
• Try asking for extra night of stay, extra complimentary barrel of beer, chair covers or increase the number of invitation cards and complimentary parking. This will usually work only if you book early. Or, you can change the items like anniversary dinner voucher to others.

A wedding package typically includes:

• Complimentary one or two nights stay in the hotel suite
• Complimentary bottle of champagne, fruit basket and breakfast for two
• Complimentary parking for up to 20% of confirmed attendance
• Complimentary barrel of beer
• Complimentary trial dinner for 6 or 10 people
• Complimentary fruit cake or chocolate pralines for all your invited guests
• Free flow of Chinese tea, soft drinks and mixes (not inclusive of juices)
• Wedding invitation cards with envelopes based on 60% or 70% of confirmed attendance (not inclusive of printing)

Selected list of hotels and rates (to be updated).
I have compared the 2007 package for Grand Copthrone, Merchant Court, Marina Mandarin, Fullerton and Pan Pacific. It includes:

• Contact information
• Capacity
  
• Nett Weekday/weekend rates
• Beverages (wine corkage)
• Food (e.g. outsourced to Crystal Jade, supplied by own kitchen etc)
  
• Other stuff included in the package (e.g. carpark, coupons, LCD projectors)
  

If it is urgent, you can email me for the excel. It is does not include all the hotels because I only studied these few shortlisted ones for my wedding. I had some others but they are the 2006 pricelist, so I removed them from the spreadsheet.

At the same time, do check out the banquet summary from SingaporeBrides. Do the first cut shortlist from this place.

About selfishness......

Boy and I have an interesting discussion about selfishness in the car just now......

Ever you come across a situation when you are being labelled as "selfish" and think that you are not? Have you ever remember a situation when you are asked to share your new toy with another kid, but you really don't wish to...... cos you love it so much that you cannot bear to play with it, let alone share with another kid!!! You are taught not to be selfish and share it with another kid.

Boy don't think it is being selfish. He proudly said ever since primary 1, he think that it is bullshit! The parents are selfish for trying to 'look' good in front of other parents, trying to show that they taught their children well. The other kid is selfish for trying to take away something that you love. You are only only trying to protect something that you love and that is not selfish. By sharing, you are being selfish to yourself. And you are being labelled as selfish for other's selfish reasons. And after the age of 7, he really doesn't care when people call him selfish after this realization!

I checked up the definition of selfish on dictionary.com. Selfish means concerned chiefly or only with oneself. So if you don't "share", does that mean that you are selfish? No, it is as important to love yourself as to love others. It is impossible to love others if you do not love yourself first.

Giving has to be from within. You will feel good about it. There are times when I give, not because I want to but because I want to be accepted and "unselfish". But do I feel good? Nope. I feel terrible about compromising. And slowly it becomes a habit to look for peer acceptance. hmm....need some self reflection.

1 thing I am very sure. Next time, I am not going to teach my child that he is being selfish for not sharing. I going to teach him how to take other people's feeling into consideration, and he can make his own judgement.

1. Wedding Plan Calendar

Please note that the following are just guidelines that work for Anthony and I. These are entirely our opinion, and not meant to advertise nor out down anyone. Just to help you. We have less than 6 months to prepare, so don't worry if you have fewer than 6 months. Just ENJOY Yourself!!! Drop me an email or private message to get the excel format of the calendar. =)

(include plans for Church Wedding on the same day)


6 or more months to go

1. Set Date for wedding. Some people are more particular about the dates. For couples who need to follow the lunar calendar, it is recommended to choose 1 year in advance.
2. Set Budget. Work out your budget and set priorities with your loved ones. All of us want a dream wedding, including me. But I certainly do not want us to be broke after the wedding.
   
3. Compile Guest List. This is just a draft gauge of the number of guests that you have so that you can shortlist the hotel venues.
   
4. Evaluate the banquet venue. Visit www.singaporebrides.com. Good place to start.
5. Check Church availability. Heard that Christian churches require very advance booking. Mine is OK. I book 1/2 year in advance, together with the hotel.
   
6. Confirm the banquet venue. Once you find a suitable date, you can tentatively book the banquet venue and check your church availabilty. Tentative booking does not require any downpayment. It just gives you priority booking for a period of time (typically 2 weeks). The salesperson will need to check with you there is another couple who is interested on the same date. You will be given 2 days to consider if you want to confirm the booking. You need to pay a deposit upon confirmation. Remember to book the Church too!!
7. Marriage Preparation Course. There are prerequisitesin some churches to attend the course before you can receive the sacrament of marriage. In any case, it will be goo dto attend a marriage preparation course even if you are not of any religion.
8. Choose your bridal studio. I strongly recommend that people check out the singaporebrides forum after you shortlist a few bridal studios (BS). There are the high end (>$8k), mid range ($4k-6k) and taiwanese style ones ($2k - $4k, typically in-house photographers). Checkout their reviews. I will elaborate the differences in later "chapters". Once you have decide your BS, they will plan the rest for you. Typical made-to-measure (MTM )gown require 1 month.
   
9. Decide and book make-up artist. Decide and book your makeup artist early, especially if yours is not included in the package.
   
10. Choose your studio/outdoor photographer. Decide and book your studio photographe if they are not included in the package. Typically they need 2 months to prepare the finished album.
    
11. Choose your Actual Day photographer and videographer. There is really a wide range of photographers and videographers to choosee from. Some photography house provide both services. Personally, I prefer those with spare equipment and backup camera man.
    
12. Decide on flowers and florist.
13. Plan and book honeymoon. (of course, this is not that urgent. :p We decided to push our honeymoon a month after after actual day).

4- 6 months

1. Buy wedding bands. (NOTE: need minimum 3 months to custom-made if they do not have your size!!!)
   
2. Plan Church Programme. Plan your program and get quotations from vendor. Personally, I made a mass booklet and invite my choir to sing for us. :) Saint Vincent De Paul has one of the best choir (haha...cos it is our choir group).
   
3. Book Caterer. Not so urgent. But you might want to start looking before everything start to be urgent. You can start to book and confirm your menu with the caterer.
   
4. Arrange transport for wedding day. Same as above.
   
5. Select and order wedding favours.
6. Buy or reserve Groom's suit.
7. Choose attendents and inform them.
8. Organise Entetainment programme.
9. Order wedding stationery. Guest book, Thank you notes, invitation cards.

2 - 4 months

1. Food/wine tasting. Go food tasting and confirm the menu and liquor.
   
2. Buy stocking or special lingurie. For the bride, you may want to buy special lingurie for you gown or whatever. :) Never hurt to be always on a lookout. Especially, you have already confirmed your gown.
3. Prepare wedding vows. You can start preparing your wedding vows!!!!
4. Confirm menu with caterer.
5. Arrange for Trial Make-up. Confirm that the gown will be ready in time.
   
6. Studio/Outdoor Photoshoot. Remember they need minimum 2 months to finish the album.
   
7. File notice of marriage. This is only applicable for couples solemnising on the actual day. Check out this website for more details: http://app.rom.gov.sg/
   
8. Renew baptism certification.
   

2 months

1. Printing. Print program booklet, mass booklet and invitation cards.
   
2. Mail invitation. Finalise Guest list and mail invitation.
3. Write speeches for toast.
   
4. Church rehearsal. Schedule Church rehearsal and inform attendants.

1 month

1. Final dress fitting with shoes, jewellery and lingerie.
2. Finalise seating plan. Plan and finalise seating for dinner guests and prepare place cards.
3. Finalise makeup and hairstyle. Note: For those who choose their own make-up artists.
4. Delegate jobs. Assign responsibilities to wedding helpers.
5. Prepare AngBaos. Prepare AngBaos for officant, sisters and brothers and helpers.
6. Confirm music and photography. Confirm transportation if the bridal car is not included in the package.
   

2 weeks

1. Church rehearsel. Run through day's duties with attendents.
2. Obtain marriage license and certfied copies. This is only applicable for couples solemnising on the actual day.
3. Collect wedding gown.
4. Confirm reception / dinner details with caterer/hotel.
5. Honeymoon arrangement. Confirm and prepare honeymoon arrangement.
6. Confirm transportation. Confirm transportation arrangement for the ceremony.

1 week

1. Finalise all minor arrangements.Pass rings to best man and Give payment to best man to pay the respective people.
2. Rehearse ceremony.
3. Spa treatment. Have a relaxing spa treatment, including manicure and pedicure.
   

WARNING: My actual day is on the 1 Jan 07. SO.......This is my plan. Doesn't mean it work. :) But I compiled it after studying several wedding plans and checklist. So I am still quite comfortable with this. Do WARN me if I am wrong or heading into trouble.

Wedding bells ringing everywhere

A few of my good friends are getting married!!!!!!! Maybe I will start a series of wedding planning roadmaps for them. Not the most perfect (at least these are what I have gone through!). Open to suggestions. But hope it will help them in their planning. So happy for them..... Especially Lionel and Yuling. :p

Money & Me

I just attended Money & You last weekend! It is really an enlightening seminar, a engaging course full of games to find out about myself and how I handle $$$.

I did not have much of emotional baggage I guess. But I witnessed the many people who have a break-through and come to terms with themselves and letting go of their past.

Maybe deep down I do have some "Yuckberries" (this is refer to the bad stuff in our subconcious mind) that I have yet to realise. So using the same technique taught, I am going to slowly learn about myself. Like peeling an onion, layer by layer.....

I have also learnt that Anthony is my true soul mate. I am just so in love. ;) For these five years, I never looked into his eyes and hold it longer than 5 sec. Can never do that. I will either laugh or look away. :p But during the seminar, I was "forced" to look into his eyes for such a looooonnnnng timr. I could see his love for me, him wanting to take care of me and protect; me wanting to be always there for him in good or bad times etc. hehe.... gooseberries??? I simply on cloud nine.

Update next time. Think I will have sweet dreams tonight.