Wedding Blog

What we did, How we did and Why we did these stuff to the wedding day..

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DIY project II.. Run out of strings.. Will get that fixed to complete my name.. Hah.

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Av testing at Hilton today! Our wedding coordinator was overseas so we met up with the 2 Audio Visual guys and the banquet captain for our wedding.. They are really friendly and helpful!

Initially,  we wanted to play the videos on the laptop as suggested by our videographer (something along the lines of lower quality if being burned out to dvd format) but we figured it's more convenient to have it in dvd format and let the AV guys handle it.

The banquet captain explained how the reception and cocktail area would be set-up and stuff and was really helpful..

Less than 2 weeks to th3 big day..

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DIY project 1 done.  :) 

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Work in progress for the big day. #lessthen1mth

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In the midst of sending out all the invites..  So much to write!

Have to put my feet (and brains)  down to finalizing the actual day schedule and Mc script..  (Before Joy hunts me down for it.  Heh.)

34 days to the wedding!

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Enjoy the process..

Countdown ticker: 84 days to the wedding I'm starting to enjoy the process of the planning, not that it's getting easier but it's going to be over sooner then ever! Just send in our invitation cards for printing and the distribution should begin in November too.. (The number of names we have to write, yikes! Will work on those when the time comes..) Had food tasting at Hilton a couple of weeks ago.. (Yummy-licous, our guest would have a rolling good time with their food..) Going to check out some options on bridesmaid dresses next week (Before bring the jiemei's to try them out), working very hard on the actual day schedule (Yes, almost there, almost there).. Awaiting our photo albums and frames to be sent over from Taiwan as well. (Can't wait to see the actual product of our photos on the books!) Suppose to meetup with our Videographer to talk about our video concepts and start filming this month.. We've not tried acting before..Based on the photoshoot, for some dear reason, the camera likes Alex a lot, it will be fun to see if the videocam does the same too! And the Entourage meetup in November! (All our best and closest friends whom paths are going to cross because of us. That is the best thing ever.) Can't believe we have progress this much in a short span of time! More to come, More to go..

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3 months to the wedding! The mayhem of preparation starts now..

As the bride, I'm starting to feel a little stress about the number of things to do in 3 months.. Gosh..

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Diet Diet Diet..

A woman is never going to stop dieting. Period. No matter what shape and size we are, we always want to be slimmer.. Unfortunately, I'm a "Pear" shape, so when i gain any weight at all, it will go straight down to the hips and thighs... So 3 months to the wedding, it's time to do more about the flabby arms and almost non-existent thigh gap.. I'm going to try out this 30 day challenge and see if there are results...

I'm going to take a photo everyday and if there are results, it should be seen clearly!

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Thinking that the wedding site is dead?

Well, it might have for a few months after the ROM.. It was a whirlwind from ROM to US trip and shortly came all the festive seasons.. Weekdays were often too short to accomplish anything and after 8 hours of sitting at a desk with a computer, you don't really want to use it at home anymore.. Weekends flew by with a bat of the eyelid with all the errands and chores a responsible adult has to fulfill.. So for months, I've been patiently working on revamping the site on WIX.. (One Fine day, I couldn't log on to the Perfect Wedding server and decided i had it..) Tadah! Hopefully you guys are enjoying my hard work.. It's 99 days to the customary wedding.. After that, i might not have much chance to update on this blog anymore (I presume will only be married once..) I'm going to try to post as often as possible in the last 99 days because in the midst of the busy schedule and changes, i'm finally feeling excited about it!

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23 days and counting..

Ahh.. How time flies... I didn't realise that 3 months have pass since my last update here. We are still getting married though (even there is no live updates of the planning and details). I just need to borrow extra time to pen them down. As of today, it's 23 DAYS to our big day.. We started counting down when the days are in a row of threes, now it's less then a month to go. In these 3 months, let me just summarize the tasklist that we have worked on or still pending: 1. Checked- Dress and suit for the ceremony (We have signed a bridal package with Thomson wedding for our Actual day & Solemnization dresses/gowns needs- More about this soon) 2. Checked- Wedding shoes (Anna Nucci Heels- very bling,very bridal. Thanks to my best friends who have accompanied me for the shoe hunt!) 3. Checked- Wedding Bands (One of the first few things brought. Really need to get it out of the safe this weekend to try on the size again, just to make sure it still fits. ) 4. In progress- Finalisation of all details with Royal Scotts (We'll be meeting up with Evelyn tomorrow to go confirm and fix all the nitty gritty details. - Number of confirmed guest, any amendments to menu, room arrangement, procedure and schedule walkthrough etc etc. ) 5. Checked- Photographer (Alex's best friend (Fai Ming) is a full-time photographer, thus he would be the photographer for the night. We'll be engaging a photography crew for the AD since he would be part of the 'brother' gang. Check out his work here. 6. Checked- Make up Artist (MUA) (Thomson wedding wanted us to use the trial makeup supposedly for the AD for my ROM day. After we've changed date, they couldn't secure a MUA for us and i didn't want to wait anymore. Thus, with some googling skills and forums reading, we've decided to engage Cleo Chang as our MUA. Went for a trial makeup over at her residence and i'm really impressed with her skills. Totally deserved my rave and a detailed post on this. Meanwhile, to view more of her work, check out her website here. 7. Checked- Justice of Peace (JP) (Mrs Chia Swee Tin would be our JP. She's a really humourous lady and pretty popular as a solemnizer! We met up with at least other 10 couples she would be solemnising this Dec!) 8. In progress- Marriage Preparation Course (The idea of attending one was encouraged by Mrs Chia, whom provided her experience and insight of marriage. She brought along brochures and phamplets for our knowledge as well. We have attended 2 sessions out of 5 (The last one would be 1 year after our marriage), will share more of our experience definately!) 9. Checked- File Notice of marriage (E-filing process takes about 15mins and 26 dollars if you have all the details required on hand! Now, we wait for 17-Dec to visit Registry of Marriage to collect our certificate for the day) 10. Checked- Having our own wedding app with Wedding Party ! (I think having our own wedding app allows everyone to be part of our wedding especially on 20.12.2012 even if you can't be there physically! It's available on both itunes & Playstore.. Just download ' Wedding party' and enter our wedding name- alexarielle )

11. Help?- MC for our big day (Not the medical certificate we are talking about, Master of ceremony that is. All the very talented and cute cousins from Alex's side are shying away from our offer.. Alex say he'll ask the girls next, either the niece or his youngest sister.. Need to confirm it latest by end of the week..) 12. In Progress- DIY projects in mind (Customised photoboard for guest to take poloriod photographs on 20-dec and pin them on, creative guestboooks, placecards to encourage guest to use our wedding app to help us take pictures and more.. I've plenty of ideas but time! Oh gosh. This is a work in progress, we'll see along the way. ) 13. In Progress- Logistics for the day (This is where the awesome brother and sisters comes in. We'll both need to brief our best man and bridesmaids on reception, transport, wedding flow logistics in Dec. There's only 2 of us and we need to be at the alter thus they are the most important left and right hands on our big day- Sorry to put you guys through this 2 times. Let the ROM be a warm up?) 14. In Progress- Wedding March-in (First, evelyn need to get us a piano. Next, Alex wants to perform the march-in piece and he has 23 days to master it. Yikes.) So that's about all the really big picture of what we have done during this period. So let the countdown continues..

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Designing the Wedding invitations.. Before I start on the wedding invitations.. Some updates to the ROM dates... I'm a firm Believer of luck and fate- we got to have our ROM on 20.12.2012 once again.. Due to some travel plans disasters, everyone agreed that we have to revert back to the original date so we got our previous in mind date after all! :D So with the contract signed and the date confirmed, I have finally started on designing the invitation cards. So excited.. Here are some of the designs and we are having a hard time deciding which one to use for the ROM.. So which of the above should we use? Hmmm...

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The frills, the sash and the lace.. Apologies for the lack of updates as life has been hectic as it should be. Time is not your friend when we have to juggle between work, planning of wedding and emergencies. In the midst of all the commotion, the wedding planning is on track! We have decided to head to Taiwan for our photoshoot in Apr 2013. This buys me some time to lose more weight as well as being able to have the photos taken when the weather is less humid but rather nice and cooling. We are flying Scoot on 29th Mar to Taipei and YES, I'm very excited! (Since this is my first time in Taiwan plus the photoshoot experience!) By some luck, fate and decisive moments, we've selected Judy Wedding (Facebook Page) as our photoshoot bridal house in Taipei. Judging from the reviews and photos we've seen, i'm really happy with their shooting style and the gowns available.. Here are some of their portfolio photos (All copyrighted to Judy Wedding).. Honestly, i think i'm having some stress issues with this photoshoot. I have this phobia that the photoshoot would turn out to be a complete disaster. I even had a nightmare on it which is really freaking me out. I'm currently reading up on forums and articles on what to look out for before heading to Taiwan. Busy researching on any interesting sights in Taiwan that i would like to feature in the album photos. There would be more updates on the planning of the route for the outdoor shoot as we'll be discussing with our coordinator, Xiao Wei probably closer to date. Please let this stress pattern die down. It would help if i could see me reaching my ideal weight soon. :)

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Previously, we posted on making a decision for our solemnization venue over here. After some deliberation and discussion, we have finally decided on using Royal Plaza on Scotts for our solemnization! Buffet dinner would be served on 22nd Dec 2012 and we are inviting at least 40 close family & friends to share this joy with us. Some main factors that made us choose Royal Plaza is that their sales team are very friendly and helpful, buffet menu are going to be handled by the Carousel (Their buffets are really yummy) and it's very much within the budget allocated for our venue cost. Alex has also managed to secure a great solemniser for the night, so that’s all done for legal logistic issues. :) It would be held in the Ballroom beside the swimming pool area. We hope that the weather is good so that our guest would be able to enjoy the night reception by the pool with the orchard view. Inclusive in our package are: One night stay in our Deluxe room including in-room breakfast for two persons Endless flow of soft drinks, mixers, coffee and tea throughout the event Waiver of corkage charge for 2 bottles of wines or hard liquors brought into the hotel “Duty Paid and Sealed” Seat covers for all dining chairs Stage with Solemnization table setup Use of PA sound system with Rostrum and microphone Complimentary usage for LCD projector and Screen Designer floral centerpieces Guest signatory book to capture all your beautiful blessings and memories Exclusive parking in front of the hotel for the Bridal car Complimentary car parking vouchers based on 20% of the total guaranteed attendance Gourmet buffet lunch at Carousel for 6 persons upon confirmation of event As Royal Plaza is also one of the proud sponsors for the New Paper Wedding Planner 2012 event, couples whom signed up wedding packages with them are also entitled to 2 choices from the list below and Monz Spa Voucher worth $300 during this period. International Gourmet Buffet lunch or High Tea at Carousel for 6 persons Second night stay in our Deluxe room First year anniversary stay in our Deluxe room One day use in our Deluxe room for your wedding entourage Five-tiered model wedding ceremonial cake with edible top-tier Wedding invitation cards with envelops based on 70% of the total guaranteed attendance (excludes printing cost) Champagne pyramid with a complimentary bottle of champagne for the pouring ceremony and toasting One bottle of House wine or Sparkling juice per table. Stag/ Hens Party at Heat Ultralounge for ten persons with one hour free flow of Housepour drinks Chair Sash with poises for 2 VIP tables Wedding Favors An additional Twenty Percent Carpark Vouchers We are definitely taking up the second night in the deluxe room and deciding between a 1st year anniversary stay or another 6 persons buffet lunch or High Tea at Carousel. Let's look at the food menu for the night: “Evening of Bliss” Dinner Appetizer: Marinated Greenland Shrimp, Artichoke and Watercress Smoked Chicken Breast with Cucumber and Onion Chutney Crushed Salmon with Green Apple and Endive Salad Buffet Salad: Roasted Pumpkin and Anchovy Crumb Seafood Salad in Dill Potato and Avocado Roasted Zucchini and Cuttlefish with Cabbage Remoulade Tossed Salad: Oak Leaf Lettuce, Cos Lettuce, Baby Spinach Arragula Salad, Mesclun Salad and Frisee Lettuce Condiments: Olives, Cornichon, Sun Dried Tomato Herb Crouton, Parmesan Cheese, Toasted Hazelnut Dressing: Thousand Island, Caesar Dressing, French Dressing, Soy-Sesame Dressing, Miso and Shallot Oil Vinaigrette Soup: Prawn Tom Yam Goong served with Bread and Bread Roll Butter and Margarine Main Course: Szechuan Prawns with Cashew Nut and Bell Pepper Pan-Fried Sea Bream with Sour Cherry and Tomato Petals Roasted Baby Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Chick Peas and Dry Apricot (We are probably going to change this away to Tofu or duck mains) French Beans with Almond Butter Briyani Rice with Cashew Nut Desserts: Cherry Trifle with Bitter Chocolate Sauce Mini Tropical Fruits Tartlet Orange Crème Caramel Bread and Butter Pudding with Vanilla Sauce Fresh Fruit Platter Coffee and Tea Sydney and Evelyn from Royal Plaza showed us great hospitality and gave us a run through of the menus and perks provided. We were impressed when they provided us with a complimentary carpark ticket on our first viewing even though we did not put in a deposit. They have also easily agreed for an early check in to the room as it would be convenient for my MUA to work her magic and for us to prepare ourselves for the night. We’ll be meeting up with them again when the dates are closer to discuss on decoration and nitty gritty details of the actual day and I’m looking forward to it. =)

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We have been talking about the wedding bands we have viewed and had a second viewing on the same models last sunday. By end of the week, we have decided between Goldheart or Lee Hwa's design. In the end, Lee Hwa won.We were in town this weekend and went to the outlet at Wisma Atria. It is one of the largest Lee Hwa outlets in Singapore thus it's a great place for wider varieties. (Lee Hwa Diamond Gallery) Since we already had the model in mind, we only had to get the ring size fitted and calculate any additional costs to it. Surprisingly, there's a new twist to our wedding band process.. (Thanks to Majorie from Wisma Atria Outlet)I actually fit into the size 11 ring at their outlet and there's no need for me to resize them. As for Alex's ring size, he's a 23 for this particular model. The inital plan was that he would have to custom made the ring because they do not have a 23 size ring. Fortunately for us, the nice sale executive managed to find a size 22 from their head office and she is able to resize it for us to a 23. Therefore, we would actually have our ring by next month instead of 3 months. The resizing cost would be 50 dollars instead of the previous arrangment of 100 dollars for customisation and 40 dollars additional for the size. (We saved 90 bucks from this, but my ring has increased by about 30 bucks as individual diamond size and gradings for each bands are unique..) It was a good deal with the discount on the rings as well, so i think we made a good decision. With compliments, Lee Hwa has given us a wedding band pillow and a beautiful guest book.. The band is a combination of 18k Rose gold and white gold. It has a total of 29 small diamonds. My darling knows i have a soft spot for rings with a stretch of blings, they look totally gorgeous. Now, one task off the list, many more to go.. :)

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ROM and Wedding Dinner Banquet

Alex loved the idea of having our wedding on 20th Dec 2012, so we have been trying to work something out for our special day to fall on that day. We were considering to have a really big and grand ROM reception and save all the trouble of holding a traditional chinese wedding or do a simple ROM and a traditional chinese wedding on individual day. We come to realise that as much as marriage is to bind 2 person together, some decisions of the wedding will have to be decided by the familes as a whole- such as the above scenario. My parents have mentioned that they don't mind doing away with the chinese wedding banquet and they are fine with going through the ROM reception only. This way, we could have some spare change for future housing renovation or honeymoon. Alex's parents feels that it will be better if we have both the ROM and wedding banquet on individual day. It'll be a good way to inform relatives and friends through a good chinese meal that we are getting married and share the joy. After talking it through, they would prefer a weekend date too. (20th Dec 2012 is a thursday) Both views has it pros and cons and we decided to go with the latter as it's a form of respect we are giving to our parents for our big day. Thus, we are looking at having the ROM reception this year, the wedding banquet can be at the end of 2013 or early 2014. Research for suitable ROM venues have begun as it's about 6 months away from 20th Dec 2012. Some of the hotels/Venues we have considered: 1. Butterfly & Insect Kingdom Kudos to Alex, he found the venue and it's interesting to have butterflies around the event. No? We are going for venue viewing next saturday. The package is one of the cheapest we have seen. Buffet has to be one of the most afforable too. 2. Amara Sanctuary Sentosa This has to be one of the most beautiful venue to have your ROM/Wedding in here. Quite a bit of people have their big day in here for there famous "Glass House" concept. Prices are pretty steep- They charge Venue fee on top of per person buffet price. Both 1 & 2 are in Sentosa, a little inaccessible for guest if they are not driving. 3. Royal Plaza Hotel We are pretty keen in the packages they have offered. The prices is very competitive and i'm very sure of their food quality. Their 22nd Dec 2012 dinner slot has been confirmed and we are left with the lunch slot. The banquet sales executive has kindly blocked out the slot for us while we arrange a viewing session. 4. Marina Mandarin Hotel We think they are suitable for wedding banquet. We'll put it as a lower choice range. 5. Fullerton Hotel We saw the catering service number and decided to ask for their package details. The food dishes looks pretty awesome but we'll want to see how number 1 and 3 turns out before arranging for more viewing. Will update more after the viewings. :)

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Wedding Bands

As an impromptu act, we decided to window shop for our wedding bands. We are looking at holding our soleminzation in December this year, it leaves us about a couple of months to decide on the designs we really like. One of the factors why we are looking at this in the early stages was that his ring has to be custom made. His ring size is about 23-24 depending on design and it takes about 2.5 months-3 months for the ring to be ready. It's not easy to find a pair of design that you really love and it has to fall within the budget, thus it's good to have ample time to purchase the bands. A good place to shop around would be at 313 Somerset and Ion Orchard, most of the jewellery shops are located in this 2 malls and it makes comparision rather simpler. We went into 4 different jewellery stores today- Lee Hwa, SK, Sookee & Goldheart. Some factors we had in mind: - what material where the rings made of? We prefer it be of white gold, rose gold or a combination of both. - The bride's ring should be of a thin band with a streak of small diamonds on it, Groom's ring should be of band with simple designs, no diamonds on it. - If it matches the engagement ring, it's a bonus..=) - Have to fall within our budget - What was the additional cost for the custom made ring (The bigger the ring size, the higher the amount is added. Usually the addition is about 40 dollars per size) - The duration required for the rings to be ready. In the end, we chose a pair of rings we really like in the store and got a quotation for the rings. In order to remember the ring models and the price, we've got the store executive to write it on their name card. From the consultation today, we both feel that we can afford to visit a few more stores before deciding on the rings. We'll continue to shop for more designs! :)