HEHEHHE. As the title suggests, I'm on my honeymoon! Its gonna be 24 days long. We're going around the west coast of USA, starting from San Francisco! We just got here 2 days ago and am really apologetic for the lack of posts. :(
I am a lot more frequent on Instagram and you could follow me there as well for photo updates if you'd like. :) You can find me by the user id "colourlee".
Long story for the choice user id. Hahahahahaha.
Hope to see you there!
FYI, its effing cold here. :(
Same day edit - The wedding of Eric & Carol [must watch!] from Benjamin Ong on Vimeo.
Oh boy, just a blink of an eye and we're just 4 days away from the day we've planned a year and a half for. ;)
Can't wait I must say!
Here's a look of what Lily (my MUA) did for my trial makeup. Didn't manage to take a picture of the hair she did for me initially though. The awesome part was that despite a trial hair do not a part of the contract, she kindly did a 10min hairdo with some gel and hair products to show how it was gonna look like on my wedding day. And made sure I left the studio presentable enough so I could go out in style after! This is the picture of the makeup and hairdo I left with.
I. Was. Blown. Away!
Okay, I'll admit. I was very skeptical in the first place because she stuck the double eyelid tape so close to the inner corner of my eye that it was really really obvious (my right eye with inner crease). She kept reassuring me that I wouldn't even see it later on. She even kindly corrected the way I stuck my eyelid tape. :)
She was very attentive to what I wanted (Super large eyes). And normally. What I experienced with makeup artists, the lazy ones can't even be bothered to highlight your brow bone, give you a 2 shade eye shadow. This one, however, used over 7 products, carefully shading and correcting my eyes as I have uneven eyelids + 1 is droopier than the other. Even for a trial makeup, she made sure I had double fake eyelashes on the ends. Plus highlighted my nose! I didn't get that for my bridal shoot with You-You. :) Very very contented.
| Time | Activity |
| 0500-0515 | Bride / Groom wake up |
| 0515-0530 | Wash up / Get ready |
| 0530-0545 | Brothers arrive at groom's place Sisters arrive at bride's place Makeup artist arrive at bride's place Videographer arrive at bride's place Photographer arrive at bride's place |
| 0545-0600 | Driver arrive at groom's place Sisters get ready "Groom's door opener" arrive at bride's place |
| 0600-0615 | |
| 0615-0630 | Groom and brothers arrive at bride's place |
| 0630-0645 | Groom take photos with brothers |
| 0645-0700 | Gate crash start! |
| 0700-0715 | Gate crash |
| 0715-0730 | Gate crash |
| 0730-0745 | Take photos with brothers & sisters |
| 0745-0800 | Bride, groom, brothers & sisters leave for groom's place Bride's door opener arrive at groom's place |
| 0800-0815 | |
| 0815-0830 | *****Groom & bride arrive at groom's place |
| 0830-0845 | Eat tangyuan, etc customary stuff |
| 0845-0900 | Brothers change into shirts and suits |
| 0900-0915 | Leave for Little Guilin photoshoot |
| 0915-0930 | |
| 0930-0945 | |
| 0945-1000 | Arrive back at groom's place |
| 1000-1015 | Chill / cool down |
| 1015-1030 | |
| 1030-1045 | |
| 1045-1100 | |
| 1100-1115 | Start tea ceremony at groom's place |
| 1115-1130 | |
| 1130-1145 | |
| 1145-1200 | |
| 1200-1215 | |
| 1215-1230 | Bride change into tea dress Leave for bride's place |
| 1230-1245 | |
| 1245-1300 | Start tea ceremony at bride's place |
| 1300-1315 | |
| 1315-1330 | |
| 1330-1345 | |
| 1345-1400 | Leave for hotel |
| 1400-1415 | Check in hotel |
| 1415-1430 | |
| 1430-1445 | |
| 1445-1500 | |
| 1500-1515 | |
| 1515-1530 | |
| 1530-1545 | Makeup artist arrive |
| 1545-1600 | |
| 1600-1615 | |
| 1615-1630 | |
| 1630-1645 | |
| 1645-1700 | *****Refer to setup checklist Brothers and sisters arrive at hotel to setup Bride's family arrive Groom's mother arrive |
| 1700-1715 | Bride's mother, sister and groom's mother do makeup |
| 1715-1730 | Makeup! |
| 1730-1745 | Photographer arrive at hotel Take some photos in hotel |
| 1745-1800 | Videographer arrive at hotel Rest of groom's family arrive Bride's brother family arrive |
| 1800-1815 | *****Refer to solemnisation guest list & plan Solemniser arrive Guest arrive |
| 1815-1830 | Solemnisation start |
| 1830-1845 | |
| 1845-1900 | Move décor into ballroom Bride change into gown |
| 1900-1915 | *****Refer to dinner guest list & plan Groom await guests |
| 1915-1930 | Bride arrive downstairs |
| 1930-1945 | *****Refer to seating plan Guests be seated by 1945 |
| 1945-2000 | *****Refer to dinner plan Dinner start Bride and groom 1st march in |
| 2000-2015 | Serve 1st dish |
| 2015-2030 | Groomsmen x 2 bring angbao boxes up to safe and lock Serve 2nd dish |
| 2030-2045 | Serve 3rd dish Bride & groom leave to change |
| 2045-2100 | Serve 4th dish |
| 2100-2115 | *****Refer to dinner plan Montage Bride & groom 2nd march in Serve 5th dish |
| 2115-2130 | Serve 6th dish Thank you speeches |
| 2130-2145 | Serve 7th dish Start going rounds to take photos |
| 2145-2200 | Serve 8th dish Take photos |
| 2200-2215 | |
| 2215-2230 | Thank guests |
Really satisfied with the product and workmanship! Most of all, our jeweler gave us a relatively good price. :)
Okay, this picture is taken unpolished and diamonds not framed yet.
I can't be more apologetic for the lack of updates lately.
I wanna blog about the list of personnel and helpers I've entrusted my big day with, hopefully some of you will find this helpful in planning your logistics :)
Here's a brief responsibility of each party involved. I'll elaborate more on best man and maid of honor on a later entry.
1) Driver for your bridal car (Unless you're driving a 2 seater, then your wedding photographer will have nowhere to sit. Lol) - It's usually one of the groomsmen, or if your car rental package comes with a driver, even better!
2) Door opener for groom - Pardon me. I can't find a better term for the person doing it. Lol. Traditionally, you're supposed to get a younger brother/guy cousin of the bride's to do it but if you are the youngest or simply don't have any guys younger than you in the family, get a good guy pal of bride's (younger of course) to do it :)
3) Door opener for bride - Again, pardon the term. A young girl is to do this. Find someone younger than the groom. It's tradition!
4) Time keeper on groom's entourage - This person knows your schedule to the T. He makes sure you don't miss the auspicious time. He knows when and what the groom is supposed to do at what time of the day. He also notifies one of the bridesmaids when the groomsmen and groom are arriving to bring the young boy down to open the door for groom.
5) Time keeper on bride's entourage - This person similarly, knows when and what the bride should be doing at any time of the day. She also makes sure the makeup artist arrives on time to do makeup etc for bride plus make sure the door opener is ready for groom when he arrives.
6) Best man - Takes care of groom's needs, knows which outfit to change for which house or venue, takes care of groom's attires, wedding rings, extra set of empty red packets and angbaos the groom and bride has received (I'd like a strong man to take care of valuables). He also takes care of groom's belongings. Need a very meticulous and trustworthy person for this.
7) Maid of honor - Takes care of the bride. Helps her change in and out of her outfits. Typically brings an umbrella to shelter the bride if she has to walk under the sun or rain, a bottle of water with straw (wouldn't wanna ruin the lipstick), mints, safety pins, panadols, GOOD tissue (I sweat buckets and will prolly cry too on my wedding day), extra hair pins, bride's jewelry, bride's gowns/attires, a set of bride's touch up kit. She also takes care of bride's belongings. You'll also need a very meticulous and trustworthy person for this.
8) Deejay - You need someone to take of when your montage comes up, which song to play for your first march in, etc. He also makes sure original copies and licenses of songs played that day is accounted for.
9) Drivers - You need a few with cars to ferry the parents, bridesmaids, groomsmen, attires around.
10) Witnesses - I put the best man and maid of honor responsible for making sure their ties are straight, hair in place, punctual, and that they have their ICs.
11) Helpers/receptionists - Usually the groomsmen and bridesmaids help to sit down and take attendance of guests.
12) Angbao box keeper - They'll bring the angbao boxes up to your hotel room safe after banquet has started. I'm putting best man and maid of honor in charge for this.
13) Makeup artist - You'd probably need to make sure both your moms get their makeup and hair done. I'm not providing makeup and hair for my bridesmaids.
14) Emcees - Typically come in a pair, 1 speaks English, the other in mandarin. I don't have anyone on my side who can do it though. LOL.
15) Photographer(s)
16) Videographer(s)
17) The roast pig men - My mom has a request to have a roast pig delivered when the groom arrives. So I'll have 2 to hold onto the roast pig. Haha.
I think everyone is accounted for here. I'll update if I have left anyone out. Lol.
Hope this helps!
We have finally decided on a montage and first march in song!
Montage: Javier Colon feat. Natasha Beddingfield - As Long As We Got Love
First March In: K-CI & Jojo - All My Life
Songs that have yet to be decided on are the solemnisation song (to be played before I enter with my dad in hand) and the banquet playlist. I'll update again when I have a more complete list.
Usually COMPASS license of the song played in your wedding montage is covered by the videographer you have hired. But not for the other songs played publicly. Do check to see if your videographer has it covered in your agreement. You wouldn't want to be caught and charged $600 on your wedding day. :(
As for the other songs (banquet, solemnisation playlist), the venues you have booked (hotels or restaurants) have an album of songs which they already possess licenses for playing publicly. Do check with your banquet or solemnisation venue on the songs they have. Should they not have the songs you want, you may burn the songs into a CD but do bring along the originals. I wouldn't risk it on my big day.
While we're on this, some venues are more "stingy" with lending their audio and video equipments. These lead to hidden costs if you're not aware of it. I have seen cases of when a banquet hall actually has 2 projectors but have only stated 1 projector to be used for FREE in your agreement. Be very sure and specific when going through the agreement with your banquet coordinator.
Things I asked for my banquet:
1) Usage of ALL projectors/screens
2) Usage of audio equipments
3) Reserved tables (You'll never know how many people are not gonna turn up at the very last minute)
4) Choice of flowers and decorations (They usually have themes you can pick from)
5) Children to be allowed to squeeze in with their parents without being charged as an additional head count
6) 2 Mixes of a dish to be allowed, half spicy, the other non-spicy for the crowd. Especially when my father and brother can't take any spicyness.
7) Helpers room
8) Discounted rates for additional rooms
9) Corkage waiver (This is another hidden cost if you're not careful)
10) Complimentary parking coupons
11) Use of their angbao boxes
12) Food tasting, any choice of day and time (Some only allow weekdays/lunch time)
13) 2 Nights of stay for the bride and groom
14) Food be served to our room after everything's over
15) 2 VIP lots
16) Free usage of function room for solemnisation
17) Printing of wedding poster
18) Red carpet (Some venues actually charge you for this!)
19) Rehearsal
20) Early check-in
21) Late check-out
22) Breakfast in bed the following day
23) Credit card promotions (I'll cover more on this later)
24) Canapes and drinks to be served during reception (Some charge a whooping $42 per platter of 10 canapes. That's daylight robbery!) Do check if they allow external caterers for that.
Some credit card promotions are valid for payment of the down payment while others, require you to pay the entire banquet cost with a certain credit card. I was lucky enough to get a good deal. I only paid my downpayment with UOB card and am paying the remainder with Standard Chartered Manhattan World.
(I can't believe I'm advertising this even though they've pissed me off with a big mix up in my credit card application. Still pissed but hey, at least they've corrected it.)
Let me do the math for you. You may receive maximum $200 rebate per quarter for a minimum sum of $3000 charged to your card a month. (That's capped at 5%, $200 per quarter when you meet $3000 in expenditure in a month)
Lets say each banquet table costs $1000 after all prevailing taxes and service charges, 30 tables in total.
Total cost: $1,000 x 30 tables = $30,000
And you've already paid $5000 for down payment upon booking your banquet.
After downpayment: $30,000 - $5,000 = $25,000
Your HTB and you both sign up for Manhattan World. That makes you eligible for $400 in total rebates per quarter. If you start paying 1 year in advance (some venues allow accumulated payments before your big day), that makes it $200 x 4 quarters per year x 2 credit cards = $1,600.
After rebates: $30,000 - $1,600 = $28,400
Average cost per table: $28,400 / 30 tables = $946.67
While these calculations apply to mine, it may not necessarily apply to all venues. Please check with Standard Chartered and your banquet coordinator for best payment method. :)
Hope these information helps!
Sorry for the lack of updates, we've been awfully busy!
We weren't able to take much photos since it took a lot of energy just trying to focus on posing. Lol. We didn't use ANY props either.
Although our package included 4 outdoor locations, we only managed to cover 3. It was enough, truthfully. Any longer and we'd have to take leave to recuperate the next day. It was tiring, very hot but fun. I would say I was very pleased with the services.
Location and outfit 1: IKEA @ Alexandra
Location and outfit 2: Studio
Location and outfit 3: Studio
Location and outfit 4: Ann siang hill
Location and outfit 5: Gardens by the bay
While everything was good, we'd still have to take a look at the final edits before a final evaluation. :)
Keep you guys updated!
Okay ladies. We know how hard it is to get into shape for THE day. Especially with a job like mine, I have more time for tea breaks than the amount of time I really spend on tasks at work.
I used to be hooked onto a slimming drug that helped heaps with curbing my humongous appetite prescribed by doctor. I think its the same one a famous blogger is still currently taking to maintain her new found slim figure. I find slimming drugs harmful.
Let me tell you why. That drug I used to take gave me abundance energy and makes my heart work really hard. At times of the day, I get jitters and heart burns. I'd feel like I was gonna get a heart attack. Years later, my body got so used to the drug that my energy level dropped tremendously when I tried to stop. It made me look older. I also felt older. I couldn't concentrate nor was it easy for me to remember things.
It was a miserable period struggling to stay off it and still accept how much weight I have doubled back on. I felt terrible about myself.
For friends who have known me for years would know that I have battled bulimia and anorexia during my younger days. It had severe effects on my wellbeing. Thus finding comfort in slimming drugs that I didn't have to sacrifice for. Or so I thought.
At my "happiest" state, I was 62.8kg on the weighing scale. I'm 1.64m. Slimmest at 53kg when I first joined my company. I tried going to the gym to lose weight healthily. I felt slightly better going to the gym twice a week but it did not help my weight loss attempt at all. Lol.
Putting on nearly 10kg in a year is A LOT.
My parents told me that I needed help that day I went back home to stay. They swept 3 boxes of SlimSpa Slimming Essence and 2 boxes of SlimSpa BodyWorx off the counters of Guardian and told me to try it. Lol. I said why not. I'm already unhappy anyway. Maybe this would give the extra boost I very much need.
I think its been roughly 2 weeks now. The dose for $360+ is only for 26 days. I have religiously followed the regime and I must say, I feel a difference. I feel better. I don't feel like eating every minute of the day. As much. But what I like about it is that it doesn't give me jitters like most slimming products would. It doesn't keep me awake at night either.
My colleagues did mention about me looking "less bloated". I FEEL less bloated too. But I don't think the effects are as prominent and consistent as the first few days'.
I haven't had the guts to weigh myself on the digital scale. Hope to be pleasantly surprised when I do.
Wish me luck!
So we've planned for our shoot to be on October 3rd 2012, a Wednesday.
To be very honest, I am pretty psyched about it especially after the bridal fitting. I think it'll be really awesome with all the ideas we have.
1. One of our must go locations is IKEA. Reason being, we actually developed liking for each other during a trip to IKEA. It holds special memories plus I think it'll be pretty cool!
2. Garden by the Bay. We saw how amazing a couple's photos turned out with the effects at night. Groom loves nature, and I can be his insect repellent. :)
3. We both enjoy a good beer so I thought we should try to have a shoot in a bar. And besides, we got together in a bar too! It was 1-TwentySix. But it's kinda out of the way if you have to plan all the shoot in a day. So that's out of the question. We'd have to find another bar like Timbre (especially with a live band behind) if we decide on a bar shoot.
Another idea is that we can shoot in the middle of a traffic light. With the cars as a backdrop. OR. Crazy idea, outside a MRT station. I hope to back up these ideas with concept photos I find on the Internet. Will update!
Hubby to be and I went for our first bridal fitting at Feline Bridal. To be very honest, I never had a good impression of the bridal studio mainly because of the poor reviews I have read on various wedding forums and the poor surprise visit to the studio.
I was lucky that day. My MUA who helped me with my fitting was extremely patient despite my arse being too wide for nearly half the gowns she brought me. I am severely pear shaped. Lol.
We took less than 3 hours to settle on 5 gowns and 2 suits.
We met a photographer who happened to be in the studio that day and readily decided on him.
Here are photos of 4 of 5 outfits from the bridal fitting that my sneaky groom took. ;)
The first one I tried was a winner for both of us. Loved the mermaid ends.
Been so darn busy with my new work assignments that all our wedding preparations have been on hold.
Anyway. I've booked my first appointment with Feline Bridal for fitting mid August. I can't say I'm too pleased with their service so far. But well, you can't expect anyone else to be more excited than you are about your own wedding can you. Hopefully they'll turn my experience with them into a good one!
Anyhow, we have a ton of things pending for our wedding still. Here's my latest to-do list:
1) Bridesmaid dresses (I want maxi convertible dresses in royal purple) *ASAP
2) Tailored shirts for groomsmen. Hunt for coupons NOW! *ASAP
3) We bought a couple of coupons for couple shoot and with the bridesmaids and groomsmen DUE ON 3RD AUGUST. Oh boy!
4) Bridal shoes
5) Ideas for photoshoot locations
6) GUEST LIST! OMG.
7) Engagement party. No idea what my family wants.
8) Tea ceremony items + Chinese customary items
9) Parents and family outfits
10) My brain is dead. Can't remember anything else!
