1) New house
2) Pre-wedding photoshoot
3) Wedding banquet venue
4) Bridal studio
The second one has been settled already. Just waiting for August to come to jet to Taiwan :D
We are concurrently searching for the last 3 points. Though there are other less minor stuff to decide on, like wedding bands, wedding cakes, photography etc.. those are not in our priority yet.
I really do hope everything falls in place, and in time.
1) New house
BTOs are out of the question, cos we do not want any waiting time. So, resale flats are the only option. Private houses are not in our consideration due to budget. Wedding is costly enough, we do not wish to empty our wallets entirely for it. Also, we do not want too much burden on our pockets in the long run.
Resale flats are expensive enough i feel. A 4-room in prime locations minimally costs $700,000.
Moreover, it's not easy to find a good unit.
Our criteria in search of our love nest:
- Accessible by MRT
- Newly MOP flats
- Optimal direction (fengshui)
We have viewed almost 10 over units in Kallang and Buangkok, but none is very, very desirable
:(
I think i need to pray earnestly for one to come our way. And i strongly believe God will provide.
2) Pre-wedding photoshoot
Checked ✓
3) Wedding Banquet venue
This is one big headache also. The criteria for the ballroom are:
- Must look classy
- High ceilings
- Pillarless
- Accessible for guests
We are looking at around 30-35 tables. Food is not too important for me, haha..
We have shortlisted a few; Carlton Hotel, Orchard Hotel, Sheraton Towers, Pan Pacific, Fairmont Singapore, The Fullerton Hotel, Mandarin Orchard
However, we managed to only visit the venue for Carlton, Sheraton (wedding show) and Fairmont (wedding showcase)
We fixed an appointment to go down to Carlton and this very nice lady served us. Her name is Fiona. She looks very young, but she was very professional going through the entire package with us, showing us the ballrooms and even the wines, table cloth and wedding favours.
She sent a follow-up email after our meeting a week later to thank us for coming down, and that we can feel free to contact her if we have decided to go ahead with Carlton.
As it was the first hotel we visited, we did not sign on the spot. The ballrooms are a great concern for me. It did not look as classy as i wanted it to be. Moreover, they are not pillarless :(
OKay, im the particular one... but IMO a wedding is considered one of the most important events in my life. So, just keep in view first.
The staff at Orchard hotel were very responsive, to the point that i didnt reply / pick their calls, they would send multiple emails and sms. I felt a little bad, cos i was the one who emailed them after reading that their ballrooms have very high ceilings. After which, Sam told me that the area is quite sleazy as there are alot of thai discos in the vicinity. Also read about it in the forums. So, hmmm nevermind. Next!
Sheraton was after one of my colleagues recommended. He held his banquet there and he said the food was too good.
Checked out the hotel at their wedding show, and yes, the ballroom was indeed impressive. High ceiling!! if im not wrong, it was 6.1 metres high. High ceilings make ballrooms look very grand.
Just look at the chandeliers!
Love the stage deco!!!
The only downside was, this ballroom can only accommodate 22 tables maximum.
If we were to have 30 tables, they would open up the partition so that it can link to another ballroom.
Sounds good, BUT.....
the other ballroom has low ceiling...
Not only that, your guests in this other smaller ballroom will not be able to see you at all when you march in from the main ballroom door.
They are just like the 'outcast' at your wedding banquet. Very sad, i wont want any of my guests to sit in here feeling all left out.
Next!
We attended the Fairmont Hotel wedding showcase last month in April.
They have many ballrooms, designed to accommodate the different number of tables.
The first ballroom, the Atrium ballroom, can hold a max of 28 tables.
i do not really fancy the doorway already.
The Atrium ballroom has very low ceiling, and the feel is just not right. The moment Sam and i stepped in, we shook our heads and U-turned out. There are 4 thick pillars in there... plus the carpet also not right.
We adjourned to the second ballroom.. The Canning ballroom.
This left us both in awe. We just went WOW.....
i super love this ambience! Dark purple lighting... My photo doesn't do justice to the place at all!
i told Sam, this is it bb! i want this so much i wanna sign on the dotted line straight away.
This ballroom however, holds 30 tables min for weekdays, but as ours was planned to be on a Sunday, they would need a minimum of 35 tables. We were unsure whether we could commit that many number of tables yet, so we did not pay any deposit.
They are very, very strict about the meeting the minimum number of tables. When i checked with my colleague who held her banquet here last year, she said Yes, they are uncompromising on that.
I tried to reason with them, since the Atrium ballroom can only hold a max of 28 tables, if i've got 30 tables, can't be ask me to squeeze all my guests in that small ballroom right?
Do they really wanna be so anal about it and turn down potential customers? End up, they may not even get another couple who would book that ballroom on that particular date lor....
We are meeting another lady this Friday. Hopefully, she would be able to close one eye on that. *fingers crossed*
Cos i really like the ballroom alot. If not enough tables, how to find man.... =(
But Sam said he did a brief calculation, and he said actually got 35 tables. But, of cos haven factor in those who may not be able to attend....
The last ballroom is the Stamford ballroom.
This holds a minimum of 45 tables. No need to think hahaa... but i took photos cos the place is WOW..
Totally got the romantic feel!
Last but not least,
4) Bridal studio
For pre-wedding photoshoot, the photographer is the most important.
For Actual day, i would think the gowns will be the most important criteria for choosing my bridal studio.
I have in mind a few studios with gowns that i like.
Whitelink, LaBelle Couture.
Sam said his friend recommended Digio cos their service is superb and he is in very good terms with the lady boss.... so can help to nego for a good package. haha
Digio was the bridal studio that bff esther babe chose for her wedding many years back. Think got 4, 5 years ago. We bridesmaids also have gone there a few times for our fitting cos esther rented short gowns for all 7 of us bridesmaids to wear! :)
Last Sunday, we happened to go a cafe at Tanjong Pagar, so we decided to check out the bridal studios along that stretch of road. There are so many there!
LaBelle no need to see, cos it was super crowded!!! Like 10 over couples in their shop! zzz
Digio on the other hand was quite empty. But the whole shop looks super Atas from the outside, we even hesitated stepping in.
Luckily, there was this other couple who was infront of us, and the staff (one uncle) ushered us in to take a seat. So we followed behind.
We were served by a nice lady, Dephenie.
She showed us some photos to look at, but i told her we are only looking for AD package.
She quoted us $2888, which included a day gown, an evening gown, 2 suits for groom, trial make up, AD make up...
i think i cannot remember what else was in the package haha...
And i'm not sure if the price is ex anot.
I know some designer gowns are rented for $2000-$3000! So if so many stuff are included in $2888, should be quite ok? hmmm..
Dephenie said, since i'm only looking for AD package, then i should be looking at their gowns already. Like their gowns then sign mah. Don't like, sign what. haha
She brought me to look at their gown designs, and asked what style i liked.
I told her, Lace. Off shoulder, Translucent Corset bodice and very soft material for the dress.
Yeah, my requirements very simple, as i'm already very clear what style i like / suit.
She brought me upstairs, and asked if i wanted to try. I immediately shook my head and she laughed, 没有心理准备ah??
And i nodded.
She said, you don't try u wont know whether you like anot. Then there is nothing much you can do now.
She was quick to pick the gowns with the style i told her.
The first was an off shoulder victorian style gown.
She also passed me a can-can to wear underneath the dress.
No photography allowed :( so i had to take secretly.
pardon the shoulder part cos the corset behind has already been loosened so i could change out of it.
i'm just trying to hold up the dress with my arms and trying to snap a photo haha... thus my waist looks damn thick Lol...
but this is totally my style.
When i walked out of the fitting room, Sam went wow... and Dephenie giggled. She say, Got got, your boy got wow. haha..
i changed out of this and changed into this corset style dress. It's off-white and both dresses have this soft feel for the bottom! Exactly what i wanted!!
Same thing, the back was not buckled up yet thus the waist part is so huge zzz
Dephenie helped me button up the back after that and i totally fell in love with it. It was bare back and very sexy! :D
One filipino lady was also trying on a gown at the other fitting room with her girlfriend. And her girlfriend asked her to come out of the fitting room to see my gown. HURRR.. *blushes*
i wanna hao lian liao la, haha...
i urged Sam to hurry up snap some photos when Dephenie went to pick other dresses for me.
Sam said this was nicer than the first.
Dephenie said i could add some soft lace to make it off shoulder too. Good also, can cover my bcg keloid scar on my right arm :( sad...
i know im not supposed to take any photos or worse still, post it online. haha.. but it's my first time trying on a gown and i'm darn excited. Hehee.....
;D
Dephenie say i can slowly choose since my wedding date is not so near yet. There are still many newer designs that i can choose, though i'm quite certain i would pick the second gown hahaa.
It's either i'm so damn clear on what i like, or cos i've never tried on any before so everything seems to look so good.
Anyway, Sam said we would come down another day to sign the package once he confirms with his friend.
This whole wedding preparation sometimes drives me abit stressed up. I'm trying very hard not to be a Bridezilla.
bridezilla
brʌɪdˈzɪlə/
noun
informal
- a woman whose behaviour in planning the details of her wedding is regarded as obsessive or intolerably demanding.
I think i'm not one (yet), hopefully it doesn't happen.
It's actually more of getting upset when things didn't get planned in time. Not so much on my demands.
Cos my mom is in the background trying to rush things to happen, and you know, sometimes we do not have all the time in the world to plan, or things would go smoothly as expected.
Sam is good in a way that he is not particular with anything, and he leaves me to do the planning.
Just that, he would stop me when i wanna rush into signing.
He is someone who wants to take time to analyse and consider all aspects before making a decision. I'm someone who sometimes makes rash decisions. Of cos, i also believe i will know what i want. So when i have decided, rarely would i want to change it.
So, sometimes we do have disagreements / fights when that happen.
Well, hopefully everything turns out well. This is just the beginning. If we have decided to settle down and build our future together, we will need to learn how to give, compromise, love each other and put each other's needs before ours.
Are you ready to do so?