An update so far...AND The day when I wore THE dress..

After a long while of silence, we are back to blogging. It seemed like for a short period of time, nothing much needed to be done prior to the wedding.. The hotel has already been booked and the bridal package signed. Just about a week ago, we gotten the official hotel contract and had gone through a couple rounds of amendments (as usual.. ) before we finally signed on the dotted line (well Mike did.. =P ). The thing is, our wedding planner, Mr Toh (Tom) had a bad fall and aggravated his old injury on his ankle. Poor guy still had to climb up and down despite his slight limping..Kudos to him for such high tolerance of pain..Due to this, we only managed to liaise with him via email and phone. But none the less, he did his job quite well. Attentive and yet sensitive to our needs!

Oh, did we tell you that we got our "food tasting" session eventually?? kekeke.. Yes.. we did. Complimentary of the hotel (on our planner's account! Hahaha)... We really enjoyed ourselves there and even had a glass of champagne each courtesy of Tom. It was indeed an experience. To some extend, it felt like we are not in Singapore at all. The whole Victorian, vintage look swept our minds away in the busy little town right outside city hall. Most of the crowd at the restaurant were also foreigners..

Today.. Mike, me and a friend of mine, Jas (girl in green), went for our 1st round of "look see" at the bridal studio. Our(well mainly my) 'mission' was to try on the different dresses available at the studio. Mike had made an appointment earlier to do so, about a month back..We went there with the initial feeling of only seeing what they have, never meant for it to be a decision making day as there was still a long way to go to our wedding day. Key Objective of today: to try on as many dresses as I can and take note of each individual dress. Kinda like a school girl going for a survey research feel... hahaha..

The initial start was slow... even though I have an idea of what I wanted, the choice of dresses they have on display is endless...To me, every other dress on the rack looks alike. And because they are all in the cover, it was very difficult to see the full extent of the dress until you actually take it out and wear it on. After about half an hour or, Jas and me picked out 3 dresses.. A tube dress, halter neck and couture. At that point, we are already lost in the sea of gowns.. But just to start on the mission, I decided to try these 3 selected dresses. Before we made our move, our helpful assistant for the day, Linda ( the store assistant) brought out a dress from her collection. A dress that typically weighs a ton just holding it!! Imagine when I have to wear it on???

And so it all begins. I started off with the heavy one.. hahaha... long flowy, vintage ivory white ( a little to the beige cream tone). Silk with beaded embroidery all the way to the end of the skirt. A long train that simply just put the whole gown together. A look at the dress is not impressive at all.. but when I wore it ON...... OMG... I'm speechless. Its a little tight because its not really my fit but already enough to make me feel like its made for ME!! The whole Victorian look is just amazing.... no wonder girls dream about their weddings for as long as they can remember! Just wearing it alone is a challenge. The weight and the amount of details put onto it seems so fragile to me... I can never zip the back myself not to mention tie the lace up. I definitely need a helper on the actual day!!! Any volunteers??? (Pls kindly submit your entry form to me ASAP..kekeke)

When I took the dress off, I realised how heavy it was... the next dress was so much lighter.. Partially also due to the type of material that it was made of.. Satin with organza layering.. It was such an ease to move around!! Could also be because there wasn't any train at the end of the skirt... But its WHITE.. Its the kind of white that is so white, it has a tinge of blueish hue to it. With my tan skin, the combination is a disaster. ( although I quite like the design leh.. the back part of the dress is full lace... so its like super sexy!) But I have to face the fact that it doesn't match my skin colour.... so NEXT! Mike managed to sneak in some pics (see below)...Opinions people!!!

This other dress I tried on was a halter neck piece with a V drop at the front.. I loved the material and the colour of it... but I looked kinda 'old' in it. The halter V was abit out of proportion... Aiyah, can't complain too much.. its not even my size. The boobies area looks soooo big due to the "sponge" tat was attached to it... I felt like a mama bimbo. It's awful... horribly awful. I always thought I look good in halter.. but this piece change my mind.

This next piece I tried on was another winner. A simple bustier gown with lots of organza layering.. almost like a ballerina. Just that the skirt if all the way to the floor. Very elegant and yet simple. My kind of style... kekeke.. Something I am looking for to be worn during the day. I can't afford to have such a heavy material on me, combined with full make-up and hair-do, and not forgetting walking here and there on a hot sunny day.. It was be unbearable.... spare me!

Here are some pictures that we took during the entire session. Will write more on the upcoming part 2.. I am very tired and beaten. Its not even a full day thing yet.. I wonder sometimes how am I ever gonna get through the entire day!

Mike trying out one of the available suits...he's still undecided abt it though..

Till the next post,

Mike & Peggy

Shopping for the ultimate package..

A few days ago, I consulted a few friends about where I can go for the best deals in a bridal package... (yes yes, we finally decided that it's much better to have everything lump up in the bridal package rather than doing everything individually) and everyone agreed that the best place to go would be "Tanjong Pagar Road" a.k.a the "Bridal Street".

Yesterday evening after work, we headed down to Marina Square for our dinner. And so happened that there was a Bridal Fair being held at the atrium. Being me, I cannot control myself from viewing what's on offer. Hesitantly I pulled Mike into the "trap"... hahaha... our 1st stop was at Bridal Zone (BZ).. at the initial stage, we weren't too impressed with what we saw but we sat down anyway. Trying our best to squeeze as much info as we could from them.. we tried to use it to our advantage as a bargaining tool. After a brief half hour, we figured that we got the info we needed and headed to grab some dinner. Whilst strolling across the atrium to the exit, a salesperson from another boutique "XYZ" stopped us. He was trying too hard to sell his new collection to us. So much so that it felt more like demanding us. As the saying goes, never stand in the way of a hungry man, or couple in our instance, we brushed him off and went to enjoy our comfort food: SUSHI!!!! *slurp* =P . We went back home with many thoughts in our mind but determined to make a 2nd trip down.

Just this afternoon we headed down to Tanjong Pagar Road to see for ourselves how true it is to the legends. We were in for a shock. The entire street is flocked with bridal houses. Literally! It kinda gave me the "brothel house" feel.... kekeke. You know what i mean? ..... "Sir, wanna have a look at our new collection?? All new... Come come.. have a look, dun be shy." You get what I mean.. the competition here is so saturated that it lies next door to each other. The only way to get customers in is by having someone outside to pull them in. We pity the poor fellow having to brave the crazy hot humid weather..well it's their job anyway...haha =P

With so many shops, we didnt know where to begin! It was a horrible feeling!! Like a kid in a candy store but you only get to choose ONE item...We took a quick breather at the nearest 7-11 and formed up our plan... After much discussion, we decided to go in to the nearest one from where we are...Directly opposite the 7-11.. Lame huh???... hehehe.. "ABC" Bridal House Nice layout, beautiful gowns, stinky sales man (because he smoked). We went in anyway, to beat the heat...Got free aircon, why not?? In the next hour or so, both of us sat there as if we will be signing the package.. Enquiring on what their service is all about.. blah blah blah. However the guy seems to be avoiding one thing. the $$$ factor. No wonder, in the end the package he was selling for was at $3388 +++. Sounds nice huh.. sam sam fatt fatt.. but not nice to our wallets at all. With such pricing, it does not even compete with the ones we saw at the Bridal Fair in Marina Sq. Soon, he started to be a little impatient and the hard selling took over. Slashing of prices did not seems to be one of the option. At this point, it was time for us to make the exit.. However without trying to be bad... we excuse ourselves with respect. Instead of being professional and cool about it, the threat comes in. Not like they are putting us at gun point la.. but I think he is doing too much to get us sign for the package. That is a very wrong move from him.. "I understand you guys need to talk in private.. here, I'll leave u guys alone to talk it out for a while and I'll come back later"... WTF?? I wanna go home AND decide. Not decide NOW. The whole goodwill factor just disappear. I just wanted to leave. After much persuasion, we made it out the door..FINALLY!! At the end of the day, my personal mission wasn't accomplished. I WANTED TO TRY A GOWN! Seemed like his gowns were too precious to be worn not to mention touch/browse.. End of the drama.. Back we went, to the Bridal Fair in hopes and search for a better package.

We left the house at 1.30pm, reached Tanjong Pagar at about 2.30pm.. when we checked our watches, it was after 4pm!! Precious time wasted, not productive at all. Well at least we know how to bargain for more..Off we went... One shop was enough to represent the rest there. Afterall it is still the $$ that draws us to the package..Having to plan an elaborate wedding without crossing our budget is stressing us out to the MAX.

Back at the Bridal Fair in Marina Sq.. the catwalk show had already started and was nearing the end. We try to squirm our way into the crowd so that we could get a better look. Only managed to view about 10mins of the show...*Shrugs* Oh well... The booth(from BZ) was like a beehive.. with so many ppl buzzing around for the best bargain, we headed up to their showroom for a quick glance at their selection of gowns available. As much as we thought we still wanna browse around, our minds were pretty much settled for BZ. We liked what we saw and it was only the details that we needed to settle. Back at the booth, we managed to look through the rest of the albums that they had.. Without the pressure of being pushed, we felt comfortable looking at what we wanted.. Drinks, food, attention.. we had everything. Backed with the info we collected from "ABC" Bridal House, we tried to negotiate what we could into the already filled package. To our surprise, not only did they happily agree to it, they threw in even more. Needless to say, we signed up in the end with a smile that could scare Joker away.

Finally the burden seemed to drop completely off our shoulders. Almost everything is settled and we can concentrate on something even more stressful. Our HOUSE. I'm not gonna say too much about that now.. In fact i think i already mentioned too much. Hahaha..

Well here are some of the freebies we got from the Bridal Fair.. with a purchase of the latest bridal mag from Her World. Enjoy!!

1. The mag of course 2. Tissue box cover from Tea 3. Evening pouch/clutch 4. Dunno how many packets of Asience shampoo/conditioner 5. Manicure set 6. CD 7. Home Deco mag 8. Make-over 9. A cover shot (where there's a chance to win some more goodies if we get voted Most Photogenic Couple). 10. Sample pack of Ralph Lauren Romance perfume.




Here's a pic of me doing my free make-over...


Here's a up-close shot of us...Leng right???

Alright then..till the next post...

Love,
Peggy & Mike

In Step In Tune...

Finally got a better pic of the shoes that will be worn on our wedding day...Marching in Tune, Taking each and every step together in our future together..

We will be going to Raffles Hotel for the bridal package this weekend and also to get the draft confirmation letter...Will post up more pics of the event...

*Crossing our fingers that we'll win some prizes in the lucky draw at the event*..

Till then,

Mike & Peggy

What next?

After the initial rush of adrenaline.. its time to really slow things down and enjoy the fact that.. my status is slowing changing. It's true that I tend to take things alil too serious. I got all scared and "kan cheong" over the fact that something didn't go MY WAY. A definite big NO NO in my dictionary definition. But what is it that freaks me out so much?? You know what.. I don't know that myself.

Looking at the list of "things to do".. we are way beyond the timeline.. what people tend to do only in the last few months are already ticked in our list. (yikes!) nothing wrong mar... it's good to work ahead of time... this gives you more time to regret later. HAHAHA.. just kidding.

As the 1st few major issue off our heavily burden chest.. the next is slowly creeping up. There always seems to be so many choices that you can never seem to choose just ONE. Seriously, how can you choose between just one dress when every piece you tried on is like the next best thing? It's tearing me apart man.. how how how?? Not forgetting the price goes up with every piece I try on.. hahaha.. someone is beginning to feel the heat..

As much as I wanted to DIY most of the things myself.. I also want to be the princess of the day. No wonder those wedding planners earn big bucks. Simply, brides/grooms-to-be are THE most easily influenced people in the world now. Just tell them that "its only once in a lifetime leh"... and everything else is not important anymore. However, once reality kicks back in, it's back to juggling between reality and fantasy. And with this you will think whether the "once in a lifetime" thing is really that important that you have to live with the shadow later? To celebrate the once in a lifetime day is no doubt second to none.. there is no substitute.. but there is always other things which concerns me more than just one day. Everyday is the "once in a lifetime" experience for me whenever I'm with my hubby. Because it is with him that I am writing a new chapter together. So... how can this not be leh?

Love and Hugs,
Peggy

Hotels, Hotels and More Hotels....Pt II

Hi all, it's the weekend once again and off to carry on our photo-taking of the various hotels as mentioned in our earlier post..

We visited a few hotels within the City Hall / Marina Boulevard area and managed to sneak in more than a couple of pics for everyone's viewing pleasure...so sit back and enjoy the visual fest...

First up...Swissotel Stamford...

There was a couple that would be celebrating their 50yrs of marriage (ok everyone go AWWWWWWW!!!)...the ballroom was huge but only had 25 tables...the thing i liked about this ballroom was the 'tent' in the middle of the stage...pretty cool idea to do that for our KL banquet...a 'tent' lit with many LEDs, making us the centre of attention... =P

Loved their cocktail/reception area as well...

Next...to the newly refurbished Marina Mandarin...

The 'ballroom' at the Pool Garden..

Both of us agreed that the new look works great for the hotel...nice, cosy ambience greeted us when we stepped into the 4th floor lounge...On the 5th floor is the entrance to the Pool Garden..and a Chinese Restaurant by the name of "Peach Blossom"..the best thing about this restaurant is that there are live birds (kept in cages) singing and hung along the whole stretch of the corridor...sorry didn't manage to capture a picture of that..will do that another time...

Here's the other Ballroom...The Vanda Ballroom...nice with lit stairs leading up to it...a nice touch i must say...most of the settings i would say is common amongst the hotels / magazines we've seen so far..

On another note, I used to work in that hotel when i was much younger..when i was still in my poly years (about 18-20yrs old)...worked there as a banquet waiter pretty much both years as a classmate's father was the F&B manager then...was pretty fun esp when you get to find out the nooks and crannies of the hotel...the places that the general public are unable to see... =P well that was so long ago but going back into the hotel sure brings back memories...

Taking a break in between viewing these ballrooms, we finally arrived once again at The Raffles Hotel...

Here are some clearer pics of the East India Rooms, the adjacent Palm Gardens and luckily (or unluckily) depending on how you view it, a solemnization ceremony ended earlier...we got a pic of the decorated chairs but the ballroom was locked...(ARGH!!!!)...

The Palm Gardens does look pretty spacious...and with the stairs at the start of the march-in to the solemnization, the ceremony is set to be a very romantic and intimate one.. =) now we need to trash it out with the hotel to give us freebies and MORE FREEBIES!!! (Where's Sun when you need her???) lol..

Ok that's pretty much the end of today's little report...our feet exhausted and sore but we treated ourselves to a nice reward for our hard work...here's a lil sneak preview...

Marching in tune...till our next post..

Love,

Mike & Peggy

A quick peek into Raffles Hotel...

Just rushed back from a slightly longer lunch 'hour' to give you this report..Met up with Michelle (Catering Sales Mgr) for a quick 15min view (of the ballrooms la..what are you thinking? =) tsk tsk tsk)..anyway back to the report..there are currently 2 ballrooms that are available for our usage in Raffles Hotel, namely the Casuarina Suites (A & B) and East India Rooms..

Casuarina Suites A & B have a capacity of a maximum of 6 and 12 tables respectively. This suite is situated on the 3rd floor of the hotel, facing Seah Street..There is a separate bar counter for this suite and looks pretty standard for any ballroom..There was no setting/arrangement done for the room when i was there so it is pretty bare..Peggy and I will return to the hotel when there's an actual wedding there to see the different layouts...

Enough said, here are the pics for Casuarina Suite B:

Signage indicating the room

Bar counter for the Suite

View of Ballroom upon opening the main door

View of back of Ballroom on the right of the main door

View of back of Ballroom on the left of the main door

Moving on the East India Rooms, it is situated on the other wing of the hotel, so if we pick this room, you guys will have to alight at the hotel lobby, to save yourself some walking...haha..

As I turned the corner to head to the corridor outside the room, this is what greeted me...pretty garden don't you think...would be great for an intimate solemnization especially with the fountain in the background...according to Michelle, the whole garden will be cordoned off for only the invited guests of the wedding couple (US!) for the event with a red carpet going through the centre of the garden...i think a white carpet would be nicer... =P

As for the ballroom itself, i didn't manage to take pictures of the interior as there was a function held when i was there..I did, however, take a pic of the lighting of the room when someone stepped out...looks very cosy to me...cant wait to have a proper look at this place..

Well that's as much as I could get within such a short time span..will definitely post clearer pics of the ballrooms as well as that of the other hotels shortlisted...

Till then,

Mike...

Hotels, Hotels and More Hotels....

Naturally the next step after deciding the date of the ROM would be to find and select a location to hold the ceremony.

Prior to the decision of the date, Peggy and I had already gone through a few rounds of discussion on how the ceremony should be and would be held. After emailing and getting the packages from the different hotels, we have narrowed down to the following four hotels...

Try to squint and see the hotels we have shortlisted so far..We're definitely going to make this as memorable and grand an occasion not only for us but only you people, the invited guests of this special occasion..Hint hint.. =P

Well planning for our wedding has kind of taken over a majority of our time..Be it conversing over the phone or on msn, even whilst chilling over coffee, we are definitely giving our all in making sure we are one step ahead..

Will be going over the shortlisted packages with my parents over this weekend and hopefully we will be able to visit the hotels as well to get a feel of the individual ballrooms and their seating arrangements..Will definitely post up more pics once it's available...in the meantime, it's back to more discussion over hotels, hotels and more hotels..

Till the next post,

Mike & Peggy

Soleminzer Chosen...Hotel Next???

Just called and managed to secure the solmenizer (Brother Emmanuel) for our Big Day. He is such a funny fellow, asking me why I had to 'book' him so early when the wedding is still about a year away. Well regardless of our leadtime, I think it is in the Singaporean culture to 'chope' or book everything early, to avoid any disappointment.

Anyway Peggy and I will meet him in person sometime later in Dec 2007 or in early Jan 2008 for an official confirmation and signing of the consent form. This consent form will need to be either faxed or mailed to the Registry of Marriage (ROM) for their processing and acknowledgement.

Well another item off the "To-Do" list. I'm glad that Peggy and I started this off as early as we could..

Next on the List would be choosing of the venue and more importantly the packages available for us...Will be visiting some of the hotels for a better understanding of what they can offer us and hopefully book one by latest early Oct..As Peggy mentioned, I'll definitely want to keep this as intimate as possible but also pleasing the elders in fulfilling their traditions...



Looking to Being Together For Every Sunrise & Sunset


Mike

Auspicious VS Superstitious

Since the ancient chinese times, consulting the "Sifu" is a must when it comes to choosing a relatively good dates for marriage. Sad to say, in the olden times, the couple have no say what so ever in their own marriage as it is arranged by the family. But over the years, time have change and that old folk stories no longer applies. However, in the modern society today, its is very much disguised in another way.

As me and Mike break the news of the "auspicious" date to his parents, I am begining to see the real stress about arranging for a wedding. Does choosing an auspicious timing for everything really matters? Being a free thinker now and previous Buddhism background, I have no objections on such matters. To be it is more like a tradition of ceremonial rights rather than a religious believes. No doubt, consulting a "sifu" for the right time is already crossing over to the world of superstition. However to some other religions, its a big no no and what more to say, a waste of time and money as they believe in the name of God, marriage is about love not time. So in this case.. should I be following the "auspicious" timing that I was told by the Sifu or should I just follow my heart into doing what is deem right. Without trying to offend anyone in this case, I am juggling on fire. So it seems. I may be over exagerating.

To me, wedding is an intimate event. A ceremonial bliss of 2 loving people tying the knot with close friends and relatives celebrating their joy for them. However, with the ever competitive society now, wedding is like another transaction. Hotels and restaurants have inevitably stereotype this event into something so commercial its no longer personal.

As both me and Mike has our own set of ideas to what seems like a heavenly occasion, I am now stressing myself over something very minor. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. Being a Virgo its just part of my traits.. a perfectionist!

I can't help but to believe that this ain't gonna be a smooth ride. Yet, wedding is never a simple occasion either.

Love & Hugs,
Peggy

It's Official

When reality strikes, its a far fetch from an angelic experience. It's not to say that it is a dread having to plan my own wedding, however the goodie parts where we always see on television or read on the novels are always the end results from the hard work and effort put into making it one.

A month ago, I'm still happy just being attached as Mike's girlfriend. Even when my dad announce my "Engagement" to the whole world over the microphone at my brother's wedding day doesn't bother me as much as being really "Engaged". I have to say, IT'S OFFICIAL now. A month ago today was my 2nd yr together with Mike. Never have anything prepare me for today at all. Although me and Mike always talk about marriage and how we want it to be and bla bla bla.. when the actual day comes.. I am in total lost. Especially when everything is not in my hands of control. Initially it was the date of the ROM. Now that I have just gotten the dates fresh from the "Sifu", I can officially announce to all of you, my ROM day will be on the 7th Sept 2008. Please make yourself free on that day please. No excuses accepted!!

Now that I have the dates in hand, I have less than exactly a year ahead to plan everything else. Wow, so "chun" ar.. hehehe.. It can never be anymore "chun". Besides being officially engaged, I hereby also announce I am officially gonna have a headache! hahaha.. the music have just started dude!

Over the phone speaking to my mom, I can't helped to realise that it felt like they are more "into" getting it done than me and Mike. Sorry mom, but it seems like you were the one getting married.. hahaha.. no offense. Perhaps the idea of getting married has changed. Its no longer just about the big day event, but more of a lifetime commitment and bills! it seems. We are living in such an advance society and world now that everything seems fastforward. I do believe before every marriage, the journey ahead have to be clearly laid out. This scares me alittle though. As I can hardly imagine what life will be ahead of me. But none the less, I am glad I have Mike to go through it all with me.

Besides the big day event, me and Mike have to; literally speaking, look for a place to call home NOW. The whole HDB flat balloting is a long winded process, with loads of time and effort going into hands of the one choosing the eligable candidates whom they think are worth getting the units they apply for. How fair can it be I wonder.

Its sad that I wasn't back home when my bro gets married. But then again, I would say that, it will be different still as my bro can still stay with my parents and Mike can't. If you happen to see the size of his room.. Its not couple friendly at all.. :p I have missed the whole process of bitter sweet facts. Oh well, I guess this just make our ceremony even more meaningful then. Knowing that, every single bits and pieces are efforts of our love and time. Couldn't agree more with myself!

Looking forward to the day when it all becomes real.

With love and hugs;
Peggy