Residing in sunny Singapore where the food is great, weather is either too hot or too wet, where the worst drivers in the world are found and cars prices so high that car owners feel they own the road.
This post will be updated and push to the first post when updates happen. Last update: 07 Jun 2009.
08 Feb 2009
Parents met, discussed customary details and firm up the date: 20 June 2009.
14 Feb 2009
Kind of decided on Aloha Chalet wedding (bungalow with lawn). Met Uncle Sam of the bride's family to er...do a reality check on our 'planning'. Then went to recce Aloha Changi and liked the place. Emailed Aloha for booking.
15 Feb 2009
Went to 'bridal exhibition' in Suntec and it's only 1 freaking shop! And it's the shop in Ang Mo Kio called Seletar Broadway. Anyway, kind of like what they give us and because of their experience and proximity to bride's place, we took the package ($3188). Paid $2000 for deposit.
Went shopping for wedding bands and found nothing to our liking (she don't like gold). Instead, bought 'couple rings' made of 'wolfram', which is actually tungsten steel.
16 Feb 2009
Aloha replied saying they do not accept wedding during school holidays and public holidays. Tried to reason with them but to no avail. WTF!
Next alternative: poolside wedding. Places such as CSC club, Chevron, hotels...
21 Feb 2009
Make-up trial and gown selection at bridal studio. Spent 3 hrs there but wasn't tired at all.
Then we went to recce Mercure Roxy Hotel and Water Cross (Pasir Ris Park) for wedding location. Coincidentally, there's a wedding at Roxy on that day. Jo immediately like the setting at Roxy :).
25 Feb 2009
Went to Roxy to book the venue. Decided on buffet dinner as high tea menu looks bleah and lunch is too rush. Paid $800 for deposit.
28 Feb 2009
Met up with the rental company to place deposit for my wedding car - a Volkswagen New Beetle. Why Beetle? Because my wife likes it. Thank goodness she didn't take a like to Lambos or Ferraris! Deposit - $150.
Was gonna go to NATAS fair but heard it was very crowded. Decided to go straight to Berjaya office in Tanjong Pagar. Booked a 4 day Redang trip by air, embarking the next day after the wedding! Paid $1093.
01 Mar 2009
Bought white shirt for my wedding shoot. Did a recce on possible photoshoot places, as we can use up to 3 locations:
1. East Coast or Sentosa beach (sunset?)
- no photos yet!! -
2. City/Victoria concert hall area
3. Photoshoot on motorcycle. Need a road that is quite secluded (not gonna wear helmet!), has some sort of ok backdrop. This is a videocapture at Marina South pier
02 Mar 2009
Invited the solemniser. The same one in Swee Kiat and Mingshi wedding (the gentleman standing in the right corner).
Bought square, dark rim glasses for 'nerdy' teacher look. Didn't turn out well... But at least I know my wife's nurse look will be hot!
21 Mar 2009
Actual day of photoshoot. Arrived at bridal studio at 920, only to find it locked! Manage to enter at 0940. Bad start for the day?
Stages of make up and photo. Didn't take much pics because was busy posing and changing.
Ist costume of the day - ethnic Japanese:
Then, the evening gown:
And of course, the wedding gown and tuxedo:
The outdoor shoot is suppose to follow next but then it rained...sigh...
No choice, we gotta continue the shoot tomorrow.
22 Mar 2009
Weather started out fine. Reach the first place - Seletar Camp to use some old, moudly and dilapitated buildings as backdrop. Not bad. No photos.
Then proceeded to a very ulu road along Tampiness, where we did the 'bride and groom on moving motorcycle' shots. Quite tiring, as I have to repeat the motion many times. And again, no photo except for this very blur shot due to my camera lens fogging up...
The bride (known to be anti-camera) has to endure 3 hours of outdoor shots till she is a bit fuming. And when we got to Changi Broadwalk for the final shoot, she kinda reach her boiling point. Added to the fact that she is not known to 'suppress' herself in such situations...
But luckily, she did not let fly her fury at me or the photographer, and we ended the shoot at around 2 pm. Whew..... Now you know why I did not have the chance to take any photos...
26 Mar 2009
Wedding bears (for Beetle?) arrived from Great Britain. Cost me $60 but it's still cheaper than the $99 price tag from the shops in Singapore!
02 Apr 09
Went to bridal studio to take a look at the photos. But before that, the sales girl was explaining all the various different albums and showing us sample that is in addition to the one we have in our package. We were both thinking: no need lah....
Then the photos were shown, some 140+. After a first round selection, left with 81 photos. The photos were pretty well taken and I could tell even Jo quite like them (despite almost losing her temper during the photoshoot). Then the boss came, and calculated the cost of an extra album plus inclusion of all 81 photos (original package comes with free 30 photos only). It worked out to be around $4000!
And so, I began to reselect those that we have chosen in the first round. It was not an easy task to keep to the 30 photos limit. While I was choosing, the salesgirl and boss was busy psycho-ing us, using phrases like "these photos are very well taken! It's a waste not to include. Take a look again lah! These photos can be used to form a storyline" and etc.
They were very insistent and in the end, we relented when the boss gave us more perks to the package (free this, upgrade this, upgrade that...). So...I paid $3983 extra so that all 81 photos will be included in not one but two photo albums. I have no sample but only this, which will be used for the invitation card!
02 May 09
Did the editing and finally agreed on the design for the wedding invitation cards. It will be a postcard design and here are the front and back:
06 May 09
This is the money box and 'ribbons' made by Jo's friend Hui Zhu.
Also kinda finalised the list of songs to be played.
Songlist Johann Pachelbel - Kanon in D Bach - Air on a G string Bach - Ave maria Bangles - Eternal Flame Beatles - Got To Get You Into My Life Bee Gees - First of May CaiLiLian - Guan Huai Fang Shi Carpenters - Close to you Carpenters - What the world needs now Carpenters - Yesterday once more Chicago - If You Leave Me Now Chris DeBurgh - The Lady In Red Christina Aguilera - Beautiful Ocean Deep - Cliff Richard Cranberries - Dreams Do As Infinity - Yesterday and today Elvis Costello - She Everly Brothers - All I have to do is dream Faith Hill - There You'll Be Faye Wong - Ni Kuai Le (Sou Yi Wo Kuai Le) Nobuo Uematsu - Eyes on Me Shiro Hamaguchi & Seiji Honda - Tifa's Theme Nobuo Uematsu - Aerith's Theme (Orchestrated Version) Nobuo Uematsu - Theme of Love Emriko - Melodies of life Final Fantasy X - Suteki Da Ne (Orchestrated) Frank Sinatra - The Way You Look Tonight Frankie Valli - My Eyes Adored You Frankie Valli & The Four Seaso - Can't Take y Eyes Off You Huang Jia Hui - Yi Ren Yi Ban Jay Chou - Jian dan ai Justice Files - Close to you Kevin Kern - Sundial Dreams Kiroro - Mirai e Layla Kaylif - Shakespeare In Love (Radio Mix Leslie Chueng - Chase Louis Armstrong - Dream a little dream Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzg - Dream A Little Dream Of Me Martina Mcbride - I Love You. Minnie Ripperton - Loving You Misia - Everything Nancy Sinatra - Something Stupid Pearl Jam - Last Kiss Ray Charles - Georgia on my mind Richard Clayderman - Coup de coeur Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah Selena - Dreaming of you S.E.N.S. - Forbidden Love-piano Shakin Stevens - Because I love you Lin Xiao Pei - Xin Dong Shunzi - Xie Yi Shou Ge Southern Sons - You Were There Collin Raye - Love Me Tao Zhe - Ai hen jian dan Teresa Deng - Wo Zhi Zai Hu Ni Theme - Doraemon Jung Ill Young - Reason- Fall Tale Tracy Chapman - Baby Can I Hold You Unknown - Fly me to the moon utada hikaru - first love Van Morrison - Dancing In The Moonlight Vanessa Mae - One Moment In Time Various - What will I do Wes Montgomery - Fly Me To The Moon William So & Kit Chan - Ai De Zheng Hao Wu Bai - ai ni yi wan nian YukoYamaguchi - Believe
13 May 09
Arrival of the wedding invitation cards. Cost: $100 for 100 pieces. Got the contact from my colleague, Benny. Tks!
27 May 2009
The brothers and sisters met at Cafe Cartel in Junction 8 for the first time. Nothing much except that THE FOOD SUCKS!
30 May 2009
Gave out the invitation today to my relatives when all of them met at my father's elder sister place to celebrate my cousin's baby shower. Then proceeded to CFA to finish up the rest of the invites.
07 Jun 09
Gou Da Li - supposedly the tradtional chinese wedding proposal or matchmaking thingy. This is my mei po aka my mom.
Yup, the basket of oranges, pig's trotters etc are secured by elastic nylon webbing on the outside of my bike.
Benjamin "Cocoon" Ng April 17, 2009 11:47 AM PDT Well, I warned Jo before she went for the photo selection. Anyway since you already paid ~$4000 for the package.. try bargain to get ALL the soft copy of the photos (including those that you previously rejected). I also paid around $4000 plus extra for my package that last time and the boss gave me all the softcopy of the photos with all the extra upgrades which you probably have gladly accepted.
