What next, brown cow?

The banquet venue is booked. So has the bridal package. Our actual day photographer has also been found.

So.

What else is there to do?!

I have a very capable and trustworthy wedding planner in Miss E so I am literally just sitting around, waiting for the wedding to happen. We’ve already drawn up the tentative wedding dinner guest list so really, what else is there to do?

Buy rings? We’d get them closer to date.

Choose a JP? Miss E is sourcing for one now.

Wedding bedsheets? We’d get them closer to date.

I read on wedding forums about brides who are in a big fluster because they have sooooooooooooo many things to do but here I am, twiddling my thumbs.

Am I just missing a HUGE chunk of things that I need to do?

Vintage

I was surfing the net randomly when I chanced upon a website for vintage car rental. I looked around the site and discovered a vintage Beetle for rent.

It then hit me that this particular Beetle is violet in colour, with pink seats!

HOW CUTE IS THAT?!

Best of all, it fits right into our colour theme of pink and purple. What a coincidence This other site has a white vintage Beetle. That’s pretty cute too.

Steady hands?

I am looking for a friend who will be:

1. Part of the wedding party
2. Has steady hands and will not succumb to the earthquake effect from laughing too hard
3. Can operate a simple videocam (i.e. can differentiate between the ‘record’, ’stop’ and ‘delete’ button)

Think you fit the above criteria? Drop me a note!

PS. I am serious, btw!

Wedding bedsheets

I spotted some wedding bedsheets at Aussino (Tampines Mall) today. A king-sized set costs about $79. That’s pretty reasonable for something we’d probably use once. Or twice. I also hear that Aussino bedsheets don’t last very well as they shrink everytime they go into the wash. Oh dear!

This entry is my note-to-self on where to buy ‘em wedding bedsheets when the time comes! Or in the wise words of my colleague:

Buy first lah! Later want to find, then sold out or don’t have how?!

Haji Lane

While surfing around looking for possible venues for the pre-wedding shoot, I stumbled upon a couple of websites with photos of Haji Lane. This has to be one of my favourite.

Isn’t it just gorgeous?

Credit to Jimmy Phua

In fact, our interior designer’s office is at Bali Lane which is really close to Haji Lane. We have, on one occassion, spotted a wedding couple having their pre-wedding photos taken. The bride did look a little hot and bothered though.

This may sound strange but I like pre-wedding shoots that incorporate ‘real’ people and ‘real’ things. This is probably why I decided to do our pre-wedding shoot with Utopia Photography. The photographer, Travis, shoots in ‘real time’ which means that a lot of shots are not posed. I like that.

I have seen many pre-wedding photos (more than you can ever imagine!) and although I understand that a certain percentage of photos need to be posed and pretty, a whole album of posed photos just doesn’t appeal to me very much. Some of my favourite photos in Travis’ portfolio are the ones he took of a wedding couple in the middle of Little India.

Many brides will probably baulk at the idea of standing in the middle of the crowd but I love how the photos turned out! The slightly gritty feel  of the whole shoot also appeals to me.

ANYWAY!

My whole point is, me thinks Haji Lane would be a good place for the pre-wedding shoot.

*makes mental note*

To jazz or not to jazz?

Whenever I attend weddings with a jazz band playing, I’d always think: Awwww…that’s so nice! I love it especially when the guests start bopping/singing to the familiar piece of music being played live. There’s also something about live music (and alcohol!) that gets everyone in a swingy, dancing mood.

I used to learn drums from a guy called Augustine. Before wedding plans were in place, I used to joke that when I eventually get married, I would like him and his band to play at my wedding. He used to also say “Sure!! Just tell me when, man!”

So the other day, I dropped him a quick message on Facebook to see if he’s still holding onto his side of the bargain. I also told him very honestly that we have not factored in any extra budget for a jazz band to play at the wedding dinner because that is a total want. I have also done some quick research on live bands at weddings and it usually costs about a couple of hundreds. Gulp.

Augustine wrote back promptly and based on my description of venue and number of tables, suggested a 3 piece band – percussion (him on drums), guitarist and bassist.

The cost?

S$60 per musician.

I took a double take and did a quick mental calculation. That works out to be a very affordable $180.

SURE OR NOT?!! *eyes wide*

Apparently so. He calls it his “friendship price”.

Awwwww.

How now brown cow? To jazz or not to jazz, that is the question

Hen party discussion

The bride-to-be needs suggestions for the overseas hen party. Criteria:

- Near enough (coach, boat, plane, doesn’t matter)
- Cheap enough
- Must have nice beach

Next question: When?

I am thinking 3-6 April 2009 or 10-13 April 2009. Us lecturers have our life all planned out and those dates are good because the new school term will most likely start on 20 April 2009.

ONLY GIRLS ALLOWED!

Actual Day photographer FOUND!

So after months of procastination, I finally made an appointment to meet up with Marcus Lee, the freelance photographer whom I am considering for the wedding. The appointment was fixed for 6pm at the prata shop outside our home so that I can just walk there in 3 minutes.

When I arrived, I noticed a guy sitting alone with his laptop. I was actually feeling quite nervous because it is very strange to be meeting a stranger, no?

I gingerly walked up to him and said: Marcus?
And he said: Miss ene?

So damn strange. It was as if I was on a blind date or something lor.

Anyhow, we shook hands and I sat down.

Marcus looked to be in his late 20s but later, I found out that he’s 34 this year. He has been a freelance photographer for the past 3 years but is going to be doing photography full-time now. These people are very brave, I say. What surprised me even more is the fact that this soft-spoken guy in front of me used to be a prison officer! At Changi Prison, no less. I was truly shocked and even asked : Changi? As in, where all the hardcore prisoners go to? The ones on death row as well?

Wow.

Looks indeed are deceiving.

He was also trying to guess what I do for a living and the first occupation he guessed was….auditor.

*speechless*

I nearly fell off my chair because friends who know me, know that I am hopeless with numbers. Wahahahahahaha. His second guess was “teacher” which got me slightly panicky because I do not want to look like a teacher! Then again, Miss E said that it’s probably because I was very chatty. Tee hee hee.

Anyhow, he went through the package he is offering and I was pleased to find out that for the same price, he is able to provide us with a coffee table book with layout, etc. That will definitely beat the usual 300-photos-slotted-into-a-typical-album offering. Best bit is, I managed to negotiate for a 40-page book instead of a 20-page one. Woots!

I asked him a couple of questions such as whether he uses a back-up camera in case of malfunctions and was pleased to know he carries 2 cameras (with 5 lens, btw). I have read of horror stories where the photographer’s camera breaks down/runs out of battery and all the couple received was : Sorry ah.

?!?!?!?!?!?!

I was also impressed that he arrived before our appointed time. Punctuality is very very important, ok?! Also, he tends to reply to emails and text messages very promptly which adds further brownie points. Lastly, his payment plan is also very reasonable.

Me thinks that we have found our actual day photographer!

Bridal Veil’s fashion show

Last Friday was BV’s fashion show held at the Amara Sanctuary Resort (ASR). It was a mad rush for me as I was running in a school-wide campus relay the same evening and then had to dash off for a super quick shower before driving like a mad woman towards Sentosa. Of course, there had to be standstill traffic just outside Sentosa which of course, led to me fuming in the stationary car.

Grrrr.

Anyhow, we managed to make it in one piece to ARS. I have heard a lot about the place but it was my first visit to the resort. It looked like any other resort so erm, that was it. We quickly made our way into the main ballroom where the show was taking place and settled down.

PS. I managed to snap some shots with my camera but they weren’t great. Managed to find these online so all photos you see here are credit to May Kang.

The show started at 7.30pm and the hosts for the evening was Randall Tan and Melody Chen. Their wedding garbs were sponsored by Bridal Veil so I guess they were returning the favour

The show started with real brides of Bridal Veil parading their actual wedding and evening gowns. You so could tell that they were trying very hard not to trip over their long gowns. Many also looked significantly nervous! Hehe. Soon after, the professional models came on. They were so tall, I kept picturing giraffes in my head whenever they sashayed down the runway.

I like this one:

And the big big ribbon of this:

This is pretty as well but I am not a fan of the frou-frou chiffon (I think?) skirt:

The evening gowns were gorgeous too. I love the little black ribbon as well as the shade of pink:

Wearing a gown this tight would mean that I cannot partake in any food during dinner. Boo.

The classic Bridal Veil row-of-crystals-down-the-back look:

The finale gown was breath-talking. The model had a pair of angel wings as well as a crystal-studden crown. Beautiful!

As with all fashion shows, Michelle (the designer) appeared with all her models at the end of the show:

Michelle is the lady with the short bob + fringe with the suit. That seems to be her usual get-up for formal functions because she wore something similar at Randall and Melody’s wedding too.

See?

L to R: Colin (Michelle’s husband), Allan Wu, Li-Lin and Michelle (BV’s designer)

Interesting how she doesn’t wear one of her gowns. Then again, since she designs gowns for a living, she’s probably quite sick of ‘em frou-frou gowns! Hehehehehe.

Anyhoo, I am looking forward to the 10th of December. I wonder how my gown will look like.

*wistful*

1st appointment coming up!

I saw 2 missed calls on my phone after class today and one new text message. It read:

Hi Miss ene. This is Colin from Bridal Veil. Can you please call me back? Thanks.

Oooh. I knew why Colin was calling. It was probably about my first appointment/trial!

When I rang him back, it was indeed about fixing up an appointment for me to go down to the shop to try on the gowns to see what works, what doesn’t so that the designer Michelle can have an idea of what to design for me. The first trial make-up will also take place then.

So after a quick check of schedules, the date is now fixed:

10 Dec 2008, Wednesday @ 2.30pm

Woots!