Moments

This month is probably the most intensive month for the last quarter of the year. Tons of deadlines to meet, meetings to rush to, projects to clear and trainings to attend. 

Coupled with reno stuff and final leg of wedding planning! 

I'm thankful for little moments of calmness and enjoyment, no matter how short-lived, for it provides us a chance to remind ourselves to breathe. 

I can still recall the feeling of tranquility when we were sitting at the balcony having a simple breakfast. No buzz around us, no crowd, no distractions. Just us, the breeze and the sound of water flowing over the edge of the pool.

And the sudden urge to engage in a half hour long prayer on the treadmill because my mind was finally clear enough to focus on what is truly important. 

It's moments like these that are so simple and precious. That I do not wish to forget.

These 2 weeks will be pure madness once again. But I'm really thankful that most of the crazy moments should be over by end of this month and hopefully, we can concentrate on our wedding for the month of December :)

Florals, food tasting, hen party, dinner in M'sia, guo da li, bridal party, logistics. 

I'm definitely dedicating December for all of these!

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:13 

[VDL - Part 12] Meet the JP!

Met up with the Justice of Peace who will be solemnizing our wedding :)

We were looking for a Christian JP but thought it will be quite tough since our solemnization will be held on Sunday morning. Checked out some forum reviews and managed to find Simon. 

We emailed him a week ago to enquire about his availability and thankfully, he’s able to make it! He will be solemnizing another wedding at Keppel Club just an hour before us so we are really quite blessed X) . 

He has been extremely prompt in his follow-up and arranged for us to meet him today so that we can proceed with the registration at ROM. 

(Photo taken from SingaporeBrides forum)

The meet-up with him was really comfortable and engaging. We expected a quick and simple briefing session to exchange forms and run through the procedures for the solemnization. But in addition to that, he did a DISC profiling for us and helped us to find out how we should treat each other in a marriage so as to compliment our character. Not sure if this is a standard procedure for all JPs, but we found it interesting and helpful :)

Obviously, Pops is the Investigator and I actually straddle between Persister and Specialist (which, incidentally, is Simon’s profile!). 

Basically, I’m a very nice person who values harmony and can’t really make decision :X Thankfully, pops is good with the part on making decision so we won’t end up in a limbo when there’s a tough decision to make :) And we are all people-persons so the whole meet-up was really light-hearted!

He also gave us some samples of vows, but I’m pretty insistent that we should write our own!

And also some materials from his marriage prep course :) 

Yayyy, another item off the check-list!! 

Thank God once again for His amazing provision :)

We’re looking forward to the start of our marriage prep course in Oct, and yes, we better send out our save-the-dates soooooon!

[VDL - Part 11] Marriage Prep Course

Pops has been reminding me to check out marriage prep courses for the longest time.

I’ve looked around a bit but a lot of them are rather secular in nature, so I felt some resistance to sign up for them.

One random evening, I was at the drop-off point waiting for pops to meet me aft booking out from reservist and happened to meet one of the directors who was part of the fellowship group in office. 

She waved a bunch of flowers excitedly at me and told me that she’s going for the Alpha Marriage Course.

I heard of that course before during FG. But before she had the chance to elaborate further, her hubs arrived and she had to leave.

I went back to google Alpha Course that night and realized that they have Pre-marriage Preparation Course as well! And the description got me pretty excited:

"A five session course set in a fantastic atmosphere. You will be served with a candlelit meal and/or coffee, tea and dessert in a romantic setting while listening to practical talks that are informative and fun, either given live or played on DVD."

And the venue is at Dempsey!!

When I first checked, I realized we missed the registration date and more than half the lessons were during Pops’ reservist period so I was pretty disappointed.

But subsequently, I found out that they have a new round in Oct/ Nov which is just perfect!!

We registered today and Chee Min, the facilitator, was extremely prompt in following up :) We were already given homework to complete before our first session - to complete the MBTI profiling questionnaire!

I’ll try to update more on the course after going to the sessions.

But for now, I just wanna thank God for helping us check one more item off our Wedding Checklist~!!

If anyone of you are keen to find out more about the course, you can visit the website below:

http://www.relationshipcentral.org.sg/marriage-preparation-course/about-course

[VDL - Part 10] Ring “Pillow"

The good thing about having a theme for the wedding, is that you won’t end up buying things for the wedding aimlessly.

The not-so-good thing about it, is that you get so obsessed with wanting every detail to go with the theme, you find it difficult to settle for anything else.

Pops and I have been looking for the perfect ring pillow for our vintage-travel theme for the longest time. In fact, we had such high hopes on finding one in Kimchi-land, but to no avail.

Credits to our obsession to keep to the theme or our die-hard persistence to find that special something to hold our wedding bands, we resisted buying any of the pretty-frilly-lookin ring pillows. And thank God we did!

Because one random evening, we stumbled upon a quaint vintage toy store in town while searching for food (I know, we sound like we’re perpetually hungry).

And we saw this small, inconspicuous looking storage box shaped in the likes of a vintage suitcase!

While it doesn’t look like it’s made to hold rings, both of us knew we had to get it. And we know we’ll work sth out later :)

And so here’s our little suitcase of blessings with no lace, no ribbons and no satin...

But we love it!!

[VDL - Part 9] Save the Date(s)!

Just realized that I've not updated any VDL posts for quite some time. That shows how slack we have been in our wedding prep since we came back from Korea :p

Since the last VDL post, we've chosen our actual day gowns and suits, received our framed bridal photo from Korea, bought a bunch of material from paper market for wedding crafts (during GSS), went shopping for betrothal gifts (si dian jin) and (before even finalizing our guest list) created our own save-the-date! 

I was all over pinterest trying to gather some fancy ideas for our save-the-date mailer. I even contemplated doing a causal shoot for that because there are just so many lovely ideas! 

But one fine afternoon, as I sat in front of my Mac, browsing through our pre-wed photos from Korea, I added some texts to a few of my fav photos and...

Honestly, I think they turned out better than I expected! Considering the very minimal effort it took :X

So the fun and easy part of our save-the-date project is done, we pretty much have to bite the bullet and get through the finalizing of our guest list soon. Hrmps. 

5th

Another National Day came and gone. The 47th birthday of the nation marked our 5th year together :)

As usual, our anniversary is a quiet affair, where we just sit together with the family and let NPD take center stage.

But being the final anniversary that we are going to spend on national day, we pampered ourselves a little with some epicurean indulgence :)

We went to our fav restaurant on Sentosa for our fix for a slow, romantic dinner.

We love the place not just for the food and the service, but also its lovely ambience. It's comfortably littered with people so it's not dead quiet, and yet we get to enjoy enough privacy to just focus our attention on each other and HTHT. 

And the next morning, we went to our new fav hang-out to while away the holiday morning :)

A lovely, lazy brunch is one of the most therapeutic activities. I think it's good for the palette and good for the soul :)

We went home and had an extremely giggly gift exchange because we were both so thrilled by each other's presents! 

I lurrrvvvveeee my Einie thumb drive! I've been looking high and low for the Einie bobby head since I saw it on Night at the Museum, but we never managed to find it. So he got me this as a replacement till we manage to find the Einie bobby :)

And I customised these cushions for him and for our new home. 

As I'm doing this project, I realize that he is so many things to me. He is so many things that I am not, so many things that I never thought I needed in my life, so many things that I adore. And now, because he is so many things to me, he has become someone I can't live without.

I fall asleep every night giving thanks that he is in my life. And I pray that I will never forget what a blessing it is. That I will never take a love like this for granted.

Happy 5th year anniversary to my hubs-to-be :)

[VDL - Part 8] Meet the Parents

And the parents met today!

Probably one of our most worrying things to settle for the wedding. Heard so many awful stories that we've became rather paranoid abt it.

The session took place at Teochew City Seafood Restaurant because our original choice, East Ocean, was closed for private function.

Food at Teochew City was pretty good :) especially the Teochew cold crab and pumpkin yam paste.

The atmosphere was easy and comfortable and all of them were talking to each other with an odd sense of familiarity, it felt like they've known each other for quite sometime...

The funny thing is... They talked abt everything under the sun and only got to the main topic after the entire dinner. And it only lasted a good 15 mins!

But we are so so thankful that everything went well and smooth and they were still lingering at the escalator aft we left the restaurant, talking to one another! I think it really helps that our parents have met before and our mums have even gone on a tour tgt :)

And something interesting came out of the discussion. We may have new plans for post-marital accommodation.

But that... We'll settle in due time :)

Great week ahead everyone!

[VDL - Part 7] Pre-wedding Shoot Prep

I feel like a potpourri of emotions these days.

Part of me is tired from work, part of me is all looking forward to the impeding Korea trip, part of me feels lost and unsure of what I need to prepare for the pre-wed shoot and part of me is anxious about not being able to finish everything before I go off.

I just did a 10pm today and I would gladly work OT for the rest of the week if I didn't have to run all the errands before the wedding shoot - Dental appointment, mani-pedi, change money, buy a casual dress for the shoot, pack luggage... And I've been wanting to do facial, go gym, but seriously, NO TIME! 

I feel so unprepared and I don't feel like I'm a BTB going for her pre-wedding shoot in 1 weeks' time -_-

Anyway people have been asking me abt our Korea pre-wedding package. It's all based in Korea - gown, studio, MUA and hairstylist, so I'm really excited and a little jittery about the whole experience!

And yes, it's mainly indoor shots precisely because it's Korea! That's what they are famous for :) But it's really because I  I love their make-up! I really really hope they do a nice one for me so that I can also learn how to do Korean make-up :p

Below are some shots from the studio that we chose. I hope the sun is as warm and fuzzy that day too :D

And I'm praying hard that we get to do a sunset shot like this!

I'm looking forward to having a good break as well :) My travel bug is biting and I'm feeling the itch having not travelled for so long. 

Still can't quite register, but we're flying off this weekend :D 

Ok now i'm really excited. 

[VDL - Part 6] The Wedding Venue

This, is going to be a heavy post.

Picture heavy I mean :)

Finally, I can gladly (and with great relief) declare that OUR VENUE IS CONFIRMED~!

This item took us such a long time to settle (relative to the other items), I have no idea where to start sharing with you guys what exactly happened.

Ok, let's start with my 'dream' wedding venue.

I've always wanted to have a wedding lunch. With sunlight, breeze and pretty flowers in a lovely backyard of sorts :) 

But backyard not possible, because  it either rains or it'll be so warm and humid in Sg wether. And the parents wanted dinner. And the relatives wanted convenience. And some pretty places are just too small or too expensive or too out of the way.

And when the date is finally set, we were more concerned about not being able to secure a wedding venue because we were less than 10 months away from the wedding date! So out of desperation, we emailed (almost) all the hotels listed on SgBrides to check on their availability.

It turns out, that we have 3 hotels still available on our date. And it so happens, that all of them are located on happy island - Sentosa. 

Honestly, it has never crossed my mind that we will be holding our wedding in Sentosa. It's not the most convenient, and it's not the most value-for-money places to hold a wedding. But seriously, we've got 'no choice'!

So over several weeks, we went for site visits at the various hotels. And I totally enjoyed them!

Rasa Sentosa

I liked the view from the ballroom, but didn't like the ballroom itself. There are pillars and the ceiling is relatively low. And the hotel is a tad old, so the deco is a little tacky for our liking...

And I think the solemnization area  is really gorgeous, but I'm looking more for a garden wedding than a beach wedding.

But their service, A-ma-zing :)

Capella

This place is pure sophistication and class - country club style. Their service is the best we've experienced and the place is such an architectural eye-candy. 

But this place cost a bomb, with a heap of additional costs which you have to take into serious consideration (you have to pay extra not just for the valet parking, but of the shuttle service as well!). And it felt... pretentious. Furthermore, we were (extremely unfortunately) greeted by numerous spoilt kids wailing their lungs out all over the hotel so it was quite an uncomfortable experience.

It's a lovely hotel for a luxurious staycation, but not on my list for a wedding banquet.

But honestly, their bridal room is to-die-for!!

Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa

And here's the hotel which we visited first because they were one of the first few hotels to get back to us on their availability. A place I've always found beautiful but it has never really crossed my mind that I will ever have my wedding there.

This place made me feel a lot more comfortable and relaxed, with all the sun shine flooding into the entire lobby while the air-con keeps it nice and cool.

And the lush greenery all the around the place!

The picturesque little lane leading to the solemnization area.

And the glass pavilion for the solemnization! When I first saw it, it was like a dream come true for me :) It felt like a garden wedding without the elements of the weather. I LOVE IT! 

Lined with Philippe Starck's Ghost Chairs! I'm already imagining the wedding florals :p

And a bell on top of the pavilion which we'll get to ring after the ceremony if the weather permits :) 

The sales manager drove us to look at the suite on a buggy, but we didn't take any photos of the suite. 

I like how the ballroom is located at a different building from the hotel lobby so the guests and the couple will have the entire lobby to themselves during the special day :)

And a nice toilet is important too~! Best that it came with diffuser rather than the normal air freshener to exude the resort feel :D

And the ballroom with high ceiling and big enough space to accommodate up to 44 tables. Not that we are looking at anything that goes beyond 40 :S

With the number of photos, I think you guys can very well guess which venue we went for :p We went to Amara for a total of 3 times and negotiated quite a bit before confirming the place. I almost freaked out when my VG told me that the place is super popular and doesn't have to worry about not being able to get a booking for my date -_-

We went to sign our contract for the banquet on 21 Apr and we brought mummy along so she can take a look at the place :)

And with that, we settled our venue~!!! Can't believe it, but when we look back... this venue is exactly how I envisioned the wedding to be. And I would have never thought about holding the wedding here, not until we had "no choice". Not until God swerved us back to His plans and opened up our eyes to see what He has in mind for us :) It's SO AMAZING! And did I mention? They are only available for wedding lunch :p

Next up, will be preparation for our pre-wed shoot and exciting things like wedding florals, invitation customization, actual gown selection and many more~!!! 

And I still thought we have more or less settled everything for the wedding -_-

Oh well, more VDL posts to come :)