[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 :)

Trust.

With all the media spotlight on cheating men and the 9pm local drama and 10pm Taiwanese serial both delving on men having affairs, it's tough keeping my mind off the word trust and the significance that it bears in a relationship.

To me, trust is like a huge piece of shiny flawless mirror. When 2 parties stand side by side facing the mirror, you see yourselves in the reflection, just as u are. But once shattered, the tiny pieces will only be able to reflect contorted images.

Piecing it tgt takes a long long time and tireless effort to do so. Even if you managed to do it, the cracks will never go away. It remains there. Cutting you up. What u see in the mirror will always come with a scar.

And you know what?

I always think that the sexiest men, are those who stay true and devoted to their partners, no matter how much temptation they are under ;)

[VDL - Part 5] Our Wedding Bands from B.

Our wedding bands are here! Or rather, our wedding tri-bands :D

Way before planning our wedding, in fact, not too long since we first got tgt, we have already set our mind on having the B. Zero 1 as our dream wedding bands. It's this mutual partiality towards it, right from the beginning, that made the B. Zero 1 very special to us :)

Fast forward 5 years from then, we felt truly blessed that we have the chance to make the rings our wedding bands :) 

We went to the boutique at RWS sometime in Feb to get the ring. But because my ring size is smaller than the standard, they didn't carry it in the boutique and had to order for it to be crafted and shipped over.

After a couple months' of wait, Pops received a call yesterday telling us that the rings have arrived so we excitedly went to collect them first thing after work!

:)

Be. my 0nly 1

♥

It's crazy how often we are going in and out of Sentosa during our wedding planning phase, Pops was commenting that we should just get the annual pass since we foresee quite a few more visits till the end of the year...

Ok, now I truly hope that Part 6 will be a post on the venue :p

Penning The Vow

Caught The Vow over the weekends with pops and I love this show to bits.

Just before we went in for the movie, pops went to buy drinks and as he passed me the cup for a sip, he stuffed a bunch of serviettes into my bag with a cheeky smile.

I thought the show will be a sweet little light-hearted chic-flick, but little did I know, I started trying to hold up my tears since the 1st time I hear the vows being made by the 2 lead characters.

Half-way through the show, I wasn't even trying anymore. I was close to weeping my eyes out without brawling out loud. It was so sad and unrealistically-hollywood sweet!!

Maybe it was because I'm in the midst of preparing for own wedding and when I try to imagine sth like that happening, I felt devastated in their shoes. Or maybe, it's just me, who weep and cry at every touching moments in every single movie.

And pops know.

Thus, the huge bunch of serviettes which I totally exhausted by the end of the show.

And what made it even more comforting, was the way he held me close and just smile at me when I wiped my tear on his shirt.

I'm so touched and inspired by the movie, I'm starting on my own vow too :)

[VDL - Part 4] Actual Day PG and VG

Yes yes, after a week's break, finally some progress in our wedding prep again!

Last weekend, we managed to confirm and sign the contracts with our actual day (AD) photographer and videographer (VG)!

We've actually pretty much confirmed Kent as our AD photog abt a mth ago, but did not sign with him yet because we wanted to be extremely confirmed of the date before we do so. I like Kent for the way he process his photos and the way he captures the special moments and emotions of the people at the wedding.

I can tell from his blog and facebook that he spends a lot of time and effort on the post-processing of the photos and treats them with great pride :)

Kent's Portfolio

We've originally wanted to get the VG that works with him for several projs but he was already engaged for the date :( And I was so disappointed I harped on it for like a mth or so (poor pops indeed :p ) until we found Renatus :)

As we plan our wedding, I really see how God works his amazing plan on us. 

For a good 1 mth or so, I was unable to find a good VG whose video style I like and is of appropriate budget. I was even at the verge of giving up the find and told Pops that if I can't find a VG I like, I rather do w/o one.
Until that day I met up with Gillian and knowing that I'm looking for a VG, she shared with me the contact of Renatus. In fact, she gave me the contact of quite a number of VGs (yes, she's a lot more hardworking than me :p) but Renatus just stood out for some reason.

When I went home and checked out their videos, I immediately emailed them to ask for their availability. There's sth about the way they capture the joy and love of Holy matrimonies that made me feel like they are so special. 

This was the 1st video that I watched on their website:

Their theme was "a land filled with milk and honey", how lovely~!!

Anyway, they are available on 30 Dec so we met up with Melvin on the package and he was such a great person to talk to :) He also gave a lot of advice on all things wedding and I can tell he understands and truly advocates for all wedding videos to be unique :)

And we realize (aft he added us on FB), that he's Christian too! It's like a practical lesson of the truth that when God says no, it doesn't mean He's not giving you what you think is good. He is just saying "Wait, I've got sth better."

And so, we've successfully decided on and confirmed everything that we need to confirm for our wedding EXCEPT the venue. Ta-dah....

But the past weekend has been a flurry of exciting hotel visiting ;) hopefully I can conclude our venue seeking adventure in the next VDL post! **P.S. I've got tons of photos for that one!