HI Pausini,
Wow, your colleague spent US$2k in Korea. Gosh!! That’s a lotz! I went there for a week, spent much less than your colleague. I bought a tix from Asiana Airlines (ard S$850/-, is not the cheapest, MAS is S$300/- cheaper but run out very fast). Then stay at the motel in the city center which quite near the subway cost me US$30/- per day per nite, is outlook is not as grand as the hotel but the room is pretty good, clean with TV and phone. You know what, they even allow us to make local calls fr free that make me very very surprised. I didn’t take cab, just took bus or their subway. So save a lotz as the train tix is very cheap. Then eat their local food and spent a bit on shopping lor.
Last yr me went to Europe wif my bf (hubby now), we spend less than S$8000/- for two of us for a mth over there (including air-ticket, car-rental, accommodation, food. Shopping etc)
RSVP is stand for reserve in French. Is better to do so aft you send out your invitation card. I insist my PIL and Grand-PIL to do so as well. Then end up is nearer 100% full. Just less than 10 seats didn’t occupied which consist of 4 pax of my videographer & photographer. Then there’s a guest reserve 4 tables but just got one turn up because of one of them sick. Especially if you have overseas guests, is better to do so (the best if double confirm a few days b4 your wedding). I hv a overseas guest but last minutes his mum pass away and he can’t make it, so we can re-arrange the table sitting again.
Yeah, you are rite, normally for hotel, the chef who doing banquet is not from their restaurant, so far I knew the chef from grand-hyatt, four season, raffles, orchard hotel, fullerton, mandarin etc is not their in-house restaurant chef.
Fr your “guo da li” procedure:-
1. Your mum need to return one pair of the phoenix candle to your IL.
2. The red table lamp is gv by the girl side on “guo da li”
3. Pajamas, buy one pair, one for you and one for your hubby. We even get a pair of in-house slipper. Mine is red one, so when I wear Kwa, I wear the red soft in-house slipper. Then you know what, my bf house got two set of sofa, one set is those leather sofa, the other one is those very china type of sofa (with wood and red cushion), then the pix for the tea ceremony turn to be “ang kong kong”. Quite nice. And my MIL and some female relatives also wear red red…
4. Make-up set, not a must to be nowadays. If you really wish, you can buy a bit if you need to use it lot. Else, save your $$ then : )
5. New clothes for your new wardrobe?? Can hv a few new clothes if you want. Don’t need to be all new laa…
Fr the corsage, actually I’m thinking of to ask the florist shop to do it fr me. But the florist I prefer, their flower is import from either Europe or Australia, so the flower very expensive. I skip the idea then coz is my last minutes idea, I don’t do it myself. If you hv time, you can do it yourself. You can buy forget-me-not or rose or others small flower and use a ribbon to tie it. Think put on hand is very nice….
We went for food tasting. Is free. You can check with your banquet coordinator is that any free food tasting.