Hi hi!
I got married in in the first half of this year. I'm on two days medical leave so just kaypohing and hope you all don't mind.
I'm browsing here cos my younger bro is considering getting married in 2010-2011.
Anyway,
I'm kinda tired so instead, i'll just post some comments in general instead of addressing each of you individually
Yes, I was told not to marry in odd months of Lunar year because everyone says it's not auspicous. Since the two of us want the a good start to our life together, we just try to 'obey' as much as we can.
We ended up getting married on a Monday! Because out of respect, we wanted ALL our relatives, who're older than us, for our tea ceremony (and tea ceremonies are usually in the morning), we had to check all their Chinese Animal Year to make sure that none would clash with us & our parents. It doesn't matter if we 'meet' our relatives after noon... weird but oh well, so my hubby's best friend was not our morning XiongDi because his animal year clashes with us that day... he joined in the fun only at night. In other words, the Year of the Rat of 1972 clashed but not the Year of the Rat of 1948 which is my dad's. We didn't want relatives to gossip behind our parents' backs saying we didn't want to serve them tea... Us, we can tahan, but we want our parents to 'save face'.
Anyway, being a Monday (very common nowadays to have a weekday wedding; my dad's at a hotel wedding right now) meant savings for us.. we got more carpark coupons for free and a lot of extra wedding cards etc.. A couple of guests even had free cappuccino during our Chinese dinner which is one of top 5 expensive hotels in Singapore. It also meant that we could have less tables (more space for us to mingle) due to a weekday minimum (holding a weekend dinner means a higher minimum number of tables).
And our guests did arrive very punctually (we started at 7:38pm) and they didn't rush off after dinner
We were told that yes, getting married during the 7th month is a no-no. Cannot marry in the Lunar 6th month because it's like a half married thingy.. And also cannot marry during the month of the two Qing Mings.. We had our Gou Da Li one whole month earlier because of the 1st Qing Ming... Cannot give our invites and cakes during QM.
For those of you who are still scouting around for hotel prices... Yes, the price lists are avail only next year. Insist on 2009 price lists first and mark up $20-$50 per guest. Some hotels like ours charge higher if the AD is held July-December because these are the 'hotter' wedding months. So there are TWO price lists for one hotel. Check for that too. Eve of Public Holidays are also more expensive. The Chinese Eighth Day of the Eight Month is also a 'hot' aka expensive date. And you might think that a long weekend is a good choice but i've had friends lament that last minute, some guests don't turn up cos they decided to go for a short vacation! So it meant loss of 'income'.
Attend bridal shows and if you decide to book there and then at a show, you can negotiate A LOT. I turned up for a hotel bridal show but ended up signing with the Bridal Studio headlining the show instead! I booked my BS at the show and was very satisfied with my deal.
Ask for recommendations but don't sign up too early for bridal studios. (my bro's bridal studio is revamping after key designer left so i'm worried for him)..
If you choose a HOT DATE such as 20.10.2010 etc... good PGs and VGs are snapped up sometimes 1 to 1.5 years in advance. My VG was recommended by my best friend's sister.
Have fun planning. I enjoyed my Monday wedding and it was memorable for our families too!
