Anyone planning their weddings from overseas?

[ashlee]

lilo
Torino is where Ribbit has just moved to.

My wedding is 2nd July. hehe... not long!

Sya
Ya, shame ain't it?! Would have been a really good girls' day out in Sg with all that yummy food...

Cheongsam is to be delivered here in UK, hope it is going to be in time for the wedding! haha... and hopefully I can fit in it!

£1500 for three rings is actually quite alright, but I have to agree that the rings here are ridiculously priced! The diamond on my engagement ring is tiny, only 0.3c, but it cost enough to get a .75c diamond ring in SG! (Oooh, two colleagues' fiance got them engagement rings costing more than £13,000! How are people that rich??)

Karen
Err... then what is left in your package with Milan if you had everything exchanged???

 

[cello]

Omg! £13,000?? That is just ridiculous:-D At the moment, with our rings nothing is set in stone as Stan the Man wants me to go to their workshop in Luton and pick out the diamond. Is it really cheaper in Singapore? I wouldn’t mind having it done there if it means saving the pennies. I’m not too fussed with the wedding bands as that will be part of the dowry as well.

You know, it is really for me to try and explain the whole idea behind the dowry to Ben’s family and himself. To them it is bleeming ridiculous. I’ve asked my parents not to ask for too much but even so, to them it seems like a lot of money. I told them that the dowry is just for show as we will be using the money to pay off wedding expenses and what nots. I guess the word dowry is enough to put them off. I feel embarrassed enough as it is when my parents asked for it. Sometimes I wish for them to understand and know it all about my traditions. I don’t know why I feel like it is a struggle sometimes. Perhaps it is me over reacting. Don’t get me wrong, his family is wonderful but when it comes to speaking about money, about traditions and customs, I feel like I’m on my own amongst them.

I’ve just watched June’s wedding video again last night. It was just so hilarious. Hehhehe

Still a lot more to prepare…. Sourcing out ideas for flowers and yesterday, I posted out designs for our traditional outfits. Mama is going to K.L next weekend and I’m scared of her picking out outfits I don’t like and will have no choice but to wear them. We don’t want that happening, do we now girls? ;-D

 

[ashlee]

Sya
Yes, I think it is very safe to say that you definitely will get more for your money for rings back home. If you are lucky, there might be sale going on and that knocks another 20 or 30% off!

But I am not sure about custom-making rings, I am comparing strictly on off-the-shelves mass produced rings in the shops (For the rings with similar specs I "surveyed" - on average costs about S$1000 cheaper in Sg). You might be better off with your current jeweller, I am really not sure.

You know what? We are not even going to tell my fiance's parents about the brideprice business. We are going to pay a token brideprice out of our own pocket. So silly... hehe

The bride's family has the obligation to pay for the wedding in English culture, but in Chinese culture, it is obviously vice versa. So to prevent any "huh?!" and "what?!", we are paying everything ourselves and keep both sides blissfully ignorant about the expenses.
Katgrrl, what about u?

Well, dun worry about your in-laws thinking otherwise about your culture. Since they have decided to accept you as part of their family, they should understand that we have different cultures and just as we are not going to criticise theirs, they should not discount ours. But if there is a "conflict of interest", we might have to mediate at our own expense. haha...

Sorry, spouting rubbish... hehe...

 

[lilo_stitch]

sya, we just bought it few mth back, e managment sat it should be relly by sept06. e bathrm is so big that i can put on 5ft wardrobe inside n bedrm is so tiny onli can put bedset n wardrobe so no study area

. okie, will drop by one day to try korean food. hmm..mm ..'Penang' i saw it but didnt try, heard what u say i dun thk i will go

. when i saw everyday news heard here n there got killed, beaten, or kidnapped heard liao oso scared, so usually i go out alone onli daytime. dun mind i ask ... u malay is it?

. i thk ur heart n mind is beating everyday to know wat ur mum have plan n choice for you. hee..e.e.hee... is ur dinner still hoding at padang?

ashlee, that very near to ur wedding, only left less than 2mths. how's ur preparation? do u feel nevrous? when u are going back to s'pore? i will be going back by end jun .

karen, i oso tot of wear kebaya as my WG, dunno if it is wired as i no see pp waering it.(tot of it as my grandma is nonya ) do u have any idea where to source model n cheap kebaya? kapo ... why did u sign up w milan if u dun need most of their service? remember to show me ur nice n beatuiful photo ....

looks like most gals having your wedding soon!!! onli left me far far away

.

 

[snipsnap]

hey girls! my 2 cents about the diamonds. i've heard from friends that diamonds in the US are much cheaper than singapore. sya ..u can check out bluenile.com .. its a great diamond website. I know several people who've purchased their rings from there. the cheapest option is probably to buy the diamond online and set it back home. ps..I'm so glad I'm not in the UK hee ... i would be dead broke!!! though karen is probably right about getting the diamonds in europe for much less. but i have no lobangs for that hehe.

sya this is the ring I want!! but with a half circle of stones instead of full circle. think it looks gosh darn gorgeous with my e-ring haha. ps..i know what you mean by the ring with the scattered diamonds! very pretty!!! though you'll have to make sure the e-ring and wedding band match.

http://www.tiffany.com/shopping/group.aspx?CategoryID=471&category=Diamonds&c_id=WEB1&c_it=GRP0127&start_id=11&

ashlee> WTF £13,000 is like US25k!!!! they must be damn rich lah. that is wearing a car on your fingers. but being the sour grapes that I am some people take out loans to buy those things ok. hehehe

but here its all about the bling. ashlee btw smart move about the wedding expenses. getting family involved is just one huge headache!!

sya> what is your tradition for dowries etc? Is it similar to the chinese custom? perhaps u can put it as co-hosting the wedding rather than dowry.

karen yah yah must share your pix when u have them

... my PS is going to be in early July. *excited*

i am so close to booking the SAM for my solemnization. one last consideration though...the wet weather plans

..we're planning on serving lunch there but the only space available is the courtyard ..which isn't sheltered. should we fork out an extra $800 to rent the glass hall (a function room there) or just serve food in the corridors should it rain? it just feels so silly to pay an extra $800 when renting the auditorium is only $500!!! arhgks...

guess dewy must be stuff herself with sashimi now *jealous* ...dewy if you read this..your pix were gorgeous. love the close ups of all the little details! like the favors, decor, menu cards ... so martha stewart

 

[ashlee]

lilo
We will be back at end of June as well! hehe... how long will be back for? Katgrrl will be in SG at that time too. Makan time!
Ya, Manchester is quite rough. U better take care of yourself!

snipsnap
No lah, they are just lucky gals who manage to get themselves really posh and rich husbands! Tell u, if you see their ring, u'll flip! Really pretty, haha, but I always console myself, mine is small but sweet. hehe...

I think just serve food in the corridor lah. It is not cheapskate, as the place is very pretty anyway. Plus, your wedding is in July, think the probability of it not raining is reassuringly high. Or you can do marquee, but very ex apparently, so not worth it. Haha, unless u can get the type that they put up for the seventh month banquet out in the fields, if you know the obiang type i mean! hehe...

 

[snipsnap]

lilo> when will u be back? i'll be there for most of july

ashlee> *shields eyes* so shiny! I need sunglasses! haha yah am satisfied with mine ... good things come in small packages mah

so will we get to meet up? your primary school classmate (xy) isn't going to be back till the end of july though. hahah yah the qi yue tai marquee should be quite cheap lol ..will consider. must pray for good weather! btw can we serve wine at SAM?

 

[lilo_stitch]

woowoo ... so many pp will be back in july good good .. we can meet up to makan till peng shan

miss all e local food mainly durian, curry fish head, mum's oat lots n lots ...... me crazy hor ... my saliva drippin. must diet b4 go back as it will be eating for whole mth

yet to decide which day, for sure need to depart from manchester by 28/6 as i bought 6mth tix when i came. i will be back to s'pore min 1mth.

ashlee, ur col all so rich one buy ring so good taste. they must be living in big house n drive big car did u watch grand design yesterday, the owner spend 1.9 million on reno

.

can u gals source ur own marquee?

 

[dewberry]

hihi girls, greetings from tokyo! hahaha, so many posts to read, a bit blur now... but thank you all for being so sweet and for all the lovely compliments about our wedding. it was certainly a once in a lifetime experience, fun fun fun!!!! hehehe, and FH is certainly not going to be a talent singer, LOL! the william hung "she bangs" tekkan session was deliberate humiliation, all my jie mei's know him very well (we're all friends from school, etc) so they purposely chose the one song he has made fun of soooo much, now he's got double reason to hate it. hahahaha, divine comedy.

hmm, the diamond discussion: i echo snippy, but just to share as well, we bought our engagement ring from whiteflash.com, they had prices for the 1 carat range that are comparable to 0.85 carats elsewhere.... even bluenile can't compare. a lot of my angmoh colleagues also have huge rings, think it's a western tradition that guys have to save and expect to spend about 2 to 3x their monthly salary.... all these lucky girls! even the not so rich ones, usually have decent sized rings. but bear in mind, they spend on all these, but they tend to spend less on their wedding dinners, unlike us asians....

ok lah, time to come back later... we went to tsukiji fish market yesterday, sooooooo yummy! gotta go now, today is shinjuku and shibuya, meeting a friend for lunch. see ya all later!!!

 

[katgrrl]

Hi gaaals! what a bustling thread! I echo dewy...so many threads to read. I picked up something on customs and rings...so here goes.

Customs
Ashlee & Sya, I was in the same predicament a few weeks back. The fact that western & asian traditions of who pays for the wedding being 180degrees different is sticky. But since we're paying for the wedding ourselves and since I see it as a marriage of 2 cultures, I took a decidedly middle-of-the-road stand. i.e. no 'bride price' & no dowry. My parents wanted some traditional 'wife cakes' to be delivered with their invitations but they'd be getting those themselves. I only agreed on buying the roast pig

. I've also taken steps to communicate to both sets of parents the customs on the other side. (Ashlee, if u remember the pdf I sent u, it was for that sole purpose)

Rings
Sigh!!! the very issue that I'd been grappling with for the last 2 days! I've made my rounds on the usual LeeHwa-Goldheart circus and it appears that we're quite likely to have it custom made. Can u believe that's actually cheaper? Going by precise measurements such as width, thickness, ring size and all, it's by far the cheapest. I checked out their office, saw a couple of their rings set with stones (not engagement ones though) yesterday and liked the quality I saw. Ashlee & Sya, if u're keen, I can pass u the contact. They need about 2 weeks to make the rings and btw, u can claim gst refunds for them

 

[ashlee]

snipsnap
I know xy can't make it. But she might be coming to London if her hubby can make his business trip here a weekend affair. If that is happening, then u come with her, we can have a girls' night out in London!!! And it can be hen night for both of us!!!

lilo
No lah, my colleagues are not that rich (though some of the consultants here are, hehe) but like what dewy said, most people here are prepared to splurge on engagement rings (except for my fiance apparently, hehe)
Ya, watched Grand Designs. Actually thought £1.9m to do up that whole place with all those gadgets in the house is quite ok (not that I've got one hundredth of that kind of money to spend lah!), but seriously, I thought the house looked hideous! Too many different concepts and themes in one place. And to think she is an architect. Yuckky... hehe... *sour grapes*

dewy
OMG, fish market. Must take note and tell me where are the best bits to go!!! I am SO geared to going Japan now. Haha, actually bot an audio book to learn Jap! Hai! Arigatoo Gozaimasu! Nandesuka?? (er... that is about it for the time being)

Katgrrl
I suggested to Dave to strike off the brideprice from the budget, as we are soooo broke now but he insisted he wanted to give something, even if it is meagre, just to show that he respects our culture, haha, ya right! ;p
Me getting roast pig too... yummy...

We already got our rings dearie. Got them in December when we went back. A bit kiasu I know. haha... Got a swirlly gadgety one for Dave and a platinum with matte finish for me, both from LeeHwa and they were having a sale then, so we saved 20% on his and 50% on mine. Real good deal (and yes, we claimed back the GST, cheeky cheeky). Where are u custom-making yours then?

 

[cello]

Dowry

Thanks for the insight girls. I told my parents right in the beginning that since buying a home together, there is no chance of us raising money for extra costs like the dowry. Since it is a tradition, we compromised by saying the dowry we present will be for show only. After the solemnisation every cent of it will go towards paying for the wedding. My parents are cool with that but somehow even after selling the idea of us using the dowry to pay for wedding expenses seemed like a ridiculous thing to his family. I don’t know what it is but to them spending £7000 on a wedding seems like a naft idea. I don’t think they’ve yet to grasp the concept of asian weddings. I know in England you can get away spending £3000-5000 for a small wedding of 80-100 guests… they are probably going to be shock to see the number of people that is going to be at our wedding.

Funnily enough, they’ve yet to bat a single eyelid on ben’s contemplation to buy another £18000 cello!
*grumbling noises

Lilo: Will you be staying over until the end of July too? It’ll be cool if we can meet up too. To be fair, MCR is not that bad. I’ve been out till late at night on my own before and find that if you look confident and walk on safe routes under bright lights, you’ll be fine. Always be aware of your surroundings and any moment you feel unsafe, just ring someone or get a friend to walk you home. I miss it up north! Still not too sure about the venue but SRC is still on top of the list. we should be going with that one. the only venue confirmation i need is for sunday's bersanding. and yes, i am a malay so the headache of haing the family involve is nerve wrecking. :-D

Rings:
I am really tempted to try having it done in Singapore and buy the diamond separately. Girls (Katgrrl & Dewy), please pass on any contacts on where to buy diamonds from reputable company and where to go to have it custom made. I can then try and get quotes from there and see which is more viable. If the rings are done in Singapore then I’d have to ask my mom to check on the workmanship. Ooooh! And the ability to get GST refunds!! Superb! :-D

Snippy:babe, love them rings. What kind of stones/diamond are you intending to use for your rings? Do you know what your plans are for your rings? Are you intending to have them custom made too?

I am just in need of more flower power inspirations. If you girls have got any links, feel free to pop it right at me. By the way, do you girls put in dress code in your invites? What kind of dress code did you have? Where on the invite did you place it on?

By the way, I’ve got my dress for the change of outfit! I’m well chuffed about it! It’s from Monsoon and it is a simple dress… kinda understated but I think it suit the atmosphere. I wish I can put photos up but ben’s got the Powerbook with him. Humph! Oh not to worry! Found the link on the website… the photo on the site does not do it any justice. :-D I’ll put a picture of me with the dress on sometime next week. Here’s the dress.. http://store.monsoon.co.uk/er03/welcome.htm it’s called the Cavello Dress.

 

[snipsnap]

dewy...while writing the post I recalled that you'd mentioned that other diamond site but I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was haha.

sya I was thinking of getting them custom made too

by the wholesaler that maddcow mentioned in NJ. another friend of mine got hers made there and she was quite satisfied. hers is a .5ct channel set platinum ring. cost about US$800. i'm going to to for shared prong with diamonds and sapphires. i was in love when i tried it on at tiffanys haha. yah I am shameless I go in there even with no intention of buying. feel like audrey hepburn in breakfast at tiffanys haha. they're usually very nice. its fun!

lilo ... me kaypoh saw your post on the wedding acts thread. you can actually get your gown made by a singapore BS in a short period of time. usually the salons drag out the process (to make themselves feel better perhaps??) some places are more flexible than others. you also have to know what you want. I had my first fitting in a week. second and final fitting will be done 2 weeks before my wedding. they've also finished up my EG...only will have to do minor alterations when I'm back.

ashlee u're so funny hehe. sodeska! sumimasen ... aego hanase desuka? and that's it for me haha. xy didn't tell me she's going to london leh hehe. must go and ask her. we'll have a hen night, steal a car and then go look up sya and lilo hahah

btw dave is so sweet lah. he's going to give a brideprice. that's not the same as dowry?

sya..I don't see the cavello dress! btw monsoon has such pretty dresses! do u have the direct link? I think having families involved in the planning is a very asian thing! hehe our parents aren't so bad ...but some of my poor friends ...*shakes heads*

 

[frogprincess]

Hi girls 21 days to go, and guess what? the wedding booklet is still not printed because we have not finalised the songs (Now I know why people only get married once). The good news is that I have worked out a colour scheme for my flower girls (they are triplets), which will enable me to tell them all apart!

Ashlee - did you get your JP in the end? There is a PDF on the ROM website with a list of contacts, but the easiest way is to know someone who knows someone. My JP was actually one of my friend's friend's father or something along those lines...

Okay -my 2 cents worth on managing cultural expectation as regards wedding expenses, comes from my own (painful) experience. Which is that there is NO POINT negotiating with parents about this because it will become a "why are you not respecting our culture and tradition" sort of argument, and sour the happy atmosphere created by the engagement.

Fabien and I decided to foot the bills (twice!!) by ourselves - and I mean EVERYTHING down to the dresses for the flower girls (in France) to the roasted pig (in Singapore).

Both sets of parents were made aware of this (and the fact that we had bought an appartment), because we told them about the dilemma of " in europe bride's side pays, in aisa the other way around", and wanted to spare everyone the hassle.

Both sides of parents felt so sorry for our pathethic pecuniary situation, that they offered really generous angpows/wedding gifts which of course off-set the bulk of the costs!!

It is really one of those great situations where everything worked out in the end... So this is my own experience, I hope it works out really well for you guys too. Of course, you cannot expect to break even, but your parents will not have the heart to see you suffer financially because of your "great sacrifice" - call it an object lesson in reverse psychology.

PS Cavallo dress!!! I want !!!

 

[frogprincess]

It is called Cabello I think..

 

[katgrrl]

Hi Sya, the custom jewelry shop I visited is Josi Gems on the 8th floor of Park Mall. They've got their own stocks of diamonds but of course, if you bring in your loose diamonds or sapphires, they'll set them for you to your design. Diamonds wise, I think the states is a great place to buy...does anyone know how Antwerp compare?

Ribbit, dun worry k? everything will have a way of turning out fine

Tomorrow will be a busy day of zipping around! rings, shirt, suit! Btw, if any of u need any help in sussing out anything in SG, let me know and I can try to help.

 

[cello]

test hello girlies just seeing if this works posting using my palm. getting bit tidious now. ok bored. haha

 

[madcow]

Hello!

I can't believe it in a matter of months a whole lot of you will be checking the 'Married' box soon!

Ribbit - aww...you are really sweet and generous to invite us over. be careful, i might really take you up on that since my sister is moving to Paris and we are going to Italy for our honeymoon

divide and conquer - you've done it before, any fluke/glitch will be no biggie to a smartie like you - I'm confident! but venting is a very good way to blow off some steam - so visit this forum often

KatGrrl - hiya, thanks for checking in, good luck with the rings and all errands.

Snippy - I just sent you an email on some ideas for the ballroom. I couldn't bear to part $10 to buy the MS collector's edition - I glanced at it and thought she reused a lot of her old pictures -so I gave it a miss. Maybe I can inherit yours when you are done with your wedding (*evil grin*)

Sya - re the dowry, I guess you can take comfort in knowing that all of us have similar stories to share. Girl, you are not alone. FH and I talked about it, we are paying our way but traditions have a weird way of creeping into my mind at a time like this - I know it matters a lot to my mom and that even if I decided not to give her anything, she wouldn't have minded - but I thought it is there as a ritual, to leave something behind, to complete the cycle of my growing up and to start a new life and FH understood that it is not just following a custom blindly but wanted to do it for no other reason but me. It's a hard concept for him to digest, it's understanding that led to acceptance in the end.

Update on me - No dress, No wedding planning but lots of writing. I sometimes feel like Dumbledore (from Harry Potter), needing a pensieve to organize my thoughts - which is what I've been doing. I'm glad I took about a year to plan this wedding because of the emotional hikes I need to take - so they are really good material to stock up. I'm inviting my friends and family to contribute (regional) recipes and poetry/verses for the cooking-challenged (one nourishes the body the other the soul) and making favor booklets out of them. In some of them, I'll enclose a letter on one of the facets of my wedding planning and how much they as an individual has impacted me. At least some of these thoughts and writing will get edited and end up somewhere (!)

Hey, maybe we should do a booklet like this just for all of us in the forum, it can have recipes,our contact information, wedding pictures, favorite posts, our first/last impressions of one another - the list goes on...

 

[ashlee]

snipsnap
Wah, ur Jap better than mine! Ok, I must go polish up a bit more! btw, what is aego hanase desuka huh? haha

Eh, serious ah? 800bucks for platinum .5ct??? Why is it so freaking expensive here??? Mine is only .3ct and it costs more than three times of that!

Could have gotten a much better deal elsewhere...

Er, a vague impression from a Sociology module I did in Univ that brideprice is the money the groom's family pay to the bride's family and dowry is what the bride brings with her into the groom's family...

Ribbit
We are not even thinking about getting anything back, let alone breaking even! Ya, we are pretty much in the same predicament, except yours is worse as you have one more wedding than us! haha. Mortgage for our house is unbelievable, dun even get me started. Nvmd, there is still hope of winning lottery! haha...

Just found out last week that one of my best friend's dad is a JP!!! But he declined our request for him to be our solemniser as he wasn't feeling comfortable about the whole thing about marrying off someone else's daughter (or something to that effect). Sigh, back to square one, gotta do loads of calling next week...

Fiance is in Latvia now for his stag do. Apparently, his mates made him wear a Spandex outfit as famed by the band The Darkness, for the entire journey to Latvia. Haha, quite funny, looking forward to see the pix. Might put it up on our website.

 

[frogprincess]

Hiya girls! Yup Yup I cannot resist but come here and vent vent vent -- Works in the absence of a Pensieve -- Dumbledore!!

Hyuk Hyuk, I am gigling at the idea of the stag do in spandex from The Darkness! At least they did not put Kiss make-up on him!! They can re-live all their bad 80s pop nightmares! What did the other fiance's friends do to him? Fabien's stag night was an impromptu organised by some of my best guy friends in Singapore, and was therefore relatively tamer!!

MaddCow - I am soo serious about having some company in Turin. You see I am on a course at the moment (International Trade Law if you are really interested) and when it ends in July, there will be this vacuum, a mad search for a job and its accompanying depression, so the short answer to your question is... YES!!i am sure your company is lovely, and you will have to email me outside this forum to arrange this trip (if you like) so that we do not bore everyone else to death here... Drop by here before going on to the more beautiful tuscan sun!

 

[ashlee]

Ribbit
Well according to him, the most outrageous thing done to him was ... hehe, a bit X-rated to be mentioned on the forum. But not very tame or innocent fun. He is at home nursing a hangover now. Serves him right. ;p

 

[katgrrl]

Hi!

Sorry I'm a little slow in replying to your mails! Some breather now that FH has taken off from SG again.... I'm doing stuff like my cheongsam and florist now. One question from the 'fashionably challenged', do u think it'd be odd if I'm in a cs and he's in a swanky-long-sleeved-shirt-over-t-shirt & jeans (a la Ryan Seacrest

)? I'm trying to move away from the suit for him.....

Maddcow, that's a great idea u have there

Very personable & meaningful. I'm up for it if someone's the editor-in-chief. Do u need me to research anything for you in SG? There's always time to make a few calls or enquiries for friends.

Ribbit, dun worry about what happens in July. Just pray about it... If you don't find anything immediately, shift to a lower gear and enjoy being in Italy! Many would love to have a chance like yours

Ashlee, sounds like Dave had a memorable & fun stag party! Yeah, I bet Latvia had cheap alcohol. Spandex? Hahahah..... I wonder what FH's friends will do to him. I mentioned something about a chicken suit and standing on top of a bar table reciting swedish poetry to 1 of his friends. Hey, that was what FH told me many years ago! trust me to remember things like that

 

[madcow]

Hello

thanks to my 7pm coffee, i'm still up at 4.30 am!

KatGrrl - gee thanks for the offer and vote of confidence on the booklet. i'm up for getting it in print - even if it's just the two of us, but i'm sure if i work on my charm enough, the rest of the girls will say 'yes'

(hey, the rest of you better get the hint)

ashlee - haha, you have to show us your FH's pictures! so we can blackmail him, a good place will be in OUR booklet (sales pitch + arm twisting)

ribbit - i can do very well with a visit to Turin NOW! I'm stressing about my unknown career future (like 3 months from now) too. It's such a joke on me (a former anti-bride) that the only certainty in my life right now is that I'm getting married. I hope I can keep you company in July(yes, misery loves company) but we'll only go to Italy in Jan - but I'm sure I'll still be welcomed (maddcows have thick hides). You'll be in my prayers for your upcoming wedding!

KatGrrl - let me take a stab at your 'fashion' question. If I had to dress my guy, I'll go with a kilt. Just kidding (huh? not funny?) okay, a shirt without a tie is definitely a move away from a suit. Choose something classy - I tend to think that Brad Pitt dresses well. I'd go with cotton-silk blends(no linens, wrinkles easily) so that the light will reflect similarly to your cs when it comes to pictures. Style pretty much depends on FH himself, but I'd go for British India, slightly flared collars, no tie, no top buttons, and take note of shirt length. I'd choose tailored trousers in a relaxed color (no gray/navy/black) that complements the cs. Above all, FH has to like it so he'll feel confident and radiant (too).
oh - take note of the shirt material too (not too thin), you don't want something peeking thru in pictures

(oops, i just realized i might have given unsolicited advice, short answer: long-sleeved shirt + trousers, jeans only if FH insists)

argh.... such a long post and the caffeine is still kicking in

where's lilo??? yoohoo...

 

[dewberry]

hihi girls! i'm baaaaack! hee hee, it's been such fun reading all your posts, but was horribly jetlagged so i didn't get a chance to say hi till today.... that was such a FUN trip, there's so much to tell! i'm jealous of katgrrl, still in singapore heaven (or inferno, depends on how you view the weather)...

maddcow, i second katgrrl's opinion, count me in on the little booklet project!!! sounds like a fab idea!

ribbit, take it easy girl! it'll all work out, don't stress okay? breathe, breathe....

a little bleary still... will come back and post more later.... eh, where's snippy?

 

[snipsnap]

hi ladies !!!! *waves* sorry been kinda lazy to write, though i was still enjoying everyone elses posts hehe *bad snippY*

ashlee..no lah I don't even know japanese. that phrase I used (if I remember correctly) is 'do you speak english'. hahah very impt. I read in lonely planet or something that you should always approach young girls first because the chances of them speaking english is much higher. the spectrum goes from young girl to old men. the first criteria is gender (ladies before men), then age (young before old). haha found it pretty amusing.

maddcow ... my wedding mags will be looking for a new home when its all over

will send them your way. honestly I didn't look at the price before buying that stupid anniversary edition. arhgk *slaps forehead*

btw your booklet is an awesome idea !!! tho I might be the cooking challenged one it is targeted at

let me know if you need any contributions for content. would be glad to help out. btw on your idea of a booklet for us forum gals, I have a wiki page on my website that we can use for things like this that need a more permanent home. think email addresses, webpages, caterers, personal recs (everyone can edit). right now I'm using it for my personal planning but I have tonnes of space to spare. Will send the link around later.

katgrrl ... may i suggest khaki-family colored pants, white shirt no tie, if u want to dress down? I love linen pants for hot weather but it wrinkles too easily. Me thinks it presents a relaxed looked.

dewy..u must be trawling through tonnes of email now. poor girl!! the delete button is your friend. tell us about your japan trip ok? and remember to touch on the topic of food haha. i'm sure ashley would like lotsa tips too since they're heading there soon *jealous*

where's sya and lilo??

 

[dewberry]

hiya ladies! *waves with both hands* yes snippy, my japan trip was loads of fun, still trying to recover from the excesses of food and overspending. hubby went crazy at their "electronics alley" place (akihabara) and bought a sony playstation PSP game thingy.... it was only newly launched last week i think so this was definitely an impulse buy. the excuse was that he needed something to do on the long plane ride home (yeah, right!) was tempted to make a snide retort that now i also need a new Louis Vuitton bag, to store all the things I bought on the trip.... hahaha.

anyways, for those of you thinking of japan, and/or going there soon, here's the rundown of things to see/do/eat in Tokyo.... great for a short trip, we did all of these in 4.5 days:
- wake up real early to catch the action at the Tsukiji fish market (yawn, stretch!)
- walk over to the Hama-Rikyu gardens, take a riverboat ride up to the old sensoji temple in Asakusa (this was how they used to go to the temple in days of yore... so romantic!)
- check out all the electronic gadgets in Akihabara (think Sim Lim Square, times 30 streets wide!)
- window shop in the Ginza district and take tea at one of the swanky tai-tai hangouts... best to go on weekends, they block the streets off and it's nice to just stroll down the middle of the huge roads. i recommend the Shiseido Tea Parlor, oooh so yummy!
- check out Shibuya (great shopping at much better prices than ginza), Harajuku (all those young people in weird cartoonish costumes), and Shinjuku (it's a big maze of shopping and eating and pachinko parlors)
- eat at a "coupon" shop, you'll find them near all the major train stations
- sushi at Tsukiji
- beer and yakitori
- eat like a sumo wrestler... have chanko nabe in the ryokgoku district
- go pubbing in Shinjuku, the traditional workingmen's pubs serve small dishes of food kinda like tapas-style.
- have a once in a lifetime meal, try the traditional "kaiseki" dinner (if you have the cash for it!)

the list goes on.... as you can tell, i had a really great time. was so sad when it came time to pack up and go home! as souvenirs, we bought japanese paper (cards and notepads) and japanese clogs (like those wooden kimono outfit ones), as well as lots of yummy snacks and candies.

okay enough about japan... next post, i'll talk about singapore food... another lengthy exposition. LOL.

 

[snipsnap]

dewy!! your write up reminded me of our trip to tokyo

fh bought some wide angled lens or something from akihabara too (substitute psp)... and almost wanted to buy a new lap top (*gasp* good thing I stopped him!) hahah couldn't stop laughing at your LV comment. you really mean LV luggage right? I mean nothing but the best to protect our purchases!! lol

something else to add to the list of things to do. i think asakusa is famous for their tempura too. it was delish. dewy did you have the kaiseiki dinner? what's in it? do tell *wipes droool* we wanted to try but didn't get a chance.

btw I was thinking of making welcome boxes for my overseas guests. good idea? i'll stuff the boxes with singaporean essentials. like transit link cards hehe, those cool spray thingies, some typically asian snacks, etc... was also thinking of making a little booklet of places to visit and info on singapore. do u gals have suggestions on places tourists should check out or eat at? I feel totally lost

... could only think of erhm sentosa - lounging by the beach, shopping at orchard road, perhaps little india or chinatown? erh ........ (yah maddcow .. no snickering. u know where I stole the idea from haha)

 

[dewberry]

hehehe snippy, yes yes, agreed on the LV luggage. LOL. but i can never justify to myself why i need to pay 2k for a piece of luggage that will be thrown around by baggage people more than handled by me.

yep, i had tempura at asakusa too! there's a whole street of tempura shops, and they're all yummy!... the kaiseki dinner was great but a drain on the finances at USD$150+++ per person, all 10 delicious courses... small exquisite portions presented oh-so-prettily! hmm, we'll have to take this discussion offline for another time... hehehe, can you hear everyone else dozing off, zzzzzz....

hey welcome boxes are a great idea! other goodies you might want to consider in them: phone cards, breadtalk vouchers, and "packet snacks" as well as little portions of things like pineapple tarts, kueh lapis (yummm!), dried fruits, etc.... wow, there's so many choices.

hmm, as for the booklets of places to visit, i think if your guests are going to be in town for only a short trip, they may not have time to go specially to specific places just to eat 1 thing... so maybe a guide to list all the best food courts/hawker centres or other multiple food outlet places (like suntec or taka) would be better? the places to visit would be easier, add club street/ann siang hill to your list (love those restored shophouses!)... and botanic gardens, night safari, the bugis pasar malaam, geylang fruit stalls, etc.

another good way to organize it is by location... so you can suggest sightseeing orchard rd together with the good food places in the area. this way, your guests can just pick the areas to go to and have all the info at their fingertips!

gotta tell you gals about the uber cool nightspots in SG.... we're old people so we like the loungey thing more than the dancing thing... found some wonderful places:
- there's 2 wine bars in dempsey road, next to pierce road.... both are pretty decent but can be way crowded during peak times.
- the scarlet hotel is another new and trendy place to hang out and have drinks.... they've got an alfresco rooftop restaurant/bar as well as a nice lobby lounge for drinks. it's the first decent boutique hotel concept in our very own singapore!
- the Bali Villa is another place that we went to multiple times, the decor and ambience is really something. it's located behind St Andrews JC, next to the Gilman Rd food centre... weird location, i know. but it also means that it's only driveable, so it keeps out the riffraff.

gosh, i can sure ramble on... sorry girls, will shut up until next time!

 

[kkyko]

Hey Gals,

How's everyone!!! I might be in SG for 1-2 days within the period of 11/6 - 19/6. Would anyone be in SG over that period of time??!?!?! If yes, wanna meet up or something!!! Let me know!! My PM is [email protected].

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[cello]

Welcome back Dewberry! Japan sounds really good and all the mention about food made me crave for sushi. The closest thing to sushi I got was the ones from Marks and Spencers…and it will never be as authentic. June, when you mentioned about Ed and his PSP, that made me laugh! I know how Edward must feel about getting his PSP. Ben had to literally give his best top 20 reasons to me before he purchased his PSP two months ago. Funnily enough (brilliant coincidence!), I was going up to London on the Easter bank holiday weekend and said to balance out on our heavy expenses budget (whatever that is suppose to mean) I justified myself to get a Gucci bag. He could not say a word! *grins*

Snippy: that welcome box sounds like a brilliant idea. I thought of having like one of those gift bags with things to include like telephone sim card (for the family), mini sunblock lotion, mini deodorants, paper fan, Cooling spray, Smint, taxi numbers (just incase), a list of essential phone numbers, a list of places to eat, places to visit (all these still working on). Speaking of places to eat, I am definitely running out of ideas. All I have on my list are the usual, Newton Circus, Geylang, Little India for fish head curry at a restaurant I can never remember the name of, dead end.

I am flying off in two months and feel like there is still so much to do!!

Right, I don’t know if my mom is being serious but she suggested for me to wear something like this for the bersanding session!! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/3641944.stm no offence to her, but I cannot for the love of god, see myself wearing that!

Oh for things to do: there’s of course, the night safari, the zoo, the botanical garden, the Chinese garden, jurong bird park, the science centre for those with children, sentosa, mount faber at night, a hike on Bukit timah hill?, east coast beach, the ethnic towns, see the merlion, walk by the Esplanade, visit Johor/Malacca for the day, ermm visit the museums (I don’t really know which museum is good), and go on that duck ride and see Singapore on road then on to the river. I can’t think of anything else, if you can think of more just add on to the list and let me know. :-D

Maddcow: booklet idea sounds fab? When are you intending to kick it off? I’ll definitely help. Will have a snoop around and see what other stuff I can input. :-D

Katgrrl: no suit? I think the kilt idea is fantastic. Great for the wedding night ;-D haha ermm, okie, fashion wise I can only think of a bright coloured shirt or a flowery shirt (not those Hawaiian ones), printed shirt worn over a well cut trousers.

Will be back later! Gotta rush! xx

 

[cello]

snippy: babe, you've got the martha stewart mag, any good?contemplating to buy it today.

I realised I need to get a crack on the plans so in need of inspiration.

How's my other brides to be? :-D

Hope the weather is nice where you're at. I am going kai kai on my own so good weather is a must.:-D

 

[katgrrl]

Thanks for the many suggestions to my fashionably challenged question, dearies

I'll take the idea of kilt seriously...after all, going commando down there is rather practical in humid Singapore...

After much mulling over, I think I'm going to go for the white shirt, buttoned-down look with his suit pants (the CS is going to be dark coloured). Actually, the look we are trying to create for the photoshoot is Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for love". Melancholic. Moody and subtle with all the (*ahem*) undercurrent. hahah....

Dewy & Snippy, thanks for your contributions on Tokyo

Tokyo is still on our honeymoon list albeit a little after our SG wedding. I hope we'd be able to go...

Oooh, just discovered a new place to makan in SG. Jap buffet at Kushim-bo at Suntec for $31 (dinner nett). Sashimi, sushi, tempura, udon, soba, paper steamboat... Excellent! Kushim-bo is in Carrefour's wing on the 3rd floor.

Sya, I think your wedding's going to be so fun! I'd love to see how you blend both cultures. Speaking of which, we've a Hungarian friend who's been going out with a Malay girl for the past year or so. Just met them for seafood at East Coast last week. Btw, for those interested, I didn't think Jumbo's good. Smallish portions, tastes so-so and they didn't have my fav oatmeal prawns/crayfish!

 

[madcow]

hellooooo

yay! yay! yay! we are in business! Thanks for your support (with a curtsy) re the booklet. I'm looking at a timeline of around September when I'll start being pesky and asking around for inputs. Meanwhile, post any ideas you may have.

Snippy - ooh, I'm looking forward to those used mags - yippee! C'mon, I'm not snickering, in fact, I'm going to do the same thing. Ha, I'm stealing your idea of transit link cards. I'll draw up a list and we can compare notes. I know my perfectionism would take over me, so I'm focusing on (1) information on getting to the wedding venues (2) mini food basket of gourmet tea, hot chocolate, yeo's ice tea and maybe savory snacks (wasabi peas, mini sambal rolls) (3) FH and my favorite haunts as suggestions and our contact info/itinery of where we'll be after the wedding (4) travel-size toiletries from L'occitane and a coconut candle (5) small bouquet of wedding flowers for the couple with a handwritten note. (oops I think my perfectionism did take over me - geez)

Most hotels include travel brochures, but FH requested brochures from the Tourism board sometime ago for his mom - you can check out festivities near your wedding date from their website at www.visitsingapore.com

Oh, your moxie is so cute, i like the winter picture best - check out www.postmodernpets.com - i'm thinking of getting the poopy bags carrier

KatGrrl - hello, haha, glad you've decided on your outfits: *whoosh* I'm already inundated by your strong undercurrents. Keep us posted on your preps.

Dewy - welcome back XOXO! Japan sounds so fun, I'm very tempted to have two honeymoons.

Sya - Which mag are you getting - regular or 10th anniversary? I didn't really like the latest issue - focused a lot on cakes - but snippy might have a different take on it.

cheerio

 

[dewberry]

hiyeee! how was everyone's weekends? mine was spent vegging out in front of the telly and basically trying to get over jetlag. have to get the whole month's worth of sloth out of my system, hehehe.

sya - wow your mom's costume suggestion is super drama, imagine being decked out like the sultan's wife, eeps. talk about pressure. hee hee, but on second thoughts it IS quite nice to be able to dress to the nines, those traditional garb is really fun to wear! i can't wait to see what you and ben's pics look like!!!

katgrrl - haha glad you're set on the outfits, for a second there i was hoping to catch mark in his kilt *chuckle* but ooh speaking of the costumes from in the mood for love, very nice! i'm a super fan of tony leung chiu wai (kekekek) *blush blush* catch the new "tangentially related sequel" 2046 for more cheongsam inspirations, they took the whole sexual tension thing up a notch, same melancholic moodiness, only more.... hehehe, sorry getting carried away there. actually pretty much all i did this weekend was catch up on lost time with all the hong kong movies i missed while planning the wedding.... ;-p

maddcow - how's it going, girl?! hehehe, eh you can have as many honeymoons as you want, i called this a tokyo "trip" and not a honeymoon coz i still wanna go to europe leh! (but no more leave to take, have to come back and earn the dough...) so i guess we'll keep having moons and moons until the real honeymoon. hahaha, it's like a never ending birthday, when people keep celebrating belated parties with you... i think i'll keep the honeymoon thing going for a while longer....

ooh, that postmodernpet.com is sooooooooo kewl! i love those fancy dog beds... makes me want to get a pet! hehehe, first order of business when i move in with hubby....

oh and katgrrl, i remember you said you missed my video... it's up again, i believe, go check it out if you still want to....

you don't want to miss out on ed doing his best at a william hung imitation.

 

[snipsnap]

hi ladies ... another dreary Monday. consoling myself that we have a memorial day holiday coming up next week! US ladies..any plans? It's going to be my big shopping weekend. looking for shoes, flower girl dresses, wedding band etc.

dewy > ooh i love your idea of the pineapple tarts and other singaporean foodstuff. all I could think of was twisties haha. oh and that kaka stuff is pretty good too. thanks for the lounging recs! clubbing's for kids *scoffs* j/k honestly i really have no idea what is hip and happening in SG anymore. You know, I saw a girl's wedding pics at villa bali..looks really good! anyway will have to get help from you all when I start work on my welcome pack

karen > i won't be back till july

sya> the princess's wedding outfit is actually kinda cool. but then again I've always been a sucker for such things hee. perhaps you can wear it with a smaller head piece. the dress itself is very pretty and intricate!

regarding martha stewart, are u referring to the anniversary edition? (white cover) or the one with the cake (bluish)? The value depends on how many issues of MS you've actually read hehe. For me (and maddcow hehe) ... we've seen a couple ones already so some of the ideas are repeated. the anniversary one is a good summary if you haven't read many of her wedding mags.

on the topic of PSPs I am SO glad FH hasn't mentioned anything about getting one. *celebrates*

katgrrl > ... all you can eat japanese buffet??? thanks for the rec Sign me up!!!!!

maddcow > love the idea of a small bouquet of flowers ... btw how are you planning on delivering these boxes? I am getting nervous thinking about the different arrival dates and hotels people are staying at

hey I added post modern pets to my list of shopping sites hehe. I have a bunch of other cool pet ones on my webby. type in phpwiki after the main url.

dewy > u are right ... the cheongsams in 2046 are so gorgeous! but its probably zhang ziyi that makes em look good hrmmp. will make me look like a short dowdy bak zhang. hehehe

Paging for ashlee .... please check in at the sgbrides forum

alright gotta go now ...talk soon! *waves*

 

[katgrrl]

Dewy, wanna wanna see your video! But I can't seem to access it hmph! will send you an email of the url to confirm

Yeah, 2046 is so cool as well. I lurve Wong Kar Wai's cinematography..each frame is aesthetically perfect. And I agree, Tony Leung is absolutely smoldering. Snippy, "short dowdy bakchang"?? I'll be one before u do, trust me!!

In fact, I think u'll look great in a CS...

And for those who want some inspiration for their wedding band inscriptions http://weddings.about.com/cs/weddingbands/a/ringinscription.htm

 

[madcow]

Snippy - it's natural to be a little nervous. Just do your best. You are offering a generous and thoughtful gesture by preparing a welcome pack; people will appreciate it. Expect to be really busy the days before your wedding, I'm sure guests will understand you can't be able to meet everyone prior to the wedding. A post-wedding brunch at your parent's might be a good idea for people to drop by and you can spend some time with them. Besides Singapore has a lot of attractions and I'm sure guests will be kept busy trying to see as much as possible within the shortest time. I think a personal note from you left with them in the welcome pack will suffice and warms anybody's heart (though it's already hot enough in SG). I'm thinking of asking a bridesmaid or a friend to leave the welcome pack at the concierge or arrange the hotel staff to leave them in respective rooms. Are you attaching a message: "congrats, you made it here!" ?

Dewy - get a fish, and get this Racetrack fishbowl ...
The Racetrack Fish Bowl is the perfect solution if your fish suffers from claustrophobia, or if you're simply looking for a tabletop conversation piece for your home or office. The Racetrack Fish Bowl is designed to give goldfish, which are said to have a memory of 7 seconds, the sensation of long distance swimming. Instead of swimming side to side in a regular bowl, goldfish can crisscross for miles through this unusual infinity-shaped bowl. Except perhaps for an occasional lapse of deja vu, every lap will seem like a new experience for your finned-friends.

Sya - echo Snippy, I like the outfit too - reminds me of Grace Kelly (or her alter ego)

okay, gotta run - tata

 

[dewberry]

snippy - haha, i thought of twisties too, but i think if it were me, i'd end up eating them all. good for you on the PSP issue if FH has really resisted the "bullet", hahaha... but are you SURE he didn't secretly buy it and have it hidden in his underwear drawer? kekekeke, *evil laugh*. sorry, couldn't resist.

aiyoh, dowdy bakchang? you got fever or what, girl... you've got a great figure, don't be delusional okay? remember to take your medicine on the wedding day, ah..... hehehe.

okay i think it's time dewy goes home... a bit siao cha boh today... it's depressive monday and i've been at work too long.

katgrrl - sssssssss, you're right, tony leung is HOT. i secretly want him to be my husband, was kinda hopeful right till the very end.

eh, let me know if the video doesn't work okay... i'll try something else

 

[cello]

Girls, you’ve gotta be kidding me! It seems almost everyone but me likes the outfit or thinks that it is fun. Even my colleagues at work think it is ‘cool’. Well, my mom got back from KL and got the material for the solemnisation and even after months of saying that I would like champagne gold for the lace material, she still managed to get it wrong and bought me ‘yellow’. I could not even have the right of having a go because she started getting upset with me and said “when did you ever say you wanted champagne gold?!”

*bangs forehead*

Anyways, errm in the end, I ended up not buying the Martha Stewart anniversary magazine. There was just not enough in there. I bought huge bumper issue of The Knot and Cosmopolitan Brides. Pretty good. There is a huge selection of dresses <-Maddcow and more inspirational ideas … will be a much better resourceful magazine for brides who are still looking for ring ideas, dresses, invitation ideas. One of the real life brides had a Crouching tiger, hidden dragon theme and it looked really good! I love those oriental parasols!

Right, need your opinion girls… the very latest time we have at the restaurant is until 10pm. Now, for a Saturday night I think it is still too early to end the wedding fun even though I still have got a Sunday wedding reception. Any ideas from 10.30 until 12pm? Do you think the clubs/lounges in Singapore will have a special room for guests? Do you think I should even bother? I want to yet I don’t know if it will be worthwhile.

Oh another thing, one of my best friends is going to be my wedding photographer. She is a freelancer and my wedding will be the first wedding job for her. I do want to give her some money for it but don’t really know how much I should offer her. I don’t want to take it for granted that she will be doing it for free but a some money will be good. Now, if she does ask for money, what do you reckon will be an appropriate amount for it?

Any input will be fantastic! :-D

 

[lilo_stitch]

hi gals,
sorrie ... MIA so long as i was not feel well then followed by pms

. 2wks din online saw so many posting u gals did. i thk my eye must open bigger to read

. quite blur n slow to catch up w u gals.... next few mths will be sya, ashlee, maddcow, kat, snippy getting married? did i miss out anyone else

. anyone can tell me abt this chris ling photographer, i remeber saw one of u gals post it here but i couldnt find it

sya, i tot e outfit u shown is stand which is ur traditional oufit during wedding. i attend few malay wedding all e gals wear that. maybe u can base on prof photographer rate as a guide to pay her bit lesser.

 

[madcow]

Oh thanks Sya, for the mags suggestion. I'm still dragging my feet and am even toying with the idea of just draping rolls of silk tulle to 'create' a wedding dress. I'll check out the knot mag and their website over the weekend.

Sorry, can't help you on suggestions for your saturday extended wedding fete. I'm totally disconnected from SG's newest haunts. Personally, I think ending at 10pm ain't that bad and to adjourn the party and move it elsewhere might lose the momentum that was created in the first place.

Re your friend as a photographer, I'd be upfront about costs for transport, film/negatives and processing. I think the best policy is to have an honest discussion with her before she brings it up. Unless she offers her services as a wedding present, I'd try to cover her costs at least. The last time I checked, AD photography ranges from $350 to $2500. But it's an apples-to-oranges comparison since different photographers offer different packages (silver, gold, platinum - heaven knows what these mean). If she insists on doing it for free, I'd buy her a diamond accessory - a sure shot and a girl's best friend

just to express how much I appreciate her friendship and effort.

hi lilo, welcome back. hope you are feeling better. fyi, katgrrl and ribbit are next followed by ashlee and then both sya and snippy. I won't tie the knot till December (procrastinating it for as long as I can before year end)

There should be a thread under the photography topic and you should be able to find discussion on Chris Ling there.

 

[snipsnap]

dewy *slaps forehead* no wonder there is this eerie green light coming from our dresser!!! the PSP!!! erh medication? what medication? hahah ..yeah lah mental patients ... they're delusional.

sya..I totally know where you're coming from. Its the same reaction for me from my parents and vendors. hey I was thinking the same for an after party. how about having everyone meet at a nearby lounge and chilling ... or even in your room for drinks (if the bridal suite is big enough hehe). I don't have suggestions on places to go though. I need help myself. where is your reception again? Is it at SRC?

regarding the photographer.. i would do it for free if it were for a friend

though I'm not sure anyone woudl wnat me taking photos at their wedding haha. maddcow is right about being upfront. ask her how much the materials cost is. tell her you want to pay for that at the very least. she will probably refuse it. in which case you'd can get her diamond earrings!!! (woohoo now I want to be your photographer haha)

lilo ...ashlee used chris ling for her PS photos.

 

[dewberry]

sya and snippy - yeah, yeah... on the after-party, i did that after our ROM (2 yrs ago), think it's fun if you can handle the fatigue at the end of the day. it wasn't too bad for me coz the ROM day was shorter and less hectic. but after the wedding this time, i was really tired. so a bunch of us ended up at the ritz carlton lounge downstairs drinking, it wasn't too bad, the live jazz music was very nice after the long day. then we went back to the room and had ahem, more drinks. hahahah, someone brought a couple bottles of really nice champagne (moet, about 250 a bott), and we slurped up every drop of it. *hic, burp* so, snippy, you might want to consider since you'll be at the ritz too, eh?!

BUT, for you foolhardy never-say-die people, if you're really looking for an external nightspot, i would echo my earlier suggestions, the villa bali does wonders if you tell them it's for a wedding after party. the manager/proprietor guy is very nice and accomodating, they'll jump thru hoops if you'd only ask. okay, i'm not related to any of the management, honest!

OR, what about driving across to sentosa and just "BYOB" your drinks on the beach? i think that would be awesome.... or for that matter, any beach of your personal choice, hahaha. i'm all for free and easy, drunken parties are all the better amidst the wilds of nature.

maddcow - hehehe, i'll think about the fishbowl. that whole website is just evil, in a good way.... kekekeke.

alrightee guys, til next time. yay, we folks in the States have memorial day holiday this weekend, what are you girls doing? i'm going hiking in Big Sur, California.... gotta get that bugspray ready for those killer mozzies.... let's hope we don't meet a bear or something in the wilderness....

 

[snipsnap]

dewy> wah can I invite some of your friends too?

what time did your dinner end? think we'll most likely do the same and hang out downstairs. don't know if we'll have the energy to drive over to sentosa after. tho I love your idea of having drinks by the beach!! we did that when we went to disney world (fake beach) haha but still it was so much fun. till we erhmm got attacked by ducks and it got chilly. SG doens't have any laws against open containers of alcohol right??

your villa bali idea won't go to waste though. we could have a get together of sorts there before the wedding.

alright...have fun in big sur!! this is my big shopping weekend...now if only the rain would stop. its been raining non stop since monday

feels like winter is next.hope the weather is better wherever u gals are.

where is everyone? ashlee? *hollers* where did u go?

 

[applet08]

Hi All here...

knowing that most of u r station overseas..i wonder anyone of u is station in sydney?
I'm looking for nice clear bottles for wedding favours.. i'll be going to sydney next wk and wonder if i'm able to get some there..wonder anyone of u able to give some contacts or know of any place in sydney tat i can get these stuffs..
If so, able to email me @ [email protected]
appreciate your help..

 

[frogprincess]

Hallo Everyone!! (jumps up and down). Minor crises on the table decoration front. Standing candles or floating? What is the cheapest way to quickly produce table seating cards without being overly formal? I was thinking of little cocktail umbrellas (from a Martha Stewart Mag - really!) But then Fabien has wondered if they will fly off a-la Mary Poppins... Wanted to fix them with Blue-tac, but maybe it is (pardon the pun) a little Tacky!! Anyways why does Blue Tac seem so rare in France?? I cannot believe that my wedding is on 4 June, which is next week!! Will skim by later to see if anyone has any useful suggestions, if not, will just take this as a venting session!

 

[madcow]

hello ribbit
was wondering how things are going at your end of the world.

Re table-setting candles- i think that standing candles (tapers) are more formal than votives or floating candles. Floating candles among flowers (gardenias, roses) do give a more ethereal feel, in my opinion. Either way, candle glow is romantic.

As for the little parasols, so cute, I'd do that too if I have a befitting theme. If they are going to be in a 'sandbox', I'd line the box (or tray) with styrofoam or flora foam and stick the parasols in them. Instead of sand, I'd opt for unrefined(sand-colored) sugar granules instead. Sand can be too fine and may end up on someone's plate or body parts.
hope the above helps. man, time really flies, have fun at your wedding and report duly to us! (sheesh, i am demanding aren't i?)

snippy have fun shopping. Do tell how it goes.

dewy - envious of your coming Big Sur trip, all the wild flowers should be blooming now. Have a safe trip!

katgrrl - how's everything going?

 

[snipsnap]

no time to write a longer post but building on maddcow's idea... how about astro turf in the sandbox for the parasols

will add bright colors to the whole thing....a garden feel

alright girls have a good weekend!

 

[kkyko]

hi js...
I'm staying in Sydney... can you tell me a little bit more about your clear wine bottle that you are planning to get? then maybe i can help... =)

 

[katgrrl]

Ribbit, came across this seat placement idea while browsing today...how about printing the names on little pieces of paper and pin each of them to an apple? Adds some colour around and I don't think it'd be that costly.

Yep, Blutack although a European invention (I think) isn't actually in its market. Strange huh?

Maddcow, things are under control over here

Can't believe that I'll be having the PS in slightly over a week <gasp!>.. btw, it's not much fun watching your diet constantly when u're back in food paradiso!