Anyone planning their weddings from overseas?

[katgrrl]

Hullo girlies!

Dewy, the F1 race was good- the rain during the 1st qualifying totally changed the order of things but made it all the more exciting

And as expected, we couldn't stay awake at 4:30 so we taped it

On the candles, I'd say if your luggage allowance allows for it, maybe u'd have a wider choice in the States? I could only think of Ikea in SG, even then, they may only have 1-2 different heights.

Dun worry, if u are not nervous about the date then dun let our chatter unnerve u. Stay calm & beautiful!

Sya, glad to hear that u've got your venue sorted out! yayy! But I second what Dewy said, if u really want the wedding done your way, u've gotta put your foot down now. Unless Makcik Siti can decorate a cake like Martha Stewart or Pakcik Ali can edit like TWP, u're gonna remember the cake and the video for life....and not necessarily in a good way. That's for me anyhow...perhaps I'm a bigger bridezilla than u

Oh, speaking of TWP, I hear u on the evil word 'procastination'. I made FH promise that we would screen it on the lawn (after the sun has set) during our Finnish celebration. So that gives him 2 mths to make all the cuts & stuff. And then after that, we're thinking we could have a movie marathon or something...

Hmmmm, our venue is moving along nicely too. We shortlisted a couple of cottages yesterday. The prime conditions were nice lawn, lake facing, less than 160km from Helsinki and sleeps 7-10 persons. Now, we gotta see if they are available for the week we want.

Btw, there have been some changes in the plan. I guess I'd be staying in SG till mid August or so to collect the wedding album from Pond. That means, I can meet all of u back home! yay yay yay!!! let's go for some makan!!!

 

[snipsnap]

gd afternoon or evening wherever u are girls

sya> your situation reminds me exactly of what a good friend of mine was going through last year! she's indian and I guess marriage is a huge thing for them. her parents basically wanted to have a hand in *everything* and drove her nuts (didn't help that the rents were paying)! invitations had to be printed by their family friend ..and let's not get chair covers since they're too expensive etc.. hehe she was having a hissy fit everyday. but you know what it all turned out really well in the end..no ostentatious groom riding in on white horse hehe but it was beautiful in that everyone put in alot of thought and work into the planning (not necessarily money). btw the tents and chandeliers were lovely..very glam!!! are they expensive to put up? btw I was drooling over the food they displayed on the website

maddcow> haha my dream honeymoon would be fiji, galapagus island, or exploring the little towns in europe by car

but yeah keyword here is dream. like dewberry me got no vacation time left. blowing 3 weeks on the wedding already. might take a quick 3-4 day trip in thailand or bali somewhere. hell yes I'll need a break after all is over!!! hopefully will do a longer honeymoon later in the year.

dewberry> thanks for the candle tips. there's a pier one close by so I'll have to check it out. btw does the ritz provide candles?? i remember S mentioning something about it but they're seriously behind on getting back to me.

.. also what favors did u get to choose from? perhaps I'll go with the same. let me know by email if you don't want to bore the rest

katgrrl> omg your helsinki wedding sounds lovely ..*claps hands* ..an outdoor wedding!

finally YES we have to meet up. Sya, ashlee, katgrrl sounds like our dates coincide!! yipee!!!

btw anyone watched american idol??? I love that rendition of the louie armstrong 'wonderful world' song by anwar. I was thinking of playing that at my wedding ....now if only we could actually hire anwar to sing it live HAHAH. we were so enamored FH and I watched it 2x on our tivo

.

 

[madcow]

Sya
I hear you girl, my mom did the same to me - she literally figured out who will comprise my wedding party, what favors etc. I had several meltdowns alone in my apartment - until I finally came clean and told her how I felt. Turned out she felt bad being the bridezilla - you just have to choose your battles - I let her take care of flowers and day time decor. Things that I want a family element in I'll let her decide. Things that I don't - well, I kind of fibbed and told her that FH had decided on something. FH is my shield! haha.

Dewberry - re candles, best bet is to get them here if not too cumbersome. Nice ones from robinsons/the loft cost a bomb. Agree with Katgrrl, Ikea offers value for $ deals but even then, US prices sometimes outdo Sing prices. I'm getting bamboo candles from pearlriver.com, you can check out www.CandlesJustOnline.com.

Katgrrl - your wedding sounds so romantic...lakeview is so lovely - urgh (*envious*)too bad my wedding's in december - i think i'll have to wear boots with my dress (hee-hah!)

Snippy
your dream honeymoon sounds lovely. we are thinking of Italy - tuscany, florence ...

Talking about songs - what are your "THE SONG" for the wedding?

 

[katgrrl]

Maddcow & Snippy, I'm really envious that the States seem to have everything compared to here

Even if the price isn't the cheapest around, the selection is hard to beat. Btw, check out Ikea's site http://www.ikea.com.sg/products/category_display.asp?c0=7&c1=28&c2=34&id=0&ctype=1

Maddcow, a December wedding is so cool too!

Think of it as having the opportunity to wear a fur trimmed frock or a fur stole as shown here --> http://www.morsiusgalleria.com/mgonline/html/viitat.html Btw, that's a Finnish site so prices are in Euros and (Vuokra= rent) and btw, I think boots are glam!

Snippy, did u ask about my favour bags a while ago? Sorry, it slipped my mind! Yeah, I got those little organza drawstring bags in pink & ivory. My mum got those from Bangkok.

Everyone,
here's an excellent site I found on toning exercises..esp great if u're wearing spaghetti straps or strapless

http://www.theknot.com/ch_article.html?Object=AI980914195712&category=Shaping%20Up

 

[ashlee]

Ashlee's stressed out now. Hehe, but still can't resist the temptation of coming in to read all your postings. Wah, so much going on, will have a lot to catch up on when my stress period is over.

Dewberry
Am looking for candles too!!! but am after scented ones. I've done quite a bit of internet search but couldn't find much from Sg. Think US has a really good range and some are really really cheap! But Katgrrl is right, Ikea is actually a good place to look, they haven't got a big range, but are very cheap. Me thinking of making my own candles as those bought in the shops are always not strong smelling enough!

Oops, I am supposed to be doing something else now. Will catch up with u gals later...

 

[dewberry]

hello girls, thanks for all the candle tips... maddcow, that site is AWESOME! i am very tempted... hehehe. but will have to think about luggage space issue. ashlee - have u tried barangbarang? i vaguely remember they also have some nice pillar candles and tealights that are scented... or else, what you could do is just use regular ones and do the aromatheraphy essential oil thing in hidden corners of the room... that way you'll get the strong effect you want. that's what those scenting companies do these days, there's a definite wedding trend for "scenting" services as part of the decor package. but very EX, imho.

snippy, the ritz does have candle-centerpieces w/ the florals... but i dun think they provide themselves, it's all from the florist... so if you're going with their contracted florist, you can work it in. i don't think using bliss stars are worth it for an item like candles. but for me, i'm starting to back down on expensive pillar candles and going for quantity instead... LOTS of tealights would probably look more romantic than just a few stumps of wax, heheheh. i'm actually tempted to use these and line along the aisle or on stage... http://www.candlesjustonline.com/content.cfm?id=9F93C414-C12B-43CE-B9E113A2F90DAF77

ok lah, short post today, got early AM meeting tmr! ciao, babes!

 

[ashlee]

snipsnap
We chose the candle/floral centrepieces with Woodsville. Included in the package with the dinner. Maybe you can ask woodsville to quote you on that?

dewberry
Another gal from the forum told me she spent more than 400bucks on scenting alone. Err... a bit too ex for just the smell right? hehe...

 

[dewberry]

ashlee - which centerpiece did you choose? got pic? or on their webby?

err, actually 400 for scenting is not that bad lah... if you think in terms of how many people and how big the room is.... i had heard it was around 800-1000 (siao ah!) but yeah if you don't want to get ripped off by the pros, why not do it yourself. $400 would get you more than just stumps of wax even if you splurge on expensive essential oils and candles, LOL

 

[dewberry]

hellos hellos everyone... so quiet here, guess it's the weekend.

ok, i know chinese new year was like, gone and forgotten, but i couldn't resist posting this photo here... came across it on someone's blog and immediately remembered our earlier cravings for pineapple tarts. Here's to living vicariously! *slurp, wipe saliva*

 

[frogprincess]

Hi gurls

I am stressed out! Last day of work is today (*yay*) so amidst the chaos of handing over and making sure no incriminating emails are left in my inbox or archive, I am sneaking a moment to catch up on all the posting which I've missed.

BTW Dewberry - you can make pineapple tarts yourself - not to tough. Lemme know when you want the recette because all the ingredients can be gotten in most places in the world.

ARGGH 10 more days before I go to Italy. If anyone wants to visit we are about one hour away from Milan - Please come and tok to me there before i go mad in the pre-French wedding preps...

 

[madcow]

Dewberry
Glad you found the website useful...and the pineapple tarts look so good! yum! I can almost taste them.

Ribbit
Hello! 10 days - wow! Have you drawn up a list of makan places? I didn't do the makan-go-round regretfully...

 

[frogprincess]

hey Ashlee and Dewberry, I just caught the tail end of that conversation, so I am going to pipe up here with my 2 cents worth that scenting does add to the mood for less than $400. Since the theme colour of my wedding was white accented by orange, we got quite literal about it. Oranges (with slightly scored skin) were included into arrangements everywhere, so that the citrus smell was scenting the ballroom and the outdoor ceremony. It was effective, and didn't need to cost anything (the florist cheerfully provided large quantities of oranges as they are cheaper than the callas in the package) and the extra 100 plus oranges I bought from the wet market cost about SGD 50

Oh yeah - umm Madcow, yes I have a makan list but I am not doing too well in ticking off all the check boxes. Have brought instant ba-kut-teh and maggi instant nasi padang seasoning. Remembering the happy student days in the UK, where frying sambal ikan billis in the hall will suddenly make you the most popular student amongst the Singaporeans and Malaysians in the hall, whilst everyone else flees in the opposite direction (*diabolical laughter*)

 

[katgrrl]

!! Ribbit, that reminded me of what my FMIL did when I came to Helsinki with a big bag of dried shrimps and ikan bilis 2 years ago. She put the bag into 2 bags, tied them with the tightest knot she could manage and stuffed them into the furthest corner of a bottom cabinet.

 

[snipsnap]

Hey ribbit ..do send me the pineapple tart recipe. Would love to attempt it myself ... and also because I polished off the bottle that our parents sent us in 2 days! *sigh* BTW don't forget the prima boxes for hainanese chicken rice, chilli crab, mee reebus and laksa! I swear them, had a whole suitcase full coming back. oh and not forgetting indomie goreng!!

katgrrl..fmil brought us salted fish when she came to visit last year!!!! ARHGK. even I couldn't stand the smell of that one. conveniently tossed it out when they left kekke ... dried shrimp and ikan bilis is like child's play lol. hrmm come to think of it not like their cheese smells very good.

btw ladies ..check out Paper Source (www.papersource.com) ..went to their store in cambridge this weekend. the paper they had was exquisite! *thumbs up*

 

[ashlee]

dewberry
We chose one of the "recommended" centrepieces in their catalogue, but dun think it is on their website. It is the one with three (maybe two)pillar candles with flowers. Nice and simple. Looks exactly what I wanted minus the scent.
Think $400+ is too ex for our function room is rather small. Not worth it. And I really like scented candles, so will keep trying to look for the perfect candles. hehe..

Anyone knows if the Muji shops in Sg carry scented candles? Found the perfect jasmine scented candles in the Muji shop here, but not sure if they do the same one in Sg. Anyone?

Ribbit
Am I impressed with your authentic scenting technique or wat!!! Hmm... maybe I can ask the florist to use a bit of jasmine in the centrepieces just for the scent? Now u got me thinking...

 

[madcow]

Ashlee
Sorry - I thought Muji closed all its outlets in Sgp - apparently must be still around - so I've no idea. But I think you can get fresh garlands of jasmine very cheaply from Serangoon markets (i.e. if you plan on saving $ by supplementing your own)

Katgrrl
Thanks for the finnish website - the stoles/wraps look really luxe. My mom is knitting a faux fur wrap: I'll forward the images to her -

!

Ribbit
Don't forget to get a couple of cookbooks too! My favs are by Mrs Leong Yee Soo. You need to stock up gal - Can you believe that there's ikan bilis shortage for almost a month in Virginia?

Snippy
Cool, I was looking at papersource too - for ideas. I'm thinking of the 'petal' envelopments -have you seen them? how are they like in 'real life' are they heavy and substantial enough?

 

[dewberry]

ribbit - thanks, send that pineapple tart recipe my way! will brave it one of these days....

ashlee - i echo maddcow on the jasmine garlands from wet market (great idea, girl!)... or if you want to go exotic, can even hit Little India for those really heavily-scented garlands. they're cheap and the scent lasts forever.

ribbit - LOL, your dorm hall cooking anecdote reminds me of my own college days... i remember we tried making laksa once, plain old spaghetti substitutes pretty well for the noodles, if you're ever desperate enough....

 

[katgrrl]

Dewberry, I'm making laksa today!

I upped the ante with a good chicken broth made from bones and a handful of dried shrimps. And yes, spaghetti's texture is closer to the real thing than the dried coarse beehoon. Oh yes, the base comes from Asian Home Gourmet.

Maddcow,
"My mom is knitting a faux fur wrap" Cool!

 

[frogprincess]

Hi girls!

I had a quick sniff on the web, and my own pineapple tart recipe - which I actually learned from my Grandma, is more or less set out on this link:

http://www.geocities.com/susanchua_sg/kueh-tarts.html

The only difference is in the "secret ingredient" which Grandma adds - a couple of squirts of lemon juice, to give a tartness and prevent them from being too cloyingly sweet.

BTW Ashlee you can buy fresh jasmine really easily cheaply and easily from Little India, we used jasmine instead of rice for our confetti and mixed them with shredded flower petals. The only problem is that it hurts when it hits you because you gotta put it in the fridge to keep it fresh so when used as confetti you feel like you are in a bit of a hail storm! For rough price - it's around $30 which was enough for about 100 guests to throw around and more to spare afterwards (sorry cannot be more accurate than that)

Maddcow - thanks for the cookbook tip. I keep getting so many cookbooks as gifts that I wonder if my friends are trying to tell me something about the standard of my cooking!! Anyways they will all be put to good use.

Oh yeah, this is just to droool about wherever you are --- I am having katong laksa tommorrow for dinner.. I wish there was some way to vacuum pack it though!

 

[frogprincess]

Oops sorry Katgrrrl just saw your post on making laksa so I realise that my post about katong laksa (which I was typing before I saw yours) may sound a bit snippy. Honest error babes! gah!!

 

[snipsnap]

hi all..might try that pineapple tart recipe this weekend. really craving it. ribbit cute idea about the confetti!

maddcow..I'm going to head down to papersource this weekend so let me know if there is anything else you'd like to check out or if u want me to get samples b4 you order

..I did see those petal envelopes. It's the one that folds up into a square right? Didn't think they were too flimsy at all! everything there is lovely hehe no worries.

katgrrl> does the asian home gourmet taste authentic? I might have to go hunt for some at the asian market hehe. so far i've only used the prima one.

ashlee > I think the muji closed down already leh. btw r the exams over yet? we miss u ..come back! hey a really wild/dumb/useless idea here but maybe u can use the glade plug it in scents to scent the room hahahah ..not sure if its too strong or smells good even LOL

 

[katgrrl]

Snippy, yup, the laksa from Asian Home Gourmet tastes pretty authentic. Of course, it's nicer if u've got some chicken broth or dried shrimps as booster. For toppings, I used shredded chicken, prawns and shredded cucumber. My FH loved it

...All in, very satisfying dinner ummm... *rub tummy*...

All, I think Muji at Seiyu Bugis closed down for a period but I theeeenk it reopened again. Ashlee, I dun think we're the best people to ask on anything current in SG

, perhaps u wanna check with friends back home?

Ribbit, thanks for the jasmine idea! I go to Little India pretty often but haven't any idea where to get them. Do you remember the place where u got yours? Btw, did u have to place an advance order?

Hmmm...I'm now thinking of how to display them around the room. Any idea?

 

[madcow]

Snippy - thanks for your thoughtful offer to get a sample for me

. I like this one
http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/2003002901.html which fits my theme. I'm definitely getting the poppy square cards but am deliberating between the violet petal and the sky blue one. What do you think?
Btw, why are you looking at papers? For invites? You might want to try some of these sites for cheaper paper/envelopes: www.paperzone.com which has good ideas and maybe cheaper alternatives - I like their gold toile vellum and pressed flowers. I'm planning to get unryu and yuzen paper from www.inkogneato.com
http://www.geographics.com is another site to check out papers & templates

Katgrrl - laksa sounds good especially in wintery nights. Don't really have any good ideas for the jasmine - my table setting is pretty simple: I'm thinking of asking Raffles to fold the napkins into waterlilies and place a small white waxflower/dendrobium/jasmine in the center to evoke an asian-zen theme.

I wonder how's suzxie doing?

Oh Snippy - I just bought a bag of Dove chocs from Walmart ~ 40 for $3 and they have purple ones but each choc has a not-so-clever message e.g. "enjoy good chocolates with good friends" - bleh. fyi only.

 

[dewberry]

ashlee - hey, snippy's idea on the plugin scents is great, for other options than glade plug-ins, there's more elegant "gourmet" scents from companies like the Yankee Candle Co. (my fav is Fresh Cut Roses, really smells like the real thing, i use it all the time) won't be overwhelming if you plug them in 1-2 hours before the dinner and then take them out when the food is about to arrive. plant them all over the room in inobtrusive corners... everyone will be wondering with delight where the scent comes from!

mmm, laksa, yummmm! everyone, eat an extra bowl for me, i am CRAVING it nowwww! (only 1 more month to go, countdown, woohoo!)

snippy and maddcow - all your papers sound wonderful.... i wish i had the foresight to do it myself (took the shortcut route and got a vendor to do it all)

eh, dove chocs come with love messages during valentines season! (maybe can email the company and ask, i heard they sell off season chocs for special occasions like weddings?)

okie, no time to linger... been on the phone with singapore so often this week! oh hey, i'll leave you guys with this freebie tip: i'm using this software to chat with singapore... talk FREE to anywhere in the world, sound quality is crystal clear. all you need is a mic/headset, anything that will give you audio and mic to speak into. it's internet telephony, much better than yahoo or msn. (of course, the party you're calling also needs to have audio input/mic, etc)... you can download from http://www.skype.com... you sign up just like an instant messenger account. they also have a "paid" version of it, to call regular phones without the software....

 

[katgrrl]

Dewy> 1 more month to go! whoo-whee! *clap hands* I'll be going back in 7 weeks actually..and before that, a TON of things to do

Agree with u, those papers look so enticing. Well, I guess I'd have to wait till I get back to SG and seek out Fancy Paper.

All> anyone still doing doing the Make-A-Wish, Take-A-Wish thingey? I've reached a dead end on the Polaroid search. A friend of mine suggested having an inkjet printer on the spot and printing out the the pix directly. Maybe u gals can consider that too

Maddcow> Good idea - jasmine-in-lily-napkins! Unfortunately, mine would be a buffet so it wouldn't be feasible. I was thinking of dyeing half of them with red food colour so that they turn pink since my theme's pink & white. Besides putting them in large glass bowls, my creative juices have run dry

help!

 

[madcow]

Dewberry - Thanks for the internet telephony tip. I was scouting around for a fab deal!

Ribbit - how was the laksa? I wonder what we can use as substitutes for laksa leaves? Oh - thanks for the lemon juice tip for the pineapple tarts

Katgrrl - I'm out of ideas too..a trip to Michaels was stimulating, now I'm thinking of having a white feather wreath tied with silver and babyblue ribbons for our winter bridal car

ummm... as for the jasmine, let's see...
(1) garlands can be made into swags (of pink and white flowers) so you can loop them around the buffet tables/cake table
(2) jasmine/pearls & pink organdy ribbons rings as candle wreaths if you are using candles
(3) skewer a jasmine through a bamboo pick to serve as swizzle sticks for drinks... knotted bamboo picks are very pretty, see www.pickonus.com
(4) Have streamers - use lover's knot/hot glue jasmine with pink flowers on long strands of organdy ribbons on doorway or ends of table runners or chairs and let the breeze do the job(if outdoors)

P.S. Hope the above helps, if not, go to amazon.com and look under table settings, there are books that you can "seach inside", type in flowers and you can glimpse the book (w/o buying one

)

 

[ashlee]

Dewberry & Madcow
Cheers for the suggestion. Little India is definitely the way forward for me! Will do just that!

ribbit
Wow, $30 for all that jasmine is cheap or wat! Cool idea! Cheers! Maybe will do a mix of rose petals and jasmine to scatter over the table. Dun wan it to be overwhelmingly jasmine smelling. Where exactly in Little India did u get it? Did u have to pre-order? Did you freeze them or put them in the fridge?

Snipsnap
Sigh, exams not over lah, two weeks from now... but I've already broken the promise I made to myself, about not coming into the forum till exam's over! haha... Anyways, I know sure fail one. Dunno why they want to make it so hard...
Agree with Dewberry that the plugin is a terrific idea! But Glade strong enough or not?

Dewberry
Been surfing the net (oops, instead of studying)for Yankee Candle diffuser but can't find UK retailers who does that leh...

Why is UK internet shopping so useless one?!

Do u think it will be confusing if I use a different scent for each table?

Madcow
Lovely ideas! Definitely love (4)! Cheers.

 

[snipsnap]

hi girls .... dewberry I am using skype too! the quality is pretty good. hey don't copy me can?? haha j/k lah

thanks for thinking of me ladies hehe. will check out the dove chocs! purple too. been pretty busy this week..not much time to muck around and dream about my wedding lol. good thing the weekend is round the corner eh?? I can't wait!!

maddcow .. me thinks the violet petal color is prettier. but it all depends on your theme. I've learnt from a friend that having a theme really helps! not that I've followed and learnt. bleh. if anyone wants to see her cards or menu cards etc. let me know. they're really pretty ..her theme is baby blue and she's doing it herself. btw $100 for 50 cards is a good deal! actually I've noticed that papersource isn't too expensive... and the stuff is quality. i'm using the invites from the hotel *prays that they aren't too yucky* ...figured that is one place I could save $$ lol. was just looking for inspiration at the store, for my guest book, wrapping paper for gifts and such. ps..last call for paper source samples

katgrrl...how about having little glass bowls or votive holders with floating tealights. you can use a drop of food coloring to make the water pink. saw that at a wedding once. actually its kinda funny..I was helping my friend assemble them but somehow clumsy me spilled the dyed water and it stained the white table cloth.

thankfully I was able to use the centerpiece to cover the stain otherwise she'd have flipped out HAHA.

ashlee ..want me help u get the diffusers? there is a yankee candles at the mall near me. i think if there are too many smells it'll be overwhelming and confusing haha. olfactory overload. lol ps good luck for the exam!!!!

 

[madcow]

Snippy - thanks, could you help me get the sample violet-poppy sample then? I'll email you the mailing address tonite

*grateful*

ashlee - i agree with Snippy, too much scent/variety might affect the sense of taste too.

 

[dewberry]

katgrrl - thanks, *clap clap* can't believe how the time has flown! i'm really going home to do IT soon!!!! yeah i think i am going with the make a wish thingy as my registration format (instead of signing a guest book). i might just use stalks of roses as the giveaway... i'm doing teaforte pyramid teas as favors, otherwise that might be a good idea to give out as the "take a wish" too. i don't think i'm doing polaroids though... i think it would be hard to coordinate the logisitics of taking pix... and i don't want the queue to get backed up.

ashlee - good luck with the exams!!! agree with maddcow and snippy, more than 1 scent may have unpleasant effects, especially on those with allergies or sensitive noses. i personally think plugins are actually stronger smelling than using just scented candles... coz the vapors are more concentrated. or, you could use those

maddcow - great ideas for the jasmine garland swags! i think we're also using the streamers on cake table... and maybe chair backs too. just found out that the ritz only have 3 colors for chair sashes, so i'll have to embellish with more "stuff".... apparently they only have ivory, gold or silver... duh? i'm going with ivory, the others are too tacky to imagine (it's a nightmare to try and match the shade of gold to other stuff like table runners.... what if one turns out too metallic and the other is too dull?)

hahaha snippy, good save! i've seen the colored water idea as well, they always showcase it in bridal fairs here in the US. can use it in anything, glass vases of flowers, floating gerbera daisies, even just modern "sculpture"-like ensembles with different shapes of glass containers + colored water + pebbles.... BUT one word of caution, katgrrl... pink may be a tricky color to create in water, coz if it's not rich enough it will look too dilute. maybe try experimenting with the diff shades yourself before deciding.... in the sample centerpieces i've seen, blues or violets seem to look more classy than the reds... maybe coz red/pink evokes bloody connotations more than passion...

have a great weekend everyone! seems like everyone in singapore has gone MIA... :-( so it'll probably be a quiet weekend for me! actually, even though i am very involved in the planning process, i did engage a wedding planner to coordinate the actual day events for me... really helped with having someone to liase with the hotel and check prices for me, etc. my decor and design details are still a little fuzzy round the edges, but hopefully it'll all shape up pretty soon!

 

[katgrrl]

Maddcow & Snippy, thanks for your creative ideas!

I love 'em! Maddcow, I think your feather wreath with ribbons is divine...totally fitting for your winter wedding.

Dewy, thanks for your tip on coloured water. Hehe, I get what you mean by bloody connotations

Violet would seem like a good option.

Hmm, I think I may have TWP cover our wedding after all. I can't find anyone to do the filming and I reminded FH that 'garbage in-garbage out' but he insists on editing it himself. He did it before for a friend's bachelor party and I guess it's his hobby, so.... Yoohoo!

Sya, have u booked with 'em yet?

Busy weekend for me. We hope to select our cottage this weekend not to mention checking out some suit rentals here and my dress fitting in 3 hours! Hyvää viikonloppua! (Good weekend!)

 

[madcow]

ashlee - good luck with the exams. as for scenting, what's your signature scent? jasmine? you can consider spritzing some on your invites, placecards, menu cards too - just make sure it doesn't stain the cards - try the marilyn monroe-esque method, spritz into the air and wave your cards through the mist.

KatGrrl - glad you like the ideas and 'congrats' on your TWP(power negotiator!), have a productive weekend!

Dewberry - I'm so excited for you *tingling*

 

[katgrrl]

Ashlee, good luck with your exam!

Btw, is anyone facing ridiculous amount of cockage charges from their hotels? I just figured out a way to get around it. Get those magnum sized bottles of 1.5, 3 or even 5 liters! Since corkage goes by "per bottle" (I checked my contract), it works out cheaper per glass. We're going to serve port wine with our cake cutting as we like it as a dessert wine

Gonna ask around to get a big bottle overseas.

 

[dewberry]

hello all - hope everyone had a good weekend? me, i'm depressed as usual, coz it's sunday, and with each weekend burnt, i have less and less time to procrastinate about the wedding stuff! *eeeps!*

katgrrl - welcome to the TWP club! tell us all about how the cottage selection goes... can't wait to see your pics! i'm sure it's going to be soooo beautiful...

maddcow - hehe, thanks! i'm starting to get all tingly meself... especially since: (read on)...

breaking news update - i went for an "almost" final dress fitting yesterday! hooray! we thought it was going to be the final, but guess the bodice is still alittle loose so it's going to be tweaked just a tad bit more... but i have pix to share, for anyone who wants a peek! (sorry to disappoint, but silly me forgot to take any photos of my long train, so all you'll see is the end effect of the full train roughly bustled up in the double-french i was yakking about in an earlier post...)

send me an email at [email protected], and i'll reply with a link to the pix...

have a great week ahead, everyone!

 

[dewberry]

oh yeah, and katgrrl, i also have the same gripes about corkage charges... *grumble grumble*... BUT, you might have some bargaining power to get lower charges, if you're buying barrels of beer or can guarantee a certain F&B total bill at the end of the day... might be a good deal since we might not be able to find magnum bottles for everything (what if you want to use a great wine but it doesn't come in a magnum?).... anyways, just my 2 cents worth ;-p great idea, though, i'm certainly going to keep my eyes peeled for ways to get magnums now!

 

[madcow]

dewberry - do you have krogers at tenn? they are having a wine sale on magnums - 1.5l at about $10-12 a pop. it's okay, sundays come and go - i get antsy too.

katgrrl - let me know how Raffles take to serving the wines? i love port wine! which ones are you thinking?

 

[katgrrl]

Dewy, sent you an email!

Wow! how exciting to have (an almost) final dress fitting! Mine still has at least 2 more sessions to go..I'm just hoping that it'd be ready by the time I leave. Also, they'll be making a lace-trimmed veil for me so I'll get to see that 3weeks later. (Bought the lace from SG last Fall!)

The weekend has been productive! We had a longish road trip yesterday and viewed 2 cottages. This is the one that we've decided on - http://www.lomarengas.fi/lomarengas/channels/en/data/Targets/M07181.html.stx FH has just asked his mum to make a booking for us..so fingers crossed, someone (from Uk or Germany?) hasn't booked it this morning

Anyone wants to drop in?

Maddcow, we're thinking of Graham's or Taylor's LBV. We know that they come in at least 1-liter bottles. I'm sorry, do you mean how RH is going to react when I bring in an extra-large bottle of wine or how they will be serving the port? I don't know about both but for the latter, I want to ask for little sherry glasses because we intend to serve 2cl per person and that amount will look silly in a larger glass. I know that's really quite little but we want to avoid wastages and besides, there will be opportunities to top up later on.

 

[snipsnap]

hiya all .... katgrrl ..the cottages are super cute

you guys will have so much fun and get to spend extra time with your guests! *thumbs up* regarding TWP, you can get their package without the editing! hehe. can create your own clips since they return the raw footage for the entire day. though u gotta remind FH he needs to have it done before your wedding in finland!

don't want to bore your guests with the complete 8 hr wedding video box set hehe

hrmm ladies .. yes corkage charges are ridiculous and the tax on wine is outrageous too. but how would we ship it back? Will it be expensive? carrying it sounds like a pain since I'll already be hand carrying a ton of stuff lest the stupid airline loses my luggage.

maddcow ..I went to paper source again. hee ... checked out your envelopes. Did you want the envelopes or the set (with the inserts etc.)? I only saw the envelopes sold as a pacakge of 10 ... did u want to see the matching inserts? I believe they sell it individually at the store. let me which ones you want (you have my email right?). I am definitely making a trip back something soon..

dewberry I sent you the menu card pics

and its back to work! tasss!

 

[dewberry]

katgrrl - you've got mail! snippy's right, the cottage is so cute! i love the firehouse red, maybe you can even do a red theme decor for activities there....! haha, i want to drop in, can we do a videoconference? LOL.

oh everyone, i've also got quite a couple more video samples from TWP, if you're inclined to take a peek. let me know if you want to see them! snippy and i had a sidebar discussion about this one girl who is soooo beautiful, brought out the sour grapes in us, hehehe *jealous whispering in the background*...

ok, enough loitering for now... back to work! 'toodles!

 

[madcow]

KatGrrl - I was wondering how RH would react to serving these wines. Let me know how it goes? btw, I think serving port in sherry glasses is fine. Taylor's a good choice. The cottage is so lovely, I'm already dreaming of how to dress up the place and it's not even my wedding (!hee!)

Snippy - thanks for the info. I'm in Virginia now for spring break and we are going to DC to view the cherry blossoms, so I'll drop by papersource in georgetown. thanks for the sweet gesture though

*hugs* i tried to send you emails but they got bounced back. As for the wine, i think it will make sense to bring back wine if you're travelling with family - otherwise, the cost of 'fretting' might outweigh any savings. RH has the highest corkage around (*sigh*)Ritz too? - FH told me not to lose sleep over corkage, just find some other smarter ways to save - i guess he's right.

Dewberry - you look great! I like the bustle. Thanks for the TWP samples, FH got nervous just watching them -"do the grooms finally get the brides?"- I told him he wouldn't be tekkaned so badly since by then, we would have had our ceremony in the States.

 

[katgrrl]

Hi Maddcow, frankly, I'm not bothered too much about RH's reaction. As far as I'm concerned, it's in the fine print and besides, 1 liter of port is quite usual here anyway. Case in point, a friend visited us and brought a liter of port. Between the 2 guys, they finished most of it in 1 night.

Have fun at Virginia and DC! Haven't seen cherry blossoms in person before..they must be beautiful!!

Dewy, I didn't receive your email

Snippy, yeah I know TWP returns the 'raw footages' but they'd already be compressed (e.g. mpeg2?) Any editing on that will compromise the quality of the final product. We want the footages so raw that they're red & uncooked. Still in the process of negotiation with them...it appears that they may not be able to meet our requirement of High-Res widescreen as their equipment is not the latest.

I agree with Maddcow that it may be troublesome lugging cases of wine back. It may be possible however to put a magnum bottle of champagne in your luggage but 3 or 4 bottles begin to get tricky unless u've someone to help u with luggage allowance.

 

[dewberry]

katgrrl, ashlee - sent you the pix liao... katgrrl, aww i'm sorry, maybe hotmail snagged them in the Bulk folder??? anyways i sent it again today, see if you geddit? if not, don't worry, i'll send via a diff site... lemme know if it works this time!

maddcow - spring break, woohoo! makes me wish i was a student again, harharhar.... thanks for the gown compliments! hehe, your FH so funny about the gatecrashing, tell him it's a rite of passage all our poor chinese grooms go thru. so when are you doing the ceremony here? any parties planned around that? hehehe, maybe i'll drive across the 3 states to come crash yours.... since

have fun on your vacation... cherry blossoms, so romantic!

hmm, you guys are right about the luggage fretting issue... i'm trying not to bring too much luggage back, coz there's so much risk with (gasp!) getting it lost or late. i've seen those baggage handlers literally throw baggage from a great height, so annoying! that nasty image stays burned into my neuron pathways, eeks.

 

[ashlee]

dewberry
Lovely gown! Nice nice, I like!
You by any chance from SCGH/St Nicks or NJC? U look like someone I used to know.

 

[dewberry]

ashlee - hahaha! omg! 3 points out of 4....! this forum's just been too weird, seems like quite a few of us have had the six-degrees of separation hit home once we started sharing pix... hey, we can take this offline on email if you like. and please tell me how we're supposed to know each other?! bad dewberry, i'm very blur about my early childhood, something freudian maybe.

 

[madcow]

dewberry & katgrrl - thanks...it's much prettier here in Va and DC now since it is south of Madison which is still in the freezing temp zone! Daffodils, pansies, tulips are already blooming!

dewberry - yeah, agree with ashlee, your gown is lovely, show us your wedding pictures and video, ya? we've not planned the ny wedding yet, it will be a small, intimate one but come if you and hubby can make it - it will be in mid december

(it will be an honor and my pleasure!)

 

[katgrrl]

Dewy, very nice gown!!!

I especially like the bustle at the back, adds a nice touch.

 

[katgrrl]

Maddcow & Dewy, did one of u mention a place in SG where I can buy silk flowers? was it Linn's Florist or Lim...?

Knew I should've noted it down.

Btw, my wedding webpage's 95% done

anyone wants to take a peek? I've used a picture we took from Athens, so this is also my way of fulfilling my promise to show the Greece pictures..alright, only 1 though

pls email me...

 

[dewberry]

hi <font color="0000ff">maddcow</font>! thanks *blush blush*

yes of course i'll share the pix n vids, can't wait to get the show rolling man! then after that, i can eat all the singaporean food i want without worrying about busting the seams on my gown, LOL. awww, you're too sweet.... of course i was only joking about crashing your party lah... kekeke. BUT the timing's great actually, we might actually be going there yearend, coz i promised a friend we'd try to make his housewarming party... if we do make a trip to nyc in dec, i'll definitely look you guys up! and snippy too - haha, boston will be a certain detour! i'm so bummed you guys will get to meet up when you're all in SG, and i'll just miss you guys by a few weeks...! hehehe, you've all gotta take pix and share the fun with me!

<font color="0000ff">katgrrl</font> - thanks! glad you got the pix alright... i dun remember exactly what was mentioned earlier but might it have been Lim's Art and Crafts (in Holland V) for the silk flowers? also, might check out Barang Barang, tot i saw some there last year... also, maybe some of the ones on this list: http://www.sbg.com.sg/alphabet/cat/artificial%20_flowers_%20plants%20&amp;%20trees.html

ooh, me, me! i wanna take a peek at your webby, please email me!

 

[dewberry]

haha, i have something to share... i was toying with the idea of having a DJ spin some choons instead of paying for a whole band... since our function room is so small. well, i came across this article about the "Don'ts" of wedding music, thought it was quite funny.... it's the article under Entertainment called "Kill The DJ" in case the page doesn't load for you.

http://www.weddingonline.com.sg/guide/Essentials/dj.asp?page=4&amp;articleId=73&amp;s1=7&amp;s2=5

 

[dewberry]

oops, sorry for the multiple posts: this is the first page of the article...
http://www.weddingonline.com.sg/guide/Essentials/dj.asp?page=1&amp;articleID=73&amp;s1=7&amp;s2=5

ok, i promise to go away now