Anyone planning their weddings from overseas?

[snipsnap]

maddcow, no worries. I think you probably missed an 'l' in my email address. let me know how your trip to papersource turned out! waiting to hear more creative ideas

and enjoy the good weather its freezing out here. supposed to snow a foot tonite too. urhgk

katgrrl I hear spotlight @ plaza sing also sells silk flowers..though I've never been personally heheh. and yes would love to see your webby!!! (think you have my email!)

dewy ..yah yah must stop by boston if you are in the area!

 

[ashlee]

Katgrrl
Webbie please!!! [email protected]

Btw who else am I related to in this forum? Better surface now before I spontaneously combust from more thrills and surprises! hehe...

 

[katgrrl]

Thanks Dewy and Snippy for the tips on where to get the flowers

That SBG site is excellent, Dewy!

Gals, u've got mail!

 

[madcow]

Snippy- oh i see what you mean, 'jellly' bean

I just received a victoria magazine on wedding - theme is violet, I'll scan picture(s) for you once I get back to Madcity.

KatGrrl, I did not receive your email, did you receive mine? [email protected] ... in case you didn't the email message goes somewhat like this,"you can get silk flowers from Lim's Arts at 2nd floor of Holland Road Shopping Centre, above Cold Storage & Spotlight. Otherwise check out www.michaels.com or www.pier1.com and I can help you get some" but i guess the info is sort of copious now

ashlee - is your exam over?

where's sya? hello...

 

[katgrrl]

Hi Maddcow, sorry, I missed you out Have sent u an email

Thanks for the info on Lim's Arts...ooh, I didn't know there was a Spotlight at Holland V? Hmmm, it will be difficult getting the silk flowers without actually seeing them and feeling their material, but thanks for offering to help anyway.

Snippy, a nasi-padang date it is. Yippee, it'd be after my wedding then...no more tightening of the belt by then, literally I mean!

Yeah, where's Sya??

 

[madcow]

Ahh KatGrrl, I mean you could get silk flowers from either Lim's Arts or Spotlight. No Spotlight in Holland V.
Sorry for the confusion

Thanks for the email, you guys look cute!

 

[dewberry]

thanks for sharing webby, <font color="0000ff">katgrrl</font>... that was a great pic of you guys in greece... wish i could go there too! hehe, i'm totally with you on seeing/feeling silk flowers before buying... so i hope that SBG list comes in handy while you're in SG!

yay! i've just got off the phone with my silly bridal studio in san francisco... i'm getting my photoshoot pics back next week! woohoo, will share as soon as the pics are in mah sweet little paws...

have a great night, you guys!

 

[frogprincess]

Good morning/afternoon/evening ladies (*waves madly*)

I think I used to be some-what normal and sane, and now I have become the Are-you-sure-we-packed-enough-of-that monster. The mad packing for Italy is done (how can 2 people accumulate so much junk is a mystery to be dissected another day)

Anyways, typing this last message really quickly whilst the laptop is being packed away, to give big hugs and kisses (*muah*). Ashlee good luck for your exams! Sya have fun in your new/old job. Dewy have a great April wedding in S'pore, and keep emailing on my yahoo account yah? Katgrrrl have a fantastic one in your Helsinki (within 160 km anyway) cottage and keep away the fierce mozzies! Yes, I am glad I followed all instructions and have purchased the entire "Asian Home Gourmet" section in the supermarket!

In case you are back in Singapore and are looking for the place in Little India where you can get lots of jasmine and marigolds and stuff - it is called Jothi's Flowers and it's found on 1, Campbell Lane, Singapore 209882, phone them at 63387008

Arreverderci and ciao - until the next post.

 

[dewberry]

<font color="0000ff">ribbit</font> - have a good trip, &amp; take care!!!! *waves wildly with both hands* glad that everything worked out well and you've got your stash of asian home gourmet, hahahaha when you said that reminded me of my last trip back to sg as well

... don't stress too much about the junk accumulation, pack rats like us need to live in a little bit of chaos... and when you get to italy, there'll be more to collect, kekekeke....

it's the end of the weekend, girls! *sob* hope you all had a good one... me, did absolutely nothing. how did that happen? i have 2 more weekends to go before leaving for SG, eeps! most things already settled, phew, now just need to get over the jittery nerves. and start packing, woohoo! (ribbit's packing bug is contagious...)

 

[madcow]

ribbit
have a good and safe trip

. remember to check in with us and update us on your well-being!

dewberry (*takes deep breath*)
i'm so excited for you - you might want to have some sleep-aid with you just in case the excitement affects your beauty sleep - looking forward to see a radiant you (in pictures of course!)

 

[katgrrl]

Ribbit, Bon voyage!!! <huggz> Take your time to settle in and let us know how u're doing. And if u crave for Briyani Chicken, I'll send a packet of spices over with recipe

Dewy, whoa.... 2 more weeks. How many weeks will u be in SG before the wedding?

Maddcow, that's a good idea -sleep aid. What do u suggest? Melatonin didn't work for me. Btw, found out from a game of Trivial Pursuit that counting sheep is supposedly the most anti-sleep thing one can do! hahaha...

Gals, have u bought your rings yet? Getting them in UK/US or in SG? Monday's an Easter holiday here...

 

[dewberry]

haha maddcow, you're psychic... i am indeed starting to get so anxious it's affecting my sleep (and experiencing wedding-related dreams on a regular basis, grrrr)... LOL, all the more reason to tup that glass of wine before meeting the zzzMonster, kekeke! bottoms up!

 

[dewberry]

hi katgrrl, hmm, i'll be in SG for about 3 weeks (apr16-may10), and then a short 4 day stopover in tokyo before heading back to the US... also, we just had an idea to try and squeeze a trip somewhere in there to HK and shanghai as well... hahaha, although that might be wishful thinking for now. i think it's going to be a busy month....

hey, melatonin doesn't work for me either... i find the glass of wine much better and more palatable too, hehe.... as for rings, we're reusing the wedding bands we exchanged for our ROM. i find the styles in SG to be very "lightweight" and white gold designs are more prevalent than platinum. a little too fashion-fanciful for me, coz we wanted something classic that would last through the years. so we bought over here in chicago. actually, if anyone is keen on shopping online here's a good and reputable site for both diamond deals and wedding bands... www.whiteflash.com (imho, they're better than the overhyped bluenile.com) if you've done your research and know exactly what kind of diamond you want, dimensions and all.... they're a good site to trawl for price comparisons.

 

[katgrrl]

Dewy, thanks for the WhiteFlash tip

Maybe 1 day.. I wouldn't have any qualm buying a diamond solitaire online but wedding band designs haven't standardized themselves to the extent that I know precisely what I want or feel 'right'

Interestingly, I've read several research articles on factors of e-commerce acceptance. While attitudes have definitely evolved over 'emotional' or 'experience' goods toward acceptance in the US, they are slower to change in SG.

Dreams of your wedding eh? I'm waking up thinking of research articles that I've to read for my thesis!! Gee...and yet I'm here idly whiling my time away. Bad girl!!

Heh, u're doing a very similar trip to me. I'd also be heading to Tokyo for a very short trip just before going back to Finland in August. Much cheaper flying fr SG than from Europe to Tokyo Leaving on May 10? I'd be in SG from May 7!

 

[dewberry]

<font color="0000ff">katgrrl</font> - diamonds are always fun, hehehe i did it the evil way, went to the stores and tried out as many shapes and styles as i wanted, and then decided to buy online for our solitaire engagement ring (yes, edward didn't propose with a ring in hand, LOL). i would've prolly done the same for our wedding band coz i only wanted a very simple channel-set diamond design, but it so happened we managed to shop together on one of his visits. since we live apart, it's really a lot easier to shop/buy online. hehe, interesting article, i definitely agree about the US vs. SG... but i think part of the impetus might be the distance overland most people have to travel in the US. there's no excuse in SG for not getting off our couch potato backsides to go shop for it, it's not like a 1 hour trip to the nearest civilized shop...

as for the dreams... haha, sounds like you're just as anxious as me... hey, who knows maybe one of these days you'll wake up with the perfect thesis all fully formed!

oooh, let's try to meet up in SG then! (if you're not too jetlagged, that is... i'll email you my contact #s once i'm back, will prolly hijack someone's cellphone to use, kekekeke) yeah, you're right about the flights working out cheaper... we have to fly thru tokyo anyways, so why not, right? anyone else going to be in SG during that time???

 

[snipsnap]

Helloooo ladies! Was supposed to go wedding band shopping this weekend but the shops were closed on Sunday for easter. bleh. don't even ask where our Saturday went lol ... I have no idea. The weekends just fly by urhgk! and one less week to work on wedding stuff *sigh*

katgrrl you found your bands yet or are you gonna get em in Singapore? Goldheart had nice ones when I was home last. Good service too, though dewy's right they don't have a large selection of platinum ones. they didn't have the platinum version of the ring I wanted. as for me I'm eyeing somethng similar to what dewberry has .. but have to try it on at the store to make sure it sits well with my e-ring

ooh dewy thanks for the link. haha u have all the 'lobangs'. I'm going to see if i can find one here that's reasonably priced here first.otherwise there'll be too many things to worry about when I get home.

think the problem with online shopping in singapore too is the return policy! it's so important when shopping online since sometimes what you see is not what you get haha as u can see online shopping is a fav pasttime of mine even though there are a ton of malls near me (not a good thing either).

maddcow thanks for the offer to scan the pics

that'll be wonderful

ribbit ... have a safe trip!!! remember to check in here when you arrive hehe

 

[katgrrl]

Dewy, that's certainly true. Geographical dispersion is 1 reason for EC (e-comm) taking off. However, EC goes beyond national boundaries, which means that folks in SG should also have the impetus to shop online for things/shops that are not available in SG e.g. VS, air tickets, eBay... The reasons why they are not doing that is possibly the relatively immature infrastructure (credit card guarantees..), lack of trust in offshore merchants, return policies &amp; banks (a major factor) and general preference for 'feeling and touching' (i.e. culture) products before they buy.

Sorry for rambling! EC is a close topic to what I've been studying

It's also interesting to observe how US &amp; Europe are diverging in e- &amp; m-commerce respectively.

Yup, we should meet up! Monday lunch before your departure on Tuesday? Goodness, I hope I'll be able to control and not go on a food rampage!

Snippy, nope haven't found the wedding bands yet. I'll have to source for them in SG then drag Mark down after I've shortlisted which and where. Dun worry about 1 weekend, u've got time!

 

[dewberry]

yay! <font color="0000ff">katgrrl</font>, monday sounds great! we'll keep in touch via email or this forum, let you know if the timing still works for me or maybe we can do high tea! mmmm....

wah, blinked a few times at your scholarly comments about EC, hehehe... berry cheem siah! but i get what you mean... feel free to "educate" us anytime! so what else are you studying lately? what course of study are you pursuing? honestly, i wish i could go back to school... but i don't think i could put up with it now that i'm so OLD, lol.... much as i love to bash my job and how boring it is, it's kinda great to sit in the office and veg out sometimes, haha no, make that ALL the time!

hey, you girls gotta show me all the wedding band designs you're thinking of okay? hee hee, you know me lah, love to kaypoh....

 

[katgrrl]

Hi Dewy, sounds good! let's take this offline

No lah, what scholarly? They are not written by me.

How come the post is kinda quiet huh?

 

[dewberry]

hmm, looks like everyone's either on spring break, studying for exams, moving cross continent, drooling over invite cards, or else obsessing over their wedding details... hee hee, did i peg everyone?! guess it's a GOOD thing sometimes, means we're all busy being productive, LOL!

where is sya?! haven't heard from you in a while, girl!!!! hope everything is going well

 

[moggie]

**Hi girls**
I was following this thread about 2 months back...I disappeared when I was travelling back in Spore and to France. Got madly involved with wedding details...Now I've got some breathing space...am so glad to be back.

ashlee and/or dewberry....you are st nick's girls...hmm..so am i! looks like there's more than a little six degrees of separation here!!

 

[dewberry]

hi moggie, welcome back!!!

so tell us all about your wedding details so far... anything good to share?

hmm, if we all look hard enough i'm sure we'll find the world is very small... but nope actually ashlee and me are both not st. nick's girls... she simply thought i was ;-) after we sorted it out, we realized that we were both classmates back in NJC. wow, seems like aeons ago, right ashlee?! hee hee....

 

[moggie]

well....i've ordered my wedding gown, evening gown, shoes, got my tiara, got my MUA in Spore, reception in Spore's 80% there....and the list goes on...
I think I am quite on track. Phew! It is unbelievable how unexpected things just spring out of nowhere, ending in sleepless nights. well, for me at least...

Right now, I'm interested in making these T-shirts with customised diamonte text on them. The standard ones have Bride, Bridesmaid, etc on them. I'm thinking of making my own "Mrs....". Quite a challenge since i ain't your typical handy girl at all!!

What about you girls? Anything new?

<img>

 

[madcow]

Hello moggie, welcome back ! *waves*

Snippy, Katgrrl, Dewberry - how's it going?

Spring break came and went so quickly...now, up against a deadline, dying

! But armed with Martha Stewart Wedding mags wherever I am, I've been using my free time to catch up on my wedding planning. So many ideas, so little space to accomodate them all

. Help! I'm hooked!

KatGrrl, I'll check (I'm still in Virginia) the active ingredient in my sleep-aid, it knocked me out cold usually. Sometimes, when I'm out and needed to sleep, I pop NyQuil which is a no-no

.

Dewberry! *Gasp* counting down to your BIG day!
Have you settled on most of your stuff? Oh, I came across this page in MSWeddings which featured small simple bouquets of flowers as favors for guest. You are giving flowers for your make-a-wish and take-a-wish table? You might be interested in it, I'll scan it and send it to you

As for me, I just found out from www.flowersexchange.com that they may have lilies-of-the-valley in December! Yay, I'm having bunches of them, 'collared' by white cymbidium/callas. (what do you gals think?) I've saved so much $, time for some indulgence! oh, also bought white with gold specks paper for my make-a-wish cards and tonnes of ribbons in shades of my color scheme (coral/tangerine and aqua blue) $0.20-$0.30 per yard is a steal at Michaels! AND... bought 10 cards featuring beautiful cream/pink toile blossoms to make my bridesmaids guides - need to source for cream-orange vellum to 'shade' it to a tinge of coral. uh...what else? oh, I bought an Anna Griffin book to embark on an embroidery mission - plan to monogram our intials on long sashes to pin to our chair backs (yikes- kinda ambitious!)

oh, just received an email to check out this website for shoes/bags www.jamori.com - they have dolces, choos, marc jacobs... never tried but probably will since i'm going to wear colored shoes (for quirkiness!) with my dress.

as for rings, will get from the states, my friend here is a jewelry designer and she can work with any budget. FH likes bluenile.com though, that's where my engagement ring came from . What's a typical budget like for rings?

all, there are lots of ideas in MSweddings, if you need me to look out for pics that may help in your wedding, let me know. Just post your theme/color scheme.

hmmm, contemplating the ny wedding theme -a 'destination' theme, since we'll leave for sgp after that... plan to house programs in boarding pass wallets and luggage tags as placecards/favors - man, need to source for colorful leather to make them...

ahhhh... long post

 

[katgrrl]

Maddcow, u're simply brimming with cool ideas! Keep those inspiration coming.. If you find something cool from MS Weddings, lemme take a peek can? My theme's shades of pink &amp; white/ivory

Custom-making your rings is so cool. Any designs in mind? Budget wise, I think it depends on material (platinum is 3x the cost of white gold?), diamonds or no and intricacy of design?

I'm left speechless with J'Amori... (sorri for being a tad dramatic here)... I just looked at the Jimmy Choos and they are fab!!! Grab! I gotta show this site to my friend... But why dun they have my size 35s for the whole shop at all?! boohoo....


Hi Moggie, welcome back! When's your wedding in SG &amp; France again? U've accomplished tons in SG!

Hmm...u girls doing the wedding waltz? We're setting up a dancing lesson with our Finnish Best man who competes semi-professionally. Btw, we've 2 Best Men

The other guy's my friend's hubby who was Mark's regular XBox &amp; tennis buddy when we were living in SG...

 

[ashlee]

moggie &amp; dewberry
Ya, was sure dewberry was fr SCGS but just typed in st nicks to be sure! haha. Which yr are u moggie?

dewberry, jc was lightyears ago! Just realised we havent seen each other for nearly ten years! *gasp*

madcow
Embroidery! Sounds pretty! Hard work isn't it?

Katgrrl
Wah, waltz... can't do. 4 left feet together is no joke for us! hehe... must show us video after your wedding!

 

[snipsnap]

ashlee *cough cough* you mean JC was 5 years ago?

wow maddcow seems like you've had an awfully productive time in DC

think you'll put martha stewart to shame lol. you have to share your pics as you make em too! wish I could go shopping with you so I can feed off your ideas haha. btw your chair sash idea is so neat..so's the travel theme of the ny wedding. *whispers* hey I use nyquil as my sleep aid too ... though it knocks me out for way too long.

wow j'amori has really good prices!! katgrrl..choos run a tad small so you might be able to wear a 35.5. that's what I'm aiming for though I noticed the site doesn't have a customer service number or email? should we be wary about that?let us know if anyone's purchased from the site before. This is cute and in my size hehe https://www.jamori.com/images/s04/jc_1190.gif

moggie welcome back!! which year are you btw? found out ashlee dewberry and I are the same age lol

dewberry 1 more week!! I'm keeping track for u

 

[dewberry]

<font color="0000ff">maddcow</font> - wah, you're definitely our very own Martha... can't wait to see all your pix, must show us your creations as you make'em okay! i love the chair sash idea, are you thinking of doing them on wide satin "panels" or flaps like the backs of some wedding gowns? would be nice....

yes i've settled on most of my stuff, phew! and we're getting tea forte as the favors, but the wish table is not settled (coz we can't decide to use chocs or flowers... hehe)... so send me any scanned pics you got! thx! i think our default is to use chocs coz there's no prepwork neccessary....

<font color="0000ff">katgrrl</font> - ooh, shades of pink and ivory - very pretty! and as for the rings, bear in mind also that platinum is a LOT heavier than white gold, so some people prefer the weightiness on the finger, while others simply want it light as air... and WG is softer while the harder platinum cannot be wrought into more intricate designs, so if you want a really fanciful design, white gold is a safer bet.

<font color="0000ff">ashlee</font> - hehe, yeah i agree! edward and i are also not exactly nimble on our feet so we're opting out of the public dance. don't want to be lumbering around clumsily!

thanks for keeping countdowns for me, girls... these few weeks are going by in a whirl, feels kinda surreal. like i'm walking thru this romantic misty fog, where did all that time go?!

hehe, <font color="0000ff">snippy</font>, it's 2 weeks lah, don't scare me

dewy "leaves the building" on Apr 14, woohoo! ya, ya... JC was only 5 years ago lah *whispering conspiratorily*.... LOL.

i wish i didn't have chubby feet! then i can join in all the fun you girls are having with these jimmy choos... i cannot for the life of me balance in those, much less look like i belong in them. haha, oh well, my trusty 2inch heels are going to be well hidden under that gown!

i'm very relieved now that most of my preps and decor are settled. i was so ngeow about the centerpieces that the florist is actually going to do a mockup of the full table setting for our food tasting session the week that we're back.... yay! so i reserved the right to make last minute changes... okay, confession to make... don't kill me you guys, but i think it's time to reveal a little secret. (i didn't really mean to hide it, honest...) but we all got so into talking about everything else, i don't think i ever mentioned i actually have a wedding planner (wedding acts) coordinating my actual day for me.... *ducks under the table to siamm the flying tomatoes* i meant to list it in my first post with all the wedding details but guess it was forgotten amidst my long long essay. please forgive me?!

anyways, i think it's time for them to go to work, and for me to sit back and start relaxing... being a bridezilla is hard work! alrighty, enuff blabbing, have a wonderful weekend y'all!!!

 

[madcow]

Hello girlies
re my last post,so sorry, particularly this line I've saved so much $, time for some indulgence! eeks, i sound so obnoxious, didn't mean to offend - i mean to say that i got great deals on sales here that i managed to keep expenses within budget

KatGrrl - pink/white theme is very pretty...just as a teaser...there's a picture of a heart-shaped berries wreath, programs in pink vellums,and a dome of bright-pink fully-bloomed roses in a silver sugar bowl. How does that sound?
Ring-wise, have not really researched, but I saw a Piaget pair that I like. Definitely platinum for us.
Dancing is so fun! I envy you! But I think we would be too freaked out - I'm writing a poem for FH ; public speaking is the most I can handle.

Ashlee, hi there! Uh, embroidery, yeah, kind of hard but I have back-up plans...worst case scenario, I'll just use a template with a calligraphic font and paint a sash of silk/linen with fabric paint.

Snippy - yeah, i think we'll have so much fun shopping! hey you've got great taste, because I was looking at the same pair - *drools*, i love the heels!!!

I received sales events and web addresses from Top button - your concern is definitely well-taken. How are gas prices in Boston, here in Charlottesville, prices have gone up to 2.13, I'll be screwed once I return to Madison. FH was wondering why no one impeached Bush yet.

Oh, for the altruistic brides out there, here are some websites to keep in mind when planning:
http://www.unicef.org/support/index.html - check out the cards and gifts section and
www.chocolatebar.com

 

[madcow]

dewberry
you flattered me...will send u the pix when i get back...

why would we be throwing tomatoes at you - we'll get the benefit of seeing and sharing the works of art of your wedding planner

.

 

[katgrrl]

Maddcow, yes! Heart-shaped berries wreath and roses in silver bowl sound Lovely! Pleaze send to me if it's ok

[email protected]

Dewy, no lah...getting a wedding planner is no biggie.. Let us know if Wedding Acts is able to give some fresh ideas k?

Gals, thanks for your input/comments on wg vs platinum rings.. Food for thought!

Snippy, u think 35.5 is alright? I swore never to get ill-fitting shoes after 1 too many btw, have u checked out On Pedder? I saw Choos and Blahniks there... at >S$1000! *faint*! But u're right, the absence of a phone number or email for J'Amori is definitely also a big minus point towards creating trust for me...

Have a productive weekend, everyone!

 

[dewberry]

hihi! i'm up before noon on a saturday for once...

grrr, had another bad wedding dream and bolted straight up. think that cup of after dinner coffee last night was not such a good idea after all...

<font color="0000ff">maddcow and katgrrl</font>, thanks for the boost!

i'm not sure there'll be exactly what we call "works of art"... hee hee, usually they're trying to temper my wild imagination to fit the logistics of the room! i think the benefit we got out of it is more for the coordination, both pre and during AD - precious peace of mind on the actual day!....

hehe, my weekend mini-goal is to get stuff from the craft store to decorate our photo display tables for the cocktail area. right now, i'm thinking of clustering a few diff sizes of silver frames next to our photoshoot album, with some shiny glass pebbles and tealite candles scattered all over the table and maybe a silver urn of flowers at the end. oh, i also need a nice table runner to go over the standard white tablecloth. woohoo, shopping time!

<font color="0000ff">maddcow</font> - any pics in those mags of yours, for a photo table display layout?

 

[dewberry]

<font color="119911">hello!</font> *<font size="-2">"helloo... hellooo"</font> echoes from the emptiness*... so quiet on this forum these days. guess you're all busy. well, in case anyone's interested in my disorganized ramblings....

i did a mockup of my photo table design this weekend! all by my little self! hehe, send me an email if you're interested in the photos, need help with feedback!.... i went crazy at Michaels (the craft store) this weekend... i used silk flower balls to simulate the florals, then added the photo frames and strung up all these pearls to drape over the photos... only thing missing are the tealight candles i wanted to also use (ran out of candles at home)....

so excited, we have our San Francisco photoshoot pics liao! edward collected them yesterday, but silliness.... they gave us negatives instead of the digital format. so now we have to scan the proofs to show people, grrr.... will share as soon as they're digitized.... my poor sweatshop husband is my production assistant.

does anyone know of a good custom photo lab in singapore? i need to get these professional sized negatives developed for a few enlargements we're intending to frame up.... (it's 120mm film, what they call large format film i guess).... wonder how long it takes...?

happy Monday, girls!

 

[katgrrl]

Hullo hullo! Keep those ramblings coming! I need a sanity check... 4.5 weeks to go before I go back. I think I've settled on my (church) processional piece. The selection of our waltz piece is also underway..Found a freeware that allows me to edit the mp3 manually (tempo, cuts, fade-ins &amp; outs blah..) Yay!

Dewy, if u want an opinion, send me the pix of your photo table mock up!

As for the photo lab, check out Soo Kee which has a really big lab at Clifford Pier, I think. U can't miss it, it's on the ground level facing the Raffles Place garden.

 

[dewberry]

<font color="0000ff">katgrrl</font>, you've got mail! goodie, sounds like you've made progress as well, the freeware sounds like a great tool! eh, kaypoh me... what processional piece have you decided on? thanks for the photo lab source... will definitely check it out.

woohoo, 10 days to go, tick tock!

 

[katgrrl]

Dewy, u've got mail too

Currently I'm inclined towards Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.. but I'm also impartial towards a couple of my fav piano sonatas. Typical bridezilla who can't make up her mind!

 

[madcow]

Dewberry
would love to see your pics. i just got back, stress-level extremely high. will send you the pics when i have a chance tonite.

Snippy
was at paper source yesterday in georgetown - ahh the loveliness of dc. it so happened that i've been to the store before when i was living in dupont circle (ultrahip gay district). Good thing I went there - found out that the stuff i've seen online were too gaudy for my taste. FH was with me so that makes all the decision-making all so simple. He was bored in 3 mins naturally. I had to catch a plane so didn't really linger long.

All, will send you the pics as promised. The files seemed so huge, will try to economize.

Has anyone thought of a cappella singers for your cocktail reception? It'll be so cool, but I can't afford it. If you'd like contacts, I can pass some along.

Keep on posting! I'll be busy for the next week or so but I won't forget you gals!

 

[dewberry]

<font color="0000ff">maddcow</font> - you have mail! good to see you got back safe and sound, hehe your FH sounds just like mine! they start yawning at anything after 3 mins, it's prolly a) not nice or, b) no good

... heard there were a lot of plane delays from the east coast yesterday. my colleague was stuck on the runway for 5 hours!

hmm, no didn't consider a capella singers coz of budget constraints, but think it'll be a cool idea! what kind of pricing did you get, by the way? i had heard it starts from 1k onwards....

for a little cocktail reception, i thought that wasn't really worth it for my small affair....

 

[kkyko]

Hi gals,

Haven't been posted her for so longgggg... Just thinking that I'll do an update here... I just came back from SG last week. Have achieved the below tasks:
1. Bought a bridal package, did the photo shoot, picked the photos to be put inside the album
2. Picked the actual day evening gown
3. Bought shoes to match my evening gown, pyjamas to wear inside the kwa, material for DIY invitation cards (surprising I got the metallic colored paper from Carrefour with discounted price but can't find any good ones from the art suppliers), tiera, earrings, necklace
4. Went to confirm the reception venue. Going to take Marriott function room even though we can only have 9 tables MAX without the stage and projector. But since the location is good, my FH said we should not look further. Now thinking that maybe we could have the projector up with slideshow playing in another function room during cocktail hours since we'll use that room for tea ceremony anyway. Any other suggestions gals?
5. Met up with the freelance AD photographer. She seems nice. =P

I supposed I have achieved quite a lot during the 10 days stay. Feel like I can get married anytime... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

Still haven't decided on how to decorate the church so haven't bought the netting material yet. Any suggestion? I'll have to ask the FH to bring it with him when he comes here.

Not sure if I've got anything left out.

I'm still trying to work out the ideas of doing the centerpiece for my Sydney wedding. At first I thought I'll put water, flowers, floating candles in a big glass vase. But then it might look a bit too "hollow" (mind you that it's a really big vase and all those floating things are floating in the middle). Still got a bit of research to do there I suppose...

 

[dewberry]

hi karen, welcome back! congrats on all the stuff done, sounds like a real fruitful trip indeed!

what evening gown did you decide on? i'm taking polls on what everyone's wearing... coz i'm REALLY toying with the idea of wearing my gown almost all night.... maybe just a cheongsam for the finale.

on the marriott function room - i think having a separate room for cocktails and playing slides is a good idea! keeps people engaged, and gives them something to do by wandering around.... BUT suggestion is to make sure the room is right next door, or very close together. coz otherwise you'll run into traffic flow problems.... i am also doing similar, i have a room adjacent to the dinner room, where we're having a mini-ceremony. and with the whole area "choped" for our festivities, i can also now decorate the cocktail area and create photo tables and other "display" tables.... creates a better atmosphere i think!

hmm, if you're serving wine for your wedding, how about incorporating 2 or 3 wine bottles as part of the centerpiece? then they can be picked up and opened, as the night wears on.... i've got a picture of a lovely wine-theme centerpiece if you want to email me ([email protected])....

 

[kkyko]

Hi dewberry,

For wedding reception, I'm going to start off wearing the Chinese kwa, do the tea ceremony in the hotel. After that, I'll change into my wedding gown for the march in and first half of the reception. Then, I'll change into my gold colored evening gown!!! Well, personally I think it's fine that if you only change to cheongsam for the finale.

Thanks for your support re having separate room showing slide shows!!! May I ask where are you having your wedding reception? Yeah... decorating the photo tables is the next thing that I'll think about as well... going to use same idea for both Sydney and Sg wedding reception. So, do you have any idea so far???

PS. You've got mail!

 

[katgrrl]

Karen, welcome back! Woman, u HAVE been really productive! All that done in 10 days? *applause*

I second the 2nd function room for cocktails...it allows you to create an intimate setting for your guests...preferably slightly smaller than your main room or the 'islands' of people will be too far apart?

As for the church decor, will u be hiring a florist to do it or are u intending to DIY?

Dewy, I think it's absolutely alright to wear your WG for the whole duration of your wedding. I'm gonna to do that too even though I'll have a cheongsam made. I'm determined to get as much mileage out of that dress since that will be the <u>only</u> opportunity of wearing it. But a cheongsam for the finale may also be a good idea to capture that on photos

 

[dewberry]

hi karen, you've got mail! thanks katgrrl and karen for the thumbs up, agree with you that we should all get as much mileage as possible out of the WG! in all its veil and bustle incarnations....

karen, i'm having my wedding at the ritz carlton millenia rooms one and two.... the Millenia One is the bigger room for the dinner, and immediately adjacent is the smaller room for our quick ceremony. the outside cocktail area will be where we're displaying the cake table, our photo tables, and the make-a-wish table.... that way, the whole area will be evenly spaced out in terms of "things to see" and traffic flow....

alright girls, time to get back to work! see ya later...

 

[ashlee]

Hiya peoplez...
I am back too! hehe... had my paper this morning and I am pretty sure that I am going to FAIL. Sigh, I was so tired and my head was so congested with all that last minute mugging that I couldn't think. Worst thing was, I made so many stoooopid mistakes. Nvmd, will try again next sitting. hehe... Now i am go full-time on preparing for my wedding! Woohoo!

dewberry
Saw your photos liao. Pretty gal aren't u?! Aww, can imagine your baby having your big eyes!
Show me your photo table design please? When are u going back to Sg?

Katgrrl
I am having headache with the songs to be played at the dinner. The music we like are too inappropriate for wedding (think band: Starsailor, Staind, Oasis, Feeder -- too noisy; trip-hop: Portishead, Massive Attack, Daughter Darling -- too depressing/not quite right). But we are not comfortable playing music we dun listen to... sigh. You think we should go ahead and play whatever songs we like?

Ashlee<<=== Bridezilla-wannabe (hehe

)
Is it too much to want to try to make my own candles, ring pillow, preserved flowers, invites all within two months?

 

[frogprincess]

Ciao Bella! At the risk of sounding super mushy -- I have missed you guys online. Looks like I missed sooo much going on here!

Anyways the relevation of the day for me is that Ashlee, Dewy and me are same batch of NJC and possibly SCGS. Mail me about it, so that I can have all 6 degrees of OMG-is-it-you kind of online shrieking-- [email protected]

For the rest of the forum who may be eyeball rolling at this juncture -- just want to tell you that I am now in Turin, Italy, learning how to use this internet phone thing (call me blur - but do you guys use www.skype.com)? I do not speak Italian (and neither does nearest and dearest husband)so life can be pretty amusing or stressful depending on how you want to look at it. To give you an example of my daily drama I spend 30 minutes a day trying to get books out of the Library which are supposed to help me produce something vaguely readable about (for instance) Brussels Regulation EC 41/2001. with a librarian that only speaks Italian. Imagine gesturing, pointing and jumping up and down (all whilst whispering) and you get the general picture

Random Observation and whinge: Italy, or to be specific, Turin is a wonderful place but unfortunately, in techno dark ages. I have been trying to get online, only to be told that they do NOT have wireless technology, do NOT have ASDSL, fibre optic cable or anything more fancy than a geriatric modem.

BTW hellos to Moggie -- d'you mind sharing alittle about your French wedding? I have my wretched Livret de Famille but Fabien and I are planning our church wedding and dinner in June this year.

 

[kkyko]

Hi Katgrrl,
I'm doing the church decor myself. Again, a measure to save money!!! Any suggestions? I'm thinking of doing all those floor length bows using netting (tutu?) material and stick it on the sides of the benches. Maybe add some white flowers (fake ones will do maybe?) on top. And these bows can be reused to decorate my reception table at the Chinese restaurant.
The function room where I'm going to perform tea ceremony and display photos is opposite to the banquet room. And the cocktail area is just in between 2 rooms. I suppose it's okie?! Maybe need to put up and sign saying "photos and slideshows on your right"? Hehehe...
Still haven't checked with my wedding coordinator at Marriott if we could do that.

Hey gals, I use skype phone (the internet phone s/w). It's FREE as long as you have an internet connection. And it's REALLY realiable (for most of the time... hehehehe...) My FH even bought credits and use skype phone to call my home phone when he is in the middle of Alantic Ocean like now.

If we all get that, maybe we can have a skype "gathering" one day!!!

 

[katgrrl]

Ashlee &amp; Ribbit, welcome back! Ashlee, dun worry, there's always next time

Ribbit, welcome to Europe! I empathise with you because I know full well what you mean.. I can only imagine that it'll be better in the larger cities. Sorrie...but it's true though that S.Europe is generally less 'connected' than say Scandinavia. On Monday, we were using our Powerbooks at a public library where wLan is free. Interestingly, FH mentioned Skype only 2 days ago. Some background: VoIP (Voice over IP) is not a new technology however. Last year or so, it was brought to the next level by US firms who made it as simple as using your fixed line phone by building a handset that looks and feels like those phones with a 'real' number that plugs into the cable socket on your wall. The basic idea is that u can unplug &amp; move this 'phone' to anywhere in the world but anyone calling u on that number will still reach u. Gals living in the states, pls correct me if I'm wrong

That aside, I think Skype (or VoIP) is great for communicating cheaply.

Karen, here's a useful site for DIY projects. http://www.save-on-crafts.com/weddingcrafts2.html Check out the heart shaped &amp; bridal wreaths that may be used on your pews instead of the usual tulle and flower combo.

Here's a suggestion: how about having the cocktail and photos in the same room? That way, u won't need to decorate both places and people are not going to be confused about what is happening where.

Dewy, thanks for sharing with me your pix! Hehe, I think the pix turned out very nicely..and it's really sweet how your hubby &amp; u looked together. At least that's 1 item off your list! Mine will be taken 2 weeks before the AD!

 

[frogprincess]

Hello Katgrrl, thanks for the Euro-welcome. My classmate Jukka comes from Lapland, but he is currently doing his PHD in Helsinki. He's just made pretty similar observations - you have a twin and he's here in Italy!

In any event it is great to be back online, and thank you (and Karen) for the Skype feedback. Yeah, I think some years ago I used VoIP to speak to my parents but the reception was so bad that at times I wasn't sure if I was speaking to my mom or my dad! Sigh, free LAN is not even on the radar. I would be happy with something I can pay for and rely on. Random thought - you use a powerbook - another Mac person! I am sorry if I am rambling a bit but I am really glad that I managed to secure tickets for Vallehovin Stadium, Oslo for the U2 concert.

 

[dewberry]

hiya gals, thanks to you guys who took the time to leave comments in my photoshoot album! ... and now it's almost the end of the week again, woohoo! (my last weekend in the US before the Big Trip) *shudder* am i going to have enuff time to do EVERYTHING i need? hyperventilating already....

<font color="0000ff">ashlee</font>, aww sweetie you make me blush

.... thanks for all your nice comments! you've got mail, i've sent you my photo table pics... haha, bridezilla, i think it's *possible* to DIY all in 2 months, but do you really want to stress yourself out that much?! i played with the ring pillow idea as well, but decided it's a 20 dollar chunk of time i'd rather have to do other things... so yeah. saw some surprisingly chic ring pillows at walmart, of all places! US brides, if you're looking, they're only 14.99 and are wonderful starting points that can be embellished with your personal designs.... (they're the beverly clark knockoffs)

<font color="0000ff">karen</font> - your ceremony decor sounds promising... i think the silk flowers would add more interest to the white tulle... brainstorming other things - i've also seen some american church decor using silver and white balloons (high quality ones of course) along the aisles. dunno how you feel about ballons, but they can be used tastefully if not overdone. also, maybe you can layer the white cloth with wide silk ribbons of a different color. OR, make big loopy bows with wired ribbons to keep the bows lush. OR , for a cheap but classy effect with the white tulle, how about using florist greenery "fillers" with low-cost wildflowers, instead of the traditional fresh flower posy. i've heard leafy fillers can be very inexpensive (think cents instead of dollars). hehe, ok sorry for rambling, i'm running on pure caffeine today.

<font color="0000ff">ribbit</font> - wah! you've been busy, girl! glad to see you back.... hehe, the 6 degrees ain't that dramatic lah, ashlee was my NJ classmate, but since we're diff faculty from you, i dunno if you know her... she's not from SCGS, that would be TOO weird! wow, Turin sounds wonderfully quaint! despite the techno-shortfall, i'm sure you have many wonderful weekends exploring the place and settling in... i'd love to walk the backroads of europe, so lovely!

yep yep, agree with everyone about skype - think the sound quality is the best of all i've tried... actually i've been using voip for quite a few years already, and have noticed the quality improving dramatically over the years. in fact, most of those cheapo phone cards we get here are powered using voip technology (2cents per min to singapore?). hey, a skype gathering sounds like fun! wait till after my wedding, okay... hey we could even have an online "demo of dewy's wedding" type of party on webx or something, at the same time....

oh and note on the music, for <font color="0000ff">ashlee</font> and whoever's interested... i think that as long as the music is not intrusive at the wrong places, you should be able to find a spot to stick your favorite songs wherever appropriate! like, our more boisterous songs are going to be played at the beginning, of the evening, during cocktails or whatever. most people are going to be talking anyway, so i don't think anyone will even be paying attention. but we're going with mostly bossa nova-y type of lounge tunes (FH's fav!) and then i'll try to slip in the requisite few sappy love songs that i like, hehehe... i actually like cantopop but FH put his foot down on that. haha, which is probably a good thing.

 

[katgrrl]

Ribbit, so u met a Finn cool.. well, that's because there are ony 5m of them. Techno dark ages aside, I think Italy is a wonderful base to start exploring the rest of Europe, lucky u! I'd love to do a 3wk Europe drive-through 1 summer. sigh..... U2! Nice! when is that? Are u a Mac user too? *high 5!*

Oh Ashlee, I know what u mean about the music though. We aren't really into sappy celine dion kinda songs (no offence to any Dion fans!). I've happily assigned the task to my FH and he likes CCR, Beatles, Cream and Pink Floyd.. In short, I've no idea what he's going to propose

But let's discuss the 'segments' (i.e. moods?) we're going to have..that will make our task easier, I suppose?

-Cocktail
-Entrance
-Chow-time
-2nd entrance/cake cutting
-Farewell

I agree with u that the music selected should reflect your tastes and it should say who u are. But I also think Dewy made a great point about more boisterous songs being played at the beginning.. I'm going to add, how about the end bit (Farewell) as well? For me, I like the classics, Beatles and R&amp;B...so i think I'm going to insert a couple of Alicia Keys &amp; Norah Jones

oooh, try Laura Fygi if u want some smooth jazz during the meal.