Catholic Brides

[kitty_li]

hi jadeyu,

No...usually sundays they dun allow. Hmmm...actually, the one where I attended a wedding on a Sunday is at Risen Christ (Toa Payoh). BUT it wasn't a wedding mass. It was a wedding, INCORPORATED into the usual Sunday mass. So the pple attending your mass would include the rest of the congregation attending mass that Sunday (of course, these pple wun be invited to your reception lah...hehs).

In the past, I remember Holy Cross used to allow, coz I remember a few occasions, after the last AM mass, all the floral decorations will go up. But I think the archdiocese changed the practice liaoz - Sunday is meant for God only...kinda thing.

 

[green_apples]

Hi....I am looking for a AD photographer for my wedding in May 2008. Could my fellow Catholic brides recommend some AD photographers to me? Is it too early to book photographer now? Can PM me any contacts please? Many thanks!

 

[lyons]

<font color="119911">hi green_apples, I highly recommend hilarion goh from Tri-Angles. You can contact him @ 96630088. He's highly recommended by other brides too. You can find him @ the tri-angles thread under the photography forum.</font>

 

[minssy]

hi green apples,

my AD PG was simon from fotothemes at 9431 2228. he is also a catholic..

 

[green_apples]

Thanks for the photographer contacts. I have another question: Is it neccesary to have a bridesmaid? What does a bridesmaid do?

 

[bluebearypie]

Hi green apples,

I would say, nope, it's not necessary to have a bridesmaid. However, you will need somebody to hold your bag of belongings such as water and hp. And also to take care of your bouquet. And help you get around when needed. A bridesmaid also does all those things. So you don't necessarily need a bridesmaid, but you definitely need at least one personal slave =)

 

[jadeyu]

Hi CSI fan and minssy,
thanx for the information. If only Holy cross can... sigh.. now gotta look for alternatives date. then is it possible if i choose a date that falls on monday but is a public holiday? thx.

 

[kitty_li]

Hi Jadeyu,
Oh...yah, Holy Cross dun allow. hehs...esp with Fr. Richards Ambrose there. kekekeke...Er...yah, Public Holidays should be ok...

 

[purpleclouds]

anyone having their church wedding at st vincent de paul church?

 

[jadeyu]

Hi CSI Fan.
Thx for ur help. u from Holy Cross? hehe..

 

[merribell]

Hi Jadeyu,
When is your AD? cos i wanted to use Holy Cross but its under reno and I unerstand the reno wun be done till May/June 08...just fyi...

 

[roomfulofstars]

Has anyone ever gotten married closer to evening time?

 

[kitty_li]

hi Jadeyu,
heehee...yup yup. Am from Holy Cross.

 

[jadeyu]

hi merribell,
my AD will be in Dec. heard fr my facilitators that the church reno will be completed by then. Luckily dun have to look elsewhere cos thats where my FH wanna hold the wedding. when's yours?

CSI Fan, could seek advice fr u... hehe.

 

[kitty_li]

Hi Jadeyu,

After the reno, Holy Cross will look so nice...

Hehs, dunno what I can advice you lah...coz my wedding mass was held at St Teresa (hubby's parish - that time, Holy Cross haven't started their reno yet), not Holy Cross. kekekeke...

 

[jyiah]

hi ppl...just a qtn....is it compulsory to attend marriage preparation course to have church wedding?

 

[mrs_n]

You need to attend some form of marriage preparation before you can get married in the Catholic church. You can attend either MPC (Marriage Preparation Course) or the EE (Engaged Encounter) weekend. Our priest told us that if we didn't attend either, we would have to do one with him instead!

 

[pinkyting]

Hi all,

My bf is a catholic.. juz wonder on the AD, how does everything go abt? Usually, guy side tea ceremony after that girl side.. If got church wedding den how huh? keke... pls advise.. thanks

 

[minssy]

hi liting,

u have to find out what u want to do first.. typical programs:

1) gatecrashing
2) groom's house for tea ceremony
3) bride's house for tea ceremony
4) church

or could be (1), (4), (2), (3).
Its very flexible... all depends on your preference..

 

[bluebearypie]

hi liting,

agree it's all up to you and both families. For me, I did (1), (3), (4), (2) for the simple reason that church is a 5min drive from my house (I'm the catholic).

 

[kitty_li]

hi liting,

There's no hard and fast rules. Depends on both families. I did the same order as bbp, but tea ceremony for groom side was held in Church. Coz hubby's side didn't want to travel between chruch and the home for tea ceremony...and I wanted to have the gate crashing bit.

Some couples do without the gatecrashing and meet directly at church. So the 1st time the groom sees his bride for that day...would be the moment she walks down the aisle.

 

[isabel_n]

We left out 1), went church seperately and tea ceremony at our parents' houses.

Had some unpleasant experiences with Church of St Anne's caretaker called William. When I went checking with various caterers, one hesitated about providing services for this church 'cos the caretaker asked her drivers to sweep and clear the rubbish!
My family members also complained about him as he was very unhelpful and arrogant during our AD. When I checked with my friends volunteering in this church, they said this old man only help few people who are VIP there and always gave excuses in serving the church. He is a paid employee, yet the church needs a volunteer to open the church every morning.

So if anyone want to help their wedding there, it's best to avoid liaising with this guy. I was humiliated by him with " the money you pay couldn't even pay for using the church!" when I called him to check about using the church's facilities. We were darn darn piss!

 

[pinkyting]

Hi hi,

Thanks for the advise. So it does depends what time is the mass, if it is quite late den we still can have tea ceremony at both side first b4 church wedding rite? keke.. i think my bf's church will be near to hougang plaza.. i think is nativity rite? sorry dunno the name... will u ladies feel nervous as u hv to say out the vow? i think i will coz scare duno how to pronounce certain words.. keke

 

[lyons]

<font color="119911">hi isabel, oh dear... this guy sounds horrible! Such a shame we have people like him in the catholic church. Rude and unfriendly. There are people like that in other churches too. Don't be pissed... don't let people like that ruin your mood.

Hi liting, if you have time, you can do the tea ceremony at both sides before the church wedding. Most of the time, it's a bit of a rush because the mass is usually in the morning unless you have an afternoon mass. My mass is at 12pm and yet I don't have time to do both so I will do my side first when he comes to pick me up then church then go to the hotel to do his side.

Haha me too! I'm going to memorise my vows and we're both so scared we'll forget the words! Wonder if it's ok to let the priest hold a piece of paper with the vows on it by the side so we can peek at it just in case

</font>

 

[kitty_li]

hi bride,
erm, from what I see of most wedding mass &amp; services, the priest will hold up his copy of the wedding booklet in front of the couple. Heehee...while hubby and I memorised our vows, the priest solemnizing our marriage still held our booklet up in front of us (but we didn't look lah. heehee...)

 

[cookiebunny]

Hi Isabel,

I guess some churches do have some blacksheeps. My church's secretariat &amp; florist were also unfriendly and not really helpful.

The best of all, during our lunch reception I asked my bridesmaid to ask the people in the church office to join us for lunch, they came to the hall, ate the buffet lunch, sat on the table next to me and not a single word of acknoledgement to me or my hb.
I think it's just plain rude, we are not expecting gift or anything but I think it's common courtesy when u go to a wedding, you have to at least congratulate the bride &amp; groom not just eat and leave *shake head*.

Bride,
Ya, the priest also held the booklet in front of us. I guest it's common to be nervous and forgot the vows

Your wedding is comming soon, right? Congrats

 

[lyons]

<font color="119911">hi CSI and Cookie, thanks for the reassurance! Ok, will get the priest to hold up the vow for us

Cos we wrote our own vows so have to speak slowly or other people will not hear us.

Wah... your church people are terribly rude! Eat your food somemore! tsk tsk!</font>

 

[isabel_n]

Thanks all. Everything went smoothly, minus that arrogant old man and the warm "air-con" church. A pity as the rest are very nice though.
We also didn't memorise the vows, our priest showed us the booklet, hehe.
Congrats to all newly-wed brides and all those to-be soon.

It's important to get a friend who is experienced in wedding mass/service process. He/she will know when and where to stand/walk at the right time.

 

[lyons]

<font color="119911">hi girls! Can anyone tell me who will notify my parents to go to the back of the church to prepare for the offering of gifts?</font>

 

[minssy]

hi bride,

your church main coordinator.. prefer he/she is a catholic so that they know when to do it.. else u have to tell the person very specifically when he/she need to inform.

 

[lyons]

<font color="119911">hi minssy, thanks! LONG TIME NO SEE!

My AD is FINALLY coming... next sat. A bit nervous but can't wait to get it over with so that we can start our lives together

</font>

 

[minssy]

hi hi bride,

yeah yeah.. very fast hor??

wah enjoy the moments while you can

remember to plan the best that you can and leave it all to your helpers to assist.. on the AD, you just stay pretty and be a princess! hee..

 

[minssy]

hi hugsbaby,

congratulations! do drop by this thread often

 

[babyfifi]

Hi all,

I still have not confirmed my florist for my wedding in Jan 08. Any to recommend? I read thru the past threads and have contacted Minssy's contact as well as Red Petals.

Red Petals charge me $450, not the $350 that was quoted to you.

I find their flowers ordinary only.

Susan has yet to get back to me.

Any other recommendations?

 

[minssy]

hi fifi,

alot out there are expensive.. more than $500 that kind.. there are a few florist at katong mall.. u gotta go to yellow pages and find the contacts.. they are apparently not so ex..

 

[lyons]

<font color="119911">hi everyone! Esp minssy!!! My AD is finally over! I'm now officially a MRS! haha

I'm in sucha state of bliss and I'm just so relieved we can now concentrate on our lives ahead. The church wedding went well! All our guests loved the ceremony. Very romantic, they said. Most "non-boring" mass the non-catholics ever attended

All thanks to my fantastic choir from SFX.

Hey fifi, I HIGHLY recommend Mia from Blissfulthots! She's sooooo helpful and she's been very thoughtful to all my sometimes-unreasonable requests. The deco turned out to be soooooo gorgeous and more than I could ever expect! I really feel you should call her. Her rates are cheaper than red petals (when I was researching for a florist, that's what I found). But it also depends on what type of deco and quantity you need.</font>

 

[minssy]

hi bride,

congratulations!! hee...

i am sure some of the brides will be asking for pictures so do post up some pictures when you ready

 

[kitty_li]

Hey bride,
Congratulations!!

Welcome to being a "Mrs"...heehee...

Yah, do post up some pics if u can...

 

[quixotic]

Hey All,

I need some advice urgently here.

I am a Catholic while my BF is not. Wondering if it's possible for us to hold a solemnisation or rather ROM at Fort Canning first, after which we will then hold a proper Church wedding with Mass and all in the later part of the year.
It's kinda weird (the idea of having a ROM first) as I know that we are supposed to exchange our vows in front of the cross, in a church setting and all.

Reason why we are thinking of doing this is because of we've just bought a house and need to produce our marriage certificate and of course, budget constraint. Could anyone kindly advice on the total cost of a proper church wedding, from booking of church, to decor, to food and to redpackets which we have to give to the choir etc etc...

If the total cost is still within our means, definitely we would prefer to have a proper church wedding at one go...

Would really appreciate some advice here. Thanks in advance

 

[kitty_li]

Hi Christina,
It's ok to have ROM first then Church service (usually it's a wedding service if one party is non-Catholic, but I think some priests still ok to do a full mass) another time. My BIL did that (wife is the non-Catholic). But of course, it'll be more meaningful to exchange vows in front of the cross etc...

Generally, total cost of a church wedding depends on where you plan to have it at. "Donation" for booking of church can range from $100 to $600. Some include flower arrangements in the fee, some don't. I think St Mary's is $600 or more (can't quite remember) but it includes floral arrangement. Else, you'd have to source for your own floral arrangements. Got cheap cheap ones (and still very nice) and not so cheap ones...

Food, you can do a simple tea recep (depending on number of guests - similar to your ROM right? I mean, also need to cater/arrange for some makan for guests?). Red packets for helpers - up to you. ROM helpers, u'd give something. On AD, you'd also give ur helpers something. Red packets for choir - depends on parish also. Some stipulate a fee for engaging their choir. Some allow you to get your own friends to sing for you (then you can give whatever amt you are comfortable with. Afterall, they are your friends.

). Printing of booklets - depends on number of guests, you can easily DIY.

 

[lyons]

<font color="119911">hi minssy &amp; CSI, I'll post the pics when they're ready. I really loved my church deco...

Hi Christina, as to the cost of holding a church wedding, I don't think it's terribly expensive unless you really want to do up the whole church

Here are some of the costs involved:
1. church rental (SFX charges $150 for church and canteen rental, very reasonable I feel. Some churches charge more than $400)

2. church deco (Mia from Blissfulthots charges very reasonable rates and her deco is very nice. I paid $480 but I checked with other florists like greenpoint and the same type of deco would have cost me at least $800). Mia has packages ranging from $250 upwards. Some brides don't even have deco for SFX because the church itself already very nice. The choice is yours

SFX accepts non-parishioners, btw)

3. church recep cost: ranges from $8 per person all the way up. If you time your church ceremony, you can choose a timing that will require you to provide a tea recep instead of a lunch recep? On the other hand, some caterers charge the same for both types of recep so you've got to do some research.

4. bridal gown &amp; suit, makeup, photography, videography etc.

5. church mass booklets (for churches without the projector, you must print booklets. Again, depending on the quantity, they can range from $2 upwards)

6. church choir (some churches have volunteers who just want a love offering and you give whatever you're comfortable with)

7. ang paos for church people like priests, altar boys, choir etc.

I think that's the main bulk of it. The most ex one is the gowns.</font>

 

[jmi]

Hi bride,

Congrats!! Please share your pix with me too. By the way, I will also be using Mia this December

 

[cel_]

Hi,
anyone having wedding service on ur AD? Do u hv samples of wedding service booklet to share? My email: [email protected]. Thank you.

 

[miaka05]

any BTBs or brides from OLPS?

need some advises on the following:-

1) whioh choir from OLPS is good? they have any charges?

2) how does the floral arrangement which we paid for in our contribution to the church looks like? nice?

 

[foolsparadise]

Thanks CSI Fan and Bride. I've terminated Quixotic and used this nick instead.

Most prob will be planning for ROM first then. Thanks for the advice.

 

[tanjanne]

Cel, I've sent a powerpoint presentation (template) to your email. Hope its helps allittle.

 

[cel_]

Thank you tanjanne...

 

[miaka05]

any brides from OLPS?

how are the floral arrangements and how r the charges? anyone used external florists instead of the one assigned by the church?

 

[snowball05]

hi miaka,
the contribution u gave to the church does not include the flowers. Apparently, you have to use their appointed florist called olive3. U can get a brochure from the secretaria, the package starts from $400. When is ur wedding? U will be assigned a WPS couple who can help you liase with any other couple that is getting married on the same day so that perhaps u guys can share the cost.
hope this helps

 

[miaka05]

hi snowzie,

the WPS couple has told us that we r the only couple having the wedding for the day so there is no one to share the cost with us. and also we have found another florist who is charging us cheaper than $400 so we thought it wouldn't make sense for us to engage olive3 who is charging us more.