Catholic Brides

[minssy]

hi fleur,

i would say its 97%.... mine is a monday wedding and by 730pm, the reception area was quite full already! hee.. pple tend to be earlier on a weekday wedding..

yes yes.. they dunnoe! and the best is that she never give ang bao

. but there are always such cases.. hee..

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi ladies,

Been super busy! Hardly have time to reply. THanks for yr prayers, everything works our fine by the grace of God. Tomor is my engagaemnet mass. very excited! Still have a few things to do today for tomor. Pleae pray for us that the weather is fine! Will write after this! can't post my photos here, got rejected! Till then!

 

[novia]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this thread. I'm a catholic bride too! AD 9th Dec 06, @ SFX church.

Hey Elizabeth, will pray for you, that the weather would be fine.

Hi CSI fan, hold it at St Mary of the Angels! The church very avangard, nice! But I called them and they said they only take in their own parish people... Hopefully they might consider given that you're their future parishioner. St Theresa and Holy Cross are nice churches too! You're so lucky got such good choices

But I suggest you decide fast and book cos even for my date in dec next year, got people book for dec 06 and jan 07 already! Some things better to be kiasu a bit

 

[laluna]

Hi gals,

Have not been in here for a long time. And am quite tied up with work too.

Hi Novia, so strange, I was looking at St Mary of the Angels website the other day and saw their rates for parishioners and non-parishioners. Am coping from their website here (CSI fan, maybe you can check out their webpage for more):

Church Expenses
To cover the utility costs of air-conditioning, floral decorations and other operating expenses, a donation of $600.00 ($1000 for Non-parishioners) is requested. This is to be given to the parish office at least one (1) week before your wedding.


A refundable $200 deposit for the use of the reception area is also required.

Hi Minssy, happy to hear that your wedding went well overall.

Wish you lots of bliss!

 

[novia]

Wah laluna! St Mary of the Angels so ex ah!!! I'm paying $450 for SFX (use of church and cafeteria, for parishioners and non-parishioners the same price) and I already think it's ex cos i heard other churches like Christ the Kind is only $300 leh! Plus flower decor also dun have $1000! Hmm... St Mary of the Angels quite ex ah. Somemore must put $200 deposit. Looks like they earn from weddings

 

[minssy]

hi elizabeth,

oh its tomorrow! cool! you must be pretty excited now yah... yes hope the weather is fine.. it has been raining so much recently.. will pray for you!

have fun yah!

hi laluna,

thanx

hi bride,

sorry to say that st mary is the most ex, from what i know from the forums here... .here already wanna faint...

 

[kitty_li]

Hi gals,
Thanks for all your advice!
Wah! *faint*....St Mary's so ex! My goodness! But well, I guess that's one way for them to get back into the black, after the major renovation...

Yes, yes....somethings must be more kia su...heehee.

elizabeth, have fun tommorrow! will pray for you too...

 

[vvbbb]

hi Liz,

Ya, will also pray that the mass will go smooth today.

CSI Fan, my wedding will be at St Mary's. Was surprised at first but my bf assured me that he'll cover the expenses hehehe... I always thot everything is free (or minimal) in church (since give tithing already)... But I guess the church has to cover their expenses in some ways.

Fleur, i'll be taking 2 weeks off in dec so will do cake searching and taste each one. In my list to try is Patiserie, Angie the Choice, Cedele, Canele. I got a list of all the bakeries from forum (Minssy, from u right?) and make the filter by the 'look' of cake first, before going down to taste (or buy) a piece of their cake.

 

[vvbbb]

Hi all, i just got this from PG for their cake prices. Sigh... it means I'm paying >$300 for the word 'wedding' in the cake and the cake decoration hehehe.... Is it wise to 'waste' such money? But on the other hand, it's a once-a-lifetime 'dream'.


a. wedding cake 7", 12", 16" with acrylic stand SGD 570.00
b. wedding cake 5", 9" 14" with acrylic stand SGD 500.00
c. wedding cake without acrylic stand SGD 450.00

If you need the kitchen cake without any decoration, it will be charge by kg. For 150- 180 guest, you may need 6-7 kg. Please see the following for the quotation:

Premium cake
a. 6 kg Lychee Martini SGD 210.00
b. Delivery SGD 10.00
c. Total SGD 220.00

Mid range cake
a. 6 kg Black Forest SGD 192.00
b. Delivery SGD 10.00
c. Total SGD 202.00

 

[minssy]

hi elizabeth,

its good weather today!!! *hugs*

enjoy your engagement mass.. do update us later yah.. have fun!!

 

[minssy]

hi viv,

the price is ok already.. i heard of more ex ones... thats how wedding vendors earn...

 

[trina_wys]

hello gals!!

wah! St Mary's is so expensive! but at least it includes the flowers too.. dun worry viv.. its really a once in a life time thingy so dun think too much..

hmm.. the cake pricing from PG seems pretty alright.. guess will check out others too..

gals.. i'm thinking of lilac and white as the colour theme for the church.. what do u gals think? coz this was the colour mention by wedding acts.. hehe.. they say that pink and white is too overly used.. haiz.. still can't make up my mind over the colour.. can anyone help?

hi missy.. what colour theme did u have for ur church wedding?

 

[minssy]

hi petrina,

mine is pink & champagne roses...

lilac & white is fine... sweet color...

pink & white may be overly used but its a sweet color that will never go wrong.. its really up to your own preference

 

[carelinwen]

Hi Elizabeth,
Congrats! All the best for your married life.

Hi oraia,
Love your cake! I initially wanted one too but no budget for it.

Hi petrina,
My colours are lilac and off-white. You can see my church invites in the previous achives. But my cousins are wearing pink, the colours are quite close though and frankly most guest do not differentiate much between such pastel colour themes. Unless you are doing something very unusual, most people will not remember exact colours in the wedding.

Just choose a few colours that you will be comfortable looking at in yr photos and go with whatever is easier to obtain things in (e.g. jiemei dresses, ribbons for corsages, jewellery, etc).

 

[fleur1]

Hi Elizabeth,
Happy engagement! Rather good weather, I think.

Hi Viv,
Wow, indeed the difference in prices for "wedding" cakes and plain cakes without the decoration is quite big! However, so long as it makes you happy (without overly bursting your budget, just go for it! Good for you that you can actually take 2 weeks to do wedding stuff. Will be quite fun...

Hi Minssy,
I think that it was very good attendance that you got for the dinner! Can you share how you manage to do it?

Anyway about St Mary... I think the price is quite ok actually, after factoring the fact that the cost of floral decorations is already included. I also agree that guests tend not to remember the colour scheme of the place. So long as the flowers doll up the place and add to the grandeur, I will be happy. (Guess I have to, after spending on a bomb on the flowers. Haha!) Lilac and off-white is a very nice colour scheme too.

Hi CSI fan,
With regards to floral deco just before Christmas, don't count on it too much. Seems that some churches will keep bare deco during the Advert period.

 

[minssy]

hi fleur,

a.... basically, we spilt up the rsvps accordingly to my dad's, hubby's mum's, hubby's and myself....

for me, i emailed/sms my guests abt 2 weeks before wedding to confirm (so that i can provide a better figure to my hotel). then 1 week before the AD, i emailed/sms my friends to just remind them to arrive early....

sorry but i cant stand when i hear cases that brides/grooms do not really proactively check with their friends and will expect them to turn up on the AD... and when they fly kite, they will say that their friends no good lah.. blah blah blah blah...

so my point is: do your job

. however, no matter how you remind, there will still be clowns who will MC/AWOL on that day

 

[kitty_li]

Yes, minssy, you are right. No matter what you do, there will be pple who just disappear on that day.

Oh, re St. Mary's, found out from a friend who held her mass there, that although she paid the $600, her flowers were those used by the 1st couple. Her wedding was the 2nd one that day, and she says there were altogether 3 weddings. So even though everybody pays the same amount, they all "shared" the flowers. Does that happen at other parishes too?

 

[minssy]

hi csi fan,

it only happens to big churches.. i heard of couple sharing the flowers cost if they know they are getting married the same day (different timings of cos).

 

[trina_wys]

hi gals!!

thanks for all ur input.. will keep lilac and off-white in mind..

and did u all know.. now's the start of Advent and the flower deco in churches are shades of purple too.. hehe.. so interesting right? think my church will be very happy if i take lilac and off-white as my colour theme next year..

hi CSI fan,

yupz.. the flowers are shared with the wedding couples throughout the day and for my church.. the colour theme would be according to the first couple that books the place.. hehe.. thats why now i want to confirm my colour theme by CNY first..

hi missy,

i agreee with u on the follow-up.. thats very important and it'll also be more sincere this way.. was just telling my FH that for our wedding cards.. must make sure to write the names of our invitee down.. everyone of them.. dun like those cards that comes with a blank for the guest to fill up their own names.. not good..

 

[minssy]

hi petrina,

hahaha! yah lah.. of cos must write down.. however for me, i only wrote down their names cos i made it more casual.. hubby wrote their full names down.. so up to you eventually

 

[kitty_li]

Hi Petrina,

Oh is it? The colour theme would be according to the 1st couple that books the place? (most likely I guess, depending on church) aahhh.....more incentive to quickly book the place first. heehee...I've been calling the secretariat, but there's no answer. haiz. Want to book the church and move on to the next thing on the list...

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi Ladies,

Thanks for all your prayers! Everything went well except the food and a bit of hicupps in church. Now busy packing and will be flying off this Sat! Will write again!

 

[laluna]

Hi gals,

Am back from my busy busy working weekend.

CSI, I have a friend who got married at Christ the King Church (the one at Ang Mo Kio) and she also shared the same florist, her mass was the 2nd one. But a few hiccups cause the first couple wanted floral stands which would cost more and she didn't want.

I think in the end the florist took away the stands just before her turn. Also, she love pink flowers but the first couple wanted all white flowers. In the end, she had to agree with the all white theme.

So must be prepared to compromise on themes and preference cause all couples involved on that day will be using the same stuff.

 

[minssy]

hi elizabeth,

great! looking forward to hear more from you

hi laluna,

exactly.... the compromise must be agreed lor.. so troublesome rite? and not all couples are easy going.... sigh..

 

[kitty_li]

Hi Elizabeth,

Good to hear!

Enjoy your trip!

hi laluna, minssy,

yah...not everyone would be easy going, though can understand lah...every couple wants it to be perfect in their own way.

Oh, just got a call from St Teresa...

we have to call Fr. Arro to book the dates...think I'll leave that to FH to handle, coz it's his parish after all. hehehe...

 

[novia]

hey girls, really ah? The first bride dictates the colour theme? Can't they change the flowers in between the masses? Hmm... My mass is at 11am, so should be the first mass right? I don't think it's fair for a bride to compromise her colour theme to another bride leh... not fair on both the first and second brides.

 

[trina_wys]

hi gals!!

hi bride,

the florist will not be able to change the flowers in between masses because there is simpily no time to do so.. so that's how it goes.. the first bride who books will have the say in colour theme.. i believe that this is the case for most churches here..

my mass is also at 11am.. however.. if another bride wants to book it at 8am.. there is still a possiblity that it can be booked as well depending on the priest..

hi CSI fan,

maybe when u go down for mass on sundays.. can book it then..

from what i understand.. all these church secretaries are all on a voluntery basis.. so they may be in church from morning till afternoon.. so maybe u can try calling at different times of the day..

 

[trina_wys]

hi missy,

need a favour from u.. could u give me philip lye's number again? i misplaced it somewhere but can't find it now..

and will he answer the phone himself or his wife?

 

[aiko]

Hi gals,
glad to see that this thread is still as active as ever...congraluation elizabeth n enjoy your trip.
And welcome bek to spore minssy...heehee you are still an active member of this thread, glad to have you around.
I can see that many of you have actually started full swing on the research of florists, caterers, cake, photographers as well as videographers. I have not started on the above yet. Panicked now.

 

[aiko]

hi petrina,
i'm not aware that there will chances when we will share colour themes with other brides...i have booked the 9.00am time slot, so i guess will be the first bride right? how is your day event going to be like? I guess you are going to have the gatecrashing in the morn followed by tea ceremony and then church right?

 

[minssy]

hi csi fan,

haha! yah lor yah lor.. oh well, lets pray to a smooth process

ok quickly book!

hi bride,

not really lah.. its really HOW you communicate in between couples

hi petrina,

sure! philip is at 6566 1683 or 9816 9128. call his home first. else call his mobile. if he miss the call, he will call you back. i was so impressed as to how he know i called even though i did not leave a voice mail! hee...

hi aiko,

thank you thank you... yes i am still active! hee.. will continue to be active... hahah

haven do research ah? i tell you lah... if you are daring enough, just take our contacts.. there are sooo many caterers and florst around but you can only choose 1 rite? so if you hear of a good one, you can just take and confirm, if you are comfortable.. i got sooo many contacts for caterers last time but i ended up taking CJS cos 2 forum friends recommended

as for PG & VG, that one you gotta spend abit of time cos you need to find someone with good chemistry and of works that you like and of your budget

 

[trina_wys]

hi AIKO,

eventhough u're the first bride for that day.. u must indicate ur colour preference first because if another bride has booked it at 12 noon.. and she chose her colour theme first and place a deposit to secure the place.. then u would have to follow her theme..

this is what's happening to my church.. that's why i will be confirming my booking of the church and florist before CNY next year to secure my colour theme.. so racking my brains for a colour theme now.. somemore my AD falls on the first week of Advent.. the colour theme is purple.. me thinking of lilac and off-white and maybe some pink in it too..

when is ur AD? mine is 25th Nov 2006..

hi missy,

thank u so much for the contact.. hehe.. so paiseh to ask u again.. so when i call him.. i'll just say that i would like to engage him for my church wedding next year right?

do i have to go and meet him and pay a deposit?

 

[aiko]

yeah minssy,
heehee i read through so many recommedation but have not really create a list of them....in the end i have forgotten many of the recommendations. I beieve as the time draws nearer, I will start to really concentrate. My AD will be next year July..Still quite some time. Or perhaps not?

Petrina,
i have booked the church quite sometime back...the secretary only asks me to call back next year again to pay deposit. She never tells me about the colour theme. Guess I have to call her again to check.

 

[trina_wys]

hi AIKO,

its always safer to call and double confirm first..

 

[kitty_li]

Hi gals,

I just got a call from Fr. Arro...at this hour! I felt so pai seh

, it's so late. Was telling FH over dinner that I'm leaving the booking of the church to him to handle, and we were thinking of confirming our banquet venue first. But coz I left my number in the secretariat's voice mail, Fr. Arro called me back...and so soon! Really nice of him.

So the date for church is fixed, and now we have to decide on the banquet.

 

[minssy]

hi petrina,

no worries abt it...

no deposit nothing is required.. if you have problems choosing the songs, you can go to his house and he will advice you... when your mass booklet is completed, just send him 1 copy.. he need to do some stuff first...

hi aiko,

of cos you still have time...its never too late to start compiling your contacts

hi csifan,

ok hope you can find a hotel with the date that you wan

 

[ahjo77]

HI everyone

I would be having my church wedding at St Anne church in Oct 06 ..anyone who had theirs there can share with mi the experience ...eg the donations , the floral arrangements etc


Thanks
ahjo77

 

[kyrieleison]

Hello!

I'm having my wedding in St Francis of Assisi next year. Anyone has any idea how much is the rental etc? Do we catholic brides still have the traditional gate crash or do we meet our FHs in the church directly?

 

[minssy]

hi kyrie,

never really heard the previous brides mention abt this church. best is to call the secretariat on the charges..

catholic brides still can have gate crashing ah.. that is if you wanna enjoy the 'playing part' of cos.. else it will be a mysterious timing for FH if you go to church directly since you will only see him when you are there...

tea ceremonies will be conducted after church then. so with this case, its better to do a morning mass....

 

[oraia]

hi kyrie,

I got married at St. Francis of Assisi

Rental of church I think is about $400 if I didn't remember wrongly. (Better call the church. It might be less) Plus a deposit of $100 for cleaning. Most ppl just donate the $100 to the church (they don't usu ask for it back).

 

[kyrieleison]

Hi minssy, thanks!

Yah my FH who is also a Catholic, insists on a gate crash. Seems like he can't wait to kena sabo. Hee what time is the usual for wedding masses?

Hi Oraia,

thanks for the info. Finally found someone who got married in SFA.

Which father celebrated the mass for you? Actually my AD is in Dec next year so I haven't met Father yet. However, i need to know the cost and all for the entire church recep. Did you have your lunch recep in the church?
Are there any hard and fast rules about the deco? For example, i know some churches do not allow fresh flowers or have their own florist that we must tie up with.

Paiseh.. got so many questions..

 

[minssy]

hi kyrie,

hahaahh! gate crashing is FUN! hee...

no fixed time. mine is at 11am. gate crashing at 8. tea ceremonies at both side familes (small and chop chop) and we reach church at 10.30am

 

[kyrieleison]

Hey minssy,

Really?

Then guess we just got to start the day earlier! Hmm.. most prob i'll have it around that time too. At least after my gate crash can go straight to his place for tea ceremony. Then after that, to church and lunch recep before going back to my side for tea ceremony.

One more thing, do we do Guo Da Li too? I see everyone doing it in other threads..but is it a chinese traditional custom?

 

[debliss]

hi gals,

are any of you gg to be married at st teresa? any idea if we can choose to use our own florist? cos the secretariate told me that she strongly prefers us to use this particular florist. We dun mind, but her rates seem to be quite high.

did anyone use their own florist at st teresa?

thanks!

 

[minssy]

hi kyrie,

i think mine is ok... but hubby's house is near to church so i have more time to play around... u just have to plan and plan

yes i had a very simple GDL too.. MIL came with her SIL (hubby's anuntie) and brought over liquor, oranges, trotters and wedding cake.. just the very basic stuff over tea...i think its a chinese custom...

hi debliss,

someone here had used before but i aint sure if they still frequent this thread.. try checking with the church concurrently yah..

 

[kitty_li]

Hi gals,

what a busy week...phew! TGIF!! hahaa....

Hi debliss,
I'll be getting married at St. Teresa. I just booked the church (coz mine is next year), so haven't asked about florist etc yet. When's your wedding?
The secretariat told me she won't be around from tmrw till 13 Dec. Not sure if there's anyone helping to 'cover' her while she's away. Perhaps it'll be better to just ask directly if we can use our own florist?

 

[kyrieleison]

Thanks Minssy

Will prob have to talk to my mum about this. I doubt she knows anything about GDL too.. Perhaps my FH's side is more knowledgeable about Chinese custom.

 

[carelinwen]

Hi gals,

My wedding is tomorrow at St Teresa, please help me pray for good weather and that everything would be fine.

I did not have GDL or gatecrashing as we felt the GDL got no meaning to us cos we don't believe in those 'auspicious' rituals and the gatecrashing would make my FH sweat too much (he will drip sweat one, yucky! then I'll not even want to hold his hand.)

There is another couple using the church in the morning and I will be sharing the floral deco with them. As far as I know, when we enquired about the church usage, they never said have to use particular florist.
But maybe other florists have given the church many problems so now there is a new rule??

I know a good florist that is familiar with St Teresa and knows the people there. However as the couple before me booked earlier and already have a florist, I am using him for car deco and bouquets only. Anyone interested can PM me and I will reply you after the honeymoon.

 

[minssy]

hi kyrie,

my dad doesnt know anything much also... just do a very simple basic one lor.. the whole idea is to meet up and then your parents will take the 'pin jin' and return partial gifts to your fh's side

hi carelinwen,

all the best and enjoy your AD!

 

[oraia]

hi kyrie,

no worries. oh, SFA is quite relaxed about rules. you can call the secretariat and chat with the lady if u need more info - her name is pauline. But i think she only works during certain times of the day.

anyhow, no rules about flowers. i got someone to come and do the floral decor. the only thing is they need u to clear up after the mass/ service.

We didn't get a Father from SFA to marry us. We invited another priest from another church to do tt. But the parish priest (oops can't rem his name) did the interview for us.

Yes, my booking costs included the hall beside the church, where i held my reception.

hope this helps!