Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa

[catz]

Hi bleuz,
I actually thought of renting my TW (due to $$ constraints) but I was soooooo surprised when my FH asked me to buy it! Yeah, he really likes it 'cos at first when I told him I couldn't use my other wedding gown, he jumped sky-high! Hehe..

All's well that ends well, eh?

You're so luck that your place will be ready for you to stay in after your wedding!!! I will probably be stuck at my parents' place for about 2 months after the wedding..

The solemnisation will be at the Waterfront Lawn. Sure, no problem with dropping by on the actual day but I don't think I'll be around to escort you around.. I've just realised that my timing is very tight!!! But do come and see or I could show you the photos after.

No recommendations for make-up artiste.. but my bridesmaid has engaged one to do my mom's make-up as well as for herself and my sister. Will let you know how that turns out. Doesn't Irene's Creation tie up with any make-up artistes?? Another friend of mine engaged T G Goh.. very expensive!

 

[bleuz]

Hi Catz,

You FH must really dote on you

... if the same situation happens to me, hehehe, i think he'd just freak out!!

Having a place to stay in immediately after the wedding is indeed a blessing. That's 1 reason we decided to buy this place and not 1 that will TOP after our wedding. I've been to the area near your new place. I think it's so nice and serene

Hey, coz you'd be busy on your special day, not expecting you to show me around. Just wanted to pop by to see the setup and all. It'll be great to see your photos afterwards too. And you'd be able to share your experiences. Care to share your schedule for the actual day? I'm doing some thinking for mine so will be good to have some reference. That's if you don't mind of course

Yep, do keep me updated about the make-up artise that your bridesmaid engaged. My package with IC only consists of MTM gowns and rental of kwa and 1 suit. Not the whole do. So looking around for my own make-up artiste. Any idea if T.G. Goh has increased his charges? I think he used to charge $1200.

Hear from you soon... and stay COOL.......

 

[catz]

Hi bleuz,
Hee.. yeah, my darling spoils me lah!

I never expected to be so happy!!!

Sorry ah, make everybody's hair stand!

Yeah, sure just pop down and have a look at the set-up. Y'know, Syafie is quite helpful with such things. You should give him a call and he'll probably be able to tell you more stuff.
My actual day is VERY relaxed:
10am - arrival of overseas guests, congregate at my parents' place
10.30am - convoy to WTC to pick up helpers/bridesmaids
11am - check in (8 rooms for my entourage!!!)
11.30am - short tea ceremony at the bridal suite
12noon - buffet lunch (yet to be confirmed)
2pm - rehearsal
3pm - get showered & ready for make-up
5.30pm - ceremony
6.30pm - rush back to suite for evening make-up
7.30pm - start dinner

Actually, 1 hr to do make-up is quite tight but I'm fully intent on getting the dinner started on time!!

TG Goh is really expensive.. think if you book now he won't recharge retrospectively lah.

Take care and have a nice day!

 

[bleuz]

hi catz,

so how's married life been so far??

just wanted to find out how things went during your wedding at rasa. care to share? how about ur honeymoon.... enjoying life now??

if u prefer, u can also email me at [email protected]

hear from u soon

 

[catz]

hi bleuz,
in response to your first question- married life is wonderful, brilliant, fantastic, fun, exciting...

i'm still deliriously happy from the wedding and honeymoon 'cos everything went so well.
it was actually quite rainy a few days before so we were freaking out 'cos it really looked like our beautiful outdoor ceremony was gonna go down the drain! even on the actual day, before making our weather call at 3pm, there was thunder and the skies were so dark. i was up in the bridal suite having my make-up done and majorly freaking out but my darling hubby just told me to worry about looking pretty and nothing else. basically, he was running around the whole day... i didn't have to worry about a thing!!! and i'm so glad he told me that 'cos everything really went so well (thanks to him & his pals) - the skies miraculously cleared up and we had clear skies and balmy winds when we had our ceremony. it was really beautiful... lots of guests were crying

time flew by so fast... in no time, we were pronounced mr & mrs and we left our guests to enjoy their cocktails at the waterfront lawn while i went up to change. and believe it or not, only after every single guest was seated at the ballroom did it start pouring down! our catering manager was totally drenched while supervising the dismantling of the outdoor set-up! i was up in the bridal suite doing my evening make-up and i saw thunder & lightning!
anyway, dinner went really well... the food was really good - good comments all around. service was really good too and our guests had a really good time.
btw, the bridal suite is lovely

all our friends totally enjoyed it too but they were good enough to pack up the suite right after dinner ended. really lovely.

yah, still floating somewhere on cloud 9... langkawi was fabulous. tanjung rhu is a fantastic resort - a beautiful private beach, fantastic rooms, personalised service, good good food and no kids! planning to go back soon even though it's kinda pricey.

how's your wedding prep, dear???

 

[bleuz]

hi catz....

glad that your wedding went very well... i'm sure it'll bring back beautiful memories years down the road... lucky gal!!

have gone for my 1st fitting of the actual gown... pretty happy with it. other than that, just looking around for a make-up artiste to do my make-up. any suggestions? just wondering if u did get someone to do make-up for ur bridesmaid? if yes, how much were the charges?

anything else i shld keep a look out for at rasa? thanks for all ur feedback!

happy holidays!

 

[catz]

hi bleuz,
i had my inhouse make-up artist joo wee to do my actual day makeup. she was good

my mom and bridesmaids engaged another make-up artiste to do theirs - $75 per person including hair-styling and touch up for dinner. i've also heard that sandy ho is good for natural styles.
rasa is basically quite a good hotel.. just keep an eye on the invoice 'cos they under-charged us but forgot to take into consideration our $2000 deposit.
also, as it was december (peak season), we could only check into our bridal suite at around 1.30pm 'cos we rushed them. but as we were doing our tea ceremony before lunch, they actually lent us a function room to do the tea ceremony and provided the tea ceremony set-up for us with hot-water and everything! later on, our sword-bearers used the room as a changing room. we also had a buffet lunch for about 30 at silvershell cafe and it was really pleasant. and i think that you will really love the bridal suite - fantastic views of the sea and it's really big

don't forget to coordinate the number of cars that will have rasa's car pass. they only gave us 5 so we really had to ration. we hired an mpv to ferry our helpers, bridesmaids, musicians, swordbearers, close relatives etc so our poor friend made over 45 trips between spi building and the hotel! we also found that it was good to have people standby at spi building as guests can be quite blur.

hope this helps and happy planning.

 

[catz]

hi bleuz,
how's your planning going?

 

[bleuz]

hi catz,

nothing much has been going on.... just counting down to the day

read from the other threads that you've been busy with the reno for your hse. how's it going?

 

[catz]

hi bleuz,
oh.. it's that stage where the major stuff is settled and there's nothing else to do until 2 months before the wedding right?

Enjoy the calm before the storm... I left everything to the last month and man, it was hectic!

Thanks for asking. Reno's going well... very pleased with my designer/contractor's work so far. They're quite meticulous with details and so far, the tiling looks very well done. With the house done, I can finally feel 'totally' married..

It just ain't the same when you're staying with your parents, y'know?

Anyway, how's your gowns coming along? Have you looked at printers for your invites yet? We used T-Dragon but if you wanna use them, proof-read it 20 times! So embarassing, there were 2 typos on my card

 

[bleuz]

Hi Catz,

Great that all's going well with your house. Glad the "sourcing for reno & furnitures" part is already over for me

a big load off my mind!!

Will be going for my fitting early feb. haven't decided on makup artisite yet but will be having a trial together with my fitting just to see if i like their makeup. if i do, it'll be another item ticked on the checklist.

so when will you be moving into your new place? before the new year? hey.... ur first time giving out red packets right??

 

[catz]

Hey bleuz,
Yah, you're so lucky.. can move into your new place right after the wedding!

Good luck with your trial make-up! Usually, if you tell them that you want natural make-up, it turns out quite well.

It's just good to get everything in-house so that you don't have to worry so much about coordination - one less headadche!
We'll be moving into our new place over the 2 days of CNY... lucky thing my family's very small and his family's not very close so we don't have to give out that many red packets.

Since this is the first year, we can still receive ang paos from our elders.. hehe..
BTW, if you're worried about $$.. don't worry, we made about $10K from our dinner.

 

[bleuz]

Hi Catz,

WOW!!! $10K!! Tat's alot u made from the dinner

u lucky gal! so now ur hse can have nicer furnitures yah

hope u don't mind me asking, but what was the average red packet that you got from your guests? We're trying to budget so thot since you just had you wedding there, you're the best person to answer that. but if you don't feel comfortable disclosing, i'd understand

you can also email me at [email protected]

u mean after the 1st year, elders won't be giving us ang paos anymore?

 

[catz]

Hi bleuz,

Yep, I was shocked that we made $13K (after thinking it over, recalled it was more than $10K) but hmm... found out that my Dad slipped in $8K! So it was kinda $5K profit.. didn't even expect to break even 'cos my hubby's family very cheapo one. In fact, most of the big red packets ($400) came from my Dad's colleagues. My hub's family red packets averaged only at most $40 per person! But his family is an extreme case! Most colleagues gave $70 - $100 but I would say the average red packet works out to be $75 (between the generous ppl and cheapos)... it really depends who you invite.

Also, don't forget that perhaps some ppl didn't turn up at the last minute or some tables didn't have 10 ppl. I had 2 tables of 9 'cos didn't know how else to shift ppl around! Kiddies also take up space but we only had 2-3 kids at our wedding. In the end, we had exactly 25 tables, 1 reserve. How many tables are you looking at?

When's your food-tasting? Also, when are you going to print your invites? Better proof read properly and make sure the instructions are clear 'cos there are a lot of blur ppl out there! If you want, just copy from my website loh.

Just feel free to ask any questions lah.. I'll try my best to answer. Yeah, no more ang paos after the first year but I suppose if your parents want to give, you can't stop them, right?

 

[thedevil]

wah i really envy u gals being able to hv yr own home almost immediately after yr wedding....me, not so lucky must wait at least 1 yr bfore i'll hv my own (......

can anyone tell me how much it cost to solemise at rasa?...heard from elaine at least $1k juz for set-up?? oh, i m hving my dinner at Pavilion as well

 

[thedevil]

Hi again...

I m planning to solemnise on the day of my wedding but not sure when to do it (during or bfore the dinner)....anyone of u can advise me on that?

 

[nana]

Hi thedevil * gee, sounds like i am really talking to the devil *

i am having my solemnisation at the lawn. but elaine didn't mention any cost to me, maybe because there will only be the table and chairs, not much deco. she will also reserve a room for me in case it rains that day. we are planning to have the solemnisation an hour before dinner, as it's mainly for close relatives and friends only. hope this helps!

 

[catz]

Hi,
My wedding ceremony set-up (signing table, mikes, 150 chairs, floral bridges) cost $800 and we had our ceremony at 5.30pm so that we would finish by sunset

It was really nice!!! We had it in December, the rainy season so it was nerve-wracking 'cos it was drizzling the whole week. Luckily the weather was fantastic.

I also had a suite reserved for me for my tea ceremony. I had Syafie as my coordinator and he was very accomodating.

 

[thedevil]

Hi Nana & Catz,

Thnks alot for yr info...will ask elaine again. I did mention to her that we want it at no extra charge but we get no reaction from her!!

wah...the solemnsation of the 2 of you sounds really beautiful n romantic....hehe, i'll definitely do it at the lawn then )...thanks again

 

[thedevil]

Hi Nana,

It’s thedevil again!!…hehe don’t worry, I m not tt evil lah )..
Is Nana pineapple in French? Hee n its 7 in jap…does yr nickname
means any of these??

When is your wedding? Elaine quoted me a price coz she said
Sound system needs $$…I think I’ll go wifout that coz it’ll b
Too noisy to hear the JP.

Also nana, does that mean u hv to b made-up by 5.30pm? is it
Too early or its ok? I m a vry disorganise devil…so I really need
Yr advice )…..m so glad to find another bride who’s planning to
Solemnize bfore the dinner…we actually wanted to do it during
The dinner to save that $1k+….but I tot yrs seem fantastic n there’s
No cost to it!!

Oh, did u negotiate much wif Elaine? We didn’t get anything except
For no cockage for 24 botttles of wine…we r vry lousy bargainers

 

[nana]

Hi thedevil

Yeah, nana is 7 in jap, a special number to me and my FH, not sure about the french pineapple though cos i hate pineapple

Actually I'm not very sure EXACTLY what will be there since there's NO COST... very careless hor! Don't be surprise if there's really only table and chairs Think I will check with her again when I see her when my wedding is nearer, would try to get as much as possible without paying extra! To me it's not quite worth it cos my attendance would be very small only and I think the whole thing only lasts 15-20mins?? At most I bring my own table cloth and flower baskets to deco the place lor

Regarding the makeup time, yeah, I tot of that issue too. Seems have to be that early, I also scare that after the solemnisation my makeup would melt given the weather in Singapore! Haven't really come to a conclusion on that yet.

We only successfully negotiate for another free 20L of beer, but later we decide to reduce our no. of tables until it's less than the minimum 20. So we didn't get that extra free 20L, plus have to give up the anniversary stay too. Initially she also didn't want to give me the suite on the actual day!! I tried very hard to bargain and even started to have second thoughts, and then she gave me back my suite. Heehee, don't tell her that!

I'm also glad to know another couple who will be doing solemnisation b4 dinner at the lawn, let's continue to share with each other any new ideas on that

Are u having dinner at the Pavilion too? BTW, I also got to wait for another yr for my house after wedding!! Where is ur new house??

 

[catz]

Hi nana and thedevil,
Just a friendly word of caution... make sure that you settle everything with coordinator at least 3 months before the wedding, especially when it comes to booking your venue for solemnisation! Don't forget that Rasa has the capacity to accomodate 2 weddings on any given day so better 'chiope' your Waterfront Lawn booking first! I didn't have any problems with mine because we booked it when we booked our banquet but we had problems getting the function rooms for our tea ceremony and extra guest rooms as the hotel was pretty booked-up (Dec school hols). So if your wedding falls during the hotel peak season, best to tell your coordinator to set aside the rooms / venues for you. I think the Pavilion is lovely... less than 20 tables is so nice and cosy! Good luck girls and most importantly, enjoy your wedding prep!!! Don't forget to ask for more parking lots too!

 

[nana]

Thanks Catz, for the useful tip! I have already told them that I would want to have solemnisation at the lawn, and she also promised to give us a room just in case it rains. But she didn't want to give us an extra guest room for our helpers even though we ask for it

Oh btw, she didn't really state in black and white in the contract that we sign that she would provide whatever "extras" from the standard package, eh... does it matter?? I just thought it's based on trust so i didn't really insist that those things got to be there...

 

[bleuz]

hi nana and thedevil,

glad to know more rasa brides

how are your preparations and when's your wedding?

hi catz,

sorry for not replying to your previous msg, must have missed it.

I'd be having 30 tables with 2 reserves. I have no idea when i should go for my food tasting, when did you go for yours? how was the food?

i haven't really thot of when i'm gonna print my invites, any advice how far ahead should i print my invites? just wondering how much you paid for yours?

hehehe.... so how was your first chinese new year being married? gave out lots of ang baos?? so how's your new place so far? hope you have settled in well.

 

[thedevil]

Hi Catz,

Hmm.yr advice was really useful..i'll make sure tt i confirm wif elaine regarding my solemnization at the lawn....hee u r like out "ta shi(1st sound) jie"....will hv to bother u when i really start preparing..

Hello nana & bluez,

my wedding is in oct02...heehee i hvnt done any prep yet!!! not even the design of my gown!!

nana, i think its vry risky to not hv everything in black and white..they can back out anytime, i m like u who blieve in trust, but many pple hv cautioned me regarding wedding banquet....so i made my bf neg. wif her n hv everything in black n white, also its safer tt way so tt u'll not hv any problem during yr Big Day....its a pity u miss the 20L beer coz of reduction of table. we only get the std 30L....n nothing else!!! elaine is a tough nut to crack...hahaha.

yes!! u r vry careless...quick go settle wif elaine so u wont b disappointed...hope everything goes smoothly for u )....

yah i m so worried that my make-up will melt by dinner time!! coz my face is quite oily..hee. think we'll need to discuss this together =)

yes i m taking pavilion too but will prob take the max no. of tables

....i'v been trying hard to reduce the no. of table...tt's one of the reason y i chose pavilion..btw how many car passes did u get...i got 40, think elaine refuse to gif more leh...headache man

my new place will b at katong...how abt yrs? actually i m kind of disappointed tt i hv to stay wif in laws for at least a yr :3(

how's yr WG going, where did u sign up yr bridal pkg? also photographer? i m wif divine but hving headache choosing studio/outdr photographer....

wah my mail so long already ah!! ok, will wait for yr reply bfore going on n on ....heehee )

 

[bleuz]

hi thedevil,

did you manage to negotiate for 40 car passes or was it already included in your package? did you use any items in your package to exchange for the car passes?

and just to reconfirm, the passes are for the cars driving into sentosa right?

reason i'm asking is coz i was only offered 1 free pass for the bridal car and another 3 optional passes which i have to pay for at $10 each.

nice sexy gowns for you since you're with divine

who have you shortlisted for your studio/oudoor?

 

[thedevil]

Hi bluez...

Hee i trraced back the thread n realised that yr wedding date was wat i wanted initially...but my futur in laws vry against the date...yah i was really pissed off...but wat to do?? so i had my postponed 1mth back...oh if i had stick to the original date...i'll b at the pavilion n u siloso...hehe.

no the 40 car passes comes with the pkg...i'v to give up 2 coaches in exchange for them. btw i heard from elaine that the car passes r given by sentosa not rasa....n it juz started in Jan02...did u book yr dinner last yr??

yes i hv the same 1 carpass for bridal n 3 optional at $10 each for helpers...oh the 40 carpasses are for paking at the beach, is it call siloso beach?? the one juz bside rasa.

i tot of getting kim from studio d'fia...any comments abt him?

 

[catz]

Hi girls (thedevil, nana, bleuz)

thedevil: Wow... 40 car passes? That's quite a good deal. I suppose it's a new thing 'cos they only just started letting people drive in all-day back in Nov/Dec '01. Might be a problem finding parking for all your guests as the Siloso beach carpark can get very full on Saturday night. For my wedding, some guests had to park at the next carpark! It could have been worse if we hadn't encouraged our guests to take our coaches. So just a warning lah.. As far as possible, ask your guests to take the shuttle in - Siloso Beach carpark is not enough, especially if there's school holidays.

bleuz: as for the invitation cards, I got them printed at T-dragon. Very reasonable. Ask your coordinator to give you samples of the invitation cards and do try to print them at least 3 months before the wedding, giving at least 2 weeks to proof-read and make amendments. I was a bit late in sending mine to the printers so didn't proof-read properly

As for the food-tasting, Syafie managed to arrange for the private room at the cafe. The food and presentation was awful so we told the chef our concerns and for the actual day, the food turned out pretty good! Take the lotus-leaf rice instead of the seafood fried rice 'cos the seafood fried rice is really blah! As for dessert, don't take the pastry 'cos it wasn't very nice too.

I think you girls will really love the bridal suite... it's an executive suite and it's got a total of 3 balconies! After the wedding, we had our breakfast the next morning on the balcony.

It also comes with a full sound system and I think you can watch VCDs in the living room.

Yepz, married life is really really good. I had a really fantastic wedding too, but the important thing is the marriage. Don't get too fussed over the small things on the actual day. Sit back and really enjoy the experience!

If you've got any questions, just post 'em here. I'll try my best to answer lah.

 

[thedevil]

Hi girls,

I was talking abt wedding venue wif some of my friends n realised that many pple like the idea of high ceiling n pillarless hall...

for those of u tt is taking pavilion...wat do u think? pavilion doesnt hv high ceiling n has pillars!! n those taking siloso...wat do u think as well

i m vry easily influenced by others...so i wld greatly appreciate if u girls can comment on pavilion

 

[catz]

Hi thedevil,
I thought Pavilion was very nice

I had Siloso for mine and it was very nice. I suppose the main thing why you don't want pillars is so that all your guests have a clear view of the stage and festivities. If not, no need to 'hiam' leh... that's what I feel. But I thought you booked already? So how to back out now?

 

[thedevil]

Hi catz...

hehe i m in the process of paying elaine but not PAID yet....so still got chance. Probably its the low ceiling that i m concern abt. will the place look less grand n restaurant like?

hv u seen a wedding there at night?? i wanted to view it but my FH dont want the trouble n even asked me "u mean u still want to change venue???" he likes the place alot. he can b a pain in the a@@ at times

 

[nana]

Hi thedevil

My car passes is the std 1+3 in the pkg as we still keep the coach. There's actually quite a few things that we wanted to ask for however sometimes it's quite difficult for us as ours is below the minimum no of tables

Oh, we like pavilion more than the ballroon, cos we like the "glass walls", find it more unique than the usual 4 solid walls

Agree with you that having the pillars is not as nice, it's however not really an issue to us becos we have very few tables, so the tables can still be arranged comfortably to give every table a good view

We have made a trip down to someone's wedding dinner to check out the actual deco, and even asked the waiters to let us in to snap some digital photos before the reception starts Personally, we find it not too bad! But still better if u can see it for yourself as we have very simple taste lah, it may not be as nice to you

Same here, i will be staying at my FIL's place for about a year too! cos HDB still building my flat lah... *sigh* I was telling my FH "aiyah that means i cannot walk around the house naked!" P

My bridal pkg is with Flamingo, studio/outdoor with Chris Ling.


Hi DA SHI JIE / CATZ

Will Elaine call me up to meet her to discuss the actual details for the day, or do I have to call her? My wedding is in early July, so I should already have settled all the details with her by early April uh ??

So you reckon we should go for food-tasting? Me and my FH are thinking of skipping it... did you get the food-tasting free? Think we got to pay 50%. When should we go for the food-tasting?

Thanks in advance for all the advice

 

[catz]

Hi thedevil & nana,

thedevil: if you're worried that the Pavilion doesn't look grand enough... DON'T WORRY!!! Your guests will really love the 'holiday' atmosphere that permeates Rasa. It's nowhere as low-class (sorry, if I offend anyone) as a restaurant type setting!

Hi nana, eeee... don't call me da shi jie leh... I'm only 23 leh! In my case, Syafie called me up about 2 months before the wedding. We went down to Rasa and ironed out the nitty gritty e.g. do you want the red carpet, dry ice for march-in etc... They will give you a new contract, complete with the menu that you have chosen and whatever extras you have negotiated for. By this time, you should have printed out your invitation cards already!!! So give the rough headcount as well. For me, we had to settle the logistics of the outdoor ceremony at that time too.

We went for food tasting 6 months before the wedding, reason being we thought that my sister would be around. But she didn't return for the hols. Didn't bother to cancel it since I'd gone through so much trouble to arrange it on a Saturday. It was free for us though. How many tables are you looking at? We initially booked only 20 but increased to 25 closer to the actual day.

The food, like I said, was crap during the food tasting. I think that was because the kitchen was very far away from Shells cafe where we were seated. But the actual day food was really good.

Everyone was pleased with it, even the picky eaters!

 

[thedevil]

Hi nana n catz...

wah catz u really young leh

...planning to b young mother as well? hehe

nana i think if u want the car pass, u try asking elaine. she told me that for every 45 guest, we get a coach. n if i want car passes, juz swop a coach for 20 passes...tt means i gave up only 2 coaches for 40 passes n still get to keep a few coaches.

also nana did u get elaine to state in the contract that u want solemnisation at the lawn? wld she last min say that the lawn will b use for another function?? then it'll b so scary...i m trying to get elaine to tell her abt me solemnising at the lawn but cannot get hold of her leh.

y didnt u get free food tasting? i got mine for 10pax.

catz, can u tell us wat flowers u chose n wat colour?? i m at a lost as to wat colour to choose.

 

[catz]

hi thedevil,

yepz, i'm a young wife but definitely NOT planning to be a young mom. *touch wood* luckily for us, we're both graduates and could afford to get our house and wedding done earlier but my hubby's 6 years older.

i always make sure he knows he's damn lucky to have a pretty wife when all his friends have wives who are late 20s early 30s...hehe.. so mean hor?

anyway, as for flowers, i chose white roses 'cos my dress had lilac beading so i didn't want pink/red roses. it was nice, suited the occasion. i think you can only choose roses or gerberas or orchids but i like roses. as long as the roses are not weird colours (like blue, purple, black) Rasa will not charge you extra. anyway, not worth it forking out extra $ just for flowers! aiyah, flower choice will depend on your gown, your invitation cards... your overall theme lah!

if you're having problem getting in touch with elaine then why not switch to syafie as your coordinator instead. he's the catering manager so he was able to offer more perks (in my opinion)... he's very helpful. during puasa month, he was running up and down with us, going through all the details even though he had no food in his tummy! just a suggestion lah...

nana: food tasting should be free for one table of 10. maybe you didn't hit the minimum number of tables.

 

[thedevil]

Hey nana,

I juz talk to elaine....she's vry firm abt a cost attached to solemnisation if its a seating affair. abt $500 for tables n chairs. unless we want a standing affair which she'll provide a long signing table, then it'll b FOC. wat do u think?

also i was quite disappointed when she mentioned that the lawn is taken up as pre-dinner cocktail for another couple. so i'll hv to make do with another place i think its call the waterfront (something like that).....

 

[catz]

hey, i had my church ceremony at the Waterfront Lawn... I think it's more private than the other one? It's really nice!

 

[thedevil]

hello catz...

the waterfront lawn, is it the one that the ground is uneven coz tt's the only thing elaine told me abt. oh also its near the beach bside the pool. is it the one that u had yr church wedding?

catz can u tell me wat did yr guests do after the ceremony....were there other guests tt u did not invite to the church ceremony turn up earlier n u happened to b in the midst of yr solemnisation?

aiyo...sorry for bombing u wif so many qns coz i m totally lost as wat i hv to do.

 

[thedevil]

hi catz...

hehe juz found out mine is the beachfront...totally not sure where is tt!!!

hv u an idea how it look like...yes its bside the beach n infront of the pool.

 

[catz]

hi thedevil,

the ground was OK leh... except for a sandy patch which can be covered up. that's where i had my church wedding.

we started our ceremony promptly at 5.30pm and ended slightly before 6.30pm. Our invitations stated that the predinner cocktail would begin at 6.45pm and we arranged the transport in such a way that ppl who weren't attending the ceremony would get to Rasa only after 6.45pm. No problems there. It was easier 'cos most people took the coaches. So the guests who came only for dinner also enjoyed the waterfront cocktail then proceeded to the ballroom for dinner after that. No probs

 

[flyn]

Hi Catz and gals,

I'm thinking of signing up with Rasa too but i have a few concerns. I understand u had ur church ceremony at the Lawn, how do u light up the unity candles? It's quite windy, right? Do u have a grand march in?

 

[catz]

Hi flyn,

Nope, did not have unity candles. Mine was a proper church ceremony and I'm Presbyterian so we don't have any special rituals. Yes, I had swordbearers for my march-in 'cos I had around 100 guests at the Waterfront Lawn

 

[nana]

Hi thedevil,

I checked with Elaine again that whether we need to pay anything for the solemnisation. She asked me how many guests are we inviting.. I told her about 20, then she said no problem! So I guess it depends on how many pple/chairs you need, are you inviting many?

What a pity for the lawn! I think the waterfront is not bad too cos I just checked my contract, it's actually stated there that my solemnisation is at the "Waterfront White Fence" whereas Cocktail is at the "Waterfront Lawn". I think previously I was confused, heehee *paiseh*

Oh, the foodtasting is only free if u get min 30 tables, so since ours are less, we got to pay 50%. I also checked with her the exchange of coach for carpasses, she said that it's a new item which is not introduced yet when we confirmed the event, that's why we are not informed then. I think it's a great idea to be able to get extra carpasses, mostly I will exchange for 2 coaches too! Thanks for the great idea! That really saved us some money as we initially thought of buying some carpasses for some of our driving guests!!

I wonder if pple would arrived much more puntual since they have to take coaches? What's your experience like, Catz? I really dislike pple always arriving so late for dinner. Moreover mine is on a Sunday, so actually I hope to "release" my guests earlier to rest...

BTW, Catz you are really soooo young! So envious! I am old already lah, considered "late twenties" liao

 

[catz]

hihi nana,

Syafie advised us to encourage our guests to take the coaches. Yes, everyone was at Sentosa by 7.30pm... it was only 'cos my make-up took slightly longer that our dinner started at 8! Everything was over at 10pm prompt and our guests went back happy and relaxed. I would encourage you to encourage your guests to take the bus for the reason above and 'cos Siloso beach has limited parking!! If your guests drive and the carpark's full, they've got to park at the next carpark and take the monorail down!

keke...I know I'm a really young Mrs... What to do? So madly in love with my hunky hubby

*please don't puke!* Haiyz, it doesn't matter what age you are, as long as the love in your hearts is for each other! (Ok, maybe not if you're 16 though )

 

[thedevil]

Hi catz,

who's yr studio/outdr photographer, n actual day photographer? is he/she good? can u share yr photos with us?

nana,
i m not sure is it bcoz we'v been delaying payment to elaine, her attitude towards us recently hasnt been vry good!! lucky for u tt she's so flexible towards u

wat flowers n colour are u choosing?

 

[nana]

Hi Catz, very happy for you that your guests were all puntual! I hope mine will be too!

Hi thedevil, sorry forgot about the flower qn I am thinking of choosing Gerbera, perphas white or light color ones. Cos that day when i went down to another couple's dinner to see their deco, they are having white gerberas and I think they looked wonderful! So I am considering that, but will get Elaine to tell me what other flowers are available again when we go down to settle te details, cos i don't remember liao ... what about you?

 

[bleuz]

hi gals,

wow... didn't log in for just 1 day and this thread has been so active...

catz: i will take note of the food tasting and invites.... do they have many designs for selection? how much did you pay for printing per card? just want to work out our budget as we're considering printing our church invites and programmes as well. any other issues that we should be taking note of? and hey, thanks for all the valuable advices

when are you uploading your pix for us to see?

thedevil: thanks for updating me on the car pass issue. will probably speak to elaine soon about exchanging some coaches for the passes. will also be asking her what's the max. no. of cars that can park there so we don't exchange too many passes. i'm not very familiar with kim's works so i can't really comment. you're thinking of using him for your studio/outdoor and actual day? any particular reason why you wanted to have you wedding on the 7th instead? we chose that day as it's our 9th anniversary together

nana: have you started designing on your gowns yet? my cousin was with flamingo too and i believe shirley's really good. when are you taking you studio/outdoor pix? must be really excited huh?

flyn: hi!! when's your wedding gonna be?

 

[catz]

hi everyone,

My actual day photog was Hilarion Goh who was fantastic

My studio/outdoor, pls don't ask... haiyah, it was Golden Horse. They gave me a really frustrating time with my gowns but the photos turned out OK lah. In the end, I bought a Ted Wu to wear for my church ceremony instead.

Studio D'Fia is fantastic too. Pricey but worth it.

Photos not ready yet... I've been so busy shifting house that I haven't even given my soundtrack to the Academy Video people to do my video! So paiseh...

At the time we were printing the cards, they only had 2 selections - one was the red rose one with gold inside and the other (which we chose) was the seashell one

I can't exactly remember how much we spent per card but we did 250 cards (front and back) with printed inserts and invites for our ceremony for around $280 (I think). Better to start designing your cards first 'cos you've got to put a lot of info on it. You can view my invitation page and copy from it if you want:
http://www.theknot.com/members/catherinefoo&kwangchienang password: 1dec

Yup, it was good that everything started promptly 'cos it's already a slight inconvenience for our guests to come all the way to Sentosa. Must make things as comfortable for them as possible.

Dunno why leh, feels like the weekend but it's not even Wednesday!

 

[thedevil]

Hi All (hehe too many girls here)

think i m confirm using kim from studio d'fia for studio/outdr shoot

bluez, want sept7 for no particular reason...juz like the date combi

....

bluez & nana, i want to wish u all the best for yr wedding day n married life after...i know a little early lah, incase i forget mah.

i tot of using choon huat for my actual day...anyone has comments abt him? i actually know of this guy who charges only $200 for svc, $20/3Rroll, $25/4Rroll....vry reasonable right!! aiya, the prob wif me is tt since its so cheap, makes me wonder abt his skills/work!!!

yah girls, any of u design yr gown already?? i'll b going to divine next mon.

i'v alot of married girlfriends advicing me not to spend so much on studio/outdr shoot coz they'll end up in the store room!!! so i hv a headache deciding to take up kim's smaller or bigger package....any advice from u all?

 

[nana]

Hi thedevil, I wish you all the sweetness you can "tahan" for your wedding day and married life too

I am using Choon Huat for my actual day

Haha, hopefully he won't get sick of going to Sentosa...hehehe We liked his sincerity and his portfolios look good for us too, and priced reasonably! Best of all, he doesn't restrict the time, normally photographers will be there only like 0700-1400, and then 1900-end something like that right? He will be there the whole day! Great for us who are having solemnisation before dinner, yah?

For me, I would not buy any extras for the studio/outdoor shoot, same reason as your gfs. But also because we are using digital cameras, and all shots will be returned to us in a CDROM too, that's why we think it's better to save the money and print ourselves if we really really want.