#51 - Decisions and choices

Things are definitely looking up so far.
We have confirmed our photographer, Chase Hasemi last Saturday after a not-so-short meetup with him and his wife.

Both the boy and me felt very comfortable with him and decided to just engage him for our wedding and pre-wedding shoots. I love that we both had that chemistry with him and could talk and crack jokes with him. He seems like an easy guy to work with so we are keeping our fingers crossed definitely.

Like i mentioned before, Photography is one of the things i really recce-ed for and prior to meeting Hasemi, i actually shortlisted a few of the photographers, some of which i met and did not have a connection with and some of them, i did not even have a chance to meet up with.

Knowing me, the boy told me not to meet too many people and just settle with the one whom we have chemistry instantly cos he knew, the more people i meet, the more confused i get and the more fickle-minded i become. Yang seksa dia nanti pasal nak kena layankan aku nya what-ifs and all.

The same goes for the bridal house. I actually shortlisted Lyanaz Bridal and Weddingku Gallery. I met up with Lyanaz Bridal, liked Kak Yatee and confirmed on the spot. Tak sempat pun jumpa Kak Lynn from WKG.

Back to the Photographers, i have actually shortlisted TRQ Irfaan Photography, Anis from Innovazione and Studio 41 (Eyeris Studio).

Alas, we only managed to meet Irfaan & Hasemi. If only we could afford multiple photographers. lol. Machiam paparazzi. Tapi kang nanti mata aku plak sepet, asyik kena flash je.

Hasemi was great right from the start. He was willing to listen to our ideas and explore it and gave out some good pointers that we should take note of. We arranged for our Pre-Wedding shoots to be taken in July, just before Ramadhan so that I would have ample time time to design our Wedding Cards.

Talking about Wedding Cards, i don't even know how i wanna have mine. Each time, when i do it for my clients, i can throw off ideas to them to get their ideal wedding card designs. But bila part aku, satu benda pun aku tak tau apa nak bikin. I only know that i wanna DIY part of it. Of course not the printing part. But i will most definitely have ribbons on it etc to set it apart from the ones i did for my clients. I probably would take the longest time to design mine cos i can be so anal sometimes. But that's the fun part isn't it?

I would also DIY my own Sticker Labels for the favors, the labels for the food etc and I am thinking of what i can DIY for each Guest tables to add our personal touch.

Yesterday, we met with Uncle Jais as well for our deco. I have told the boy numerous times to take a look at their multiply site to get an idea of how the deco's gonna look like tapi pasal dia busy macam Menteri nak pi election, sampai kita jumpa Uncle Jais pun, he still don't know how his works looks like.

So imagine his surprise when Uncle Jais showed him an album of his works. Muka dia mcm Menteri baru menang election. He went "woooooahhh!!!!" at every flip of the album.
Buat malu aku je. Kejap2 tanya "betul b, dekni charge $1580? betul??" haha.

Right there, i knew we made a good choice. We chose Baby Pink with a touch of cream and black. I am still contemplating whether to let him have the black chair covers. Sedapkan hati bakal laki ler. Kesian pulak black yang dia suka amat tu setakat setotet net je.
Maybe kasi chance ah kat dia.

Uncle Jais pun best. Such a nice person whom you know, does this for passion and not for money only. I told him of my requests, nak add ni, nak add tu, macam2 lah aku nya request all at no additional charges. Yay!

Up to this point, i'm blessed. It has been pretty much easy and straight forward so far.
Let's just hope it stay this way!

#42 - Baju2 and Mekap2.

I have decided on my Bridal House yesterday night. I am so amazed at my decisiveness, if you ask me. But i blame it on my incessant research that i have been doing.

I have crossed out one more item on my to-do list. In fact, this is the 1st Vendor i have met.

I am quite happy with the package, the costume, the makeup and most importantly, the service.

Kak Yatee made me feel at ease and was very very friendly that i have no qualms handing over $400 deposit to her yesterday. hahaha

Anyway, one down, many more to go.

Wedding Planning is kind of taking a toll on me. I keep fearing things may go wrong, vendors will cheat me lah, entah apa2 lagi lah.

All i can do is, pray hard everything goes smoothly.

#40 - Good News!

It has been a relatively good last week cos me and the boy sat down listing our financial commitments and the things we are supposed to do for the wedding and the house.

We have finally came to a decision to do a Nikah + Sanding this October.

To be exact, 15th & 16th October 2011. I will let you know how we came up to that date later. lol
So, we have about 8 months to prepare for a wedding (albeit a really small one).

Like, seriously, 8 months?? Orang mengandung pun 9 bulan sey, aku ada 8 bulan je to get things together. Bearing in mind Ramadhan would be on end July and Hari Raya is on 30 August. (i know, cepat kan??? )

Ramadhan & Hari Raya would be a busy period for me, so that means i only have 6 months to prepare for a wedding. God bless the both of us.

Selamat aku jenis kancheong and the moment we decided and confirmed the date, dengan pantas bukak segala notebook, email and segala2 nya to take down all the quotations.

Anyway, why did we decide on this date?
HDB called me up last week to say that they can put up my appeal to defer my submission of Marriage Certificate up to 6 months from taking my keys. However, i would need to submit receipts of most of my bookings to HDB to support my appeal.

Ok part tu dah start kancheong pasal satu haram pun belom book.

So i sat the boy down and told him, die2 also we need to book the major ones to secure the receipts for the appeal.

Initially, we wanted to just do a Nikah remember, and then do a Reception one year later?

In the course of tengah tulis kita punya budget and also how much money we have to save chop2 before October, it made us realise that the Nikah Gantung will cost much more than having the normal reception at one shot.

Cos we will end up paying for 2 majlis. I don't know korang paham ke tak lah up to this point.
But when we think about it, we will end up spending more.

It also finally made us realise that after we are done with the Nikah, move in to the new house, we still need to save money for the Reception AND buy furnitures for the house. Now, saving money for a reception when you are already married and living in your own house would be even more dificult than trying to save money while you are still single and berkepit bawah ketiak mak.

So, we figured, just go ahead with the Reception in October, get it done and over with and once we are married, we can use the money to slowly buy furnitures for the house instead.

So, we decided on an October wedding. Mainly because October is a special month for us.

He proposed, and we got engaged on 5th October 2010. My birthday falls on 25th October each year. lol

Having October in mind, i still couldn't decide which date to take.

02.10.2011 - Tak boleh because the boy ada show at another wedding. lol. Mcm mana peh rockstar je. nak kahwin tak boleh pasal ada show.

09.10.2011 - Was one of the ideal date 09.10.11. But..dah lah wedding aku kena prepare in less than 8 mths, ada hati nak amik hot date. Kang aku kahwin pakai baju raya tahun lepas je nyah. Takde org nak makeup kan aku.

16.10.2011 - One of the dates we considered pasal dia kat tengah2 the 2 special dates in October. It is 10 days after our Engagement Anniversary and 10 days before my birthday. Cun-cun kan?

22.10.2011 - Tak nak pasal dekat sgt dengan birthday. Nanti the boy pandai combine kan Birthday Present + Anniversary present. Mana aci.

30.10.2011 - Also one of the considerations.

So, why did we finally decide on 15th & 16th October?

Because of this:

Jais Decor had an available date for 15th & 16th October 2011!!!!!

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Serious, aku tenyeh mata aku pasal tak percaya.

Apparently, that date has been available since last year. I was so excited, i left a comment on Multiply, i left him a message in FB and i sms-ed him to ask him: "Betul ke 15th & 16th masih kosong??"

Belom apa2 dah terserlah ke-Bridezilla-an aku.

Yes, it was still available and the date is now confirmed mine!!! Ehhhh sukanya!!!

Do you girls know how long i have admired his work and last time, i keep second-guessing myself whether i will be able to get him because we all know how much is he sought-after because of the price and the designs.

The best thing is, i am still entitle to the same price. $1580.00 for full deco. Cheap kan!

So one down, few more to go.

Today, i'm going to meet up with Kak Yatee from Lyanaz Bridal to view her portfolio and packages. I have a feeling we might just sign up with her.

I have been stalking her website for so long and i love that the makeup is natural but not too pale and the Traditional Costumes doesn't look too over nor do they look they were bought off from Joo Chiat during the Hari Raya Sales.

Will update you ladies about my bridal soon!

#39- Belog Kawin-Kawin

Somedays, i see the viewership of the blog goes up and i really wonder who has been dropping by my blog regularly.

Do say Hi if you are one of them! It would help if you leave your name too!
That would make my day.

I also mentioned before that i have a few Belog Kawin-Kawin that i follow, either from Malaysia or Singapore.

So i'm gonna share the links here to share the love with all of you.

Malaysia:

1) 4weddingku
This blog is really great for all malay bride-to-bes. There is a lot of information shared there that made me wish that KL is just one hour's drive away.

2) Miss Bride To Be
Dekni dah kahwin pun, but still, you can find quite a lot of kawin-kawin nya post.

3) Babbles of an Ex-Bride

4) Anil Lutaze

5) Adventures of the mad otaku bride

6) Of Blacks and Whites
That lady with the gorgeous baju nikah.

7) Dia Terima Nikahnya



For those who wants something closer to home, whom can help you with all your DIY stuffs etc, you can check out this blogs from Singapore:

1) Rockstar Diaries
I love Fei's blog! In fact, she was the 1st wedding blog i came across from Singapore.

2) Sapphire Sky
One of my frequent reads. :)

3) Raihan & Sofia
That girl with the beautiful wedding!

4) Nona Kirana
The latest celebrity who got married and has got a blog! Not a wedding blog per se but expect her to blog about her wedding, like soon?

5) Super Atirah Girl
I just found out, this blog belongs to the girl of that Pink Wedding i featured.

6) )Blushing Bride
Another blogger from Cozycot forum!

Come to think of it, banyak betok blog aku baca.
Padan lah kerja banyak backlog! lol

Anyway, if you have a wedding blog too, do share it with me, will you?

I would really love to read about your wedding planning, be it small or big. :)

Have a great weekend people!

#35 - To tie the knot

I was inspired to do up this post because of Mia's question on Nikah Gantung and what's my take on it.
Instead of replying her on the tagboard (kang panjang berjela nanti), i figured doing up a post would be even better!

I think i have mentioned somewhere on my blog, now that we have secured a house, we may need to Nikah Gantung.
By Nikah Gantung, that would mean going through the Solemnisation first, (it can be at home or at the ROMM) and then have the reception later.

I know the norm is for people to do a 2-day reception and get things done and over with.
But circumstances are different for me. I got my house early and i'm left with no choice but to expedite the Solemnisation.
(Not that i'm complaining)

Furthermore, we have no plans to take up any Renovation Loan as we are currently paying for the Car.
So , it's either the car or the renovation loan. I prefer the car. Honestly.

However, we are able to manage our renovation without taking up any loan because the Kitchen and Toilets are already renovated by HDB.
We only need to do up the Living room and Bedrooms.

Furnitures and some other stuff we need for the house will also take up a huge chunk of our savings.
Hence, we decided it would be best if we settle the house bit by bit, Nikah and then have a reception a year later.

As cliche as it may sound, i still think the most important thing is to Nikah. The Reception is secondary.

Lucky for me, some of my cousins have done the same things, so i figured it will go well with my older relatives.
However, i do anticipate people talking behind our backs. Seriously i do and to be honest, i don't care what they wanna say about me and this arrangement we have.

Thought i should share this story with you guys:
I have a cousin (Let's call her A) who badmouths about my cousin B cos she had to Nikah Gantung cos she got a House early. (Same situation as me.)
Cousin A, will be getting married the following month after Cousin B and just have to compare her wedding with Cousin B.
Kept telling all our cousins that her deco mahal lah.. Her baju all tailor-made and yada2..

The breaking point was during my Cousin B nya Nikah Day. She saw Cousin B punya Hantaran.
She asked Cousin B "Hantaran kau tu aje?" after the whole Nikah ceremony.She then proceeded to tell the rest of us her FH bought her a Prada Tote bag as part of the Hantaran gift.

I then told her off and told Cousin B to display her House floor plan and all HDB Documents as part of the Hantaran.
That would surely make her Prada bag pale in comparison.

Bottomline is, people will talk and there is no way you can stop them. Let them talk about it. They just need something to talk about.
At most, they will talk about it for one week, until something more interesting comes up.
You will be blissfully married by then. Who cares what people wanna say?

Ultimately, u are paying for your own wedding and you did not ask their help to sponsor for the wedding.
Talk is cheap. They can talk but if we throw them in the same situation, they would have done the same.

So to fellow Nikah Gantung brides, don't worry.
People who gossips and talks about you, they should not matter to you.
The ones who matters to you are the ones who are genuinely happy about you.

#33 - Why i choose u

Our search for the perfect house was not an easy one.

It was our first time balloting for a Flat. Right at the start, we foresee, there's gonna be some obstacles. There were only 43 4-room flats available in Bukit Panjang.

Only 41 flats are available for Malays.

We got the Email Notification from HDB on our Queue No on 25th October 2010, my birthday.
That was the best birthday surprise i've got this year.
Until i realise that our Q no is 0049. oh sheeesh.

I hate that feeling. So near yet so far. You know, macam kasi harapan palsu. lol.

We told our families about it and they were very confident that we will get the house.
We, on the other, do not want to put too much hope into it for fear that we get dissapointed and be back to square one.

After a long wait, HDB finally send us an Invitation Letter just before Christmas to come down for our Flat Selection on 18/01/2011 at 2.15pm.

So we did.

We arrived HDB at 1.00pm, got our Q no and had lunch at Delilfrance.
It was the most intense 1-hour wait i ever had. Throughout lunch, i keep refreshing the HDB page on my laptop. 10 units left and the unit we love is still there.

At 2.20pm, we were called in and when asked which unit we wanted, i immediately told the CSO i wanted that flat and we sealed the deal. No questions asked, no turning back.

The house is almost ours.

We went through a lot of houses in Bukit Panjang and only a few met our criteria.

Our criteria for the houses:

1. No Malay neighbours right smacked next door.
   
2. The unit must be at least 100m2 and above.
3. Must be of walking distance to the LRT and a Supermarket etc.
   
4. No messy neighbours
5. No Loanshark paints on the door.
   

Trust me, if you got invited to select a Balance Flat, please do the following:

1. Before going up to the unit, look around the vicinity. Are there supermarkets or convenience stores? Is the MRT/ LRT near? If not, look for the nearest bus-stop and check out the bus that stops there and would it be convenient for you? Remember that you be staying at that house for at least 5 years and you sure do not want your house to be inaccessible for yourself and your guest.
   
   
2. Once you get up to the lift lobby, look for signs or those loanshark 'drawings' O$P$ and unit no etc. Go to the unit and check if there paint marks or sometimes dodgy paint-over jobs. We came across at least 8 units with paint jobs on them, One of them even had a black and red paint splashed all over the door. wth.
   
   
3. Look around for the neighbours. My theory is, if the neighbours have a whole lot of shoes and bicycles lah, skate scooters lah, taman bunga lah, confirm ramai anak or a very messy family. I hate messy stuff so that was a no-no for me. But if you can live with that, why not?
   

There are a couple of things we look out for especially the view. Kita tak nak pagi2 bangun, tengok luar tingkap, nampak orang block sebelah tengah gosok gigi. potong steammmm.

We actually love the location of the house and everything about it so it was no surprise how ecstatic we were when we found out we got it.

At first, we pretty much apprehensive. Kept asking ourself why people rejected that house and took some others less favourable ones.

Then i realised. My Unit No is #04-40. It is deem as unlucky to the chinese.
But oh wells, i don't care much about these superstitions.

Their loss is my gain! :)

Bus-stop nearby - checked.

2 mins walk to LRT Station - checked

Long Corridor + Neat Space + Chinese Neighbours - Checked!

No paint marks - checked!

Only 1 neighbour will be walking past my door every day. Next to my unit is the lift lobby. So technically speaking, i only have 1 neighbour. Cos the other neighbours are quite far and i don't need to pass by their door. Neither do they need to pass by my house.
God, i sound like a social outcast.

Don't get me wrong, i am a people's person. I love talking and all that but i require a certain amount of privacy especially since it's a corridor flat. I don't want the whole of the 4th level to know what TV show i'm watching or what i'm cooking today. lol

Side view from the corridor. Neighbour bawah orang melayu.
Pokok dia peh banyak, dah macam Botanic Garden.

Front view from the corridor / living room.
Open space + Carpark. Good enough for me.

Towards the Lift lobby.

I took this picture through the window panel. My house, naked.

I'll be going down to the house again on Monday with the HDB officer to check on the house. Will be bringing my contractor down as well to measure the area and get him to do a quotation for me.

I can't wait!

#32 - A place of my own.

Yesterday was my 1st appointment with HDB to select a flat.

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!

We got the unit we wanted!! Happy, happy, happy!

Sumpah sebelum nak masok Sales Room, my hands were all sweaty and i was so scared (don't know why!)

But Alhamdulilah, everything went well. :)

The boy signing for our BIGGEST purchase ever. lol

Anyway, if all goes well, we might get the keys in April.

However, i am facing a dilemma. We are applicable for the AHG (Grant) of about $20,000. But that would mean that we need to produce our Marriage Certificate when we take the keys in April.

If i don't take the Grant, they will give me about 6mths to get married after taking the keys.

I have emailed HDB to appeal for an extension. We'll see what they say about it.
2011 is gonna be interesting for us.

Looks like it'll have to be a simple solemnisation for us 1st and then followed by the Reception maybe one year later. :)

#28 - Dollars & Cents

Just how hard is it to manage the Wedding Finances and keep within your budget?

Very hard!

I was browsing through and looking for ideas on how to manage your budget for weddings or a checklist but most of it are for wedding-wedding Mat Saleh.

So i came up with a modified version. Suitable for Malay Weddings.
It is quite comprehensive and should be able to cover all aspects of a Malay Wedding.

But lumrah manusia, mesti ada yang terlupa. So if you think ada yang tertinggal tu, pepandai lah tambah sendiri k cos this is done on an Excel Sheet so it's easy for you to add and delete whatever you think is necessary. :)

Please download the files below:

Budget and Checklist for Engagements

Budget and Checklist for Malay Weddings

Hope these would be useful for you!

Top Eight List for all Brides-To-Be (BTB)

Ok pasal i pun tengah boring2, i came up with these
8 things BTB must take note of to kickstart their planning of their wedding.

Afterall, not everyone can afford a wedding planner kan?
I still feel we ourselves make the best wedding planner for our wedding.

1. Be Organised.
Get yourself a small notebook. Not as small as Buku ceti mintak hutang tu.
But small enough to fit into your handbag and big enough for you to jot down your
ideas and paling important, your budget and your checklist.
Somehow, it will all seems more real when u have it on paper. When u be organised, you will
see all your expenses clearly and it would definitely help with your planning!
You don't need to get those expensive notebooks lah. Borders ada a few cute notebooks that are less than $10.00!

2. Visualisation is important.
If you can, cut pictures or print pictures of weddings that you like or dresses you like etc
and share it with your vendors. Sometimes, it is hard to explain things to other people.
You can visualise everything in your head but when it comes to explaining, and getting people to understand our
concept can be quite hard. So create a scrapbook or a mood board and discuss with your deco people and your bridal.
The same goes to your photographer. If you like certain type of post-treatments to be done to your pictures,
tell him and show him examples. I bet they will appreciate it as it would make things easier for them.
This is especially important if you are going for a specific Theme Wedding. Kumpul all relevant pictures of the theme
to make it clear to them.

3. Research, Research and more Research!
In today's time where everything is easily accessible over the web, it should not hurt to google for information and vendors.
Don't just settle for the 1st photographer you see. Google up, read more wedding blogs and you will see there are other
vendors who can give you the same things at a lower price. But if you malas, what can i say? :p

4. Be Kiasu.
Yes, i know of people who book their wedding vendors at least 3 years in advance.
The good thing about booking early? You get good prices.
Every year, vendors jack up the prices because they know, the wedding industry is indeed a lucrative business.
Once people start to recognise their name and works, you will see a huge hike in price on their packages.
on top of that, if you go to wedding expos etc, u get more freebies!

5. Document your wedding journey
I know, not a lot of orang2 kita suka blogging about their wedding.
Believe me, i see a LOT of Malaysian Wedding blogs that are oh so fun to read because they are so creative and so animated when they write about their wedding.
When u blog about your wedding, it can be a source of reference to yourself and also because planning a weddings takes a huge chunk of your time.
After your wedding, it will all be gone and all's left is the memories. So why not, do up a blog and document the things you go through to plan your biggest day of
your life.

6. Decide on your Colour scheme / Theme.
Trust me, it will just make wedding planning a whole lot easier because you are focused on the colour you want.

7. Look beyond Singapore.
Singapore's Wedding Industry is growing steadily and to be honest we do have more options available compared to those that got married like 5 years ago.
But, it also means that packages get higher and higher! One of my girlfriends got married 5 years ago.
Her catering for 1000 pax cost $3,000 only. When she heard that catering nowadays starts from $10,000, she was shocked because that is the cost
of her entire wedding! So, look beyond Singapore if you are on a tighter budget or you want something different.
Some worth looking at are Malaysia, Jakarta, Bandung and Bangkok. With the singapore currency being the stronger one makes the whole deal sweet right?
Other than that, go search at eBay! They have a whole lotf stuffs you can find especially if you are looking at lots of DIY stuffs on your wedding day.

8. He's the Man!
Get him involved in the wedding preps. It is after all his Big Day too!
He might be a bit resistant at first and leave everything up to you. But make it more fun for him!
If he refuse again and again, then tell him to just be quiet and just show up on the wedding day.

#21 - I wish for a 4-rm flat

We finally got an Invitation Letter from HDB to select a house from the Sales of Balance Flat at Bukit Panjang.

It is not a confirmed offer though.

Our queue no is 49.

No of flats available for malays - 41.

Wish us luck!

#18 - What's new?

If you notice, the blog dah tukar baju. Sexy kan?

Thank you to Feeda, who suggested that i have a comment box so that you guys can comment on my entries.

Trust me, i did wanna work on that comment box ever since i used the previous blogskin.
But i couldn't tweak the html code for some odd reasons.

But when Feeda commented about the comment box, dengan pantas mak pi carik blogskin baru. haha

Aiyah.. sometimes i just need a push to just do something.
Bad, bad habit!

So there you go, i now have a comment box (at the end of every entry) and if you need to comment on anything or find out about anything, just leave me a comment. I will help you if i know the answer!

Alternately, i also rajin, i have set up an email account for this blog and that email account will also be used for me to email the wedding vendors so that i can keep all the quotations at just one email.

If you need to reach me privately, u can email me at bride.blogette@gmail.com

Love,
Dee

#17 - Oh, Mother Hen!

I was browsing through my picture folders and i saw pictures from the previous Hen Nights with my girlfriends. So far, three of my close girlfriends have got hitched and we never fail to organise Hen parties.

It can be a simple do' or an elaborate one. We just need a reason to celebrate!

WARNING: It's gonna be a lengthy post with loads of pictures cos after all, there are 3 Hen parties.

But if you are currently organising a hen party for your girlfriends or even yourself, you are welcomed to curik some idea! :)

The Hen parties are all clean fun so if you are expecting to see Male strippers etc, you are going to be quite dissapointed. hee.

1. Caca's Hen Party

Caca is one of my longest friend ever. We have known each other from Nursery.
We went to the same Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary School and remain friend's till now.
It has been about 21 years now? and counting!

We went to this Hotel at Balmoral Road called VIP Hotel which is a budget hotel at Orchard Road and not so sleazy. haha

The Theme is Pink Pajamas Party. We have to wear pajamas or sleepwear and it must be pink.
This was our first Hen Party so we kept it simple. It was just decoration, lotsa foods and games to keep us occupied. We also blasted music and had our own private party and annoyed the hotel staffs. It was really fun cos we started asking the bride-to-be really mushy and naughty questions. lol

Apart from that, we sure did a whole lot of camwhoring!

All my good friends!

♥ Me and the Bride-to-Be. ♥

Ever heard of naughty Scrabble? This is it!

The candles that accompanied our night.

♥ ♥ ♥

2. Nini Hen Night

Nini is one of my bestie. We have known each other from Secondary School, so it was really exciting to plan her Hen Party!

Since this was our 2nd Hen party, we decided to be more elaborate with the deco and the theme.
Read on to find out more.

We pasted lots of our pictures over the years together for memories sake. It was really nice to view old pictures and reminisce.

before

after

We decided to go with a somewhat "Bring-Your-Own" theme. But we must put on heavy makeup and wigs. That is why you see all of us like a drag queen. lol

me and oh-so-thick-makeup

me and the zombie-bride-to-be

i find this picture sangat freaky.

sar - arabic princess


finah - vampiress


nilam - the grecian goddess

nini - ju-on bride

dee - geylang hooker. lol

me and nilam.
i ♥ this wig. Contemplating to cut my hair like this.
but it will be very high-maintenance. le sigh.

3. Ira's Hen Party

Next up is Ira's Hen Party and this time round, we did a Spa Party instead at Spa Le Kraton.

It was a great spa experience but because we had to do our spa treatments and be quiet, it was not as fun as the previous two. However, we compensated with a great dinner and a talk-talk session at Vivocity. (you know yang kat rooftop.. aaaah sgt lah best. rasa mcm zaman muda dulu2, dok melepak sampai malam.)



The syiok thing about the Spa Party is that Spa Le Kraton actually closed the spa for 3 hours for us. So we were the only patrons there and we have total privacy and could do whatever we wanted to. If i can remember correctly, we only paid $98.00 for a 3hr treatment which consists of Spa, Body Scrub, ear candling and something else ah.. Cannot remember.

So that's it. the 3 Hen Parties i have organised for my girlfriends.

Tips for Hen Parties:

• Do something that you know you girlfriend will appreciate and not cringe when she has her surprise. For example, if you wanna call a male stripper, make sure she is up for it and her partner do not mind that much.
  
  
• Have a Theme Colour and make sure everyone follows!
  
  
• Keep it to a close circle friend if you wish to have some bonding time but do a large party if you know the bride-to-be is a Party chick!
  
  
• Research, research, research for the best Hen Night Package. If you want a spa package, make sure it has the things u want, like a body scrub etc but do ask if they are flexible with their package because not everyone will want the same package as you.
  
  
• Always pay for the bride-to-be. It is just a courtesy gift for her. However, do sit down with your other girlfriends and work out what would be the ideal budget.
  

With that, happy planning for your Hen Party!

#14 - Pocket full of flowers

The boy and I were talking about how our wedding would be like. Trust me, the boy does not talk about weddings very often because guys being guys, they don't really like weddings don't they. They are not fascinated with the colour scheme and what not's.

So when we were just sitting in the car, he was talking about the wedding decos etc.

I whooped silently and took the chance to bombard him with my wedding ideas. lol

As i have guessed, wedding planning will prove to be a difficult task.
He is kinda particular about things like colours etc.
His favourite is black, black and black and maybe also red.

There is no way i'm gonna have Black & Red for my wedding.
No offence to anyone having a Red & Black Wedding but it is just not me.

He does not like Pink while i Love Pink immensely.

So we have decided, it will be a bit of White, a little bit of Pink (only baby pink is allowed) and a little touch of black. I only allow a bit of black. No black Table or Chair Covers. lol.

I showed him Jentayu's website and while he love some of the deco, when i told him that their deco starts from $4500, i swear i saw him 'telan air liur'. Macam ada speech bubble kat atas kepala dia "$4500 tu aku boleh begi guitar fender 2 Biji ngan Amp sekali."

So i showed him Kasaisayang's website instead (and all these are done thru my iphone!)

He loved it! *happy dance*

Our Favourite Deco so far: The English Garden.

For more pictures of the deco, click here

However, i would prefer to have more pink! Maybe baby pink pillows?
See those Black Feathers? Itu pun jadi lah eh.. lol

Some other deco from them that I like are:

For more pictures of the deco, click here

This would be nice too but probably with Pink flowers instead!

Another colour i won't rule out would be Gold & Cream like this one.

For more pictures of the deco, click here

This would surely be a hit with our parents! :)

#12 - Outdoor Locations for you Ma'am?

Siapa yang dah bosan dengan Majlis bawah block, angkat tangan!

Ok lah, actually i belom bosan sangat cos to me, majlis bawah block lah yang paling meriah.
But for those yang teringin nak buat lain dari lain. Check out this entry y'all. hee hee

Those that i have recce-ed before, i will let u all know where to download the rates etc ok.

Do take note though that i will only be featuring Venues that allows outside caterer or provides Halal Catering only. :)

First up, mestilah my Venue of choice:

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Bottle Tree Park
81 Lorong Chencharu (Yishun)
Singapore 769198
Office: 65 6759-5771
Contact Person: Dennis (dennis@bottletree.com.sg)
Website: Bottle Tree Website

Rates: S$400 per block of 4 hours. (Lake House)

They also so have various packages which you might want to look up.
Details of package can be downloaded HERE

They don't have much pictures of the Lake House on their website so u can actually view it HERE and HERE.

Apart from the Lake House, they also have other venues like the Sky Light Deck.
But i have no idea how it looks like or how much it is though!

If you are residing in the West area and you want something close to home, you can also try the next Venue(s).
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Chinese Garden | Japanese Garden
No.1 Chinese Garden Road
Singapore 619795
General Enquiries: JTC Contact Centre Hotline (1800-5687000)

Website: JTC Website

Rates: You can view the Rates in PDF format HERE

However, be warned that the Chinese & Japanese Garden is reallllly huge and parking spaces are quite far so it might be a bit of a walking distance.

I will be attending a wedding at Chinese Garden in January 2011. Will take loads of pictures for you guys ok!

If you all nak lagik kick, try lah kahwin atas kapal..

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Stewords Riverboat
31 Marina Coastal Drive
Berth 1, Marina South Pier
Singapore 018988
Contact: 6278 5775 | enquiry@riverboat.com.sg
Website: Riverboat Website

Venue Packages can be viewed HERE.
They allowed external catering only for Halal food and it must be from a certified caterer and there will be a 25% surcharge of your catering invoice.

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GardenAsia
240 Neo Tiew Crescent,
Singapore 718898 - Kranji Area
Contact: 6336 5881 | info@gardenasia.com
Website: GardenAsia Website

I lost the quotation they gave me previously but i know it's a bit on the high end side.
However, this would be perfect if you have a large no of guest or doing a combined wedding.
The downside is, dia peh tempat betul nya tempat jin bertendang.

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Fort Canning Park
Ms Jennifer Toh
Visitor Services Officer Executive
Tel: +65 6332 1200
Email: jennifer_toh@nparks.gov.sg
Website: Fort Canning Park

Fort Canning Park's Venue is quite affordable.

For outdoor venue, Fort Gate is at $600 per day but you would have to get in your own tent and that would probably cost you a fortune. (But u if you are good with research, u can get a good quotations!)

If you want to save the trouble and get an indoor venue, you can try The Gallery & Foyer which is only at $100 per hour. Jentayu Gallery loves to recommend their pengantins to hold their wedding there because the place is soooo nice. :)

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I would love to do at this place.
It is outdoor, garden setting and is sheltered, and cheap.

But it is so far! Pasir Ris... Hmmm.. If i tell my parents i wanna do it here, they probably will scream at me cos i do not have any relative staying at Pasir Ris. It will be such a hassle getting everyone coming here. boo hoo.


Piai Plaza - Pasir Ris Park
Pasir Ris Park Area 2
Ms Yvonne Chee
Contact: 6585 1229

Website: Pasir Ris Park Website

The rate is only S$680.00 for this space. Murah kan!!!
Nak suruh Nparks buat something similar kat west area ah! hmmph!

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There will be more outdoor venues featured here or if you have any that you wish to share share, let me know! :)