I didn’t believe the wedding coordinator when she said I’ll need at least 4 hours. Even 2 hours felt too long! I took close to 4 hours in the end and though I didn’t feel like they were perfect, I think they should be good enough for a photoshoot!

Shall leave the actual day gown selection to a later day!

BTW! I really like how the above gown looks (long sleeve, heart-shaped back and long train) but I’m too short to carry it off so hopefully there’ll be a more flattering design when it’s time to pick the actual day gown 😀

Now that I have a laptop that doesn’t take ten minutes to respond, there will definitely be more updates on this space! And the biggest update in my life right now is definitely gonna be the wedding 😀

Where shall I start? Maybe superstition first.

We didn’t know where to start so we picked the easiest first – i.e. have our auspicious dates calculated. There’s two highly recommended ones; David Thong and Long Tian Xiang. We went with the latter because I personally liked the personalized old-school booklet (you can refer to the picture above) and he seems to be around for a long long time.

He gave us 3 years worth of dates (2015-2017) and went through the customs with us. I took out my phone to record halfway through because it was information overload 😡

Step 2: Find a banquet venue! 

This is the TOUGHEST but the most enjoyable.I look forward to the wedding fairs because our dates are not just about movies and food anymore! It was about exploring new places, admiring beautiful (or not-so-beautiful) hotels’ ballrooms/suites and satisfying my sweet tooth with all the yummy reception desserts.

(a) Intercontinental Hotel

This was our first wedding show so we were a bit clueless. Got there real early and saw this beautiful ballroom ❤

Helped myself to the very generous selection of cakes.

We did a rough calculation of the number of tables we needed and it’s a far cry from the minimum tables requirement here. Didn’t want to waste anyone’s time so we left 😦

(b) Goodwood Park

Okay, we REALLY thought this is going to be it because it had that colonial architecture that I like and it wasn’t crazy expensive. The best thing? The minimum tables requirement was 25!

This was our best wedding fair experience because the first 3 was kind of awkward. (Especially the one at MBS – the lady who served us made us feel like she can’t be bothered with the sale.) First of all, it was very organized (a co-ordinator would bring you around and show you the suites/route/solemnization venues) and we liked what we saw!

The deal-breaker for us was when the GWP lady told us the solemnization venue is chargeable – even if it’s just a function room. WHAT. She added that she can give us a “little corner” to have our solemnization if we would like but when asked where’s the “little corner”, she said she doesn’t know. We offered to exchange some of the perks for the venue but was rejected 😦

The cheapo in us refuse to pay $1200+ for half an hour so we left too.

Maybe it was GYM who wanted to re-affirm my decision. It started pouring so we were stuck because our car was at its open-air carpark. Of course, the friendly hotel staff lent us an umbrella which we used to get to our car and returned afterwards but the thought of it raining on our wedding day…..

(c) Carlton Hotel

We heard good reviews about their food and I was quite attracted to their attractive price. Our coordinator was super nice.

Ballroom was not too bad too (didn’t really like the lights though) but minimum tables was 28. The solemnization venue is complimentary and offers a pretty view of Raffles Hotel so we were pretty tempted! However, the reception area is shared with another wedding so we decided to KIV this first.

(d) Raffles Hotel

TBH, I’ve never considered this hotel because I knew it’s going to be very expensive but surprise! It was actually comparable to GWP 😀

We actually visited the hotel two times because the first time was really just to suss out the hotel and the second time was to make a decision between Raffles/Carlton/GWP.

It helped that our coordinator Kaylynn was really helpful during our first visit too. Most importantly, even though she can’t offer me the lawn for solemnization, she still offered a room at no cost.

It’ll cost you $2388+ to have your solemnization here :p

As you may be able to guess, we went with Raffles in the end! We were originally on waiting list so we’ve to thank our lucky stars that the couple before us picked another date hehe. Otherwise, it would be back to the drawing board again

Step 3: Pick a bridal studio! 

Being the geeky one, I combed through forums and blogs to find out how much bridal packages would cost and their reviews. One thing for sure – I’m not going to spend on MTM gowns since I’m just wearing them once.

Because I’m so naturally lazy, both times I went bridal shopping was with Faith (because she would force me to). The first time was just bad because the selection of gowns was so little! There was one shop where the gowns were kept in garment bags

The second time, I think I’ve found the one!

Brought Jeremy down to The Aisle Bridal the next day to sign the package only to realize that I may have been too impulsive and should have bargained more!!

And most importantly.. that marks the end of my bridal studio shopping too. It’s over??

Step 4: Find an actual day photographer

I’ll leave this till May/June since we’ve spent so much on deposits this month. So, I’m avoiding any form of research for now because I know marketing gimmicks work so damn well on me. Tell me “This promotion is only valid for the month of April” and I will probably sign with you right away if I’m happy enough with your work.

So, NO. Time to let the wallet rest a while.

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Okay, time to let the eyes rest a long while now. Good night!