Saturday, December 30, 2006

Preparing for beach shoot

There're still a couple of little details here and there which needs to be done for our beach shoot. Yes the gowns are ready, white shirt is ready, I've just got my 5 metres veil collected.

I suddenly got an idea to have a picnic feeling and we bought a white rug and are thinking to bring along 2 wine glasses. I've even got my white bikini prepared! Don't ask me what's that for... ahem~~~

What's pending now? Ben's white shorts, white T-shirt, Lilies and I think that's about it. Or Is It?

Guoman, PD

Due to some unforseen circumstances, we have decided to call off the Penang trip and swift our beach shoots to PD. ^-^

We started off with some research on the Internet and found that Guoman Hotel PD seems to be the next best choice after Avillion (since Avillion will never permit photo taking there). After gathering info on its location and some directions on how to get there, Ben and I together with my Mom took a short trip to the beach resort. It's about less than one hour drive from Seremban using the highway where we arrived right in the middle of Teluk Kemang. After about 10 mins drive, the hotel is on our right.

Entering the hotel's premises, we're glad that it was as advertised! ^-^ Headed straight to the beach, pass by the landscaped garden and it seems like a good place for photographs. I then got in touched in the PR department to double confirm the permission to take photos at their premises.

Communicated with our photographer and made a reservation with the hotel.

And I'm terribly sorry I can't make it to Penang to meet up with you girls!

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Pearl Pendant

I received a very lovely Pearl Pendant from my sister Porsche as my wedding gift bought during her trip to Chiang Mai! Thanks dear sis! ^-^

Planning for honeymoon

We've been thinking to go Europe every since we started the discussion - "Where should we go for our honeymoon?". Yes! Touring Europe is definitely an ideal place for us as we always think it's a romantic place to be at esp for newly weds. One major concern is $$..haha we're not too sure if we'll have enough cash for the trip as the exchange rate is a killer!

We started scouting around to check out the tour rate. Dropped by Summit Holidays one day (the one we went with during the Korea trip) but it wasn't open =(. We tried Holiday Tours and they referred us to the tarfalgar's tour. We took home the entire Touring Europe booklet which outlines all different types of tours covering different places with different type of experiences. The agency told us it's best to purchase our package during the next Matta fair to get a 10% discounts! ^-^

On the day when Ben's mom is leaving for Melbourne, she passed us a newspaper cutting with some tour details from Reliance; coincidently my mom also asked me to refer to the same advertisement. We'll be dropping by Reliance in OneU one day for further enquires.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Food Tasting @ The Westin

113 (Jan 13) is Ben's mom's birthday, no celebration but we're planning for our food tasting at the Westin on the 12th Jan. 13th Jan isn't available for food tasting as the chef and the catering executive will be away for a company get away.

and yea! After the initial deposit, dad also paid up for the 2nd deposit and I've signed with my credit card to accumulate enrich miles so that we can upgrade to business class during our honeymoon trip. wahaha!

Monday, December 25, 2006

Doing up my house @ Sban

On the other hand, my parents are also preparing for the wedding and planning to do up the house abit like re-painting the exterior of the house, changing the carpet, curtains, ceiling fan and tiling the kitchen floor.

When I was back home this weekend, all of us went round shopping but unfortunately it was Christmas day hence not many shops were open. We finally dropped by Jusco @ S2 and sorted out the curtains.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

1st draft of invitation is ready

We dropped by the printers today to take a look at the 1st draft. A little amendments here and there and after another round of confirmation, it's good to go. So watch out for our red bomb!

Friday, December 15, 2006

Re-painting the house

Ben's parents started re-painting for the entire house, interior and exterior to prepare for the wedding and also the coming CNY. However, we're not planning to buy new furniture for our room as we'll be moving to Aussie soon. Ben just planned to change the curtain and its railing so we're actually living without a curtain for the pass couple of weeks....~ SOB

Monday, December 11, 2006

Wedding shoes

Before the first pre-wedding photos session, I was shopping all around for wedding shoes. It's just so hard to find one and after asking around, one shop in BSC (Bangsar Shopping Complex) seems to be the place for tailor-made wedding shoes. Went to BSC with Ben's mom to collect her clothes and I thought the design was alright. I actually quite like a design from Nine-West but it doesn't come in white or off white.

Besides, after making the cheongsam, both my mom and Ben's mom accompanied me to shop for a red/gold matching shoes and we finally got it! A perfect match with nice cuttings I like from Aldo. ^-^ I planned to show the shoemaker this red shoe so that they can make one same pair in white.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Butterfly Cheong sam

During a casual conversation with my colleague, she suggested me to put on a cheongsam for my wedding dinner. She said I'm tall and slim so I should look nice in it! I was like: Yahor, I should! Then I started telling this idea to mom and Ben's mom. During the weekend, mom came down for shopping and Ben's mom joined us. We didn't have any specific place to go hence headed to Nichii@Sungai Besi for some CNY clothes.

Then Ben suggested to go Sungai Wang, and we stopped by Butterfly! Yes Butterfly again! Ben's mom felt in love with their 3D embroidery almost instantly hence decided to tailor-make a cheong sam for me. ^0^ Consulted the designer and we decided to use red Thai silk with lace on the shoulder portion. It's not like the traditional cheongsam but this has some modern touch to it.

Ben's mom too have decided to make a top with him. A black top made of Organdy instead of Organza and a hooked-on shawl with 3D embroidery. We'll be visiting Butterfly again on the 21st Jan 2007 for our first fitting!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Settled with pre-wedding photos selection

Today, ben's mom and my mom came along with us to finalize the pre-wedding photos selection. 2nd look at the photos and I thought it didn't turn out too well actually. =( Ben on the other hand, look more photogenic than me! How could a groom look better than the bride huh.....?! Spent a couple of hours there filtering the photos again. This time, we know exactly what we want!

First I created a folder and shortlisted the photos we like, then slowly drilling down to the 42 photos inclusive in the wedding album package. We were doing pretty good and finally stuck to 42 photos without any additional photos. We took only one outdoor and one evening gown, most of it comprises of shoots of our white wedding gown and the chinese costume. We especially like the shots where I was in a mermaid cut gown. We took only one family photo as we thought it was over-priced and not quite worth our while.

After shortlisting the 42 photos, we then have to decide on 21 photos to put into the big album, another 21 to be included in a smaller album and which one to be used as the album cover. One big big headache is to decide which photo goes to the extra large photo with frame, the one where newly weds usually puts on their bed top. We discussed about this for quite long as each of us have different opinion. Everyone likes the full body view where I'm in the mermaid gown. Me on the other hand doesn't quite like the background as I thought it will look out-fashioned few years down the road. The shoots of both of us were good but the background. I asked the designer if that can be changed to a white background and the answer was no! We were also looking at another shoot but both our mothers said it cuts off the head so it's not too good for FengSui. We then ended up with another shot where both of us were looking at the camera focusing on our face. I hope it doesn't look tooo overwhelmed when we blow it up! (we might scare ourselves in the middle of the night)...hahahahahah! I'm just JOKING, it won't scare anyone because we're a gorgeous couple. ok!?


After which, both mothers got to choose their own pic of us as it is meant for them. It was a fast process, it's like okie this and ok that, settled! Next is 5 different poses to be distributed to my sisters and friends.


Done!

Wedding invitation card

After a few comparisons, we finally made up our mind with the printers. We've finally placed an order today with a card which is aligned to our bronzy theme. This vendor was recommended by a friend of Ben's mom which was so much cheaper than the one we went to ask the very first time! We went there with her friend the first time and had to pretend that we were cousins to ensure a bigger discount...kakaka!

The card should be ready by end of the month and we can start distributing. hmmmm the guest list....let's get it ready too! I've printed out 2 draft copies, one for my parents and one for ben's parents to confirm the guest list.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Mom's gown ... yes again

If you have been following my blog, you must be wondering...your mom's gown again?

Yes! Mom didn't like her tailor-made gown and was still hunting for gown for the longest time. She bought one gown from a boutique in Seremban and another one from KLCC the next day! Yes! she has like 3 gowns now and another kebaya-top for the tea ceremony.

However, the last gown she bought was absolutely stunning. A very striking pink and she'll guarateed to stand out amongst the guests. That's what she wants after getting opinions from her friends and sisters. And I guess the gown hunting mission for mom has been completed. ^-^
I personally like the gown very much, it's made of Satin and it has another layer of chiffon which functions like a shawl to cover my mom's fat arm (haha! her main concern is her arm). When she was trying on, lotsa ppl was looking at her, even an old lady said she looks pretty.

The sales girl even said if I get pregnant next time, I can reuse it because the chiffon shawl covers up till your tummy! hahahahah! Good sales person!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Chinese traditional custom



Just collected all the above with regards to the chinese traditional custom. It consists of:


A detailed timetable of when to tailor new pjamas, 安床 (change new bedsheet), 过大礼 (Groom's side to deliver presents to the Bride's family), prayers, Bride to transfer her belongings and presents from her parents 嫁妆 to the Groom's house and etc. Ops! But mine is all in Ben's house already .... haha!

过大礼 (Sorry but I don't know what is this called in English) is quite a big thing and a must in traditional chinese wedding. It's usually carried out 15-20 days before the wedding day. The Groom's parents will prepare all the necessary presents including 龙凤烛 (candle), 嫁女饼(biscuits), 请帖 (wedding invitation card), 礼酒(wine), chicken, red cloth and 聘金 (ang pow) to be given to the Bride's family. These are the basic necessity and both parents can discuss if they want any extra presents. Also, the Groom's parents are not suppose to be present during this ceremony. The Bride's parents should also return the presents 回礼 given and not keeping everything.

They also provide stickers to be stuck onto the car when the Groom collects the Bride on the wedding day. There're 2 stacks of angpow cover, which we're suppose to give out to e.g. the person who does the prayers, tailor for our pjamas, person who combs over hair (上头), person who introduces both of us, person who opens the car door for the Groom and etc. Many of these are not applicable in this modern society anymore esp the 'Introducer', I think it's called 媒人婆 in the olden days. A person who does match making when one family decided to wed their kids.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Our pre-wedding photos!

I woke up feeling extremely nervous as this is the day to preview the pre-wedding shoots we pose very hard for last week. Can't help thinking on how's I'll look in the photos, haha! Reached the studio after brunch at about 12-ish and started pre-viewing about close to 500++ photos!

Ben and I were quite satisfied with the outcome after the initial glance. It wasn't as bad as we thought it will be....kaka! I was extremely relieved!

After one glance at those photos, it's time for some filtering. We have to choose only 42 photos out of the 500++ photos, it's really a hectic one! Three of us, Ben, Ben's mom and myself were sitted ajdacent to each other started off with individual categories, Family, Outdoor, Evening gown, costume and wedding gown, scanning through every photos carefully and wrote down the no. of those shortlisted ones.

We both like the wedding gown and costume shoot than the others. Some of it are very nice, but I look chubbier in some shots; Ben looks extremely attractive in most of them!

After the 1st filtering, we were all exhausted, I then suggested to come back another day to finalize.

Unfortunately, I nearly broke my thumb while I was too excited viewing the photos!!!

Thursday, November 23, 2006

See you Ferringhi beach!

Our 2nd pre-wedding photography session is scheduled on the Jan 5th at a stretch of beach by the Lone Pine Hotel, Penang. This is recommended by our photographer. She says it has a great ground for photography. I'm so excited and can't wait to pose again! hahahaah

She suggested a few options initially, one of it being the Golden Sand. We would love to be there but the price is just extremely expensive =P

Will be there on the 4th after work and hope to catch the sunrise on the 5th. Besides, I'm also meeting up with my friends who's coming back from Melbourne! It has been almost a year since we girls last meetup! I can't wait!

Monday, November 20, 2006

Pre-wedding shoot [1] - completed



We arrived at the Bridal studio at about 11am after a quick breakfast at Rocky, Bangsar. Stopped by a bakery to buy some buns for lunch just in case we need some energy to continue with the photo shoot. As we were travelling to the studio, the sky was extremely blue! A sunny and blue sky decorated with lots of white clouds! Thanks thanks, keep it that way pls.......

They started putting body liquid and powder on me and I changed to an outdoor wedding gown. The stylist then very quickly applied foundation, powder, fake eyelashes, blusher and lip gloss on me; tied my hair half way up and I'm ready to go. Ben have also changed to his suit.

Our very first shoot was against the blue sky. It was my double chin who causes problem >-<, it took us about 10-15 mins to adjust and get used to it before the shoot is taken and I still don't know if it's a good one. We then quickly move around the park as the rain was coming anytime soon. It was although the dark cloud was following us! We also got our feet all dirty stepping into a pool of mud! After about 1-2 hours, we headed back to the studio, had our shoes cleaned and prepared for the 2nd session in the studio. Our families were already in the studio getting ready for the family photo. Ben and I quickly stuffed ourselves with the bun, changed and continued with our photo session. Our families then joined us; first 2 families together and then another shoot for separate families. They were 'asked to leave' right after the few shoots as we had to continue with our shooting. Poor thing, all properly dressed up and the ladies with full makeup on. We moved on to our 2nd wedding gown, 2 night gowns and 2 other costumes (cheong sum and chinese kua). As we proceeded, the photographer was showing his true color! He was extremely demanding and even scolded us! I didn't express my anger as I thought he was just trying his best for good shoots. However, when I think he was abit over board (he commented that I looked too stiff on how I stand). I told him off by saying: "Hello! I'm not a professional model, ok!?" I suppressed my anger though as my once in a life time photos are in his hand. It was a great experience overall! Ben likes me in the mermaid-cut gown where I love the chinese kua. We both know that it's not easy being a model now...hahahah!

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Sunny day please!

This is it! Our pre-wedding photo shoot day! Everything is ready now, all the shoes, socks, shirts, coat, pants, lense-less glasses....etc.... Put on my SkII whitening mask last night, slept at 10.30pm, didn't drink water after 8pm. Just burned the compilation of wedding photos I've collected so far for their reference.

Really nervous! kakakaka! cos I know I'm not a person who look good in a heavily makeup shoots. Worry that smile will look fake, worry that my complexion will not look good, worry about the makeup will not suit me .... and pray that it will not rain so early today, at least not till i finish my outdoor shoots!

Please please please, once in a life time, make everything goes as planned!

It's 9.30am now, gotta run!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Preparation in action

Everyone is busy preparing for the family potrait on the 17th November.

My Dad: Digged out his ancient suit.

My Mom: Not satisfied with the tailor-made gown, planning to wear the kebaya-chinese collared blouse but still shopping hard to get another gown.

Ben's Dad: Just bought a suit when shopping at KLCC last week, ben's mom and I keep talking him into putting on a matching purple shirt with ben's mom.

Ben's Mom: All set with her pink tailor-made outfit.

My sisters: Still indecisive on what to wear.

Ben's brother: Will be bringing his suit back from Australia.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

The soft launch of our wedding website



Before putting on the flash version which I've yet to start working on, I thought I should put up something to fill up benandpauline.com. There you go, recording an important milestone of our wedding preparation, I've used a pic from the fitting to soft-launch our wedding website!

url: http://www.benandpauline.com/

Friday, October 27, 2006

~Wedding gown fitting~

It's a Friday today, Ben and I took one day off for our wedding gown fitting. We arrived at the bridal gallery around 11.30am, together with my mom and sister Porsche.

The first thing is to search through every single piece of gown and select your preferred type before trying them on. All of us went like mad flipping through all the gowns and started staking those selected ones on the couch. Our hands got pretty tired flipping through a couple of hundreds gowns.

Right before I try on the gowns, I asked the consultant if Ben gets to try on any suit and only found out that he doesn't get to try on anything today! Poor ben~~~ as I made him put on a shirt and black pants thinking he gets to try out something today too. (",) It's so good being a woman! Man will have to put on whatever to match us! kakakaka!

While I was trying on my gown, Ben and my sister took turns to snap photos for me/us. I wanted to capture the moment as trying wedding gown is a very important milestone in the entire wedding preparation!

After trying countless type of wedding gowns, I finally decided to go with one strapless A-line Ivory gown and another strapless mermaid gown with a very nice train. It was about 2pm and we were drop-dead tired, esp myself! I still have 2 evening gowns to choose. I didn't pay much attention to the evening gown as both of us wanted our wedding album to be very simple and plain. The consultant keeps stressing that it's going to be super-duper plain hence I tried on about 4 pieces and selected 2 from there. It was 4pm when we left the gallery after making another 30% payment.

Guess what~~! I'm going back next Thursday to give some serious attention to my evening gown as I didn't really like the one I choice. I also called the consultant to replace the A-line gown with a designer gown which has an extended train! After looking through the photos taken at the fitting, I also start to like another wedding gown, so I might consider taking that too! ^-^

It's an extremely wonderful experience trying on gowns, it makes you feel like a princess! =D



Mom's 1st fitting

After weeks of waiting and delaying, mom finally get to see, feel and try on her tailor-made evening gown for the first time. As it was the first fitting, the gown looks extremely incompleted. Before mom even trying on, she has lose all her confidence with the gown. >< She keeps complaining about her arms which are her biggest fear. I suggested to make another matching shawl so that she will feel more comfortable putting on the gown.

We'll be collecting the finished version next week for the family photo session. Let's see how it goes, mom might be buying another backup gown.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Phenomenal gown!

Have been scouting around for wedding gown which I can use for a beach shoot; PrettyInWhite vs Butterfly. After my visit to Butterfly, I've been glancing through magazines for some design ideas. Shortlisted a few but have not really saw one I really like.

Yesterday, as both my sister and I were driving back from Seremban to KL, we dropped by KLCC for some eyebrow trimming. Walked around and spotted 2 wedding gowns that we thought were quite suitable for the beach shoot. One of it is a very simple, chiffon type of gown which has the flowing effect. Another one is a slightly more elegant with a little embroidery and it's made off some sort of silky satin cloth. After numerous times of swapping and changing between these 2 gowns, we still can't decide which will look better for a beach shoot.

We then quietly took some pics in the fitting room and sent it off using MMS to my hubby for his opinion, unfortunately the MMS didn't work. After thinking over and over again, I've decided to go with the elegant one.

It's a really nice gown and I'm really happy with the purchase. The best part is the price is sooooo affordable! Having compared with the other tailor-made gowns. and the even Best part is - It's a gift from my dearie sister Patricia! ^-^

Thursday, October 19, 2006

www.benandpauline.com

Wahahaha! Just bought a domain name and a hosting package to kick off our wedding website construction ^-^ www.benandpauline.com that is...!

Next is to look at some wedding website templates, I've laid my eyes on 3 templates from numerous template providers. Both Ben and I picked the 2nd option which is a full flash kinda template.

So....stay tuned!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Butterfly

Butterfly, another place for tailor-made gown and evening dresses located at the Sungai Wang Plaza. Got to know about this place from my colleague who's busy preparing for his wedding in Dec. His wife has made 5 dresses from this designer, that must be something huh!

In conjuction of the public holiday today, mom came down from Seremban and we headed off to the boutique to check out. Spoke to the designer and he drew me 2 designs which will suit my purpose for the beach shoot. I was unsure if I will look nice in the gown presented on the paper. Tried on a similar gown but I thought I was somewat big.

We shifted the attention to mom as she was still looking for a dress/top for the tea ceremony. He drew 2 designs according to my mom's requirements, and I thought it was just alright. I went around the shop and picked a chinese+kebaya collar-ed blouse and thought that was a great outfit for that special occasion. However, Mom didn't quite like the top; We persuaded her as she looks really great in the red blouse; elegant and slim!

After we left the boutique, we went round the mall, dropped by The curve to see if we could get anything for the wedding.

At last, mom has decided to go with the red blouse from Butterfly and I will make another trip with Ben when he's back from Sydney to get that.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Fitting

Called Mon Liza today to setup appointment for wedding gown fitting and a date for pre-wedding shoot. Few changes to the date because of everyone's schedule, my parents and most importantly Ben's brother who's in Melbourne now. We've planned a family photo after the pre-wedding shoot. It's lucky that he's also planning a trip back during that period.

So this is it! Scheduled 27th Oct for fitting and 17th Nov for the shoot ^0^

I'll be going to Bangkok with Ben to rejuvenate myself with Spas and Thai massages during Ben's business trip there. I hope to glow and shine to the fullest!!! HAHA!

Thursday, October 05, 2006

PrettyInWhite

Visited PrettyInWhite in SriHartama today, it's a boutique that do tailor-made wedding dresses. They have a wide range of wedding dresses and wedding photography is also part of their services.

Communicated with the designer that I'm looking for a simple wedding dress to be worn for my pre-wedding photograph by the beach. Co-incidentally she was half way designing a wedding gown for a beach-side wedding. I tried the halter neck dress with tail made out off chiffon. I thought it was very nice, but halter neck kinda make me look abit bigger. Was advised by the designer that people who have broad shoulder like me is most suited for halter neck cut.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Confirming the Westin Hotel

Met up with Vivien today to run through the final details of our wedding dinner agreement and made a 10% downpayment. Also finalized the payment schedule and the series of action items before our big day; meeting with the decorator and the inhouse florist, finalizing the dinner menu, confirming the no. of guests and food tasting and etc.

Gave Julie from Ritz a call to inform her about our decision. We were very sorry as the service we received from her was terrific! The only little flaw was the ballroom.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Ferringhi Beach, here we come!

Still very indecisive on which photographer we should finally choose? Should it be Fifoto, Kidchan, Armadale or just stick with MonLiza? We also heard that photoz is good!

hmmmmm....I then picked up the phone and spoke to Fifoto, after explaining to her my problem, she was very helpful and suggested that we could go up to Penang for the shoot as she's local! I don't need to cover her accommodation but only the travelling cost from KL to Penang. I thought it was a brilliant idea! At least the beaches are far more beautiful than those in PD.... ^-^

After my discussion with Ben, we finally made our decision! Finally~~~~

That's to stick with MonLiza and hire Fifoto for our wedding day photo and take up their complimentary pre-wedding day shoot at Penang! Perfectoooo~

There we go, paying the initial deposit via maybank2u as today is the last day for the complimentary pre-wedding photo.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Yes! 11th March 2007

As I was about to compose an email to Vivien of Westin, I received a call from her! And it's a good news! The company has agreed to give way and 11th March is now ours! YEAH!

She will now draft out the contract to be sent to us.

We'll see how we can negotiate further before signing off the contract. ;that also mean that we have to put down the downpayment very very soon...... ~~

Searching for a nice beach for pre-wedding photograph

I started searching nice beaches for our pre-wedding shoots. First I thought of Redang after seeing my friend's beautiful vacation photos. However, after calculating the cost, I know it's unrealistic as we don't have the budget for the luxury of taking the crew there. Hence I reduces my searching radar and decided to look for a nice beach in Port Dickson itself.

We were recommended few resorts by my friends, Tiara Beach Resort, Glory Beach Resort and Avillion Beach Resort. I have a lot of friends telling me Avillion is the place! After visiting the website, I was convinced. Picked up the phone to check out more details for pre-wedding photo shoots arrangement and only found out that they have 2 appointed photographers, Kidchan and Armadale. Besides, if you don't plan to go with the appointed photographer, you'll have to pay RM5000 for the rental!

Alright...I then explored Kidchan as I know he's a very well-known photographer in the industry. Made an appointment to visit the KidChan studio in Bangsar too. His charges is really more than we could afford. I was also very delighted when I found out about his package bundling with the Avillion resort stay. ^-^

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Wedding Expo

Got to know from the Bridal mag that there'll be a wedding expo at the mid valley convention center this weekend. Went with Ben to explore, hoping to find some new ideas or some vendors for our wedding. The expo mostly consists of bridal studio and hotels.

One photo studio which was decorated in all black caught our attention! Their style seems very new edge and modern. We then approached them to explore further and only found that our colleague actually did a pre-wedding photographs with them. It was taken at Putrajaya and the shots taken was very nice!

Fifoto which was started by this lady named Fiona. Went throught their portfolio, it seems like they're pretty new in this pre-wedding photo shoots. Natasha (a local actress) also went with Fifoto on their wedding day photographs. Their price seems abit pricey but I'm sure we're paying for the quality. It's a whole package that we're exploring which includes the pre-wedding and wedding day photographs.

In summary, we're both in dilemma now!

Dilemma continues...

Our dilemma continues ~~~ as we've put down a deposit of RM1k with MonLiza and we're now pretty attracted by Fifoto. To be frank, we both feel that Fifoto is more towards our style and we're more confident that they're able to produce something more to our liking.

The problem is the Rm1K deposit! Oh!! >< why why!!!

The beauty about the package with Fifoto is that it allows you to choose 3-4 locations of your choice, and they also bundle in the wedding day photo, with the bridal makeup and what not. As both of us can't stop thinking to take our pre-wedding photos on a beach, this seems to be the perfect photographer for us. Also checked with my colleauge, Putrajaya seems to be a good place for some elegant shots.

But the problem is the Rm1K! Do we want to just burn it or do we want to forfeit so to not regret when the whole production is out?

*Wink* We also have a wild idea! To make use of the Rm1K for bridal gown rental with Mon Liza that is!; since Fifoto's package doesn't include bridal gown. Arha~~~~~ I hope this will work ... though....~~~

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Latest update on the venue

11th March 2007 vs 18th March 2007?

It all depends on Westin hotel. We got to know from Vivien that there's another tentative booking by a company for their event on the 11th March. Our ideal date will be 11th since our chinese ceremony will take place on the 8th March. It's only right to have our wedding dinner on the 11th March rather than 18th March. We were initially looking at 10th March which is a Saturday but unfortunately it's already taken up by a couple ><

Just got a call from Vivien that they have contacted the company to see if they can release 11th March for us. Stay tuned for the latest updates!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Viewing an actual wedding setup @ Westin

Scheduled to view the settings of an actual wedding today with Vivien. We reached Westin around 4.30pm and it was raining cats and dogs! Went straight to the 2nd level where the ballroom is located.

Vivien showed us around starting from the pre-dinner cocktail lounge, the reception table and the walkway to the ballroom which was lighted up with tea-light candles. The floral arrangement right at the entrance of the ballroom was terrific! It gives you a very fairy-tale like feeling with lots of white roses and white petals on the floor. ^^ Co-incidentally, the wedding theme is also around gold + white. Hmm.....maybe we can steal some ideas!

When we stepped into the ballroom, the setup is simply amazing. A very cozy and nice elegant ballroom. The only thing is the walkway seems somewat plain. It should be okay if we put some decos there. ^^

We're both pretty satisfied with the whole setup of the wedding. It all depends on when the ballroom will be available for us.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

8th March 2007! Confirmed!

Just got a confirmation from our 'fortune-teller', Ms Wong that the best date for Ben and I to have our chinese ceremony will be on the 8th March.

We knew about this date actually 1/2 year ago, but were still trying to explore if there's any possibility to have the chinses ceremony on a weekend. Say 10th March for the chinese ceremony and 11th March for the wedding dinner.

Despite that, Ms. Wong still advised us to go with 8th March which falls on a Thursday. Well, I guess we'll have to go with whatever date that best fits us. Marriage is about life-long process rather than an one day event after all ^^

We'll follow whatever it takes to make sure we have a good future together!

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Our meeting with the Decorator from FocalConcepts

A friend of mine recommended this decorator friend of hers. Met up with him after work to discuss on what he can do and what our expectations are. He started off by showing his company's portfolio, their service includes creating theme ideas, ballroom decorations, floral arrangement and what not.

Illustrated our theme in mind, which is golden, bronzy and white. He commented that it compliments the current settings in Westin which was a big relief for us! ^^ Also told him the budget we've allocated for ballroom decorations and we're glad that he is able to work something out within the budget.

The meeting ended fairly quickly but it was a fruitful discussion. At least we know that his service is quite reasonable priced. He will go back and come out with a proposal.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Loh Tat Bet 罗铁笔 [continues...]

I called up Loh Tat Bet last Wednesday to enquire on the possible dates for our chinese wedding ceremony and was given a few dates, ranges from March to June. Good that the date picked by the other master is also in his list, 8th March 2007. It's a Thursday, so our dinner will mostly be on the 10th March, Saturday.

My parents came all the way from Seremban just to listen to what he has to say, together with Ben's mom. Master Loh brieftly runs through what needs to be done and etc. Everything has to be done according to the specific hour. For example, time when the groom picks up the bride; how long should the groom be staying in the bride's place; what time they need to arrive at the groom's house.

Next is for us to confirm on the date and tell Master Loh, he will then prepare a detailed checklist on what to do together with the timeline. Things are to be done approximately one month before the actual ceremony, like buying new bedsheet, new night gown and etc....^^

Tailor-made dinner gown for Mom @ Cordino

We then proceed to Cordino, a boutique located at Damansara Uptown. We were recommended by Ben's mom. We seek opinion from Derek, the designer to suggest some simple yet elegant gown for Mom. He drew 3 designs in total, all V-neck as he thinks my mom is more suited for V-neck as it enhances her petite figure.

Mom picked the 2nd design, a V-neck, floor-lengthed dress, with 3 layers of chiffon and satin, together with the color-combination of green and yellow. We were at first very worried with the color-combi as none of us can visualize the design he has in mind. He then went high and low looking for the closest clothes to conceptualize his idea to us. Mom wanted to make 2 dresses, one for the wedding ceremony another one for the wedding dinner. We're sticking to one piece at this moment to see the quality delivered by this designer.

My sisters also seek some opinion from Derek but will probably buy off the shelf dresses.

Cyberview Lodge Resort & Spa

I was also recommended by my colleague to consider Cyberview Lodge as they have a very nice garden. Made an appointment with Ms. Connie and went to sight the venue together with my family. It was a long-long journey there from KL, we reached there at about 4.30pm as there will be a wedding that night itself. We purposely visited that place at this hour just to have a rough idea of what the package includes and how the final result will turn out to be.

This wedding begins with a pre-dinner cocktail in the garden then dinner in the ballroom. I like the garden cocktail very much, though I don't quite like the whole ambience of the hotel. It's more to a gloomy and dark-side kinda feeling which doesn't quite suit our happy occasion. However, the setup of the tables are nice, esp the lights focusing on each candle on every tables.
We were then invited to take a look at the chalet, which we had to hop on to a mini-van as it was too far to walk.

Don't think we will be going with this option as none of our parents like about this place, main reason being the location at Cyberjaya.

The Westin, Kuala Lumpur

This place was recommended by Ben's dad as he attended a friend's daughter's wedding a couple of weeks back. I then called up to make an appointment with Ms. Vivien Loh.

This is our first time ever stepping into the Westin, KL. The initial impression was pretty good, the ambiance, the classiness and the moderness of the hotel.

Visited on a Sunday afternoon. Waited for Vivien at the lobby, quickly put on my glasses to take a clearer look at every angle. Not bad...not bad.

After the initial introduction, she brought us up to Level 2, where the ballroom is located. The entrance leading to the ballroom itself already impressed us; with its bronzy feel which matches the theme we have in mind. It's even classier with the jazz music playing in the background...superb~~!

Due to the preparation for tomorrow's event, we were only showed half of the ballroom. A red carpet right in the middle of the room, leading to the main stage. There're 2 projector screens located at each side of the stage. This ballroom gives an entirely different feeling, very different. After the explaination from Vivien, we soon realized it was their special "Martin Architecture Lighting" that adds on to the modern ambiance.

Perfect! perfect! perfect! We could even save some money on the decorations since the room is pretty elaborated in its own way! yay ^^

We sat down to discuss more details on the wedding packages and enquired on the still available Saturdays in March. Unfortunately, 10th March is already taken, and the only available Sat is 3rd which was before our ceremony. Guess we'll have to explore 11th March, a Sunday.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Loh Tat Bet 罗铁笔

Ben's mom took us to this Loh Tat Bet to seek consultation on what are the procedures, things to prepare and things to follow according to the Chinese custom. We're also asking him to calculate the best date to conduct our wedding ceremony and wedding dinner according to both our chinese date of birth. Although we have another master who has already given us the date, but this is just to obtain a second opinion as the date initially picked falls on a Thursday.

They took down our :

  • Names in chinese
  • Date & Time of Birth
  • Origin, whether you're Cantonese, Hakka or Hokkien
  • Parent's chinese zodiac


On top of that, they even asked things like where is the bride planning to be married and how long does it take the groom to pick the bride back and forth both families. We're be going back next week to jot down all the details. ^^

Friday, August 25, 2006

PreWedding Photography @ Mon Liza

It's time for some serious preparation for time is ticking. Last week, we started looking at some wedding photography packages. CasaMia at SS2 is the one we first drop by to enquire as it was recommended by my friend. We both like the style of CasaMia as it promotes simple, elegant and casual style in their photos. We were quite tempted to sign up for the package as we were confident enough that they can deliver what we want. However, we held back as that's the first place we visited. We feel that we should do more researches before making our decision.

We went round SS2, as you know there're plenty of bridal shops around that area. We ended up at Mon Liza. The impression with Mon Liza initially wasn't too impressive as their style is more complicated, with lots of designs and lack of the simplicity we both like. We were planning to turn down their offer but at this time, the lady boss came back and she sat down and serviced us. She then offered us really good deal and showed us around her bridal shop with the different scenes and their collection of gowns. We were confident enough after she showed us some recent photographs taken by a newly weds.

One most interesting offer is that they're constructing a beach backdrop, as in with real water, real sand and sunlight at their backyard. You'll have to pay extra for that, but we were offered without any additional charges.

So this is it!!! We'll be trying out our gowns come October and taking photos in November! Things are really progressing man! I'm soooooo nervous now!!! Pls pray for us so that our photos will turn out PERFECTLY! not just nice, but PERFECT........

Diet Diet Diet!!! ^^

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Carcosa Seri Negara

Can't stop thinking of my dream garden wedding. I was having dinner with one of my colleagues and she suggested me to look at Carcosa Seri Negara. Did some research on the internet, the place looks perfectly well for my dream wedding. http://www.ghmhotels.com/hotels/hotel_home.asp?hotelid=10&section=home

Hence I called up to make an appointment to sight the venue. It was a saturday afternoon and we met up with Ms. Fifi. Carsoca Seri Negara is located up a hill near the Lake Garden. As we make our way through the tiny and carefully landscaped road, we reached the guardhouse.We met up with Ms. Fifi at the Carcosa Mansion lobby. As we walked in, the coziness and the ambience simply blows me away. I immediately picture Ben and myself walking down the stairs; while the guests looking at us from below^^. When it comes to the dining area, the red themed area, the final touches, the details simply adds-on to the ambience, the classiness and the elegant of that place. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Only that we found out the area only accommodates up to 80 pax. Ouch!!!

We were then brought to see the Carcosa marquee which was still under renovation. However, it can only hold up to 200 pax, which doesn't fit our requirements.

We then received the proposal from Ms.Fifi, and wow! the price is just amazing! ....Amazingly expensive~~~~~~. Don't think we can afford that just yet. However, it was a good experience.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Food Sampling @ The Ritz

We were honourned to be invited for a food sampling dinner at the LiYen Chinese Restaurant in Ritz Carlton last night. It was a 7 course dinner with chinese menu and western settings. There were 20 of us and we were seated in a banquet setup (Long table).
The room was decorated with Oganza orange drapes, twig balls wrapped in red oganza cloth; hung from the ceiling. The tables were setup in a fusion style, with chopsticks, fork and knife. The table runner was bold red in color and was further enhanced by a couple of candle holders and fresh flowers.

We started off with a very light and interesting appetizer - 2 hot Appetizers, salad prawn and deep fried prawn. I personally liked the starter. It's light and was decorated in a very appetizing manner. Followed by a huge bowl of YinYang sharkfin soup. The main course was cod fish layered with honey. The next dish was Stir fried chicken. By then, I was 110% filled! Next dish was beancurd roll with a papaya carved 'Fook' character on top. Everyone was amazed by the precision of the carved 'fook'. It was then followed by a Lotus leaf glutinous rice dish, ending with a Pamelo and sago dessert.

These are the pictures taken during the dinner. We were each presented with an individual menu with our names printed on it. =) We were also asked to comment on the presentation and the taste of the food.

And lastly, the food in the Ritz is highliy priced! We were told the dinner costs approximately RM250++ per pax! wow!!!

The Room





The Food





Monday, July 10, 2006

Brides Ideas

I buy bridal magazines whenever I go to the bookstore now. Got 2 of them; the Female Brides, June2006 edition and NiuYou (modern brides) June2006. Both has quite a good coverage on what you need to prepare, directories of vendors, hotels, venues, photography, gowns, makeups, gowns, wedding planners, and etc. Quite comprehensive.

To date, I have 3 different set of planning schedule template, which says what need to be done prior to your big day. Ben just did a check and found that ... phew! we're still on schedule, 6 - 8 months prior to deciding on your wedding venue that is! As our tentative date will be March 2007, about 8 more months to go. *nervous nervous* Still can't seem to make up our mind yet. I believe you have all the right to be choosy and picky for the event of your life..haha!

Still have alot of things to prepare, the photoshots, invitation cards, themes. Well, maybe not that much but ... deciding on one venue and vendor needs lotsa research and courage. It's like making the choice of your life, similar to choosing your partner...isn't?? *wink wink*

I do diaries |My Best Friend's Wedding|

I was watching this program last night, The I do Diaries - My best Friend's Wedding. The idea is that 2 best friends came together and decided to get married at the same time; well almost, one week after each other's wedding.

They both are entirely sponsored to have their Dream wedding! But the catch is the brides are not allowed to participate in their own wedding, not a single details. The decision is entirely up to the best friend. The best friend will decide on the venue, the gown, the wedding cake, the theme, the invitation cards and the gift for the guests, even the brides makeup. Yes! Not a single detail can be reviewed till the wedding day itself. The bride will be blind-folded when they do their bridal gown fitting.

It was soooo interesting!

But that someone has to really understand what we really want laaaaaa......

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Searching for the perfect place

Where will be the perfect venue to hold the most important day of your life? We started going to hotels in town to sight the venues and enquire about wedding packages.
The first hotel we went to was Ritz Carlton. Remember going to that place to enquire when we were planning for our registration last year. Quite like the place because of it's classiness and coziness. We both want a small do for our wedding and coziness is an important element for us. Have been there few times already with both our parents and the Ritz reprentative have been very helpful and professional in assisting us. We even met up with the decorators and florist. But, I'm still not quite satisfy with the wedding hall, the 2 huge poles in the middle is just disturbing factor. Went to sight the actual wedding preparation, but it haven't blew me away. hmmmmmm......

While we were at the Ritz, the representative also took us to the JW Marriott, which is associated with the Ritz. Both hotels have their own selling point; JW Marriott for its grandness while Ritz for its coziness. Besides, JW Marriott has a minimum order of 50 tables, which we both feel it's a bit too many people.

So we decided to search for few more options. Went to Le-Meridien just yesterday. My mom's cousin's wedding was held there and I thought the decos and ambience was quite good. The only down side is the wedding package - doesnt include a lot of things, e.g. the Pre-dinner Cocktail, the jazz band and etc.

We then went to KL Hilton, which is just next door without making prior appointment. Hence haven't seen any of their wedding packages yet.

Planning to go to few more places like the Sheraton Imperial and Mandarin Oriental.

Preparation in action

Those who knows us know that we both like taking pictures a lot. kakaka