Finally had the time to upload our actual day photos... :)

I can't thank my jiemeis and hubby's xiongdis enough for their help that day... Of cos, I gotta thank Ted Collection for designing such fabulous gowns for me, Jesslin & her husband Kenny for their makeup & hairstyling, Portrait Gallery's Matthew Tan for shooting our wedding album, their actual day photographer Albert & videographer James for capturing our moments... Last but not least, Justin from Fleurlicious for designing such beautiful bouquets on both my photoshoot & actual wedding. Love you guys! *MUACK*

1. Our Big Day... Dressing up

2. Groom arrives!

3. At hubby's place a.k.a my new home!

4. Tea ceremony @ Bride's place

5. Dinner begins

6. Table-2-Table

7. Sending guests off

Behold...our wedding album by Portrait Gallery

Our wedding album

Some photos from my wedding photoshoot in March

New chapter in life...

*sigh* I'm now missing my wedding day on 14 June... Came and went so fast... Took so many months to prepare just for this one special day. Lots of work & people involved and I don't regret it. It was stressful but fun as well. Life goes on... at least we were the "superstars" that day! Haha...

Nerve-wrecking, rushing from place to place, hiccups on the program... I guess this is pretty much expected for most weddings. Though we've been husband & wife in the eyes of the law since 2003, but only after the customary wedding, then it's the true start of our married life.

Now that hubby is at work, I'm at home with in-laws, think it's time to start my jobhunt... Next step, would be to save up for a flat of our own. A last goodbye to singlehood... Sayonara! Welcome to a whole new chapter named "Married Life"... :)

Grandma in hospital

My maternal grandma just got sent to Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Found that her small intestine got stuck with her big intestine somehow. I don't get it either. So the doctor says that she has to undergo an operation. If the problem left unattended, the pain will continue and it might endanger her life. Undergoing an operation at her old age of 85, with severe heart problem and diabetes, there is a possibility that she might just die on the operation bed. Anyway, my grandma decided to go ahead with the operation.

Hubby and I went to hospital for a short visit last night... I'm glad she's looking OK after yesterday morning's operation. :) Hope she can recover soon.

Lumpy?

Went to Mt. Alvernia Hospital for a follow-up checkup today. Last year 30th Apr, I had removed a fibroid in my left breast. So I'm back to see the doctor after 1 year. At first, I got a slight shock when she was examining my right breast, she said she felt something lumpy. My mind went blank for a moment. Could only managed a "What?" as a reply. Then using ultrasound scan to verify, (phew!) it was just a thick group of breast tissues. Yippee! At least as of now, I don't need to go under the knife again. :P

As for the scar I got from the surgery, not only has it darkened in colour, it has also grown to look like a miniature hill over my skin. It didn't come as a surprise to me as I've got keloid problem. Anyway, the doctor gave me a prescribed cream Elomet to apply over the scar, in a bid to lighten the colour and flatten it. No idea how long it's gonna take before it takes effect, keeping fingers & legs crossed now...

Love is in the air...

After our appointment with AWT, we went to Plaza Singapura for dinner. We bought a savoury Ham & Cheese crepe from one stall in Level B2, went on to Carl's Jr to share a Combo meal (1st time we're trying Carl's Jr, the meat sure is juicy, YUMMY!) and shared a bowl of shaved ice with Mango fruit pieces, topped with Strawberry sherbet at 冰馆.

It's been a very long time since we caught a movie in the theatres, so we went for The Forbidden Kingdom at 11.10pm. Movie is quite OK and I liked the action cheoreography pretty much. Well, at least it's not as ridiculous as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Haha...

Afterthought for the day:
We were walking around Plaza Singapura and hubby suddenly said this to me with a tender loving smile, that he had once thought he might be losing his private space after our wedding. However, that thought has dispersed and he just can't wait to be with me day and night! That has made me so happy... After 10 years of courtship, I'm really glad that we've been there for each other in times of need... Our bonds of love has only grown stronger and I believe, it will continue till the end of the time...

Lao gong, if you are reading this... I Love You... *muack*

Wedding invitation card selected!

Just selected the design of our wedding invitation card with American Wedding Treasures (AWT) yesterday. In the end, we shortlisted 2 designs - a standard square sized with floral embossing on the cover (looks elegant, simplistic) & a rectangular shaped card with strong colours like red or bright yellow for us to choose from, cute stick figure couple on the cover (different from the norm). After serious consideration, we chose the former. Why not the latter? Cos my hubby pointed out that the final layout which depends on the amount of words printed on the card insert might turn out looking 'cramped', thus making it not-so-easy to read.

Had heard from other Hilton brides that AWT printing charges were higher as compared to other card printers, however, we just decided to let AWT print the card inserts for us so that we can save time on this. :P

Then comes the selection of paper to be used for the card insert, came down to 2 choices again after looking at all different types e.g. tracing paper, parchment. Plain paper OR trans-paper (sounds something like that anyway). Honestly, trans-paper looks good with the card but is more expensive. For practical reasons, we decided on plain paper as I am one who do not keep wedding invites after their wedding is over. Keke...

Up next, font selection... we went for Copperplate which is classy and matched well with the card design. As for a different font for my name & hubby's to stand out, we chose about 4 likely fonts and AWT will draft them out for us to see which one we prefer. Chinese words for the invitation, we went for Standard Kai Shu.

What we need to do now, is to decide on what is to be printed on the invitation. *headache*

Cross-eyed!

Alrightey... we're supposed to select 100 photos to be printed into 4R, then from that 100 prints to choose another 30-40 for our wedding album.

So Mom and I were going thru 1000+ photos yesterday and boy, was it tedious! We were really cross-eyed from staring at all the pictures...scrutinizing every detail and selecting the best of the lot. So far, we only sifted out 170+, so that means we still got to cut down more... but think it's best I sit down with hubby and choose for the 2nd time. :)

Oh, we should be going to Beauty World to have my dad's suit custom-made in the afternoon. Most probably look around the area and see if we can buy perhaps some wedding stickers for the house. Will be checking some confectionery shops in the area too so we can let my hubby know what type of wedding cakes to buy us. Keke...

Erm, I still haven't called up the private driving instructor. Lazy me! But I did buy the Advanced Driving Theory book from Popular bookstore! :P Yea yea, excuses excuses... Heh...

Passed my BTT!!!

Hehe, I passed my Basic Driving Theory Test last Thurs 10th Apr! I know, it's easy to pass...but I'm still elated that I passed it. Just checked the driving centre website and nearest Final Theory test would be in June. Hmm, that means I gotta space out time after wedding to study for it. Perhaps in the meantime, I had better call up the private driving instructor and ask for lessons. Oh wait, I haven't applied for Provisional Driving Licence yet. Haha...

Another piece of good news, Mom got her gown on the same day!!! More amazing fact is, she found it in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre! Heh, what a stroke of luck! Dad bought a pair of shoes there as well, also meant to wear them for my wedding. We went about the shopping centre and Beauty World to ask about prices to tailor his suit. I'd say the trip was quite fruitful. :)

My gowns from Ted Collection... Before & After! ^_^

Shopping for mom's clothes

My mom still has no idea what she wanna wear for my wedding dinner, so we went to shop at Vivocity yesterday. She tried out a few Daniel Yam's gowns, I found a couple that looked nice on her but she found them too revealing. She finds it insecure if there aren't any shoulder straps and she didn't like it that most gowns had a small train behind. She just wants it simple and fuss-free. No cheongsum, skirt length must be above-ankle, don't like too much beadings in the design, bla bla...

Frankly speaking, I was getting quite irritated with her and she kept worrying about this and that. Then I had to cool down by telling myself, that's her. My mom, a housewife, is a thrifty person as my dad was a low-income worker and had to support our family of three as the sole breadwinner. She's just a very simple lady with simple needs, not the type who wanna spend lots of money to look glamorous for a one-time event and then the gown would just be stashed away for ever after this one-time wear. To her, this is wasteful. In a way, I do agree with her practicality. I had relatives who were also grumbling at the fact that they spent hundreds of dollars on a tailor made gown for their children's wedding and only got to wear it that one time. Then it's just left there to take up space in the wardrobe.

So even though I would have liked her to wear a gown for my wedding but if she don't feel comfortable in it and ended up looking awkward, I'd rather have her wearing something that she likes. She's very conscious about her bulging stomach, so she might wanna go for nice top with pants or longer-than-knees length skirt. Something that she can wear out on normal days as well without looking over the top. :)

Wondering if anyone got any suggestions on where to get nice looking top and bottoms for moms...*crack head*

Photoshoot OVER!!!

Our 2nd photoshoot at Spottiswoode Park, Bonsai Garden and Japanese Garden was done on 2nd April. Going to Spottiswoode Park was my photographer's suggestion as my hubby and I haven't been to that place. He thinks that it'll be a nice backdrop for my cheongsum. The houses there are more to Peranakan style but I think the effect should turn out great. We like the setting there too... Took a few quick shots and then made our way to Bonsai Garden.

Reached there after 4pm, took shots till Bonsai Garden closed at 5pm. Took more shots in Chinese Garden by the lake and then RAIN!!! Oh boy, we quickly took shelter at the Pagoda. It was still a distance from where we were to the Pagoda, so we were quite drenched. I only have a small umbrella to shield my hubby and myself to prevent our hairstyles from getting wet. My photographer and his assistant had to lug their equipment and rush for shelter as they forgot to bring umbrellas out from the car. Poor them.

Anyway, luckily I had already changed from my heels to slippers so that made walking easier. The rain went on for about 10 minutes or so and stopped. So we went out for more cheongsum shots! Haha... Up next, we changed into T-shirt and jeans for casual shots... Hubby had to piggyback me and run a bit. It was fun! :P Both days of photoshoot were such an experience, totally love it.

Photoshoot over... hmm...mebbe not...:P

Had a fun wedding photoshoot session last Fri, 28 March. We went to Hilton Hotel, Thian Hock Keng temple & Chinese Garden. My makeup artist Jesslin Ng made me look so gorgeous! The bouquet of red & purple was beautifully done by my florist Justin Koh (Fleurlicious) too. One tourist in Hilton Hotel even stopped by to ask if I'm getting married. After I replied "Yes", he smiled saying that he had thought I was a model! LOL. We were getting curious stares & beaming smiles everywhere we go. Tourists at Thian Hock Keng temple were also taking our pictures (to which I greeted them with a smile) & some nice ladies even came by to say how beautiful I looked. It was so sweet of them.

However, we ran out of time & didn't manage to go to Bonsai Garden in Chinese Garden as it closes at 5pm. We got there around 5.30pm, so only managed to take shots of me in my wedding gown. Didn't even had time to do shots in our casual wear. Weather of cos played a part as well. It was extremely humid when we were at the temple, causing us to sweat profusely, especially hubby in his black shirt. On our way to Chinese Garden, it was raining quite heavily. Luckily, it was drizzling when we arrived & rain finally stopped after a short while.

We didn't had much to eat except a burger from McDonald's which my photographer Matthew bought us on our way to Thian Hock Keng temple. Just rushing here and there. Plus with all the sweating, I actually think I slimmed down a bit after my wedding photoshoot! Haha... Hope to slim down further to show more curves at my waist area and a flatter tummy...

So now depending on hubby's work schedule, we're planning to have more shots taken with my cheongsum in Bonsai Garden and followed by casual shots on another day. Stay tuned! :)

Final gown fitting tomorrow?!

Wow... Can't stand the suspense any longer, so I decided to give my designer a call. Guess what, all 3 gowns and hubby's suit are completed! :) I'm really excited about this fitting as it's the final product! Though I wanna tell myself to calm down but it's real difficult as which bride-to-be won't want to be blown away when you wear the pretty gowns??! *deep breath*

If no further alterations needed, we'll be able to bring home our gowns & suit tomorrow! Oh yeah!

Meeting hubby at Vivocity later for dinner and to get his new pair of spectacles frame. Mmm...yearning for Hakka "Thunder Tea" rice in the Food Republic. ^_^

Mmmm...1 more week to wedding photoshoot!

Wooo... My hubby & I met up with our florist, Justin Koh from Fleurlicious, for the 1st time last evening... Sweet guy he is... Very knowledgeable about his work & flower types... Showed him my gown photos taken during my 1st fitting, my wedding gown is more to the American classic style. Hmm, my skin tone is quite fair, so he suggested that I take dark red roses (like Black Beauty) which will go very well with the style of my wedding gown as it's not only classic but its color is strong too. My bouquet will have dark purple eustomas taking the same stage as the roses. Another strong color and it so happened dat both red & purple are colors which I adore! *grin* This should suit my character very well! :) Oh my, I can't wait to see my bouquet next week... *dreamy smile*

1st blog entry... finally...zZzZz

I had been wanting to start a blog of my own for quite a while now but my lazy nature has got the better of me. If you ask me if I regretted not starting to blog earlier, perhaps I'm just the type who can't be bothered.

Anyway, on the spur of the moment, I FINALLY decided to write something at last. Haha...

I've been busy preparing for my upcoming wedding in June. So far, my hubby & I had gone for 2 gown fitting sessions and we're waiting to be called up for a 3rd (hopefully last) session as our photoshoot is on next Fri. Ever since we went for our 1st fitting, we went shopping almost everyday for hubby's shirts, ties, shoes & leather belt. Tiring, yes, but I have to admit it's fun too. Now we're lacking a shirt & tie for my hubby's day look. We took a break from shopping the past 2 days as I wasn't feeling too well. Bad weather & lack of rest.

We won't be shopping this evening as well as we have an appointment with our florist for the 1st time. As with my gown design discussion and fittings, I'm blur as ever and not sure what to expect. Guess you just have to experience it and then find out for yourself what all this is about. It's like a whole new learning experience, I'd say. Hope I won't be too lazy to write my 2nd post here. Hahahaha... *yawns*

Oh, P/S I'm not taking a package from bridal shops, instead I opted for ala-carte. This means I get the flexibility of engaging different vendors for my wedding. However, we were happy with the partners who work with my bridal designer and engaged them for photography/videography, makeup & flowers.