She says: Wedding Planner, do I need one?

Wedding Planner is often viewed as an extra cost in wedding budget. For some people, wedding planner is a life saver, for some it is an unnecessary spending  on top of the enormous money spent.

For me, I don’t need a wedding planner. I want to be one.

Sounds scary!! Honestly the reason why I don’t engage wedding planner is that my wedding is too precious to be planned by somebody else. Also I have so much fun while planning it, I don’t want to give it up to other people! *bridezilla.. GRoarrr!!!!

Bear with me, let me indulge myself in the “I” zone :

For people who knows me, I am super energetic when I’m into something, I can research about anything I want to know. Google is my partner in crime! I want to do everything! Ideas flows like waterfalls. When I am excited about certain things, I will be like an energizer bunny on steroid!! I know what I want, how I want it, when I want it.

I am a sanguine dominant. According to Personality Plus: This is the social-type. They enjoy fun, socialising, chatting, telling stories. (To learn more about Four Temperament, here is the link)

Thank God for my other side, which is a phlegmatic. I am a non-threating person, who love peace. So I have the tendency to avoid conflict. So in some case, I can’t say, ” your ideas sucks!” or “your work is not what I paid for!” So I will try to maneuver the rejection to something else, without directly offending the person. In the end, maybe I am gonna bite my vendors or push them. Still tame..

So given these characteristic of mine, I pity the wedding planner whom I will engage.My ideas are too overwhelming. My wedding file is gonna burst with magazine cut-outs or notes. As a designer, it is so natural to be drawn to a beautiful visual and to averse any bad design. Having a typically cluttered album photo hurt my design eyes, etc. I guess I am too meticulous in this area. For fashion, I am easy-peasy, very easily pleased. I am not a fashion bride, as long as it matches my theme I am happy.

End of  “I” zone. (can you count how many ” I..” in there)

Another consideration is we know who we are as a couple, and what we want. So does every couple in the world right?

Wrong!

Most of the times couples don’t know what they want, or they don’t have time to figure what they want. I have the advantage of being trained in the creative industry. But what if you don’t? You know nothing about wedding and flowers, etc..

I do complain when I attended a bare-basic wedding, eat-smile-clap-where’s the last meal!- go home. But I think I can’t assume everybody is into their own wedding as much as I do. I hope they do.. but if they don’t…

That’s when they need a wedding planner. To help couples discover what they want and how to turn into reality.

I got so excited when I saw the advertisement for a Wedding Planner course. I think my adrenaline rush prompt me to sign on. I am constantly looking for opportunity to discover my true passion, so wedding planning could be the answer to channel my new-found passion.

I am currently learning under the mentorship of Caroline, from Wedding Entourage. She is truly an inspiring wedding planner. Never seen a more detailed planner like her. No wonder she won consecutively 4 years of Singapore Tatler’s Best Wedding Planner. Most importantly, I like her character.

So I have not fully decided on my next step, but I will do what I can, and let God do the rest..

Disclaimer: this is the most lengthy post I did without any picture on it. So bear with me!

He says: Treasure Trove from Blue-Bay

Finally!.. (in actual fact, we did not wait toooo long)… We have our albums from Blue-Bay! It was courier-ed to us a couple of days ago, and we were excited to see the final product!!

So without further delays, here’s what we got!!

We got these stuffs and more!!

We got a guest book scroll of one of our photos (for guests to leave their congrats in), a framed copy of our chosen photo, a DVD of our photo’s softcopy, 2 small photo album of our chosen photos, our pre-wedding photo album and a suit-case carrier for our album. But if you notice the centre picture, there are 2 suitcases! Why??? (Eh… I am going to answer my own question… ) We have an extra behind-the-scenes album!!!

This behind-the-scene album contains pictures that was taken outside our normal pre-wed photos, that showed what happened behind the scene in our shoot. Our shoot was plagued by rain and mud, and in this album you can see how we struggle through the rain, with great help from the Taiwan team, as well as how some of the ‘effects’ like flowing gown was made. Here’s a sneak peek!

Behind-the-Scene!!!

Notice the mud on our legs in the right pic? Well, we will keep the rest secret for now, our guests will see them during our banquet!

All in all, I guess it was money well-spent with Blue-Bay. We were excited seeing the final product and they did make things happen. Not only did we get the photos we wanted, we received the memory of the experience in Taiwan too. So thumbs-up for Blue-Bay and we highly recommend them to any couple seeking an unique photo-taking experience in Taiwan.

We like what we got!

Countdown to Wedding Day (19-06-10): 133 days

She says: Pre-Wedding Pictures by Ian Photography

Some of you might remember Andrian, the photographer from our previous posts. He was an award-winning art director in one of the multinational ads agency. He is young, talented, and tired of the demanding nature of advertising industry. So when I asked him to take my pre-wedding pictures, he took it by heart and run with it.

He created a detailed shoot board for us, with the same treatment of a commercial shoot. I posted it here and fate took its course. A like-minded couple saw our blog and engaged Andrian for their pre-wedding shoot. With much confidence, Andrian decided to drop his stressful-high-paid job and go fulltime as a wedding photographer. I heard a similar case from Wansheng (aka Feldberyl ), but Andrian is a young and ambitious risk-taker. He didn’t wait for long before securing more jobs and collecting gorgeous portfolios.

I trusted him, knowing he has similar taste with me and my fondness for Max Wanger’s style. He really has the eyes and gesture as professional photographer. Who knew he just did this for few months!

I am proud to present you our second pre-wedding shoot by Ian Photography.

Love the color and the angles!

Please go to his website to view his other gorgeous works!

He says: The Defining Wedding Suit

I have never really thought about getting a tailor-made wedding suit, and I was pretty sure this will be one part of the wedding budget I am saving on. Well, till now, this thinking has still not changed, I am still not getting an expensive suit, just renting whatever Di Gio Bridal has, and make sure it is one that complements Hellen’s gown well. One of my brothers, Kevin, actually got a nice Topman suit for himself… and this leads me to thinking, it will be nice to have a good suit for myself too. But then again, logic and frugality prevails here. However, it does not stop me from researching more about guys’ wedding suit in Singapore, cause I know there is a growing trend out there for sophisticated wedding suit.A bit more about myself.. I am fat, not obese, but fat. And I am not proportional. I am the “Judo Guy” from “Slam Dunk”. That means I have short legs and a longer body… so I don’t look good in tux (as evident from my Taiwan pictures with tux) .

I am the Judo Man from Slam Dunk. Short legs, long body.

But no matter what type of body you have, the suit people can find a way to make you look good. So I used my internet snooping skills to find out more about wedding suits.  Here’s a good wikipedia link on the Black Tie dress code, which is the dress code of formal evening events, such as a wedding.  I have found another link that talks about the Groom’s suit tips (Credits to About.com: Weddings). 

Men’s suits are on the rise, as evident by this brilliant boutique that I see sprouting all over Singapore (ok sprouting is a bit too much): T.M. Lewin. Check out their FB page for more of their innovative suits. But personally, I do prefer something more casual.

This is what I liked... casual and cool and composed all at the same time!

One last thing that is off-topic… iPad is here! I am absolutely thrilled about this, as it is one of my dream gadgets deep in the recesses of my mind… can’t wait to get a hold of it when it’s out. My No. 1 target in the 2nd half of 2010.

Countdown to Wedding Day (19-06-10): 144 days

She says: Breakfast at Tiffany’s Wedding

As a self-professed vintage lover, I am a big fan of Ms Hepburn. I watched most of her famous movies, from Roman Holiday to My Fair Lady. But who could miss Breakfast at Tiffany’s?

It’s the ultimate Audrey Hepburn movie.

Although Truman Capote (the author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s ) disapproved of her participation because he wanted Marilyn Monroe to play that part, Audrey’s chic persona will forever inspired girls, with pearls and her little black dress.

Having a sentimental background, I wanted to use this theme for my wedding.

It is not a popular color for Chinese wedding. In fact it might be a-no-no for the superstitious, but since both our family has no “pantang” or taboo color, we decided to use black-white-tiffany blue as the main color theme.

Black and white are the most gorgeous color combination. Timeless and chic. My favorite colors in which is reflected in many of my clothes and accessories.

But for wedding?

I know many will fret over this decision, including my hotel coordinator. I adore her in every way (she’s the most sophisticated banquet coordinator I’ve ever met) except her disapproval of my color theme. Although I have tiffany blue in the color palette, her stand remains. “Pantang”, argues her. I still haven’t tell her yet, that I am determined to use it.

I did my moodboard in the early stage of wedding preparation. Before everything starts to roll, this is the first moodboard I produced.

PS : I went to Tiffany & Co to pick up their catalog and collaged it! ^_^

She says: Letterpress Goodness

This morning, I woke up to a letterpress epiphany. I might be able to get letterpress invitations for my wedding!

You might wonder what’s so good about it? *what is letterpress*

The Background :

As some of you might know, my best friends and I run a small wedding stationery company named Pemberley Paperie. If you look at our company blog, mind you, it totally doesn’t represent our style. We are just too busy doing projects for clients, that we neglected our blog. So if you are curious about our work, you can give a shout out at pemberleypaperie@gmail.com.

Both Katryn and I are in love with letterpress stationery. We love the deep impression against thick crisp cotton paper (Cotton paper is made from 100% cotton fibers. Practically non-existent in Southeast Asia, which is belligerent considering cotton is a common commodity in Asia. But I can be wrong, who knows). The paper itself is worth the money. I love the handmade feel it evokes. By the way, it is really handmade, manual.

It is not about the design because you can achieve the same design in both letterpress or offset printing. Until now we always use offset printing, because letterpress is only a pie in the sky, in the sweet bye and bye. Only bridezillas or professional brides like us dream about having one.

We jumped up and down when we received our first samples of letterpress invitation from Bella Figura. As a disciple of Martha Stewart’s Weddings and wedding blogs, we study letterpress markets in US and concluded that it is really at a bank-breaking price, can go up to a thousand USD for the set.

(Martha Stewart Weddings magazine fueled the renewed interest in letterpress invitation in 1990s )

But that perception didn’t stop me from sourcing for our own printer. I have designed a fabulous invitation for my holy matrimony, that even I signed at the sight of it (every time, seriously!)

So while I was still in the state of half-consciousness, I was wildly awoke when I read my email!

Ooh la la, I might be able to afford my letterpress dream..

If you have no clue of what letterpress is, here is a brief explanation :

Letterpress is one of the oldest and most beautiful printing techniques and dates back to the invention of the movable type by Johann Gutenberg. Metal plates with the images raised are inked and then pressed against soft, cotton paper. Type was hand-cast and individual characters were hand-set into lines until machine set composition made the process easier. This technique is almost a form of art rather than science as no 2 pieces are exactly alike. Because the paper is run through an antique press dating back to the 1800s, each pieces is subtly unique.

Here are some of the samples from our favorite companies.

Wanna see the machine ?

List of my favorite wedding stationery :

Cheere Berry (the middle suite ), Mika78, Ceci New York and many more!

She says: Sending the Save the Date

We are starting to send out the Save the Dates to our overseas and local friends. I just emailed the first batch of Save the Dates to my Indo friends. Although it’s not a norm to do this, we thought it’s a good idea to inform our out-of-town guests early.

So for our friends, welcome to our blog! This blog documents the preparation of our wedding day and the inspiration behind it.

Do visit the ‘PROPOSAL’ section to have a closer look at Winston’s proposal drama. He is such an awesome writer and lover!

Please do enjoy your stay and you are in for a great treat on our Big day!

Cheers!

He says: The Proposal – Perfection

After the pleasant debacle in Timbre Old School, I was disappointed… Maybe my inner showman wanted to have the proposal on stage, where the spotlight will be on us. But I respected that Hellen was not comfortable with this Public Display of Affection (PDA). But while the night seems to be over, my mind keep on spinning to ensure that this proposal attempt will NOT end in failure. I will not take no for an answer!

OK, so after the proposal attempt in Timbre, this is what I know and have (like ingredients from a menu):

1. Proposal Ring (still in my jacket pocket)

2. 99 Roses (in the Timbre fridge)

3. Disappointed Friends (sorry but they did not manage to witness the proposal)

4. Guilty Girlfriend (Hellen seems to feel absolutely worst about herself because she did not want me to propose, effectively washing my effort down the drain)

Now I was thinking: I wanted to propose so much and I can’t think of another time that we can do that. Hellen have not seen the flowers and the ring yet, so I still have something up my sleeves. With the guilt hanging over her, Hellen just wanted some comfort from her friends and decided to stay with Katryn and Arie for the night in Arie’s aunt’s condo in Jurong Kecil. That’s when I told Arie: I want to propose tonight at the condo!

Privacy (no one will be there since it’s so late) and surprise (cause she will not be expecting me) will be present for my final effort. Hence the plan is this: Kat and Arie will sent Hellen back to her own place, get some clothes and go back to Jurong Kecil to tuck in for the night. Me on the other hand will let them have a headstart, take the flowers from the fridge and proceed to the condo at Jurong Kecil and wait for them.

When Hellen went back to her home, her roommates were waiting for the good news! As they were expecting the proposal to be done. When Hellen went in, they wanted to look at her ring… and realise I did not propose yet. I guess it makes her feel extra bad…

In the meantime, I was keeping close contact with Arie, getting status report on their location, while I got on a cab alone and went to Jurong Kecil. In the cab, on my trip down, I was accompanied by the ring, the flowers and music from the radio… In a way, it was a time of personal reflection. After so much planning and ideas and preparation, the execution was totally not down to what I expected. Maybe I did not know her enough, that’s why I decided on a public proposal instead of a private one? Maybe doing too much is not the way to go? Maybe less is more?

Well, at the end of the day, I felt comforted that I did tried my best to make her happy, even if it was not what she really wanted. A marriage is so often this… a union of 2 souls that has different expectations but willing to accept each other because of their effort to love and sacrifice.. God had taught us, brought us through different lives to bring us to this pivotal point of our life where we can be united as one… so I felt no regret.. at least it is a proposal I can remember the details of. As I write this more than 1 year after the proposal, the memory is still stuck vividly in my mind…

As the cab reaches the condo, I got the block number from Arie, got down and ran around trying to find the ‘perfect romantic proposal spot’. As I was passing by the swimming pools, I saw this oldschool bridge separating 2 pools. It was not a small kids’ bridge, but a pretty big one. I told Arie and Kat that I will be waiting at the pool and asked them to make sure Hellen passes by it. At that moment of time, it was roughly 1am, 1 Jan 2009. The pool was well-lit, and I am the solitary soul standing on the bridge, holding my secret weapon, the 99 roses which was well-hidden throughout the Timbre episode.

The moment came, when she walked towards the pool and saw me, with the roses, on the bridge, by the pool. No music, nobody else, a moment just for me and her. She was wearing the t-shirt and shorts she normally wears for sleeping… the most natural Hellen you can ever see. Kneeling down, I uttered the words, “Will you marry me?”, something that I have been dying to say for the whole night. Finally the tears came, I put the ring through her left hand’s fourth finger as she says ‘YES’!

What a night of  turmoil… I had a plan, threw it out the window, sang in Timbre, came up with an impromptu plan, executed it and had a successful proposal. There is no pictures for this part, as it is an entirely private moment for us both.

Last words.. in a wonderful blissful marriage, a singular point such as a perfect proposal or a perfect wedding is never the defining point, but the enduring love a couple has for each other is the defining point. This proposal will always stick in my mind as the launching pad of my impending marriage, as the day where I asked for a lovely lady’s hand in marriage, and succeeded.  

Countdown to Wedding Day (19-06-10): 154 days

She says: Sneak Peek – DIY Wedding Comes True*

I almost laughed myself off when I saw the comment of one of my staple blog 2 days ago… “You are going to DIE when you see this next wedding..”

Beautifully crafted wedding do that to you, especially when the bride is DIY-ing her own super cute wedding..*She is a creative director and designer herself*

It inspired me even more…

Here are the sneak peek (if you have not already seen it, spare you the joy of finding it!)

I will share and discuss about it in the next post!

She says: Wedding Dress Dilemma – Things I Learnt.

I have yet to talk about my wedding dress again after my last post on wedding dress here. The reason is simply because I don’t feel satisfied with the dress my bridal did for me, yet.

Here’s the first fitting (I lose 2 inches after this photo was taken… huraaayy!)

I learnt something new, in contrary to popular belief, Made-To-Measure (MTM) has more potential for disaster than Off-the-Rack. I almost give up on my MTM dress. It doesn’t look anywhere near my vision of Katya. Sadly, the bridal shop’s collection is better than my MTM gown. It’s not anybody’s fault. I don’t blame my gown designer, nor I blame myself. So I will rather abandon it and choose something else off the rack.

But my persistent designer persuaded me to continue working on Katya’s design. The design is not like what they usually do, so their wedding dress template doesn’t work with this gown design. He re-constructed the whole piece from scratch again. Katya is such a demure, understated gown which is why I love the design.We will see the revised dress next month. Finger crossed!

Now I think, dress rehearsal is the best choice. Go to a bridal shop, pick up the dress you love, wear it, alter it and you’re done! Off-the-rack is better than Made-To-Measure, unless you are completely confident in your designer or maintain your expectation.

Please do it not more than 6-9 months before your wedding. Don’t look for any gowns once you decided. Not even on internet (I am speak for and to myself).

I’m thinking of getting a second gown for my outdoor wedding, most probably a designer gown from US or off-the-rack from Di Gio. I will let you know when it happens.