Wedding Preparation Deux
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Hi hi everyone!
Im trying my best to remember every single Wedding vendor that we have becoz each and every one of them is important to us.
Without them, this wedding would not have been possible.
:)
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Wedding Prep Part 2
So the next important thing is to book your vendors early when u have confirmed and signed the contract for the banquet.
U may either look for a Bridal Studio who can take care of ur gowns including getting a PG,VG, MUA for u on your wedding day.
Or like me, I do it individually.
:)
I'll divide my vendors according to the Ceremonies.
Actual Day
Photographer For Morning/Church/Dinner : Live!Studios
Willy Foo is a old friend of Jungle Boy so we had specifically asked for him to do our Photography for the night. Live!studios does live feed (taken photos transmitted immediately on to projectors) and printing of namecard size photos to be given to guests at the dinner.
Our guests loved the idea and the pictures - my jie meis (and both mothers) loved the handsome n hardworking Willy Foo.
Hahhahahah!
You get to choose the font, colours and style to be printed.
Here's ours.
Because we have a gold theme, we used our personalised Monogram along with sparkles.
VideoGrapher for Morning & Night: IchiroFilms (Will Chua)
Because our wedding date was a pretty popular one, I tried to approach Yang from Substance and Sam from Simplemotion but they were booked already.
IchiroFilms was the 3rd company but I am glad to say that they did a FANTASTIC job!
Will Chua was affable, enthusiastic and such a great guy.
He did such a wonderful job with our Express Highlights, our friends and relatives couldnt stop praising the video. It was so fun (but abit tiring!) doing a special pre-wedding video shoot where we incorporated it into the Actual Day Gatecrashing bits.
Emcee for Night: Emcee.com.sg
Jeff Goh
We approached a professional to do the hosting becoz we needed someone who could speak fluently in both English & Mandarin.
We didnt want to trouble our friends and Jeff was perfect for the job.
A 97.2FM DJ, he is well-experienced in hosting weddings and even Celest (Hotel Coordinator) had nothing but praises for him. He worked hard, did his job professionally and was easy-going with a sense of humor.
Entertainment for Dinner: ETMusic.com.sg
We had TWO! We got the humourous Eddy Teo to arrange a lovely String Quarter for our 1st March-In.
We walked into the ballroom with 'Canon in D', a classic wedding song - an ode to Jungle Boy's love for classical music.
And then we arranged a 'surprise' 2nd march-in by local singer and former actress Norleena Salim!
The guests were expecting us of coz, but Norleena walked in singing 'Quando, Quando' to the delight of the guests and to the amazement of my mother who likes Norleena very much!
She then 'introduced' us once more and we marched-in to my song choice, "Carpenters - We've Only Just Began."
Thank you ET Music for the kind arrangement and lovely song choices for the night.
Norleena even sung a Mandarin song for Jungle Parents! It was so cute!
The Jazz Band did an excellent job too, everyone enjoyed the music very much.
Lighting and Sound: ETG Pte Ltd
We decided not to use the sound & lighting equipment provided by the hotel because they were not ideal for live entertainment. Thats why sometimes u might find wedding singers 'noisy' due to the substandard equipment used in many hotels. Its not their fault - the sound system in ballrooms are not designed to handle 'live' music.
ETG did a wonderful job controlling the system and lighting. We had beautiful colours in the ballroom that night. Thank you Gilbert, you are such a dear friend of ours.
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Theme for the Banquet
Typically you confirm this during your food-tasting with the hotel but it is best to have a mutually agreed theme right from the very beginning so both of you (along with the vendors) have an idea where you are both coming from. Do you want a classic theme of white, silver and pastel colours?
Or would you do a Chinese style red 'In the Mood for Love' theme?
A popular colour is the Tiffany Blue and it looks really nice if you are having your wedding outdoors.
We personally went with a Gold theme.
So most of the decoration you see are Gold, Gold, and more Gold!
Including my Wedding boxes/Invites/etc.
But more on that later!
Here's a glance at our Ballroom.
Table Linen.
Stage Deco and Cake.
Note: Chandeliers and Drapes from C.C Lee Marketing (Florist)
VIP Table.
(Of 12 pax)
Wines Outsourced from: Monopole
We wanted to get our own champagnes, red & white wines instead of using the ones from the hotel.
And since we had 8 items on the Food menu, Jungle Boy decided to do up an 8 item Drink List ranging from Cordon Bleu to Guinness Stout to even Mao Tai!
Wedding Favors and Invitation Cards Provided by Dreamweavers
Our Church Invites
U can take a look at how our Wedding Invites here.
U can see how we used our Monogram on the favours and also incorporated in our invites.
We also did a seal where we could imprint the monogram on the envelopes and in future, any cards or letters.
Florist for Night Banquet : C.C Lee Marketing
We had approached one of the two hotel vendors for our flowers and we were pleased with their professionalism and work.
We topped up for a 'Tree' to be placed in the Cocktail Reception area and Mr Lee gave us some candy jars to be placed around the tree as decoration.
I promptly went to buy Hello Kitty sweets to be placed in the jars for the little children.
:)
And for the flowers I chose something simple.
Along the red carpet.
VIP Table Flora Stand.
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Church Wedding Reception
Both being Christians, we had a Church Ceremony in the afternoon and it was a different ballgame altogether!
We had to separately source for vendors like Florists, Buffet etc.
Some couples opt to print their Church Invites separately but we wanted the both invites to be designed in a way that it looks seamlessly 'together' when placed next to each other.
Florist for Church : Green Point Flowers
Wendy did my Hand Bouquet and Car deco too.
Their prices are reasonable and they have a wealth of experience doing Weddings.
And I got along famously with Wendy! It was so cute, I could call her anytime when I thought of something and we could talk like old friends.
I loved my Hand Bouquet!
It was Pink and Wendy threw in a diamante handle around the stalks coz she felt that it suited me! LOL!
JieMei's Corsages
Parents' Pinned Corsages.
My Car Deco
Church Deco
I kept it extremely simple with whites, pinks and greens.
Church Buffet Catering by : Kriston Food & Beverage
They had a great range of food, even a Mee Siam stand! The package even provided in-house staff on the Wedding Day.
I had a breezy time with coordinator Kareen whose replies were extremely prompt and was very helpful whenever I had questions.
For good measure, Im just throwing in a pic of my chosen outfits for my Ringbearer, Flowergirls & Pageboy.
I got them from United Kids #04-02/03 in Tampines 1.
Dresses & tux cost $39.90-49.90 each depending on size.
Tie & Flower Basket bought separately.
Ring Pillow from Precious Moments.
Wedding Rings : Cartier
JP : Snr Pastor Stanley Tan
We were extremely blessed to be solemnized by our own Pastor so that alone was a huge burden off our minds. I have heard of misunderstandings between couples & their JP and even one where the couple got scolded by the JP for changing the time of the ceremony without first informing him!
So remember to do your homework first and try to 'book' your JP early becoz popular ones get quite busy on hot dates! It is only polite to either arrange for transport for your JP or to pay for his transport in addition of a small angpow for his help rendered.
For more info you can go to ROM Website for instructions on how to file for solemnization.
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Bridal Shop
One of the most exciting and fun part of the Wedding prep!
I have absolutely no regrets because I gave the direction and chose the colours/final design of my both gowns myself ... so nobody (even the hubs!) except my closest galfriends had an inkling of what Ted had designed.
And everytime I went for a fitting - the design seemed to change!
I decided to make it a secret not because I wanted to be 'special' or be 'unique' - but because I know that there will be good-willed comments from friends & family and knowing me : I will try to make everyone happy .. except myself.
:(
But this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for yours truly.
So I decided that I would love to do something for myself .. something that 20, 30 years later - I could look at the pictures and ask myself, "Oh my god , What was I thinking of??"
Hahhahaha!
Kidding.
Ted Wu was my 6-7th bridal studio stop and thankfully, my final one.
I went to a couple of shops along Tanjong Pagar - ranging from some mid-ranged ones to even an extremely expensive one located in town but nothing really did win me over.
Some had pushy sales consultants, some promised me the sky and some didnt even blink an eye when I walked in.
And then there was Ted.
Haha, actually not Ted the man himself - but I had a lovely gown fitting session with consultant Maggie and the rest, they say, is history.
But I do have to warn brides who wish to engage Ted Wu.. you have to either be very very sure of what u wan - or you are willing to totally let him design a gown for u. And accept it.
If u dun like surprises, or u tend to be fickle-minded - please do not try to MTM a wedding gown.
Its the same everywhere.
I hear horror stories of girls MTM-ing (Made-to-Measure) a gown only to cry in the shop and demand a full refund. Its a slow and daunting process becoz a gown being made from scratch is not an overnight affair.
I waited a good 6-7 months for mine and I only saw the finished gowns 1 week before the wedding.
Did I pray that it will turn out fine? U betcha I did.
2nd Last Fitting.
I chose a sweetheart neckline gown with silver diamante embroidery all over.
There were 2 ways to 'wear' the gown.
One without the 'jewelled' off-shoulder sleeve, and one with.
(3rd pic from left)
Ted Wu, or Teddy Bear Wu as we call him - is such a wonderful person inside and out to work with!
He has an extremely big and kind heart accompanied with an infectious laugh - so we always end up giggling like schoolgirls every single time I go for a fitting.
There was absolutely no stress (or drama!) and Im very thankful that he did such a great job.
My Evening Gown.
Its an Aquamarine light Blue Off-Shoulder Dress with soft drapes.
Having a huge kinda Princessy Wedding Gown made me go slightly the other way for my EG.
I wanted something simpler - and no more can-cans!
This was easy to walk in, and I could walk around to take pictures with guests from table to table freely.
Hair & Makeup On Actual Day : Andy Lee
Before I go on to show you my final looks on my Wedding Day I wanted to thank Andy alittle first.
He's a personal friend of our good friend, Gina so kudos to her for introducing the extremely chatty & easy-going Andy to do my hair & makeup on my Wedding Day.
He did such a FANTASTIC job and I fully trusted him to work his magic on me.
I have no idea how my looks were going to turn out until he was done with me but it was such an amazing experience to be in the hands of someone as talented as him.
In fact I felt like we were friends chatting during the makeup process and he had no airs about him at all.
He is truly a professional and one of the best, if not (in my humble opinion) - the best in the field.
The finished gowns.
Day Look.
(For Tea Ceremony & Church Wedding)
Night Look.
Evening Gown.
Okie everyone! I hope u enjoyed my little Wedding List...
Its been an enjoyable journey whereby we did have alot of fun planning it by ourselves.
Looking back at it now makes me smile.
Although all I wanted to was to get it over then! LOL.
Take care everyone.
Back soon.
(With more Wedding Day Highlights! Hope u guys dun get bored! Tee hee!)
:)
xoxo
elaine73
6 comments
Hey babe! Been following ur blog for a few yr le.. Congrats on being a Mrs! :) Simply loved ur gowns! U really look like a princess n beautiful mermaid in ur EG! thanks for e informative post! It's v useful n helpful to all brides to be! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Faith dear! Hahah yes yes for my EG, I purposely chose something v diff from my WG.... hehehe :p
ReplyDeleteThank u once again!
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