28.10.13: My Solemnization

I was working on one of my reviews when I saw this draft and realized I have yet to publish this post lmao! And we're already planning our first wedding anniversary celebration. Oops.

So on 28 October last year, we had our solemnization. Coincidentally, it was also my birthday HAHA! Ever since the proposal the year before, we had more than a year to plan and prepare. But we procrastinated, so it was quite a rush to research and decide on everything in the last few months.

Anyway, it was held at One Rochester, a rather popular ROM/wedding venue due to its outdoor pavilion. My last choice actually lol. I had wanted places like the zoo, birdpark or on a yacht, but they burst our budget. Although in the end we still burst it. =\

There was a wedding coordinator Wee to assist us in planning, coordination, and even emcee-ing on that day itself. At first we felt he was quite bo chup about our ROM, but it turns out we were overly anxious. It actually felt like everything went okay on that day, but SSD commented he wasn't really around to help much. *shrugs* They also did my hand bouquet, which kudos to them because I was very particular about it. Even though it wasn’t exactly what I wanted (I admit the one I wanted is very hard to duplicate), thanks for trying lol.

Got there pretty early since my makeup artist Eileen had to do my mum’s makeup too. Sidetrack a bit, when I first met her for my trial, I was actually very apprehensive about her skills. But at the end of it, I was quite impressed. I really liked the eye makeup she did for me! Her prices are reasonable too.

Halfway through my makeup, the photographer Edmund came. I found him to be quite nice and easy to work with. He was pretty friendly and chatty, and was able to bring up the fun atmosphere. His suggestions for funny and quirky poses made photo-taking much less awkward and formal. Great for people who go stiff in front of the camera. Like me lol. He's pretty hardworking too; shooting all the way and only getting food to eat when most of the guests have left. He did popular blogger Bongqiuqiu's wedding too. =)

I brought Popo along. She was actually my ringbearer, a secret I tried to keep since I wanted it to be a surprise. Spent the past 5 months reinforcing her “Come” cos I was afraid she might freak out. And she did lol. Tied the rings (rather ugly-ly) to her collar. I doubt anyone saw them.

My gown and SSD’s outfit were bought from A Love Affair. If you’re only wearing it once, don’t buy. It’s such a hassle to dry-clean and keep. But I had to buy since I was wearing it twice (once for my pre-engagement shoot).

And while I was upstairs putting on the finishing touches, guests downstairs were watching a montage of selected pre-engagement shots. I hope they enjoyed it.

Share share a few of my favorites. The other gown I rented from Bliss Bridal. They had very little dresses which caught my fancy. This was the best one already. =( Anyway, we did the photoshoot in Johor Bahru, and engaged Anmdeos to shoot for us. The makeup artist was his friend. He brought us to 3 locations, including a horse ranch. The horse belongs to my good friend’s good friend, so don’t bother asking me for the contact. =P

The march-in! I was damn gan jiong I tell you. So afraid I would trip and fall and embarrass myself lol.

Our JP (Justice of Peace) Mr. Simon Sim! He’s very nice and friendly! Met us some time ago to brief us on the documents and procedure, and did a short personality test for us too. His speech wasn’t as long as expected, and soon the ringbearer came in, we said our vows, and exchanged rings.

Is it standard protocol to hold the cert and take photo? I find it very toot leh. Not nice one. LOL.

And went back in for lunch. It was quite a mess inside as we didn’t allocate seats and everyone was all over the place. Many guests didn’t turn up too so we had quite a lot of empty seats. So disappointing. T_T I didn’t get to eat much unfortunately. All the food looked damn good lah. (By the way we had so much food left but they didn’t allow us to bring back. So wasteful!)

Sat around to entertain guests and before long, Wee prompted us for our second march-in! Then we had our cake-cutting, champagne toasting, and toss of bridal bouquet. No idea why Edmund didn’t get any tossing shots. =(

Some shots from a nicer part of the venue.

And some inside, where there was the perfect backdrop.

And so, the end! Months of preparation for this, and over in a blink of an eye. I was really happy to see the friends, and even ex-colleagues, who turned up. It was a Monday, so I’m really touched that you guys were willing to take leave, MC, or just taking time out to come. And special thanks to Wan Ting for handling Popo for me! ^^

Now it’s time to save money for my wedding photoshoot and dinner in 3 (or 4) years’ time! =P

Villa Nabila

If you have been reading the news recently, you would probably have seen the one on how some teenagers got lost inside a haunted house (which later proved to be false), or the boy who was reported missing after he entered this place called Villa Nabila (which was a false alarm too). Apparently Expedia listed Villa Nabila as one of the top 5 haunted places in Malaysia. Some brief history – 

Version #1 - There were a rich family living a harmonious life in this villa. But, unfortunately, the parents died and left a daughter named Nabila. After the parents died, the daughter live with her maid. Nabila is said to be inherit a big fortune of inheritance from her parents. The maid killed Nabila and cement her body in one of the place in the villa.

Version #2 - Nabila has a very rich family. One day, her house was robbed and everyone in the household was cruelly killed. The bungalow were left unoccupied until now and have many shrubbery all over the bungalow.

Version #3 - Nabila's family had been robbed. Nabila was raped before she was killed cruelly by the robbers. Her body then was buried inside the wall of the villa.

Version #4 - Originally, Nabila had a very wonderful family. But one day, Nabila's father went rampage and killed everyone in the household and he commit suicide after killing everyone.

Version #5 - This villa was named Christine Palace after the name of a wife of a business man from the west. It was said that before building this villa, the husband promised the 6 siblings (that was in his native land) to divide the land accordingly. But, when this husband get the land, he renege his promise. The 6 siblings felt very angry. Later, the siblings who went mad send 2 representative to deal this matter with the husband. Don't know what happen, the 2 representatives that were sent by the siblings went rampage and threatened the husband to divide the land to the others after killing his daughter. But, the husband was still stubborn. The 2 representatives then killed his wife. But still, the husband do not want to follow the order due to his greed. At last, the husband was killed by the representatives too. The villa now still stayed unoccupied for almost 70 years.   

You may be wondering why I’m writing this bo liao post on a random haunted house in Malaysia. No no noooo! Cos guess what?! Villa Nabila was one of the places we visited for our photoshoot! ^^ 

Few people know I’m actually very chicken when watching horror movies. I cover my eyes more than half of the show. So no, I did not suddenly become as brave as to venture into a haunted house (one of the top 5 somemore). It was......our photographer’s fault. LOL. 

He showed us photos of a shoot he had done there previously. I liked the overall feel and effect and it definitely would set our photos apart from the conventional wedding photos. *whispers* So I insisted on going. =| BUT! He didn’t tell us it was a haunted house! I mean, he did say it was dark and creepy, but if I had known it was one of Malaysia’s top 5 haunted places, I would have reconsidered lol.

However I was quite surprised that it was so (supposedly) haunted, because it didn’t feel like a haunted house at all! We arrived in mid-afternoon, and there were a group of Malay kids running about. (I know what you’re thinking. They look human to me.) We parked the car in the driveway cos there was a fallen tree blocking our way. I googled some photos for you guys.

 

We headed down the steps to the pond/swimming pool first. There was water ponding and littered with fallen branches and leaves. Definitely wasn’t as creepy as what he showed in his photos (damn photoshop). I was much more worried about the mosquitoes and my gown getting dirty LOL.

Apart from the “pool-side”, we also shot at various locations like the front porch, the balcony, and even at the corridors. I wasn’t really tempted to head upstairs though, for fear of falling (yes it was a little dark since the overgrown trees kinda blocked out the sunlight).

And halfway through our shoot, another couple came in for their wedding shoot too (TMD I wanted to be different). After which, another group of people came in and walked around. There were so many people there that day it didn’t feel the slightest bit creepy at all! I felt quite at ease with the environment in fact!

Perhaps we all had more important things on our mind. Perhaps it was still day time. Perhaps there were too many people. Perhaps...it’s not haunted at all? Lol. Honestly I feel abandoned places are such a waste. Especially if they have good locations or beautiful architectures. Sigh.

Anyway, I’ve decided not to post my photoshoot photos. LOL. I did play them at the ROM (which I’m still deciding if I should blog about) but I hope they don’t ‘leak’ onto the internet. Haha not to say I’m some big shot and everyone wants my photos, but these, I feel, are special and personal to both of us and I definitely don’t want copies readily available everywhere.

Unfortunately, here’s one that ‘leaked’. =(

It wasn’t the best photo taken that day nor was it this dark in actual fact. But the authorities have barricaded Villa Nabila so our photos are very precious now!! How many couples can actually take wedding photos inside a haunted house? =P

Hello October.

We're 26 days away from our ROM omg! XD

It's gonna be a busy busy month, because it's my birthday! LOL! Just kidding. Busy because we still have some final details not done, and a dinner session with both our parents, the food tasting session, my makeup trial, some shopping for the trip, my manicure session, Popo's grooming session, my weekly facials, and all with me rushing to prepare for 2 events at work! So much to do, so little time. Blame myself for procrastinating. @_@

But anyway, I just wanted to express my delight at receiving our photoshoot pics yesterday. There were hits and misses of course, but with it being my first "professional" shoot, I would say I'm pretty pleased with the results! Even more so after my PP-ing. Though I'm tempted to share them here, I suppose I should let the guests have the privilege of seeing them first lol. 

Speaking of which, if any of my guests are reading this, ONLY COMPLIMENTS OKAY? If you think I'm fat or something, don't tell me k? XD

Looking good baby! :)

• Venue & Decoration Venue confirmed but I realized we've yet to discuss the actual decorations with them. Really hope they'll be able to create it the way I have it in mind. 
• Photographer Confirmed! 
• Outfits Need to send for dry cleaning lol. 
• Makeup Confirmed. Can't wait for the trial!
• Invitation Cards Given out!
• Engagement Shoot Over and done with. Had fun!
• Songs & Montage Halfway done. Just waiting for my photos!
• Food Just waiting for the food-tasting session! My fave! =)
• Guestlist Confirmed!
• Favors Packed and ready to go!
• Guestbook Need to get my lazy ass working on it.
• Ring pillow Lazy me. 
• JOP Confirmed.
• Rings Pending collection. 
• Taiwan minimoon Booked!

Ticked some items off the list in a month. Now, just need to get the remaining 4 done this month. No hiccups please!

Bear with me.

As the title says, bear with me because this is another wedding post. Another one of many more to go. I think it's more of a checklist and reminder for myself (and SSD!) so I can keep track of what else needs to be done. If you're tired of this you can just close the window la! =|

So...

• Venue & Decoration Venue confirmed but I realized we've yet to discuss the actual decorations with them. Really hope they'll be able to create it the way I have it in mind. 
• Photographer Confirmed! 
• Outfits Gowns confirmed and bought. Pending collection. 
• Makeup Confirmed. Can't wait for the trial!
• Invitation Cards Done and bomb-dropping in process!
• Engagement Shoot Met the photographer yesterday and I'm really hoping our photos will turn out as nice as those that he showed us. Or even nicer. I'm quite excited actually. 
• Songs & Montage Planned. Awaiting photos.
• Food Just waiting for the food-tasting session! My fave! =)
• Guestlist Confirmed!
• Favors All the stuff bought, just need to get our lazy asses moving!
• Guestbook Again, stuff bought, but lazy to start working on it lol. 
• Ring pillow HAHAHAHAHA lazy me. Yes I have all the stuff already. 
• JOP Confirmed. Meeting him this weekend! 
• Rings Bought. No idea what to engrave on it though. 
• Taiwan minimoon A couple more rooms to book and we're done!

Some people may be wondering what's the big deal since it's just a ROM and not the actual wedding. Sometimes when I look at the increasing expenses, I'll also question myself "need do until so 夸张 or not?" But then again, this is like the only chance that I can customize my own wedding right? I mean, how special or different can a traditional tea ceremony be? Besides, this ROM is the legal one! And I'm really reluctant to hold a wedding dinner. Don't even wanna think about it. 

Soooooooo, I wish I can stop feeling so guilty about spending so much money on just a ROM. I'm gonna be really shameless here. We don't need gifts. We need money. Fullstop. =|

Wow it's july

That's half the year gone already. And if you can see at the side, we're less than 4 months away to our ROM. And I feel there's still a gazillion stuff not confirmed. Spent quite a bit of time previously checking out bride forums and wedding blogs, and here's the list I compiled for my own record (hinting SSD to help out ahem) and other B2Bs (bride-to-bes). Feel free to add on anything useful! :)

• Venue & Decoration √
• Photographer
• Outfits √
• Makeup √
• Invitation Cards
• Engagement Shoot
• Songs & Montage
• Food √
• Guestlist
• Favors
• Guestbook
• JOP
• Rings √
• Taiwan minimoon

I'm barely halfway there! *wails* Also, we've estimated the total expenses to more than double that of our budget, excluding the rings and Taiwan trip, so hopefully we'll get some of it back. *MAJOR HINT* But of course most importantly, I really really hope the guests whom I'm planning to invite will ALL TURN UP! Lol. 

Gonna be reaaaallllyyy busy for the next few months, with 2 events before I take my 2 weeks leave. And so many more preparations to be done! 加油 myself. =|

house of steamboat & AVA RPO

last weekend was yet another busy period. but still i managed to drop by summer sweet on sat to fix my gels! they were peeling so horribly with all the packing and stuff. though they lasted me a good 1.5 months. =) did a white tip this time and was soooo disappointed at the quality. the work of a newbie. hais. 

then we got our wedding rings! it wasn't the one i was aiming for earlier, but this one was kinda...love at first sight i guess, so it didn't take very long. lol. spent all that money even faster than the time taken for our lunch. tsk. should i start panicking that our rom/taiwan trip is in oct and i haven't started planning anything at all? =X

headed back to bugis area for shopping and bugis street strikes again! hate how i almost always buy something there. after that i wanted bbq/steamboat and we finally decided on house of steamboat. to be frank the initial impression of it was not too bad. but i was quite disappointed after we settled in.

first of all, the service sucks bad. and the top it off, servers were from china. 'nuff said. secondly, food variety was pretty limited. thirdly, we had to use A LOT of butter so that the plate won't dry up, so my bbq food was literally dripping with oil. but to be fair, their dory fish slices were nice and thick; i think i had 3-4 servings of that. they also had sotong and prawns and crab so i suppose it's still quite worth it if you order the more expensive stuff.

what was interesting to me was the glass plate on the induction cooker. have never tried bbq like this before! anyone knows where i can get one? then i can have bbq at home! lol. but they told SSD not to put chilli sauce on the glass because it will crack or something? can someone explain the science behind it? i didn't even dare to bbq my food with garlic after that. tsk.

had work the next day so it had to be home sweet home. 

my second 'event' of the month - AVA RPO (responsible pet ownership), and it was held at the hdb hub. i know it's very bad to be saying this about my own workplace, but our booth was so horribly pathetic, i honestly wanted to dig a hole and hide. boss is so cheapskate; we have just a few small posters, no brochures, no nothing. and she doesn't find anything wrong with it at all. 

if not for my exkolic who came down to accompany me, i don't know how to pass the day, literally watching people pass by. -_- and we need to participate in this kinda shit 4 times a year. seriously praying something good comes out from the next agm. >.<

had lots of 感觸 after the whole thing but i can't be bothered to relieve that horrible memory, so yeah. let's hope the next event will be better. 

feeling pretty loved.

some of you have seen this on instagram (@mmeeshell).

and some of you have seen this on facebook.

yep. SSD proposed. =)

... ...

so, it started off with dinner after my riding lesson. he told me it was to 賞月, but he had unwittingly revealed that i might not be going home that night. so i was kinda expecting more than 賞月 lol. (that's why i say he isn't very good at planning surprises.) 

manhattans! nothing special, but i brought wall-e out so i had nicer photos so i have to haolian. rofl.

then walked over to clarke quay. they had the lantern festival thingy, which resulted in loads of people. which made me kinda hot and bothered. =\ they also have the zodiac thingy, which confirm not true, because mine said i will get promotion etc etc. tsk. there were also food stalls, which made me regret having dinner. i really should have bought the bbq sotong no matter how full i was. X_X

and we continued walking all the way to riverview hotel. -_- i did guess we were going there, although i also hoped the destination was somewhere nearer along the way so i didn't have to walk so far. (trotting was even more strenuous than last week!)

i suppose i was a little surprised to learn that he had already checked in. lols. and upon reaching the room, my main concern was actually the couch to rest my poor legs lol. and then he showed me this.

and told me to open the curtains. for a moment i actually thought he was trying to scare me lmao. then.

super touched. i suppose i did choke a little. lols. touched not because he proposed (kinda guessed it when i saw the bed of flowers) but how he did it. i never thought he'll be ingenious enough to use lightsticks. so pretty! XD

then i realized he had brought all most of the necessities for us to stay the night. and the efforts he had put into everything. it touched me more than the proposal itself. 謝謝你! =)

guess the next thing he did? update status on facebook. #facepalm. which resulted in both our phones ringing everytime someone likes or comments on the status. -_- and which also made me feel super duper touched and loved to see the many many well wishes from my friends. #usuallyforeveralone. especially wan ting! she's like more excited than me hahahahaha. 謝謝你們!!

anyway, i kept telling SSD that if he had told me earlier, i could have brought more stuff to make our staycation even more comfortable. it was, after all, a suite! SSD had used his special connections to get the room for less than $200! 

which came with free breakfast. i love hotel breakfasts! not much of a variety though. XD

then ran some errands before heading home to zonk out. here's the bling if you missed it.

... ...

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