NEW SHOES!!!

by Errolyn

Yesterday I hit the jackpot with the first shop I walked into! Gorgeous light gold platform shoes to elevate the top of my head to reach at least Ju Han's mid neck! Hahahaha - so happy! Ju Han asked me before we even reached the shopping mall - Sungai Wang in town - "Is this going to take long??". I quashed his question with a kiss. :)

Of course I didn't buy it straight off - my gosh! Only the first shoe shop!!!! So we walked around some more but in the end came back to the very nice sales girl and bought the dream shoes!!!!

Don't drool!!!

Last Weekend....

by Errolyn

Last Sat I had a make up trial with Joan Woo. A fabulously friendly decent woman who does bridal make up part-time but does it superbly. I am very happy with her understanding of the look I wanted and her easy going nature and creativity when it came to realising the vision I wanted. She was also able to recommend 2 hairstyles to me (day and night) that I immediately loved.

Needless to say, Joan comes recommended by me as of now. After 7 March 09, I shall let everyone know if she comes HIGHLY recommended! :D

She does it because she loves the job and the fulfillment of making others look great on one of the most important days of their lives. She charges a reasonable price as opposed to some others who command a RM700 min and above. Her skills are on par I would say (from photos only as I have not had trial sessions with others) with those charging RM700 and above so I would say her price is relatively affordable. Furthermore, I booked her before 1 Jan 09 so I got a RM100 discount! I certainly look forward to having her around on that day.

P.S. I need to buy some flowers to pin in my hair on that day. Something that matches my bouquet I would think….. (Eh, wrongly put the photos in the post before - don't mind do you to scroll down??! Hehe)

Then on Sunday I went to the 2nd largest International Bridal Exhibition held in MidValley. We have already booked quite a few vendors for the wedding but were still looking around for card printers, wedding bakers and performance talent. We were there early - even before 11am and people were still setting up. It didn't look too promising even then.

At 11am, the roller shutter was going up to reveal….not a treasure haven of riches but…..Maybank Etiqa Takaful salespeople, Summit Hotel, slimming products. The look of the place itself made my heart sink. It looked dingy and scattered as if there really wasn't any theme to the fair. We covered the small hall in 10 minutes and walked on over to the bigger hall which housed the Bridal Shops. Oh yeah, before I forget - Bee's Cakes were there and had a couple of mock up wedding cakes for display. When I asked about pricing and such, I was told by the boy manning the counter that they weren't selling the cakes at the fair - I would have to go to the cakeshop branches and enquire there. Forgive me but doesn't Bee's participate in a Bridal Fair to sell Bridal Wares????

Bleah!

So, on to the other side - if I hadn't already signed up for a Bridal House, I would have had quite a few choices here but well, I didn't need one anymore. So in the end, another 10 mins in the bigger hall and I was done. All in all, I bought one Mani Pedi pakage from BMI - Beauty Mart International with salons in Berjaya Times Square and One Utama, headquartered in Singapore. If I had only known….ahhahahaha

Anyway, RM48 for a package - oklah.

We left Midvalley soon after - when you're spending tens of thousands on a single event of your life, you don't feel much like shopping for t-shirts ….and somehow, I don't know why, all the stuff in malls don't look very nice nowadays….We went back to the neighbourhood commercial square and I checked out August Hair Salon which someone recommended. The prices were ok for haircut, colour and treatment but I also had this Jusco voucher for 50% off hair services in Michael & Guys. The only catch is that research on the internet yields only bad reviews for them.

I also wanna go back to my original hair salon and check out their prices lah. They did a very good cut for me before - I wanted my layers to curl up on their own and the stylist cut it just right! Cannot remember the name though - no worries, let me check it out and revert.

My Husband-To-Be doesn't like me with makeup on..

by Errolyn

Today I booked a trial make up session with Joan Woo. She seems fantastic. I have only seen her work through photographs but so far, I like her work. God knows I have sifted through so many directories of vendors and talents. For some make up artists (MUA), I have requested their quotations merely to check prices. But Joan's pictures, among a few others I like but are out of my budget (Gene Lim, Angie, Remy), are the ones that stood out and made me go, "Aha! That's what I'd like to look like on my wedding day."

The happy thing is that she is providing a RM100 discount if I sign up before the new year and her charges for bridesmaid hair and makeup as well as mum in law hair and make up are very reasonable.

Now all I need to do is sit back and enjoy her trial - fully redeemable if I sign her up. Will let you all know!

<edited 251208 - She says she's never had an unsuccessful trial and I can see why! I've signed her up!!!! So happy!>



On another note - Photographer for the Day. I have booked him with a 30% down payment but he's not reverted to date - it's been 5 days, am I being paranoid? I called him 3 days ago and he said he hadn't yet checked his account…

<edited 251208 - He's replied after I called him! AND given us an email receipt!>

Dressing Up in Big Girl Clothes

Last Sat Ju Han and I had an appointment with some very important people in our lives - my mum, his mum and my mum's friend - our stand-in videographer and …. … Bridal Concept, SS2!!!!

Yes! It was Gown Fitting Day! It was so exciting and I got quite nervous about it to the extent that a couple of days before I was feeling butterflies in my stomach and even had a couple of those hard swallowing pain-in-the-chest thingies…..brides to be out there, do you know the one I'm talking about? It also kinda feels like my heart is being swallowed down and my trachea but because it's rather large, it gets a teensy weensy bit difficult to swallow smoothly……heheheheh….well, I had one of the feelingslah anyway!

Mum, friend and I woke up bright and early on Sat morning and drove out to meet Ju Han and mum for breakfast and a quick walkabout before adjourning to SS2. So from 1pm until 3.30-4pm, they all sat around while I zipped and unzipped and stripped for ANOTHER girl at the bridal house. Hhahahaha. It was great! I washed my hair the night before and tied it up into 2 ponytails (Ju Han's likes me like that) and I was set to go. It wasn't as tiring as some people said it was. In fact, it was so exciting even though there were dresses I couldn't zip myself into!

In the end, I chose all my Photography Session dresses already - 2 bridal gowns (1 outdoor) , 2 evening gowns and 1 traditional kua. Yeay! I was so happy with the stock they had there - the gowns were good looking and new and all I can say is Kudos to the designer! (If you don't know this already, Bridal Concept has their own in house designer - Shuan or Swan or Suan or something like that). Andrew is nice enough but not a pushover and he can give you standard discounts but nothing more. We asked for an extra outdoor gown for free but he wouldn't budge - he only gave us a discount on the rental price.

My dresser was Florence and she was an angel - she was accomodating, helpful and friendly. She was also honest and tactful with telling me what suited my body type and what didn't. She is better at Mandarin but tried hard with English and Cantonese.

There were gowns where I came out and was greeted with 4 Ayes from the audience but there were no gowns that didn't get at least 1 Aye. I released one gorgeousssssss lace halter wedding gown cos Ju Han liked another one but I'm not too fussed, I think the one he chose would probably photograph better and look more exciting.

All in all, another happy event with the Bridal House!

Yeay - PS - SET!

Bridal Shop - Make Me Pretty

by Errolyn

This past weekend has been a whirligig of traipsing around SS2 for gorgeous gowns and glamourous photography at beautiful prices. :)

(Thought I said that very well! )

We spent approximately 2 hours at each bridal house - I don't know how some other couples visited bridal houses all over Klang Valley - I was getting tired out by 3! The first day, we visited de Casamia, RedBliss and Touch Wedding. de Casamia's photography was the most impressive and their design albums and skills in digital photography with special effects was commendable. They were also the most pricey at 4k over. The sales assistant (SA) Candy and manager, Mr Soo were very very nice people though.

RedBliss came highly recommended by a friend at work but we didn't have such a pleasant moment upon walking in - nobody was around to serve us! So we took our own liberties and flipped through the various albums lying all around. Finally, the boss walked past and realised we were potential BUSINESS - hahhahaha - she was very accomodating and her package was JUST sub 4k. However, upon comparison with the photography from our first shop, I preferred the first shop. RedBliss had a nice touch though where they offered a DVD with 'The Making of the Pre-Wedding Photoshoot'. It was a candid video documenting the antics of the couple as they 'struggled' through the photoshoot. That was fun.

In the end though, that hungry, all accomodating look in the lady's eyes was just too much for the paranoid couple that is us. So we didn't put down a deposit even with promises of a FULL REFUND. Sometimes, the 'please your customer completely' strategy backfires huh? I'm not sure if she would have reneged on any of her promises but …… They had pretty nice gowns though - Ju Han loved almost every gown I tried on!

Finally we had to rush through a quick chat with Touch Wedding before our dinner appointment that night. Their albums were sorely lacking in the sense that there was no proper sample album for us to view - in the end, they showed us a customer's album…hmmmm….You see, they only had small 4R pictures stuck onto a black background 'album' with no design or composition ideas whatsoever. Of course, they had gorgeous gowns but I was sceptical if I could ever wear them. Touch's selling point is its designer gowns though apparently, there weren't very many of them. I felt as if I had to be 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds to wear them. Their package was a bit more affordable than the others. Ju Han loved their gowns and liked the sales assistant who attended to us. I loved their indoor shots - they had a very dreamy, romantic in a dark way look to their photos. They seemed very much like glamour shots - really once in a lifetime, 'I stepped off the pages of a magazine' look.

Aiya, no decision yet, we rushed home for dinner and sat down at night to talk about the different companies and their packages. It's just difficult to choose cos it isn't a clear comparison between them. Some places are great at photography, some had good gowns while others still were more easy going and flexible with their packages and what was thrown in (free signature book, more poses, better prices for additional shots, free upgrade on large portrait…etc.)

Of course we had to go back again on Sunday and we had pretty much decided that we were going to check a couple of others out and then go back to Casamia to try to get the best package. We arrived, walked down the hill to the furthest away contender - Bridal Concept and voila! Signed up on the spot! We both loved the way the photos looked (it was a different style of photography, posing, composition and design of the album). We also loved all the gowns that I tried on and jackets that Ju Han got to try on. We had a nice signature book thrown in and the manager Andrew wasn't completely a doormat but helpful. So we didn't go anywhere else that day. Paid the deposit, set the dates for fitting and shooting and boy, was it a relief!

Upon coming home to check the Internet and others' reviews of Bridal Concept - AGAIN!!! - we found that our 50 poses and 10 mv was an 'upgrade' standard given by them and luckily there were many many good reviews of them and Andrew and the makeup artistes (MUA) and photographer (PG).

At sub 4k, the cost in the end should balloon to just 4k if we don't add ANY poses in the album.

By the way guys, shooting at FRIM is an extra RM100 (collected by FRIM itself) and apparently the Heritage Station Hotel requires prior applications. I love the Heritage Station Hotel! But then Bridal Concept does that dark, dreamy look indoor already so for my outdoor I should do some bright fresh ones - would love to do FRIM but I don't want the cost to pop 4k cos we already have to buy eyelashes, ampoules, push up bra, shoes, body foundation, hair colour (as usual). Factor that all in girls!

One lesson learnt though is that the bridal houses usually offer a very strict or basic package during bridal fairs. This is what we were told by them (not sure if they are just saying that cos we didn't approach them during the upcoming fair and they wanted to sign us up NOW NOW NOW! or if it's true). Usually they don't cut the price but give more freebies - for those of you who are visiting the fairs, sit down and discuss together first what you actually want and need. Do you actually need the 150 ji mui photos they are offering? Or the banner or that free photo frame? Make a list of your Must Haves and you won't be so easily distracted by the 'BEST DEAL', ' LOWEST PRICES' etc campaigns that are sure to abound.

Further, if you do want to sign up during a bridal fair - ensure you realise that you may need to top up here and there so make sure you get a package that allows your cost to rise to your budget (For example, if you budget is 5k, don't take a package that is RM4888 cos you are sure to burst through your ceiling price - get a RM3988 one and rest assured, you can top up whatever you want).

Also, they will of course bring their best album samples and best gowns to the fair for display - so do your homework, check them out at their shop itself before you visit the fair. That way, you know what they have and how they operate 'at home' plus sometimes, if you're lucky, you could catch Satisfied Customers complimenting them or Dissatisfied Customers arguing with them.

Every bridal house out there has good and bad reviews because no one is perfect - just choose those who commit 'mistakes' you can live with and those who only have a few disgruntled customers!

Yeay - bridal house - SET!

P.S. Hmmm, we've realised that our vendors are all from Singapore - payback for me I'm sure!
P.S.S. For those of you who don't know what MV stands for - well, neither do I….and neither do the Bridal House SAs!!! Hahahahahah. Basically, they are candid shots or partial shots like candid of the bride having her make up done or putting on her shoes or close ups of rings or eyes. Poses are choreographed composed full pics of the couple/bride/groom.

On The Day of the Wedding

by Errolyn

The dear dear went around looking for a Christmas present for me last Monday. He was on leave and we were supposed to meet at a mall for dinner. Arriving early, he figured it was a great opportunity to take some time out to shop for his wife-to-be!

When he first told me, I thought he wanted to buy something to accompany the Proposal……but no, he only wanted to give me something because we hadn't done anything for ourselves (well, I wouldn't go THAT far ;) ) recently. Which is just so sweeet!

In fact, I thought the same thing just a few days before - that we had been so busy planning for the wedding and arranging to meet vendors and obsessing about prices that we hadn't just laughed and dated…..And that is the crux of the post today - remember the romance, remember WHY you are getting married - if things don't go perfectly on the Actual Day, it really doesn’t matter - in fact it will add to your memory of the very special day. I am usually so anal about stuff like this but surprisingly, I'm quite relaxed about the Actual Day events. I have a rough idea of how I want it to run and that's about it.

Perhaps it's cos we're only having a small intimate party with close friends and family and I feel it is more manageable and I don't have to 'put on a show' for 1000 guests. These are our friends and their only thoughts and feelings and memories of the day should be that "2 people who love each other are pledging their commitment to each other and I'm there to witness it because the happy couple Want me there!". Hence, less pressure on me - I want the day to be filled with laughter, not rigid formality. I want to be myself and to be able to laugh and cry and shout and run….ooooh…my heart feels so full now as I describe how I envision it.

I want to sit next to my mum and dad and hold their hands and tell them that they have given me the world and that I don't want them to worry about me anymore because I have found someone wonderful to share my life with. I want to tell them that I miss them so much when they are not by my side and that I will always love them beyond their wildest expectations. I will tell them I am the person I am today because of them and thank them for moulding me and yet giving me the space and opportunities I needed to grow into myself.

Mum and dad have raised me well enough to recognise Ju Han for the man that he is and they have inspired in me the strength and patience and love to live with him, grow with him and accept him as he is. (Hey, people writing love story here, don't 'ahem ahem' ok!!!)

And my sis, I want to hug her and hug her and hug her and tell her I want this for her. I want her to marry a man worthy of her who will honour her, and respect her and love her. I miss her far more than she knows and am more proud of her than I can even begin to describe - yeah, this is the sis who went on ASEAN and Bachelor's and Masters' and Deans' Lists…..thank god I am the eldest I always say, for I wouldn't be able to fill her shoes.

I am blessed!

Finally, I wanna recap - don't sweat the small stuff - your life is 'waiting' for you. Go out there, grab it and run! Honestly, nobody remembers someone else's wedding 5 years from now - the only one who will remember it is YOU so choose wisely, how you want to remember yourself!

Say Cheesseee!

by Errolyn

We met with our photographer - the first and only one so far but we like his work, we like his price and we like HIM most importantly! One of our first considerations as a couple was that we need to be able to work with the vendors and the talents…..So far, we've lucked out - we like the Dinner Guy and now we like the Photo Guy.

He was this cute young man with very good planning skills and a nice eye for composition. Like I've said before, Actual Day photographs are hard to look spectacular and it's obvious here again but we could see from his composed shots that he can find the beauty in everyday things….the most important now is to get him to understand what we want to have recorded and for him to be able to keep his eyes peeled for those little moments…..you know, the ones you didn't notice when you were busy walking down the aisle or cutting the cake or trying to look beautiful…..I love those - that you can look back on and say 'Hey! I didn't know that happened!'

I also love the fact that he doesn't do artsy shots to the extreme - the shots through the handle of the teapot x 35 shots or the (unbuffed) shoes of the groom x 12 shots……aiya, maybe when it's me hubby's shoes, I will feel differently….:)

So we've got our photographer - now all I have to do is tell him and then we'll need to pay a 30% down. Followed by a 40% on the day before the Actual Day (PAD - pre Actual Day?) and then the last 30% when we collect the final product. He doesn't provide us with a canggih manggih (ultra sophisticated hand stitched kangaroo leather bound album) for RM1000 more but he does print for us 200 shots. So I can always, if I don't want to use his pocket album (imported all the way from Singapore - ahem ahem), then I can always scrapbook my own. The only worry I have now is if we can find 200 shots we want as the Actual Day Morning (ADAM) is really simple. (Haven't you noticed by now that I love putting in anagrams?)

He even told us that we don't have to engage 2 photographers if our houses are close to one another. He can just shoot at my place and then be chaffeured over to JH's place to take his dressing up shots (men very simple only lah) and then follow the wedding entourage over to take pictures of ME again…hahahahaha!!

I am just so glad that he was gracious enough to tell us that because our Chut Mun on AD is really simple and to have to pay several hundred more just to have someone take photos in the morning seems like a waste…….Thanks XXX. (you will know who he is after we've Guaranteed him for the day!!!)

So, Photographer - SET!

It Ain't Over til .... ummm...well, that's the catch, it isn't ever supposed to be Over.

by Errolyn

Recently, Ju Han and I have been trying out the words Wife and Husband on each other. Hehhehehe it gives me the shivers! It is just awesome that we are going to be spending the rest of our lives together, making it work and working it right. We will spend each morning waking up next to each other and each night, falling asleep next to each other. He will have every right to expect me to be there for him and me him.

The most important thing is that I can trust him. I don't know how it will be in the future, if anything will change (as they are wont to do) but it's just wonderful now that I can feel secure with him. Of course, I see him occasionally eyeing the next sweet thing but I also understand and acknowledge that he doesn't think he will ever stray as it's against his principles. :D

A girl can't be too careful though and it's always been my philosophy to accept that life always throws curve balls. The most important thing though is to be able to catch them, run and make good anyhow. We must both be strong enough to always endeavour to make it work and try as hard as we can not to fall by the wayside but if anything were to happen, then I would pray for us both to be strong enough to come out of it, maybe a little dented, a little the worse for wear but still functioning and able to recuperate. That is my wish for us.

I know that marriage is not just fun and roses and like the old joke - after 10 years of marriage, it's not necessarily "Come fall asleep in my arms darling" but "Move over, it's too hot!". But it's important to inject romance and love every once in a while into a marriage - it's crucial to understand that it is pure hard work but just like working in a profession you love - the hard work just doesn't seem like work.

Take A Picture - It'll Last Longer!

by Errolyn

For the past week I have been checking around on Wedding Photographers for the Actual Wedding Day and boy is it a lucrative business! The top of the industry notwithstanding, the average price for a day is RM3500! For 10 hours work (IF THAT!). If you check around the internet, there are many types of photographers - many of whom have pioneered, ventured into, are trying to venture into the all popular arena of photojournalism. Meaning no more posed photographs, a lot of candid and artsy shots. However, some people do not know how to do artsy shots! I have seen photographers whose entire portfolio revolves around taking pictures at an angle, through the handle of a teacup and photos of the wedding couple without their heads. I mean c'mon!!!!

I have noted one thing for myself. Even the best photographers who charge anywhere from RM4800 to RM10800 (they seem to like the 8 digit!), all actual day photographs cannot vary too much in the sense that even with the most artistic photographer, the pictures cannot be too choreographed and as such, all Actual Day photographs usually look quite normal.

Now if you are not taking Pre Wedding pictures with a Bridal Studio - I would recommend getting a Good Photographer for these because UH! It makes such a difference. My personal favourites are Patrick Low and Fui Yau from Exes Studio (unfortunate name for wedding couples though), Jim Liaw, Grant Corban is good too. These men are HOT! You better book them a year or more in advance!

Also, if you have the time and money, it's always cool to do a photo shoot outside the country. Photographers usually do these Promo Packages like Photo Shoot in Bali or Hong Kong for 2/3 the price of their normal shoots. The catch is you book and pay your own flight, accomodation and transportation around. I always think the photographers are already on location for something or other and they just wanna earn more money at the same time - kill two birds with one stone.

This weekend (29-30 Nov) I am meeting up with a few photographers to view their portfolios - here's hoping I can get one I like for a price within my budget.

Update: Well, I didn't meet with anybody in the end cos Ju Han is unavailable. How unopportune!

Carrots and Carats - Show Me The Money!

by Errolyn

On 21 Nov, we drove back to Penang to visit with some old time diamond merchants. Yeay, you got it, no ring, no proposal yet. I told Ju Han that I am a very Ker Lian person - no proposal, no intentions voiced and yet I am running around planning everything……

Well, anyway, we figured we'd try to find THE stone and then have it set. Goodness me - this quest for the right ring has been going on for a few months - even checked out Chow Tai Fook, Chow Sang Sang in Hong Kong, Love & Co. in Singapore, the varioussss jewellers in Malaysia and yet…..

On Sat morning, Ju Han went down to speak with Dad and Mum to ask for my hand in marriage. Dad was happy and mum almost cried….Ju Han was perfect in his delivery I think because mum was impressed! So now he officially had my hand in marriage. Dad drove us around town - Chulia Street, what street what street, visiting diamond traders/merchants and honest to goodness goldsmith shops….If you are fine with not having a certified gem, the diamond traders can give you a FANTASTIC deal on good stones. Of course, it's all based on the eye of the trader to tell you if the stone is a F or G colour and VVS or VS quality. But unless you are a stickler for the scientific analysis or unless you're buying a perfect 1 carat stone, the GIA/IGI/AGS cert doesn't serve any purpose.

We saw a couple of nice stones but the specifications we wanted were not available sadly. Everybody seems to have a lot of 0.7s and over 1 carats. Apparently it's difficult to find 8 pointer diamonds because the cutters would prefer to cut them bigger and sell them at a premium. Anything above a 5 pointer, 7,8,9 pointer and 1 carat jumps in price scale by a pretty number!

So, anyway, we couldn't find one we really loved - of course seeing loose diamonds for the uninitiated can seem quite boring. I loved almost all the 1 carat ones - a 1.02 carat G VS uncertified stone was quoted to us for about RM22k. Mmmmmm……

For those of you buying diamonds - you must realise that buying D colour and VVS1 (very very small inclusions) is not necessary unless you are a PERFECTION freak. These stones usually cost a bomb and you end up sacrificing size for colour and clarity. Having said that, it is important to buy stones that Look Good. Hence, an F or G colour VS1 or VS2 gives the best value. You see the thing is nobody is going to be using a 10x magnification loupe to view your diamond to see the inclusions - unless your diamond is not Eye Clear (inclusions being very close to the top of the table or face of the diamond) and without a 10x magnification loupe, nobody can see the VS (Very Small inclusions). Coming to colour, there are stones that are also tinted or have a flourescence that can change the look of the diamond. For example, those with a Blue Flourescence will look rather blue-ish depending on the severity of the tint (which is naturally occuring by the way).

So, those without a tint (Flourescence is just too long to type!), unless you place a G colour next to a D colour, you won't be able to really see the yellow of the lower colour diamond. There are people out there who actually love Warm Coloured Diamonds though - those like a I (slight yellow) onwards to a K or even J colour. Note - Warm diamonds and Yellow diamonds are completely different. Yellow diamonds are very rare and thus, expensive! Warm diamonds are white diamonds with minerals in them which cause a yellow hue to evolve…..

However, with all the fuss of visiting diamond merchants, in the end we got our GORGEOUS engagement diamond solitaire from Gold Heart - a Triple Excellent (Cut, Polish, Symmetry all excellent) stone set in a Classic Crown Setting of Platinum. Mmmmmmmm…..The brilliance is unmistakable and the fire is unmatchable. I think Gold Heart cuts their diamonds differently because the reflection of light is that which I've not seen elsewhere! Diamond & Platinum's Estrella diamonds are also very nice looking but the price deters completely.

And now, I have a GIA certified diamond that eases Ju Han's mind to no end. Of course, I could have gotten a non certified stone for half the price! ;)

I have no proposal yet to date so no ring on me finger yet. We also haven't found good looking wedding bands yet. I would love to have a white band dispersed diamonds all around it but well, we'll see. I need something that matches the Engagement Ring!

So, Engagement Ring - SET!

Update: I just checked all measurements and my ring is of 1A quality - thank god it's worth the price we paid!!!

What A Beautiful Day for A Wedding

by Errolyn

On 10 Nov 08, my mother called me to tell me that The Man had calculated that the best date for our wedding was 7 March 2009. And that is how the whirlwind started.

This is my diary, my diary of how it all began. Needless to say that prior to Nov 08, we had joked about marriage to one another, even talked about it. You see our first date was on 5 Jan 08 and, like I always believed, somewhere around the 6 month period of any relationship is when the girl starts entertaining fantasies of marrying the man she is seeing. Being quite a bit older than the average girl thinking of marriage (I am 32 this year!!!) my thoughts turned to marriage somewhat later - around July 08 (well, I'm not THAT much older!).

So, we started to joke about it and started to think about when it would be a good idea to seal our fates together, as it were. We figured 8 Aug 08 being out of our reach already, that we'd probably do it in 2009. Then my birthday rolled around and we went for a lovely trip up to Genting Highlands. We had a wonderful time and grew closer. In Oct 08, we went for a family trip to Hong Kong and Macau and that really sealed the deal. It really takes spending all that time non-stop with one another to tell you if you can tolerate the man you think you want to spend the rest of your life with!

In Hong Kong, Ju Han showed me the immense amounts of tolerance and love he had for me - since being the 'organiser' of the tour, there were SOME stressful times. Now, people may not know this from looking at him but Ju Han has a temper. Oh yeah, he can blow up as well as the best of us! So seeing how he kept his cool when I ranted and nagged, it was admirable!

He even treated my family as his own, getting along with them so well and being himself - well mannered, considerate, accomodating and of course, showing amply to my dad and mum that he could take care of me.

Now it just so happened that my cousin was getting married at about the same time and me being the anal planner that I am, asked mum to check with Aunt about the Calculation of Good Wedding Date. You know, these men (hmmm, how come there aren't any women calculators that I know of!) - anyway, these men, they take both our birthdates and check for the most suitable wedding date and sometimes, even on to more - like checking the 'pat jee' or destiny to ensure there are no clashes and no untoward events with the union of two people.

Nowadays, there are lots out there who do not subscribe to this superstition or tradition -the old folks may get the young'uns to do it but there isn't any real belief in it anymore. I, on the hand, am superstitious to the end. What to say, if I can check the good or bad about buying my house and taking on a job, geez, the least I could do is try as much as possible to ensure my marriage starts off on a good footing and bodes well for the both of us. (Ok, the Chinese customs are another post altogether!).

So, The Man said that 7 March 2009 was the best date for us! Apparently 2009 has a 'double month' (loon guek) in June and July which is bad for marriage and then followed by August which is the Seventh Month - Hungry Ghost Month and the rest of the year wasn't too good for us to get married in - leaving……ta da! MARCH! And, I lament, not even 29 March or 20 March but SEVENTH MARCH!!!!

At the point of beginning to look around for quotations, we had just about 4 months to plan!!!!!!! I was in a panic! Ju Han had told me before, when we were joking about marriage not to stress out as 2009 was full of dates….Me in my infinite wisdom said, it doesn't mean a year has 365 days that our 'Good Date' will be 200 to choose from or that it will fall in Sept or Dec. It could very well be the first quarter and guess what! I wasn't too far wrong it seems. I tell you I have a very good sixth sense - so good that I myself cannot recognise it sometimes….hhahahahahhaa…

So, 4 months. I went home and talked to Ju Han about it and since we were going to get married anyway, we thought ok, well, we'll do it. We can't possibly wait until 2010! So the very next day, I started checking out Bride Forums and Google-ing venues, hotels, blah blah blah. We got quite a few quotations for venues first because my experienced friends - namely Szup and Sookie, said - "Settle the venue first, then the rest you can take your time….."

The first quotation we got was from the Royale Bintang Hotel….Mmmm….eeeh…..There were a few that I really liked the idea of like an intimate Garden Wedding at Carcosa Seri Negara, and outdoor, lake-facing do at The Saujana or even an elegant night at The Imperial Hotel (which by the way costs a bomb!!!).

Thank goodness, Szup, all the way from the UK, god bless her heart, worked with me in calling the various hotels to ask for availability and price quotes. I had started sending out email queries of course, people who know me, know I always prefer email over the phone, but the hotels didn't seem to respond so well to email queries and took their time about it. Szup made me feel less alone in the whole process - Ju Han being swamped with work and a man……hahahhahaa…..to his credit, he did say he wanted to participate, this being OUR wedding but the poor man just couldn't find the time. It's ok Sweetheart - you concentrate on bringing the bacon home!

So, Szup and I called the hotels and traded fast and furious emails about who was in and who was out. Hotel Istana was out - requiring a minimum of 80 tables!!!! (I'm not going to say anything about that!), Eastin Hotel was already booked! Shangri-la Hotel wanted a minimum of 45 tables!!! The Mines Outdoor Venue was already booked. But a few others were still available so that was good going.

Actually I spent a good portion of a day trying to contact several Bungalow Restaurants like Ciao (which is closed down!!!!!), Tamarind Hill/Springs, Top Hat, etc….as I had always wanted a cosy, intimate wedding party with close family and friends. I never liked the idea of saying thank you at the end of the night and having to lean across to my mum to ask the name and relationship of the person coming up! This was OUR wedding and we wanted to spend it with those closest and dearest to us - I even thought it would be a great idea to not even have a dinner just spend the same amount of money, taking our family on a Wedding Cruise……ahhhhhhh!!! Heaven!

Ju Han said that he wanted to walk down the aisle with me though - have a proper wedding so here we are….planning a proper wedding.

The Bungalow Restaurant idea went out the window soon after I realised I'd have relatives coming down from Penang who needed a place to stay though and therefore, having the night at a hotel, would make the most practical sense….So, one fine Saturday, we decided we had to go look around the different hotels. We had shortlisted a few in the City Centre so off we went, and at the very first one we saw, we hit the JACKPOT!!!!!!!!! Bingo, it looked gorgeous and for someone who had never visualised her wedding nor dreamed colour themes or flower themes….I could see myself gliding in and the potential of the whole place. Ju Han and I were sold. Being the careful people we were though, we went around and checked out the other hotels we shortlisted but still our wonderment kept coming back to the very first place. We were so excited and happy that it seemed so easy.

We even talked to the person in charge and found out that the prices were within our range! Double Happiness!

We went back the next day with Ju Han's parents to try the food - AAAahahhhh, Sublime - Triple Happiness!

So, venue - SET!