Two Lives. Two Hearts. Joined Together in Friendship. United Forver in Love.

A Dotties-Surprise

2009-08-08T12:11:00.001+08:00

I love surprises. And when I opened our mailbox today, I found a li'l surprise waiting for me in a purple envelope!!! *oooooooooooooooooo

I ripped it open, and found a COLLAGE of messages from my Dotties (Tiny Dot & Cheeze Dot); who apparently went through a whole lot of painstaking effort writing me a Wedding Card!!! (which btw, came 4 weeks after the wedding). Keke. Anyhow, it's of course the 'thought that matters' -- said their disclaimer at the bottom of their messages.

THANK YOU DOTTIES!!! I love it -- And its sitting next to my laptop on my study table now :)

Love, Big Dot.

We call ourselves the Dotties -- Tiny Dot, Cheezy Dot & Big Dot. Tiny because she is tiny *Duh. Big because I'm the biggest *DUH! And Cheezy because she's the corniest one of all :P

When ,'Oh' when, will I ever be good at it?

2009-08-04T23:42:00.006+08:00

When it comes to matters of housekeeping, I reckon the mental capabilities of Einstein is not a prerequisite. The last couple of months spent running our love nest without help from a domestic helper has made me conclude that the key to efficient housekeeping is just to have a good sense of chronological-order-thinking and the ability to multitask well -- ah, and of course TIME. Time is really a luxury. You can accomplish lots if you had TIME.

Having said that, there is this ONE particular chore that eats into me every time I attempt doing it. It not only consumes a lot of time and electricity; but it is also frustrating, annoying and makes me feel like less of a wife.

I'm talking about ironing. Heh. Please tell me you feel the same way as I do. For some reason, I just don't get it. God, help me.

So tonight, I got a little God-sent help from the man called husband ;) Ah, I was definitely impressed! He managed to iron the whole basket full of clothes in just 1 hour. Compared to myself, I only managed 3 miserable pieces last weekend, and it already took me 30minutes -- I eventually gave up. So this works out much better :) I love him to bits... except for the part where he wrecked one of my BCBG work shirts. HEH.

Getting a crash course on Ironing 101

TADA!!! Done. I am happy.

I did it! I prepared breakfast.

2009-08-02T15:28:00.014+08:00

So I thought I would do something different for breakfast for the man named Husband other than making a cup of cappuccino every morning and slapping on chili tomato tuna on 2 slices of bread -- like what I've been doing for the past 2 weeks since assuming the role of the missus.

I decided to prepare one of my all time favorite breakfast menu. *beams with pride.

But I also figured that if I were to stick to my usual wake up time and had to get ready, put on my face, prepare a special treat, eat breakfast and then only leave the house, I'd never be able to get into work by 9am. So I decided that I would prepare it the night before! Heh, its amazing where I'd find the motivation to do that at 11pm at night. But I did it nevertheless. Woohoo~
The next morning, at 8.20am, I magically produced THIS in 5 minutes!!!

Yes... together with an apple too. Keke! And eventhough it was nothing to shout about, it was a better variation compared to our usual. Irwin initially thought that I'd prepared everything that morning itself! Well, I really wish I were a superwoman, I told him. "But too bad, you really just married an ordinary girl."

I guess for me, personally, the best thing that morning was not the egg sandwich, but hearing Irwin tell me it was the best sandwich he'd ever tasted. *awwwww. (HAHAHAHAHA!) That night just as we were dozing off to sleep, he even asked me if we had left over eggs for the next day. Guess I've found my motivation to do something different again this coming week :P Let's see how long this will last.

Adapting to life as a Missus

2009-07-31T14:23:00.009+08:00

1 wedding, 1 honeymoon and 20 sleeps later, I find myself adapting to the life of a missus fairly well. Except for the additional wedding band on my 4th finger, we still go about our lives as if we were boyfriend-girlfriend. Admittedly, moving out of my parents' house where I've spent the last 15 years of my life needs some getting used to though.

These days, I realize that dirty dishes and laundry DO NOT HAVE LEGS! They do not miraculously walk around the house, get cleaned and go back to their 'homes' until the next time you need them. Somebody needs to pick them up, sort them out, wash them and put them back in their homes!!! Wow, rocket science, I tell ya.

Nonetheless, the novelty of living with this man called husband is still SO NEW, and good, and giddy and all things wonderful! It feels so surreal! I go to sleep every night feeling like a sixteen year old in love! -- Coz gone are the days when we used to say good night and go our separate ways :) Although very strangely, Irwin still says "BYE BYE" to me when we exchange good nights before we go to bed every night. Heh. Apparently, its because he's been saying it every night for the last 3 years -- Old habits die hard, he says.

Bali was Amazing! We were so busy doing nothing -- But I will leave that to the next entry. Six days just flew by and before we realized, it was time to go home :( Photos have yet to be post-processed. Hopefully, we'll be able to do it sometime soon!

I Finally Married the Love of my Life

2009-07-11T23:55:00.003+08:00

Truly a day to remember :) The BIGGEST Thank-You to all who have contributed in effort and love to make this wonderful day a memorable one.

Happy 1-Year Proposal Anniversary! LOL!

2009-06-27T23:55:00.003+08:00

Exactly 1 year ago, Irwin planned a weekend trip and brought me to Singapore seemingly for the Great Singapore Sale and to visit the Singapore Zoo! I LOVE VISITING ZOOS! Little did I know he also had a li'l surprise install for me. Two surprises actually:- The first was bringing me for the Sky Dining Experience at Mount Faber and the second, asking me if I would be 'the last person he sees every night and the first person he will greet every morning'.

It was truly unexpected!

Today, we have exactly 14 days till we pledge our lives and love to each other on the 11th of next month. The last 12 months' worth of wedding preparation is finally gonna 'Go Live' but the feeling of actually getting married is still surreal :) Perhaps it will sink in when I finally walk down the aisles, huh?

Here is my dashing groom-to-be getting his hair cut and dyed before his Big day! :P

A Must-Have for the Bride-to-be

2009-06-25T23:16:00.005+08:00

I have found another "Godmother" in Aunty D -- a church friend and neighbour on the 16th floor! This week, she double-boiled 6 portions of my favorite yummilicious bird's nest soup -- a must-have for the bride-to-be, she says :) Apparently, amongst other health benefits such as promoting smoother skin and increasing your immunity, it also improves fertility! Gosh. Perhaps I've now discovered the real reason behind why my mom and the other two-hundred aunties have been so keen on me drinking bird's nest soup twice a day as our wedding approaches. *yikes.

Each morning, I wake up and look forward to THIS bowl of haven :) I absolutely LOVE it for some reason. Too bad Irwin doesn't share the same liking. But perhaps I am secretly happy too, just so that I don't need to share my 6 portions of preciousness! :)

Little Joys of Wedding Planning (Part II) : Celebrating the Newlyweds

2009-06-22T23:03:00.002+08:00

As RSVPs pour in, we have also been receiving gifts from guests near and faraway who will not be able to make it. I guess its not so much the monetary value of our gifts received, but the heart warming feeling of knowing that friends do go the extra mile to celebrate with you, despite their absence on the actual wedding day :) It makes us happy!

A good friend of daddy brought us to a really nice place in the city couple weeks ago for an early celebration over exquisite Italian food and wine -- oh, it was one of the best wine we've ever had. Irwin had so much till we couldn't make it to church the next day :P At the end of the dinner, we even had a CAKE and candles to blow out :)

Our Exodus (Part II) : There is just something really weird going on in me

2009-06-20T21:03:00.009+08:00

When I live with my parents (which btw, I still do... at least for the next 3 weeks), I take it for granted that I will never find a strand of hair on my bathroom floor -- coz really, I don't. It just miraculously gets cleaned up everyday! Then I never realized how FAST dust settled, because like I said, I never came across dusty bedside tables except for my book shelves -- coz there really is alot of stuff/books/ornaments/what-have-you-not on them.

BUT... these days, I've learned that your hair can drop anytime and anywhere -- on the bed, in the bathroom, on table tops!!! ... and DUST -- omg, don't even get me started. You can mop the floor today; open the windows at night and come back to a dusty-muggy-kind of floor feeling when you get back from work the next day. WHAT IS GOING ON?!!!

So lately, I've become this anal person. I think I now realize that I inherited this trait from my mom (which FYI, I dislike -- coz I dislike being told to keep my letters lying on the foyer table after 3 days :P ) Now, I DO THAT TO IRWIN! OMGGGGG *Help me please. Its weird because when I reminise my varsity days when I used to live with my MOH Yee Mun, I also turned anal overnight just because I had to keep a clean house! Everything I did, I thought 2 steps ahead so that it would take me less effort to clean it up later!

So anyways, enough of my anal ways already. I finally FINALLY finished cleaning the whole condo and sorting out 95% of our stuff today :) Everything's in order now-- I've picked up another weird way of arranging everything in boxes and compartments (which I call "a Home" for everything). Perhaps its always been in me, just that I hadn't noticed it earlier. But now that I need to run a place of our own, the onus is on MEEEEEEEE to keep it tidy all the time. Ok, Irwin helps out too. Keke. He's my super mop-person! WEEE~ And I love him best coz he just accomodates my strange meticulous ways. Just hope its not too much of a culture shock for him!!! :D But really, I'm trying my best not to let it get a better of me. Some things just gotta slide, doesn't it?

"My Kids Want to See the Bride!"

2009-06-19T21:44:00.001+08:00

RSVPs have been pouring in, and we've started working on table and seating arrangements; taking into consideration some of our guests' request on their choice of company at the dinner reception.

Much to our surprise, we have also been receiving many RSVPs for our church wedding ceremony as well :) I'm truly happy because to me, the church ceremony means more than anything else -- it will be when we pledge our lives to each other in front of God and our friends and family as our witnesses.

However, my mama's mentioned that many have commented that they will be attending the church ceremony because "my kids wanna see the brideeee!!!" .And boy, for me, that is really added pressure! Keke! I can't imagine if if tripped on my dress and fell on my face -- that would truly be something the kids came to see, huh?

So this is something that the bride went to do today!!! :P Get her hair trimmed and treated :) Its happening... in exactly three Saturdays' time. OMG!

Let me tell you about the man I will marry :)

2009-06-14T23:39:00.012+08:00

Wedding jitters. Cold feet. These are some of the things that I often hear brides-to-be talk about just before their big day, and I'd always thought it was a myth! Well in some ways it really isn't a myth. Its natural to sometimes have thoughts about how it would be like to move in with someone and sharing your entire life with ... well, just HIM!

Lately, I've had these thoughts -- just trying to imagine how it would be like living with Irwin in just less than a month's time (But definitely no cold feet lah :P ) And if I've had such thoughts, I'm POSITIVE that Irwin's thought about it 5 million times more than I have, since he is Irwin Oh -- a natural-born THINKER. But I think the amazing thing is, after having these thoughts, I've come to realize that I am truly blessed to be marrying a man like Irwin Oh because he is truly someone that puts me first in everything -- Just like Today!

^ Taken from Kris Wong (The Wedding Hub) Facebook. Keke! My amazing makeup artist Lee Kuen & myself. Gown sponsored by Pretty In White.

Even in the midst of our busy-ness and house moving, he encouraged me to take a couple of hours off a precious Sunday to destress and unwind... and go to The Wedding Hub to "be a face" for t his workshop Lee Kuen of Bridal Glam was conducting.

I'm glad I went because it was fun :) And I managed to drag 2 of my besties-bridesmaids along -- one of whom is a bride-to-be herself this coming January! The best part was when I went back to our new place to continue unpacking the rest of my stuff, I found my baby vacuuming and mopping the floor!!! :D

Our first pizza "party"

2009-06-13T10:28:00.009+08:00

Ok, so PIZZA isn't the ideal diet for a bride & groom-to-be. But some things cannot be help. We've been so busy the last 4 weeks that often times, we find ourselves ordering pizza or McD's just to help us save time. Coupled up with our 4-week absence from the gym, Robert our personal trainer wouldn't be too happy... HEE HEE! *sorry Rob -- really no time, ler*

Anyways, we had an impromptu visit from a guest just recently at our new place! Oh, the joy of using my new plates and cutleryyyyyyy. HAHA! Since it was unplanned, we just ordered some pizza, turned on music and had a good chat over pizza and coke :) It was a nice way to unwind on a rainy Sunday night.

To my shopaholic bestie who's been bugging me to let her come over, this was just an impromptu visit! :P You are most welcomed to visit us starting this weekend...

Wedding Makeup Workshop

2009-06-11T22:29:00.000+08:00

^ Taken from Weddings Malaysia. Photo by: Louis Pang of LOUIS PANG STUDIO.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar looking face staring back at me when I opened this monthly circulation from Weddings Malaysia :)

Brides-to-be, if you're looking for the best makeup artist in town, pop by The Wedding Hub this Sunday 14th June at 2pm to catch Lee Kuen of Bridal Glam in action!

Little joys of wedding planning

2009-06-09T16:00:00.004+08:00

Distributing hundreds of invitations has its pros and cons. The eeky side to it is, of course having to gather everyone's contacts and plan the logistics of sending it out. But I must admit that one of the nicer aspects of it is being able to catch up with old friends and people who have played a significant role in your life while growing up.

In my case, one of the people whom I looked forward to personally handing out our invitation is my dear aunty Dot -- my nanny when I was 4 :) It is really very heart-warming to have people share the joy of our pending union when they receive our invitation -- especially so, when they are special people! It personally encourages me to continue 'working' on our preps eventhough we are really quite exhausted at this point.

Our 31-day countdown has begun!!! I can't believe I am getting married in less than a month... HAHA!

Our Exodus (Part I)

2009-06-07T23:11:00.005+08:00

After 3 weekends of massive cleaning, we've finally begun our exodus into the new place. Well, at least I have. Irwin's gradually catching onto the idea of moving as well after seeing it all cleaned up... and being livable!

I started with organizing our kitchen last weekend. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his tummy ;) I figured the espresso machine, ice + water in the fridge and microwave would keep him happy... for now. HEE HEE! Then I started moving my whole molehill of books and weird treasures (like my POLLY POCKETS!). I found MORE weird treasures while packing up my stuff... one of it being my HELLY KITTY FACE CD holders!!!!!!!!

Treasure Box 1: BOOKS!

Treasure Box 2: CD's & DVD's. I just realized I might potentially have more DVD's than some of the peddlars you'd find around town!

Treasure Box 3: MY BAGSSSSSSS

Irwin and I have this mini "challenge" going -- Whoever who moves in more stuff first gets his/her first pick of drawers/shelf space/favorite spots/etc. Of course, whoever who moves in more stuff, gets more space too!!! keke!!! (Its just my secret ploy of making him move now, instead of 2 days before the wedding when we'll also have a gazillion other things to do) ... And its working!!! :D

Here is how our book shelves look like side-by-side. It took me one whole NIGHT to pack my books and another whole WEEKEND to unpack and arrange them -- It only took Irwin 30 minutes to PACK + UNPACK + ARRANGE his ... *heh. No wonder men are from Mars; and women from Venus. They are just SO different.

Vanessa: Baby?!?!?!? Why you never sort your books in order and arrange them properly wan?
Irwin: HUHHHH?????? Arrange dee wattttt... See... Here all business books... and more business books.... and oh, there also business books....
Vanessa: *hmmmm* Why all tall, short, tall, shot, tall, short and not arranged properly?
Irwin: ................

My Laundry Room Gadget

2009-05-29T22:39:00.001+08:00

I recently found this cool intelligent remote control clothes hanger advertisement in the newspapers.

I thought it was cool because with just a touch of a button, you are able to lower it down to hang out your laundry and then raise it up afterward to save space and let it dry! I think one of the scariest thoughts about moving into an apartment after living your entire life in a house is how best you can maximize your space so that you won't feel like you're deprived in any way. This clothes hanger really seemed like God-sent the moment I read about it because I am now able to dry our clothes properly in our utility/laundry room without taking up precious space! I will still be able to go about every day life despite having 5 kilos of laundry hanging above me! :D If you look closely, you will notice 2 UV-light points at the roof of this gadget, which is suppose to take away the funky/damp odors from your laundry and kill any germs that might be breading as well. Keke! Ok, that is debatable. I am not banging my buck on it.

To have an Orlant intelligent remote clothes hanger installed at home, you must first get your electrician to pull a new electrical point to the spot where you'd like it installed. Alternatively, you can also replace any of your light points (ie: florescent light) in your room because this gadget also comes with a light of its own.

Why do we call it a Honeymoon?

2009-05-26T23:09:00.002+08:00

Have you ever wondered why a honeymoon's called a honeymoon? Why not a post-wedding holiday? Or a newlyweds' getaway?

I took the liberty to ask my friend Google, and found this:
"It (honeymoon) comes from the Native American culture. When a man and woman were married, the woman had made their wedding hut in a place off and away from the group so that the newly wed couple could have privacy. The new couple would live in this temporary home for the span of a changing moon, one month. During that time they also drank a special wedding drink that was made from fermented honey and ate the honey itself with meals. This was thought to encourage the fates to give the couple a sweet life together. So to start off right and ensure a sweet life, new couples would go off by themselves and live off honey for the span of one moon.... honeymoon."

After a few weeks' worth of research and getting in touch with various agents in Bali, we finally found ourselves a 1-bedroom villa, complete with a kitchen, living room and private lap pool! The highlight is having our very own butler come every morning to prepare breakfast for us in the villa! How cool is that?!?!?!?!? ... Well, not very cool lah after I found out that most villas in Bali actually offer similar kinds of services :D

God is good. We managed to get zero fare Air Asia tickets last Nov, so we're basically all set to go! We've got nothing planned for our 6-day stay in Bali. We just want it to be a brainless getaway... to relax and unwind after the wedding. We need our rest! So I guess, for me, a honeymoon is a honeymoon because I'm gonna be with my hunney under the MOON!

Best Shopping Place in Damansara Uptown

2009-05-25T15:05:00.004+08:00

We recently found a new favorite shopping place in town. Its got floor-to-ceiling wall-shelves packed with stuff. Each item comes in a variety of choices to choose from; you can find almost anything you need, provided you do not faint first from looking at so manyyyyyyyyyy things. Prices are really reasonable too -- plus, there is still room for discount!

The hardware store is truly a shoppers' paradise!!!! :D

This is our favorite hardware store located in Damansara Uptown. The owners are really a bunch of helpful people, always ready to recommend you what they think would best meet your needs. We spent about an hour there yesterday browsing through everything. They really DO HAVE everything we needed -- except for this coackroach house/cockroach catcher which I've been hunting for for the longest time :( It seems like very few places are carrying it now, as compared to a few years ago. Could it be that the chemical they use in it is harmful to health? Or could it be that the Klang Valley has less roaches now -- so fewer retailers are importing it from China?

Wedding Invitations

2009-05-23T14:15:00.006+08:00

FINALLY!!! Our invitation cards are ready. Its taken us 2 months from design phase to production and delivery -- In fact, we missed our targeted dead line by a week because we returned the first batch of prints. Its truly been one of the more challenging wedding prep items thus far.

That being said, the delay and wait have definitely been outweighed by the joy of seeing the end product. The cards have turned out exactly the way we envisioned it to be. For some, it might be an overkill. HAHA. But we absolutely LOVE it and can't wait to send it out.

This is Acai, the creative brains behind our invitations.

Here is what it is like at our printers' :) 700 cards in the making...

^ This is the final stage of production where you will see about 6 girls gluing and folding the cards.

Now... writing all the names and distribution is the next headache!!! :P I brought out my jelly-pens to help keep me happy throughout this tedious process...

Our very first spring clean!

2009-05-18T09:58:00.005+08:00

Renovation works is still work in progress. Despite being a really small job, its been taking forever to complete. Four weeks has passed by us since we started, and by the looks of it, we need another one more week before we can see 'daylight'-- that's also if we are lucky. The thing about renovation and contractors (and ID's, all the same) is the need to breath down their neck everyday, even if you didn't want to. Missing even one inspection might cause another weeks' delay because by the time you find out the mistake, they'll need to reschedule their workers and redo everything again. Not good at all.

Ok. Enough ranting already.

^ IRWIN AT WORK...

Irwin and I started our very first spring cleaning activity this past weekend despite the delay. I managed to convince him to use a high-powered water jet to 'jet' down all the THICK dust and debris from the balconies surrounding our condo. HEE HEE! It was so therapeutic being able to see the before-and-after effects of our hard work!!! Black-suit-covered railings turned white instantly. We also gave all the walls a good dust down with a feather duster. I tell ya... that five Ringgit thing is an amazing piece of invention :P It takes down all the fine dust particles from every nook and cranny -- you don't even have to exert much strength. Unbelievable!

^ THE AMAZING HIGH-POWERED WATER JET!

Lastly, we also decided to start the 'uphill' task of assembling all our IKEA furniture. It was quite fun :) In fact, it was just as therapeutic as jetting down the balconies! HAHA! We're still working on assembling them this week... so far, we've only managed to get half of every thing we've bought done.

In all honestly, we are really quite exhausted already. Seven more weeks and counting... Keep us in your prayers :)

"What color do you want?"

2009-05-16T23:59:00.004+08:00

Remember that game we used to play as kids using a piece of paper folded up into 4? :D

Curtain shopping was somewhat similar in nature to that game -- only that it took longer than we thought it would. What we thought would be a 2-hour affair turned out to be five instead, leaving my poor baby in THIS state! .... *oops :P

But I was no better either after spending 3 hours looking at what seemed like a MILLION types of fabric and :-

1. Deciding on the Look-and-Feel & color scheme for each room
2. Matching fabric and borders for each selected scheme
3. Deciding on the type of curtain tracks/rods to be used
4. ... plus a million other variables.

Anyhow, our account person Pamela from Baagus Curtain was really helpful and PATIENT! She met me early in the morning at the condo to take measurements of the whole place, as well as brainstorm some ideas with me before heading back to her HQ in Kepong for fabric selection. I guess it will be all well worth it when I finally get to see them hung up in the condo in about 4 weeks' time.

Question #7. When it comes to household chores, Irwin is anytime better than Vanessa when it comes to...?

2009-05-12T22:38:00.004+08:00

Once upon a time, I looked forward to redeeming Raoul vouchers using my HSBC reward points. I even redeemed an eye massager once! But of course, redeeming it was just as good as using it. I hardly ever used it twice. I don't even know where it is today.

These days, whenever I flip through reward catalogs, I scan the home essentials section meticulously -- and then find myself in a dilemma for weeks about whether it would be a smarter choice to get the Corningware set or the hot water airpot. But after much discussion with my mama, I finally settled for the Tefal Superglide Steam Iron and the Panasonic Vacuum Cleaner. MUAHAHA!

I had only submitted my redemption form to HSBC not more than 5 working days ago, but I was pleasantly surprised to find these 2 items waiting for me when I got home last night. Oh! The joy of being able to test out my veryyyy ownnnnn FIRST vacuum cleaner and iron!!! (plus the fact that it was redeemed. I'm a sucker for steals.) It was... a nice (10-minute) experience. Can't wait for Irwin to test out the iron! ;) I can't iron for nuts.

My New Addiction to Photobook

2009-05-07T22:23:00.003+08:00

I've been hearing a lot about Photobook. Seen quite a number of Photobooks -- but never had a chance to get down to compiling one for ourselves, although its been one of the many things on my To-Do list for a couple of years now!

So with about a hundred over photos filtered out from both our pre-wedding photography shoots now, I thought it would be the perfect kick-start for our very First Photobook! But of course procrastination always takes the better of me. I just realized I only find the urgency to do something if I am jolted out of my sleep at 3am and making a mental note to get it done by such and such a dead line.

So that got me going :P I recently surfed onto www.photobook.com.my, downloaded the software and started compiling our pre-wedding photos!!! Its pretty straight forward; nothing near rocket science, and its now become my new addiction -- although I must say, a rather pricey addiction if I continue at it. I find myself Photobook-ing at any spare time I can find... and even late into the night :D Mind you, I am that sort of person who sleeps before midnight... but Photobook keeps me awake!

Labour-Day Weekend

2009-05-03T22:47:00.005+08:00

Ever since attending the last HomeDec, we've been anxiously waiting for the next one -- looking forward to the time when we can actually snag all the good deals instead of just scouting around and doing research. Well, at least that was how I was feeling lah. HAHA! I won't speak on behalf of Irwin... because if you were to catch us on one of our regular coffee breaks during the fair, you'd find him updating our budget spreadsheet!!! HEE HEE!!!

He had to make do with tabulating the updates on a piece of serviette while referring to our online budget spreadsheet on Google Docs. SEE! Another good reason to get the iPhone! :P

... Then you'd find me sipping a cup of coffee with my face buried in a stack of brochures -- looking out of STEALS!!!!!!!!!!

One of my favorite items purchased at HomeDec is my Philips artificial intelligence rice cooker!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!! Irwin's gonna be eating rice 24/7 when we get married. Just rice. HEHEE!

Blast from the Past

2009-05-01T23:13:00.000+08:00

Rummaging through old photos is a really good form of therapy. It helps relive precious moments from the past and amazingly jogs one's memory of stories/incidences relating to that particular photo.

For me, it brought a perpetual silly grin to my face and I couldn't stop giggling for most part of the night spent digging through our baby and childhood photos. Our video editor has limited us to only about 30 odd photos to include into one of our video montages, but as we looked through all our albums, it was hard to filter out just the 'good' ones. Up to date, we have scanned like 100 photos -- thus requiring ANOTHER round of filtering before submitting our final 30.

As we continue our wedding preparation journey -- counting down the last 100 days; preparations can get a little bit intense at times... there are days when we find ourselves at each others' necks :P ... So there!!! We found a good form of therapy! :)

Light Hunting...

2009-04-29T12:33:00.005+08:00

Have you ever been on a hunt for a particular type of lighting that you would like to fix at a very specific place in your home? If you have, you'll understand the agony of light hunting! So far, I think light hunting has been the most challenging item to shop for -- its simply agonizing especially when you are looking for DINING LIGHTS that hang from the ceiling! If you visit 6 shops in one afternoon, I guarantee you will go home being really CONFUSED... and having a neck ache because you are perpetually looking at 5 million danggly things from the ceiling at a 90-degree angle! You might also suffer from minor (eyesight) glare and heat-burn as a result of being in close proximity with all sorts of bulbs, especially the halogen ones.

After spending 2 weeks hunting just for ONE particular ceiling light for our dining area, we are soooo relieved that we finally found it -- 5 minutes from where Irwin now lives. HEH. So much for traveling to the ends of the earth for 2 weekends. If only we started looking at the places closest by... Anyhow, we got the lights at a bargain! Got it for 65% discount. So if you're looking for lights, head on to the lighting shops in the Uptown area. The other area where you can also find good and modern lighting is in Kota Damansara, although they also do come with a bigger price tag :)

2009-04-27T22:51:00.002+08:00

There is this place in Cheras called San Lee Shoes that makes durable/comfy shoes at a very reasonable price. That being said, their styles are not exactly what you would find gracing the catwalk in Milan; but good enough to make sure that you have the right color to match your evening gown which you will only wear for 1 hour, and to dance to your first dance at your wedding!

San Lee Shoes is actually famous for making dancing shoes, particularly sponsoring many dancing competitions in Malaysia. They have even gained much publicity through a number of write-ups published in the local mainstream media -- At least, that is also how I first heard about them, and as always -- follow up by Googling to find out more! :P (What would I do without Google for a day?!)

So... when we found ourselves in the vacinity of Cheras this past weekend, I seized the oppotunity to visit the store. Picking a design took quite a while :P (coz you know... as mentioned previously, they don't exactly carry the trendiest of designs. keke!) Nevertheless, I'm still looking forward to collecting them in 2 weeks :)

Of Bricks and Mortar (Part II)

2009-04-25T23:10:00.005+08:00

UPDATES -- Renovation/refurbishment works at our condo is coming along... slowly... but surely. God is good such that we managed to find good owners for our pre-loved furniture just recently as well!!! I'm just over the moon about it because it really felt like such a HIGH mountain to climb initially, especially with finding the right owner and agreeing on a reasonable price for both parties. I was also up to my neck about where I would store the furniture assuming they didn't need it immediately. Our condo is only THAT small and the workers really need the space to move around and do their thing.

But as always, God proved to be faithful :) So I'm happy. Thank you also to the new owners of my pre-loved furniture!!! :D You know who you are...

I'm also happy that we made the right decision about doing away with our bathtub in the master bathroom. We reclaimed quite a sizable area and I can almost imagine when the built-ins are ready for fitting! It would be the perfect place to blowdry my hair, store towels, shampoo supplies and toilet paper! :P

^ This is how the master bathroom originally looked like.

^ Workman hard at work for 2 days...

^ Looking ugly for a couple of days after water proofing the floor and waiting for the cement to dry up!

^ All tiled up... waiting to fit the built-ins!

Read about Part I here

Of Bricks and Mortar (Part I)

2009-04-17T23:11:00.009+08:00

HACKING & REWIRING WORKS -- Renovation & refurbishment works have finally commenced at our condo. This week has been particularly hectic for me as I had to put on the hard-hat and visit the site everyday to make sure that the workmen are on the same page as we are. There were also some minor additional add-ons and changes which I had to relate to the supervisor in-charge while Irwin went out of state for work. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to get it done, yet I was still anxious about everything simply because when I walked into our condo on the 1st day of work, I found the condo in this state... OMG!!! -- Totally not looking like how it was when I locked up the night before.

... Ok but after inspection, I cooled down a bit realizing that they had to do what they were doing to re-wire some power sockets and TV input/output. heehee!

Although a minor project, the whole renovation experience is still somewhat scary for us, especially when it is also our very first time making decisions on which walls to hack and what others to build. We keep getting haunted by questions like Are we doing the right thing re-doing this section? or Did we choose the right color for that wall? and Would this design really work and turn out good? :P

I also took delivery of our IKEA furniture for the library/study room last night. While we could have ordered it a few weeks later, stock for some items were running low; as such we were advised to get it immediately. Since IKEA does not keep purchased furniture for more than 3 days, I was blessed to negotiate for 5 days instead, and had to take delivery of everything last night. Our 2nd bedroom now is piled HIGH with IKEA boxes together with the rest of our existing loose furniture which we packed up before the renovation works started.

Going IKEA (Part II)

2009-04-13T12:35:00.008+08:00

After spending 2 consecutive days shopping at IKEA -- first for our study/library room on Saturday, then for our laundry room on Sunday; I can now bring you on a guided tour even if I was blind folded! I am even able to refer to each item using their quirky names, and explain/describe some of the main features, different colors and variations of each furniture series. It really feels as though I am attending a party every time I visit. I get to know more names!

^TOP: How I HOPE my laundry room will look like. BOTTOM: How it looks like NOW in its designated space -- pre-assembled. HAHA!

I didn't seek the help of a space consultant when configuring the ANTONIUS series for my laundry room on Sunday. I just went there prepared with my own real measuring tape (as opposed to using the paper ones that IKEA provides), measurements and photos -- stored on my iPhone. See! Another good reason to get the iPhone :P

It was pretty straight forward, though I still spent about 3 hours with mummy dearest coming up with the most efficient configuration to maximize what little space we have. After what seemed like forever, we managed to finalize on the best setup. The next task was to pick up all the items we had already listed. Going by the article number, I managed to collect everything on the list... EXCEPT for the most important item -- which I hunted HIGH AND LOW for... only to find out that it was out of stock. The adjustable legs for the worktop. *Argh. According to Ikea's system, they are only expecting a batch to arrive on the 21st of April (give and take 14 days). So, I can only check back early May and HOPEFULLY, be able to buy them -- so that my worktop would be USABLE.

Read about Part I here.

Finally...!!!

2009-04-12T23:13:00.006+08:00

^ APRIL 2006@ZETA BAR. Our 'early' days :P

12.04.08. Exactly one year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be getting married 15 months down the road... not because I didn't believe that Irwin would eventually marry me ;) but because (at that time) 15 months seemed like such a loooooooooooong time; yet when I have lived through the days, 15 months now feel more like 15 days.

Exactly one year ago, I remember sitting on the couch in the living room of our new condo waiting for our tenants to arrive... and feeling like the end of the world knowing that we would be renting out our brand new place for the next 12 months. It felt like forever till we could actually have real plans of our own to dress up the place according to our own liking -- to have that particular feature wall at the dining area; to get those bar stools to match the kitchen and to hang the perfect wine rack by the counter top. We didn't even have plans to get married yet :P Well, at least Irwin hadn't proposed. So it really did feel like forever to eternity till we would finally have our own place back.

Then 12 months went by just like that!!! We got engaged in July; visited HomeDec in November and incidentally met our ID there; notified our tenant about ending our lease in January; started discussing refurbishing plans with our ID early February and today... (well, actually in 3 days' time) finally starting the refurbishing works and hopefully move in in 6 weeks! :D Time flies. I still can't believe its happening. (I think I will say that again when the wedding day finally rolls around)

The Miracle Broth

2009-04-08T23:56:00.002+08:00

I once was told that whoever who starts using Creme De La Mer would eventually swear by the product and never settle for anything less.

SCARY THOUGHT! ... Largely due to the fact that it comes with a scary price tag. So I promised myself never to venture anywhere near sampling it or buying it. I was contented using what I was using, except that my eye bags were getting a shade darker than the panda's with each passing day! Even after clocking 8 hours of sleep daily on an average, I still wake up looking like I'd work through the night shift :(

So mummy dearest decided to HELP ME when I turned 27 a month ago by getting me Creme De La Mer's The Eye Concentrate amongst some other day/night moisturizers. She said that she wouldn't have me looking like a sleepy bride in July.

After 6 weeks of using The Eye Concentrate, I now admit that IT IS TRULY MIRACULOUS! No wonder its range of products is aptly named The Miracle Broth. The Eye Concentrate comes with this supposedly 'magical' wand with a cold metal ball tip. When applying, use the wand to gently sweep across your eyebags; in a circular motion. Do it about 10 times each time you apply. You are advised not to rub too hard when applying, as the molecules are very fine. Rubbing it might break the molecules and make the miraculous broth lose its magic!

So far, quite a number of people have commented that my eyes look less panda-fied :D This makes me HAPPY! ... yet sad that the same time knowing that I too, have been sucked into the world of Creme De La Mer -- but hopefully, just for the miracle broth of The Eye Concentrate.

Oops! We did it again... Capturing the Moment (Part VI)

2009-04-07T23:09:00.004+08:00

Hafiz and Amru are two passionate photographers whom we met at the Extraordinary Louis Pang workshop back in February. Wanting to show us a Malay perspective of wedding portraiture, they generously offered to bring us on our 2nd pre-wedding photography shoot just recently in Tanjung Karang -- a serene li'l town just North of the famous Kuala Selangor. One Word to describe the location. Beautiful.

It was my dream come true! Although raised in the city all my life, I have always been fascinated with the beauty of the kampung. Vast paddy fields. Chickens running wild. Little bridges over streams... I didn't realize that our shoot lasted 10-hours under the baking hot Malaysian sun. I even came back with a sun burn! :D

Overall, we had so much fun! The duo's lively, happy-go-lucky nature truly takes the frustration out of the feeling of ETERNITY and immense HEAT of typical pre-wedding photography shoots. They were quick to spot good locations and come up with amazing shots. Can't wait to see all the photos in a couple of weeks time. But for now... another sneak peek!!!

Through the lens of Hafiz Ismail...

Through the lens of Amru The Storyteller...

Read Part I , Part II , Part III , Part IV , Part V here.

Going IKEA (Part I)

2009-04-03T17:56:00.007+08:00

A one-hour meeting with a space consultant from Ikea Home Furnishing was all it took to help us decide to go Ikea for our study/library room. Admitedly, prior to the meeting, we had our doubts about going Ikea, however Azri (the space consultant) surprised us when he came up with a rather unique layout proposal which we straightaway took a liking :) Even after all the add-on's -- ie: glass doors, spotlights, etc; the total still amounted to half of what our ID quoted us. Quality aside, I think Ikea's will suffice for our li'l study room at the moment... (till we move to a HOUSE in the future) :D

I was personally quite surprised with the service Ikea offered. With our blueprints and a vague idea of what we wanted, Azri got cracking with a pencil and ruler... and tadah! -- came up with a proposed concept within a short time. The best part was that he was able to simulate it on the computer and hand us a 3-D print out at the end of our meeting :D woooo~~ I was definately sold.

The Driver and The Navigator

2009-03-30T18:42:00.007+08:00

Furniture hunting a few months ago was FUN -- when it was just purely for research and scouting around to get ideas. But with just about 2 months to the great exodus from both our current houses (and into our new place), furniture hunting now is more overwhelming and tiring, than FUN... perhaps due to the fact that decisions need to be made... wisely.

With the help of Google maps, we practically combed the whole Klang Valley this past weekend -- driving from Kota Damansara to Segambut and back to Sungai Buluh...TWICE. We have sat on at least 100 different types of leather sofa sets and bounced on another 40 mattresses... and still have yet to come to a decision on what to get. HAHA!

For some reason, I decided to assign myself the task of The Driver; and Irwin The Navigator (maybe because the prospect of burying my nose in the map throughout the whole journey was not very appealing to me :P ) Of all the places we visited, we were most impressed with Even International; a company that produces leather sofas and all types of modern pieces for the export market. Its factory is buried deep within Kampung Baru Sungai Buluh and has this amazing 3-storey showroom... and wow!!! I don't think I've seen so many sofa sets, chair peices and dining tables in ONE place in my lifetime.

Irwin and my latest PINK novelty! :D THE iPHONE! Seriously, its the best thing ever made on this planet... It brought us EVERYWHERE -- through roads and parts of town we never knew existed! The only minor complain is that the battery hardly lasts a full day on heavy usage :(

The (frustrated) Navigator in action...

Put on your Dancing Shoes

2009-03-18T11:10:00.006+08:00

Behold! We have identified something more challenging than both our jobs combined...

After years of persuading Irwin to take dance lessons with me (just for the fun of it), he finally agreed just recently. I couldn't think of a better way to start off dance lessons, other than for the purpose of learning to dance to our song for our first dance at the wedding. So with 4 left feet and our amazing (and most importantly patient) dance instructor Teresa, we found ourselves at Studio 33 this past Monday learning the first part of our first dance -- boy, was it challenging. I nearly gave up after 20minutes. keke! And I also thought Teresa herself was going to give up on us after repeating her instructions for the 1000th time.

Overall, we enjoyed the hour spent at the studio despite it proving to be a steeper climb than we initially expected :D Hopefully, by the end of 10 lessons, we would have been able to master our first dance and not make a mickey of ourselves at our wedding dinner.

Our FIRST Wedding Gift!

2009-03-16T17:16:00.004+08:00

When I met up with my dear friend Yen Ching (from Purdue) a couple months ago, I was pleasantly surprised when she presented me our very first wedding gift! :) It included an angpow and a gift voucher from IKEA. Making sure that I'd put it into good use, we visited IKEA this past weekend to pick up some stuff for our new place -- It still seems quite surreal that we'll be moving into our very own place in just a couple months' time :)

Since we are also in the midst of discussion with an ID to get some minor things refurbished and built at our new place, we also took the opportunity to scout around IKEA, looking for suitable conceptual ideas for our place. I fell in love with one of IKEA's flagship products -- the BILLY Series; which I found ideal in making our dream library-cum-study room come true.... at a fraction of what the ID would quote us. Only downside is that it won't be 100% wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling as how we initially envisioned it to be. Nevertheless, I am happy that we have found a more affordable alternative for our library/study room should our ID choose to charge an exhorbitant amount. And so... as usual... I am still awaiting for his final proposal/drawings and quotes. Ah, as they say -- Patience is a virtue.

^ Waiting patiently... ;)

Of Food, Laughter, Tears and Heart-to-Heart talks

2009-03-11T12:59:00.000+08:00

^ The mystery of the Chinese girl at the Mansion! :D

Completing our 10-session pre-marriage counseling course over a span of 7 months (since last August, can you believe it?!) called for a mini celebratory dinner this past Tuesday with our counselors who have painstakingly guided us through countless discussions and walked us through lots of laughter and some tears :) It was a celebration dinner of yummilicious fish head curry, salt-baked chicken, prawns and JCo DONUTS! (I had been craving those donuts for a week prior to this) HAHA!

Irwin and I have learnt so much about each other over these 10-sessions, we feel that it was worth going through the whole syllabus -- something money will never be able to buy. Issues that couples usually wouldn't delve into were brought up and discussed about, and I am glad we had the opportunity to do so despite finding ourselves in heated arguements at times :P

I wouldn't say that our impending union would be one without hiccups anymore; rather we definitely conclude that we have a tad bit more wisdom now to brace the challenges ahead... by God's grace :P keke.

The Beginning of Crunch Time...

2009-03-09T12:30:00.005+08:00

The time has arrived for us to start designing our invitation cards. This is perhaps the trickiest part of wedding planning aside from table arrangements (which will be handled by our parents) because essentially, we will need to get 6 people to be in agreement before we send the final design to print -- Irwin, myself, and both sides of our parents :P

SATURDAY -- we made our ways back to Jalan Brunei Selatan; where we last visited Mr. Z back in September!!! Surprisingly, he still remembers us; and most importantly remembers promising us that he would take our orders for a minimum quantity of 400 pieces. He usually doesn't take personal orders for Chinese weddings; unless you go through a certain popular Malaysian wedding planner. Anyhow, we hit it off with him right away, discussing our ideas and budget $$$. We especially loved him for being very straightforward in his pricing and rather easy-going with the extras he will throw in altogether.

As with the whole wedding planning process, WAITING for quotes, designs, proposals and final outcome is the thing that kills me most :P We now have to wait for 2 weeks till we see the first draft of his design. After which, we will start discussion and finalizing with both sides of our parents. We have estimated that we will see the finished product in at least 6 weeks; if not more. Hopefully, the cards will be ready by mid-May so that we will all have ample time to fill it up, post some and hand-deliver others.

Pre-Wedding photo sneak peek!

2009-03-05T17:27:00.004+08:00

Its been a month since we've taken our pre-wedding photographs and its been killing me to wait 30 days to see the results! The master copy is in our hands now, and we'll be spending the next few days combing through the photos to pick the ones which we will include in our album, and print on our invitation cards.

Its been a rather exciting journey of ups and downs; and Disappointments and satisfaction so far throughout our wedding planning... Four more months to go... :)

Here's a sneak peek of one of our photos taken in Carcosa. We've changed some pictures on our wedding website, so do check them. Patrick Low, our photographer has also posted them on his blog. He will be posting a couple more in the coming week -- so do tune in to his blog too.

p/s: The header of this blog is also part of our pre-wedding collection

The Birthday Girl

2009-03-03T23:21:00.004+08:00

Just like that, I found myself celebrating my 27th birthday today -- some say, the last birthday as a single :)

Over the weekend, Irwin told me that he had cracked his head for TWO days thinking of what to get me as a gift... but finally gave up and asked me what I wanted instead. Apparently, its not easy to buy something for a girl who's already got everything, he said. Ah... excuses? :P

So I told him I wanted a card (with a letter attached -- like a love letter lah) and a couch for our new apartment :D Later on, I saw a laptop bag and I fell in love with it for many reasons -- one of them being that it doesn't even resemble a laptop bag to begin with! Its got a water bottle compartment and all these ergonomic features and padding and what-have-you-not. It's lovely! I won't look like a dork lugging it all around town after work anymore ;)

I also requested to have Italian for dinner, and over dinner, as promised, Irwin produced my much anticipated birthday card... and letter! *ooo... I teared from reading it... because my King-of-Surprises just didn't give me a card. Enclosed with the letter, I found this beautiful crucifix pendant -- with a center diamond and rubies surrounding it :) Apparently, he had purchased it many years ago as an investment; and today, he finally understood why he did what he did -- he wanted to give it to someone he truly loved. *awww* See why I teared? :)

Here's to my 27th birthday... and another wonderful year ahead!

Administrative Matters

2009-02-19T12:44:00.008+08:00

I guess wedding planning is not all about conjuring up childhood fantasies of my dream wedding; but also unavoidable, down to earth and important things like financial/cash flow planning and other (often annoying) administrative tasks such as filling up forms, applying for permits, making phone calls & inquiries, comparing quotations, etc. So far, my most exciting 'administrative' task is getting hotel rates for the many guests who have wrote to us, inquiring about hotels they should check themselves into. It serves as a constant reminder that our wedding is not all about putting up the most impressive show; rather its about having our loved ones (from all over the world) come together to celebrate this special occasion with us :)

This morning, I took some time off work and dropped by the church to hand-in some forms for the rental and use of our church, as well as pick up other new forms that we will need to submit to JPN (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara) for our civil registry. As our Senior Pastor put it when I had a short chat with him; "Why is it that the brides are the ones who always run around doing these nitty-gritties?" I thought for a moment, and decided to be fair to Irwin ;) "Well, I guess somebody's got to go to work and earn a living, right?" keke. He laughed at my response and agreed.

I still can't believe that we are only down to 4 months now till the wedding. I thought it was just yesterday when I set up my wedding ticker and it still read 13 months and 6 days till I marry the love of my life! Sometimes I lie awake just thinking about all the details we have yet to get to. Then again, there really are some things which we will need to leave till the last minute to finalize... hmmm... I refuse to be stressed out -- Let's just say, I'm just getting a tiny bit anxious :P And you know what people always say? (Or at least what my Uni. prof used to tell us) -- Its always good to be a little anxious before your big presentation. Anxiety sort of keeps you on your toes and ensure that you will deliver your best :)

Turning THIRTY

2009-02-11T17:29:00.011+08:00

Seafoord dinner at Kepong with both families -- The picture looks more like it was MY birthday, rather than Irwin's :P

Irwin's last birthday as a bachelor was spent doing what he loves best (at this moment, at least) with 19 other photo-buffs and Louis Pang himself -- Malaysia's most awarded wedding photographer; at the Louis Pang Ordinary to Extraordinary Workshop this past weekend.

I also had the opportunity to be a part of the workshop by being one of the 2 female models for Louis and his participants. At the end of the 3-day workshop, I realized that its not easy being a model. Its A LOT OF HARD WORK!!! -- Sweating continuously but still having to put on my most natural smile and pose of the camera.

The amazing professional makeup artist Lee Kuen who transformed me :) I love her to bits!

My beautiful gown compliments of Pretty In White's latest collection

My super duper AMAZING partner in crime Marilyn John who is a natural in front of the camera :)

This is Louis and the rest of the class singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Irwin. They made him stand up on the chair and ordered me to climb up next to him to give him a birthday kiss! :D

THE BIRTHDAY KISS! HAHA!

One for the camera!!! :) Post-Workshop dinner party at Madam Kwan's @ Pavillion

Capturing the Moment (Part V)

2009-02-04T23:49:00.008+08:00

Our photography & videography team from EXES Studio; preparing the set for one of our many shoots.

When we decided on taking our pre-wedding pictures on the 2nd of February 2009 some time in August last year, it seemed so far awayyyyy. But before we realized, 6 months flew by -- and we; or at least I; am now finding myself in the most nerve wrecking period as we'll have to wait another month before we can see the results of our 10-hour shoot.

Did I tell you how God's been so good to us? :) Just a week before the shoot, we finally managed to get a letter of authorization from the owners of the beautiful park where we intended to have our shoot!!! It was truly God-given because there was no way we could have had such favor from the people that had authority to issue that letter, if it wasn't for His grace!

We also decided (last minute) to include an additional indoor location, and by the advice of Patrick Low (our photographer), we found ourselves going to Carcosa Seri Negara. We've previously heard high praises for this place, but have never visited it personally. So it was a first for the both of us.

We had quite a large photography and videography team -- a total of 6 of them; including May Lim from Wedding Isle; my personal makeup artist who was on the set throughout. She was perpetually powdering me and adjusting my hair because the Malaysian weather just didn't permit me to not sweat. It was really quite a challenge to be all decked up in my wedding gown... trudging through the heat and posing for the camera!

Here are some "behind the scenes" pictures that Irwin managed to take in between shoots.

May Lim -- touching up my makeup during our afternoon session

Our photography & videography team in action

Enjoying a good cup of Espresso at Carcosa the morning after :)

Read Part I ; Part II ; Part III ; Part IV here.

MORE food...

2009-01-20T00:18:00.005+08:00

Irwin & I singing to "A Whole New World" in 2006!
Just before the week of the Chinese New Year pig-outs, we squeezed in our food tasting session at Sime Darby Convention Center together with both our families and Stephen. Stephen was so kind to arrange an additional lou-sang session for us in conjunction with the festive season, just before we started on the menu proper :)

We had already pre-selected the menu a week earlier -- nothing out of the ordinary, but the usual Chinese 8-course menu. I realized that I had accidentally picked Tea Leaves Roasted Duck as our poultry dish when the 4th dish was served! I'm a duck lover myself :P But I do realize that many others don't share the same liking. BUT... as it turned out, we were all duck lovers -- so we decided to stick to duck, instead of switching it to a chicken dish. My advanced apologies to our guests who don't eat duck! :) Hopefully you'll enjoy the rest of the selected menu... else we'll just have to hit the mamak post-dinner reception!

Trial Makeup at Keith Kee's

2009-01-17T23:43:00.002+08:00

Without realization, I've turned into a fan of Keith Kee. I've been around town looking at other wedding gowns even after I'd bought one from him. If anything, I was trying to prove to myself that it wasn't a rash decision getting a gown so early. As I was telling my other bride-to-be friends -- when you put on the gown that's meant to be, you'll somehow FEEL it rightaway. Its akin to the feeling of reaching home. Like you've finally made it to your destination.

Wedding gown. Cheongsam. And another custom-made evening gown on the way -- I decided to complete the whole look by engaging Keith and his partner Ben for hair and makeup.

At my trial session, Keith showed me his makeup techniques which he'll be using on the actual day; not so much the color of the eye shadow he'll be using. I just made sure he promised to do a good job hiding my eyebags on the actual day!

Four Fashionistas. One Design (part II)

2008-12-22T23:53:00.007+08:00

Ashwini and Sze Min have taken the 'plunge' and have made their dresses before the other 2 girls :P We visited the tailor, and after 2 hours of discussion, they decided to stick with the original design. The dresses will ready for first fitting first week of February... Can't wait! :D

Seems to me like there are alot of "Can't waits" for me these days. keke!

Read Part I here.

The Magical Piece of Lace called Veil

2008-12-17T23:18:00.006+08:00

There is this brilliant invention made out of lace cloth that everyone is accustomed to calling it the Veil! It comes in various sizes and lengths -- according to the preference of the girl wearing it, and it is usually worn as a "head piece" together with your wedding dress!!! :D

I went back to Keith Kee last Saturday to fit my dress in preparation for our pre-wedding photography shoot coming up on the 2nd of February. I'd previously put on my wedding gown a few times since buying it, but it had always just felt like a very heavy gown to me -- nothing like adorning the wedding dress; the dress I'd be wearing to walk down the aisles! :P But putting on the dress this time with my veil... WOW! It suddenly hit me!!! I could almost feel like the 11h of July was TODAY, and it made me all excited because it dawned on me that each passing day only meant one day closer to the wedding! kekeke! The feeling of wearing the veil truly is magical -- I still don't understand WHY... it was so magical that I was thinking about it the whole night and couldn't get to sleep :P

Food Glorious FOOD

2008-12-14T17:06:00.004+08:00

Today, we organized a little outing for my parents, together with Irwin's mom and granny to Batu Caves for a food tasting session with STC Caterers -- the caterers that we will be using for our luncheon reception. We're attempting to do something apart from the ordinary; so we've decided to serve Indian food! (actually, its not THAT different la, considering the fact that I got this caterer's contact from a friend at church who also catered from them for his wedding :P ) Both our families loved the food, and I'm so glad that we managed to finalize the menu within half an hour, and paid the deposit. So another item is scratched off my to-do list now :) I don't need to worry about it because they will set up and pack up everything!

One of the vege dishes that we requested for was fried bittergourd. Siva; the lady whom I've been liaising with was rather uncertain when we wanted to include it in our menu because she said that it wouldn't be appropriate to serve something 'bitter' for our wedding! :P I thought that was quite cute. According to her, people usually try to avoid including this dish in their wedding menu. Anyways, we still went ahead to order it after telling her that we don't believe in such things since we're Christians :)

Flower Power

2008-12-12T12:09:00.005+08:00

Organizing our flowers and decor for both the church and dinner reception has been bugging the daylights out of me lately. It really isn't something that I am excited about doing -- perhaps due to my lack of interest in flowers (I like them -- but not as much as I like shoes. HAHA!), but mainly due to the knowledge that it will cost us 4 arms and 6 legs to get our venues adequately 'dressed up'. Can we borrow your legs, please? (KEKE! my lame attempt at cracking a corny joke) :P

I am of the opinion that the wedding industry is a booming cash cow -- they are capitalizing on bridezillas who are determined to have THE perfect wedding day. I mean, who would have thought that a flower pedestal would cost RM350 each? -- and you need some 24 of them to fill up the size of a large ballroom. And a nice looking 9-feet arrangement can cost up to RM1200?!?!

My mom, who initially didn't believe me that decor would cost up to tens of thousands finally caved in when I brought her along to a meeting with a potential vendor yesterday :P She now tells me that my budget is TIGHT. Omg. But heck, I am still sticking to my budget.

6-10 Month Wedding Checklist

2008-11-24T09:55:00.008+08:00

According to my 12-month wedding preps checklist (which Irwin sent me), I've only got roughly 6 more weeks to complete this list of things before I start to run behind time. Yikes!

1. Confirm and book your venues if you haven’t done so. - DONE

2. Select your attendants’ bridesmaid, best man, ring bearer, etc. Inform them about their duties. - We have selected our wedding party; however we have yet to inform them of their specific duties -- except for the general ones like picking up the bride, walking down the aisles and standing at the church altar. I don't even know what they are supposed to do myself :P

3. Plan your CD music selection or ask for quotes, if you are planning to hire a band or string quartet to provide entertainment. - We have an idea of what we want, but that's about it we've done so far :D

4. Select the bridal boutique, followed by the bridal gowns and suits. - DONE. Yay!

5. Search for reputable hair & wedding makeup artist. - DONE. Double yay! :)

6. After confirming your bridal gowns and suits, start shopping for attendants’ attire. - Irwin's already gotten his men their ties & cuffs. My bridal party's dresses are still Work in Progress. But this shouldn't be a problem. We still have plenty of time.

7. Shop for bridal accessories like bridal shoes, tiaras and jewellery. - Shopping for my bridal shoes has proven to be quite a task. I've been contemplating the idea of custom making them with Keith (the designer of my wedding gown). I'm also still not decided on whether I should wear a tiara :P I don't want to be all too princess-y. But we'll see how that goes :) Jewellery wise -- that's been taken care of as well ;)

8. Help mothers of the bride and groom choose their dresses. - I've helped my mom (somewhat) in figuring out what to wear. But nothing's concrete yet. Its still a long time away!!! :S

9. Those having a church ceremony, plan your program, check out printers and get quotations. - Hmmm? I didn't know we had to think of such things so early.

10. Research and book your wedding photographer / Videographer. - Ok. This we've sorted :D

*faints*

Four Fashionistas. One Design (part I)

2008-11-20T19:31:00.013+08:00

Pictures sourced from here

I've always reckoned I had pretty good taste when it came to design and fashion :P But just recently, I slowly came to realize that fashion designing is more than just a passion or a hobby. It requires more than just having the flair of being able to sketch or mix n' match; but more so the ability to create something that people can appreciate!

Back in September, I decided that I'd get a wayyyy early head start in getting my bridesmaids' dresses. I fired off an email to my bridal party to collect ideas and preferences, and from their replies, noted that they all wanted something different! -- Well, what's new, right? We all want to be trend setters; Never the follower :P And even more so with my bridal party who consists of four fashionistas; each with her very own unique sense of style.

Its now been 10 weeks since I met with Jenny; my tailor who's been charged with the heavy responsibility of making my bridal party look stunning on my big day :P I went in for the first fitting of my trial dress, and (surprisingly!) it fitted like a glove when I put it on... but anyhow, it was still my own 'creation', hence it didn't sit too well with my girls who had other ideas for improvement.

We've since gone back to the drawing board -- via email; to discuss some areas of improvement for the trial dress. Hopefully, we will all be able to come to consensus on a design that will best complement all four fashionistas' sense of style... eventually :)

New ideas for the newlyweds' pad

2008-11-16T23:51:00.015+08:00

I've never been one who paid any interest in scouting around for a microcomputer rice cooker that can double up as a slow cooker and a steamer, or a retractable 50kilo clothes hangar to dry the laundry-- till now. I've even been acknowledged amongst my family members as one who is most updated with the latest in the home appliances/furniture/decoration department these days. I just hope this is not a sign of turning 'aunty-ish', but rather a very clear way of showing just how much of a good wife I can potentially be ;) HAHA!

The 12th installment of HomeDec held at KL Convention Center this past weekend was the very first home expo I've ever attended, and I loved every minute and every inch of it!!! If you're in the midst of renovating your place at the moment, going to this expo will really make you "khee siao" (as the Hokkiens would put it) because you'll not only snag good deals but also collect so many new ideas... you'd be DYING to tear down your house and rebuild it tomorrow.

I spent 2 days at the expo (HAHA!), but we didn't buy anything because we thought it would be a little premature seeing that we will only start getting the condo ready come this April. We did however talk to a couple of interior designers to brainstorm ideas for some new features we're planning to add into our existing layout prior to moving in. I can't wait for the next HomeDec to take place. If I'm not wrong, it should be in April/May '09 -- PERFECT!

Making plans for the much anticipated honeymoon!

2008-11-14T11:16:00.010+08:00

Bali has become quite a popular destination for honeymoon goers of late, and I can see why. Firstly, its NOT in Malaysia, and its always nice to 'get away' and be a tourist, isn't it? That way, you can take 82940202 pictures of everything and still not be seen as a jakun. Then its only 2 hours away by flight, and now with Air Asia, you don't need to shell out RM1.8k per person for return tickets. Return tickets will only cost a fraction actually; thus enabling you to redistribute your savings to stay in a nicer hotel. YAY! (this is not a subtle promo for Air Asia). Plus, if you're into Balinese furniture, you'll have a field trip getting nice wooden carvings/vases/pots/etc to furnish your new place :)

For Irwin and I, the thought of being able to SPA everyday was the motivating factor that helped us decide on joining the Malaysian honeymooners trend to Bali. But deciding between jetting off the day after our wedding, or waiting till the following weekend was tricky. I personally feel quite bad flying off immediately because that would mean that our families will have to 'clean up' after us :P

In the end, we decided on the latter -- primarily because we thought we wanted to experience Bali over the weekend. I'm also quite happy with the decision because that would also allow us to enjoy the novelty of our new place for a few days before going off :)

We just purchased our flight tickets this week, and we hope 6 days & 5 nights will be more than sufficient to unwind and relax after the (what I foresee, will be a very hectic) wedding. If any of you have any recommendations for good hotels, do let us know!

The 'modern day' proposal

2008-11-09T22:57:00.009+08:00

Love Is... cartoon taken from here

First there was Destination Weddings which saw many couples holding small and intimate weddings in scenic Phuket and Bali. Then came Destination Pre-Wedding Photo Shoots to one-up Destination Weddings. Couples are willing to fly as far as Melbourne to 'capture the moment' (Irwin and I were one of those who contemplated the idea as well :P ) And of late, I've noticed the shifting trend toward Destination Proposals! I wonder what is next. Perhaps Destination First Date? OoOooo, exciting! :D

Exciting for the girls because we just need to sit back, ANTICIPATE the surprise and there after squeal with excitement with our other girlfriends; but not too exciting for our other halves who will not only need to fork out some signifcant sum of life savings for the rock but also crack their head to craft the most ingenious getaway-holiday plan to pop the question. (they would also need to remember NOT to repeat any similar proposal strategies, so that when their fiances trade stories, they wouldn't come across as one who lacks creativity) ah, the pressure of keeping up!

Wedding planning in the last month has gotten a notch more exciting with TWO of my girls in my bridal party engaged!!! In September, Yee Mun my M.O.H was pleasantly surprised when her BF proposed to her on a romantic picnic while on a 1-week holiday in San Francisco. Then just last weekend, while on a short break up to Langkawi, Ashwini found herself on a viewing deck up in the hills and a man on his knees asking her to be his wife. HEHE! Congratulations to the both of you! :D I couldn't be happier!

(See! What did I just say about Destination Proposals?! :P )

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

2008-11-05T17:28:00.008+08:00

Its amazing how much I learn these days from just SHOPPING alone! In just one weekend, my little knowledge of MATTRESSES has now expanded from (typical Malaysians'-choice brands like) King Coil and Dreamland to strange sounding ones like Serta, Tempur, Nepure, Getha and Smith. Then there are things like pocket-spring, natural latex, memory foam, air spring and coil spring to get you even more confused. Its no wonder why Irwin and I still can't decide on what type of bed to get despite spending our whole Saturday rolling around on 10 different types of beds in a few showrooms around town :) It also never really occured to us that mattresses carry quite large price tags these days -- supposedly good mattresses can even cost up to RM70THOUSAND. Goodness gracious! I'd rather buy 2 Myvi's with the same amount of money :D

Capturing the Moment (part IV)

2008-10-31T13:00:00.013+08:00

THIS is where we would like to have our pre-wedding pictures taken. Unfortunately, its a private property belonging to one of the more renowned developers in KL, and pre-wedding photography is absolutely prohibited.... unless you find other creative ways of applying for permission :P In one of the entries I read on the Malaysia Brides forum, a bride was supposedly asked to pay an obscenely HUGE sum of money to obtain permit for her pre-wedding shoot here. She didn't take up the offer in the end (of course). *DUH* It would have been daylight robbery!

Anyways, me -- being a person who never gives up before exhausting all possible options; was very blessed to come to know a lady from our church who works with this developer! She was very kind to help me channel my application to the right people at the top. So with the renewed HOPE, I spent an hour writing a rather detailed email to state the reasons why Irwin and I have fallen in love with this place and would like to have our pre-wedding pictures taken here. Upon signing off and clicking the "Send" button, I actually felt like I was submitting an entry for a writing competition!!!

Fingers crossed now :) Aunty K said that she has received my email and has forwarded it on to the right person. Pray for us! I have fallen in love with the 4 ducks swimming in the lake!!! And when I allow my imagination to run wild, I am actually THIS serious about renting a SAMPAN (wooden boat)... lugging it there (somehow)... and putting it into the lake -- so that we can take pictures on it with a hibiscus in my hair and my Chinese paper parasol. Try me. I kid you not :D

Here are some pictures on our recce to this pretty place this Monday :) We spent about an hour and a half snapping photos there before the heat took its toll on us. Pictures are all taken by Irwin :) His photography skills have vastly improved in the last 6 months, I'm impressed! (Check out my Facebook for all the pictures we took here)

Dimsum branch at Oriental Pavillion, Jaya 33

One of the main buildings within the park vacinity

Me and my lovely umbrella from Shanghai courtesy of Aunty Christine (Irwin's mom) I love it!

One of the few pictures taken by ME... of Irwin! :D

Read Part I ; Part II ; Part III here.

www.irwinandvanessa.com

2008-10-28T22:06:00.001+08:00

Today marks the birth of our wedding website which we have been working on (in the little spare time that we find) since our engagement! I'm so giddily excited about it; I told Irwin that I might die of excitement! :D (I'm not expecting guys to understand the way I'm feeling because I think this is totally a GIRL thing)

The website screams INFORMATION OVERLOAD all over it... so read it bit by bit. We'll also be updating whenever we have new info to post about our wedding events. So do drop by every now and then :)

Don't forget to sign our Guestbook! And lastly, we hope that you'll enjoy reading it as much as we've enjoyed writing it!

Second dose of pre-marriage counseling

2008-10-23T23:11:00.001+08:00

Arguments are inevitable in a relationship, and even more so when a couple progresses further on into their relationship. Faced with decisions to make and differing opinions, conflicts are bound along the way, which so often times leave one person completely puzzled and the other totally consumed with frustration!

Many times, Irwin and I get frustrated with each other, wondering why the other person is "so like dat" (as we M'sians would put it) :P He doesn't seem to understand why I can get completely edgy when plans change the last minute, and I have no idea why he needs to take 888 million years to decide on something. Our 2nd pre-marriage counseling helped us in unraveling some of these 'mysteries' about our other-half and gave us some fresh perspectives into handling our differences. At the end of the day, our goal in marriage is really to complement each other with our strengths, rather than be an added burden as soon as we say our I-do's.

We also delved into some of our past -- discussing significant events that has led us to become who we are today; and how it is important for us to understand each other's background, so that we can learn to be more tolerant toward each others' quirks :P

Attending wedding exhibitions -- Benefit? Or a waste of time?

2008-10-21T23:15:00.003+08:00

After a 5 and a half week hiatus, I'm glad that the wedding planning fever is finally returning :P It all started last weekend -- I managed to convince Irwin to accompany me to Mid Valley for the 1st Malaysia International Wedding Exhibition '08. However he ended up sitting at McD's doing his work while I went into the exhibition!

Anyways, he didn't miss much. I was rather disappointed with the type of vendors the show attracted because I didn't see why the organizer had to include vendors selling pressure cookers, water features and credit cards! HEH. I covered the entire exhibition in 15 minutes -- And even that was also because I was hounded by a sales personnel who was trying to convince me to accept her FREE GIFT in exchange for filling up a credit card application... and another who was trying to convince me to buy a four-hundred-Ringgit 4 days-2 nights honeymoon package to Phuket :S

All was not lost though :) On my way out, a wedding florist/decorator stand caught my attention. 'Finally something I might find useful!!!', I thought to myself. I had a good discussion with Angie; the decorator herself who runs Unique Touch and she offered to personally check out both our wedding venues (church & Sime Darby) before she comes up with a proposal. Exactly what I needed! :D I've made an appointment with her for this Saturday.

At the exit, I noticed that they were giving away free bridal magazines -- all of which I've already bought and disected its content :P ... All except ONE; which is the 2nd Issue of Style Weddings (Msian edition). I found a pullout sheet in it advertising its Malaysian weddings Glamour Bash '08 happening the 1st weekend of November. I've read many good reviews on it, but am still undecided if I should drag Irwin to spend 2 hours of his precious Sunday afternoon doing these girly-wedding stuff. keke! We'll see...

Post Shanghai Update

2008-10-20T18:06:00.012+08:00

What can I say? Shanghai was super duper amazing -- I went crazy shopping and ran out of money within the first 3 days :D The hardest part was, apart from just indulging in clothes (as I've always been for the last 26 years of living), I also had to divert some concentration to other types of shopping -- ie: Shopping for Chinese wedding stuff as well as some household stuff for our new place! Argh, the challenge! (But a good one, nevertheless) :P

Here are some of the more wedding-related things I got from Shanghai (apart from my truck load of other things)

100% Silk Quilt from Zhou Zhuang & Custom made linen
I simply loved the fabric market whereby you can choose the type of material you'd like to use and even specify its design and how many pieces (ie: pillow cases, bolster cases) you would like. Best part is that I didn't have to pay through my nose! Now I just have to wait till next year to use it :D

Red Silk PJ's & Chinese Parasols for my bridal party
Old-fashion has suddenly become my middle name! I'm banging on the idea that everything has to be done the customary Chinese way, hence the RED PJ's on the wedding eve :P
I'm imagining that it will be really hot on the wedding day, so I'm hoping that my dear girls will shield me with these pretty li'l PAPER parasols! KEKE! (Who am I kidding?) Anyways, I also got (almost) matching Chinese bamboo-paper fans. Now THAT will be practical for all of us, wouldn't it?

Double Happiness "hei" characters made of paper
Seems like I have more than enough to plaster on 5 thousand cars and every inch of our new condo! :D

9 units of candle stands
Which I hope to use at my registration tables? Not sure yet... I just bought them because they were cheap :)

Managing Great Expectations

2008-09-16T23:35:00.013+08:00

One of the 'prerequisites' of getting married at PJEFC is completing a 10-session pre-marriage counseling course. Together with our counselors -- Drs. Hera and YF, Irwin and I officially kick-started our first session tonight! :)

The format of these sessions requires us to do a little bit of homework before we meet each session. It would include some Scripture reading as well as answering manyyyyyy questions -- questions that have NEVER crossed my mind previously :P These questions are called inventories and I guess its primary objective is to stir up both our thoughts and help us manage our expectations a li'l bit better upon entering the next phase of life... and boy, are there ALOT of expectations to cover and discuss! :D

About 2 years ago, the church also made us do a compatibility test which had us answering about 180 questions like "Do you agree that romance will fade after many years of marriage?" or "Do you foresee any major disagreements with your spouse after marriage?". Our results have both been tabulated, and we're also using it as a general guide for discussion.

Conclusion of our first session: Irwin and I are too idealistic (rather than realistic) about marriage! keke! The test showed that we strongly believe that we will be madly in love with each other forever! :D And while it is a GOOD thing, we were also made to realize that at some point, there will be rough patches, and issues that will challenge our love for each other are bound to surface. The most important ingredient for a successful marriage is to place God at the center of our lives & marriage, and also to stand by our commitment as well as the vows we will make to each other when we get married! :)

A Saturday Spent in the City

2008-09-13T23:49:00.009+08:00

We were 'summoned' by Stephen (our wedding planner) to go down to the Marriott to meet him today :P He was doing a wedding there tonight, and wanted me to check out its decor because I onced emailed him a picture of lights in ball-like shapes suspended from the ceiling. He wanted me to see it in person... but also then to tell me that this type of decor will not be suitable for our wedding venue at Sime Darby Convention Center because our grand ballroom will be much BIGGER -- the light-balls won't create too much of a wow-factor. I totally agreed -- I personally didn't like the light-balls after all.

The hall was also decorated using champagne&white-color floral arrangements -- which I also now realize that I don't quite fancy. It didn't seem as striking as how I have 'envisioned' our hall to be. Keke! So I'm happy that I have made some 'progress' in the floral & decor department because up until this afternoon, I hadn't put much thought into it!

Since we were in the city, I decided to ask Irwin to drive us to Jalan Brunei -- a small area just off Jalan Pudu. Someone had recommended I go there to source for vendors to custom-make our wedding invitations... and I'm so glad that I checked out that area (although its located in quite a dodgy part of town). 85% of the shops on Jalan Brunei Selatan are printing vendors who specially design and mass print literally anything you want -- from highly decorated boxes to wedding cards and paper bags :D We managed to source a ball-park costing for our SURPRISE invitation card idea. Again, I can't let the cat out of the bag... yet :P ... although I'm dying to share the idea! HAHA!

For soon to be married couples, do check out Jalan Brunei Selatan when sourcing for wedding invitations. You won't regret it especially if you're planning to print in high quantities of at least 500 pieces and above :)

A short update

2008-09-11T13:12:00.006+08:00

Its amazing how the I'm-Getting-Married fever has just died down -- just like that! Gone are the nights spent religiously surfing wedding websites and collecting ideas for my Inspirational Board! HEHE!

Here are some quick updates on everything!

BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES: My mom's been the greatest! We went material shopping a couple of weeks back and bought some 50 meters worth of lace and satin! I've decided that my girls will be wearing brownish-bronze colored dresses. Kinda imagine them carrying a loosely-tied yellow hand arrangement with that. But that's about all the details I can dish out!!! -- for now at least :P I've met with a tailor early this week, and have discussed and designed ONE piece -- just a trial one for myself. It'll be ready in November and I'm crossing my fingers that it'll turn out OK. If my girls agree to the design, I'll proceed to make the rest of the 4 pieces for them. Else, we'll still have plenty time to alter the designs till everyone is happy!

BEST MAN & GROOMSMEN: Irwin and I met up for lunch with Irwin's best man beginning of the month. He agreed to do almost everything -- BUT deliver a speech! :D We'll see how that goes after finalizing our program. Irwin's groomsmen have yet to confirm though -- only 1 out of 3 of them have agreed.

WEDDING WEBSITE: I've been itching to launch our website FOREVER!!! But there are still some things that have yet to be finalized -- i.e: groomsmen line-up. However... we've purchased our very own domain!!! keke! Get ready to check it out at www.irwinandvanessa.com when we launch!

BACHELORETTE PARTY: My M.O.H Yee Mun is in the midst planning my hen's night -- already! We still have 10 months to go :D I've just sent her a list of the girls whom I wanna be there. Can't wait! (am wondering what she has up her sleeves) :P Thanks babe!

Work has been quite hectic for both Irwin and I. We can't wait for our 13-day holiday to Shanghai end of the month :) Until the next time!!! <3

10-12 Month Wedding Checklist

2008-08-27T23:38:00.002+08:00

I just realized that my little wedding-countdown ticker on the right-hand panel says "10 Months 13 Days before I marry the love of my life!" :D

A lot of people have commented that I'm too much of an eager-beaver -- starting my preps so early. I wonder if that is just short of calling me a Bridezilla. Eeks. I hope not :P I refuse to be deemed one...

Anyways, I just unburied this checklist from my "Our Wedding!" folder in my laptop. Irwin actually found it on the internet for me when we first got engaged some 2 months back. Keke! Looking through the list, I realize that I am actually ON TIME as per this checklist's recommendation!!! We've done most of the items there... except for a few (important ones) which we will be getting down to SOON. Hehe!

Not a Bridezilla after all yeah... *PHEW*

CHECKLIST

Set your wedding date -- 11th July 2009
Discuss with parents and future in-laws on the style & size of wedding ceremony -- DONE
Set a budget -- SOON (I hope) :D
Book a wedding consultant or wedding planner -- DONE
Book a date with the ROM and the ceremony venue -- DONE
Begin your guest list -- DONE
Source for reception venues that suit your taste and budget -- DONE
Organize and file all important documents in a systematic order. Keep a separate file for payments and receipts. This will help you keep track of what has been done, what needs to be done and also manage all your expenses -- DONE
Begin shopping for your bridal gowns, headpiece and bridal accessories -- DONE

YAY! :)

Capturing the Moment (part III)

2008-08-23T23:55:00.004+08:00

Photo taken by Patrick Low; Exes Studio. www.exes-studio.com
Another struck off our wedding prep to-do list; 8390492043 more to go...

After many weeks of looking through a gazillion photographers' portfolio and quotations, we have finally decided to appoint Exes Studio to play (what I think is) one of the most important role at our wedding!!! -- to take our pre-wedding and actual day photography and videography. Patrick Low; the main creative photographer which we have engaged is an award winning photographer who specializes in taking wedding portraiture and capturing the events as it unfolds on the actual day. The above picture is actually his latest winning shot which he recently bagged at the WPJA 2008 awards for Most Creative Portrait. Check out his website to see his entire portfolio :)

Overall, we're very pleased with what he has offered us (although it comes with a really large price tag) and included in the contract which we signed over the weekend. We'll be taking our pre-wedding photographs in February next year... *EXCITED!* :P

Praying for the best! :-D

Read Part I & Part II here.

Of suits, shirts & ties

2008-08-12T21:38:00.003+08:00

A day out shopping with Irwin turned out to be a weekend of trying suits for the wedding instead! :D We went mall-crawling 2 days in a row to The Gardens, Pavillion and KLCC -- trying suits from Zegna to Armani, Boss and even Dunhill! keke! It was quite fun! And I've also come to realize that men sales assistants are much nicer than women sales assistants. They seem more accomodating, and would go through lengths to dress you up -- even down to shoes and ties... with no obligation to buy. If you walked out after that, they'd still be nice about it :)

Anyways, Irwin settled for a suit, matching shoes and tie from Boss -- just couldn't resist the Mega Malaysian sale!

Capturing the moment (part II)

2008-08-10T20:39:00.009+08:00

Picture taken from http://www.signaturephotographers.com.my/

Today was rather exciting :) We attended the Signature Photographers event -- an event bringing together 7 of (I dare say) Malaysia's more outstanding wedding photographers. It was held at the Sheraton Imperial hotel and for RM100 per couple, we got lots of vouchers from different types of wedding vendors and sponsors of the event (ie: flowers, car rental, decor, etc), a wide buffet range from the hotel's wedding menu and most importantly, first-handed tips from all 7 photographers. I thought it was quite a bang for our buck :) We even won a lucky draw! :D (and was called up onto the stage to be 'models' for Louis Pang) That was quite an embarassing bit though :P

Anyways, after weeks of research -- comparing portfolios and quotations; I sort of had a shortlist of photographers/videographers that I thought would be able to capture the styles that Irwin and I like. So this event put alot of things for us into perspective, making things a little clearer. We're quite close to appointing one of the most important 'players' for our big day! :P I just need to bring out my negotiating skills to carve out a good deal now!

Read Part I here.

Happy 2-Years to Irwin & Van!!!!

2008-08-06T21:19:00.013+08:00

This is our 1st ever couple pic!

Today marks 731 days since we got together :) Its a wonder how the last 2 years have flown by so quickly and wonderfully and magically (and all the nice mushy things that I will keep to myself)... and that we're actually getting married. This whole getting-married-thingy still feels somewhat surreal to me. I think it'll only sink in when I finally walk down the aisles next year... and when we move into our newwwww place. WOOPEE-DOO. I can't wait! <3

We didn't do anything special tonight though... which I think is quite bad and sad :P We both admitted that we haven't actually put much thought into doing something special for each other... until yesterday... But we still didn't have a plan when we got done with work today. Haha! Please tell me it wouldn't be like this after getting married though. I'd want us to celebrate anniversaries till we're 98.

I've been busy setting up our wedding website here. keke! Its been alot of hard work populating it with content and editing all the pictures to go with it. PHEW. I hope to launch it in another 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to nag Irwin into finding time to fill in the parts where he's supposed to 'say something'. So in the meantime... the password's only for Irwin and I to know. keke!

For those of you who are getting married and might be interested in setting up one too, check out Wedding Windows. Alternatively, there's also another site -- Wed Share; which Justine (my future sis-in-law) told me about. I decided on Wedding Windows because I liked this particular design they had. (And its also about 20bucks cheaper) Anyhow, the price ranges from about US$80-US$100 for a 1-year subscription. Its pretty standard.

Sometimes we pay to be tortured. Why?

2008-08-04T18:13:00.010+08:00

This is Robert our personal trainer at Fitness First... who over the last 8 months has became more of a good friend to the both of us :) He trains us twice a week -- 1 hour per session, per person. Throughout the 7 years I've spent working out at different gyms (yes, I started when I was 19), I must say that he's one of the better trainers I've had because he really works you to the core. After every work out, my body 'suffers' from this bitter-sweet ache. Bitter because it feels lousy going around with an aching body... but sweet at the same time because it'll remind me of how hard I've worked to lose those fats! :)

Having said that, Irwin and I still occasionally wonder WHY we pay Robert to work us so hard, especially after a long and tiring day at work. It can get pretty torturous, I tell ya...

Ever since our engagement, Robert's been feeling rather stressed and pressured by us though :P Because Irwin and I are planning to have our pre-wed photo shoot by the end of this year, Robert takes it upon himself to ensure that we're in top form -- aesthetically :P His goal is to have Irwin build a bigger chest... (MUAHAHA!)... and for me to go on a 6-week diet to rid my thunder thighs and jiggly arms :P

Here's to good pre-wed pics at the end of this year! CHEERS! :)

Capturing the moment (Part I)

2008-07-27T23:45:00.003+08:00

I think one of the more challenging tasks throughout wedding planning would be appointing a photographer and videographer who'll be able to capture all the priceless moments on your big day. A friend of mine who recently got married adviced me that the importance of securing a photographer comes right after you've set the date and venue.

From what I've gathered so far, getting a photographer/videographer is easy. Klang Valley will never run short of them. But getting the RIGHT one -- in terms of service offerings, photography styles, and of course price lah; seems challenging. Plus, its not a cheap affair either. YIKES. Anyhow, time is still on our side :) And we still have lots of opportunities to scout around. But I must say that I'm surprised to also find out that some of the top photographers are already booked out on the 11th of July. Hence we won't be able to appoint them, even if we wanted to. OMG! This is craziness!

Maybe I should have gone to photography school instead.

Fit for a bride (Part II)

2008-07-21T21:35:00.003+08:00

The hunt for THE dress is over! :) Its been a rather short hunt -- well, not really a hunt actually, and I didn't expect to get it so soon either. But I guess the task became easier as I went to more bridal shops and looked at more dresses. They were all just not me. My idea of me was something made of lace, simple and off-white, with no poofy skirts! Something that doesn't make me look FAT.

One of the main reasons why I started so early was because we're targeting to take our pre-wedding photos by the end of this year, and I initially thought of custom making my gown. That would take up to 2-3 months to get it perfect. But after looking around, I decided that getting something off-the-rack would be safer because I'd get to try on the finished product, and gauge if I really like it... as opposed to working on a SKETCH with a designer... and months down the road, when the dress is ready, I faint and drop dead when I see the end product -- that it just doesn't match up to what I've spent countless sleepness nights dreaming about! :)

That being said, I still went ahead to make an appointment with Keith Kee. HAHA! I thought, if I wanted to take the risk with any designer to tailor make my own gown from scratch, it'll have to be with Keith. I've not only read countless articles about him and his work, but he also comes highly recommended from bestie SMin, and a few other people who have bought his designs.

Anyways, when I got to his boutique, he was in the middle of being interviewed by NTV7, so while waiting, I started trying all his off-the-rack gowns. I was almost giving up, when I saw this last one -- a 2-piece gown; its top made of lace with lotsa detailing (just like how I like it), but a poofy skirt. YIKES. But when I tried it on, it fitted like a glove!!! (albeit the poofy skirt :P ) And I straightaway fell in love with it! :) Yes, I fell in love with the poofy skirt too because it really complemented the top half. Keith even said its as though he made the gown just for me (But of course, I didn't fall for that. I'm pretty sure that must have been marketing talk)

Church wedding ceremony

2008-07-18T00:04:00.007+08:00

Irwin and I were initially playing with the idea of having our holy matrimonial ceremony away from our home church's premise, and at Sime Darby CC instead. As with many modern Christian couples these days, this ceremony is usually held in a function room in the late afternoon, which will be followed by pre-dinner cocktail and dinner at the grand ballroom. This way, it would save our guests from going to the church in the morning, and again to Sime Darby CC at night to attend the dinner reception.

Anyways, I scrapped the idea as soon as I had a chat with Ps. Aaron, and realized that an off-premise holy matrimonial ceremony would also mean that we can only do a mock signing of our Registrar of Marriage. We will still need to find a separate occasion to run back to church, and sign it in the presence of our chosen witnesses, before or after the wedding. I'm not too keen on doing that because I foresee we'll be very busy in the months leading up to the wedding. (We'll also be busy getting our condo ready, and moving in as well). Plus, the date of Registrar will not be the 11th July 2009. Eeks. As such, I would be confused as to WHEN my anniversary date is (in the yearsss to come). keke! Yes, it might seem like a trivial matter to many now... but to the bride-to-be (and hopefully the groom-to-be), I think it's really significant. So yeah... we've now decided to go through the whole church shebang IN church. Dinner reception will follow at night at Sime Darby CC.

So we've got all the basic things on the (church) side confirmed! YAY!

1. Booked the church for the 11th July 2009, though the rehearsal date is yet to be confirmed.

2. Booked our Sr. Ps. Soon Hock to officiate the ceremony.

3. Booked Ps. Sam to handle the Registrar of Marriage.

4. Booked Elder Daniel Yeoh to deliver a message (But he says that he'll still need to reconfirm nearer to the time)

5. We've also identified our pre-marriage counselors for the next 12 months!!! :)

My Bridesmaids!

2008-07-16T12:32:00.002+08:00

There was a time when the 4 of us girls were clad in ugly green Sri KL uniforms, our hair in ponytails and schoolgirl-bangs; Some of us spotting protruding braces, and others a pair of nerdy specs :P But a pact was made in a hot and sweaty classroom. We promised each other that no matter what, the 4 of us will be each other's bridesmaids on our big day :) And that was almost a decade and a half ago! OMG.

I've had the honor of asking Ash, Bee (all the way from Melbourne) and SMin to be my bridesmaids next year and they have agreed! (Thanks women! *mwah*). But there's a catch though... Seeing that I'm the first to get married amongst us, they'll have no reason not to return the honor when its their turn -- irregardless of whether I will be fat or (worse case scenario lah...) pregnant. TEE HEE!

Last but definately not the least is my Maid of Honor (MOH) YMun -- the girl who's seen me in my worst and my best :) ... who bunked with me for 3.5 years when we were in Purdue, kept up with my nonsense all these years and still loves me for who I am! She's already having sleepless nights just thinking about delivering her MOH speech at the dinner reception! :P Thank you also for promising to fly all the way back from the States a week in advance to be a part of my wedding preps, as well as to organize my bachelorette party :)

Emails have been traveling amongst us in excitement over the past week. I hope we'll be able to keep up till next year. Thank you all again! LOVE U!

Dinner reception venue

2008-07-15T00:03:00.009+08:00

The 2nd most important thing to do after setting the date -- which is securing a venue for our dinner reception; is done! At our meeting with Stephen and his team last night, together with Mr. Lee the person managing our account at Sime Darby CC, Irwin and I decided on a dinner menu and paid a 10% down payment to ensure that we will have all 3 ballrooms plus the foyer for our dinner reception next year.

As with all Chinese weddings, we had to decide between 3 different types of dinner packages. Stephen convinced us to opt for the top of the range, so that we'll be able to have more flexibility in 'custom making' some of the dishes. We're leaning more toward having some sort of fusion food... something out of the ordinary. Then again, its still too early to decide on any particular dishes because we can't determine for sure if the chefs would still be the same in 12 months time. Anyways, tentative food tasting would probably be in January. So hopefully, we'll be able to have the kitchen whip up something different for our guests! :)

We'll now wait for Sime Darby CC to revert with a first revision of all that we've discussed last night. After which, there will be renegotiations after renegotiations... until we are happy with what we'll be getting!

Fit for a bride (part I)

2008-07-12T23:48:00.011+08:00

Picture taken from: Monique-Lhuillier (I'm in love with this dress!)

The hunt for my wedding dress has begun!.. and it saw my mom and I going to 5 different bridal houses today.

I went with zero expectations because I don't see myself as an impulsive shopper... and more to that, its gonna be THE dress that I'll wear to walk down the aisles. So it would most possibly be my first, my last and my only chance to get it right... yeah? :)

I have a rough concept of how I'd want to look -- nothing poofy and Barbie Doll-y. And definately no skirts with a 5-meter diameter across me. I'd like it to be as simple as possible, with just a short train behind (just to add to the 'feel' of walking down the church aisles :P ). However, my mom begged to differ. Not that she wants me to wear a poofy dress, but she said that a bride needs to dress like a bride. Ok, I seriously do not know what that means.

So out of the almost 30 dresses I tried on -- some made me laugh out loud, some made me go YIKES! ... and others were really nothing to shout about; I really only liked ONE... which I was THIS close to buying! HAHA! (Talk about not being an impulsive shopper). But maybe I was tired of trying on SOOO MANY dresses... And you know how its like, right??? When you put on something that fits the body and the eyes (nice to look at lah), it'll make you go "I LOVE IT!!!!!!"

Anyways, I didn't buy it in the end. I managed to peel myself away from the dress because I think I want to visit more boutiques first before I make a decision.

I've got an appointment with Eric Choong and Keith Kee this coming week... so we'll see how that goes first!

Our Wedding Planner

2008-07-10T12:09:00.004+08:00

Photo and contacts taken from http://www.stephenfoong.com/

Funny how people from our parent's generation didn't seem to require the assistance of a wedding planner to coordinate their big day. The idea would have been strange to them! And I think it still does seem strange to many people, even today.

For Irwin and I, the first thought of hiring a wedding planner seemed somewhat extravagent and expensive! But we were advised by many (who have just recently planned their weddings with the help of a planner) that a planner really does take the burden off the bride and groom as D-Day approaches, as well as on the actual day. Anyhows, I guess you'll never really know the facts till you've tested the waters yeah?

So we met up with Stephen Foong last Sunday after church. Surfing through his website (http://www.stephenfoong.com/) prior to the meeting, I did suspect that he was a much sought after planner. But that seemed to be an underestimate right after I met him. To start off, he's already got next July almost fully booked; with 3 weddings on the 18th... which pretty much left us to choose between the 11th and 25th of July. keke! Strange having a planner tell you when you can get married, instead of the other way around. But we didn't mind as we don't have a particular date in mind.

Irwin and I loved him from the start. He came very well prepared (even for our first meeting), with a laptop and a list of questions for us to answer. We then went through very briefly about our (but mostly my) ideas of how we wanted our wedding to be :) He also gave us some exciting ideas to think about for our cocktail reception! And he also recommended me some places to source for my wedding gown.

The best part is that he is only charging us RM2.5k for everything from now on till next year, and he will even help in negotiation with all our appointed vendors as we go along. The other better part was that Irwin liked him! :) So YAY! Its set! We have officially appointed a planner!

We are engaged! ... but what do we do now?

2008-07-09T23:58:00.012+08:00

Taken on the 27th June 2008; The Jewel Box Restaurant, SINGAPORE

Its barely been 2 weeks since we've gotten engaged, but we've already started to get busy! We had to set a date. Although we knew that it would be sometime in July, but when in July was the tricky part, as it had to be subjected to the availability of both sides of our families, as well as the availability of our preferred venue(s). We also decided to look into the option of engaging a wedding planner, and the wedding planner whom I thought would do the job best is a really busy man too! After our first meeting with Stephen Foong, our date also had to be limited to the weekends in July '09 that he would be available. The guy does 30 weddings in 2.5 months! OMG!

Anyways, after much discussion with both sides of our families, we have decided to set the date for the 11th of July 2009. So please everyone, mark it down in your diaries, PDA's, Outlook planner, and what have yous :)

We also decided that we'd want to hold our wedding dinner reception nearby to our matrimonial home in TTDI, instead of in the city. So there are only 2 options: One World Hotel (next to 1 Utama) and Sime Darby Convention Centre (next to KLGCC). However when I called One World Hotel last week, they told me that they are already fully booked next June/July/August! OMG! Can you believe it?

Anyways, I'm glad they were booked out :) Because we found a gem of a place at the ballroom of Sime Darby Convention Centre! Its name carrying the ring of a 'convention centre' nearly had us fooled initially. But after our reccee last Saturday, we concluded that it can anytime rival any 5-star hotel... PLUS, they still had availability for next July. YAY!