Cartier.Adventures - la première partie

Wedding band – CHECKED.


And so we made a trip to Cartier earlier, splurge couple of thousands. all we brought home was some boxes, papers, 2 catalogs, cleaning kit and a pretty red paper bag. Not to forget we drank 2 glasses of water.

Anyway the engraving takes about 10 days or so. Right now, we shall wait patiently for the phone call.

Venue: Jewel.Box

Venue Confirmation.

Damage: $3841.73

30% of 10 tables x $1088++

 

Money matters

So, the fiancée kept bugging me to write on this blog. 

Here's my contribution. 

I believe this is the concern for any couple about to walk down the aisle, be it at a church, or throwing a lavish dinner for family and friends. But that is just the one big sum that could possibly be covered by red packets. 

What about other things that require money? Note, I didn't say miscellaneous stuff. I meant there's a whole lot more than the wedding reception. 

First of all, the engagement ring aka proposal ring, which the fiancée have been harping on. Thankfully, it's been omitted to lessen the budget. Estimated two to three grand, depending on the rock.

Besides the abovementioned ring, of course, there's the wedding bands. Rock optional. Works out to another two to three grand for a pair. We've decided on rose gold Cartier bands. Costs about 3.5k for the pair.

Then, comes the bridal shots. There are many choices for this. Whether to have it done locally (the in thing lately is the Marina Bay and Marina Barrage area. The old school ones are Botanical Gardens, *insert name here* Gardens, Sentosa etc.) or overseas (Asian countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan. Europe is romantic too, if you have the budget.) Well, thanks to the package we signed, that's 2k for the shoot in Taiwan (air tickets, accommodation etc. excluded).

To finish up phase one of the planning/spending, is finding a venue for the actual day reception. Tables should range from $800 plus (restaurants) to well over $1,000 (hotels' ballroom). The number of tables is dependent on the number of guest invited. We've managed to keep the number of invited guest low, mainly family members and at most 3 tables of close friends cum colleagues. Still, the number came up to 12 tables. At $1,088++ per table, that works out to a little more than $15k, less alcohol and corkage charges.

Phase one costs: $20.5k

More to come.

The.Party

My advise, Never allow stag/hen's night ruin the wedding.

DON'T do things that you wouldn't want your other half to do.

People always say that stag/hen's night is to celebrate the end of single life, but I say it is the first test of trust that both parties will have to go through. At least you need to have enough trust in your other half that he/she doesn't get stripper/hooker or such.

Actually stripper is fine for me, only have 2 conditions for the HTB.

I will say that my fiancé do have evil friend who will encourage paid entertainment, but of course he's got a "monk" friend around, so I reckon they won't be doing much either. It's funny how they all turn out to be since they are all from Monk school. And I trust the fiancé ain't gonna be too adventurous either. 

As for me, guess I'll just be spending time with the group of "bridesmaids" doing some last minute beauty fixes. Partying is just too tiring.


D.

Big C vs The Rock

Did I mention the first thing we have surveyed, viewed, considered, gazed at or even stared at, is the wedding band? And since I have no proposal to parade with, thus it should be obvious that I do not own any sparkly rock to blind myself with.

We happened to walk into LeeHwa earlier. While the bestman browsing through what to buy for his girlfriend, I scanned the shop for jewelries that can be added to the collection for the event. After much explanation and sales talk, I set my eyes on the Destinee collection. The three of us paced up and down the shop, drank countless cups of tea, spent at least an hour.

I puppy eyed the fiance, hoping he'd change his mind about at least buying me a rock, instead he asked me if i want the rock or the big C. I struggled and chose the big C instead. Although the big C may not worth as much, but i know, we both love the design and what it signifies. I was given the option to get a rock as my engagement ring which will also be my wedding band. But I can't be possibly wearing this shiny rock everyday right. Thus, I still choose my Big C gold band. Meanwhile, I try to dig whatever diamond my mummy has.


22/05/13:  The future MIL has asked me to try on a gold bracelet with diamond. She says to ask me try it on and if it fits, she's gonna give it to me during the tea ceremony. Well, it almost fits. just have to change the hook/clasp thing and also polishing.


Seriously, I wonder who reads all these.

mark.the.calendar

The dates have finally been set.

11 March: Chinese customary and solemnization.
16 March: Luncheon

ten.months.before

While other fret about all sorts of other miscellaneous stuff, my headache is about the date. There may be a little  gloomy clouds here and there but after the rain, comes the rainbow.

The auspicious date turns out not so auspicious for the both of us after all. We wanted 1/3/14 to get everything over and done with, ended up having the customary and solemnization  on 11/3/14 (Tuesday) and luncheon on a sunday. This is the date being calculated by my Shifu from Hong Kong.

With the date set, I can now:
1. Confirm date with venue coordinator.
2. Wait to file notice of marriage with Registry of Marriages.
3. Book Solemnizer.

Damage: $188

D.