Hello,

This space has been eerily quiet for awhile. The level of activity here resonates the level of wedding planning that has been occurring, and with that said it explains on why I have returned.

The search for a wedding venue has begun. It has progressed past the stage of an imaginative young female dreaming about the day when she can finally unleash her wedding plans. Unfortunately I have met with several bumps and hiccups along the way.

Remember how I once made a list of potential wedding venues? Well, it turns out that most of my choices then are barely up to the margin for consideration now. Furthermore some of the places have closed down, have more pillars than I can imagine, or are exorbitantly expensive and inaccessible.

There are so many factors to choosing an ideal wedding venue which I hadn't thought of before.

I have gone down the road of wanting to plan every single detail of my wedding, to a girl who simply wants it simple and hassle-free.

I dreamt of having it in a museum, but it was too much work to source out a venue that did not have a million and one T&Cs tied to it. It was also too troublesome to find a caterer that was within my budget and could churn out food that was up to my high expectation – I can't be serving my guests mediocre food!

Not to mention, there was all the math that needed to be done... tabulating the costs of 22 tables and 220 chairs, the tablecloth and centrepieces and stage and AV system... and etc. It is a nightmare awaiting to happen which I refuse to partake.

Hence I decided to go onboard the traditional route of having a wedding banquet at a restaurant or hotel. I will have the important people in my life, celebrating my special occasion with me.

So far, we have looked at Four Points By Sheraton, Peach Garden @ OCBC Centre, and Tunglok Signatures @ Orchard Parade Hotel.

I wish I had taken images of each of the wedding venue to share with all of you. Other than the photos from Four Points, all other images have been taken from Google.

| FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON

Robertson Room
Jubilee Ballroom
I shall first toss out the disclaimer that Four Points By Sheraton Singapore, The Riverview is one of my clients. I was on a lookout for wedding venues when I was invited for their launch party back in July.

I was mesmerised by The Robertson Room which boasts a fantastic view of the Singapore River. The only downside would be the limited space and hence the table cap at 15 :(

The Jubilee Ballroom is able to fit up to 35 round tables but some tables might face the problem of having the stage view be blocked by the structural pillars. Also, I visited the venue on a morning where there would soon be an afternoon wedding lunch.

The decor was pretty and the stage was to-die-for, but... the space felt so cramp for 25 tables. There was barely any space to walk through the tables freely and I can't imagine how it'd be like with physical humans sitting and being within the ballroom. I felt that it just wasn't the right place for me to hold my 25 tables wedding banquet.


| PEACH GARDEN @ OCBC CENTRE

Solemnisation room, picture taken from yventually mine
Dining hall, picture taken from Singapore Brides
Peach Garden @ OCBC Centre was a... disappointment. I loved the intimate yet breath-taking skyscraper view for the solemnisation, but the dining space was less than satisfactory. My face fell once I saw it. The venue looked so different from the photos, the lights couldn't be any more yellow. As a blogger, I should have known that the official pictures had undergone a massive amount of editing, but seeing it in real life, I was dumbfounded. The ambience was not as elegant as I had been promised hoped for.


| Tunglok Signatures @ Orchard Parade Hotel

Ballroom at Orchard Parade Hotel, picture taken from sunshinedel
I was least excited for this venue visiting, but walked out feeling most impressed and satisfied. Tunglok @ Orchard Parade Hotel, it was what as I had expected, which is good – judging by the amount of shock that I had received from before. The wedding coordinator was kind enough to throw in canapés (a huge win for me because I like having some finger food for my guests while they wait) and some other wedding favors. The venue space was simple and predictable, but what I wasn't quite fond of it due to the lack of windows and low ceiling. I felt claustrophobic standing in the ballroom and hence we were inclined to request for more "pondering" time.

If I have the time, perhaps I would pop by the venues mentioned above to take some photographs. It would be nice to have some images to ponder over again.

We have got more venues lined up for site-visiting in the next few weeks. Also, I have yet to settle the bridal gown(s), bridal make-up and hair, bridal car and etc.

*GROANS*

Wedding Planning Shall Officially Began

It all started with a seemingly innocent question by my mom on when we (referring to bf and I) are intending to get married.

I finally revealed to my mom,

10 October, next year"

Like all mothers, she got increasingly excited as I revealed more details with each of her pokes.

She rushed to check the Chinese calendar and gave her nod of approval that the Chinese calendar says that the date is an auspicious one (Mothers...)

She has been poking me to share with bf's mom on our intended wedding date.

Today, we finally did. And hence the wedding planning shall commence.

The funny part about sharing with the bf's mom was her first response to the whole situation,

I buy a condo for you guys to stay la

Bf and his dad stared at her with wide eyes and asked her how she is going to print all that money out LOL

There were more discussions on how to renovate the room, what furnitures to buy (FIL wanted us to start buying pots and pans for our Bidadari flat HAHA), what properties to look into..... but none on the wedding itself. LOL

OH and, the ILs were stunned when we said we needed no renovation done, but just a change of our bed to a bigger one.

We don't need so much hassle. Just a simple happy ceremony to celebrate the union of two lives and two families on one great auspicious day!

The bf thinks that his parents are slowly digesting the fact that their son is getting married. We gotta give them a bit more time before the wedding plans are unleashed upon us.

If no wedding plan is unleashed upon us, we shall stick to our initial plan and have everything kept simple and sweet. Perhaps we might just have a solemnisation at Dallas, and skip the wedding dinner altogether.

Then again, it should be a shame for a food blogger to skip having her wedding dinner when I have this plan of gathering all the best café food that I have had and gathering them all in one location on a joyous day.

There is so much planning to do. I need to breathe and (hopefully) not turn into a bridezilla.

Seriously, I'm not

He almost spilled the date!

The other night he came home with a serious face, saying that we had to talk.

It scares me a little when he initiates a serious conversation, my mind would start to wander...

Uh oh! What have I done wrong this time? Did I overspend in Korea and burst his credit card limit?!

Every man's nightmare: His woman with his credit card!
In the end, it wasn't about his credit card bills but rather it was a discussion about us moving abroad for his work in the near future.

By abroad, I meant Europe.

The continent which I have never in my life stepped a foot in before.

The continent that is at least a 16 hours flight away.

The continent which once I step foot in, I'm gonna be staying there for the next 3 years of my life.


From the day he entered the company, he warned me about the move. I kid around and said "Woohoo! I get to be an expat and stay in a country with four seasons! I shan't work and you will bring home all the money TO ME! YES!!!"

He rolled his eyes and tickled all my laughter out of me.

The idea seemed fun then, but as reality starts to hit... it sounds petrifying.

I will be leaving behind everything that I am familiar with. I don't know which European country that I will be moving to, and if it is anything but London... I'm screwed because I can't speak a word of French or German.

I feel you Brian, I really do...
I will be leaving behind my family, my friends, my work here in Singapore... Hell, I just met and made some great blogger friends. I just started with blogging full time. I am not ready to bid my job and my blogger friends goodbye.

Thankfully I have 3 more years (starting this year) before the move. Till then I am gonna work hard and cherish everyone around me.

I don't plan to give up blogging just because I am going abroad. I am bringing it with me, and if that is to happen, it means I have to enter the international market and work with BIG brands.

Oh wait, I digressed. "He almost spilled the date!"

So in the midst of our discussion, he randomly told me that he shared with his superior (whom he had a work/life-planning discussion with earlier on in the day) on when he would be proposing to me.


The 'normal' me would have screamed my lungs out and pestered him to tell me every single detail including the day, date, time and how it would be happening. I wouldn't let him live leave if he didn't.

But um... I guess I was a tad abnormal that night.

I covered my ears with both hands like 🙉, and told him not to tell me a damn thing at all.

I was overwhelmed enough. I didn't need more things on my mind — although duh, it did get on my mind or I wouldn't be composing this post right now!

And also because... I didn't wanna spend the next few years of my life hopping around, forever wondering when he would be getting to it, would it be today or tomorrow, how is it gonna be done, etc etc. Life is gonna be so tiresome that way OMG.

In the end, despite my warning to NOT TELL ME ANYTHING AT ALL, he still let out one piece of information: It isn't gonna be this year.

I grunted at the additional piece of information, and also heaved a huge sigh of relief because... I'M GONNA GET TO AVOID WEDDING PLANNING FOR ANOTHER YEAR!!!! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!!!!


I know, fucking ironical that I am spilling my delight of getting to avoid MY WEDDING PLANNING on MY WEDDING BLOG.

Hey don't judge! Wedding planning is no easy piece of cake, especially for someone like me who has changed her mind 1234589748235 times on what sort of wedding she wants in just the past 6 months!

Therefore I am fucking glad that I get to push the need to finalise wedding plans to the back of my mind for ANOTHER year. YAY!

In the mean time I can dream all I want and still change my mind 987654321345 times!!!

You know... I thought decorating/designing a home was hard until my mind came onto wedding planning. IT IS HARDER.

The venue, the itinerary, the dress, the food, the ROM, the cert, the solemniser, the people to invite, his tux, the invite... blah blah blah. OMG just get out of my head already!

Picking Out Wedding Venues

My man is away in Europe for a week, on a business trip.

I am left back at home in Singapore (boohoo!) and have tons of time to mull over my life.

So, I started planning. And the more I planned, the more I thought and... eventually over our FaceTime calls, it got to the point where I we wanted to know exactly how much we would be pouring into our wedding.

I started researching for potential wedding venues and here's what I got thus far:

Equinox Restaurant @ Swissotel
I like how they have an adjoining room for solemnisation next to the ballroom. Also, I read from another blog that there is a choice to convert one of the courses to an appetiser (Peking duck) which would be served after the solemnisation ceremony.

I love Peking duck.

I know how people always say that you wouldn't get a chance to eat during your own wedding, but hey I DON'T CARE. I'm eating. If I have to go to the extent of asking the husband to go out into the reception area, and grab me a peking duck roll in his tux, I WILL DO IT.

Like I said, I love Peking duck.

(Shit. If he reads this, he is gonna use the veto card on this wedding venue. Crap.)

Gardens By The Bay
I have this strange feeling that IF I do have my wedding at Gardens By The Bay, I would shoot myself in the foot a couple months later when the bill arrives.

The rental rate for using the Flower Field Hall is 10k. And for the Waterview Room, it ranges from 4.2k (1/2 day usage on a non-event day) to 10k (full day usage on an event day).

Total madness. I'm not paying that amount of money for just some space.

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
It's so earthy! I can't resist it!

But I know that I will, once again, shoot myself in the foot when I see the images after my wedding day. Low lighting = low resolution = bad images.

No thank you.

My Humble House
Awww. It feels very home-y, and that point is sufficient to capture my attention.

Their buffet menu has peking duck (hehe!) and it seems promising. However the menu has only Chinese cuisine, which strays from my ideal Chinese + Western cuisine.

Noble House @ Shenton Way
Pretty space but I can barely find any information online with regards to their menu. :(

1-Altitude
The name. Explains it all.

Just check out the view. I am a sucker for such views, for such windows... because it means sunlight, which results in gorgeous photos! The vain side of me is giving a mega huge thumbs up!

Beaulieu House @ Sembawang Park
To be honest, I am having second thoughts on this place as my potential wedding venue. I love that their menu has a mixture of Chinese and Western cuisine... but I saw the photo and the two words that popped into my head are "MOSQUITOES. YUCK!"

The Ballroom @ Faber Peak
This is one of my favourite! I love the scenic view!!

I would have chosen the Private Dining Room but I have a huge family, and he has a comparatively large one too so.. I'm just gonna play it safe and pick the bigger room first.

On the downside, I hate the menu. I find it disappointing and not up to my dream.

Royal Plaza on Scotts
OMG, I LOVE THIS PLACE.

I get my sunlight. The price is not exorbitant (cheaper than Faber Peak and they threw in a hotel room with breakfast for two!), and they also have a brilliant menu that is nearly perfect!!!! I feel so excited already.


*******************************************************
While I was doing all of this research... it finally struck me that planning a wedding is indeed tougher than it seems. I guess that is why people hire wedding planners.

Bringing the dream to life while making sure that it doesn't burn through both your wallets and your bank account, it is a major tough thing to do!

Everything might be over in a day but I don't want it to go to waste. Every memory counts. Every memory is invaluable. Just like how over dinner today, my family was reminiscing over how my brother-in-law knocked on my house door on the day of his wedding to my sister, and he said "Hello? Is there anyone at home?".

How can there not be anyone at home on that day?!?!?!?! My sister heard it from her room and gave a 'Wtf did he just say?' face, and everyone in the living room burst into laughter.

These are the memories that I want, that I look forward to having. I have zero interest in gate-crashing ceremonies because I think it is a waste of time, energy-exhausting and humiliating. That shouldn't be how things are on a wedding day, no matter what the rationale behind it is.

I think the #1 hope that I have for my wedding day is... he remembers to zip the flyer on his pants before he leaves his house.

He has forgotten on several occasions and I have to remind him to check it before he leaves the house for work. A busy man who is too preoccupied with work-thoughts on his mind. #socute #sohardworking #whyifellforhim #howhestillhasmyheart

Hotel Mom and Dad

I can't sleep.

It's not any zombie or ghost film this time. But rather a reality TV series set in UK. The title of the show is "Hotel Mom and Dad".

A brief summary of this show:

The production crew follows young couples who have been pampered fortunate enough to live in a good house with loving family members who tend to their every need — from cooking to cleaning and shopping. Despite their good fortune, the young couples have expressed their interest in moving out so as to establish their own independence and to satiate their desire for freedom.

The show features 2 new couples every episode, and the couples are given a sum of money that allows them to rent a house of their choice for a week, pay for their daily needs (food, transport, entertainment) and the bills. The only clause is that everything spent — even their individual night out(s) with their friends — has to be kept within the budget.

At the end of the episode, the couple decides whether to continue staying outside or to move back with "Hotel Mom and Dad".

Ok now that the explanation is done, it is time for me to vomit my thoughts.

This show hit me HARD.

I spoke before on my fears of moving out of my house and having to deal with owning a home of my own. I had gists of how it feels like to own a home, like when H's parents go abroad and I am left alone with him for a few days or even a week at times. He goes to work and I make the bed, I put the laundry to wash, I boil water, I water the plants, I pack the house...

If it isn't explicit enough, I shall make it explicit: I was like a housewife and it most definitely felt that way.

Oh and it doesn't stop right there. You know what is the most pain in the ass part about it all? It isn't the cleaning or cooking or washing. It is deciding what to cook for the entire week.


You got to know what you want to cook for that whole week so that when you go grocery shopping, you can grab everything you need. I gave up with the whole "I'll decide when I am at the supermarket" idea because I am usually overwhelmed with choices and forget about all the recipes in my head.

But honestly, the best part of having a home with the one you love the most is when he comes back home.

Once he sends the text "I'm otw home", I stop slouching on the couch and get to work. You know, so that I don't look like a lazy disastrous housewife. LOL


I get to work cooking and preparing so that when he gets back, there is a hot meal waiting and a clean wife smelling of soap and shampoo instead of fish and cooking oil. Well actually, the soap and shampoo part is rare. It is still a challenge to manage my time well enough to squeeze in time for a quick shower and have the food still warm.

I am thankful that he has always been appreciative of the cooking and cleaning thus far, and I honestly hope that the expression of appreciation will continue on for the rest of our lives. It makes doing all of that worth it and less of a chore. I guess, it is a woman thing to harp over all of these nitty gritty cleaning/caring issues huh?

Well another week of being a housewife is coming up soon. I'm kinda excited because I have a menu planned out this time and it is filled with his favourites! I'm either gonna burn his dinner or be the next Masterchef Asia.

Either way, I know that he is gonna say that the food is very nice and he is gonna find his pants tight.

The classic white lace

While clearing out pictures on my phone, I found an old screenshot of a wedding dress that I dreamt of having.


I love the details of the lace, and its demure vibe. But what I love most is that the bottom of the dress isn't poofy!! I've heard so many complaints of brides having aching body parts due to the weight of their wedding dress which they have to wear ALL DAY.

I can survive without the poofy wedding dress. Besides, I'm not that keen on having a big bottom on my grand day.

Wedding high tea buffet

I was showering the other day and I came up with this really splendid idea:

How cool would it be... to have a high tea buffet for my wedding?!!!

It is such an awesome idea because I will get the sunlight that I need for beautiful photos; it will be an international high tea buffet and so the assortment of food available will fit everybody's tastebud! Yay!

Besides, the husband likes high tea. #allthereasonIneed

He laughed at me initially when I shared the idea with him, but he came around to it gradually.

It is going to be so fun because everyone is forced to walk around and explore the food options available. The walking will encourage people to go to other tables and interact with others.

People will cut queue with the people they know (Hopefully no arguments occur because of that!)

I'm exploring my entertainment options.

He suggested having a live band playing classical music.


I politely threw the idea out of the window, and told him that I'll get a classical music CD or perhaps just turn on 92.4FM instead.

I guess he was really trying to go for the HIGH tea atmosphere. So atas...

I think there might be games. Maybe there will be... I'll think about it. It is so hard to come up with games. Can anybody do that for me? :P

I will definitely need a good MC.

And then... (here comes the spoiler)

I might change my mind again on all of these details! Ha! #wedding #bridezilla