Cost cutting tips and our wedding cake

As we've already spent a lot on our wedding, I've been looking for ways to cut costs and DIY as much as possible. Believe it or not, websites selling paper pom pom, wedding banners and other decorations like MerryLove marked up their items by a lot. I've found the same items from Etsy and Taobao which are my to-go websites for buying practically everything.

My banners from the previous posts are custom made from Etsy. I can customised them according to my requirement and they are definitely cheaper than if I buy direct from MerryLove. Here are some links to share.

Mirtillo Shop - I believe MerryLove order their banners from this supplier. After adding postage I still save about $10 by ordering directly from them. And they have more varieties on Etsy.

TwoChikKadees - I ordered custom made banners (Mr & Mrs, We<3 Do) from this lady and she is very accommodating. She even purchased new fonts to make my banner upon my request. Her banners are also relatively cheaper than other sellers on Etsy.

knottingwood - My wooden peg wedding cake topper is from here. The seller can customised the hair style, hair colour, clothes and accessories for you.

Paper Pom Pom - There are many sellers in Taobao selling the same thing. I didn't look through all to find the cheapest but as long as they are cheaper than the prices in Singapore, I will order.

So here are some websites that I've ordered my stuffs from. To further cut cost, I've decided to bake my own wedding cake. Recently the hype is all about rainbow/ombre cakes and zhai nan and me have signed up to learn at a baking school. Turns out it's real easy and I can save like $70 by baking my own. However, I have one problem. Our icing skills are pretty bad and the cake will look disastrous. Lucky for us, I've found many cakes online that are without icing but still look just as nice! They are called naked cakes or unfrosted cakes. Goes very well with our rustic garden theme for solemnisation. And less icing means less fat too! :)

So here are some ideas for reference. Can't wait to actually bake it!

Preparations for solemnisation

Hi all, long time never update the blog! Been really occupied with preparations for solemnisation and Taiwan bridal shoot next year. We're just 29 days away from the big day and I feel like there's still a lot to be done! Anyway, I've finally found my ROM dress from Taobao and it costs only $30+! Very happy with my buy and this saves me money from renting outside. Zhai nan already bought his suit at Domanchi and shirt from H&M. So we're left with his pants and shoes. For my shoes, I've bought a pair of heels from DMK. So outfits aside, we've also began some DIY at home. I've also ordered custom made items from Etsy which I super love! I shall let the pictures do the talking. :)



DIY photo booth props

DIY invitations

Our Mr & Mrs burlap banner for the back of our chairs

 

More banners for decorations :)

 

Our Wedding Cake Topper!

 



  

Solemniser Confirmed!

I am so glad that after months of worrying that I might not get a solemniser has finally ended! And and and...I got my 1st choice solemniser Dr Phua Tan Tee to solemnise us!! Double yays!!
 
Maybe to those who attended a lot of weddings must have seen him quite often..and he is really very popular..but I just can't seem to find anybody else who fits the bill..
 
Of the reviews I read, many have their bad points..but nobody seemed to have anything bad to say about Dr Phua except that he is long winded maybe?
 
Anyway in order to accommodate his schedule, we've change our solemnisation lunch to a tea reception instead. Therefore we are not following the "auspicious" timing given by our geomancer. Though I don't feel comfortable in doing this, but I'm really tired of searching for another solemniser. So I decided to ditch the traditions/superstitions and went ahead to confirm Dr Phua.
 
I've got another news to update. We've previously signed up with this production company called Loud! Productions Pte Ltd for our pre-wedding video and AD video. Long story short, the whole experience was horrible and they were very dishonest. When we wanted to cancel the package, the director even threatened to take legal actions against us if we do not pay them $1k as a form of compensation. Usually I'm very nice but his threat makes my blood boil!! After seeking advice I emailed him explaining all the time lapse in their service, failure to deliver their promise and also non response/updates via social media. I even emailed CASE to lodge a complaint. And true enough, it was just an empty threat as there is no news from him anymore. So moral of the story is, do read what you're signing and always ensure you do not pay too much deposit upon first sign up for a service. We've lost our $2k deposit but I'm glad all this is over. Hopefully when we're planning our renovation next year, this kind of situation won't happen again.

The Proposal 06.09.2013

On 06092013, it is our 2nd year anniversary as a couple. It is also the day zhai nan aka Mr Chua proposed. Smart me already know the date and location beforehand by accident. Nonetheless, I still hope that Mr Chua will plan a nice and touching proposal. Reason why this proposal came so long after our plans to get married is bcos Mr Chua need time to brainstorm for ideas and to wait for the "right" date to propose. I told him as long as it's touching and that he makes the effort to plan a bit, I'm ok already.
 
So on that day, he came to my house to pick me up. We were gonna check into MBS at 3pm. We were late and reached there at around 3:30pm. The room he booked was a suite with the view of Marina Bay from the 43rd floor. It was the biggest suite I've ever stayed in and not to mention with a view to kill for. We went for complimentary tea thereafter and went back to our awesome suite to dress up for dinner at 5:30pm.
 
Initially I thought he was gonna propose to me at the restaurant. But when I see that he didn't bring the ring box along, I started to get worried. What if it was true of what my friend said? That he did not intend to propose on that day? Anyway we had dinner at this celebrity chef restaurant, db Bistro Moderne. Food was alright and he wanted to bring me to Au Chocolat for dessert. But I changed my mind and told him let's head back to the suite to relax. He looked a bit panicked and started to sms. So I reckon he's buying some time to prevent me from going back to the suite. I played along and we continue walking around.
 
At around 8:30pm we went back to the suite. Upon stepping into the living room area, I realised something is not right. The sliding doors to the bedroom are closed. Zhai nan led me inside the room and there are rose petals on the floor. The bedroom was nicely decorated with my favourite pink colour balloons! It was sooo romantic. :)
 
There was no one around in the whole suite. I thought he really didn't invite my friends over until I accidentally had a glimpse of my friend's bag in the walk in wardrobe area. After the bedroom tour, he led me back to the living room to sit down to watch a video. Turns out it's a photo montage with my favourite B.A.P song! No wonder he got the MP3 from me earlier. I started to tear while watching the video and it ended quite suddenly. I was still thinking how come so short. And then I heard the door opened and my good friend and his friends started coming in group by group. I was truly surprised and touched that he really manage to gather my friends for this special moment. My friend Shenny was the last one to come in with the bouquet of 69 pink roses. She was the one who I already expected to turn up bcos I saw her bag earlier! Hahaha~
 
After all my friends and his friends arrived, I was brought back to the bedroom where Mr Chua kneeled down and said a touching speech to me. And the rest is history..I was on my first step to being Mrs Chua..It was a very memorable night for me..I'm very grateful for all the love and wishes from my friends. Most importantly, I'll be marrying a guy who treats me like a princess..taking care of me..doting on me..giving in to me..and loves me very much..So thank you zhai nan! <3

 

 

 

Counting down to our Solemnisation!

We're about 4 months to our solemnisation and I've kinda stop all my research for the time being. I've more or less bought all the craft materials for making the wedding props and decorations. We've also just received our ring pillow and my paper flower bouquet from Merrylove. I love the paper flowers! Hope it will really turn out nice on the actual day. 

Now that we're nearing the big day. I realised there's actually a lot of money involve and I'm worried we are not saving enough by the time the wedding banquet comes. So I might cut costs here and there and scrape off some ideas like the wedding cupcake tower. With the house ready next year, got no choice but to scrimp and save for the renovation and furnishings.

For now, I've sent out 2 emails to 2 JP to solemnise our wedding. One is the famous Dr Phua, but he kind of rejected us as it was too early and asked us to email him in Nov. November would be too near to the wedding and I don't wanna risk him not being able to make it eventually and I can't find another solemniser. So, I've been on the search for other recommended solemnisers. Just emailed another popular one, Mr Peter Lee. Hope to get a positive response so that I have one less thing to worry about.

By the way, we've collected our wedding bands too! Here's a preview with the ring pillow~

Updates on ROM/Solemnisation Venue, Photographer & Wedding Cupcakes

Been busy again for this past 1 month researching for ROM venues. Finally zn and I decided on this small and cosy restaurant near Hong Lim Park called Shoebox Canteen! I'm so glad the search for the perfect venue is over! I've seen so many restaurant pics and reviews and whatnot till I'm so tired~~~Thanks to CF for her advice to scrape the idea of a chinese style lunch and go for more western style restaurants/cafes. Even though the place doesn't fit into our solemnisation theme - Garden theme, I guess ultimately cost and quality of food are the more important factors that we are considering. We can always try to decorate the place to look like a garden? I've already order paper pom poms in shades of pink and white to decorate the place. 

So why Shoebox Canteen? First, it can cater to our no. of pax requirement of 30 guests and we get the whole place to ourselves. It's newly opened last year and food reviews are good. The chef is able to come up with customised menu to suit our tastes and preferences. And the marketing manager provides good service. We went down for a site visit and we were overall very happy with the place and the menu. And all these are within our budget of S$2k. Moreover, I'm thinking of booking Parkroyal Pickering for a 1N stay on our ROM. And it's like 5mins walk from Shoebox Canteen. Killing 2 birds with 1 stone!

The pics below are taken off their website and we'll post more pics when we visit them during the day. 

Besides my update on the venue, I've also confirmed our ROM photographer with Samuel Ng Photography. He's a freelancer and I like his pictures. He does couple shoot as well and we might be engaging him next year for our Save the Date photoshoot. 

And on top of that, I've been meaning to have a wedding cake after seeing my friend's solemnisation had one too. However, I don't want a conventional 2 tier wedding cake. I happen to come across a wedding cupcake tower with a round cake on the top tier. (See pic below) So these few days I've been searching for freelance bakers who can do this for a good price. Thanks to my photographer Samuel Ng's facebook photos, I came across this freelance cupcake baker called The Cupcake Party. Her cupcakes look very nice and she recently added ombre cakes to her portfolio! 

Those of you who do not know what is an ombre cake, let me explain to you. An ombre cake is a cake with layers of cake in different shades of the same colour. (refer to pic below) Apparently this is the new trend for cakes and I was so inspired after attending Grand Copthorne's wedding show today! (Their wedding show theme is Ombre too in shades of green) 

Anyways, the owner of TCCP, Zyee charges are really reasonable as compared to the more popular bakeries out there which charge a ridiculous fee of $100 just for delivery and setup. So if anyone is interested in cupcakes for any kinds of occasions, you may visit her instagram page for her contacts. http://instagram.com/thecupcakeparty

Pink Ombre Cake

Cupcake Tower with Fondant Cake

Our Love & Co. Wedding Bands

Since we are planning our ROM, another important thing besides the location would be the wedding bands. I've already ordered a very pretty and custom-made ring pillow which I will not share now. But it's very garden feel and that is why I would hope that our solemisation venue has a garden feel. 

Anyway, ever since we've decided to get married, I've been wanting a ring from Love & Co. When we were looking around for my proposal ring, Love & Co. was the first shop that we went to and we love the designs there. However, it's a little out of our budget then, or rather the HTB's budget. After that I read somewhere that someone bought Love & Co.'s wedding bands at less than $1k per pair and I think that's quite affordable! Oh well, but that was 2-3 years ago and prices inflated. And so I gotta up my budget for wedding bands and since it's gonna be on our fingers for a long time, I decided to get one that we really like. Hence the decision to step into Love & Co. for a preview first. Was thinking we shall go to the other shops like Goldheart and Soo Kee when they will have promos in the upcoming GSS.

And so the plan today was to watch Iron Man 3 at PS and then head to Love & Co. to see see look look. When we first step into the shop, there were already 2 couples and hence no one attended to us. That's even better cos we can walk around and take a look first. So after all the looking around and questions asking. Here's our selection! It was love at first sight for both of us and we decided to buy it right there and then! It's still within our budget and best of all we can pay it with 12-mth interest free instalment plan using our credit card. That will free up more cash for us as we've just paid our $2k deposit for the banquet 2 weeks ago. 
So yay! One less thing to worry and I shall focus on the solemnisation venue and JP and misc stuffs. :) We will get our rings in 3 mths' time and here's a picture of similar rings as ours from the Love & Co. website.

My ring is like the ring on the right but in white gold while zhai nan's is without diamonds