Frustrated

Is it so wrong posting something on the internet? I understand if it is something mean or sinister with the intention of putting someone else down. But what if I do not have that intention whatsoever. What if the things that I have posted up are all praises and good reviews and recommendations on a certain someone or a place? What's so wrong about that????? What's so wrong about having the passion to write? What's so wrong about stating your opinion and views?

Am I suppose to STOP blogging/posting comments altogether???

Someone please teach me!!!!

So frustrated ok!

The internet is a very dangerous place. :(

6 months to go ...

I am exactly 6 months away from the wedding. 0__o
Now that I mentioned typed it out, it feels really close!

Feelings
Sometimes I feel excited, and at times I feel nervous. Marriage. A life-long commitment. For better or worse. Wow ... that is really a huge step of commitment. Not only that, it is a union of two families. Sometimes, it still feels surreal as though it is all an illusion. A dream I will wake up from.

I can safely say that I am blessed to be marrying into Bear's family. For the past 7 years, his parents has always treated me as their own daughter (sometimes Bear gets jealous :p). There was never disputes, there was never a disagreement. It was always words of encouragement and occasional gifts from them. What is there to not love about them? Honestly, it will not be hard at all to accept them as one of my own parents. :)

To-Do List.

Guest List :
Waiting for my side to finalize on the number of people, then we can combine both sides of the list and churn out the final figure. Bear has done up a rough list in Excel format, so I guess it will not be too much a hassle to combine the names. However, I think it would be quite time consuming. That's why I am a smart bride, I leave the guest list and table arrangement to him! Muahahahahaa ...

Wedding Invites :
Once the guest list has been finalized, we will start printing the cards. Actually, we already have in mind which vendor to go to. :) And I tell you the cards are gonna be so pretty!! So yup ... so long as the guest list tak jalan, the rest of the planning process would be pretty much backlogged.

Hotel:
Ever since the last time liaising with Monica (who had resigned), we had not spoken to any representatives from Putrajaya Marriott. Last week, I dropped them an email to remind them again and to schedule an appointment to discuss on the detailing - e.g. the decor, flowers, color theme, food tasting, program of the night etc etc. Come to think of it, there are quite a lot to do from the hotel aspect. Good thing that all of it will be handled by the wedding consultant from the hotel. Phew! Relief! I scheduled an appointment in July (which is 3 months from the wedding!!! *screams*)

Well, these are the major things pending in terms of the wedding preparation. I will not go into the nitty-gritty stuff. Hopefully everything will go in accordance to the time-line, so I won't be a stressed out bride. :)

Love;
The-Very-Kan-Cheong-Bride

The purrr-fect dress *heart*

Remember my last gown fitting in Red Bliss, and I was unsure if I had made the right decision on my evening gown design? I called Jojo, my Sales Assistant ("SA") to voice my concerns. She was so nice, she allowed me change the gown and even arranged to set aside a few for me to try. Not only that, I managed to schedule my appointment on Saturday. Almost unheard of if you are going on a last minute basis (weekends are usually fully booked)! For those who don't know, once you have decided on a particular gown, the bridal house will not allow you to change again because once the gown is picked, no other brides can rent the gown out. If you still want to make a change, a penalty will be imposed. In Red Bliss' case, it will be RM150 for every gown change. Jojo didn't charge me a single cent. :) Am so loving Red Bliss now ok! *heart*

The second gown fitting took almost 1 1/2 hours! And it was only for one gown! I was going back and forth, trying on maroon/red gowns (to fit into my dinner theme colour). Unfortunately, there was none that caught my attention. We tried pink, green, and purple evening gowns as well and nothing suitable came up. I was on the verge of giving up when Jojo looked through her file and saw one that she thought would suit me.

I. LOVE. IT !!! It is a tube-top gown that carries a two-tone colour - purple and maroon. It is empire cut, with fishbone lining fitted at the lower part of the torso to create a slimming effect, and the bottom half is A-Line. All in all the design is simple, sweet, and elegant. The beading and netting on the gown was not too over the top - it was just nice. :) It is like the perfect gown for my evening dinner. *heart it so much!*

Along with the gown fitting, Bear also bought a tuxedo shirt intended for the photoshoot and the church wedding. Well, at least I hope he wears it for the church wedding. I find it oh.so.hot for a guy to wear a proper tux *sizzling*.

He finds it very strange and funny that there are 'gills' at the front of the shirt.

-__-"

I on the other hand, bought a pair of Nu-Bra. These are bra which has adhesive that sticks to your body like magic. Good to create a push-up effect, and save the hassle of wearing a strapless bra. Above all, it is important to ensure that yours truly me won't "zhau khong" (i.e. accidentally revealed too much) during the photoshoot. :) I know Red Bliss is selling on the expensive side and there are much cheaper ones outside, but we reckon that it gives us the convenience of purchasing everything in Red Bliss. Plus, we both know that the quality will not be compromised.

I am sure most of us don't know how to wear the Nu-Bra (including myself) and hence here is a step-to-step guide on wearing it, the proper way.

STEP 1:
Make sure you wear each bra on the correct side (as indicated from in box). There is a left side. There is also a right side ya.

STEP 2:
Flip the bra on the reverse, then place it on your breast. Once it is aligned, flip it back. The Nu-Bra should fit nicely.

STEP 3:
Please do make sure that both sides are equally placed, you don't want to end up with loop-sided boops ok! Clip and secure the middle button and voila! you are done. :)

And, I was just thinking ... don't you think the Nu-Bra looks like a "Put Chai Ko"? :p

Giler sedap!

Aside from that, I also bought a pair of cream colour tights from a lingerie shop to be worn for the photoshoot. Also to avoid being "zhau khong". Erm... looks like I am all set for the photoshoot on April 9th~!

Bring it on;

The-Bride-Who-Is-All-Set !!!

Morons

It is embarrassing but it is a fact that we do live amongst hooligans in Malaysia. The demonstration was held last Friday after their prayers in Jalan Ampang, where the Swedish Embassy is. Apparently, the protest was due to some cartoonist in Sweden who drew a picture of 'someone' *ahem* with a head of a dog/cow/donkey which no one gives a damn about.

Honestly, I think these people are bored and have nothing else better do.

Love;
The-Bride-Who-Live-Amongst-Hooligans

Nerve Wrecking (edit)

Just finished the meeting not too long ago, and I must say everything went really really well; it caught me by surprise. I am honestly glad that this concern of mine has been lifted up and now we can continue planning for our wedding with no worries. :)

Customary wise, the groom's family would need to present a few items such as sugar cane, live chickens, coconuts, rock sugar etc etc for the 'Guo Dai Lai' (i.e. The Betrothal of Gifts) to the bride's family. I guess these items carries good meaning - i.e prosperity, wealth, health, long happy marriage etc etc.

The roast pig is also a must - in Cantonese it sounds like "Kong Sa Chu", which signifies virginity. If the groom is satisfied that the bride he is marrying is a virgin, a whole roast pig would be sent to the brides' home. If not, its' tail and ears will be broken off. The bride will only retain the middle portion of the pig, whereas the head and tail would be returned back to the groom. Accompanying the head and tail would be clothing and belt for the groom as gifts. These items will be placed in between the head and tail of the pig, which is then wrapped around in red paper to be presented back to the groom.

Further, the groom's family would need to provide some biscuits/cakes to the bride's family too. These biscuits/cakes will be given to her relatives' when the invitation card is pass out. Of course, to top it off the dowry is also another very essential topic that will be talked about.

We also discussed on the wedding dinner - on who is to be the host and will it be a separate dinner or a combined dinner.

Overall, my parents did not requested anything extraordinary - they left it to the discretion of Bear's side of the family for the amount of the dowry and also the angpow (for the Guo Dai Lai and biscuits/cakes). My parents made it VERY clear that they are not selling their daughter, and therefore should not put a price on me.

*tears*
I was nearly moved to tears ok!

As for the dinner, the groom will play host and hence the invites for mutual friends would come from the groom side.

All in all, it went well beyond what was expected. And both me and Bear are so grateful for that.

Love;
The-Bride-Who-Felt-LOVED
_________________________________________________

This Sunday, both my parents and Bear's will meet up for the customary 'tai chan' (i.e. formal proposal) over dinner. This is where both families will negotiate on the finances of the wedding, who is to host the wedding, and of course the dowry.

Hope everything will turn out well.

Love;
The-Worried-Bride

Quicky

Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara ("JPN")

The date for our ROM has been set at 10 August 2010!!! Which is exactly 2 months away from our actual wedding date!!!!!! We intend to have a straight forward signing ceremony in JPN, then if time permits we will head for lunch. The attendees would most likely be our parents, close relatives, and really close friends only. Heck, we may even scrap off the close friends and relatives part. I guess it all depends on what our parents wants at the end of the day.

The procedure is relatively simple. You just need to prepare one passport size picture of yourself and your husband's. Fill in the forms, pick the date that you want, pay the nominal RM30 fees and voila! you are halfway to being legally married. If you want to conduct an outdoor ROM, then you would need to pay RM500 to invite the Official Registrar out. The date that you pick must be within 6 months from the application date. Your application (together with your picture) will be displayed on a board outside the office for 21 days to see if there are any disputes. On the day of your registration, you must bring the official receipt (which is issued to you on the day the application is filed), both your ICs, and two witness from each side of the couple (and of course their ICs too).


Waxing

My first waxing experience was not too bad. Lower legs was almost painless. Imagine while the therapist was waxing, I fell asleep! Upper lips was bearable but mine was really red after the entire procedure.

Face like kena slapped.

Underarms was hell! Seriously, it was so painful it's not funny ok! The therapist not only waxed, she tweezed too!! Pure torture. :( I had to endure the pain even after four days - the pain is like putting salt to a wound. I can't stand the heat. I can't stand it when fabric is swept across. It. was. horrible!! Really really horrible! So horrible that I had to carry powder with me to keep the area dry :( :( :( Now the pain has subsided tremendously, but there are still unsightly red blotches at my underarms. Hopefully it will go away before my photoshoot, or else I will have to reschedule.

Ouch!

And yes... I chickened out for the bikini waxing.


Gown Fitting


We were there from 3:15pm and stayed on until 7:30pm. That's more than 4 hours in the bridal shop! Honestly, it didn't felt that long when I was trying the gowns. Despite my discomfort from the underarm waxing, I excitedly proceeded to comb through the entire shop searching for the 'perfect dress'. For my package, I am entitled to 2 wedding gowns (indoor and outdoor photoshoot); 2 evening gowns (for indoor photoshoot); 1 kua (for indoor photoshoot); and for the actual wedding day, 1 wedding gown and 2 evening gowns (with an option to change 1 evening gown to a wedding gown). Sorry, not much photos as we weren't allowed to snap and I wanted to keep them a surprise. :) And I chose my actual day wedding gowns as well.


I ended choosing a spaghetti-strap wedding gown (which can convert to a tube-top) with a train for the outdoor photoshoot. And for the indoor photoshoot, a layered tied-back gown. As for the two evening gowns, I settled with a pink gown which is fitted with a can-can underneath. For the second evening gown, I chose a simple chiffon light blue gown. I wanted that for my actual day evening wear, but the gown is too long and really is not suitable for my height. If only I was a little taller. :(



Unfortunately, Red Bliss don't carry much cap-sleeve gowns. :( I kept my options open and selected quite a few gowns for the church wedding. I ended up narrowing down to two gowns - both tube-top gowns, one with a really nice train, and the other a wrap-around without train. I was going back and forth between these two, wearing it on and off before deciding on the one without train. I reckon that it is more practical without the train (as much as I love it), as I am not very tall and it would be a hassle.

The gown with the gorgeous train which I gave up.

For the dinner, I wanted a maroon coloured gown but there weren't much choices there as well. Instead, I decided on a long dark green halter gown. The dress is really simple and honestly, I am starting to have doubts. But Bear says the dress reflects who I am, someone who likes something simple. Someone who is fuss-free. And he liked it. So ok la ... I shall stick with my decision then. For the second evening gown, I changed that for another wedding gown, I chose a sleeveless gown that has a simple cheongsam design at the top. Basically, it is pretty much covered up at the top, but the unique design and elegance of the gown is at the back. It has red buttons all the way down to a looonnng train. The motifs on the train and the bottom of the gown is in red. Really pretty. :)


Love;

The-Bride-Who-is-Still-Doubtful-Over-Her-Decision

Of Roti Canai, JPN , Waxing & Gown Fitting

This coming Thursday aka March 18, me and Bear took leave as we have a few things to clear off and can only be done on a weekend. Firstly, the day will start off with us having a hearty roti canai and teh tarik meal at our favorite mamak, Sunraj or Raju's in Jalan Gasing. Thereafter, we will be heading to the JPN in PJ States to do the necessary documentation for our Registration of Marriage ("ROM"). Well, I bought my ROM dress already during our last visit to Wedding Isle, just that the date has not been set yet. Well, both of us are not too particular, so we shall decide on Thursday itself.

At 12:00pm, we will be off to True Spa in Jaya 33 for Bear to have a 2 hours massage session and me aka the hairy bride will go for a 2 hours waxing session (Ouch!). Honestly, this is my first waxing attempt in the quest to be beautiful! Damn I am vain! Why 2 hours? Cos I intend to wax my upper lips, lower legs, and underarms - and if I am not deep in convulsions of pain yet, I may try the bikini line waxing. I said I may only ok!


After the torturing session, we will have our lunch before proceeding to Red Bliss for my FIRST. GOWN. FITTING. SESSION~ *screeeeaaammmmssssss* (that explains the waxing now, isn't it?). We scheduled an appointment at 3:00pm. After signing up with their package for almost 2 years ahead, I can't believe that I am trying on gowns now! Time flies! *shiok* This fitting is mostly for my photoshoot which is scheduled on April 9. I will go in for a second fitting on August 14 for the actual wedding day.

Here is one piece of advise: The minute you see a gown you like, BOOK IT FIRST! Don't be fickle and think that better ones will come along at a later date/time. Most of time, it does not happen.

I have not decided on what sort of gown I want for the photoshoot. I am open for ideas actually. But on my actual wedding day, I am hoping that I can find capped-sleeves lace gown for the church wedding and a mandarin-collared lace gown for the first march-in of the dinner banquet. Well, am keeping my fingers crossed. :)

Simple A-Line Capped Sleeve Lace Top

Capped-Sleeve Lace with Sweetheart Neckline

Pretty Capped-Sleeve Gown with Ribbon

Before I post the mandarin-collar gown up. The picture below is taken from My Bridal Gown which is based in Sunwaymas Commercial Center. I actually tried on the gown before and I loved it so much! It fitted me just nicely and my goodness I it looked so elegant!! Unfortunately, both me and Bear thought that it was not practical to buy one. Gotta say, it took a lot of my willpower to stop myself from purchasing it. This piece is retailing for RM650-RM750 I think, if I remember correctly.

Front lace *heart*

Back Full Lace - Tell me its beautiful too!!!!

Love;
The-Soon-To-Be-Almost-Hairless-Bride

An-nyung-ha-se-yo (안녕하세요)

The first Matta Fair for 2010 was on 12-14 March in PWTC. We took the opportunity to scout around for our honeymoon package. Initially, we wanted Maldives. Yes I know very typical but the pictures that I see from postcards to television to the internet is so beautiful! I think Maldives is very aptly named the paradise on earth. Of course the offer by Holiday Tours of Buy 1 Free 1 Club Med Deal was so tempting! They advertised for Club Med Kani, Maldives for RM1,600 only per couple.

Club Med Kani, Maldives

Don't get con~ed you people. When we checked it out, the price for a couple is more than RM7k!!!!! That is crazy expensive ok! I mean we are spending so much on the wedding and the renovation of the house, we reckon that it is unnecessary to spend so much on the honeymoon.


So, as expected to Fair was packed with people!! *pening* There were so many booths that we got so confused!! We stayed there from 1:30pm until 7:30pm.




With the budget that we had, it was a choice of Maldives (we found another tour agency which offered cheaper packages) or Korea. The idea of going to Korea was spawn at the spur of the moment, we didn't plan but we kept our options open, which worked pretty well for us. So far, the most worth-it package is Korea (and no China is not part of our list :p).



Bye-bye Maldives - for now! :(


We've decided to go with Mayflower as they are reliable. Although, they are slightly above the price of the other tour agencies, we were rather pleased with the itinerary which they offered. What they have has more added value as compared to the others. There are more activities incorporated into it. We paid RM3844 per person for a 8D6N Inspiring Korea Package and we are flying off on October 17th. The package also includes free limo transfer to KLIA from our place. It is a 3:25am flight (?!) and will take approximately 5 hours. The return flight is a 9:00pm flight and we will reach KLIA at 2:25am (?!).


Here is the summary of the itinerary:

DAY 1/2:
From KLIA we will transit in Shanghai for about 3 hours. I guess we could explore Shanghai for a bit if the airport is not too far from the city. From there we will fly straight into Jeju Island (pronounced as Cheju). Apparently this is the honeymoon island. We will stay in Jeju for 2 days.

Jeju Island

Day 3:
From Jeju, we will fly to Seoul for some touring and then transfer to Nami Island.

Nami Island

Day 4:
Visiting Mount Soraksan where there are a few activities like visiting the sheep farm and making our own cheese. We will also learn to make our own Bibimbap. The day will end with an overnight stay at the Euro Mansion Resort.

Mount Soraksan

Bibimbap

Day 5/6/7:
We will be traveling back to Seoul where there are more sight-seeing and SHOPPING!!!!! And trying their street food too. We will also learn how to make our own Kimchi and try on their Hanbok. We will depart from Inchon Airport, in Seoul on the 7th day.

Autumn in Seoul

Kimchi

Pretty Hanbok

Day 8:
Arrive in KLIA.

One day, I would love to visit Korea again during Spring and Winter. Should be beautiful. :)

Love;
The-Bride-Who-May-Be-Making-Babies-in-Korea