Invites - (Almost) Settled!

Remember I was going back and forth with the wedding invites? Initially, I've decided on Storybo*k. Then Bear was suggesting that we should scout around some more for cheaper alternatives, which was fair enough since we were on a budget.

And then, lo and behold... a friend from church is willing to lend a helping hand in designing the cards - we only need to pay for the printing and material costs. It was truly a blessing and a bargain for us. The design was good but at the final mock-up print, it didn't turn out quite like what I had in mind. And I felt it was not right for me to impose since it was a favour as a gesture of goodwill. So, we had to abandon plan and by that time, it was already the first week of July!

By now, I was really really in panic. We were only 3 months away from the wedding and the invites were not sorted out yet!! RSVP was supposed to be in the middle of September. At this point, I was really stressed out because I knew time was not on our side and we didn't want to make any rush decisions.

Went back to Storybo*k and thank God Enya managed to quote us the same price as the last time we enquired. Bear was still of the opinion that we should look out for at least one more vendor to do a comparison. I quickly emailed a few vendors and Acadia Card was prompt in replying. Made an appointment with Acadia Cards and the pricing were more or less the same as Storybo*k. So decided to go with Storybo*k because their terms and conditions are much more flexible and the invites were nicer (personal preference).

Plus I like Enya because she is honest, genuine, and sincere. She will design your invites at no extra cost when you order 300 pieces and above. Wedding invites are based on volume and is tiered-pricing.

Basically, you tell her your theme, colour, and concept that you want and she will incorporate it into the cards. Alternatively, you can choose some of the existing designs that are in the shop - once the designs are picked, it will be 'locked' until after your wedding date so no two clients will have the same design. Or another way is to pick the existing design and tweak it to your specifications. Either way, your cards will be different and distinct from the mass market. Best of all, she don't charge until you confirm the design. Meaning I can ask her to design my cards first, then only pay when I am satisfied with the outcome - 50% before printing, and the balance of 50% upon receipt of the invites.

We approached Enya on 7 July to brief her on our theme, and that time was not on our side so the invites need to be out asap! One week passed and no response. Two weeks passed and still no response. I was getting a nervous breakdown very anxious by now and kept calling her and even dropped by the shop. She always assures me that she will be able to adhere to our tight deadline.

Last Saturday, she called us to view the demo (finally!). Enya will usually come up with a few variations of the design for you to choose. All four (?!) of the church invites were so pretty, we had a hard time choosing. On the other hand, she had a lot of dinner designs (I think around 6 cards! 0_o") but none caught our eyes. We further discussed and brainstormed. Within an hour, she managed to come up with another idea - she asked us to return to the shop 3 days later. To speed things up; I gave her the exact wordings, maps, RSVP names, number of cards, and the picture to be inserted in (Angie ... we are taking one from yours!).

We are suppose to head there again today and we are VERY EXCITED to see the final outcome. I have confidence in Storybo*k and Enya. :) If the design is alright, we will pay the 50% deposit and take the cards back to our parents for approval first. Then, we can instruct Enya to start printing the invites. That will take another 3-4 days. Woots~!

After the invites are sorted out, we need to worry about finalising the guest list, send the invites out, RSVPs, and table arrangements. Taking it one at a time now. *sweat*

p.s: All pictures were taken with my BB. :)

Love;
The-Bride-to-be

Baby Jacob

The Journey of Jacob Black.

First, he became Shark Boy along with his lovely sidekick, Lava Girl. He looks really silly. Cute ... but still silly nonetheless. And really skinny too.

He already had that 'wolf-stare' even as a kid!

Don't mess with me .. I am Shark Boy and I bite!

Then, baby Jacob grew and phased into a pesky neighbors' son in Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Lost the cheekiness in Shark Boy, but still has the boyish look. Still skinny.

His shirt was too big for his scrawny body.

Very cute!

And then, baby Jacob grew and decided to go hippie with long-hair. He outgrew his childish look and went into teenage-hood. My baby Jacob grew up so fast! Still skinny though.

Skinny ... but still cute :)

Then, baby Jacob further phased into a hunk - with chunky to-die-for body. Baby Jacob grew into a hot six-packed 109 degrees Celsius wolf-man. So hot ... so hot!!!

Uhhhhh... manly man. I like~!

And that's the journey of Jacob Black. He finally found his true calling. Wolf never look this hot ever before! Ahhhh wwooooo!!!!!!!!

Damn.. how the hell did he get that body???

~Team Jacob Forever~

Twilight Saga : Eclipse

I can't help but to comment about the new Twilight: Eclipse movie. Yes, I have been following the saga diligently since the first installment. Not to worry, I am not about to re-write the entire synopsis of the movie, nor am I gonna give a spoiler alert. I intend to read Breaking Dawn (the last installment) to ascertain how accurate is the movie as compared to the book.

Someone's neck gonna get broken

What I wanna talk about is how irritating I find some of the characters in the Twilight saga.

The Cullen Family

First of all, Kristen Stewart can't act to save her life. She looks lifeless. Her speech and intonation is monotonous *yawns*. Urgh ... benci!

Oh the body!!

Bella Swan. Can't stand her juggling between two guys. She accepts Edward's (Robert Pattinson) proposal and at the same time tells Jacob (Taylor Lautner) that she loves him.

I heart you Jacob ...

And then she will scurry off to Edward's arms and tell him that despite all of it, she loves Edward more than Jacob. Make up your mind woman!

... but Edward I sayang you more.

Oh, don't forget the part where Bella too imposed a condition before she agrees to marry Edward -sex! She was coming on so hard on the poor guy, he had to say things like "Bella, would you stop taking your clothes off?". Err... right....

Stop assaulting me, Bella!

In real life, people would have stoned Bella and tag her with all sort of slanderous names like slut and the likes.

Ohhh.. Jacob ~

Like what the ... -.-"
Wish I could get away with hanging on to two guys at one go. :)

I can't bloody make up my mind! Can I have both please?

Edward Cullen. He is too emotional for my liking. I know he is suppose to be old-school and conservative .. but saying things like "Isabella Swan, I promise to love you every moment of forever". It makes people cringe in their seats.

I don't like.

And his nipples are not properly aligned (see it for yourself in Twilight: New Moon in the Volturi scene).

Basking in the sun - half naked.

Up-close. What did I tell ya?!?!?

Jacob Black is hot. The sizzling type. What do you expect? His hot body temperature is 109 degrees.

He is hot even with clothes on!

Drool

I must say though, in the movie there were a few minor roles that were played pretty well by some minor people (at least much better than Kristen).

The Newborn Army

The Cullen Army - with Bella Swan. Urgh!

Riley Biers' character was nicely played by Xavier Samuel. He leads the newborn army to attack the Cullen family. I reckon he makes a much better vampire than Edward Cullen *snorts*. There is something sinister about his character which is very vampire-like but yet he is humane enough (to some extend) by playing a big-brother role to a newborn vampire, Bree (Jodelle Ferland). I like Riley. :)

Riley Biers played by Xavier Samuel.

He looks good posing here ya :)

Jane (Dakota Fanning), who is one of the higher ranking Volturi who possess power to inflict pain. Her character is ruthless and Dakota really fit into the part well. I like Jane. :)

Jane played by Dakota Fanning

Jane and her Volturi gang. Sungguh bergaya!

Jasper Whitlock (Jackson Rathbone) is adopted by the Cullen family. He has the ability to sense emotions of those people surrounding him. And he is cute too. Did I mention that Jackson is born in Singapore and is my age?? *swoon* I like Jasper. :)

Jasper Whitlock played by Jackson Rathbone.

Very cute .. with Alice Cullen (Bear thinks she is cute)

Sorry.. but I couldn't help but to post Jacob Black / Taylor Lautner half naked body before ending this post.

Mmmm.. may I pour ice-cream all over your 109 degrees body please?

Love;
The-Siow-Bride

Thank you

I am truly grateful for friends who had read my previous blog post and had stepped out voluntarily to offer their help. It is really touching because I am currently feeling over-whelmed and very tired with the wedding planning and with work in the office. Concurrently, we are busy sorting out things with the condo. Sometimes, I wished that my better half would lend a helping hand in the planning. Really I do.

To you Angie; when I read your sms I was honestly touched. You were the first one who offered help and was genuinely concerned of my well-being. At times like this, it feels really good knowing someone who cared and wanted to help. Also, I am very grateful that you did not hesitate at all when I asked if you could be my coordinator for the dinner. You not only agreed, you also reminded me to get someone to help organized for the church wedding as well.

To Ken Han; thanks for agreeing to help prepare for the slide-show presentation. I know that you are currently busy with work and your final thesis. Putting up the slides will be time-consuming and tedious but yet you still agreed. Thanks also for agreeing to become our designated PA guy for the dinner to keep the presentations/songs running smoothly.

To Candy; your sms read that you are honoured to be our second coordinator for the night. No you were wrong .. I am honoured to have you onboard helping out. Both you and Angie are tasked with such heavy responsibilities to ensure that the programmes will go in accordance to plan as much as possible. Not only that, both of you will be organizing the helpers even BEFORE the big day. And for that I truly appreciate your effort.

To Sue; thanks for helping me scan the pictures. It may seem a menial task but rest assured, we need all the help we could get - even right down to the nitty-gritty things. You were also the one who extended your services to us and offered to help in whichever area you could.

I am truly blessed. I know that when I am about to have a nervous breakdown, friends like them will always step in to sustain me. And for that, I really appreciate you guys. Thank you so much.

Love;

The-Emotional-Bride

Nervous Breakdown

Alrite... I am officially FREAKED OUT!! Really I AM!!! It just dawned upon me that I HAVE A LOT OF THINGS NOT DONE YET FOR THE WEDDING!! I thought I had covered almost everything, but the sad truth is that I. have. not. *scared* I NEED A FREAKING WEDDING PLANNER!!!!! NOW!!!!!!

Ok ... Calm down Geri.
Breath ... Breath ...
Am so dead now it's NOT funny anymore ok. :( :( :(

I was just briefly going through my to-do list (Thank God I prepared one beginning of this year) and noticed that there are so many things still pending! *stress stress* In order to keep the wedding planning (and myself from going insane), I have created a tentative timeline which I intend to adhere strictly to, so that I won't miss anything out and leave it to the last minute.


GERI'S LIFE TIME LINE.

July (3 months) :
03 July 2010 : Hanzfoto - Meet up/Discussion
04 July 2010 : Red Bliss - View 2nd Demo
10 July 2010 : Practice - Dinner
17 July 2010 : Putrajaya Marriott - Finalise Details

August (2 months) :
01 August 2010 : Red Bliss - Collect Album
01 August 2010 : Guest List - Finalise / Confirm
09 August 2010 : Hanzfoto - Prewedding MV Shoot (part 1)
10 August 2010 : ROM!!! (What is there to follow up?? *clueless*)
10 August 2010 : Hanzfoto - Prewedding MV Shoot (part 2)
29 August 2010 : Wedding Invites - To send out

September (1 month) :
04 September 2010 : Putrajaya Marriott - Food Tasting
10 September 2010 : Ally (MUA) - Finalise Details
10 September 2010 : Caterer - Confirmation
18 September 2010 : My birthday :p
18 September 2010 : Waxing! *ouch*
19 September 2010 : Decor - Sourcing e.g. 'hei' stickers etc
25 September 2010 : Wedding Invites - Follow up RSVPs -.-"
25 September 2010 : Guest List - Table Arrangement
25 September 2010 : Program Sheet - To send out to Coordinators
25 September 2010 : Music - Start preparing *Bear's department*

October (jeng! jeng! jeng!) :
02 October 2010 : Hanzfoto / Red Bliss - Last minute misc
02 October 2010 : Ally (MUA) - Last minute misc
02 October 2010 : Church Bulletin - Print!
03 October 2010 : Helpers / Coordinators - Briefing Session
03 October 2010 : CHURCH REHEARSAL!! 0_o"
07 October 2010 : Manicure / Pedicure
08 October 2010 : Red Bliss - Collect Gown & Decorate Car
08 October 2010 : Dinner with respective family

09 October 2010 : CHURCH WEDDING
10 October 2010 : BANQUET DINNER

I think I'm gonna have a nervous breakdown already. Look! So many things to do still! I feel very stressed-up AND workload is expected to pile sky-high during the second half of this year.

I feel like crying.
No joke ok.

Signing Off;
The-Bride-who-is-FREAKING-OUT!!

3 months away .... *shudder*

Counting down: 3 months 1 week and 4 days from the wedding. 0_o" *shivers*

Sometimes it feels nerve-wrecking knowing that we are only months away from the wedding. At times, I don't feel excited at all - almost to the effect of wanting to get the wedding over and done with. And then, there are times when I feel that there are still so much nitty-gritty things to be done! Our pre-wedding MV haven't shoot yet. Caterer for lunch in church is not confirmed yet. Guest list is not finalized. Invitation cards are not printed out yet. Have not liaised with the hotel management on the final details. Have not finalized on the itinerary for the dinner program yet *not yet even start practice!! argh!* Don't even talk about the reaaalllly finer things such as chi mui games, tea-pot for the tea ceremony, decorating the house with red 'hei' stickers etc etc.

So much to do.. I also feel so sien already. :( The wedding preparation has been shelved off for some time to make way for our new condo. Renovation works has finally finished *hallelujah* except for a little bit of touch up here and there. It was not until Steph reminded me that we only have 3 months to go before the wedding that I realized the urgency of it! -.-" Really, the title of the world most relax bride should be conferred to me.

The next crucial step in the wedding preparation is the wedding invites. Initial plan was to engage in Storybo*k, until I was asking around in church and found a friend who was willing to design my invites and church bulletin for me *Thank you Jesus!* The process started in May and we were going back and forth with ideas. Drafts after drafts were emailed across - and after many changes, we have finally confirmed on the design and layout of the invites. Very simple, fuss-free, and sweet designs I must say. Totally adore them!

Of course for the church invites, the wordings have to be submitted to Pastor for approval. And mine was approved! :) One more tip for you Flo, the church invite and bulletin must have the word 'Holy Matrimony' ya.

Wordings for your invites are very very important. If the invites comes from the groom side, then his parents' name must come first and vice versa for the bride. Also, make sure the details are clearly stated to avoid confusion. Make it short, straight to the point, and meaningful. Of course, for my invites I have also incorporated some Scriptures. :)

Below is the 2nd draft of my church and dinner invites. The final one has been sent to the designer (aka my church friend) for a mock print.

Church Invites. Pretty, right? :)
It flows exactly with my theme!

Dinner Invites. We went through a lot of drafts and
designs for the dinner invites. She sent me a total of 4 designs
for me to choose - of which ALL were very beautiful!
After much deliberation, I finally settled for this one.
There is something very serene and classy
about this design which I love. :)

The process flow is fairly simple albeit tedious. You confirmed on your design and check the wordings. Once everything is finalized, you ask your designer to do a mock-up print so you will have a rough feel on the end product. This will be your final confirmation - and once approved by you, your fiance, and both sides of the parents ... the card is ready to be printed!

Right now, I am waiting for the mock-up. Hopefully can get the invites sorted out by mid-July so can start writing the names down and disbursing already. Am already dreading the RSVP and table arrangement part though. :(

Love;
The-Bride-To-Be

Decor Vendor - Kau Tim!

~Updates on the wedding preparation!~

Remember my latest predicament on the wedding decor for my church matrimonial ceremony? So no choice, I had to look for another one quickly. Now please don't give me the why so kan cheong comment ok. How can I not be kan cheong when the wedding is only 3 months 2 weeks and 5 days away (if you haven't noticed it yet, I have a ticker at the bottom of my blog) !!!!!! Okkkaayy... I am getting a tad nervous now. 0_o" Wedding blues ~

I went through my entire old contact list of vendors and painstakingly emailed them one by one, hoping that they won't remember me. Paiseh ok ... when you had enquired about quotes and interrogated them and then you tiba-tiba bail out at the last minute and decided not to engage in their service due to pricing. This is what I call the "fishing-mentality". Pardon me, but we are running on a budget here ok.

Well in my quest of searching, I stopped by Favors Essence website and lo and behold they are having a promotion for both dinner banquet (RM3,000 net) and ROM / Solemnization (RM500 net) decoration. Immediately, I zoomed in on the Solemnization package and emailed Agnes (the person in charge).

As emails were flying back and forth, I suddenly realized that the package offered is for synthetic flowers - i.e. artificial flowers (patut la so murah). I asked her how much do I need to top-up if I wanted fresh flowers arrangements and in accordance to my theme. To my delight, it was actually RM220 cheaper than my initial decorator. What a relief!

Straightaway signed up and paid the 50% deposit - of course after consulting with Bear first. As for the extra sweetener, pastor also had approved of the decor! Am SO HAPPY! Thought that I would have a real problem trying to get things approved in church. Double sigh of relief! Phew! For your info, to accelerate approvals it would be great if you could provide church with a rough sketch on what you intend to do and the measurements of the pedestals. (Flo .. valuable tips for you)

Honestly, for those who intend to do ROM and needs decor I think it is worth trying Favors Essence (although the flowers are artificial). After all it only costs RM500 net. The outcome will look exactly like the picture below. Every single detail will be the same.

Well ... there you have it. A peek into what my church decor will look like. Of course, using fresh flowers and going in accordance to my color theme. :) Simple, clean, and sweet. I like!

Church decor ... SOLVED!
All pictures are courtesy from Favors Essence

Love;
The-Very-Happy-Bride