Hotel

#FinallYeeATan - Venue Selection

1:58 PM



#FinallYeeATan Wedding Series - Venue

Finally got around to jotting down the whole process of our 1-year-long wedding preparation!

Post engagement, the first thing Joel and I did was to shortlist a couple of wedding venues for the big day. I literally started scouting for venues a few days after the engagement HAHA (I was so excited to start the wedding planning despite having a year to plan for it).

We had a couple of considerations:

1. Overall look & feel
- I was very sure that I wanted a venue that is bright and light in colour (ideally some place with natural lighting but this turned out to be quite a challenge)
- I didn't want any pillars to block off the view of the stage (this is pretty important if you want to ensure all your guests are able to see you clearly)

2. Size
- Size does matter (LOL), when both sets of parents have SO MANY siblings (turns out - my mother-on-law has 10 siblings and my mum has 9)
- So, it's important to ensure that the ballroom is big enough to accommodate everyone (but small/intimate weddings are on the rise lately so, if you're lucky like that, you don't have to worry about this)
- I also wanted a venue that is spacious enough despite the number of tables we had (~33 tables in total)

3. Budget
- Unless you're earning big bucks, this will not come as a surprise to you
- Joel and I estimated the average amount that our guests will be willing to pay (even though we were prepared to make a slight loss, we weren't ready to break a bank for this wedding HAHA)
- This gives us an estimation of the price range to aim for, which helps to narrow the options down quite a bit (i.e. I wasn't even allowed to include venues like JW Marriott and Clifford Pier, even though they would have been my TOP choices)

4. Available Dates
- Thank God for our modern parents because Joel and I were able to skip the process of searching for auspicious dates for the wedding (but as it turns out, 18 May 2019 was an auspicious date after all)
- I was shortlisting a couple of dates that either had a significant meaning for both of us OR a nice-sounding date because we intended to hold the ROM and wedding banquet on the same day (i.e. that will literally be the day that we will be pronounced husband and wife)
- I provided these dates to the different venues just to do a quick check on availability

5. Location
- Joel and I also wanted to ensure that our guests not be inconvenienced (much) en route to our wedding
- So,  we eventually eliminated all the venues that are a little out of the way (eg. Sentosa/Changi venues)
- Though was a consideration added on at a later stage (hence, you'll see some Sentosa venues at the start)

With that in mind, we shortlisted to:

1. Amara Sanctuary
2. Capella
3. Shangri La Sentosa
4. Park Royal Pickering
5. Shangri La Hotel
6. Intercontinental

It was a good thing that there were a bunch of wedding events going on during that period (March) so, most of the hotels were having ongoing deals.

This was what we looked out for during the discussions with the different wedding coordinators (apart from the considerations mentioned above):

1. If they provide free table(s)
- Some hotels provide free tables based on the number of tables you're having)
2. Solemnisation Venue
- We wanted to hold the Solemnisation + ROM at the same venue given that we wanted to hold a lunch banquet
3. Banquet Menu (you can sometimes make some special requests for 1/2 dishes to be swapped with a higher-priced menu item)
4. Alcohol Provision (most hotels provide a couple of barrels for Beer and 1/2 bottles of wine per table)
5. Additional Complementary Services (eg. free spa services, free room for coordinators, a free room on our 1st year Anniversary etc)
6. Parking Coupons provided
7. Wedding Invite Services

* Special Note: Determine if you feel like you can trust your wedding coordinators. I would have to say that good wedding coordinators are hard to come by and mine was not the best as well (but thank God for my amazing Bridal Party, who made sure everything ran SUPER smoothly).


We eventually decided on Shangri La Hotel and I am honestly thankful for this decision!
The venue was beautiful, super spacious, extremely central in location and somewhat within our budget. The deal we managed to get was pretty good as well.

As you can see, they also have a nice outdoor area for our bridal photoshoot, which turned out amazing :)

I'm sure there are many other different considerations one can think of but I'm just sharing what Joel and I thought of during this wedding planning process.

My #1 tip is really to enjoy this process (because it's once-in-a-lifetime) and to not overthink EVERY single decision (because there are just too many things for you to decide on). Once you've decided on something, move on and DON'T REGRET IT!

I'll come back with another post for another element soon (hint: how we look amazing on the actual day HAHA)!

Hope you find this helpful!

Personal

How Should I Put It... I'M ENGAGED!

10:43 PM


It still feels surreal, like I imagined it, like I dreamt it.
There were times where I feel like nothing has changed, and there were times where I feel that EVERYTHING has changed. It's a really weird feeling.

Afraid that I'll lose the memory of that precious Friday, I decided to pen it down (or rather, type it down) so that I can cherish this memory forever (or as long as I still keep this blog).

So, the day started out like every other day. It felt like yet another Friday, just that this time round, I'm actually heading into the office (if you don't know, I typically work from home on Fridays). Strangely enough, I don't remember why I made the decision to head into the office anymore because it seems that I did not have a single meeting that day.

It's funny because Joel was actually at my place the night before, and I found it rather odd that he stared at the outfit I picked out for the next day for just that few seconds longer than usual. But I decided not to comment about it at that point in time (now, I wonder what he would have said).

Now back to Friday - I was supposed to meet Sheron, Jessica and Jojo for dinner, something that we've decided on at least a week back. Given that I had no meeting that day, I finished my work pretty early and had been bugging for SOMEONE to meet me earlier but to no avail. One by one, each of them had to deal with one thing or another and hence, I decided to wait in the office with mounting frustration (because as the time passed, each of them gave reasons to delay the meeting time and I only found out afterwards that they did it to give Joel and our friends more time to prep the place given that it actually rained in the noon time). Eventually, I told Joel about the situation and asked him if I should just head home.

*Miraculously* the girls decided that they could meet soon and so, the meeting was kept as it was. We decided to meet Jojo at Pico Building, as she 'was meeting a client at a cafe in the building and will be the last to finish the day' and of course, she suggested for us to meet her there for dinner instead. Obviously, we complied.

I can't even imagine the stress these poor girls had to go through to stall me because Jessica had to leave Pico Building to find me in advance while Sheron literally ran to catch up (as it turns out, her crisis was real and really had to follow up on a case before she could meet).

Finally, Jessica, Sheron and I made our way to the rather deserted Pico Building to meet up with Jojo. At that point in time, I was slightly suspicious and started looking around the parking lot to see if Joel's car was there (he hadn't been responsive since noon time and it occured to me that this might be a set-up). I became even more suspicious when Jessica trudged into the building with much familiarity even though Pico Building is probably the most random place ever.

The 5 Little Monkeys Cafe is situated at the rooftop and alas, we made it to the cafe. Jojo was sitting near the lift, which is also the entrance to the cafe, greeting us with a tired but happy smile. I started to wave at her and was pretty excited to (finally) be eating dinner when I spotted an extremely familiar figure standing at the end of the cafe, holding onto a bouquet of flowers.

Being vain as I am, the first thought that ran through my mind was 'my hair is in a mess, my makeup has smudged and I just removed my gel nail polish with Jessica before I came to the building. I am not ready to be proposed' (HAHA) I shall confess here that the thought of touching up did run across my mind but I quickly abandoned the thought - mainly because the girls were stopping me as I slowly stepped backwards towards the lift that I came through from (LOL)

I decided to be brave and tried to be less conscious of how I look so that I can focus on what Joel was saying. I swear I heard what he was saying even though I was screaming 'it's so weird' and 'it's so funny' 90% of the time he was speaking (I'm so sorry HAHA). If I had some time to calm myself down, I'm sure I would have teared at his speech, which I have decided to keep it to myself as it's a rather private moment.

To be honest, I was floored by what he's done to the place - he decorated the walkway with fairy lights and our photos (he actually printed 200 photos and I'm sure that's not even half of our photos together). There were candle lights on the floor, which eventually formed a huge heart shape that was big enough to accommodate both of us standing in it. There were flowers everywhere and it's seriously something that I could never have dreamt of.


By the end of his (shortened) speech, he knelt down and put the ring on my finger (even though I gave him the wrong hand initially). Of course, I said yes :)

Friends started pouring out from behind the bush and it was really a night I will never forget. I appreciate it so much that Joel has made the effort to talk to my mum before he proposed because I'd want to have my parents' blessings when I say yes. But comically, my mum decided to keep that as a secret from my dad and sis so, imagine my poor dad's surprise (more like shock honestly) when I called him to tell him that I've said yes.


I had to calm my dad down over the phone and promised him that we will talk to him in person the next day to explain (LOL) Let's just say that the proposal was definitely easier than the talk with my dad. But well, he's given his blessings nonetheless :)

Also, I can't thank all our friends who came down that night to help out, witness and celebrate that special night with Joel and I enough. I feel that I've discovered different sides of myself with different friends and when I'm surrounded by all these people whom I can so comfortably and happily be myself with, I positively radiate happiness and excitement.




Unfortunately, we've missed some friends who were there but had to leave earlier in the photos but it's ok because we will definitely be taking LOADS of photos with them during the wedding :)

02.03.2018 will always be a special day for me. And I look forward to setting another special date for the big day :)

Stanley has VERY kindly helped to create our proposal video and if you'd like to watch it, you can watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/msAILING/videos/vb.614317223/10155636084177224/?type=3

Personal

Penny For My Thoughts: Irony of The Workplace

9:59 PM

Having entered the corporate world for slightly more than a year, I've made some distinctive observations about the organisms in this confusing working world.
And sometimes, I just muse in silence while I note down these strange behaviours in my mind, for I believe it wouldn't be amusing to the others on how I'm finding them the target of my amusement.

 To start off, it seems that we are in an era where everyone is extremely interested in learning about the Millennials, in theory. I find it hilarious how many workshops I've attended to learn about 'how to manage Millennials' and 'what do Millennials look for in a workplace', when I'm in fact, the exact target audience.
Even more hilarious is the fact that when I give suggestions on how the others can behave to 'manage Millennials better', which is essentially what I would have personally appreciated, I was told that 'this is not how the world works'.
So, my question is - If the world is increasingly filled with Millennials, wouldn't the way I work be the way the world works eventually? And if people had found it useful to sit through statistics-backed theories on what Millennials look out for in an employer, why is it that when an actual Millennial give a concrete feedback, no one takes it seriously?

 I'm guessing this is where the inefficiencies in corporations occur - You try so hard to find data to back up theories that are right before your eyes.

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