Prayer for Japan

14 Monday Mar 2011

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On Friday – news of Japan suffering an attack of massive earthquake and tsunami reach Chulet.

News online with youtube have manage to allow us to access real information and footage so quickly. Today, the whole world feels the pain and agony for Japan.  On top of everything they are dealing, the nuclear plant is on verge of meltdown.

Chulet is keeping everyone in Japan in her prayers… May everyone in the world today unite together to keep this nation in our prayers and sent in our aid however we can.

May Lord be with them…

 

 

Wedding Planning – Section Two

11 Friday Mar 2011

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Budget, Budget ! B-U-D-G-E-T = $$$$

How I hate this word… Every time I see something I like and is very excited about, hubs will ask, how much and when we did the math, i have to grudgingly throw the idea away… sob sob.

But, like all things in life, budgeting is very important (especially for us normal folks). It is to ensure that you make your decision wisely and not let things get carried away. For some couple, you might have been saving for some time before the wedding. For some, they might have to break open their entire piggy bank to organise this lavish affair. There are some couple who went into debt right after their wedding.. and 5 years down the road, they are still in debt. Is it worth it in the end?

Some couple have huge fights over this stage and sometimes, if not carefully handled, there would be no wedding.

As unromantic as the word is, budget is also the determinant factor of your marriage life later. Under budget, and you will feel remorse and always wished you had splurge a little more. Over budget, and you will end up struggling on your daily married life (bills to pay, mortgage, daily expenses, loans and etc).

How do we start?

First, both couple will need to sat together to decide the amount which you could comfortable throw-in. After that, check with parents if they could sponsor / chip-in. It could be in form of cash / picking up tab for certain items. If you have generous siblings, ask if they could also sponsor you. ;p

Once you work out your maximum limit. The next thing is to STICK to it.

I divided my Budget into the following sections

1)     Apparel

  • Wedding & Evening Dress
  • Bridal Shoes
  • Accessories
  • Groom’s suit
  • Bridal Party ensemble
  • ** Lingerie 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2)     Photography / Video-graphy

  • Pre-wedding photos
  • Photo Album
  • Photo portraits / frame
  • Actual day photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)     Flowers

  • Bride’s bouquet
  • Groom’s Boutonnière
  • Bridal party’s bouquet
  • Corsages for special guest (parents and etc.)
  • Venue Decoration
  • Car Deco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4)     Ceremony / Reception

  • Venue Cost
  • Caterer
  • Liquor
  • Sound system
  • Security
  • Entertainment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)     Misc

  • Facial
  • Manicure & Pedicure
  • Make-up Artist
  • Favours for guest
  • Transportation
  • Wedding Cake
  • Wedding Invitation Stationary
  • Honeymoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are just some basic breakdown from my budget… Every couple have different priority when it comes to their wedding. For Chulet, it was the dress, make-up artist and photography. Hence, once I decided on the amount needed to spend for these, I use the balance for other things.

Did I manage to stick with my budget? YES – I did !! (yay !! hehehee..)

Happy budgeting to all newly engaged out there.

Hugz..

Wedding Planning – Section One

09 Wednesday Mar 2011

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Continuing from my previous post, section one explores a little deeper about what you should do after he / she proposed.

Chulet and hub know each other as friends for many years before developing tender feelings for one another. It was a surprise to us as well many of our friends. ;p

Chulet remember how one friend was so shock when seeing us holding hand for the first time.. hehee.  So, like many couples out there who have been dating or friends for a long time, you think you know the other person very well. And yet, we hear so many sad story about marriage breaking down after. Why?

Chulet is no relationship expert but some her little observation, people change. Couples didn’t grow at the same pace or individual goals / objective in life changed. In this case, how do we know if the person you are dating is the person you will want to have the till-death-to-us part package?

Initial stage of relationship is always sweet and each person will always put on their best behaviour. The girl will ensure she’s always well dressed, gentle, sweet and ‘allowing the guy to have as much space’ as he wants. The guy will open doors, remember special dates (even one month anniversary), birthday, flowers, chocolates, movies.. and etc. ;p

But, it will be DIFFERENT after marriage.

It is then, that both of you come down from cloud 9 and get to know the REAL-DEAL of each other.

Some nasty habits like letting out fart will starts surfacing. (I’ve check with many married couples.. it happens… hahaha.. so, don’t deny it) When you are able to do that in front of the other person, it does show a comfortable and stable relationship. Disgusting as it is, Chulet thinks it is kind of one of the measurable gauge on how close the 2 of you are with each other. ;p

So, guy / girls… please know that YES – your bf / gf do Fart !! and sometimes – it can be the NASTY-silent-killer type. ;p

Will you be able to laugh it off? Will you be able to still hug each other and bear it? 😉

When Chulet and her hubs thought of getting married, many questions start forming in our head. After some research and much discussion, we decided to ‘invest’ in our relationship.

We spend long hours goggling, talking to friends and family. Finally, we decided to join a marriage preparation course ran by a group of passionate people to help build solid and strong foundation for marriages in Malaysia. Chulet will not go into details about the course here.. but readers can check it out here

http://www.relationshipcentral.org.my/marriage-preparation-course

Both of us learn a lot of things about each other which we would have otherwise not discussed during the courting stage. At least we know the real-deal about each other before taking the walk down the aisle.

So, how well do you think you are ready to settle down? Remember, wedding is just an event. When it is done and over with, are you truly ready to spend the rest of your life with your chosen partner?

If your answer is yes, congratulations…

If it is not, maybe it might be better to give each other more time, to continue the courtship and get to know each other better. J

Till the next post…