Tag Archives: wedding

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

02 Wednesday Mar 2011

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Chulet wanted to write and share her experience about wedding planning. However, never got around to it… until now. :p

She’s officially happily married now. Hubby is safely trapped in her spiderly web. MUAHAHA… and he have no where to escape… Hehehe…

Chulet’s very lucky as hub is a great sweet kind lovable guy. Ok ok … enough about the gushing. Back to serious business.

So, what about wedding planning?

I’ll try to split this into a basic summary page and then, will write more about each stage later… Bear in mind… this is MY own experience and is no way a professional guide. Remember, it is your wedding after all… Wedding planning is FUN.

Marriage on the other hand… is another subject all together.

I opt to keep this post strictly on Wedding planning. Let’s begin… (I’ve separate it to 6 sections)

What do you do after he proposes?

One

You need to answer him… YES or NO !!

This may seem silly, but, seriously this question is really tough. Don’t let ‘the moment’ blind you. IF he took the effort and courage to ask, you (female) need to think if this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. (Imagine waking up to see the same guy everyday till death do you part)

If you say NO – you need not read further. I applaud you for your bravery and pray you’ll find someone who you can really love. J

Proceed if you say YES

Two

Decide on your budget and prepare check-list.

Pull in all your resources (your parents / his parents)

** Allow yourself some room to tolerate +/- 10% (remember, to keep it real and prioritize)

Three

Decide on a DATE(s).

–        Date you to officially seal your marriage (registrar of your country)

–        Date for all the dowry giving / gift exchange (for some customs)

–        Date for the morning bride collecting (mainly Chinese custom)

–        Date for ‘THE’ dinner / Reception

For Chinese custom, there might be need to seek a specialist in giving good dates which match the bride & groom’s birthdates.

Four

Confirm your booking for those which you need it on that day. Meaning, you cannot change it to another day and you need that person there.

Venues

Photographer (Actual Day)

Make-up Artist

Religious officer

Five

Additional frills which you would like to throw in to make it SPECIAL

Wedding Rings

Wedding dress / evening gown / Bridal party attire

Pre-wedding Photograph / Bridal House

Custom made wedding invitation card (Not the mass production type)

Venue Decoration

Flowers

Favours for guest

Wedding Cake

Entertainment

Caterer (if the venue doesn’t provide food)

Liquor (if you plan to serve)

Six

Guest list

Appoint suitable person for roles / responsibility on the day

Pampering Session (me, me and me time)

Honeymoon

 

After several months of planning, the wedding day comes and goes… And, another chapter of your life begins… and this time, it has no deadline / expiry date. I would like to introduce you to marriage.

Happy planning.

December 2009 – the month for Wedding

07 Monday Dec 2009

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Chulet is not sure if it is the month of the wedding or it is just coincident that she receives 6 wedding invitations for the month of December 2009!!

4 of them are on the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th December alone. O_o

Some also say that it is because next year (Chinese calendar) is the year of TIGER. Since it is the year ending with ‘0’ – 2010, it will be the Yang Metal Tiger. Very powerful and strong scary tiger.. :p Supposedly, the tiger and monkey never mix well. I wonder why? Hehehee..

Anyway, as you would guess by now, Yes – all the friends getting married are from the Monkey year. Hehehe.. But then, this does not mean that you won’t find some monkey-year ppl getting married. There is always a case of desperation (no choice – must get married) :p

And also many people which don’t place priority in the Chinese auspicious date calculation.

Of course, there are also some exceptions depending on your future husband and wife date of birth (note that for calculation, this should be the Chinese date also).

The Year of Ox 2009 ends when Chinese New Year starts. In 2010, it will be on the 14th February. (Valentine’s Day).  Perhaps, there will a decline in the weddings for the Tiger year. We’ll just have to wait and see… (hmm.. if the demand is less, will this means that dinner venues and prices for weddings can be lower?) I hear that the cost of wedding is getting ridiculous nowadays..

Nevertheless, chulet is extremely happy for all her friends. Chulet prays that all of her friends will have a greatly blessed marriage.