More Wedding Purchases

We bought our wedding bands from Lee Hwa last friday :) It's the Jorn Rainer collection which we both like very much!!

Original Price was $798 each....with membership discounts , cash vouchers from the purchase of the dowry which my mom bought for me, and Hun's birthday voucher of $100, we ended up paying like $900+ for 2 rings...hahaha....

And with the large purchase, we got more than 20 chances to win a car from the Wisma lucky draw, as well as lifetime Wisma Atria membership for both Hun and me!

haha...so happy....good to buy things during Christmas season...haha....i'm a happy girl :)

Wedding Purchases!!

Finally settled that stuffs I needed to buy for my wedding photoshoots and the for the wedding day itself. My mom bought a Destinee pendant and pair of earrings for me last sunday as my 嫁妆and she wanted me to wear them for my photoshoots :)

These are taken from LeeHwa website as I seem to take a good picture of the actual pieces with my phone's cam.

Yesterday, I managed to find 2 pairs to shoes to match my wedding gown and evening gown. Thank God that I managed to find them so quickly!! Went to DMK at IMM and found both the shoes there!

White shoes for my wedding gown & gold sandels for my evening gown

Mom also bought a set of pearl pendant and earrings from Poh Heng that could match her evening gown for my wedding :)

The purchases have been going smoothly so far...thank God! Now I'll pray for an equally fruitful time as we shop for Hun's shirts and ties for the photoshoots and our couple outfit for the casual wear shots :)

God's little encouragement

Hun and I have been referring to our home-to-be as an inheritance from God for us. In His small way, God used a verse to encourage not to lose focus on Him:

"Wait for the LORD and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it."

~Psalm 37:34~

Praise the Lord for his Rhema word for this matter!

On the way HOME

Recounting the journey so far...

- started with a dream with some vivid details
- did a search on streetdirectory.com based on my interpretation...saw the exact block and its surroundings. Love the surroundings! Just what I hope for!
- The location came up again in a conversation I had later that evening with Hun (Hun doesn't know about dream yet)
- Was on the MRT and carelessly whispered a prayer to see the block from the train..I saw it!
- Was planning the journey for a home-visit and searched the streetdirectory for the location...saw the block again!
- Within the next minute, on a printed map which I had printed previously and later used as rough paper, I saw the block again!
- Later in the day, when I went for the home-visit, I prayed for another sign. I didn't expect to pass by that block...this time I got to see it "live". When I saw it, I was reminded of a little impression some months back regarding the house type.
- Few days later, Hun shared with me about what he thought was a glimpse of a vision of our home...it confirmed one detail of the dream.

God is taking us on a ride of our lives! A journey of learning to trust. I was so sure He opened the way for Redhill...but it turned out not to be. I was initially shaken, but persisted in trusting in Him. Now He is leading us to this place...if we indeed settle down there, all praise and glory goes to Him! If it isn't again, all praise and glory still goes to Him, for the next place will be even better.

But one thing is sure...that is, when we finally arrive HOME, there'll be much rejoicing and thanksgiving. Who says a Christian life is boring? Learning to trust God is the most exciting decision you can ever make!

Project Slim-Down!

After trying on some gowns and suits...and looking back at old pictures taken 2-3 years ago...Hun and I decided that IT WAS TIME TO LOSE SOME FATS!!! Deadline is 6 weeks from now...Plan is to diet and exercise at the same time.

Yesterday we both decided to eat less...Hun was remarkable...had only 2 buns, 1 slice of papaya and 1 bowl of green bean soup for breakfast and lunch combined!! I ate a bun and milo for breakfast, and another bun for lunch....BUT in-between, ate some snacks my colleague bought for me from China...and a pack of cuttlefish...and a pack of M&Ms chocolate. Hun beat me to it yesterday!!

But for dinner, we totally indulged in home-cooked bak kut teh prepared by my dad. Not non-fat, but at least it was healthier and much more delicious!!

Today, Hun bought buns for breakfast and to eat as energy booster before his job tonight. As for me, I had a cup of soyabean drink with a small veg pau for breakfast. And soyabean and fish soup (no rice!) for lunch. By 4, I was feeling hungry again and made a cup of milo. Will be having another small bun before exercising tonight at Amore.

Way to go! I think at this rate we're going, we should be able to slim down at least a little in 6 weeks time! yay!

Wedding gowns selection

Went for my gowns selection yesterday. Took about 3 hours to find 2 wedding gowns and 2 evening gowns for the photoshoot and actual day. We told the staff at the bridal shop that we'll not be needing the car and the make-up artiste in the morning, so that was an immediate $500 off our package. yay! Now we are paying only $2888 :)

Decided to involve Hun's mom as I was advised by my own mom to involve her cos she traditionally has the right to choose my gown for me. Boy are we glad we go her to come along!! She's a rather conservative lady, and so quite a number of gowns which I tried on were a "no-no" for her. Although I must I admit I'm a little disappointed when she almost did not like one of my personal favourites, but thank God was I able to still be patient and not let my frustrations/ disappointment show on my face! Not that I blame her...but for the split second I was afraid that I couldn't find any that she likes!

But thank God, after trying a couple more, she felt the one I liked most was not that bad after all, and told me that between that one and another one, I make my own decisions, as long as I like it and it's comfortable. So I still manage to choose my favourite for the actual day, and my 2nd favourite for the photo shoots ;)

For the evening gown, the staff selected a dark brown one for me which I felt made me look old...I requested for one which I liked when I saw it at their website, and was glad that I could fit into it nicely...Hun's mom liked it too, compared to the brown one. I chose another simple peach coloured tea dress for the wedding shots and I was done!

As I couldn't find a 3rd suitable dress, we decided to have our casual shots after all. This was because I wanted to wear their kua, but all of them had the dragon and phoenix embroidery which we're not comfortable with.

Hun was more poor thing...couldn't really find a suit for the actual day that he really liked. But he did manage to find a tux for the dinner :) Hope he'll grow to like the one that the shop suggested for him!

All in all, thank God for a blessed time at the bridal shop :)

I've decided not to post the pictures for the gowns I've tried up on the blog yet...reason? I look so "cute and chubby"....shall slim down first, and hopefully by the next fitting on 18 Dec 2006, I would have lost a couple of inches!! I can wear all the gowns lah...but just that they are really very fitting...

We're having our photoshoots on Boxing Day. Both of us are getting really excited about losing weight now...to look good for the photos! 6 more weeks to go...Jia You!!

More signs? I think so!

Thought I received more signs...yesterday whispered a prayer carelessly that if I could see the block from the MRT, it would be a sign. Saw a block but I wasn't sure if it was the one...so I didn't think much about it.

This morning, when I was checking up on the address of a place which I was suppose to visit...loh and behold! The block was there on the map! And I'm quite certain the block I saw yesterday on the MRT was the one :)

1 minute later, I was preparing some stuffs for my visit. I wanted to bring some scrap paper along to scribble notes...and a map which I've printed out some months ago when we were previously looking for a flat surfaced. I had used that map as scrap paper since the other side of the paper was blank. Guess what? The block was there again!!!

I think this is too much of a coincidence? This is so exciting! Should I share with Hun the details yet? I really dunno...pray first. But thank God for the indications! I believe that these are really from You! :)

New Directions?

Seems to be having some headway in my housing issue. Had a dream 2 nights ago that seems to be an indication of something...and yesterday, saw something which seemed like a confirmation sign, and also was talking to Hun and a little clue seemed to pop up.

But I'm not sure yet...so Father, please continue to show me. I wann be sure it's Your directions before I move into action. So I'm waiting in expectancy for Your hand to lead me in the next step! Amen :)

Learning to trust the Lord is so fun! Builds my patience and trains me to focus on Him amidst of the distractions. Ever so often I'll be so tempted to give in to my anxiety and move ahead of Him, but thank the Holy Spirit that He guards my heart and keeps reminding me to stay focus. It's very exciting, really. Cos I'm always in a state of expectancy and anticipation...waiting eagerly for God's answer, never knowing when that will be, yet waiting in hope that when the time comes, it's God's best!

Really feel like Peter walking on waves...as long as my eyes are on Jesus, I will not sink! Now I only pray that I will not give up and be distracted...but continue to fix my eyes on Him!

Stressed...

Experts say that the next most stressful thing in life besides dealing with the death of a close family member is preparing for marriage.

Yes...I'm feeling the stress now. Since the balloting results was out, I suddenly realised how little time we have left to prepare for it. Looked at the papers and called up some agents to book appointments for viewing. But that somehow didn't seem quite right. I had a very unsettling feeling that I was jumping the gun somehow. before bed last night, mom's words of wisdom enlightened me: "If I were you, I would pray first before looking for a flat so soon after I know Redhill wasn't a success."

So I told Hun to cancel the viewing appointments and just take these few days to pray and seek God's direction. Feel like I'm a sail boat with my sail up, ready to go...but just waiting for the wind to come lead me in the right direction. Feeling quite lost now, with no idea of which area to start looking. Really need God's guidance.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to be patient and praying for peace while waiting for an answer. Still, the stress has been becoming more apparent lately...I've been having stomach discomforts for the past 2 days. Don't think I ate anything wrong cos I've been eating porridge and plain stuffs...concluded that it must be due to stress...have not been sleeping well too...busy dreams almost every night.

Feel like Peter walking on the water now...so difficult to keep calm and focus on Jesus when you see the waves tossing around you. I hope I can continue to focus and not sink into the water!!

Getting over it...and starting over

It's actually not that bad lah....after yesterday's disappointment, I think we're both feeling upbeat and joyful again :) Now's the time to really pray for God's direction to move on. Suddenly after 2 months or dormancy in our wedding preps, everything's starting to kick off again! It's the last day of October today...wedding date's drawing near...we really need a miracle to find a flat, renovate and furnish it before 5 May! Also taking into consideration that during the CNY period, everything will have to come to a stand still for about a month. That leaves us only 5 more months for the preps!!

Things are moving in maximum gear now!

Balloting Results are finally out...

We were unsuccessful :(

After almost 2 months of waiting and anticipating, it's really a bitter pill to swallow. I had placed such high hopes that we would secure a unit, but we were not selected during the balloting. Makes me wonder if I have done something wrong to block the blessing from God.

Well, we did say before we knew the results that if we didn't get the flat, it only meant that God has a better place in store for us. It's so easy to say things like that, but so hard to practice. I've been trying the whole morning to keep optimistic. No I'm not sad, just quite disappointed. Heard from Hun that a few people he knew were selected, but they do not seem to be keen.

Well, guess we just have to keep optimistic and continue to seek God for his provision and directions! I'm really quite lost now...perhaps we might have to look for resale all over again? I don't know...will have to pray for God's guidance now. But one thing good is that we were outrightly unsuccessful, and not successful in balloting but getting a lousy Q no.

Time to move on...now we gotta pray and see where God leads us next!

Still excited!

The ballotting results will be out anyday now! It's really hard to stay calm with all the excitement building up. This feels even more gan cheong than waiting for my O and A level results!

Excitement!

Been feeling excited these few days...can't wait for the ballotting results to be out! Been talking to Hun like as tho the flat is our oredi...haha...

Less than 200 days to plan for our wedding....suddenly I feel that there's so much to do, but we're still waiting for certain things to come to pass before we can start our preps again.

Anticipating a floodgate of things to do when the balloting results are out. Thank God for the financial blessings in advance!

Wedding favours

Didnt' think of blogging about this...till was looking through the pics that I took on my phone. Cute wedding bears...compliments of the Raffles Hotel when I attended a wedding there.



Reminded me once again about my own wedding...so excited! Can't wait for the day to come...

For a moment, I thought...

For a moment I thought it happened...but the practical side of me chose to clarify things with Hun before jumping into any conclusions. I'm glad I did cos it was a misunderstanding...and quite a funny one in fact!

When everything was clear, and Hun teased me about it, I cried...not sure why I cried...but I just did. Perhaps it was tears of relief? Know when you been through some emotional upheaval, you are quite stunned for any emotions at the point in time, but when everything is over you just break down? I guess that was what I was feeling then...

It's quite funny now looking back at the incident...haha...whoever the other "same name" was...u sure almost landed us in a potential fight!

Hun: Maybe u should seriously consider using "H-Pot" next time....hahaha....

Hmm...but if something like this were to happen for real to either of us...would our relationship stand the test? Once again, I'm reminded about the sanctity of marriage and the wedding vows. It's what will keep a husband-wife relationship going even through tough times...it's a promise made to each other, not feelings at all...

Mothers' clothings...

The wedding preps stresses are starting to show....in it's least expected form....our mothers' dressed for the evening!! Fathers and brother no problem...cos for guys, they can't go too far wrong with coats and ties..the only challenge is finding the right size.

But for the womenfolk....ho ho ho....it's a different ballgame altogether : Some general rules which I think I have for mothers of the bride and groom:

1. They can't look less formal or less glam than the guests...they should be looking the best, alongside with the wedding couple (me and Hun!! yeah!)
2. They have to feel happy and glam themselves! And they have to feel that this is the prettiest outfit they ever wore in their life (esxcept the wedding gown of course!)
3. Between the 2 mothers, they have to look just as good! (now, you don't want the guests to compare and say whose mother look better than whose mother...and there are bound to be such guests. I tend to do that myself, so I know.)
4. Most importantly, it's something they are comfortable to wear.

For our case, our mothers have already bought their respective clothes. Since we were not able to choose it together with them....we are trying to make improvements on their choices so that they can fit into the 4 golden rules above...AND IT'S NOT EASY AT ALL!!!

Why can't we just let them wear what they like..."as long as they are happy"? Because I am a woman myself...and I know that being happy with a dress you bought doesn't mean you are happy with it forever. You may be in love with it, but if someone criticizes it or makes a negative remark about it...you may feel a sudden dislike towards that. For them to be truly happy with their dress, it has to be something which when others see it, their first reaction is "Wow, you look really good in this dress!". Conversely, the worse comment a woman can receive about her clothings is "Why is she wearing this?"

So much work has to be done to pre-empt such unpleasant things from happening. Afterall, it's a once in a life time thing for all of us...I want them to be happy...especially the mothers...cos it's one of the rare occassions which they are also the stars of the evening and have the right to doll themselves up and look great! So all efforts taken to prevent any unpleasanties will be worth it!!

Of course it has to be done with much care...we wouldn't want the mothers to feel that their own shopping efforts are wasted...so we have to try to make minimal changes with the maximun effect. I think watching more Dive on a Dime + divine wisdom in picking the right clothes will go a long way! God help us!

From the beginning...

As I was writing a post on my main blog titled "Reaping what you sow", just felt so felt so thankful for the relationship that I share with Hun now. Not sure if I have ever blogged about how we started...hmm...for those who know us, perhaps this will be interesting to you...haha!

The year was 2003...I first met Hun in church in end Jan/beginning Feb. He popped by youth service one saturday and I saw him near the water dispenser. Being a youth leader then, and seeing that he was around my age, thought I went up to him to say hi and try to make him feel comfortable. Vaguely remembered that I told him I am a social worker, and he told me he was a volunteer and in NVPC. That struck a chord with me...cos he's the first volunteer guy friend whom I know.

Somehow, I got his contact and started invite him for our youth activites. Was also thinking it was a good thing to rope him into youth as we really needed a male leader then. Then somehow along the way, I found out that he's a biker and he's taking a test for boat license too...and I thought "Wow, this guy is so cool!". Ok, I know I sound bimbo-istic, but I really thought he was cool and started to have a crush on him ok? So you can say, what attracted me to Hun first was his abilities to ride a bike and boat. Was thinking that if he was my boyfriend, we could go out on trips to the sea in a speed boat, how romantic! (incidentally, till today, the only boat I've been on with him is the bunk boat we take to go Pulau Ubin... =)

By chance or divine plan, I learned that he stays in Yishun, where I used to work. We started chatting more, went out for dinner a few times...I invited him to cell, he started to fetch me after work to cell, and to youth outings on sat (I was still working on sats then and he jus got out of army not long and lobo-ing around as he was planning to go London). Think it was through all these that I started to find myself liking him more, was not sure about him though, but since I thought he was so nice to me, maybe he liked me too...

During the times before we were together, I felt I've done incredible things...I have sat in his father's cab with his mom and elder brother too!! And he came to fetch me after work...all my colleagues were teasing me after that lor! We went to a special church service and appear together macham like whole family like that.

Then on 2 April 2003, we went for a movie..."Tears of the Sun"...this is the only movie which I have watched and don't remember the storyline except that it's about war and acted by Bruce Willis. Why? Cos before the movie started, Hun offered to "hold my hand" if I'm cold. (Guys, take note. Good move...gets you your girl) I was thinking "yeah right!", but yet part of me felt that he was really just being friendly, and don't mean anything else. Frankly, we did hold hands "because I was cold"...and well, I felt good but not like I'm sure he likes me or anything...until the point when he reached for my hand when I didn't say I was cold...that made my heart jump! (until today Hun claims it was jus a friendly gesture...but i believe otherwise...and will continue to think this way. But it doesn't matter now lah...haha)

After the movie, he offered to fetch me back, but someone called him to wanna meet him...it was someone who meant very much to him. So I told him it's ok and I'll go back on my own. Guess he must have felt guilty and called me a few times after that. But I didn't pick up the phone cos I was bathing mah. Hun thought I was angry (until today I'm still laughing about it...cos I didn't pick up the phone but my mom did!!). We did manage to chat that night....and he dropped me many hints which were so freaking obvious that they shouldn't be classified as hints anymore! (details are left out to protect whoever the conversation involved, obviously it wasn't jus me and Hun). Anyway, the phone call ended in vagueness...which I super cannot tolerate! Having past experiences of liking someone, I've learned that it's better to get and answer and get over it than to remain in uncertainty. I can accept if you tell me you don't like me..I can move on one...I just don't like to drag things.

So, the very next morning, I messaged him, telling him that I liked him :) (applause please! I know I'm one brave girl! haha...*haolian* btw, Hun still keeps the 2 smses as proof till today. Changed his phone twice liao, but the sms-es still there ok?! Once in a while he'll flash it and attempt to make me blush!) Well, we met up at night...and after talking for about 15mins?? dun really remember how long...we decided to give it a try...despite knowing that in 3 months time, he'll be flying to London for 7 months for his studies.

Well, 3 April 2003 marks the day we started on this journey as a couple. 4 years later on 5 May 2007, we would have reached a milestone...we'll be closing our chapter for our courtship and beginning a new one for a life together.

This song by Shania Twain sums it all up:

(when I first saw you, I saw love.

and the First time you touched me, I felt love.

and After all this time, youre still the one I love.)

Looks like we made it

Look how far we've come my baby

We mighta took the long way

We knew we'd get there someday

They said, i bet they'll never make it

But just look at us holding on

We're still together still going strong

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss good night

Ain't nothin better

We beat the odds together

I'm glad we didn't listen

Look at what we would be missin

I'm so glad we made it

Look how far we've come my baby

Yup, we've come a long way...thank God for preserving us and our love. Thank God we dared to start, thank God we persisted through all the challenges we faced. I must say we are both quite different from who we were when we first started, but we have also learned to love beyond liking and love in bad times. Thank God that all the struggles we faced did not tear us down, but strenghted us and helped us grow.

Thanks you darling for persisting and always loving me. As 5 May draws closer, I'm really getting excited day by day.

To the rest of you, thanks for taking time to read this :) Hope u enjoyed reading as much as I did typing!

Us

Just wanted to stop amidst our busyness and really appreciate the relationship that we share. This was taken at CoffeeBean at West Mall a couple of weeks ago, after viewing a unit in Bukit Batok. One of the silly moments we share :)

Balloting!

We were looking around for our love nest....saw a few units for resale at Bukit Batok and Clementi Central. Concluded that resale homes are just so expensive...and what's more the areas we look at are the prime areas too.

Just as we were going about it....the balloting exercise launched over the weekend! It was really a perfect timing as the places up for balloting were Bukit Merah and Queenstown! We were more keen in the Bukit Merah one as it is right beside the redhill mrt station and its nearer town.

So we went down to view the showflat twice! Once on sat and another time on Sun with Hun's family. We liked the place and hope to get a unit at Blk 75C, #(20-29) - 76. And we're committing this into God's hands.

Somehow I have a good feeling about this round of balloting...for one, both sets of parents are happy with the place. We reach their expectations of getting a new flat, in the West...and they all agree that it is a good area to stay in...considering the fact that if we were to sell it in future, we would probably make a good profit and get cash to upgrade to a more luxurious home.

Hun and I are very happy with the place too :) And I'm once more reminded of what I have told Hun a year ago...that I believe when we were to get a house, it would be one which we are in love with, our parents are happy...everyone will like it somehow, without having to compromise. It would be the best, cos I believe God gives the best!

I have a good feeling about this balloting, I think we'll be able to get what we want :) Maybe I'm just hopeful....but I'll put my hope in the right place :) In God! This balloting was so timely, and I dun tink it was anything less than God's timing....perfect!

So I'm hopeful :)

what has happened since...

Yippee! more things have been confirmed since my last updates...paid for the deposit for the banquet at Marina Mandarin Hotel 2 weeks back :)

Am going to have my solemnzation and dinner all at one place...so it's like 6pm wedding ceremony and 7:15pm tea ceremony and 7:45 - 8pm dinner starts! Gonna be a mad rush for us! But at least we have the whole day to relax and get ready first :)

Mom bought a champagne coloured gown from Daniel Yam....tho it was not the colour she had planned to get, but ended up suiting her very nicely :) Yay...one more item on the checklist done!

We've also been looking around for houses...but taking our time lah...if cannot get by May, we'll be bunking in with Hun's parents first until our own place is ready. Of course we hope that our house will be ready by then lah! But at least parents were gracious and kind to offer us shelter till we get our own love-nest :)

Bridal Package

I found out that there was a wedding fair going on at Expo yesterday so Hun and I decided to go take a look. Expo was super packed with ppl going for Car-nival yesterday! Anyway, we went to the place where the supposed Wedding Fair was held...

Lo and behold! It turned out to be a malay wedding fair!!! Hun and I didn't know to laugh or cry....but thankfully there were a few shops that does chinese wedding packages as well :) Anyway, didn't stay long before we decided to check out Bridal Elegance.

When we were there, we were stuck! The ppl explained the package to us and we were quite happy with it. Hun took out the paper that we got from another road show and used that to bargain with the shop ppl...haha...we manage to get quite a good deal! The lady offered us something similar for the same price of $3388. The deciding factor was really the photography package...here's what our package includes:

Gowns and Suits
1 OTR Wedding Gown
1 OTR Evening Gown
1 OTR Tea Dress
2 Groom's Suits
2 Father-in-law and 1 best man Suits
Accessories for bride all inclusive
Fresh flower bouquets for photo shoots and actual day

Make-up & Hair do
4 make-ups : Trial, Photoshoot, Actual Day & Night
3 Hair-do: Photoshoot, Actual Day & Night
Ampoules and eyelashes at extra charges

Photography
30 pages of 10" x 15" (or is it 12"?) album with design and layout
80 poses to choose from
All shots in cd-rom returned (raw)
Bedside frame with design (can't remember the size)
8" x 10" table top
Mini album (40 pages) - this one is not a duplicate of the big album, we get to decide which photos we want inside :)
36 4R photos (2 to 6 poses)
12 2R photos - these are really cute! like neo print size :)
Additional 1 WG and 2 EG for bride and 1 suit for groom during photo shoots

Actual Day
Merc S280 including drive and petrol + decoration
Photographer (7:30am - 1:30pm, 6:30pm till end of dinner) - 300 photos developed and arranged in album + cd-rom of all shots returned
6 Corsages (2 for groom, 4 for parents)


Praise the Lord that we got such a good deal!!

And here are some photos of me in the 2 gowns i tried...going to try more when I go down to choose my gowns :) yeah!

Decisions...Hotels Recce

We have finally decided....to hold a church wedding in a church, and Hun & his parents have decided to hold the dinner in a hotel. I'm glad that it's gonna be in a hotel cos there'll be a room for us to rest in after the solemnization and also a room to go back to after the dinner.

Hun and his parents went to recce 13 hotels yesterday!! Orchard, Orchard Parade, Crown Prince, Holiday Inn, the 2 Furamas, Pan Pac, Oriental, Marina Mandarin, Meritus Mandarin, Hilton and Hyatt! They short-listed 2: Orchard Parade and Holiday Inn.

I'm again glad that Orchard Parade Hotel was chosen as I've read good reviews about the place from SBO Forum. Also, the food is by Club Chinois so it'll be good :) What's more significant is that Hun's parents held their wedding there! It was formally known as Ming Court Hotel. Another significance is that my eldest aunt (Da Gu) worked there for 10 over years when it was still under the management of Khoo Teck Puat, the family who was managing Goodwood Park and York Hotel....

Hun will be doing more recces....so he'll get to see more packages :) Let's just wait and see what the other hotels have to offer! this is getting so exciting :)

Mini updates

No updates lately....and why? because there's not been much to update anyway...haha...

Just completed my marriage prep course 2 weeks ago...now everything on standby mode until we can get the church wedding solemnization thing settled. Supposed to meet the pastor individually as a couple for 3 to 4 sessions....so hopefully that'll happen soon so that things can move on!

Meanwhile....still enjoying my "engaged" status. It's a nice feeling....being someone's other half and it's filled with anticipation for the day when we're finally united in matrimony, in the eyes of God, the law and man.

It's less than a year away!! Looking forward to an exciting time of preparation :)

I'm engaged!!

It's been a really busy week! No time to update blog....

Finally got engaged on 12 May 2006! It was a simple ceremony with Pst Sha blessing us and conducting our ring exchange :)

Haha...mom sabo-ed Hun and got him to kneel down to propose to me! It was so awkward yet sweet at the same time :)

Hun and I are also still getting used to being each other's fiance...the feeling is just different now...everyone has publicly recognised us as an engaged couple :)

Well...enough said...no amount of words can express as well as photos

Thank God for blessing us and bringing thus far...we wouldn't have made it without Him!

Engagement rings!

Hun has finally given me the pics of our rings!! yeah!! Enjoy :)


Meet the 2 Destinees



Steve's ring with "KHEELING" in it



Mine with "STEVE" in it


Rings together

So exciting! Looking forward to 12 May :)

Short discussion on house

Hun and I had a short discussion on where to buy our flat.....saw a few places that we were quite happy with on the papers and also resalesnet.com...in Tiong Bahru and Clementi. Price is also ok...but we're not planning to buy so soon lah...just starting to scout the market first :)

We also narrowed down to the locations that we'll be interested in staying:

Targeted Area:

• Holland Village: Block 1 and 2.
• Tiong Bahru: Block 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 6, 7, 8, 122, 123, 124, 125, 120, 120A, 120C, 121, 121A
• Bukit Batok Central: Block 620, 621, 622.

Gotta start praying that we'll get one of these!

Before You Say Yes: First lesson

Went for our first marriage prep course on sat....there were like 20+ couples!! It still is a little strange for me to attend this BYSY course...haha....afterall I've co-facilitated a MP course before. heard the pastor say alot of things that I myself said while I was doing the marriage prep preview.
But in any case, it feels good to be the recipient this time instead of the facilitator!

First lesson, we talked about what is marriage --> something new I learned is that marriage is not a contract, it's a covenant! In a contract, either party is allowed to end the contract if the other breached the terms and conditions. However in a covenant, there's no way out! It is not dependent on what the other party do or does not do...once you're in, it's meant to last till death do us part.

The other key idea that I learned, and that the course has kept emphasizing is that marriage is intentional --> that means alot of things! You intentionally decide to live together as husband and wife, intentionally give your best to your spouse, intentionally forgive all wrong doings...everything about the marriage is intentional.

It's an 8 week course and I'm really looking forward to it :) It'll really give us a guided platform and an opportunity for us to talk to each other about important issues in our marriage. And I think this is really important for us to set a good foundation for our new life together.

I pray that God will grant both of us strength, energy, wisdom, patience and more love to see to all the challenges of the preparation ahead!

Recce for banquet places

Spent last thursday afternoon to recce for our banquet. Been to Amara and M Hotel and spoke to the weddings coordinators there. Amara was more suitable cos M Hotel can only take up to 32 tables...which is definitely below our capacity needed. Amara can take up to 46, but out of which 10 tables will be at the adjacent room where guests sitting there won't be able to see our march in.

I personally preferred, or rather we both preferred Amara but felt that perhaps the coordinator is not giving us the best deal. Well, Ed & LY's friend is the other coordinator there and Hun will be contacting her to try to negotiate for a better deal...hehe....he's better at this than me...I can't bargain for nuts!!

However, we did manage to find a good deal for our engagemen dinner...Amara's in-house chinese restaurant called The Silk Road. It has a room that can hold up to 14 pax, and its a room, not just a partition. And it's the cheapest we've found so far!! Thank God! Not that we're cheapskate lah....but sometimes you really wonder if the food and ambience is worth the money you're paying...but for Amara, it's held in a hotel so there's a higher chance that the service will be better.

Afterall it's an engagement dinner! we wouldn't want the restaurants to be noisy with all the pling pling piang piangs of the plates....

In all, I can conclude that thurs was a rather fruitful day, thank God!

Hun's engagement ring

We went hunting for Hun's engagement ring yesterday...back at Wisma. Went to Aspial...they're affliated to Lee Hwa...saw quite a few rings....2 tones, either white gold with yellow gold or all white gold but with a mix of polished and matt surface.

after trying a few, Hun saw one that he has tried a few times and was his favourite. it's a matt ring with a slanted polish band over the matt surface and it looked good on his left ring finger. We paid for it and his size would be delivered from HQ to the yishun branch.

And what we were most happy about it was that it was cheaper than the one we saw at another jewellery shop, and it was also a Destinee ring!! we've both got Destinee!! yeah!! Can't wait to upload the pic of the 2 rings together...that'll have to wait a few days more...

Proposal!

Haha....Hun proposed to Dad on sat....it was a birthday cum proposal dinner. Really thank God that Dad sounds supportive and after the initial awkwardness, we got down to talk more abt it...

Before the dinner itself...several little episodes happen which threatened to spoil our mood. Went hunting for Hun's engagement ring but could not find any suitable ones...got both our moods affected. Next is the birthday cake. Went to BreadTalk in Wisma and saw a small blackforest cake but I told Hun that we'll walk down to Marriots there and check out the other BreadTalk...since we were going to York Hotel for dinner.

Lo and behold! When we got there, the area where BreadTAlk used to be was under reno! We then walked on further to Far East Plaza to check...saw an ice-cream cake that was super ex....$30+ for jus a 5" cake. so no choice....went back to Wisma lor.

When we arrive back there, a pretty lady right in front of us in the Q got the very cake we wanted...I really felt stupid and regretted not buying it in the first place. Hun was also upset and said he knew something like that was going to happen...den as we were still deciding whether to take another cake or not, the salesgirl told us that the lady didn't want the cake anymore! It's ours!! Praise God!

Wow....it was quite a testimony...and I guess that sort of relaxed the otherwise tensed moment between Hun and me...Thank God that something small but good happened just before the dinner...and thank God that the dinner went well too...it was really a load off our chests! esp Hun's..haha...

And on our way back...could tell my parents were very excited about it...kept discussing the details....I really thank God that He has brought Hun and me to another level of our relationship :) Praise His name!

Well, to end off...here's the photo we took for the dinner...quan2 jia1 fu2...yeah!

First Entry!!

Haha...this is my first entry....so what's up that's happening in my journey to become a bride??

For starters...Hun is proposing to dad this sat...it's a birthday cum proposal dinner..haha..but sadly, hun's been really busy these days...I'm facing my own set of crisis in my career too...so both of us dun really have to mood to talk about it....not even time to talk for starters...

Nonetheless, it still feels pretty exciting :) Hope to take some photos and put it in!