Dear's 28th Birthday Celebration

Yesterday, I celebrated Dear's 28th bdae.. stg special & a surprise I must say which was planned only on the very Mon (celebration is on the fri).

Haha, days b4 friday, I kept hinting JC on hw I am going to celebrate his bdae... I gave him clues like mayb just go to some posh hotel buffet, have our dinner then stay over my place as we r going to end late & the nxt day go to his hse to do hsewk for his upcoming party. OR

Maybe I will play some games with him ie, give him a card n ask him to accomplish the mission on the card. If he can complete the mission b4 midnight(which is his bdae), He wil have his present but if nt he will have to get punishment. OR

Maybe stg special than the above, stg that we nv do b4.... or mayb ...... all sorts of clues but only nonsense clues were given to him.. But haha in my mind, all has already been planned.. is just waiting for the Bdae boy to step into my plan...

So we agreed to meet @ Outram Mrt @ 6pm on fri... We seldom meet @ Outram I must say...

Dear reached slightly earlier than me.. When I saw him sitting outside Outram Mrt..I was so shocked.. V V V Shocked.. haha

Expecting to see a charming man, nicely dressed for his bdae celebration..I was so surprised that Dear actually dressed like as though we r going hiking.. HAHA.. with his backpack (which he seldom bring unless we r doing hiking/travel etc), sports shoes, polo tee & jeans & his unstyled hair.. ALAMAK.. is the only word I can descibe..

Dear... YYYY are u in this attire???

Oh, I thought u said that we r going to play some games, so I better b prepared... must sweat..

Alamak!!! & I m laughing in my heart...

Dear has nv imagined that his darling has actually reserved a rm @ RE HOTEL to celebrate his bdae...



This man is obviously enjoying himself on this cozy bed.... In his mind, he must b thking YES no need to play dunno wat game le...



& this is the artistic pic which the bdae boy took for mi.. haha guess the location



The rm was nt too bad... Our cozy corner for the day..







The BDAE PLAN is to Have dinner in the hotel restaurant & after tt go to Chinatown to have dessert / some late night makam session.. then back to hotel to rest.. the nxt day.. dim sum breakfast.. hurray!! BUT

During dinner, it started to pour heavily.. OMG... plan part 2 FINISHED le.. But anyway, while waiting for our dinner, I forced Dear to do stg which I obviously noe he hates it... That is to drink COFFEE...

My commandings.... haha



I love his expressions n took continous shots of him

Poor JC... Pitiful... Mayb the 1st n last timr he is going to drink that

"You sure you wan mi to drink this coffee?? I dun wan can?"


"ok, for u, i take 1 small teaspoon (bitter bitter BItTer"


"omg... is so bitter...face changed"


"Dear, wat r u doing???"


"Dont Take my pic!!"


"omg, "


"I really cannot tahan the bitterness"


"Must drink water nw"


"Too bitter, water not enough"




And that is mY 1st Present to Dear.. Happy Bdae!!

Hope you have an enjoyable dinner like wat I did..





And this is the actual present for you...@ midnight 24/04/2010

Steps to Proceed with ROM Admin Thingy

This is as requested by Pay.. Mayb this is to save her with the prob of looking through the wordly ROM website for instruction.. haha.. M I right? JUst ask yr CC to do can le.. Anyway. following r the things to do b4 and for yr rom efiling.

Steps:
1. Select witnesses for both parties and obtain their i/c no.

2. Contact a JP who is available on yr ROM day. (you can select one in thr ROM website http://app.rom.gov.sg/internet/reg_info/rom_interpreters.asp)

3. Cfm with yr partner the ROM DATE, VENUE & TIME

4. Go to ROM website, to check if your date is within the filing period. (http://app.rom.gov.sg/internet/index.asp)

5. Can start to e-file once you have all the things above plus within the time frame.

6. Print a copy of the Receipt and FILING INSTRUCTIONS, and follow up on what to do, what to bring, when to go ROM (the allocated date will be 3-5 working days before the date of solemnisation) for verification of documents, Statutory Declaration, etc.

7. Print JP CONSENT FORM and arrange time to meet JP for his/her signature and consent.

8. Wait for the designated date to go ROM.. both of you have to go.. & most likely have to take leave de.. (mine, is on 7th JUL, 0830hr..)
# must bring photocopied i/c of both witness
# JP's consent
# the e file receipt

9. Await yr ROM day..... :)
# Both have to b present
# Both witnesses hav to b present
# Must bring all 4 I/Cs
# Must bring the formal doc taken frm ROM (fr step 8)

ROM

Our ROM date has been CONFIRMED -- 11 JULY 2010!!
ROM Venue is also CONFIRMED after so much effort to hunt for one.. --- CHEVRONS (must say TQ to TKS's fren for helping us to get the unit.)

We are going to do everything DIY for our ROM.. can you imagine. haha the decoration of the venue, solemnisation table, reception, etc

First of all, we have to find a JP. Initially, all details on ROM is my job, but nw the sourcing of JP and filing of the ROM administrative job have all been thrown to my dear.. haha poor him...

Getting a JP, I thought was easy, but I was wrong :( . JC only manage to get 1 after his dunno 3rd or 4th attempt. Poor him, spending time to search & call 1 by 1.. But nevertheless, he found 1 finally.. and tmr we are going to meet up with him... Actually I dunno his name, only know that he is a Grassroots Leader in the Jurong Constituency.

(JC: ya... real headache searching for one...Initially was targeting on bilingual JPs.. those that ppl recommended are not available or non chinese speaking for ROM...Sianz... Arghh..finally I broaden my search to include grassroot leaders. So whatz the difference btw a JP and GRL for ROM?? I bet most ppl oso have no idea..

Thank God I found a Mr-nice-guy for my ROM, Mr Yap Thian Ling. He looks like a pro to me...able to advise us on some things... 3 cheers for him.. hip hip hurray!!!)

At least the filing and JP have been settled and JC can go for his reservist in May in peace.. We shall await for 7th July 2010 to come to collect our cert from the ROM. Getting excited...

For the decoration part, haha designated to be Dear's job as well... I have found some designs for him to follow


I have decided to use pink gerberas for the design... sweet


I simply just love the match


Table design


Table centerpiece


This is going to be replaced by pink ribbons,organza

Concorde Hotel

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Our hotel coordinator is Ignatius. I must say that his service is pretty good as he even suggested ideas on how to go about sourcing for wedding banquet and was also happy to know that we are going to compare Concorde with other hotels in order to get the ideal one. He is not the aggressive type and is more willing to help couples than to catch a deal. Thumbs up!

Ignatius offered us a gd deal I must say:
1. 2 nites stay in Bridal suite
2. Free flow of beer & soft drinks
3. 1 bottle of wine per cfm tables
4. 30% free carpark coupons
5. Day use for helpers
6. 70% Wedding cards w/o insert etc

We will be given 3 themes to choose with. Presently, there are 3 themes - Ruby, Victorian and Glitter. According to Ignatius, Victorian might be taken out and replaced by a new theme nxt yr.. Hopefully to c a better one nxt yr.. :)


Some pictures of Concorde:


Glitter Theme in the ballroom



Glitter Theme VIP Centerpiece


Reception area, which I thk is big enough to accomodate my 350 guests ba... OH yes, Ignatius also promises to put some sofas on the actual day for elderly guests to sit while waiting to go into the ballroom


Bridal suite



Bridal suite -- Table


Bridal Suite

Actually, the suite also conists of a walk-in wardrobe, but I cant load the pic. dunno y also...

The only flaw of the hotel for the time being is the exterior look I must say.... Hopefully, there will be stg done to it in the coming 1 yr.

Hotel Banquet

The sourcing of the hotel actually started way back in Jan after JC has proposed. Reason behind why we started to research so early is bcos we understand that it will be difficult to find hotel banquet esp for 2011 as some couples actually waited for 2011 to avoid the TIGER yr.

The 1st thing that we did is to estimate the no. of tables required by the 2 families. Can you imagine, we actually need min of 35 tables for both families, relatives, friends and colleagues.. meaning 350 guests.... omg..

To narrow down our search, I have actually set some criteria for the hotel banquet
1. Pillar less
2. Must be able to accommodate to my large no. of guests
3. Accessible
4. Within Budget

In the end I narrowed to only
1. Novotel Clark Quay
2. Orchard Hotel
3. Swissotel Merchant Court
4. Concorde Hotel

We have to make time to visit each hotel, to view their ballroom, banquet packages etc and me as usual always self prep myself some qns b4 I meet the coordinators.. Belows are some qns which I will ask to get a better idea of wat the hotel can offer..

HOTEL CHECKLIST

1. Any available baby chairs?

2. Trial complimentary dinner
v Will it be a full / partial menu?
v Food tasting on wkend / wkday?
v When can we start to do our food tasting?

3. Decoration
v Will there be any decoration on the tables (VIP / Normal) and stage?
v Any theme to choose from?
v Available flower type?
v Will table deco be removed when the banquet is served?
v Will there be any chair covers for all chairs?
v Wat colour will the VIP tables be?

4. Reception Area
v Area size?
v Any seats for elderly
v ? Reception area to be shared with other ballrooms??

5. Food
v Any additional charges for Muslim / Vegetarian food?
v No. Of tables a waiter will be serving?

6. Drinks
v ? Free Beer
v ? Free complimentary 1 bottle of wine per confirm table ( not to be served during reception)
v ? Waiver of corkage charges (Hard Liquor, wine etc)

7. Wedding Favour
v Any complimentary wedding favour?

8. Carpark
v Any complimentary carpark coupons?
v If addition is required on that day, to look for who and will there be any addition charge if only 2-3 more is needed?

9. Invitation Card
v ? Available designs
v No. of complimentary cards and if required more. Any charges?
v What are the printing rates? Free?

10. Bridal Suite
v Complimentary stay can extend from 1 day to 2 days?
v Complimentary Day Use for Helpers?
v Any discount for rooms if requires?
v Any welcome meal for couple b4 the banquet?
v Will the rest of the food be served to the couple after the banquet to the room? (For those dishes that were missed)

11. Location
v Will there be any shutter service?

12. Ballroom
v Shape of the ballroom?
v Long March in? Straight? Curvy?
v Any many Ballrooms in that hotel?
v If more than 1 ballroom, how are there going to make sure that your guests go to the correct ballroom? Any ushers? Notice ?
v Any Free projectors? Free DVD player? Have to bring personal laptop? AV tech required?

13. Solemnisation Ceremony
v If to be done on the same day, any free usage of any function room for that day?


After viewing the 4 hotels, it is just too bad that my 1st choice, Swissotel, was already prebooked by another couple...Can you imagine that 1.5 yrs to prebook a hotel is not even sufficient! So my next choice is Concorde Hotel.

Chinese Wedding Customs & Traditions

To us Chinese, it is definitely impt to choose a good date for the customary wedding and so we engaged Mr David Tong (Feng Shu and Geomacy Master) of Chinese Metaphysics Global Consulting to do it for us. His charges if u r interested is 100 bucks (for rom, AD dates, An Chuang, Guo da li dates). We use our Bazhi (including our parents' chinese zodiac signs) to calculate our ROM as well as the Actual Day of the Wedding since the Tong Shu is still not out yet. And so our dates are:


ROM: 11th Jul 2010 (Sun)
AD: 25th Jun 2011 (Sat)

Chinese Customs is not easy & involves lotsa steps fr
1. Betrothal Gift Exchange (aka GUO DA LI)- Do it 1 wk to 1 mth b4 customary wedding
- JC is supposed to come to my parents with

(a) Wedding Cakes
(b) 2 Bottles of Brandry
(c) 2 pairs of Dragon & Phoenix candles
(d) Even no. of oranges
(e) Even no. of cans of pork trotters
(f) Pin Jin
(g) Even no. pkt of peanut candies
(h) 6 Types of grains

In return, my family will give him

(a) 2 bottles of orange syrup in xchange of he brandy
(b) 2 Phoenix candles (we w keep the dragon de)
(c) Even no. portion of gifts
(d) Red Packet for his mum
(e) Even no. portione "Pin Jin) to return

2. Dowry

(a) Tea Set
(b) 1 pair of red bedside lamps
(c) Baby's bath tube
(d) Beddings
(e) 2 pairs of clogs
(f) Sewing Kit
(g) Ruler
(h) 1 set of baby prosperity set
(i) Comb
(j) Dragon & Phoeniz bowls with chocosticks n thermal flask

3. An Chuang (Long procedure, if u wan u can contact me for the list)


An Chuang date will be given at at later date once we cfm our AD. I believe the Chinese Customary is going to keep both of us busy next yr......

Wedding Band

Choosing a wedding band is definitely not an easy task for us especially its design must fit both of our likings. JC and I have been on the look out at the various designs from Goldheart to Lee Hwa to Soo Kee to Tianpo and then back to Goldheart..... and the circle goes on and on... haha you must be thinking is it really so hard to choose?

Well, initially my criteria is to get stg that have a row of diamonds on it. Stg like this design



BUT, of course my the other half also has his criteria(s):
1. No diamond on his ring
2. Design must not be too simple
3. We should not mix & match the designs ( as suggested by some sales ple, in case we like diff designs)

Haha, so the above design fails his criteria #2.

So as we search for the ideal one, I realise that there isn't any pair that can fit both of our criteria... :(

So I changed my mind.. for the sake of dear... since he have already given me a Brillant Rose. Haha..

My New Criteria:
1. Presentable
2. Most imptly, to fit dear's liking

In the end, we got stg like this ( cant really find our actual design fr website) fr Soo Kee Pavilion ION Orchard


Jac Laurent Wedding Series


We were served by Shermim Goh. Well we must say thumbs up for her service. It took us 2 hrs to decide a design and she still served us with a smile and keep telling us the different stories behind each pair of ring.

The story behind our Wedding Band is that

The guy will give all his love to the girl in all 4 seasons.
That is why for the guy's band, there is only a groove as all the love (diamonds) are given to the girl (the female wedding band's diamond) . The 4 seasons are represented by the 4 sets of groove / diamonds.

We love this story + design + it is a Comfort Fit design + it fits my budget.


Shermim also gave us a Free Wedding Pillow & Engraving service.. Yipee...can help us to save some money...


Well, in order to fit nicely onto our fingers, we are going to custom made according to our sizes. So it means we have to wait 3 mths.. Omg.. Lucky we bought the rings earlier cos if the rings doesnt fit in the end, we still have ample time to redo it since our ROM is in Jul 2010.

I can't wait for the collection day...

Our Nest

JC & I actually do not have the intention to get this BTO @ Buangkok Vale as the waiting period is simply too long. However, looking at the hot resale market now, can u imagine, a 4rm flat in Hougang can cost close to 380K(including COV). OMG, can you imagine everytime when we go and view a flat, we get headache everytime. So to put a stop to all these torturings, we have decided to go for the BTO project -- BUANGKOK VALE




The Estimated Delivery Possession Date (EDPD) for Buangkok BTO project is:

Buangkok Vale 31 Jan 2015


BTO Project Estimated Completion Date
Buangkok Vale 1Q 2014





We are still waiting for the HDB invitation to select a unit.. Hopefully we can get 1 of our choice..

Meanwhile, I have decided to stay at JC's small cozy room for the nxt 3 yrs while awaiting for the new hse to arrive. Of course, we have to do mini decoration in his room so that it will look like a newly-wed room.. Our project is to begin at the end of this year... Gd Luck to us

THE PROPOSAL

Date: 31st DEC 2009
Venue: DOZO Restaurant @ River Valley

He brought me here with the collaboration of my sister. The entire restaurant staffs were looking at me.. Well I dunno y, but i just feel weird. The design of the restaurant is nice and it has very gd ambient i must say. We were brought to a small corner, behind a pillar and as usual I started to take out my camera and took some pics.

JC mentioned that he was going to the gent and disappeared immediately after we settled down. I was too occupied by what I was doing and suddenly the waiter came up with these...



actually this bear is in a small bottle, the ring was actually sitting below the bear in the bottle

I was instructed by the waiter to follow the steps
1. Read the card
2. Take out the bottle cork and the bear

Well I was abit too shocked at this & where is JC?? OMG this man left me here with this.. Paiseh..

I read the card -- JC as usual being poetic, again also instructed me to open the bottle cork and take out the bear. Funny, the bear so big hw to take it out fr the bottle. I tried to remove the bear.. oops the string on top of the bear broke.. alamak.. I was so paiseh.. WHERE is JC.. ?? Make me do all this things and ple must b looking from behind the wall, y is this gal so stupid, cant even remove a bear??

Then I being stupid, put back that bottle cork and sit there waiting for JC. I think the restaurant ple must be thinking I am REAL stupid and they have no choice I think but to present this




(JC: the waiter saw that my gal wasn't response to the plan so the other waiter ask the kitchen to prepare the plate and on top, it writes "Will you marry me?" Now everything's set except waiting for my gal to response..)

Haha... and here comes JC Finally.. with his flowers.. took out the bottle cap and the bear.... Finally the ring and Knelt down

(JC: We have known each other for 3 and half years and for these period of time, you shower me with care and concern and I really appreciate your love and what you have done for me.. I hope we can build our future together so I ask if you are willing to walk this future with me. Will you marry me??

HP(smiling): then should I say yes? (laughing)

JC: Erm..I guess you should...

HP: then is a yes..

Saying what he has been memorising (which I think I have forgotten, cos I thk it is funny). I only remember this : DEAR, WILL YOU MARRY ME?

My ans is def YES to you!!

The Beginning of our LoVe Journey

It was in Jul 2003 when we got to know each other in NYP, where we attended the same course. It was during the orientation that we realised that both of us came from NYJC. Of course, I have not seen JC before in NYJC as he was actually my 2 years senior back then. (Don't forget he has to serve NS)

My impression of JC - - Super Quiet. Well I guess his impression of me will be Super Noisy gal in class. Haha, we were merely hi/bye friends during our poly life. It has never crossed my mind that we will be together one day.

It was only after he came back from his Exchange Programme in Japan in DEC 2005 that he started to ask me out.

Our 1st outing: NYJC New Campus, followed by MacDonald at Serangoon Central and my Fav Beancurb shop next to it (think it has shifted its location). These are normally the common places that NYJCian will frequent after class and to me I think this is just a NORmal outing.

His 2nd Attempt: NYP OPEN HSE JAn 2006. Only a lunch at Bishan Thai Express. We did not go other place after that as I started to feel abit awkward as my classmates started to tease our of us of our "SHI XIONG" & "ShI MEI" relationship.

His 3rd Attempt: VALENTINE DAY 2006. JC purposely came all the way from HOUGANG to WDL. Sending flower and gift to my hse. I was caught with surprises. (after that I asked him y all the way to my hse and he just said is to prevent me fr having embarrassment in class later on). HAHA, in deed a thoughtful man.. BUT I was not impressed by him at that time. Well, I dunno if his morning actions had frightened me or what. Anyway, I put him aeroplane for that Valentine dinner.

After days and days, which I couldn't remember when, he asked mi to the NYP stadium where he confessed his LOVE. Alamak, another shocking thing in my life. I din't expect this QUIET MAN to confess. REALLY...Well, I guess I am scared to commit myself in relationship at that time and I actually replied with a NO. My reason: Lets just concentrate on our FYP 1st and finish the last semester.




My frens had been commenting that I "diao qi lai mai", but I am not. I am just not ready.

Finally after our FYP and Exams.. Graduation trip to HONGKONG & MACAU.. MAY 2006. Our trip consists of 13 ple including me and JC where there are 5 couples and 3 singles onli. Haha, yes the "Mei Po" & "Mei Gong" for that trip did help JC alot.





I appeared to be very annoyed of JC during the HK trip but I must say, I am very impressed by his care towards me throughout the trip. In my mind, I am asking myself: Can I trust this man? Will he hurt me? haha i noe this might seem funny but hello if this is going to b my 1st relationship, I must consider properly k.

Back to SG, ntg seem to be happening btw us until the day when he ask me out for dinner at MARCHE Suntec on 15 Jun 2006. A casual dinner... till when he sent me back hm and popped out this qn at the garden near my hse. "Do you think there is a possibility of us getting tog?" and out of his pocket, he took out a Disney necklace which he had secretly bought in HK Disneyland.

AND my ANS is " Well we can Try".

And HE HOLDS MY HAND TILL TODAY and is going to be FOREVER.....