Cheong Sum Gems on online Stores!

Just when I was feeling kinda despair over the crazy prices offered by the various dress boutiques for cheong sum which falls between 100 plus to 300 plus as compared tomy budget of 60-80 bucks for each dress of my jiemeis, I came upon this gorgeous cheong sums found on some online shop which fits nicely into my budget! So far I have excitedly sent out the invite to the jie meis and of cos the url links of the online store to asked them browse through it.

I cant help but share this excitement with all btbs who are also having headaches with sourcing for bridesmaid's dresses =)


Isn't the peonies a killer beauty on the white background?


How about the gorgeous contrast between the red peonies on the modern black cheong sums?


Or a classy peacock to bring out the elegance of your feminine?



Or a lively summer blossoms to send a signal of how bubbly your personality are?

Or finally another classic piece to tell another story of 'The Mood For Love' ?

The one which I most prolly LOVE the BEST will be this green cheong SUM!!! Can't tell you how much I dore the green as I feel that it resembles the colour of jid making this piece the most vintage one of all. I almost wanted to buy it out of impulsiveness if my saint mind keep telling me that I should be spending the bucks on the jie mei's dresses and not another silly indulgence of mine.

Look at the details of the button, almost look like a translucent pearl .. oh dear it is seducing me in everyway... urghhhhhhh

For now I will be super thrilled if any of my jie meis choose the dress lol perhaps... after buying for them for the wedding banquet .... i can borrow from time to time to satisfy the vanity of mine to put on at least once or twice with this classic cheong sum!

Did I mentioned that Hong went for a gown fitting on Monday... ahem ... where are the pictures ar ????? An eager jiemei is waiting to see the gorgeous pics you know?!? so don't kill my CURIOSity can?

FINALLY, Congrats to my cousin Calvin and his wife, Siew Ni, who have just gave birth to their 2nd baby just a few moments ago!

Gorgeous Cheong Sums!

After I heard Hong might be planning to tailor made the jie mei's dresses, I started pondering about the dresses for my aunties and esp jiemeis.

To fit into the Shanghai Vintage Theme, the easiest dress codes to flatter my jie mei's figures and bring out their womanly charm will definitely be non other than the GORGEOUS CHEONG SUMS!

Even before we start to salivate over the local fashion designer works on cheong sums, I was pondering where did cheong sum came from exactly? I know it's from china but how????
Finally I found the answer in my fav encyclopaedia - Wikipedia!

When the Manchu ruled China during the Qing Dynasty, certain social strata emerged. Among them were the Banners (qí), mostly Manchu, who as a group were called Banner People (旗人 pinyin: qí rén). Manchu women typically wore a one-piece dress that came to be known as the qípáo (旗袍 or banner quilt). The qipao fitted loosely and hung straight down the body. Under the dynastic laws after 1644, all Han Chinese were forced to wear a queue and dress in Manchurian qipao instead of traditional Han Chinese clothing (剃发易服), under penalty of death.

Chris: Now we know that it became the basic daily clothing fashion by force ... Kinda send a shudder down my spine knowing how the 'popularity' comes by force from the sad history of tyranny!

The original qipao was wide and loose. It covered most of the woman's body, revealing only the head, hands, and the tips of the toes. The baggy nature of the clothing also served to conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age.

Chris: Definitely nothing to do with sexiness and feminine at all!?! UPSET =( So now we know that cheong sum was originally use as a form of fashion suppression on the woman's freedom of expression to look pretty.

With time, though, the qipao were tailored to become more form fitting and revealing. The modern version, which is now recognized popularly in China as the "standard" qipao, was first developed in

Shanghai after 1900, after the Qing Dynasty fell. People eagerly sought a more modernized style of dress and transformed the old qipao to suit their tastes. Slender and form fitting with a high cut, it contrasted sharply with the traditional qipao.
Chris: Finally the liberation of women into a modern and open society! The evolution of the cheong sum's design now represents part of this important revolution of woman in being more significant in the sociey.

However, it was high-class courtesans and socialites in the city that would make these redesigned tight fitting qipao popular at that time.[2] In Shanghai it was first known as zansae or "long dress" (長衫 = Mandarin: chángshān, Shanghainese: zansae, Cantonese: chèuhngsàam), and it is this name that survives in English as the "cheongsam".

OK let's get back from this interesting history of cheong sum. I realise that there are lots of varieties of cheong sums these days and the designs of the cheong sums were gorgeous!

The only set back that, cheong sums are generally very expensive but luckily i m only planning 3-4 jie meis on the banquet day so i know it stil won't burn too much into my pockets. Here are some of the finds I have that I would like to note it down for my references.

1) Twenty 46

http://www.twenty46.com.sg/

2) Hana Fashion

http://www.hanafashion.biz/home.htm

3) Vanity Fashions

http://www.cheongsam.com.sg/Index.html

4) Tong Tong Friendship Store

http://tongtong.sg/

5) Lady Xiang

http://www.ladyxiang.com/index.htm

5) Fuchsia Lane

http://fuchsialane.blogspot.com/

6) Mazzario

http://mazzario.blogspot.com/

7) Cheong Sam Shoppe

http://cheongsamshoppe.com/ourproducts.html

8) My Mandarin Collar

http://www.mymandarincollar.com/

After checking out the prices onsite and at the various boutiques, it looks like it be cheaper to get those from china towns at the price between 60 -80 bucks which is mor comfortable on my pockets =) But well at least the jie meis should know I did try very hard to get them the nicer dresses!

wedding bands

Shopping for your wedding bands can be fun, yet mind-boggling.
M and I went searching around in the shopping centre in the neighbourhood after dinner one day and we walked into LeeHwa first.
Both of us rarely wear any accessories, so we didn't really have anything in mind. We both know that we will know once we see that ring. That one that will call out to us. heh.
The lady at Lee Hwa said,
"Most couples, will walk into LeeHwa, then to Goldheart, and then take a walk around to all the shops around and end up getting the bands from either LeeHwa or Goldheart."

To which, M and I are highly skeptical of. We saw nothing in Lee Hwa that really caught our eye, so we decided to walk into Goldheart, thinking that there's no way we're going to like something there since LH and GH are sister companies.

But what do you know, we saw immediately the pair that stood out from the rest. It was a simple 18k white gold pair. Set with a diamond for the lady ring. The finish was that of brushed aluminium, it was rugged, set simple. It was different, and most importantly, it looked good on M's finger.

Refusing to believe what she said, we went around a couple more stores but couldn't find anything more.

On another occassion, M dragged me to take a look around at Bishan. This time we walked into LeeHwa again, thinking that if we don;t see anything else better, we'll get the pair from Goldheart. Instead, we saw one from the JR's collection, with a slightly matt finish, thick bands, and 2 tiny diamonds on both lady and guy's ring. Now this is a ring with a meaning, it looked pretty gd, and the 2 diamonds stood for me and you, according to M. and of course, he was extremely happy cos he could have diamonds for a change, I'm good for it cos our bands will look identical, contrary to the previous one from GH.

I was abit reluctant to buy it on the spot, since we were able to spot something better just on the second trip. So after that, I did some surfing and found this.

I'm totally bowled over with this. But its something that is different, totally meaningful, and i think it looks rather good.

But i think the price of this will definitely be something out of our league. Then again, I'm a poor employee,(HAH!) everything to me is expensive.

Another day while we were in ViVo, we chanced upon a TianPo outlet, which reminded me a design that I saw long time ago, that I've been wanting to show M. I pulled him in and after much trying on, discussing over a meal, going back to LH to try on the original one that we wanted to get.

Over dinner, M decided and announced with knotted eyebrows and a firm voice.

"I think the decision is obvious. We're getting the LH one. Firstly, its resizable (he thinks i'll balloon 20kg after marriage. he also thinks he'll balloon 40kg after marriage.) Secondly, it boasts of a comfort fit. Thirdly, the price is cheaper.

I gave him a raised eyebrow look and laughed.
"Yea, I'm ok. I can't really decide between the 2."

He then said that we'll go back to Tianpo to try it on one last time to reassure us that our choice is right.

After trying the bands on at Tianpo.
After being dazzled by the diamond on the ring.


He announced.
"I think the choice is obvious. We're getting this."

I just burst out laughing on the spot.
So much for discussing our options.

And yep, it has been decided.

This is the pair.



Firstly, it is not resizeable.
Secondly, it does not have a comfort fit. But its ok, its quite comfortable too.
Thirdly, it is slightly more expensive than the other option. Not a very big jump in the figures.



But the meaning behind the rings beats everything.

SOULMATE® Diamonds share a connection as unique as yours.
SOULMATE® is the story of a pair of diamonds with a unique relationship. Every pair of SOULMATE® diamonds is born from one natural rough diamond formed deep in the Earth, billions of years ago. Only a very rare rough diamond meets the standards established as acceptable for SOULMATE® diamonds. SOULMATE® diamonds share an eternal connection, and are the perfect symbol of a relationship between two people who are soul mates. When set into jewelry, SOULMATE® diamonds are a beautiful expression of the bond that exists between sisters, best friends, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives or to celebrate the joyous occasion of the birth of a child.




And most of all, both of us like it. =)

Winner of Life

As usual, I was browsing through the bridal forum when I came upon this particular thread whereby some btbs(which I suppose) was posting some touching love stories online. There's one particular one that I tear after reading. I think it is the most beautiful reason I have ever heard of and would like to share here with my friends =)

My husband was an engineer. Since I met him, he was always an unflappable rock in my life. I knew he always had his feet firmly planted on the ground, and it seemed that no matter what else went crazy, he would be the one constant.

Three years of romance, and two years of marriage later, I got tired. He was the most unromantic man I know. He never bought me flowers, he never surprised me, and nothing changed in our marriage.

After some time, I finally found the courage to tell him that I wanted to leave him. He just sat there, speechless. My heart froze... what kind of man was I married to that didn't even know what to say to make me stay? After a while, he spoke, "What can I do to change your mind?". "I will stay if you can give me a good answer to this question," I replied coldly. "If I asked for a flower that grew on a cliff, and you knew that getting it for me means certain death, would you get it for me?". His face grew troubled. "Can I give you an answer tomorrow morning?" he asked. Hearing that kind of answer, my heart died. I knew that I could never be happy with a man who couldn't even give me a answer straight away.

The next morning, when I woke up, he was missing. In the living room, under a warm glass of milk, was a note. My eyes grew misty as I read it...

"Dear, I have my answer. I will never pick the flower for you if it meant certain death.

But before you leave, I hope you can give me a chance to give you my reasons....

You will always sit in front of the computer and type about for the whole day, but every time you will end up in tears cause your formating will always go all over the place... I need my fingers, to do the formating for you, so your tears will become smiles.

You like to travel, but would always get lost... I need my eyes, so that I can bring you to the nicest places on earth.

Every time you leave the house, you would always forget your keys... I need my legs, so that I can run home to open the door for you.

You never knew how to take care of yourself... I need my hands to help you get rid of the pesky white hair you hate so much when you grow old, to trim your nails, to feed you.

So you see, that's why I can't pick the flower for you.

Until I find someone who loves you more than I do, I will need my body to take care of you. If you accept my reasons, then open the door, where I will be waiting with your favourite kayabread." With tears streaming from my eyes, I opened the door, and there he stood, with a extremely worried look on his face. He still had nothing to say, but just stood there waving the packet he had in his hand in front of me.

And then I knew for a fact that I will never find another man who will ever love me as much as he does. Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean that they don't love you with all they have...

Guess what, I have the same exact sentiments. Even though woodblock was never the kind of romantic man that I use to envy my galfrens' bfs seemed to be, the little things he do for me in daily lives was way beyond the simple love that anyone could have given me. Even though it may seemed to others that he will have a difficult life for him to have such a wife who is very stubborn in getting things done her way, he made everything seemed so bliss to him.

Strange as it may seemed to be but whenever, I am nasty, he never fails to laugh heartily with genuineness and find all my words funny, cute and witty in telling bad about him. He has totally displayed what the advert on 'Beautifully Imperfect' means by loving my hot temper, my laziness ... Where can I find another person who loves all my bad habits and bad attributes so much and still see me as an angel?

I often asked woodblock whether he belongs to the earth as he looks like some baby angels (largely due to his fault of having such a baby face) from the sky and I was kinda of worried he may be going back soon after finishing his CIP hours with god for taking such great care of me. All I can say if woodblock has won toto, then I have won lotto when we got married together.

Many did ponder and wonder why we got married so early. The reason is just so straight forward. We love each other so much that we just want to start enjoying life together every second until our death which we have no idea when it will be. So why not start early together and maximise out every moment together? Idon't care whether pple see this as a dependence, but to me as long I am living happily everyday with the person I adore so much,
I am the WINNER of MY LIFE .

A terrible intrusion

Something that has been in my mind which I have kept quiet for a long time.

My throat hasnt been feeling well since Jan. I didn't even bother telling woodblock about it as I thought it was just a sore throat. However, as the months passes by until April, I realise that the pain had ceased to go away and will always come on and off =( As suggested by my clleague, I went to the clinic to try antibiotics for my throat as some sore throat are real stubborn in going away....

NOPE! After the full medication, it still din go away. Now I was pretty panicking about it as I recall how my teacher got throat tumour when I was in Secondary School. Woodblock was upset about it too when he found out that i let it dragged sooooooooooooooo looooooooooooooong. So he quickly got me to make an appointment to see a specialise doc and even took half a day off to company to see the doc *touched*.

So today was the final day when i got to see the doc. I AM SUPER NERVOUS, it was obvious that the doc need to insert a sensor down into the throat but I swear that I did go to Tan Tock Seng with lots of pyschological preparation so i thought it will be ok for me.

In the clinic, the doctor sprayed some liquid into my nose. I was pondering what's that for ...?!?!

WAIT ... something's not right!?! What I didn't know was that the sensor was supposed to be inserted through
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
MY NOSE !!!!

Ouch was the menancing thought that came to my mind. BY the time I came round to what was happening, I realise there was an extremely bitter taste in my mouth due to the liquid spray just now. Even though the liquid spray was supposed to be use for numbing the nose passage way, for the next 5 minutes, I couldn't even open my eyes as I felt so terrible and uncomfortable with a long tube poking deeped and deeper in.

I even stopped BREATHING! However, by not breathing, it was a total obstruction for the passage of the tube sensor and I struggle to force myself to breathe while bearing all the terrible sensations.

WHEW finally when the doctor took out the tube I thought everything was over. NAH not so easy and then he start inserting the tube through the OTHER nostril =(

All was a good sacrifice at the end of the day as the doctor finally diagnose the most probable reason of all the pain. GLAD that it was definitely nothing to do with tumour, but the swollen interior indicates that it might be cause by heart burn =( sigh I did get chest pain from heartburn last yr little but little did I know that it hasn't completely go away yet...

I hope there won't be any more side effects from heart burn

BUT

I know I be FINALLY sleeping soundly with ease tonight =)

A gorgeous double happiness candle

Rcently I have been looking through the wedding favours in http://sgweddingfavors.com/ .

Many of the favours here can be found from overseas favour webby, of course it will be slightly cheaper to order by ourselves from overseas but nevertheless I found the price quoted by sgweddingfavours slightly cheaper compared to the few other local website quoting for the same item which I found kinda of interested in.
TADA isnt' this beautiful?. I have always love the contrasting colour of black and red as it exudes the new oriental sexiness in wedding.

However, th sad thing about the candle is that it for favours and not table centerpiece, therefore the dimension is pretty small at 5cm x 5cm x 5cm . This size can still be used efficiently for long table setting decor but for a round banquet table, it can be quite a challenge as the aestheticness of the centerpiece is no longer 2 dimensional but from 360 degrees.

The cost of the candle is approximately $3.30 offered by sgweddingfavours not cheap but defitnitely a kill for if you know how to use it as a centerpiece statement.

For long tables, you can have basic black tablecloth with either a red oriental liner at the center or a whole row of rose petals lining the center aisle of the table with the candles being place some distance apart on the rose petals. Simple but gorgeous!

I'm still comtemplating to get them for centerpieces =P wait till i think of the perfect plan to set the candl on the tables...... muahahaha

Previews of Guest Wishing Post Cards

Thanks to Ah li who has been helping out with the postcards, I did some enhancements to make the pics looks more orangy in terms of colour tint to enrich the antique look of the mini postcards =) I wonder if my guests will be surprise to see the cards. It's nice sharing the pictures of the calendar from the olden days of the Shanghai, bringing the ambience of Vintage Shanghai to them.


Some of the examples of the postcards pics

Another triump of a Budget DIY Bride!

Postcards for Guests Books

GUESS WHAT?!?

Recently Hong has made a very interesting suggestion as an alternative to my guestbook! I'm so happy that amongst hr busy preparation for her wedding she still have time to remeber to help me look around for interesting ideas for my banquet wedding.

Just by looking at the pictures of the postcards from 1930s Shanghai which she sent me is enough to make me drool. (yeah told ya I'm a sucker for aesthetic art works)

Here's a view of the postcards which is selling on this online store:


Picture Source: http://www.1930shanghai.com/items/285161/en1store.html

Well the pics are shoing posters of Shanghai Calendar Girls in the 1930s and it is hard no to marvel at how pretty they look! I was really surprise about how 'open-minded' the society was back then because some of the Calendar was a little on the wild side at such an era.

Never mind, but this is going to be preview of my mini postcards which I'm getting AH li's help again for another round as i prefer smaller size postcards for my guests to write their wishes on as :
1) It will be easier for me to keep
2) Hong propose a postbox for the guests to post their wishing to me at the banquet hall, so I do not need to make a humongous one

So I guess it will be another round of exciting DIYs soon =)

Be a model and try out free make over+ free photos to take home

Was surfing through the forum when I came upon this interesting and beautiful url with many gorgeous wedding pics of a make up artist and her husband who happens to be an upcoming bridal photographer.

Among the photos you will find a mix of photos taken by their bridal shop and a huge chunk taken by the husband for practice shots. Looking at the feel of the pics, all I can say is that he does have great potential for capturing brilliant shots.

Can't help but comment that Bride icicle's makeup skill is really good after browing through some of her works in the blog

However, these are the things that really excite me to put up a post on the bride's blog because I realise that for their port folios (husband +wife team), they are actually looking for MODELS for photoshoot in the month of May, June, July and August. Of course I think that the it is a win-win situation since btbs can get to try out different styles to see what fits their face(meaning more than one make up trial for styles) and at the same time the couple gets models with ease and at no cost. Plus they will be letting the models keep the makeover shots so sounds like a good momento isn't it?

Ok here's the blog url!
http://iciclediamond.multiply.com/journal/item/8/Looking_for_models..._...

* pls copy the whole sentence including '..._...' lol strange ending to an usl's address!
Anyway for those who are lazy here's the post on bride iciclediamond's blog





Want to find out how you look in a particular hairstyle? Wonder if a particular hair style suits your face shape? Wonder how you look with big eyes with double eyelid without having to do plastic surgery? ?? If you do, take the chance to be my model to find out ^_^

I am looking for models between age 18-35 for my portfolio for the weekends during May, June and July and August.

The makeover will be either for bridal or fashion makeup and hairstyling. I will be doing at least 2 different hairstyles and make up. The whole process will take around 3 hrs ( 11am -1pm or 2-5pm) and location will be either at Yishun or Tanjong Pagar.
My hubby will be taking makeover shots ( either indoor or outdoor depending on preference and circumstances) for the models to keep.

If you are interested, please drop me an email at iciclediamond@gmail.com with your recent photograph and 3 of ur preferred dates :) Models must be willing to let me take their before and after picture. and dates are for first come first serve basis :)

Secret stash for pre-wedding shoot

Now for pre-wedding photoshoot, other than squeezing the brain power from gowns to venus of the photoshoot, the job doesn't stop here.

In fact, it is advisable to prep PROPS for the wedding shoot. YEP PROPS! Well even though we are definitely not in mediacorp drama serial studio, you find that the details in a photo is are equally as important in telling the story to the picture!

let me give you a list of the examples of the ideas for props:

For the couple

1) Wedding bands

2) Flower bouquet (not compulsory)

3) Bunch of balloons

4) Musical Instruments

5) Veil (for those kissing pics under veil)

6) Rose or flower petals

For her

1) Jewelleries (eg bracelet, rings, bangles, necklace, earrings etc)

2) Fan

3) Fur Shrug

4) Umbrella (either those lace or white translucent kind)

5) Long silk/lace gloves

For him

1) Variety change of neckties etc

2) Fanciful Shirt for change

3) Hat

4) Ring/Bracelet

5) Six packs (lol but that needs lots of time though andI am definitely not talking about six packs of beer.... rollz eyez)

TADA over the last weekend while shopping at the new Tampines Mall, I secretly bought a ring as part of the accessories stash for the pre-wedding shoot.

When Ah li saw the ring the first thing she exclaims was : 'It's so you.'

I just simple love huge, chunky and bling stuff =)

Well I am definitely gonna use this for the shoot at Asian Lunar Fusion Bar as I prefer a dramatic look for the pre wedding shoot. Can't wait for the second gown fitting!

An interesting time at the New Tampines Mall

What is woodblock looking at?

What is princess Christine looking at?

Eh What are we looking at exactly?!?

With our hands clasped tightly together, needless to say that the nervousness we had at that particular moment was beyond words.....

TADA, ooo... it was very first experience at fish spa lol. We accidentally chance upon it while shopping and I challenge woodblock to give it a try.

Hey it might look relaxing etc etc I can't tell you how itchy and traumatising it was for woodblock and me initially. Definitely wasn't easy for me to stop moving my feets around whenever I cant tolerate the itch anymore. After some time when you get accustom to it, it feels more like random electric pulses on your legs.

The only problem that I have to overcome was not to look at the fishes too intently. Well it IS DEFINITELY ok for little fishes to come and bite your legs... BUT BUT BUT if you are talking about fat big ones, oh boy, the first reaction I have was to siam(avoid) the fish because somehow it looks like it was hungrier than the rest due to its bigger size. Most importantly it looks like as though it has humongous appetite which makes me feel like I am being savour by a PIRANA instead.


The scardy cat couple who is dying from ultimate itch and fear of PIRANAS look a like fat fishes.

Woodblock complain that the fishes like to bite his toes' dead skin and nails. Hmm looks like the fishes have a FETISH for TOES.... ewwwww

Wanted to try capturing the image of the fishes but the reflection is getting in the way =(


End of the day woodblock and princess christine manage to survive the 30 mins traumatic first time experience and encounter with Ticklish KILLER PIRANAs!?! (aka fish spa)

ANoTher Score of VI-C-tOR-y for the ADVENTUROUS couple!!!

Family Outing

Even though I'm now sick AGAIN =( at home. I must say I do enjoy family outing during Sat. So guess what were we doing?

What's up with all these umbrellas?

Were we singing in the RAIN? Nah that's so easy, we are doing something far MORE CHALLENGING!

TADA! Yeshh we were actually bbqing in the rain =P it's defitnitely not an easy feat because for the whole columns of pple who were suppose to be bbqing at the same time as us, all ran back into their chalets. The funniest thing was, all of them peep out from their chalet to see the GARANG family doing their bbqing.

On second thoughts, it is good to realise that everyone has a part in the bbqing all of a sudden with maximum 100% family participation. Cos either your hand is on the grill flipping the food, if not it should be use for holding an umbrella. Great that we have tall Ah boi(Ah jie's bf) to help us with it.

Some genius might then ponder how about the princess christine, why is she so damn free? Well the reason is simple, because by the time I took this pic, the rain has more or less become more subtle(I am not a lazy daugther in law ok). If not initially I was part of the raining bbq crew holding 2 huge pieces of aluminium foil above the grueling bbq flame to prevent rain water drips on the food!

Stylo Ah li who stil manages to pose despite all the rain and smoke.

There were times when the rain stop momentarily, so we quickly let our tiring arms comes a rest from holding the umbrella.

The Hands on team!

Did I mentioned that *AHEM* I was the one who did the marination of the yummy chicken chops and chicken wings?

(BIG Smug look all over

Christine's face)

The tong team! Just a note hre, I realise woodblock likes to play with food. He is poking the food SO MUCH with the satay stick I felt apologetic to the bbq food. First of all, they had not owe woodblock any money and secondly it is painful enough over the hot grill. Sigh even in their last moments, their body has been toyed with some dumb satay stick.

The Fanner! With Ah lis other free hand hannging like this, she looks practically like a match maker (mei po). Are the satays getting wed?

What's a bbq without the pic of the sumptious spread?!? Notice we have salmon sticks too!

Finally we hid back into the chalet to escape from the rain and enjoy our food spread.

OPs did I mention that only this late noon, woodblock realise the mustard has expired ?

AND

OPs did I mention that I marinated the chicken chops with MUSTARD too?

Whisper: Damn, is that a good reason why I am sick? Don't tell them about this secret though. But now we know that expired MUSTARD doesn't kill. But STILL it is still wiser not to tell them about it. I STILL need to maintain my virtuous wife/daughter in law/sister in law reputation.

What must we do for Hen Party ?

Of Cos when we talk about hen party, it is usually an affair whereby close girlfriends either go

1) Go clubbing have a wild night together with some strippers to tease the btb (suggested locations by some brides will be Gotham Penthouse, Supper club etc)

2) Take cooking lessons to prep the btb and her friends with some hell of a skill to tie their htb gastronomic appetities

3) Dancing classes (usually those sexy ones like Sensual Joy and The Body Talks - their webby link is not woroking so I can't be bothered to post them)

Anyway found the following info from some advert posted by The Body Talks:
"three fun themes to choose from:
Ultimate Tease Hen's Party(from $55/pax for 13-15 ladies)
This workshop takes lap dancing to another level. The moves taught are cheeky and daring and we promise you will have an outrageously good time.
Pole-licious Hen's Party(from $65/pax for 13-15 ladies)
Wouldn’t it be fun to try Pole Dance - the workout of the stars? Teri Hatcher and Sheila Kelley swear by it. This is one party you and your girlfriends will not forget. Exotic Dance or Lap Dance Hen's Party(from $45/pax for 13-15 ladies)"

4) Fine gastronomic dining (like a nice indulgence in hi tea like in V tea Room, Max Brenner Choc)

5) Spa pampering treatments together (for those who are interested in SPA, I accidentally found this good lobang website with many offer vouchers for spas round singapore! yay I love discounts and special deals
http://www.totallyspa.com/index.cfm?method=promos.promoSearch )

For the some NOT SO conventional ones

6) Fun Art Lessons with ART JAM
A Night of Fun and Expression
$65 per person or $780 for a minimum group of 12. Includes canvasses, free-flow of paints and finger food and a complimentary glass of wine each. The studio takes five to eight persons, the rooftop takes 12 to 40.
Includes:
RED ART Premium Canvas - A2
Free flow of paints
Use of Brushes, Aprons, Art Gear
Free flow refreshments (soft drinks and snacks)
Complimentary large glass of wine
(http://www.red-art.com.sg/)

7) Golfing Brides?
http://www.divotdivas.com


Now was discussing about hen party the other day with the gals and seems that as a combine hen party for hong and me, it shall be one with great fun and a great day of pampering! So went to do some research on hen parties in according to us girls' needs =)



Girls have a happy browse through and do add on more from your side to this post if you found more lobangs, then we can consolidate and choose a Oohhh HEN PARTY OUTING! So exciting right?!?



1) Pink Parlour



Mini Hen's Party - S$88/pax (4 to 10 pax)
Includes:
1. Choice of 1 treatment:
Utimate Hydration PediSpa, or
Quickie Oxygen Facial, or
Dead Sea Salt Scrub, or
45min Back Massage, or
Brazilian Waxing
2. Finger Food & free flow of fruit punch
3. Private use of Spa for limited duration, i.e. 2 to 4 hours
4. VIP entries and table into Club in either Clark Quay or Mohd Sultan (subject to availability)


Hen's Pampering Party - S$98/pax (4 to 8 pax)
Includes:
1. 1hr Body Relaxer or Aroma Boost Facial
2. Finger & free flow of fruit punch
3. Private use of Spa for limited duration, i.e. 2 to 4 hours
4. VIP entries and table into Club in either Clark Quay or Mohd Sultan (subject to availability)
Food Menu
Package One
Bruschetta
Corn Chips with Salsa Dip
Carrot, Celery and Tomato with Dip
Brie or Cambert Cheese with Crackers
Selection of Deli Meat Slices
Cream Puff or Eclair
Orange Juice or Grape Juice




Girlie Parties: Make Over Party - S$128/pax (4 - 6 pax)
Includes:
1. Quick Oxygen Facial
2. Makeover Session with Photography
3. Receive 4R makeover photo
4. Finger food & free flow of non alcoholic beverages
Movie Night - $68/pax (4 pax)
Includes:
1. BYOM (Movie) or Select from our Collection
2. Princess Pedicure with 15min Heavenly Foot Massage
3. Pop Corn
4. Nachos
5. Chocolates
6. Free Flow of Tea, Coffee or Ribena or BYOB



Webby Add: http://www.pinkparlour.com.sg/parties.php



2) Afond Spa

Prices range from $88 per person to $218 per person, from 90mins to 3.5 hours Spa Party. To me this is pretty value for money considering the no. of hours involve.

Webby Add: http://www.afondspa.com/spa_party.htm



3) Nail It!
- Spa Treatment Manicure & Pedicure of choice for each
- Complimentary Wine & Cheese
- A Service Gift Voucher for the Bride-to-be
- Hen's Night Survival Kit for each
- One-way transfer to destination of choice (sounds like it will be sending you to clubbing etc)
http://www.nailit.com.sg/events.html

4) Shanghai Dreams (not Grand Shanghai =P)
$75 a head for a minimum of six and a maximum of 12. This includes a mani-pedi each, complimentary drinks and snacks, and the games. Anyway most important thing is: I love the vintage decor lol.
http://www.shanghaidreams.com.sg/index.html

A New Look!

Whew finally adjusting the numerous numbers in the html finally manage to centralise the cover blog pic =) Hope you weren't too affected by my trial and errors because I realise many pple were logging in while I was doing my "technical repair" =P

The new music and picture is for my own leisure because I got a little bored seeing the same pics over and over again and the same music too. BUT hey it's my blog so who cares what you think about it right.

How to choose a Bridal Shop?

'HOW to CHOOSE A BRIDAL SHOP? =('

This question was popped in by a guy friend of woodblock and mine in uni. BUT ops he asked the wrong person - woodblock!?! Hello don't you know woodblock just need to attend the wedding that his dear wife plans?

Yep he is THAT relax because his virtuous wife is simply great in cooking, washing dishes, telling jokes, being simply cute (as in naturally from deep within)

Christine : HEY YOU! YES you!


Why are you giving me that kind of look that is skeptical? You dont believe what I say do you ?( an angry christine who feels hurt of such accusation look)

Thank goodness there's evidence! Don't worry these evidence are authentic as they are all taken ages back ago when I still have short hair(another concrete supporting evidence)

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WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

Concrete Evidence 1: Hello Cute Girl!

Concrete Evidence 2: Beary Cute Girl !

Concrete Evidence 3: PUffy Cute GIRl! (haiz unbelievable sweet)

Concrete Evidence 4: Girl who looks shock but still beary cute!

Concrete Evidence 5: Big Eye cuteness (guys always think that girls with big eyes are cute and now I understnad why after reviewing my pic after such a long time)

Concrete Evidence 5: Act blur cuteness (the kind which guys like to protect especially like veggy hubby to give them a sense of manliness)

Concrete Evidence 6: Hao lian Cuteness ( now we know why woodblock is so smitten by me because even when I am trying to act evil, I am still so adorable!)

Anyway the most important thing about this virtuous wife christine is that she knows what she wants for the wedding and at the same time she makes sure she looks after her woodblock's POCKETS from being burnt out.

So I guess when woodbock's friend ask him a question thinking that woodblocks know... *AHEM* .. tells a lot about woodblock's friends too (so we know that they should all be quarantine before the whole singapore becomes infected by the blur veggie virus)

A cheerio Woodblock being happy veggie hubby!

Anyway now here is my answer to this $$$ million dollar question $$$ seriously!

1) Get a local bridal magazine. It cost around 6- 8 bucks but you will find that such spending is important for ideas and reference so try not to be thrifty over this as it will help you spend the money in the right channel.

2) Look through the magazine and go through the various different style of gowns and photography offer by the various bridal shops. You will realise that there will be one or two or even several ones that might catch your eye, note all of them down into a list. So there now, you now have a direction to work on.

3) Next, set a budget with your partner. If your budget is 4k then looking for a bridal package at approximate 3k will be good as you wil find that the costing may be stretch later on for bits and pieces of top ups eg for lace gown($500), additional page( avg $80), make up (ampoule, eye lash .. ) etc

4) After this step with your list of bridal shops, then go to the bridal forum eg http://www.singaporebrides.com/cgi-bin/forumboard/discus.cgi or http://www.styleweddings.sg/forums/ and look under the thread for bridal shops to look for the bridal shops you have listed. You will be able to find the various reviews on the shop.

IF you are not able to find any threads on the bridal forum on the bridal shop of your interest ,then I can tell you most likely it will not be a good bet to get a package from the shop as there is a good reason why all these threads cant be found. Usually, the main reason is that the comments are so bad and negative until it affects the reputation of the bridal company. So under some form of pressure, the forum moderator has to remove it.

5) Do also visit threads like the market exchange too look for pple letting go ready bridal packages. Reason is simple: You can collate all the price of the packages and most important note down what are all the things/goodies that the bridal shop offers to other couples. This ensure that you will know whether if the costing fits your budget and at the same time maximise your bargaining with the bridal shop even before stepping in.

GUESS what you will now win half the war through:

1) Knowing the price vs your budget so you will not be visiting a bridal shop uncessary and end up commiting too much money beyond your means

2) Knowing what is the best price on offer by the bridal shop (but usually the price only varies by a few hundred)

3) Knowing what is the best deal that the bridal shop can offer. Better more then less.

Some btbs might argue what if I don't need an MTM wedding dress, car etc ?!?

well don't bother about it and just take it first. YOu find that later on when you don't need it, the bridal shop can easily change it to other items to cover these making it a win - win situation for you.

6) For those who prefer any particular photography company (as in their style of photgraphy), then you might want to find out if your dream photographer is tied up to some bridal shops so you can have the best of both world by signing up at the bridal shop which he/she works with. As mentioned by Hong previousy, if you dont have a good tailor lobang then you might end up paying more or even having a gown that might not be to your maximum likings at all.

7) Finally with after a great bargaining, you are allowed to do an evil laughter MUAAHAHAHAHAAHAH for your ingenious buy!

haiz same conclusion isnt it? ........ Still ROARING CUTE!