Sito & mf :)

Wow, it’s been a year and a half since we got married legally, and a year since our customary wedding!

Guess it’s time to take stock, starting from say, 2008? Oops, was too busy to write earlier :p And today is like 良辰吉日 11.1.11! So here we go..

The first step

Mr Sito’s proposal was, to quote someone, “epic”. I can’t help smiling whenever I recall the events of that day :) Besides the story itself, what’s most touching to me is that he made that effort knowing that I didn’t need anything elaborate :)

So, the story.. We came back from Hong Kong, dropped our bags and headed off to a family dinner. But there was no dinner. Just this hanging on the “tree behind the cannonball tree” :)


When I first saw it, I thought it read “Merry Xmas”! And even when I saw it correctly, I thought it belonged to someone else at first!

The photo above was taken some time later when we retrieved the card from Jas who helped stage the grand plan along with Alex.

What followed was quite a whirlwind...

Home sweet home

Mum (then-Auntie la :p) was first and foremost concerned about housing. Somehow, we thought HV was a great area and that a three-room flat would suffice. And suddenly on Saturday, 10 Jan 2009, we found ourselves on the way to view 11 flats in that area! In fact, Super Mum’s Super Agent arranged for 12 actually but one pulled out.

Some of the flats were really small, or next to the MRT tracks, or the owners didn’t really seem interested in selling. But one really caught our attention: corner unit, upgraded with a utility room, high floor. By the very next Wednesday or so, we had decided on it and negotiated for a lower COV. Within another couple of weeks, we signed everything and were just waiting for the first appointment at HDB in March!

Weren’t we glad we had Super Agent! We were cutting really close to the appointment time but he was there to bring us to where we needed to be :) Think he also settled the second appointment for us – we weren’t even there!

And weren’t we glad we bought the flat when we did! Many were saying that the prices would drop at the end of the year but well, it climbed! It wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t exceedingly expensive either. Happy :)

Got Master Jin Zi Long to come over to look at the fengshui before we engaged an interior designer. He was quite funny and gave us additional non-fengshui advice like it was better to have a wall separating living room and kitchen so that children wouldn’t get to the kitchen easily as it could be dangerous – we had to reconfirm with him that fengshui-wise, it was alright to take down that wall :p

Kudos to them, HDB was very helpful in responding to my many queries on whether we could have two A/C compressor in a three-room flat, whether we could drill a pipe hole in wall A or wall B, and even how many inductor hobs we could have!

Armed with information, we went hunting for fixtures like oven and toilet bowl* to be built into our renovation. Gave a whole list of dimensions etc to our ID Ixe. He gave us a lot of ideas – he’s the everything-must-look-good kind of chap but we were too slack.. E.g. we scrapped the boxed-in shelves cos we didn’t want to clean! When discussing colours, Sito and he could see eye-to-eye, so we now have a brownish interior rather than, say, bright yellow! Bah! :p

* Yes, the toilet bowl – one of my favourite items in the house :) I called up so many people! Finally, we have a toto toilet bowl with a cistern that comes with a tap so that you can flush, wash your hands and the water from washing hands will go into the cistern for the next flush! We also have a bidet seat. Happy!

We took turns to go to the flat during lunch time to look at the works, wait for deliveries.. Oh, Pinky perished there one afternoon.. Everything was done by October, finally!




Photos were taken by ID later in February 2010, and placed in the March issue of Square Rooms! By then we were pretty cluttered but we cleared stuff for the photoshoot and they added some décor :p

After some cleaning, we did a mega AMK-West Coast-HV move in November. But we already did an “official moving-in” on 25 Oct 2009. We went to our flat in the morning and started cooking a sweet dessert! Also switched on all the lights and appliances. The dessert took a long time but we ate it in the end :p And we made a voice recording too :)

Wedding shots

At first, I was thinking perhaps we didn’t need to take pictures, make an album etc. Then Sito said something wise, “If so, you’d better not regret it when you’re 60...”

Um, ok, better take pictures :p

There was a wedding show in Suntec so we went. I naively thought that it would be everything, from gowns to dinner packages but it was just a whole hall of bridal studios! We didn’t know what we wanted so we left rather quickly after being literally swamped by sales persons!

So I went to recce during lunch since I worked in the Tanjong Pagar area. Talked to a couple of studios a day. It was very hot!!! But at least I shortlisted three, and brought Sito there one Saturday – the first one wasn’t open at our appointed time! We liked the second one so we took it without looking at the third one. Done!

Took leave on 18 Sep 2009 to take our wedding shots. We got to the studio at 9.30 am and ended only at 7 pm or so. It wasn't as easy as we thought.. The make-up, the hairstyles, the outfits and the poses - THE POSES!

Photographer: Ok, 美女, turn towards him.. A bit more.. More..
mf: Cannot turn already!

P: Look up a little.. and to your left.. back to right a bit.. look up a little more..
Us: *confused*

And...

P: Carry her and swirl around!
Sito: o_O

Nop, we cannot be models :p

Very happy to have Zo-san with us! He’s our precious!


We went to Yixing Xuan in the evening gown. Had some fun shots there, feeding each other dim sum and acting cute :p Angmohs took our pictures too, heh..


Went further downtown in our outdoor outfit. Um, ya.. Had a lot of fun at the Chinese and Indian temples!

Love this one – photographer told uncle to pose too!


Then while waiting for sunset, we went to St Andrew's Cathedral, City Hall and Fullerton. But in the end, we did not wait for full darkness – too long a wait! We went to our tree, took some shots and left!

On 2 Oct 2009, we went to see our photos. Strangely, many had us looking down at the floor... First, it was just me.

"Is that a rat?"


"Yes, it is."


Hohoho! Ok, imagined conversation...

We were pretty good - or rather, ruthless! - at choosing photos. In the end we only paid $100 for an additional pose ($60) and to take back one more pose without putting it in the album and photoshop ($40). To have another album page would have cost $110 more!

While choosing the album cover, we looked at other people's albums. One showed a booby air stewardess and her 道明寺-lookalike husband. Sito couldn't forget her for two days – bleah. I almost wrote a post “我不喜欢大奶的空姐” *.*

Made a photo montage for our wedding party using iMovie – it was tough! But I did it! *proud* We played a silent video to a CD for convenience. I only just attached a random song from youtube to the montage so that it’s not like my windy post :p



过大礼

No one knew what to do so we aga :p

On 21 Nov 2009, Sito and his sister brought over:

8 cans of pig trotters
2 cans of abalone
2 packs of dried scallops
2 bottles of wine
8 oranges
2 boxes of wedding cakes (quite yummy :p)
2 boxes of candles
1 ang bao labelled 离乳 for mother – some diaper money thing..
1 betrothal gift (effectively ang bao!)
Jewellery – pretty! I borrowed them for wedding shots earlier :p



Mother returned half the zhujiao, abalone, dried scallops and candles, exchanged oranges, and gave them the 安床 stuff that Sito helped me buy (!), with tea pot and tea cups; and 3/4 of the betrothal gift, and two bottles of orange juice.. And of course ang baos for all of his family.

Um, that’s it :p

Oh, after that Sito and I went out, I think :p

Wedding ceremony and PARTY!

We were legally wed on 3 Jun 2009. On 5 Dec 2009, we had our traditional wedding ceremony in the morning and a celebration in the evening.

The latter date was given by the same fengshui master. It didn’t clash with anything. And it was a Saturday, which was important cos of our relatives from Malacca.

BUT! It was not mathematically significant!!

Yes, that is important :)

So we had our ROM on 03.06.09 first :p

That also gave us more time to prepare for 5 Dec 2009, which involved quite a bit of work.. So we have the flat, the wedding shots and the various ceremonies.

I’m glad that Sito..left most of the planning to me! Haha! Kidding.. Actually, I did most of the drafts with some preliminary discussions, before discussing the details with him. It was easier than starting with full details without having some draft plans first.. Some stuff, like the wording on the formal wedding invite, was further vetted by Mum. Skype helped us – we did all this planning online! :p And with everything settled beforehand, the day went by smoothly..

Woke at 6.15 am to shower etc. My make-up artist Vivi had to do another bride that morning and arranged another to do my hair before she came to do my face later. Vivi was better than the other one especially when it came to advice on hairstyles to go with the outfits so I wasn't terribly pleased but I made do - I mean, bo bian right?!

We started at 6.50 am and photographer JK arrived at 7.00 am sharp - super on time! According to my clock anyway.. And he went about snapping me in my pyjamas having my hair done, moving my armchair and clothes rack out of the way..

When Vivi came, she commented that my mirror was really "big".. And since she couldn't do make-up in yellow light anyway, we moved to the other room with white light and a full-length mirror. Which meant that we didn’t get many photos of my nice room.. Oh well!

Along the way, the jiemeis arrived one by one! Almost forgot to give them their wrist corsages :p While I was having my hair and make-up done, they came in to ask me questions.. They needed the answers cos they were going to ask Sito!

Later, I realised that they’d gone out to get some ingredients to make four “dishes” of 酸甜苦辣 – my lovely jiemeis :)

Grams, Ah Yee and ML’s parents also came by – I hardly spoke with them, especially Grams, given all the activities. To think that I wouldn’t have many opportunities after that, sighs..

We were barely done when the boys arrived!

We had ML’s parents put the veil over me, and then, it was a little waiting...

My door was closed, and I sat there feeling pretty and cute, AND knowing that I WAS actually pretty and cute haha!

Heard a lot of sounds out there… These happened:


And all the questioning..

1) fav food / cuisine (Jap, prawns)
2) 认识几年 （10）
3) no. of ballroom dancing competitions (3)
4) (it was struck out on photo – paper was thrown!)
5) venue/date of first (something... cannot see!)
6) no. of shoes (paper seems to say 30 but, really??)
7) no. of children she wants (4 :p)
8) no. of (something again..)
9) what is your favourite number? (9)

Jiemeis, if you remember, tell me ok?

Just before Sito came into the room, JK came in to position himself for photos, and he said, “Your husband can really talk!” Apparently, he didn’t know the answer to the last question and talked himself out of it! That’s my Sito :)

Glad we took pictures cos Grams wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t wait for the return..


And we left for his place for the tea ceremony


Had some snacks after that.. Lucian was so cute!


We almost forgot to take photos with the family! Turned back from the carpark :p


The brothers and sisters! Thanks, everyone :)


We then went back to our place to change. Tada!


But not before we had Lucian jump on our bed! So cute!


And I threw the bouquet! CY got it! :)


Just realised it was a bit weird to throw it wearing the Chinese dress :p

And now, back to my place, where there was only Mother cos the rest left with Grams.


Had lunch after that – whole day of food :p

The party dispersed from there.. Sito took a nap while I busied myself with packing for..

Dinner celebration!

Signboard – ok
Video – ok
CD – ok
Positions of champagne and cake table – not ok.. Now ok..
Rehearsal – ok

Ready to roll!

After my make-up was done, I asked Na to ask Sito if he needed me to go out. Affirmative! Too many guests for him to handle!

So I picked up my dress and headed out!

It was so fun!

I love a party, especially when I’m host :p


We eventually marched in, to the tune of Swing de Chocobo!


Yup, after shortlisting and shortlisting, we decided on a swing and no less than the Chocobo’s! If we could, we would ride on one haha! So cute :) The Chocobo, I mean..

It was honestly quite a blur.. We cut the cake, a real three-tier cake from Pine Garden that was so prettily decorated but went unnoticed by the couple who was focused on the cutting :p Luckily our photographers took a photo:


We went for the cake tasting a few months before - it was really fun cos we got to try some 10 favours all at one go! Satisfied the glutton in me :)

Then we had about two courses before we disappeared to change into our dance gear!


The whole evening was smooth and relaxing apart from this nerve wrecking 2-minute segment!



But it was fun la :) And meaningful to us too :)

After the dance, we poured the champagne and had a little toast. No yam seng unfortunately cos we didn’t have enough support for a good yam seng, and no yam seng is an yam seng unless it’s good! :p Then we made a little speech. We were so nervous! We didn’t write it down properly so well, nothing here!

Then we realised we didn’t have enough time. We were supposed to dance before the fish but the fish got to be served when it was ready so we went after the fish. So we said hi to our relatives, then split to talk to our respective friends. Quite weird but we really did want to say hi to everyone! No table shots as well so that the brothers could enjoy their meal (and whisky!) properly. But we took some photos here and there anyway.. The one with NPS was amazing!


And so, there we are, legally and customarily married :)


The aftermath

That meant opening up the ang bao..! Read and loved the little notes (written notes, not *just* cash notes :p) from some of our friends :) And then it took us a while more to dump everything into the cash deposit machine cos it was Sunday and we didn’t dare leave them in an empty house for a few days..

We had so many people asking us where we were going for our honeymoon. Well, we are always going on holidays together anyway so I don’t see how the trip after our wedding is any special.. And no employee should have the time to take a month-long holiday anyway! But I’ve taken to asking other couples where they’re going for honeymoon since it seems such an appropriate thing to ask, haha! Anyway... So we didn’t really think about a holiday, much less the need for a “honeymoon”. We thought about going to Sarawak or Sabah but there were no tickets. We ended up settling for KL, and got our flights and hotel maybe two weeks before we left :p

Can’t remember now what we did in KL :p But the word of the trip was “mong” – check out this verb at about 0:08 :p



Think it started on our flight, as we took Tiger Airways! Ok, random...

So, budget airline from budget terminal. It was our first time there, and we felt like we were in Malaysia already!

The below is based on photos, not memory :p

We stayed at Prince right across from Pavilion. It was so pretty cos Xmas was near!


Also took lots of pictures of Petronas Towers but we didn’t go up. Like these old buildings


We had a lot of food!

Yummy char siew in the Overseas Chinese Restaurant at Jalan Imbi, recommended by Jie


A&W!


Also had guilinggao at Jalan Petaling.


Claypot rice somewhere..


Always fried chicken :)


On our last day, I think, we had hakka food!


At the airport or somewhere, we bought some of these


But not this!


Back in Sg, we spent another week nua-ing at home, enjoying our PS3 and walking the neighbourhood. Turned out to be the only time we did that – when we were clearing leave before Kellogg, we were too ill for a while and there was too much packing to be done for us to enjoy ourselves in our matrimonial home. Hopefully, we’ll get to relax there again :)