Dressing up for the wedding++

Starring: The Practical Couple
Now that the stress of bridal gown selection is put behind, the practical couple moved on to a new stressful chapter of buying the husband's shirts, shoes, belt, tie, etc and the wife's shoes. There was urgency because (1) photoshoot is in July (2) it is the GSS now.

The wife did not want to spend more than $50 on her shoes. And would like the shoe to be re-usable on other occasions (best if can be worn to work). Comfort was also a very important criteria as the wife's feet is prone to blisters & sores.

With so many restrictions & requirements in place, shoe-hunting was certainly not an easy task as there were lots of designs to choose from. There were bling bling shoes (i.e shoes encrusted with fake diamonds), glittery shoes (the straps of these shoes look as though someone poured glitter on them), satin shoes (usually close-toed with strappy heel, a bit old fashioned), and strappy ribbon shoes (duh).


After visiting Parkway Parade, Marina Square, VivoCity, Harbourfront, and Causeway Point, the wife finally found her shoe at Robinsons @ Raffles City. Robinsons had the most variety of wedding shoes out of all the places the couple went. There was also a 15% discount on the $59.90 shoe, making it slightly above the wife's budget by 90cents.

(See pic on the left for the wife's strappy ribbon heel)

 The husband decided that he wanted only a white shirt because (1) white is versatile (i.e. can match the many colour gowns of the wife) (2) white can match the creamy suit better. He originally had qualms about the re-usability of a white shirt because according to him "it's weird to wear a plain white shirt to work", especially since the wife advised that the white should be very bright and not look like business wear.

The practical couple scoured many shops in search for the right white shirt, including Rossi (fabric is rather thin), G2000 (has pockets), T.M. Lewin (too business-like), Raoul (no bright white shirt), Robinsons (uncle shirts), Metro (uncle shirts), Gap (no white dress shirts), Zara (business-like), and Domanchi (too fancy).

They narrowed down their selections to a textured white shirt with concealed buttons from Tangs (Library brand) and a white shirt with cool buttons from AX. As the husband looked more sleek in the AX shirt and the material seemed better, the practical couple went ahead to purchase the shirt at a 30% discount. The shirt was more expensive than G2000, T.M. Lewin and Zara, but still cheaper than a custom-made shirt at Rossi.

(The AX shirt has stripy grey cuffs that can be concealed for the wedding, but exposed for work)

Now that the practical couple can check off the wife's shoes & husband's shirt from the shopping list, they can now focus on the husband's shoes. The "problem" lies in trying to find a versatile-coloured pair of shoes that can match the creamy white suit and black mandarin collar suit. The couple is looking at brown shoes, but are still undecided on which shade of brown.

The Renovation Story: The day our savings flew away~

Starring: "The Designer", "The Engineer" and "Mr Hill"

The appointment on 29 May 2011 was all about selections, selections, and selections.

Agenda Item 1: Pick wardrobe laminate

"The Engineer"  was absolutely bewildered by the myriad of laminate designs available. She was certain that she didn't want glossy laminates, but had no opinions on whether the laminate should be patterned, wood-y, shiny-matt, classic-matt, leather-y or fabric-y! (http://www.formica.com.sg/product-information/high-pressure) In the end she picked "dark brown" and left the detailed decision-making to "The Designer" as this was way out of her league.

Agenda Item 2: Pick kitchen cabinet laminate

"The Engineer"  knew that she wanted a bright kitchen, but not white nor glossy laminates. Unfortunately, she had no idea if the top and bottom cabinets should have the same laminates. This decision, was also left to "The Designer", who ended up picking a light-ish brown wood with vertical grains, in order to match the $800+ stainless steel backing.

Agenda Item 3: Pick kitchen tiles

Mr Hill recommended a glossy homogeneous tile with beach-y feel for the kitchen wall. The couple picked a grey-ish textured tile for the kitchen floor so that it could match the granite floor in the living and the existing grey-ish tile in the service yard.

Agenda Item 4: Pick toilet tiles

The couple's original idea of a pebble-wash floor in the toilets was scrapped after Mr Hill explained that the pebble-wash is difficult to maintain and can cause moss/algae to grow in between the pebbles. He introduced to the couple homogeneous tiles that looked pebble-y instead. The couple picked a brownish/greyish textured tile to match the existing greyish wall tiles.

Agenda Item 5: Pick TV console laminate

This was an easy choice because the couple found "a set of living room shelving" in a designer furniture store (Mode Studio) at Tradehub that was having a "Moving Out Sale". The shelves are L-shaped and the couple bought THREE of them at a discounted price (2 of them are display sets, 1 is new). The laminate for the TV console should thus obviously match the laminate of the shelves.

Author's Note: The "Moving Out Sale" at Mode Studio ends on 31st July. They are relocating to Marina Square. If you happen to be at the sale and see a brown couch on sale (original price $1,399) please call the couple immediately as they have been hounding the sales people at Mode every weekend to give them a better price. Currently the lowest offer given stands at $888. The couple is looking to pay $700.

Agenda Item 6: Pick sanitary & kitchen fittings

Mr Hill brought the couple to a shop that sells everything -  ranging from kitchen sink to water heater to hot tubs. The couple spent around $2,400 on 3 WCs (1 designer, 2 plain), 2 designer basins, 1 huge kitchen sink, 5 taps (not designer), 2 water heaters, 1 stove + hob, toilet accessories, etc. "The Designer"' was insistent on having a designer toilet bowl with concealed screws. 
Deposit paid on that day = $700

Agenda Item 7: Pick lightings

"The Engineer" would like all readers to know that the total cost of all lights in "The Designer"'s cove lighting feature costs

The Designer" would also like all readers to know that "The Engineer"'s 3 ceiling fans with remote control cost $1,200.
The total damage done in the lighting shop = $2,100 (paid deposit of $1,000)

Mr Hill updated that the HDB permit was already applied, and his contractors are ready to start work on 1st June 2011. Another 40% of the contract price was due on start work day, so the couple issued a post-dated cheque. This brings the total damage done on 29 May 2011 to a grand total of $20,000 :(

The Renovation Story: When "The Designer" and "The Engineer" Met D'Esprit

Starring: "The Designer" and "The Engineer"

Contractor 02 mentioned in previous chapter is actually D'Esprit here.

The preliminary renovation quotation given was approx $40K and excluded the cost of the following:

• cost of sanitary fitting selection
• cost of electrical and light fitting and installation cost.
• plastering the ceiling/wall*
• cost of furniture selection

* Our existing surface of the wall and ceiling are texturized. Plastering, which is costly, is required to smoothen the surfaces.

The quotation is substantially higher than the budget allocated by the couple.
Both "The Designer" and The Engineer" want to keep the total budget within $40K (i.e. inclusive of the cost of the hidden items).

By 'shaping up the budget', the couple is prepared to remove some items from their renovation wish list but they also did not want to let off the contractor so easily and therefore, have to bargain with him and put their charm into use.

The couple worked with Mr Hill, project consultant for D'Esprit. He kindly spent the whole afternoon to adjust the quotation. Some of the key highlights included:

• With Mr Hill's advice, the "The Designer" decided that the existing sliding window, although does not tie in with his design intent, can actually be retained. (Savings of $3000)
• The extensive ceiling design will require substantiate number of costly downlight fittings and cost false ceiling board, "The Designer" was therefore, compiled to keep the ceiling design 'lean' (ie to compromise on the design intent and to allow budget make the decision = Savings of $3500)
• "The Engineer" wanted to have an extensive make-over for the toilets but upon hearing the cost breakdown, she decided to omit the option of hacking the toilet floor & wall tiles & the long bath in the master bedroom toilet. However she was still insistent in replacing the existing WC, wash-basin, to install a cheap cheap shower screen and bi-fold door. (Savings of $1000)
• "The Designer" and "The Engineer" also decided to keep the kitchen reno work lean by having a shorter kitchen cabinet. (Savings of $1000)

Plus some bargain here and there (reduced price of toilet door from $220 to $188, total cost savings of $96) with Mr Hill, the couple reduced the renovation cost to $27,000. This provided some allowance for miscellaneous and hidden costs such as cooker hob, lighting, electrical works, WC, kitchen sink & tap, which kept the overall budget in check.

Author's Note: Advice those looking for renovation contractor: Remember to clarify with the contractor on the various hidden items and their respective cost prior to awarding the contract. These miscellaneous & hidden costs could add up to $6,000. 

Pleased with the quotation and their "bargaining power", the couple signed the renovation contract that same day (i.e. 21 May, aka 6 days after Mr Hill's site visit at Woodlands Ring Road). Payment due upon contract signing was 10%, but the couple did not bring their cheque book and was lazy to walk to the nearest ATM (a block away). Mr Hill agreed to delay the payment till their next appointment, which was set a week later, on 29 May.