Invitation Cards

Starring: The old-fashion couple

Pan Pacific gave the couple a selection of three wedding cards: Black-red, Silver-pink, and Red-gold. Being old-fashion and traditional and not wanting to get in trouble with the elders, the couple eliminated the black-red card immediately. The silver-pink card looked too sweet and a bit non-Chinese-y, so they stuck with the typical red-gold. The cards are longish in design, not the best of size because it limits the printing space.

In their wedding package, the couple were entitled to 210 pieces of cards (70% of total number of pax). They had to source for the printers (with recommendation from the hotel). It seems that "tdragoncards" is the only invitation card printing company used by most couples who are getting married. Probably because the vendor has very good relations with hotels and/or they are smart enough to be located in City Hall (Peninsula Shopping Centre).

The couple went to TDragons on a Monday evening (TDragon is open from 11am to 8pm on Monday to Friday, and 10am to 2pm on Saturday). The shop was very crowded as it was near closing time. Nonetheless the staff were nice enough to attend to the couple even after 8pm. They had a very systematic approach which made the couple feel at ease although they were secretly blur like sotong.

Question 1: Are you looking for cards + printing or printing only?
After informing them that they are only looking for printing services for their Pan Pac red cards, Ms Nice Lady from TDragon came with a set of wording templates and samples of the templates being printed on the red cards. The templates were very useful as the couple could easily see that the red colour of the card was too dark and thus hot-stamping on the cards itself will make the words unclear.

Question 2: Hot-Stamping or Insert Printing?
The couple easily made this decision as explained in Question 1. You can find the price list here.

Question 3: What words to put in the card?
The couple did ample research on this beforehand (i.e. referred to cards from their friends). They decided to go with the traditional wordings (e.g. Parents inviting the guest to their children's wedding) vs the modern one (e.g. Together with our parents, we, the couple invite you the guest to our wedding).

Once you decide on the style, the words are quite standard.The couple tried to phrase their card as best as they could to disseminate the fact that the holy matrimony will be held during the banquet itself. As such, guests are kindly requested to be punctual!

The Chinese wordings were a breeze as Ms Nice Lady helped the couple go through the arduous task of knowing how and what to write. Some of the key questions she asked were if the grandparents (father side) were still alive and whether the couple had brother and sisters.

Author's Note: Remember to find out your parent's full name & Chinese character name before going there.

Question 4: Cartoons?
An additional non-word item on the card costs $10 regardless of number of cards you have. The couple thinks it's a very easy way of earning $10 but the graphic does make the card look less wordy. The couple wanted to pick one which was super big to make the $10 worthwhile but in the end chose something sweet-ish instead.

Question 5: How many to print?
The couple's initial reaction was huh? "Of course print the same number as the number of cards you have". Ms Nice Lady enlightened them that (a) What makes you think you have enough cards (since the hotel gave you 70% only) and (b) You sure you won't make mistake? Hmmm... The couple hasn't ordered additional cards from the hotel yet, but some guests have pre-opted for e-invitations instead to save them the hassle & cost & trees.

The meeting with TDragon lasted for about 30 minutes. They produced the first draft within 3 days of the appointment and would be ready with the inserts 10 days later! The old-fashioned couple will be collecting their cards on 10/10/11. Everyone look out for the invites in your mailboxes!

Author's Note: 
TDragon's contact information -- 

tdragoncards.com

Showroom/Customer Service Centre

No. 3 Coleman Street, Peninsula Shopping Centre #03-01
Singapore 179804

(Near City Hall MRT, Next to Funan Centre IT Mall)

Tel: 6292 8338       Fax: 6333 9279

Email : sales@tdragoncards.com

Appointments (in various definitions)

Starring: The "IT Geek" and "The Guy who is glad he has an iPhone" (aka "The Guy")

September was a month of appointments.

• Appointment with the wedding coordinator from the hotel to discuss banquet matters
• Appointment at the bridal studio for photo selection
• Appointment for trial makeup
• Pseudo-appointment to order print outs for the wedding invitation
• and subsequent appointment to collect them
• Appointment with friends
• Appointment of friends
• Appointment with the mattress/bed delivery guy
• Appointment with video person

The IT Geek introduced the guy to Google Calendar. They set up a calendar to mark upcoming appointments and to book cave-time slots (either alone or with friends). It took a while for The Guy to learn how to connect to the calendar and IT Geek has since moved on to Google Calendar sending alerts via SMS. Woohoo! Now she's very inspired to put an LCD screen up at home with Google Calendar on it so that they can have easy access to each other's schedules. But of course, money is always the limiting factor (and practicality as well).

Appointments are a chore, especially if the other party do not keep to the pre-agreed time. The couple are now very glad that they have chose all their wedding-related matters in the same area (i.e. Pan Pac, Bliss at Marina Square) so that they can schedule appointments on the same day. In addition, Marina Square is very accessible (except during the F1 season) and its a mere bus ride from both her Depot Road home and church. * Woodlands is far from everything so the measure of accessibility do not count

During the appointments, the guy will try his best to pay attention and match the enthusiasm of the IT Geek, who has done tonnes of research (especially on the invitation card wordings). Nonetheless there will be times when he will turn to his trusty soccer game on his iPhone. The guy also uses his iPhone extensively to appoint his brothers and other wedding-related personnel. Maybe the IT Geek should set up SMS alerts for the guy's phone as well.

E-File your Marriage

The earliest you can file your marriage is 3 months before. The latest is 21 days.

Why the restriction in timing? I guess the min days (I.e 21 days) is in place to ensure you're not marrying someone at random or at least have a decent amount of time to think through what you're doing. The 3 months max limit is probably there because by then your ROM date should be confirmed & unlikely to change.

Someone told me that if you have offended lots of ppl previously in your past relationships, it may be wiser to file later.

Make sure you have the following information ready for a smoother e-filing process
- You & your partner's ic number
- Full name of Solemnizer
- Solemnizer registration number
- 2 x Witnesses' ic number

You will receive an SMS and an email after you have successfully filed the notice of your marriage detailing some additional instructions. The instructions include date & time for Appointment for Verification & Statuatory Declaration (The date cannot be changed) and what to bring to the appointment.

Here's the link to the e-filing application: https://app.rom.gov.sg/internet/efile/file_notice_marriage_step1a.asp

2 Months to the wedding!

It's 2 months to the wedding!!!

We started the planning way back in February last year, went full-steam ahead, got distracted a little (by the house) and now it's back to full-steam mode again!

Here's a summarised update (+ implicit table of contents) on what's done and what's not (in no particular order):

• Set the wedding date -- DONE
• Book a wedding venue -- DONE (Extra article)
• Book a bridal package -- DONE
• Select the bridal gowns and groom's suit -- DONE
• Shop for accessories (shoes, shirt) -- DONE
• Pre-wedding photoshoot (& photo selection) -- DONE 
• Buy wedding bands -- DONE
• Recruit brothers & jie meis -- DONE
• Confirm the Solemnizer -- DONE
• E-File your marriage -- DONE
• Plan/Book your honeymoon -- DONE
• Print invitation cards
• Send out invitation cards
• Confirm menu details & food-tasting
• Select wedding favours
• Final fitting of gowns
• Traditional customaries -- DONE
• Book actual day photographer/videographer
• Pick wedding music
• Plan banquet program
• Confirm guestlist

The checklist still seems daunting although it has been trimmed down for a non-picky bride.
The venue deco items (flowers, colour theme, etc) and wedding items (cake, wedding favours, invitation cards) are taken care by the hotel and there are also limited selections to choose from. The bridal package, on the other hand, takes care of matters concerning the couple (e.g. makeup, hairdo, bouquet, car deco).

With exactly 2 months left till the wedding, we will shift our focus back to the items currently marked not done to ensure that family and friends feel welcomed and blessed when they join us in our celebration.