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.

The Unveil of 656 Woodlands Ring Road

Starring: Mr "If you can't see it means it's clean" and Ms "You're not allowed to sit on the sofa".

After 1 month (plus) of renovation, the humble abode at Blk 656 Woodlands Ring Road was finally "ready"! The couple spent 2 days cleaning the house, during which Mr "If you can't see it means it's clean"'s philosophy was frequently applied, especially in obscure parts of the house. Nonetheless, the cleanup was still torturous; and to add to his  misery, Ms "You're not allowed to sit on the sofa" didn't allow him to sit on the sofa.

The sofa is currently covered with bedsheet and Ms "You're not allowed to sit on the sofa" insists that the sofa will only be functional when there are guests or after they move in. Otherwise it remains as an artpiece.

Cove lighting + art piece at the bottom-left corner

TV Console + Display cabinets from Mode Studio

Hock Siong coffee/end tables

View from the living room + ZX's grilles

Roller blinds for the service balcony void

Tempered glass sliding door for the kitchen

Furnishing the home

Now that the renovation is almost completed, the next step would be to furnish the home.

Due to limited budget, we obviously cannot afford furnishing the entire home and thus, would have to focus on essential items first. You may want to read this article on the 7 essential pieces of furniture for your first home. It makes sense although I must admit, I found this article randomly from Google.

1. A SOFA

Prices for an L-shaped or 3-seater sofa start from $700. The cheapest one that we've found so far (not counting those kucing kurap ones) is a 3-seater leather sofa from Ikea. It's actually quite comfy but the colour is beigy-white (quite hard to upkeep). We've also seen other decent L-shaped and 3-seater leather sofas at Sea Horse going for less than $800. Nowadays sofas have become so sophisticated that you can get sofas with slide-in/slide-out seats, put-up/put-down headrests,  recline features, or all of the above (but they obviously come with a price). 

Our story: You may have recalled our sofa story in a previous post. We are glad to inform that due to our persistent hounding, the sales manager agreed to lower the price to $850. The goods have been delivered and the sofa now lies smugly in the living room. (GRIN)

Note: Mode Studio is now having their Opening Sale at their new outlet in Marina Square Level 3. 

2. A DINING TABLE

The author aptly listed "A table that you can eat from" because nowadays we tend to have our meals in front of the TV (if at home) or outside. This is mainly due to difference in meal times, popular TV programmes at dining times, and the added convenience of dining out. 

Dining tables are, unfortunately, very expensive. They are priced as though to penalise those who really want to have proper meals (inelastic demand). In addition, some are really ugly - either too elaborated with glass designs, or too bulky.

Our story: We wanted a dining table that was value for money because we don't forsee ourselves using the table every single day except probably to put mails and keys on it. Big furniture shops like Nova, Courts etc pride themselves with Mediacorp-drama-worthy dining tables (i.e. big and elaborated). After scouring the limited dining table market, it seemed that only Ikea had slim & classy designs. However they weren't cheap either (total set around $700) because you have to pay for the chairs separately. And the material (compressed wood) was...questionable. We finally found our dining table set ($599 - 1 solid rubber wood table, 6 chairs) at a Furniture & Home Expo. It is the cheapest set we've seen and at least it's made of solid wood. We'll post a picture of it once we have it delivered.

TIP: If you're doing home reno, you can also ask your contractor/carpenter to build a dining table for you.


3. WARDROBE/CLOSET

If you are doing renovations, built-in wardrobes may be a natural and more convenient choice. They look better (i.e. you can customise the laminate and the design), fit better (i.e. full heighr & can fit the whole length of the wall) and can last longer (assumption). I know Ikea offers custom-made wardrobes, but I am not too familiar with how much they cost.

Our story: We picked D'Esprit mainly because their in-house carpenter had great workmanship based on earlier experience with him. He didn't disappoint and we're very happy with our full height 5-door wardrobe in the master bedroom. Mr Hill threw in free anti-slam door hinges as well!

4. BEDSIDE TABLE
A bedside table is good for putting your spectacles, a cup of water, storybook, alarm clock, watch, and other random stuff that you put away only when you're about to go to sleep. Prices for a bedside table start from $19 (Ikea, no frills, just 5 pieces of wood). Normal furniture stores are still selling normal-shaped bedside tables (i.e. Cuboid-ish) so you are only selecting a bedside table based on price, colour, material, drawers/no drawers.

Our story: A friend of ours introduced us to Hock Siong. The place is a hidden gem for those who don't mind quality 2nd-hand furniture from 5 star hotels and showrooms. We found a solid wood bedside table there that cost $45. The table has a drawer and a casement cabinet.

TIP: Hock Siong has a wide selection of writing tables (those you can find in hotel rooms), coffee/end tables (those you see in hotel lobby lounges) and lamps. They also sell high quality stuff like rose-wood sofa sets and dining tables. Hock Siong provides free delivery for purchases more than $300.

5. WINDOW COVERING (i.e. BLINDS/CURTAINS)

The wife initially thought that blinds/curtains were a waste of money because they will be redundant most of the time. Nonetheless the article did bring up a good point about needing some place to change. Since HDB bathrooms are really small and the floors are usually wet after shower (see Point 6), it makes it rather inconvenient to wear long pants in the bathroom. In these circumstances, blinds/curtains can help to protect your modesty.

Our story: Mr Hill brought us to a "window specialist" to select our window films and to enquire about blinds. We found the place dodgy and KTV-like, and mainly because the price wasn't cheap, we decided not to get the blinds from them. We contacted Mr Ang the blind man, who also did the blinds for the wife's existing flat. The husband was very please with Mr Ang and the quote and agreed to purchase the blinds for him. We'll be installing timber blinds for the living & master bedroom + roller blinds for the void at the service balcony. The blinds cost around $1000, not cheap because we got a lot of windows!!!! and the void is 2-storey high!!!

6. SHOWER SCREEN

Although a shower screen is technically not a furniture, the wife insists that is an essential element for the washroom. The shower screen only serves one purpose: Block water thus keep the floor dry. These screens don't come cheap. The screen is made of tempered glass and the labour cost to set up the screen is expensive too.

Our story: The wife is very happy with her shower screen in the shared bathroom although Mr Hill & the husband beg to differ. According to them, the screen was awkwardly positioned and looks really ugly, but the wife doesn't care :)

Dear Jetstar Customer Feedback Form

My flight from Singapore to AKL on 15 Nov 2011 was cancelled with NO NOTIFICATION sent out to me. I was informed about this cancellation BY MYSELF.
This is a severe inconvenience for me because
1. I have a paid, non-refundable ticket on Firefly to Singapore on 14 Nov (arriving Singapore 6.30pm)
2. I have a paid, non-refundable booking on Air NZ on 16 Nov 2011 2.15pm
3. I have booked and paid deposit for a 12-day NZ tour with Firstlight Travel starting from 16 Nov.

I am very disappointed because all I needed from your side was
1. A written letter of notification that the flight is cancelled within 1 working day
2. Refund of the full air fare within 5 working days
But I was told by the call centre agents that they are limited by the system. And the only ppl who could bypass the system were the customer svc agents who mans this feedback form.

I seek your assistance in fulfilling our requests as this trip was supposed to be our honeymoon and due to this misfortune there is added costs and alternative arrangements that need to be done.

Thank you.

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.