Selecting our wedding bands

Starring: "The Noncommittal" and "The Wallet"

The selection of our wedding bands was a long and arduous process, mainly because "The Noncommittal" insisted that she had to survey all the wedding bands in every Lee Hwa, Soo Kee, Goldheart, Love & Co etc before committing to a single pair. "The Wallet", on the other hand, insisted that he would pay for both the rings but eventually got veto-ed (we decided to split the cost).

The journey started in March this year. "The Noncommittal" had the following requirements for the wedding bands:

• Simple design (preferably something that looks like our existing rings)
• Diamonds are optional for the girl (but do not want to pay for an expensive diamond), strictly no diamonds for the guy.

We saw a really nice ring in Lee Hwa Wisma Atria which had a wave design embedded on it. The rings were also on sale at that time. 

"The Wallet": Do you want to buy them?

"The Noncommittal": No! It's only March and our wedding is not until end of next year!

"The Wallet": Then why are we ring-shopping now?

"The Noncommittal": So that we will know what to buy when it's time to buy!

Sometime in June, someone told "The Noncommittal" that we should consider Titanium rings because they are unique and cool. "The Noncommittal" agreed and decided that now her requirements for the wedding bands are:

• Simple design
• Made of a unique metal (i.e. not gold)
• Diamonds are optional for the girl (but do not want to pay for an expensive diamond), strictly no diamonds for the guy.

The search for the rings obviously became slightly more complicated because titanium rings can only be found online or in wellness stores like Osim, OTO etc. The most unique metal that local jewelers have is platinum. And platinum wedding bands are rather pricey.

"The Noncommittal": Since Soo Kee is already so expensive (platinum bands), we might as well get Tiffany right?

"The Wallet": OK

"The Noncommittal": But Tiffany bands are so plain! And too thin for your finger!

"The Wallet": Uh-huh...

"The Noncommittal": Hmm...but why should we pay for a metal that looks like white gold? Anyway my engagement ring is already platinum.

"The Wallet": Uh-huh...

"The Noncommittal": I think let's just go back to white/yellow/rose gold.

"The Wallet": OK

*This is our effective mean of communication: One to make decision, the other to provide encouraging comments during the decision-making process. However, please use this advice at your own risk. We shall not be held liable for any negative impacts to your relationship.

Our wedding band journey slowed down in the months of July to Sept because we were both busy at work. Nonetheless "The Noncommittal" still managed to slot in impromptu visits to the jewelry shops on the pretext that "since we're here we might as well go in" and "they offer free tea & we get to sit for a while".

In October, we decided to buy the wedding bands on 5 Nov 2010 as a "-1 year wedding anniversary gift". (Note to other couples: There is no precedence for buying negative-years wedding anniversary gifts. Please do not quote us in the event of any emotional or financial impacts on your relationship). With this deadline looming, "The Noncommittal" decided to take the shopping more seriously. Unfortunately for us, we can't seem to find the perfect wedding bands. To make matters worse, the list of requirements grew as we visited each shop.

• Simple but non-boring design
• White gold (because "The Wallet" doesn't look good in yellow or rose gold)
• Preferably a mix of matt & shiny surface because "The Wallet" looks better in matt while "The Noncommittal" looks better in shiny.
• Diamonds are optional for the girl, strictly no-no to diamonds for the guy.
• "The Noncommittal" wants the bands to cost max $1200 (one pair).

Then came an unexpected event: "The Noncommittal" was going for a family holiday to Bangkok during the weekend of 5 Nov 2010. This was a last-minute decision and so our 5 Nov 2010 buy-wedding-band-date was postponed to 19 Feb 2011 (as a 1-year proposal anniversary gift).
(Another note to couples: There is also no precedence for buying proposal anniversary gifts)

The list of requirements increased with every jewelry shop visit, adding to our difficulty in finding the perfect wedding bands. Just as we were about to shelf the idea of getting the ring till January, God blessed us with a white tent at Ngee Ann City.

It was through this jewelry showcase/sale (by Lee Hwa) that a ring caught our eye. It was a white-gold half-eternity band and was on sale (60% discount!). The search for a matching guy band was slightly more complicated since this ring wasnot supposed to be a wedding band. We had to trot down to the Lee Hwa outlet at 313 to scour their counters for a matching guy band. We eventually found one that was a perfect fit! It was a white gold band, with both matt & shiny surfaces, no diamonds, and on sale as well!

Although it was only December, we both agreed that the rings were heaven-sent and made payment immediately.

(Apologies for the grainy photo, our photography skills are not too great)
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We started out with a list of requirements for our wedding bands. And the list changed and grew as we visited more shops and tried on a few more rings.

However, when we saw the ring in the white tent, the list did not matter any more. It was truly love at first sight. And us being able to find a matching guy band gave us the affirmation that the bands were meant for us.


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Advice to couples:

• Do set a budget. This will guide you tremendously and help you to focus your search. If not, you will be easily distracted by the bling-blings "pushed" by the sales personnels.
• Each store carries more than one line of wedding band. Usually one line is more expensive than the other because it uses branded diamonds.
• There are at least 2 kinds of ring fits. We have come across Standard fit & Comfort fit.
• Do ask for free engraving.

Things to do in Queenstown, NZ

1) Bungy Jumping @ Kawarau Bridge (by AJ Hackett)

"The Kawarau Bridge Bungy (bungee) - home to the original 43metre Bungy Jump. If you've heard of Bungy, you've heard of the Kawarau... it is where Bungy founders AJ Hackett and Henry van Ash started it all.

The world's first and most infamous of leaps is still going strong, with tens of thousands Bungy jumping each year. At the world's best-loved Bungy site, you can choose from a number of options; topple over backwards, forwards, with another person, spin or somersault. Kawarau Bridge Bungy is also the only Bungy in Queenstown where you can choose to bob above the water, touch it, or be fully immersed." ~ Image & Text reproduced from http://www.ajhackett.com/nz/

PRICE: $180 NZD (Any sponsors?)

2) White Water Rafting
Possible locations: "Shotover River" (Serious White Water) or "Kawarau River" (for first-time rafters).
Companies: Queenstown Rafting, Extreme Green Rafting, Challenge Rafting
Anyone with experience on which location & company is better?

PRICE: $180 NZD

3) Kayaking
We can choose from independent kayaking (Queenstown area), guided tours (Queenstown, Glenorchy or Lake Wakitipu) or combos (kayak + dinner).
Companies:

• Rippled Earth Kayak and Dinner on Sunset (NZD 170)
• Kayak Adventures Queenstown (independent hire)

* We'll probably decide on this only when we get there since kayaking is something we can do in other countries.

4) Eat!

• Skyline Gondola Restaurant - Buffet Dinner - NZD 55

The Proposal Story

The date was 19 Feb 2010. Two individuals sat anxiously at their candle-lit table, as they enjoyed the night-scene of Bangkok. It was a cool night; hence it didn't matter that the restaurant, Vertigo,  perched at the rooftop of Banyan Tree Bangkok, only offered alfresco seating.
  

*This image is directly linked from Captivatist.com. If you do not see an image, it means that the image has been removed from its original location

Dinner was nearing the end (the guy had pre-ordered the food and the girl picked the wine) and the girl jokingly remarked "you better do it soon, as the restaurant is starting to get crowded!". The guy feigned ignorance.

The waiter cleared our desserts (cheesecake) and returned a while later with a large bouquet of 12 roses + a covered platter in his hand. He placed the platter on the table and passed the flowers to the guy, who passed them to the girl. The waiter removed the cover of the platter to reveal a nicely-wrapped blue box.

The guy went down on one knee, and asked the girl "Will you marry me?".

The girl accepted the proposal and they lived happily ever after :)

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Note: The girl knew right from the beginning that the proposal was imminent (especially since they were in a super posh restaurant). Nonetheless, she was still impressed by the guy who had painstakingly planned the whole thing, i.e. liaising with the restaurant's captain for the "surprise" and buying of the flowers.

Till this day, the girl has no idea how much the meal + services cost.

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The couple would also like to thank several people for making this proposal night possible.

1) The one who introduced the guy to the person in Banyan.

2) The one working in Banyan.

3) The captain of Vertigo.

4) The girl's parents for giving the guy permission to marry the daughter (Yes, the guy asked permission before hand).

Selecting our wedding banquet venue

Starring: "The Architect" & "The Freebie-Hunter"

My dear architect refuses to hold his wedding in a room with pillars.

This eliminated about half of the hotels in Singapore. Adding to our difficulty were the number of tables we wanted as well as the budget. In the end, we were left with only 4 hotels to choose from.

We decided on Pan Pacific because
a) It has no pillars in its ballroom.
b) The wedding coordinator gave out a lot of freebies.
c) Price was reasonable.
d) The ballroom was of an acceptable size.

*This image is directly linked from the Pan Pacific Website. If you do not see an image, it means that the image has been removed from its original location. 

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The following hotels* came close, but were not selected because of the following reasons:
* Hotel names are fictional to protect their reputations and to cover our asses

Hotel I:
- Offered lots of freebies (including free-flow of alcohol!!)
- "The Architect" lamented that the orientation of the ballroom would require us and the guests to navigate through a very complicated & tedious obstacle course (comprising of 1xbig big pillar, 3xtables, 2xright turns, etc).
- "The Architect" claimed that the "fat" wedding coordinator was rude to him (Note: The "Freebie-Hunter" did not notice any of this as she was too smitten by the many freebies offered)

Hotel II:
- To the dismay of "Freebie-Hunter", there were no freebies offered!
- "The Architect" approved the orientation & design of the ballroom. (Note: This decision was made based on the floor plans provided. We did not manage to visit it as the room was under renovation at that time)
-  Most importantly, the wedding coordinator was late for our appointment!

Hotel III:
- We LOVE IT! The ballroom, wedding deco, freebies, etc were great!
- But it was way above our budget...

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To couples who are sourcing for their wedding venues, please book early!
We booked our venue 1 1/2 years earlier and some hotels even told us that our dates were taken up already.

Please contact us if you wish to have a copy of our spreadsheet that we created for this purpose. Details include estimated cost, potential freebies, existence of pillars, etc.

326 Days to go...

We've decided to create a blog to track and document our wedding preparation & other wedding-related matters (e.g housing, honeymoon, etc).


Please check back often to join us in this amazing journey.