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.

The Renovation Story: When "The Designer" Met "The Engineer"

Starring: "The Designer" and "The Engineer"

In "The Designer"'s world, the house should be designed to look like a showflat. That is, sleek designs, cozy lighting, proper placement of furniture, etc, so as to create a romantic and resort-like ambiance. Unfortunately, the expression of "The Designer"'s creative mind is severely restricted by (a) budget and (b) the existing grey granite floor.

Here are some of "The Designer"'s Inspirations (photos are linked directly from the web):
















In "The Engineer"'s world, the most important things to change are the toilet WCs and the kitchen. "The Engineer" is also strongly against standing standing fans and only endorses ceiling fans. Renovations to the rest of the house is secondary, and will take place only if budget permits.

Unfortunately, Woodlands Ring Road world belonged to both of them. There was a lot of compromising to be done, and a lot of expectations to be lowered.

Here's a summarised version of the renovation list that they came up with. The detailed version has around 90 items, and there is no need to bore the reader with irrelevant and uninteresting items like "Install kitchen sink with tap" and "Polishing of existing granite floor".

Living, Dining -- mainly the brainchild of the "The Designer"
1) Demolish existing hall feature, pillar, pipe cabinet, ceiling & cornices
2) Ceiling/Lighting/Ambiance feature
3) Sand & Re-varnish stairs railing
4) Timber venetian blinds
5) Elaborate oriental-styled TV console and shelving
6) Ceiling Fan -- veto-ed by "The Engineer" because she doesn't like standing fans

Toilets -- trump card played by "The Engineer"
1) Layover floor tiles
2) Replace WC & wash basin
3) Shower screen
4) Replace the bi-fold door

Kitchen -- Mutual decision
1) Entire makeover (including demolishing of existing floor & wall tiles)
2) Kitchen cabinet + Solid Surface + Stainless steel plate
3) Tempered glass sliding door

Master Bedroom -- Mutual decision
1) L-box/Cove Lighting -- Requested by "The Designer"
2) Full-height wardrobe
3) Timber venetian blinds
4) Ceiling fan

Whole House -- Mainly "The Designer"
1) Painting
2) Replace sliding windows to casement windows (white colour) -- "The Designer" claims that casement windows provide more ventilation
3) White colour window grilles -- "The Designer": For the minimalist look
4) Designer doors -- "The Designer" (duh)

Being a good civil servant ("The Engineer"), they asked for 3 quotations so that they can make an informed decision about who they wish to hire:
1) Random Interior Designer at IMM
2) "The Engineer"'s previous contractor
3) "The Designer"'s contractor contact

-------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: Make sure that the contractor pays a visit to your house so that he can give a more accurate quotation. The site visit will also help him pick out potential problem areas and suggest alternative solutions.

The contractors take about 2 weeks to come back a preliminary quotation. After which, you should do a cost comparison based on each item in the quote. This action is highly-recommended because we discovered that despite giving all 3 contractors the same requirements, they all came back with quotations containing either too many or too little items.

Nonetheless, the general cost for our 90+ items to renovate is $10K more than our expected budget of $30K. We took a leap of faith, and "commissioned"* contractor 2 (details to be revealed in the next chapter). Thereafter we worked with him to push the renovation cost lower.

* Definition of "commissioned":
Pls note the word 'commissioned' used by the designer merely mean that the contractor 2 was approached to work out budget first.
No actual contract was signed at that point of time.

The non-committal turns committal (Bridal Gown Selection - Again)

After 2 visits to Bliss Bridal without any useful outcomes, Ms Non-Committal resolved to make her 3rd visit her final visit for gown selection.

Author's Note:

If you have read our previous entry on bridal gown selection, you may be deceived into thinking that all is well in the bridal gown department, and that Ms Non-Committal has selected her wedding gown during the 1st visit This statement held true...until she decided to try on the new arrival wedding gowns. This marked the start of the battle between the wedding gowns. 

Wedding gown A (selected in visit 1): unique, oriental-like and "looks like something I would wear". 

Vs.

Wedding gown B (new selection in visit 2): cliche, princessy/classy and "certainly doesn't look like what I would wear".

In addition, all evening gown potentials (from visit 1) were veto-ed by the parents for being not grand and outstanding enough.

During the appointment, the first thing the consultant did was whip out a piece of paper and numbered them as such:

1)*
2)
3)*
4)
5)
6)
Items 1 and 3 are asterix-ed because they are the actual day gowns.

Right off the start of the appointment, Ms Non-Committal "took the plunge" and confirmed gowns 1, 2 & 5. i.e.

1)* Wedding Gown B -- This gown looks better "live" than gown A. In addition, Mandarin Collar Guy had repeatedly assured Ms Non-Committal that it is ok to be cliched on her wedding day.
2) Wedding Gown A -- Used for photoshoot, hence Ms Non-Committal would get the best of both worlds.
3)* -- Undecided --
4) -- Undecided --
5) Cheena-like Evening Gown -- This evening gown was selected way back in Visit 1 but was veto-ed in Visit 2. Both Ms Non-Committal & Mandarin Collar Guy agreed that the top part of the gown looks really good and meets Ms Non-Committal's dream of a cheena-themed wedding banquet. However, the bottom part of the gown is a bit muted. They are convinced that Se-tee-ven the photographer would able to make the dress look amazing in photos.
6) -- Undecided --

Now that the white wedding gowns are settled, the focus is now on the actual day evening gowns. Ms Non-Committal requested to try "all red gowns in the bridal shop". The big problem is....a lot of the red gowns come with black lace/trimming and Ms Non-Committal is really traditional and does not want black on her gown. Red Gown #14 seems to be the only promising red gown in the bridal shop. Incidentally, that is the last red gown in the shop. The red gown has a princess-y cut and Mandarin Collar Guy likes it a lot. Ms Non-Committal however, is concerned of its close resemblance to gown (1) and decided to put Red Gown #14 as KIV.

1)* Wedding Gown B
2) Wedding Gown A
3)* Red Gown #14 (KIV)
4) -- Undecided --
5) Cheena-like Evening Gown
6) -- Undecided --

Since the shop ran out of red gowns, Ms Non-Committal moved on to Hot Pink gowns. She was on to her 3rd hot pink gown when she chanced upon a mermaid hot pink gown (MHPG) that she liked a lot. An immediate executive decision was made:

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4) -- Undecided --

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) -- Undecided --

Out of List: Red Gown #14

The executive decision made Mandarin Collar Guy a little sad because he preferred Red Gown #14 to MHPG. His "ke lian" face worked and Ms Non-Committal agreed to re-insert Red Gown #14 as item 4. 

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4) Red Gown #14

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) -- Undecided --

Since the appointment was going on so smoothly Ms Non-Committal decided to try her luck and politely asked the bridal consultant if item 4 could be asterix-ed as well. Ms Non-Committal thought it'll be nice to wear Red Gown #14 back in Malaysia as it is grander than MHPG and she wouldn't need to worry about it being in the same design as Wedding Gown B. The consultant agreed to this adhoc request so Ms Non-Committal got a good deal and will now 3 different actual day gowns!

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4)* Red Gown #14

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) -- Undecided --

Author's Note: Our original bridal package only allows us to loan the actual day evening gown (i.e. item 3) for another week so that Ms Non-Committal can wear it for the Malaysia wedding with no extra charge.

Ms Non-Committal took 3 white long gowns + 2 white shorter gowns & 1 really bad fall in the bridal shop before deciding on her outdoor photoshoot gown. She managed to convince Mandarin Collar Guy that she looks better in a long gown because of her "fat legs", much to his disappointment. Ms Non-Committal eventually chose an A-Line long white gown. And so, the list is complete!

1)* Wedding Gown B

2) Wedding Gown A

3)* MHPG

4)* Red Gown #14

5) Cheena-like Evening Gown

6) A-Line Long White Gown

Sorry! No pictures because don't want to give away the wow factor before 5th November! Anyway, we're not supposed to take photos of the gown in the bridal shop. GRINZ.

Honeymoon-planning: We bought the air tickets!

Starring: "The Jetstar StarClass Enthusiast (JSCE)" and "The Man"

We have come a long way to decide on where to go for our honeymoon.
The following list shows just how much we changed our minds on selecting a honeymoon destination over this last year.
(As usual, all images are linked directly to their respective original sites. So if they are missing, means the owner has removed it from the source)

1. New Zealand - decided early last year but changed our mind as it was too expensive
   
2. Angkor Wat - found a quaint little boutique villa (http://www.sojournsiemreap.com) and thought that we could take part in the Angkor Wat half-marathon as well. Unfortunately, we were advised against it our parents. Not wanting to upset them, we decided to shelve this option.
   
3. Mauritius- Found a full board package for less than 3k (inclusive of air-fare) but it is in Africa...well, that said it.
   
4. Royal Caribbean Cruise - The JSCE afraid that she will get sea sick.
   
5. Las Vegas & New York - Good because Sing Dollars is appreciating against USD and our trip coincide with the Black Friday Sales! The man was strongly for it but The JSCE was strongly for option 6.
   
6. New Zealand - Christchurch earthquake has caused NSD to drop. "And Jetstar now flies to Auckland", according to Joanne Peh. This significantly lowered the cost of a NZ honeymoon.
   
   

We were stuck in this deadlock between US & NZ for almost 2 months. Our date night this week addressed this topic, and The man was benevolent and agreed to visit NZ for our honeymoon. The JSCE assured The man that we will certainly be visiting US in the near future, especially when The JSCE becomes Singaporean. (visa no longer required)

A day after this decision was made, we were blessed with a "Jetstar StarClass" promo to Auckland. The return StarClass tickets cost $1,150, where were comparable to Emirates (flights include 8 hour transit in Brisbane) and Qantas ($300 more expensive, transit some where in Australia). The last I checked (1 day after we booked), the return ticket from Auckland now costs $950, i.e. no more promo fare. We got a good deal!

 Now that we've got our air tickets booked & paid, the next step is planning for the things to do on the trip. We've engaged a NZ tour agency (http://www.firstlighttravel.com/) to help us with our custom itinerary. Will keep you updated!

HDB 2nd Appointment

Starring: 'The Operation Manager' and 'His Woman'
 
The 2nd HDB appointment was held on 1st of April (PM).

During the appointment, we signed a few forms, received the house keys, and voila, the appointment was over! The whole process probably took less than 15 minutes. After which, we proceeded to the 2nd floor to get the utilities transferred to our names (also around 15 minutes).

In normal circumstance, you would pass your agent his/her cheque, but we decided not to. Mainly because of the following reasons:

1. When we inspected the flat 2 nights ago, the flat was not totally cleared out. There were still a lot of junk lying around. We wanted to ensure that these items were gone, else our agent should take responsibility by getting town council or disposal company.
2. The owner still owes us the letter box key.

Advice by operation manager:
Please note transaction is incomplete should any item remains outstanding. Thus, the buyer should ensure all items are in order prior to issuance of cheque to his/her agent.

Fortunately, we withheld the cheque as we did really face some complications.

When the operation manager went to inspect the house the night thereafter, he could not open the main door successfully. The previous owner had secured the main door 4 times, with a padlock, main lock, metal grille lock and a bicycle lock but the operation manager could only open 2 of these 4 locks.

He called the previous owner frantically but was unable to reach him. The previous owner had switched off his handphone while his agent feigned ignorance. It seemed that our agent was the only one who tried to help.

We are not sure if we would have received the same attention if we had paid her earlier. The rest of the night was emotionally for both the operation manager and his woman.

Prayer was answered the following afternoon when the previous owner called and agreed to assist.
Matter was resolved in the evening with a change of new locks.

Take-away:
At the end of the transaction (and before each party returns to his own way), please ensure you have the followings:
- The seller's contact
- Ensure house is empty
- Every single item, stipulated under the ownership clause

Bonus:
- Future Home address of the seller, through eaves-dropping