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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Our new bed

We went to the Furniture Mall on the day after the photoshoot to hunt for our matrimonial bed. Bob's mum also went along to help us to look as well as to shop for their new sofa set. We went to Simmons, Sealy, Dunlopillo and Slumberland. But finally decided to settle for Sealy. The mattresses actually felt equally comfortable ... ... hahahaha. We chose Sealy in the end for its reputation and affordability. Our purchase: -

Sealy (PosturePedic) Knightsbridge Queen-size mattress
Queen-size bed frame
Freebie give-away: 2 pillows and protector

Price: $2,416 (after 15% promotion discount)

Sonia

Friday, May 21, 2010

Wedding shoes

Finally bought my wedding shoes. It just so happened that CK Tangs was having sale (on selected items) and store wide 12% rebate. Unfortunately, the shoes that I really fancy did not have my size anymore so I had to choose another design instead. It's not bad either just that I would have preferred something with a back strap. But it's fine ... ... original price is $129 but there is 50% discount and 12% rebate so it cost about $57.


Sonia

The Great (Photo)shoot

The day began like just another workday - with the usual insistent ringing of the two alarms - my iPhone and her Samsung Jet. Albeit this was no ordinary weekday (as evidenced by the two alarms set on each respective handset. It was the day of the bridal shoot.

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Many months ago, a certain mammoth creature resolved to lose some weight in anticipation of this day, where his likeness and his build were to be caricatured for posterity. Fast forward the months, and this creature is no less mammoth... Sigh...

Bintan and binging and synonymous.

Furthermore, the creature longed for a return to the place where he had first met his mate, but owing to a lack of response and enthusiasm from the school authorities, the plans were shelved for alternative locations.

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That aside, the day started pretty inauspiciously, with heavy clouds and a light drizzle mocking our journey to Tanjong Pagar. My future mother-in-law had kindly agreed to tag along, and boy, were we glad that she was there to smoothen out the tribulations that peppered our activities throughout the day.

We reached there ahead of the makeup artist, and were greeted with a locked door. Thankfully, Lily (the MUA) was there in a matter of minutes after us, and we eventually settled down to tuck into the breakfast that we'd brought along.

From my impression of the studio on the previous trip, it seemed like a dinghy little place, and I was none too impressed with the 'props' and the layout of the place. I had underestimated the human quotient for creativity and adaptability and how wrong I was proven.

Lily set up the items of her trade on the old dressing table, and very soon set to work on the still-munching Sonia. She told us stories on the people she had plasticized done their makeup for, and took great care to explain her steps to Sonia whilst doing up her problematic (in Sonia's own words) face.

Very soon, it was my turn to be put under the brush. I was relieved that there was minimal touching up to be done, as I had foreseen that the foundation would soon be dissolved by the ruinous effect of my old friend Mr. Perspiration. I am known as a 大汗, unfortunately not in the same way as a certain Genghis Khan - he was 成吉思汗.

Kenny then came along to brief us on the agenda du jour, and at that time, it certainly didn't seem like that big a deal and wouldn't last longer than 4.30pm (it was 11.30 at that point in time). This assumption was sadly off the mark by about 4 hours.

We started off with the main wedding gown and my newly-tailored (and perfectly-fitting) suit. It was a blast. The order of the gowns and their accompanying suits were as follows:

  • Main white wedding gown;
    Reflective black jacket with white inner shirt and silver tie
  • Black Kimono with yellow sash;
    Mandarin collared Mao jacket with white shirt (my favourite)
  • Red halter gown (her favourite);
    Flat black jacket with black inner shirt and red tie
  • Royal blue gown with added diamante linings;
    Reflective black jacket with dark blue inner shirt and silver tie [We were busy changing into the outdoor gown and eating lunch and did not have the chance to take a picture]

We did a variety of poses for each getup and our jaw muscles ached after this exercise, which took us up to 3.30pm. We barely had 15 minutes for our lunch (courtesy of Sonia's mum at about 1pm). Sonia then changed into her final outdoor white-and-black gown and me into a similar black-and-white ensemble.

Our first outdoor destination was the Supreme Court area. The studio had kindly hired a large BMW 520 to ferry us around. There were plenty of kids milling around that area (Dr. Goh Keng Swee was interred in the Parliament House for grateful Singaporeans to pay their respects). Their enthusiastic waves in airconditioned comfort were returned with much less energy by the two nuts in full suit and gown.

We took a few photos at the side of the Art House at the Old Parliament House and then Anderson Bridge, before making our way to the Victorian arches at beside the annex of the Old Supreme Court. Unfortunately for us, the iconic Supreme Court pillars were taken up by plastic chairs à la Formula 1 Singapore, and we had to pass on the original intention of coming to the Civic District.

I was hot and drenched in perspiration when we got back into the car. The usually cool and un-sweatable Sonia was perspiring too, but the weather had reserved its best for the last leg of our photoshoot. We had initially worried about the weather being rainy at Upper Seletar, but it soon turned out that our worries were unfounded. It was BLAZING HOT AND HUMID.

I had changed into another shirt in anticipation of taking off my jacket sometime into our photoshoot, but the perspiration soon put paid to my plans. It was an amazing place, and Kenny apparently knew all the ideal locations and angles to take the photos. There was the long horizon, the high plains on the grass, the unmistakable 'Tree of Love' (red ants included, as we were to learn very soon) and the rocky edge of the lapping waters of the reservoir. Interestingly enough, there were a large bunch of inquisitive monkeys and one even got near enough to attempt to grab our belongings in the pavilion.

And so that concluded our adventures for this very tiring but ultimately fulfilling day. Many thanks to all that made it possible, namely Joey (our coordinator), Lily (our very personable makeup artist) and Kenny (our professional and knowledgeable photographer). Not forgetting Sonia's mum, who had been 任劳任怨 all this while...

We polished off a memorable day with a meal at Cumi Bali, which saw a staple ordering of Ikan Bakar, Bayam, Madura Sate, Cumi Bali and Kambing Rendang with Sonia's dad as well.

Bob