Updates!

Well, it is officially 31 days to our wedding!

Marcus is now in Europe for some meetings with his clients, and shortly after his return to Foshan, I will be there too! :D

I have been spending the last few days folding the inserts, writing the names of invited guests on the inserts, and addressing the envelopes, and they are now all ready to be sent out by post/hand.




I am meeting our helpers on Tuesday for dinner and a little get-together to thank all of them for being available to help us on our special day. Unfortunately, some of our helpers will not be able to attend Tuesday's dinner, but it's ok. I will just have to make separate arrangements some how.

My last week or so was spent meeting with friends for dinner after work, and for meals over the weekend. Passing them the invitation cards, spending some time catching up over meals etc. It is very heart-warming to hear our friends expressing their joy and excitement in being part of our special day.

Marcus and I are very thankful to each and every single one of you for making time specially to attend our wedding dinner. We thank you sincerely for all your warm wishes, your encouragements and your support. Many of you have been our friends since secondary school, poly life, university days and even our most recent, our colleagues. Each and every one of you share a special bond with us, our friendships made in the past, and maintained through time. Thank you for being there for us and being a great friend. We appreciate your willingness to witness us taking this step of commitment to each other, and being a part of this joyous occasion of ours.

We look forward to seeing all of you there on 1 May, as we declare our union to be as one, to all of you. :D

We SURVIVED a long-distance relationship!

Every single one of us have heard such stories. At least one of our friends, or a friend-of-friend or even a family member who had been in a long-distance relationship. Out of every story which we heard, there are some who lived happily-ever-after. But more often than not, they start with promises to stay true and loving, but end up either drifting apart or straying. Stories of how one party came to realise that he/she can live very well without the other party, and decided that having the other party might just end up being a liability. Stories of how one party surprises the other party by flying over un-announced, and ends up shocking him/herself when he/she realises there is someone else in the relationship.

Honestly speaking, sustaining a relationship is already difficult enough. When you add oceans apart and time difference into the equation, it becomes a mind-boggling juggle and struggle to keep the relationship going. For couples who are living in different time-zone, a relationship is not only just love and care, but a lot of sacrifice thrown in. Such a relationship requires additional trust and understanding between both parties. Definitely much more than the normal amount needed in a relationship.

Luckily, Guangzhou and Singapore has no time difference. However, while my job is an almost 9am-5.30pm job, Marcus' job requires him to work late (whether in the office or at home) and over the weekends. It is very common for both of us to be either chatting on the phone or on webcam, while he is still busy replying emails at 1am.

To us, I think we both know and understand very well that making a relationship work is no walk in the park. The amount of time, effort and emotions put in, it almost seems like a 24/7 full-time job. There are no short-cuts to making a relationship work out. No secret recipes that guarantees a happily-ever-after. Just pure hard work.

We have reached a point in our lives whereby it is not just 'heehee-haha, let's go on a date, gossip about work and friends' that kind of relationship that we want. But a relationship that goes way deeper than that. Where support, love and care is given unconditionally. Where even when the whole world thinks you are the biggest joke and the biggest failure, there is some one who will tell you "You can do it".

A long-distance relationship is really a heart-wrenching experience. You are left feeling alone when there are problems in the family, there is no one to fuss over you when you are sick. When you experience joy, you can't turn around and see a smile belonging to your other half looking back at you. When you feel lost and in need of comfort, there are no warm hugs or even a familar shoulder to lean on.

A friend of ours asked me a few weeks ago on tips to making a long-distance relationship work. Honestly, I do not know how to answer it. I guess, having a common goal, and wanting to work towards a better future with both of you in it is the basic foundation.

I might not be the best girlfriend/wife in the whole wide world, and Marcus might not be the best boyfriend/husband in the whole wide world. But I think, feel and I know. That both of us are working very hard to being the best that we can be for each other. And you know what? We survived it. A long-distance relationship.

Somehow or rather, I guess, both of us managed to have the right formulae. The right attitude, the right aptitude, the right logic and reason. And with all these, I believe our future together will be somewhat the same. Together, hand-in-hand, we overcome all obstacles and face all problems together. Two missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, fitting perfectly together.

Our pre-wedding photoshoot

Originally, Marcus and I did not intend to take any pre-wedding photoshoots. Couple of reasons but the main reason was because Marcus will not be in Singapore, and taking the photos might be quite troublesome due to his schedule. I mean, we will be able to take the photos together, but he will not be in Singapore long enough to be around for the photo choosing.

During the period of deciding on the hotels and other wedding stuff, Marcus kept asking if I was sure that I am willing to skip the photo-taking, which is almost an essential part of the wedding process. My reply? I joked that I will forsake the pre-wedding shoot if he promises to bring me to photo studios in every country that we travel to in future to take photos! Lol.. That of cause, will definitely end up super costly, and tedious!

One day, Marcus decided that he should check out the bridal studios in Guangzhou. We had planned that I would be there for a 2 weeks holiday over Christmas and New Year, and he wanted to check if the studios could do our photoshoot + choosing of pictures in time.

Well, check it out he did. I am not too sure about the others reading the posts, but I am really very touched that he actually went to check out the bridal studios. Most of the time, I am sure these are done by the ladies. And what makes it really special was that he did not go alone. He went with a good friend of his, Daniel! :D Imagine the bridal studios serving two men who come in together asking about wedding photoshoot! GAY COUPLE IN THE HOUSE! haha.

I loved the photoshoot that we took. Firstly, it is definitely uniquely ours, as our outdoor shoot was taken in this beautiful garden with huge sunflowers and fields of lavander. Now, the normal Singapore outdoor pictures would be taken at Changi broadwalk, Sentosa and oh yes, the Lallang field at Punggol which I heard was burnt down during the recent fires? Secondly, the indoor shoot was just like those whereby they have themed gowns/suits with the necessary backdrops and props! Cheesy sounding, but super fun! In Singapore, we would only have wedding gowns/evening gowns/kuas/own clothes etc. There, we did not wear the kua, but the full "龙凤侉".

Marcus brought me to the studio to check out the gowns and also make the full payment of the package. The manager kept repeating to me "你好幸福，你老公来了几次。他很紧张你们的婚纱照。很少男人会那么担心。他很疼你." Heehee... I know! I am the most fortunate lady in the world! :D

Our outdoor shoot was done on Christmas Day 2008 and the indoor shoot was on Boxing Day 2008. We do not have the CD containing the soft copies yet. But what i have done is to rip off the pictures of the flash DVD which was done. A quick preview. For those who have Marcus and I on facebook, those in his picture albums were taken using his mobile phone. Therefore the low quality pictures.

Taken in a field of yellow flowers, which we do not know the names. But very nice flowers with very vivid colours.

These were taken in a field of sunflowers. Imagine, the sunflowers came up to about our chest area, with some having flowers which were as big as Marcus' face!! Really very beautiful...

Lavender field.. So nice smelling, but the glare from the sun here was really very glaring! Look at our eyes in the middle picture, even my eyes are squinting due to the sun!

The top picture was taken in a hallway sheltered from the sunrays. And the other shot shows us in our second outfits. It's a picture of the sunset.

Having a photoshoot is a very tiring affair. Imagine being up since 8am and by the time these shots are done, it's about 5pm le. Look at our tired faces...

These were in a fountain which had a partially submerged walkway going through it. Prior to us going into the fountain, we actually saw a koi swimming onto the submerged walkway to get to the other side. Although thankfully it was a hot day for winter, so I didn't feel cold wearing tubes, and Marcus in a thin shirt, but the water in the fountain was COLD!!

These shots were the last shots for the day. At the end of it all, we have to dry our feet to wear our shoes/boots. So what did we use to wipe our feet? My gown! hahaha...

Indoor shots - We were supposed to have a total of 4 outfits, but I decided to top up for 5 outfits instead. Luckily I did, cause we felt that the pictures for one of the originals did not turn out nice, I looked very fat! haha

Our indoor wedding gown

Trying to act cool.......

Shanghai style

Our favourite series of pictures. The ones in the 龙凤侉. We had a lot of fun posing with this outfit.

Decisions, decisions, decisions - Solemnisation Area how?

The hotel had agreed to give us 1hr complimentary usage of one of the function rooms on the 5th floor for our solemnisation before the dinner. The Clove room, with the window curtains drawn, would let us have Fort Canning hill as the backdrop of our solemnisation. Small and cosy. THAT'S THE PROBLEM! It turned out to be TOO small for our solemnisation.

Even though we would only be having family present to witness the exchange of vows and the rings, the Tan family proved to be too big for the Clove room. Marcus didn't want our guests to have to stand to witness the moment, and we didn't want the room to have a very cramped feeling. After all, that was the reason why we decided to take the Phoenix Ballroom, as we will only be having about 30 or so tables in a ballroom that can take 50 tables! We want space to mingle and walk around.

Well, like what Marcus said, we have no choice, but to ask the hotel to give us an alternative. We were given three choices: two function rooms to choose from, or to use the huge foyer in front of our ballroom as the location.

I headed down to the hotel again last night, and had a look at both the alternative function rooms. Cannot make it lah :(

Imagine walking down this corridor to get to the function rooms at the end.


One with the same window scenery as the Clove room, but with a pillar right smack in the middle of the room causing the aisle to be on one side of the room


The other is a basic windowless, plain and boring looking function room

We discussed it over, and I think we are very very highly (like 95% confirmed) going to have the solemnisation area at the foyer outside the ballroom.

Solemnisation area

It solves so many problems like:

• Don't have to worry about no one jaga-ing the reception table and our photo albums etc, as it is in plain view of all the guests. Our reception helpers will still be a part of our solemnisation moment!
• Don't have to worry about the space constraint. Although we would still be keeping the numbers to only family to witness that special occassion, all our special guests will be seated comfortably without any need to squeeze.
  
• The solemnisation area is just next to the bar! Our guests can have drinks as they witness us exchanging our vows and rings!

Although it will be out in the open without any privacy, but then again, the moment guests turn left when they exit the elevator, the entire foyer is ours. So, that's still the best!!

This is where our photo albums will be displayed


Reception Area


View of the foyer from the lift lobby

It is 2 months away!!

Today is 1 March, which means, our wedding is officially 2 months away!

What have the two of us been up to during this period of time? Let's see.. :
- Marcus shifted into the new 2-bedroom apartment, and has the wireless internet up, together with the air-con in the study room.
- Sheryl has collected the wedding cards, and is in the midst of addressing them

Two months seems so far away, but I am sure it will just whizzzzzz by quickly!