April 8,2011, our friends set a pre-wedding dinner for us. It was fun, some people were not very keen for games. But in the end, I knew we all had fun. Amazingly, the boys did most of the singing during karaoke time. Thanks to Magic Sing. Karaoke, the sustenance of any Filipino Party!

The fusion of a German and a Filipina in Germany will bring innovation to gatherings and parties. hehehe

I really appreciate the efforts of the organizers: Jayme, Sandoval Sisters (Shylla and Fritzie) and Joyce. And the guests for bringing food, drinks and fun!

from left: Invitation Card, Pre-wedding dinner Sash, Pre-wedding Thank You note, Pre-wedding decor

Invitation card made by Mitch and Hendrik
Pre-wedding dinner – Sash Bride & Groom To Be’s by Joyce
Pre-wedding decor – Paper Flowers made by Jayme
Doily Thank You card/envelope by Mitch

——

Next Project…

Cupcake stand

Cupcakes!

Proposal

Hendrik proposed on February 21, 2011. It was a proposal with no recognizable romantic gesture, not even a classic bent knee proposal. It may seem like a tremendous faux pas but it doesn’t make the proposal less significant or the relationship less committed.

Start Here…

How much should we spend?  Where will it be?  How do we resolve on the issues around the wedding? Are we BOTH involved in the planning?…these are the questions we had when we started to plan the wedding. It’s the first test on how we care and compromise our differences.

Event

Registry of Marriage

Venue

There are several nice places in Singapore for solemnization venue. And we are so lucky to find Raffles House in Fort Canning Park.

National Parks in Singapore http://www.nparks.gov.sg

Wedding Band

Wedding rings symbolize three things: your personality, your commitment, and your fashion style.

We spent hours looking for the wedding band in Vivo City and we found it with Love & Co.

To celebrate the success of our search, we went to the garden themed sentosa boardwalk and stopped by Gelateria Venezia for a Belgian Chocolate -Italian Gelato.

Online-Registration, Filing Notice of Marriage

I can’t tell anything about this, Hendrik did our registration and searched for a solemnizer.

Check on: http://app.rom.gov.sg/internet/index.asp

Meet the Solemnizer

Three weeks before the wedding day we met Madam Koh Siew Ju, a licenced solemnizer and a marriage counselor. We really appreciate the time she spent with us counseling and sharing about marriage life. We realized that conflict is unavoidable, so we have to listen and always communicate with each other.

Bride’s top concerns

Dress, Shoes, Make up, Figure, Staying on the budget and keeping the guests happy, and to introduce Hendrik with my parents (this is not possible before the wedding, so they met in skype instead).

Groom’s top concerns

Suit, drinks, stag party, honeymoon

Everything about “The Day”

We wanted to have a nice and affordable gathering with friends and family as we celebrate a special day, Our Marriage

A. Drinks

Hendrik ordered kegs of beer with Tiger Beer. And thanks to his network, we are receiving varieties of champagne bottles every week.

We will also have non-alcoholic drinks provided by the caterer.

B. Caterer

Two weeks before the wedding, I finally found a caterer that can provide all we need, very straight forward, and no hidden charges. Eatz Catering. http://www.eatzcatering.com/

Basic needs to settle with your caterer:

Solemnization table with fresh flower decoration and 5 chairs

Champagne flutes

Dining Table

Chairs with seat cover (PVC chair a.k.a Garden Chair is affordable yet nice with seat cover)

Uniformed Staff

Chinaware (Porcelain plates, Forks and Spoons)

Clear glass for cold drink

Dessert Plate with spoon

And of course, Your Preferred Menu

Make sure you are clear with the following details:

Food labels/flower arrangements

High and Low set up

All delivery charges

Timing for Set up – There may be 2 deliver. (1st) Tables/Chairs/ROM set up (2nd) Food delivery.

Extension fee for late collection – Clearing/collection of the buffet items is usually 4 hours from “ready time”. If buffet’s time is 7pm, last collection is  10pm. Otherwise, pay surcharge, and it depends on your agreement with the caterer.

Note: Some charges may be waived by the caterer, depending on the agreement with them.

——–

C. Other Decorations – Home-made

1. Invitation Card – Be creative. It’s fun to do this with your partner.
2. Cupcakes in lieu of Cake – Oh I love to bake!
3. Cupcake stands – It’s not reasonable to buy a stand for 1 time use only, so I thought of using recycled materials.
4. Thank you note made of Doilies – My newly found material for craft-making.
5. Tissue Paper Flowers – Jayme (my best roomie) use tissue paper flowers to decorate our pre-wedding party.
6. Paper Bag Illuminaries – Also introduced by Jayme!

And the planning continues … to sum it all… I’m HAPPY!!!

*Kiss*

Save The Best For Last

- 1992 song written by Phil Galdston, Wendy Waldman and Jon Lind. It is considered Vanessa Williams’ signature song.

Sometimes the snow comes down in June
Sometimes the sun goes ’round the moon
I see the passion in your eyes
Sometimes it’s all a big surprise
‘Cause there was a time when all I did was wish
You’d tell me this was love
It’s not the way I hoped or how I planned
But somehow it’s enough

And now we’re standing face to face
Isn’t this world a crazy place
Just when I thought our chance had passed
You go and save the best for last

All of the nights you came to me
When some silly girl had set you free
You wondered how you’d make it through
I wondered what was wrong with you

‘Cause how could you give your love to someone else
And share your dreams with me
Sometimes the very thing you’re looking for
Is the one thing you can’t see

And now we’re standing face to face
Isn’t this world a crazy place
Just when I thought our chance had passed
You go and save the best for last

Sometimes the very thing you’re looking for
Is the one thing you can’t see

Sometimes the snow comes down in June
Sometimes the sun goes ’round the moon
Just when I thought our chance had passed
You go and save the best for last

You went and saved the best for last

I dreamed I had an interview with God.
“So you would like to interview me?” God asked
“If you have the time” I said.
God smiled
“My time is eternity”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”
“What surprises you most about humankind?…”
God answered…
“That they get bored with childhood.
They rush to grow up and then
long to be children again.”
“That they lose their health to make money
and then lose their money to restore their health.”
“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”
That they live as if they will never die,
and die as if they had never lived.”
God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for awhile
And then I asked…
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”
God replied with a smile
“To learn they cannot make anyone love them.
What they can do is let themselves be loved.”
“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”
“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”
“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in persons we love,
and it takes many years to heal them.”
“To learn to forgive by
practicing forgiveness.”
“To learn that there are persons who love them dearly,
but simply do not know how to express or show
their feelings.”
“To learn that two people
can look at the same thing
and see it differently.”
“To learn that it is not always enough that they
be forgiven by others. But that they must
forgive themselves.”
“And to learn that I am here always.”

“Little Red” by Kate NashEverybody took everything that they could
And they made a little town out of stones and out of wood,
And they made a little king out of plastercine,
And they threw the rules away but they kept the wisdom in.
And all the birds and the bees lived so peacefully
And all of the babies they slept so gently until…

Little Red, Little Red, Little Red, Little Red, Little Red, Little Red, Little Red, Little Red.
Little Red, Little Red, Little Red, Little Red Little, Little Red came knocking.

Little garden, how do I make your flowers grow,
When I already do everything that I know?
I bring you sunshine and I bring you rain but still you refrain.
All the other gardens are so full of flowers.
They’re so colouful, yeah, I spend all these hours
Trying to make you as beautful as them but sti-i-i-il you refrain.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, scratch.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, scratch
And a knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, scra-a-atch.
And a knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, scra-a-a-atch.

Little girl, why are you crying,
Just because the flowers in your garden are dying?
There’s so much that you could be doing,
And all of your neighbours,
Well, they haven’t got a clue.
Come on with me and we’ll have a little fun,
It’s not too dangerous, yeah, and we won’t hurt anyone.
Yeah, we’ll cause some havoc between the birds and the bees,
We’ll paint the town red and we’ll shake the trees.
Oh, come on with me and I’ll show you a good time,
All you have to do is a jump and a climb.
Yeah, I’ll take you over to the other side of town.
There’s so much to do there and everybody wheres a crown.

Should I go or should I stay?
My flowers are dying and I’m sick and tired anyway.
This boy seems kind of cool,
His jeans are kind of low,
Well, I think I’ll go.

Jump. jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump and a jump, jump, jump and a climb.
And a jump, jump, jump and a jump, jump, jump and a jump, jump, jump, and a climb.
And a jump. jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, cimb.
And a jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, climb.

Oh let’s pack a picnic and then go for a drive.
We’ll go to a funfair and go on all the rides.
We’ll climb up a mountain and take in all the sites.
We’ll jump in a plane and fly.

If you want you can come back to mine.
We’ll drink some coffee and you can spend the night.
We’ll do anything that makes you smile
‘Cause your smile is beautiful and it makes me happy.
‘Cause your smile is beautiful and it makes me happy.

Well, this little girl grew up and moved away.
And she lived her life full of risk and full of play.
And she lived her life with so much to say,
And her flowers, they grow more beautiful every day.

“We can and we should help the people of Haiti,” says Group CEO Nils S. Andersen.

“A.P. Moller – Maersk has a long and strong tradition for helping the victims in difficult times like these,” he says.

The A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, through our Disaster Relief Team, has presented our capabilities in our worldwide logistics network to the United Nations (UN), which will decide how best to use these capabilities.

Meanwhile, a group-wide collection of funds to aid the victims of the quake has been initiated, in collaboration with the Danish Red Cross.

*Smile