Afterthoughts from the wedding singers from A Little Dream

It's heartwarming to hear such good words from the wedding singers. I hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we did on our wedding day - http://alittledream02.livejournal.com/174821.html?view=183013#t183013

Yes! I did it!!!!

Today marks the day i attended the 2nd commencement ceremony of my life - my Masters. I deeply treasure the degree especially since the process consists of plenty of sleepless nights, beating traffic after work to get to the ulu NTU campus, mounting pressure from school & work and best of all, being able to complete all 10 modules in 2 yrs. I only knew 1/2 of the folks in the graduating bunch today simply becoz a troupe of my classmates will only complete the course next semester & will be attending the ceremony in 2009. Nonetheless, the day was extremely memorable coz Kang Lin attended the ceremony as my hubby, my beaming parents are around to share my joy & best of all, even my grandma attended the ceremony! I really felt so proud of myself when i stood on stage to receive my degree, abit it only lasted less than 10 seconds.

Now that all's over, i need to locate my newfound goal. In fact, i do feel a little "lost" that i have no classes to attend after work, no interaction in lecture theatures, no readings to do & basically, more free time on my own hands. This pursuit has been bittersweet & i believe i'll miss the kinda pressure and stress it put me thru & somehow, moulded me into a better & more resilient person. I am beginning to have a slight glimpse of my next milestone but well, need to locate the right reason to pursue it. Let's see... Till then, it's back to new challenges and savouring life's treasured moments.

Our bridesmaids & groomsmen

Need we say more? They look fab! Can't wait for more pics from Kenneth, the photographer for the day. Anyhow, also posted some on the wedding web.

I am MRS ONG!

Finally, the day that we have been planning for is over in a blink of an eye! The day went by sooo fast & apart from remembering that i downed 2 glasses of alcohol before doing the 1st march-in & multiple gown changes, i really can't recall much.

Kang Lin & i were speaking abt the wedding during our honeymoon (we are in Hua Hin now btw) & we personally feel that things went rather smoothly. The bridesmaids & groomsmen did a great job in helping us coordinate the wedding & it wouldn't have happened so well without their great help! Oh, the Beetle was cool too but ermm, not a very powerful car to drive... Haha, i drove the return leg (from KL to my place) & the photographer included the pix into the actual day photo montage. Bet KL must have kena teased at...

I look forward to see the photos of the actual day. Thus far, those from the montage looks great! :)

Bridesmaid dresses & angpow box

The girls finally collected their bridesmaids dresses & these bunch are even more excited abt the wedding than the bride! A total of 6 persons told me that i got the dresses at a steal - rental of $48/dress. Well, to me, as long as they look gd on these babes, i am cool.

Here's the angpow box my mum got for me from Takashimaya. The teddies are not quite "me" but well, add some cutesy element to the wedding stationery.

We finally booked our honeymoon - 2 wks before the wedding!

This is totally unplanned & probably done at a spur of the moment. At the advice of many just married couples, we finally decided that a honeymoon is needed to pack ourselves away after the hectic wedding preps. Well, the Krisflyer redemption for Bali didn't come thru & tickets to Phuket were already full (unless u wanna pay exorbitant prices) so hey, off to my favourite destination once again - a trip to Bangkok & a spa getaway to Hua Hin!!!

Aleentha Pranburi is 1 of those resorts that i keep seeing on the Expat & Indulgence magazines. The suites look delicious - http://www.aleenta.com/huahin/the_palm.html & guess what, Ms Low sourced the web for last minute rates & got lucky!!! We only paid THB4900 per night (which translates to approx S$200+!). All in, the airtickets (we are going budget), 1 night stay in my fav Novotel Siam Square Bangkok & car trsf to Hua Hin only cost us $1800!

Yay!!! I am going to another getaway!

OMG! Kang Lin is already 30!

We celebrated the commencement of his Big "3" at The Line, Shangri La Singapore. I promised to give him a treat at 1 of the most expensive buffets in town & this meal set me back by $140!!!!

"All men are pigs"

This statement came from an Indian Head today during 1 of my meetings. This guy is somewhat a boss of mine so since he knew i am gonna get hitched very soon, he left me this word of advice - All men are pigs so if u think of them as that, expectations will align & u'll be merry.

While everyone cracked up, i do agree! Afterall, couples get into tiffs becoz expectations differ. Thru the marriage prep process, Kang Lin already got on my nerves several times. Our boy was suppose to plan for a quick getaway after the wedding & guess what, it landed onto my lap afterall coz he simply doesn't know how to research the web for the best last minute deals!

Haha, golden words of advice that can't overides culture. Think of them as oinks & we ladies will be happier!

Is it a paper, or is it a journey?

I went to pickup my degree & transcript from NTU this morning. The collection area was somewhat like a matric fair - u try on the gowns, pickup the right sizes that fit, produce your matric card to pickup your degree & transcript & grab the alumni gift. In 15mins, i was outta the hall & could head to work.

I treasure this degree of mine more than my Bachelor's. I suppose it's becoz i know i really worked hard to earn this. The late nights rushing projects, papers, juggling the research & all the burnt weekends are probably things i'll miss. In a blink of an eye, the 2 yrs is over, leaving me feeling a little lost.

& the best part, after all the sweat & toil, the degree was just handed to me so "unceremoniously". Well, i wasn't hoping for pomp & circumstance but hmm, shouldn't there be some form of congratulations? Whether it's a journey or a paper, i suppose it's up to the individual to decide.

Over the weekend, i had the Guo Da Li ceremony. Haha, in case u are clueless, that's when the groom's family will bring gifts, wedding cakes & brideprice to the home of the bride, supposely asking for her hand in marriage. Well, cliche as it may sound, my mum insisted upon it so KL's family had to do it the proper way. Here's a pix of the pricey & not-worth-it cakes from Pine Garden. Haha, this ain't my choice... & someone is regretting her decision. Should have just asked for a round butter/ walnut cake, it could have made a nicer gift to the relatives.

The title slide

I chose this image as the title slide becoz it really projects "too lovey to be true" kinda image. I don't mean to be cheesy but since this' also the hero image for my wedding album, might as well do it all the way...

Mountain of challenges to climb... We'll take it a step at a time

Just when i thought the housing issue is settled since we found an appropriate place to begin a new life together, another issue cropped up & this time, it's pretty outta the world.

2 days ago, Hilton called & dropped the bomb - they are bringing forward the upgrading works of the pool by 2 weeks & unfortunately, we are the 1st wedding couple to be affected by the upgrading works. The ballroom that we chose - Panaroma is located on Level 24 of the hotel. 1 of the key USP of the ballroom is its exclusive use of the poolside cocktail area & well, the panoramic view of Orchard Rd. & guess what, the upgrading works will leave me with ugly hoarding boards in the cocktail area. Gone are my poolside & panoramic cityscape. KL & i & the parents were simply pissed. How could a 5* hotel drop the bomb 18 days before a couple's wedding & basically leave them no time to react? The long & short of the tale is that we escalated the matter & even had my dad & KL speak to the most senior guy in the hotel. Back of my mind, i was thinking of how to make good of a situation i can't change, while KL went to escalate his displeasure.

Hilton relented to all our requests for compensation & now, Ms Bride gotta take on a 2nd role after work, to personally supervise the construction of the hoarding & engage suppliers to decorate the "wall" and incorporate it into part of the ballroom. This feels like another branch opening for me... :(

Just when i expected screw-ups to occur, never had i imagine that my kinda "screw-up" could be this major, leaving KL & my dad livid of the situation. While i do understand & continously remind myself that the venue is external and what could be more beautiful that having my loved ones physically around to witness the blissful union of KL & myself, i am still grappling to stomach the fact that the hotel dropped such a drastic bomb on an event of our lifetime.

Just when the dust settled on the housing issue & i thought i could take a breather in the countdown to the big day, this has to happen. By day, i am Marketing Manager of the Bank, by night (till 19/7), I am contractor & onsite supervisor of the hoarding construction at the hotel. Damn....