Officially Booked

How exciting; Ant paid the deposit for Novotel today morning.

Sacred Heart and the Exhibition Centre are both booked officially for Sept 24, 2011.
 
The next pressing matter is the invitation.  He's found a card online that he loves and I like.  It has the mandatory dragon and phoenix foil stamped in gold on the front, along with a double happiness ribbon.
 
The card opens upwards. 

Initially we were going to ask mum's relatives in China to place an order once Ant and I had decided on a design. 

Now he is leaning more towards ordering it from the seller he found online; costing is US$2.  With the Australian dollar doing so well, that is really not a problem for approx 250 cards.

censorship

When I created this blog, it was to record all the memorable moments in my life.  And what is more memorable then my wedding day?  The entire planning process is every bit as exciting as the day itself.  And the fact that I'm able to share and discuss all the planning with my closest friends who are spread out all over the world and willing to fly in to help me and share my big day, that makes it pretty memorable.

All my posts (and comments on my posts) will be something that I will enjoy reading later in life.  And dare I say it, maybe my kids will enjoy reading it one day.

Unfortunately I now need to be careful of what I post on my own blog.  This greatly disappoints me.  That is an understatement.

I have been told not to reveal too much about my own wedding.  I was asked why I had to tell my friends all the little details, was I trying to show off?


Anyone who knows me knows I am not that type of person.  Anyone who knows me would not ask such a question.

'Delete everything' I've been told.

What I shared with my closest friends, I did it out of excitement.  I did not post on facebook which is open to all.  I posted on my blog. My obscure blog that is only known to 11 people.  MY blog.

Wedding Favours

The topic of discussion today is; wedding favours.  Just incase anyone missed my title. 

My favours have already been sorted; I know exactly what I want.

These personalized hard candy lollies are made in Melbourne and taste great!  They're the most popular choice as gifts right now because of the fact that you can have your name and date written on it and modify it to suit any Event.

Their minimum order is 10kg which works out to be about 5000 pieces.  Divide that by 300 guests and each guest (Mr and Mrs) will get about 16 pieces.  Kevin has been fighting with me about this because he reckons 3 or 4 lollies per person is more than enough.  I don't understand his logic.

My dilemma right now is the type of container to present them in.  I've looked at lots of fancy choices like little mint/ candle tins, or fancy heart shaped jars etc.  But ultimately I need to remember that;

i) I'm not going to carry glass jars to Fiji
ii) People are going to discard the container once they finish the lollies

So the mostly likely choice is:


clear plastic pillow pack

These clear pillow packs come flat, so we girls will need to build an assembly line where we put the packs together, scoop out 16 lollies for each packet, then stick on the 'thank you' stickers.

So this is one task you'll all be helping out with!

Ant and I were discussing what type of transport we should choose.  My response?  'I want a mini van!!'  His response, 'No, don't be silly.'

I'm shattered.  Because I really wanted something spacey and comfortable.  Definitely no limo's for me.  Or champagne for that matter.  Sorry Sue!

Save The Date

Saturday Sept 24th,2011.

I would have much preferred Sept 10th because it has a nice ring to it, ie; 10/9/11.  That way I'll never forget my anniversary!

Anyway so the 10th doesn't suit because.

The 17th isn't auspicious, according to my dad.

So the 24th it is!

Apparently Novotel have 3 different rooms available for hire.  Initially we were going for the second largest, the Convention Centre.  It is estimated to sit 400 people.  Then we find out this is 400 people without tables which is completely no good to us!

So we're booking the Entertainment Centre which sits 500 people, without tables.  This should translate to seating approximately 300 people comfortably, with tables.

Our colour theme will be red and gold; Mugs should have a bit to say about this!  I'm not ripping off you colour theme Mugs; these are the only colours they provide in terms of chair sashes and possibly table runners.  The table cloth and chair covers will be white.

Ant sent me some pictures of the Entertainment Centre; it's almost 360degrees ceiling to floor glass doors.  There is no a/c but there are lots of ceiling fans.

Floor to ceiling doors with deck in front

The many pillars

More pillars

My first reactions was, 'Omg, ugly white fold out tables and dodgy chairs.'

Then 'Oh great, so we'll all be swatting mosquitoes all night!'

But Ant said they had already organized to buy citronella candles so that's a relief.

Everyone might have been wondering why my last post was titled 'Cutlery & Plates $5'  Because that's the cost per person for a cutlery pack which includes dinner plates, knife, fork, spoon and paper serviettes.

So if you drop your knife/ fork/ spoon on that night, you can pay $5 yourself for another one. 

cutlery & plates $5

The Kan guest list has been finalized.

We have 100 people on ours which fits perfectly within what we have been allocated.

Initially it was supposed to be;

200 Yam Family
100 Kan Family

50 Ant and I

However, we've since revised that idea because 350 is too large a number.  Not only that, it's also because we want to be able to navigate through the tables comfortably.

So Ant and I will incorporate our friends into our parents list to keep it at 300.  I have 10 seats and I think that should suffice  :)

Now I just need to wait for Ant to check with the Hotel if we can get some rooms for cheap.  It'd be nice if the girls all slept over on the night before the wedding and all ride to Church together.

Much is still to be discussed, such as the start time for each activity.  We're going to have a tea ceremony inbetween the Church ceremony and Reception.

My first tea ceremony!!

According to Google: In the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, both the bride and groom kneel in front of their parents and serve them tea. That is a way to express their gratitude. In front of their parents, it is a practice for the married couple to say, "Thank you for bringing us up. Now we are getting married. We owe it all to you." The parents will usually drink a small portion of the tea and then give them a red envelope, which symbolizes good luck. Another variant is for the to-be daughter-in-law to serve tea to her to-be parents-in-law, symbolizing that she is to become a part of the latter's family.

I'm currently trying to find a tea set like the above - black on the inside, red on the outside with and a gold 'double happiness' design.

It'll be a pretty little keepsake after the wedding!

When's the Date?

The answer is; TBA


Ant has finally managed to make a booking with the Event Co-ordinator at Novotel Convention Centre!

The ever elusive woman returned his phone call today after he twice tried to get in touch with her in the week gone.  An appointment has been set for Tuesday 10am.  We can finally discuss pricing and possible dates!  Not to mention see the venue because I have never been.

The ball is truly rolling because his Priest is also going to ring the priest at Sacred Heart Cathedral's to set up an appointment for Ant's family to see him.

And he's also been told who will head our pre-marital counseling so his mum will be contacting them to find out the requirements because it's a bit hard for me to fly in if there will be many sessions at different times etc.

So it sounds like I've done nothing right?  Wrong!  I have been dutifully dress shopping, as much as I hate it.

Especially when the saleswoman insists on being IN the changing room to help you in and out of the dresses while you are practically naked.  But luckily this was only at one place.  And my underwear didn't have holes, whew!

I made Lyn stay in the change room to help me at the second bridal shop, so the saleslady had to satisfy herself with waiting outside the curtains.  Ha!

Checklist: 12 - 10 months

I am trying to be proactive about my wedding planning so there will be numerous posts on how I'm going in the coming months!

According to an online wedding site, my Checklist 12-10months before the wedding should look like this;

I think we know what we'd generally like. Besides whitening my teeth, I've considered everything else.

The guest list is a toughie because we're anticipating the majority of guests will be our respective parents' guests. 

Novotel Convention Centre sits 350 people apparantly, so I've tentatively estimated the guests will be;

• 200 Yam side
• 100 Kan side
• 50 Ant and I

A while back I asked people who were going to Hong Kong or China to find me some sample wedding invitations.  (It was a surprise to me when Ant said he wanted traditional Chinese invites but I am happy to go along with it).

My Uncle from China sent these.  My first reaction was: YUCK;