Glow With Love

In the memory of my beloved Mum

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:53:00 +0000

It had been very long time not logging in. It was hard in the past one year. I lost someone very important in my life. Someone who was always there for me as my friend and my guidance - my beloved Mum. It was very painful for me as she passed away while I was USA. I was not there when she passed away and the last time I saw her and hugged her was at my wedding. I didn't really expected that. It was so sudden. It took me quite sometimes to get over. Life without my Mum is totally different.

To me, my Mum is my inspiration. Although she was not highly educated, people might look at her as ordinary housewife, but to me, she was kind, high-spirit, gentle and brave woman. She married to my Dad at the age of 22. She left her family and moved into city with my Dad without knowing any people in town. I used to chat with her everything - interesting encounters or my difficulties in life. She was always very encouraging and told me to be brave to face any challenges in life. I will always remembered that, remembered how she gave her love to me unconditionedly, her spirits, and her courage. She will be always in my heart.

I love you, Mum.

How to tell is he interested into You?

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:17:00 +0000

You meet someone you interested. You have been going out together for a while. You both seem comfortable and enjoy your conversation. However, no sign of him taking into another level of relationship? So is he interested into you or just treat you as friends?

Here are some tips by from Greg Hartley, former Army Special Forces interrogator and author of I Can Read You Like a Book: How to Spot the Messages and Emotions People Are Really Sending With Their Body Language.

Signs He's Into You........

1) He closes the distance
“First and foremost, moving in closer indicates a desire for more intimate contact,” Hartley says. So if a man you’re talking to at a party inches a little closer as you talk you know he wants to get to know you better and not as a friend.

2) He speaks softly
When a man talks in a quieter voice, it’s an excellent sign. Hartley explains, "He’s indicating that what he’s saying is for your ears only,” he says. If you want to let that soft-talker know you feel the same way, respond in kind, which should quickly turn those sparks into an all-out fire.

3) He rounds his posture
Hypermasculine body language (think: swaggering walk, standing tall with shoulders back and chin up, etc.) serves to attract women from a distance. But when a guy is talking close-up with a woman he likes, he will soften, or “round” his body language, Hartley notes. If your guy’s squared shoulders cave in when he’s chatting with you, he’s indicating that he feels comfortable and secure in your presence.

4) He talks slowly
Men typically talk more slowly and softly when they are attracted to someone, Hartley explains. Of course, if he knocked back a few gigante lattes on a first date, he may be too wired (and nervous) to sound like Barry White, but give it time: If his speech starts to make you feel sleepy, he’s a goner.

5) He can’t take his eyes off you (in a good way)
So his eyes are locked on yours? As long as it isn’t a psycho stare, but rather a lingering, heavy-lidded, “Wow, you’re amazing” gaze, that guy is digging you big-time, Harley says.

Hope those tips help. Happy Dating!

Count Down to Our Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:34:00 +0000

Another 26 days to our Wedding.

These few days, we stayed up until very late to get most of the things finalized due to the 12-hour different between us. This is because I am currently in USA, and A is in Singapore, so we really need a lot of patient and compromise with each other when arranging those details preparation of our coming wedding.

We also talked about a lot about how to get the sisters and brothers together before our wedding day to give briefing to everyone, which I also will be participating through webcam. We finally found our wedding car booked. It is SAAB, brand new car. We are lucky.

We also booked buffet catering for lunch. There are few good catering. We choosed Rasel Food Catering. They are efficient, once we submitted our request, the customer service called the next day to confirm and also give us some suggestion on the menu. Their price is reasonable and the food is nice (my previous company also keep them as one of the favor catering for company function).

We also finalized our guest list and decided to give our honored guests a reminder call two weeks before our wedding. This is just to make sure no sudden absent that we didn't know about. Other things we discuss like songs for the march-in, make sure the photo montage are in process, keep in touch with the hotel coordinator to arrange a day (two weeks before our wedding) to finalize the dinner details.

Never ever think that there are still so much things need to finalize. Hopefully things go as what we planned. Each day passed with increasing excitement.

Any September bride out there?

Wedding Has Been Called Off???

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:53:00 +0000

It has been a while didn't manage to log in to write any article. New job, new environment (relocate from Singapore to USA for 9 months), new colleagues, so much new things to adapt. Finally, all set and time to sit down, watch tv and write post.

Turning on some tv program, coincidently, it was on some marriage reality show. The show showed couples from preparation to the wedding. One of the couple was very stressed during the process of preparation. They started to arguing, especially the future bride-to-be. At the day before the actual wedding, things got worse. Sadly, the wedding was called off.

What are the reasons could lead to the Wedding to be called off? There are a lot of reason can lead to this:
-Unable to commit to marriage by bride/groom-to-be,
-Unable to compromise on things during wedding preparation
-Insufficient finance
-Uncertainty of bride/groom-to-be
The list can be very long...............

In my opinion, the most common is either bride-to-be or groom-to-be got too stress-up by wedding planning and wanted to quit. Another common reason is either bride-to-be got into depression as stressors overwhelmed her or groom-to-be got into anxiety as he can't cope the changing of roles from boyfriend to husband. These are mainly because of our inner self emotion. To deal with emotion problem, the most important thing couple should know is to be understanding, to be patient and always be there for each other. If both of you love and care for each other, both of you can make it through together.

If anyone out there has the same emotion problem before wedding, and would like to share how you deal with it, do drop your tips in the comment.

Wedding Photography Oversea

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 01:31:00 +0000

If you intend to take your wedding photography oversea, is it possible to do it now? There are a lot of Bridal Studio do offering this service now. However, the price for such a service from the local Bridal studio is more expensive. It is because you need to pay to fly the whole team (the photographer, the makeup airtist, with another one or two staff) and pay for the accomodation. Sometimes, it is advisable to go in with other couples, the expenses will probably will be shared out. However, it is still not cheap.

The other option is you look for some Bridal Studio that has branches in oversea. They will be able to arrange the photographer and makeup artist from the branch. Then probably will be cheaper. Another alternative is after you decide the location of your wedding photograph, you can find some local wedding photographer through internet. This probably is the cheapest way if you want to have an oversea wedding photograph.

There are several hot spots where couple choose to have their wedding photograph:

1) Bali

2) Tioman Island

3) Taiwan

4) Korean

5) Prague

You have any others interesting place suitable for oversea wedding photography to share?

Bridal Studio for the Wedding Package

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:06:00 +0000

Start your searching for Bridal Studio for the Wedding Package at least 9 months ahead your wedding day. There are so many Bridal Studio in town, which one to choose?
This really depends on your budget. Bridal Studio with designer brand will be more expensive, however it will be unique.

One of the famous Bridal Studio area in Singapore located in Tanjong Pagar Road. There are huge number of Bridal Studio including those famous designer shop like Yvonne Creative, Santiago, Sattine, Milan, Flamigo, etc. Some others bridal studio located in Shopping Mall, and others neighbour district. I have gathered most of the Bridal Studio in a list, click here to download. (If you have any would like to add on, you are welcome to send an email to me.)

If you have budget constraint, you can probably look into Johor Bahru's Bridal Studios in Malaysia, as you will be paying Malaysia Ringgit instead of Singapore Dollar. However, bear in mind, you need spend more time on traveling to the Bridal Studio. I also gathered the Bridal Studios in Malaysia, click here to download.

What to look for when you visit to a Bridal Studio? You can request to view their sample photography albums, you can have an ideal the style of the photographer, the standard of the makeup artist. You can request the quotation of packages to have an idea of how much they charged and what are included in specific package. Bear in mind, some sales staff are very persuasive and pushy, you might want to say that your wedding is not that soon, probably 2 years later or date not set yet.

Window shop is important in search of wedding bridal photography package. Do not rush into any decision. Read some bridal magazines or attend wedding workshops will also help in choosing your suitable package.

Good Luck in search of your dream wedding photography!

Far Away from Love

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 01:49:00 +0000

It's has been a while that I not able to write as I was busy preparing my departure to USA. It is because of my current job, I have to be based in USA for 6-9 months. This is my first time to be away so long and so far away from my loved ones (my husband, A; my parent and my friends).

Since I graduated from my Bachelor Degree to before I met A, I always dream to come to US to further studies and to experience a different environment other than Asia. Now I got a chance, although not for further studies, I got a chance to experience living in USA. However, after I came to USA, I don't feel so excited as I thought. Maybe this is because my loves ones are not with me. They are far far away.

My friends, Lian and Hoong, always said that I am an amazing woman, always brave and tough. I also thought I am. Well, the truth is I also got my weakness - I still remember at the airport, Alvin, my parent and my mum-in-law were waving to me when I entering the immigration. I tried to smile and waved back, I told myself I need to be strong. However, when I walked along to the boarding departure hall, I feel sad and my tears start to flow from my eyes. Alvin called me when I was waiting to board the flight, listening to his voice, I know I will be strong with his love and his support and also love from my parent.

Love from your family/your love one is a very powerful feelings. Although I am alone here in USA, and might feel lonely sometimes but I don't feel sad as I got POWER of LOVE. Thanks to the advanced technology - internet, people far away still connected. I can always chat with them and see them through webcam.

To Get the Best Deal for your Wedding in Town?

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 03:05:00 +0000

After getting few quotes for the wedding venue, which one I should choose? Before making any decision to sign the contract, you are advised to read the contract in details and make an appointment with the coordinator to view the venue which both of you like (at this time, you probably already screened down to 2-3 options). If it is possible, request to view the venue in the wedding settings. Meeting with the coordinator also is very important because the coordinator is the one will help you with your wedding settings, update you about your wedding planning. You need to know and interact with the coordinator whether you are comfortable with him/her.

A and I have a very nice coordinator, Ms Sandy Lim (from The Oriental Singapore). She kept us inform and remind us on our wedding planning, such as when we couldn't decide the theme, she would inform us when there is wedding on specific theme on which date for us to drop by in order to view the specific settings. She sent us email to remind us to print our insert for our wedding dinner invitation card at 6 months before our wedding.

After deciding the venue which both of you like most, then you can now proceed to negotiating the contract with the service provider. Normally in the wedding dinner contract by hotel/resort, things usually included in the contract at free of charge (FOC) are as below:
- one night stay at Bridal Suite
- VIP carpark for bridal car and helper cars (usually 1-2 only; you can try to get complimentary carpark tickets on the actual day from the front desk)
- Wedding favors (usually decided by the theme)
- Wedding guest book
- Certain percentage of wedding invitation cards and envelopes (not the inserts)
- Deco of the reception and venue
- Champagnes for the toast

You can negotiate with the service provider either at FOC/lower charges on:
1) soft drink/beer
2) wedding cake (usually FOC)
3) white screen and projector (some with extra changes, try to negotiate to be FOC)
4) wine/hard liquor corkage fees (try to get wavier)
5) extra night stay (usually FOC for big banquet)
6) GST (try to get the service provider to absorb)

Hope these give you some idea how to find the best deal for your wedding. Good Luck!

PS: Information provided above is based on Tradisional Chinese Wedding Dinner Package
in Singapore. If service providers in your region offer package which are different from the above, you are welcome to share with us.

Meet The Parents Session - When, Where, What?

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:43:00 +0000

I was browsing some forums and found that there are a lot of doubt for "Meet The Parents Session". Questions asked:
1) When should be arranged for "Meet The Parents Session"?
2) Where to meet?
3) What to discuss?

For Alvin and I, after we decide to get married. Alvin make the first move, to ask permission to marry me from my parent. This is because to show respect for his future parent-in-laws. Of course before he did that, I did mention to my parent or hint to my parent. This is to avoid anything unpleasant.

After that, we choose an auspicious date to ROM (register of marriage). It was 18 July, 2006 (Hooray, 1st anniversary is nearby). Alvin and I decided not to do ROM and Traditional Wedding on the same day. There are few reasons:
1)As we live in Singapore, only legally married couple can own a flat. We decided to ROM and got the flat ready before the Traditional Wedding.
2)ROM together with Traditional Wedding will be very rush and tiring. So, we decided just a simple ROM and dinner with our parent and close friends. We had our dinner buffet at St. Gregory's Brasserie, Grand Plaza Park Hotel (Previously named Grand Plaza Parkroyal Hotel Coleman Street).

As we only planned to do the Traditional Wedding much later, so didn't arrange the Meet the Parents Session till this year. When come to this part, couple usually will worry unpleasant discussion between both parties. Well, things can be done smoothly with good planning. Here are some tips:
1)Couple need to understand this session need a lot of compromise. Discuss about what kind of things need to have discuss during the Meet the Parents Session (dates, dowry, groom offering how many tables, ....etc)
2)Couple then discuss with their own parents to get some opinion on those listed things. Usually parents (either bride or groom) will say, "You decide," but try to talk them to give you some rough idea what they think as the appropriate amount or things.(In Canton tradition, groom family must offer a roasted pig to the bride family; In Tao chew tradition, bride family must offer a pair of pants and wallet for the groom for prosperity; as the dates, if both agreed to get auspicious dates from the fortune-teller or feng shui expert and on which months for the year, then groom family can ask for the expert the dates using the Chinese calendar, the date best suited for the couple is based on their birth dates and Chinese zodiac signs. )
NOTE: In Chinese culture, the period from the middle to the end of the seventh lunar month is considered inauspicious. Traditionally, that is the time of the Ghost Festival, when the gates of the underworld are opened and the lost spirits are allowed to wander the earth, making it a less desirable time for a wedding.
3)Couple will discuss again using the information gather from both side of your parent and try to compromise.
4)Only until you can finalize those items and most likely agreed by both side of your parent, then only you arrange the "Meet the Parents Session".
("Meet the parent session" can be done after couple deciding to get married, try to do that at least 9-12 months before your planned wedding period; such as it is time to do this if you are planning your wedding around end of 2008 or beginning of 2009, as you need to book venue for wedding at least 9 months ahead of your wedding.)

As for where is the suitable place for "Meet the Parents Session", it really depends your preferences. Few options are as below:
1)Meet at the bride's home to discuss and then go for dinner later.
2)Meet a private room at restaurant

Things to discuss during the "Meet the Parents Session" - as for this part, at this time, most likely all the things already being mentioned to both parties, so it is just likely just to confirm again the details.

Hope this helps those who are planning for the "Meet the Parents Session".

Hunting Venue for Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 07:24:00 +0000

Have you got your wedding planning list ready? If not, you might want to do that (click here) before reading on.

Looking at your long wedding planning list (date, budget, number of guest, etc.....finalized after discussion), where to start now? First thing you need to look into is Venue for Your Wedding.

Church Ceremony
If you are doing a church ceremony (Christian or Catholic), you need to start checking with the church to make sure the date is available for your wedding. This usually quick easy as people usually choose to have the ceremony at the church they usually visit for prayers.

Wedding Ceremony &/ Dinner
If you are planning a wedding dinner at hotel or restaurant, you need to call up the hotels or restaurants. This is the difficult part. Which one I should choose? Which one I should call? How many I should call to get the quote for the dinner?

By now, you should have a rough idea how many numbers of guest attending your wedding, your preferences of having indoor or outdoor wedding, a 8-10 course set dinner or buffet, your wedding dinner budget, etc..... Using these information, you can screen which hotels/restaurants are suitable for your wedding dinner. With modern infrastructure today, you can find the official website of the hotel/restaurant and sending them an email or calling them with the phone number provided on the website to ask them to give a quote for your wedding dinner. In your email or call, please indicate clearly:
1) Your wedding date and day (weekday/weekend)
2) number of guest estimated
3) 8/9/10-course set dinner or buffet (request for menu if available)

As A and I will be having our wedding dinner in Singapore. I managed to summarize a list of wedding venue in Singapore. Those are planning a wedding dinner in Singapore may find it useful. Click here to download.

Sometimes you need to wait for few days before you get any replies from the catering department or you might need to follow up again with them if you didn't hear from them after a week (probably lost your email or missed your call).

Don't rush to sign up with any package with hotel or restaurant if you want to have the best deal for your wedding dinner. Be patient to get all the replies from those you called, unless you are very keen on just particular venue without worrying any budget.

As for others who are planning a wedding in others' places, if you would like to share your list of location, please do email me or post a link in the comment.

Good Luck in hunting a place for your coming wedding!

Triple Seven is one Hot Date for Love

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 03:36:00 +0000

Triple seven - That is on July 07, 2007, a hot date which falls on Saturday for many people around the world will be saying "I do". The number seven is auspicious in many cultures.

In Judaism, God rested on and sanctified the seventh day and Budha walked seven steps at his birth. And there are seven heavens in the Islamic tradition. In Chinese culture, seven represents togetherness; in Japanese mythology there are seven lucky gods. And the lineup of three sevens only happens every 100 years. It falls on a Saturday, and the positive symbolism behind the number seven is too great for even non-superstitious couples to resist.

In Singapore, there will be 772 soleminisation ceremonies at the Registry of Marriage. TheKnot.com, a popular USA-based wedding website, found that 28,000 American couples out of 1.1 million registered on the portal are getting married this Saturday - 3 times more than any Saturday in July- the perfect storm of wedding dates.

Are you the luckly person to get your venue, photographer, catering booked for your wedding? I heard from some friends, this date was booked in advance 2-3 years. Wow, that's really long wedding planning Today, I read on a local newspaper reported a couple planned 3 years. Their plan began with Mr James Tan proposed to Ms Rachel Ng on May 5, 2005. Then they registered their marriage on June 06, 2006. And they will have their wedding dinner on July 07, 2007. Although a long planning, but full of beautiful memories.

Congratulations to all will be getting married on this special day!

Things to dicuss for Wedding Preparation

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:51:00 +0000

After deciding to walk down the aisle together, couples need to discuss a lot things before starting wedding preparation. During discussion, bride-to-be and groom-to-be need to calm. Although sometimes opinion between two might be different, but no need to be frustrated during discussion. First thing to learn after deciding get married is need to compromise each other.

Things to be discussed:

1) When is the date? Asian usually need to look for auspicious date for the big day, so decide do you need to look for expert to look for a date?

2) Total budget

3)Type of the wedding ceremony? Chinese traditional wedding (Chinese)/Church wedding (Christian & Catholic)/Garden wedding

4) Type of banquet? Lunch/Dinner; 10-course dinner (Chinese/Western)/Buffet; Outdoor/Indoor

5) Number of guest

6) Budget (wedding banquet, wedding photography, wedding rings)

7) Place for wedding photography? Local/Oversea

8) Buying a house? Where? Budget?

9) Honeymoon? Where? Budget?

10) Actual day videography and photography's budget?

In order to get better idea how much to spend and how to prepare, I suggest couples to do some research such as reading some bridal magazines, attending some wedding workshop or bridal show. For Asian couples, you need to book at least 6-12 months ahead if you decide to have your banquet at hotel ballroom or restaurant on auspicious date.

There are a lot of things to prepare. Start to put your wedding list down. :)

How to propose?

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:46:00 +0000

Talking about proposing a marriage, people usually think of romance classic movie scene with man kneeing down on one knee in front of his love one, holding a beautiful ring or flower and looking into her eyes and with said, "Will you marry me?". The gal, so touched with tears running down, and said," I do." The background beautiful music will start playing......

In real life, does this happen? Really depends. Not every man are romantic (The one I am with now is definately not ). If you want to create a memorable and delightful experience for your love one, no idea what you should do. Here are some guidelines.

Things you need:
a plan
a location
an engagement ring
flowers
lots of love

Ideas to propose:
in a restaurant
on a park bench
on sunset beach
at the place where you first meet
while traveling (find a very romantic scenary - Nigara Falls)
more creative ways:
hide ring in a bouquet of flowers
tie ring to a kite string
in a box of chocolates
put an ad in a newspaper
design a crossword puzzle
via email
via sms
on the web
while on airplane

If you any other interesting propose ideas, you are welcome to share with us via email or by putting in the below comments

Staying with in-laws or Buying a House?

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 08:12:00 +0000

If you are an Asian, you must accept that when you get married, you are not only marry your spouse, but you are marrying into the family. So after marriage, there is a possibility you are staying with your in-laws. In-laws come in different types. Some are supportive and respect the marital boundaries. Some act like it is your duty to treat them nice and serve their needs.

If you have a choice, which would you choose, staying with in-laws or buying a house? That's really individual preferences I guess and how close are you relationship with your in-laws.

If you have a very close relationship with your in-laws, and you have a tight financial, probably staying with in-laws is the best option. You don't need to come out a big lump sum of money to buy a house. You also save money on others expenses by sharing electrical and water bills, meal, etc.

However, if you are looking for a living area among two of you and your financial is good, you could possibly get a house. However, you need to understand beside putting downpayment for the house and paying housing loan by monthly installment, you will have a lot of other expenses such as electrical bill, water bill, tv cable bill, phone bill, internet bill, etc.

If your relationship with your in-laws are not that close, you might need to consider to get a house. Chinese idiom said, "To meet is fine, To stay together is difficult". If you and your in-laws has your own way of lifestyle which are totally opposite, eg. you like your house to be simple and tidy, yet your in-laws like to keep things that full of memories, it's better not to stay in the same house. It most likely will end up in quarrel and this definately put your spouse into miserable situation. I heard a lot from others, because of in-laws relationship problem, eventually the couples broke up.

Work out the best option between you and your spouse. A good and healthy marriage requires effort and team work. Beside that, a strong happy family need a good relationship between all the members, including your in-laws, brothers and sisters.

A new Chapter of Life - Marriage

noreply@blogger.com (J) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:22:00 +0000

A and I meet in 2003. After three wonderful years of dating, we finally decided to tie knot. A didn't give me any romantic proposal, it was very natural process and both of us know "It's time." Although most of the times I don't really mind whether there was any romantic proposal, but there is a tiny voice in my heart always would hope to have "a romantic moment in life".

If you are a guy reading this, do bare in mind, gals are more emotional and romantic than guys - once a while do give them a warm surprise (doesn't mean it has to be grand or expensive act). A tiny act - waiting for her to knock off from work outside her office without telling her, would also warm her. She looks at you with surprise and smiles happily.

Today our society are complicated, competitive and stressful. Are you both ready for marriage?
This is a very important question. Marriage always give an impression of beautiful, happy and merry pictures of couples. Couples need to know marriage is not just love between two persons. It's a big responsibility. It involves a lot of things - financially, emotionally, mentally........ picture yourselves eventually settling down with the perfect partner and build a strong and wonderful married life together and even create a family. There is a lot more to marriage besides the romance and love you feel for one another. A good and healthy marriage requires effort and team work. The both of you will enter the marriage together and therefore will have to continue to precede the marriage together.....Do spent some time to think about it and be prepared if you both really taking one step into new chapter of life.

There are few websites online provide some quiz (use only as reference, how accurate the tests, no one exactly knows) :
http://www.blogthings.com/areyoureadyformarriagequiz/; http://ynr.blogthings.com/areyoureadytogetmarriedquiz/; http://www.love-sessions.com/relationship_test.htm; http://www.testcafe.com/mar/
Often you hear this question being asked to a couple: What makes this person the one? usually your first answer will be because you love him or her. This is not the question. The question is "What makes this person, out of all the other relationships you have been in, the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?" It is important to make a mental list on this, to prevent yourself from entering a marriage for the wrong reasons. The often mistake people makes is giving a wrong reason to marry: marrying because he/she feels that time is running out. Do not pressure yourself or allow others to pressure you with the idea that you are getting old and may never have another opportunity to get married.
The every first pressure after deciding to get married will come from your both financial. Being married is not like dating where you cover the dinner bill or pay for the movie tickets. It involves new and more expensive bills. This is a subject you should discuss with your partner so that there are no unpleasant surprises later. Whether the both of you work or one of you stays at home, it is essential that you know ahead of time of how you plan to handle all financial challenges, including insurances and emergencies.
These are only some questions you definately need to find out your answer to before getting married. You should never involve yourself until you are truely ready for it.