Dedicated to all the lovely couples who got married, are planning to get married, or just engaged in this unpredictable time. All the love and light to you and your loved ones ๐
We got married on 22nd May 2021. Finally, after having to cancel our original plans of getting married on 6th June 2020 (Singapore was in Phase 2 of reopening from circuit breaker) and then restarting planning in October 2020.
Actually to be specific, we only had a solemnisation at home on 22nd May, as about a week and a half before the actual day, the government announced the start of Phase 2 Heightened Alert (P2HA) :’) This was actually after an initial tightening of restrictions, which had us reduce our 80pax guest list to 50pax so as to avoid pre-event testing for all our guests.
Some measures of P2HA:
– All wedding receptions are not allowed, only solemnisation of up to 50pax without pre-event testing
– 2 unique visitors allowed in each household per day
– Solemnisation held at home can have up to 10pax, excluding licensed solemniser and vendors (which should be kept to a minimum)
Initially we wanted to go ahead with our original plan – solemnisation + takeaway dinner at our venue @ 11 The Oval, but decided that it was not the best decision, given the inaccessibility of the place + the time constraints we’d have to work with. It would just not be the ideal wedding at all, and we already paid so much for the venue + food that we won’t be able to get back, and i guess we just feel it wouldn’t quite be the celebration we would love to have with our guests.
And then, finally finally finally, we had our dinner celebration on 19th September 2021 at 11 The Oval! It was lovely, although we only had about 47 guests (3 couldn’t make it). We also liked that we could fully be present and enjoy both days since it wasn’t a mad rush from morning to night ๐ The vendors we worked with on both days were so accomodating and awesome to work with!
In this post, Iโll be sharing about our experience with our vendors + some experiences along our journey! Hopefully, this will be of help to you bride-to-be’s (and groom-to-be’s!) in some way or another ๐
Vendors list:
Bridal studio – Odelia Bridal (AD package + pre-wedding shoot)
Venue + Catering (family-style dining – shared dishes within each table) – 11 The Oval
Wedding coordinator – Peiyi from Pei Weddings (@pei.weddings on Instagram)
AD photographer – Gloria (@fleurandcraft on Instagram)
AD videographer – Jach (@treehouseweddings.sg on Instagram)
Hair and makeup artist (HMUA) – Wendy (@makeupbywendys on Instagram)
Venue styling – Alycia from Pedestalworks (@pedestalworks on Instagram)
Reviews/ reflections of our experience:
Bridal studio – Odelia Bridal (AD package + pre-wedding shoot)
Bridal studio run by a couple – photographer Rex is the laoban, gown designer Jovin is the laoban niang. The team (when we were there) were mostly Malaysian from what we know, so it’s very ่ฆชๅ for us since my husband is from there too! ๐
The first bridal studio we stepped into (after some research) and we just went with them hehe. The staff are helpful and patient in helping us into our gowns and suits and selecting them, and setting appointments and communication was easy as they are responsive.
We did our PWS back in Jan 2020, and the experience was quite nice, Elsa the HMUA was superb, and Ben assisted Rex and us throughout the shoot as we went from location to location. (Took a good 3/4 of the day, from morning to early evening).
PSA: The thing about bridal studio shoots, though, is that the shots (“poses”) you get are very limited, and to get all the pictures back (soft/hard copy), you’ll have to pay another “package” price on top of the initial package. RIP to all the shots we took but did not buy ๐ฅ (I think we took like 100-200ish, but only chose 42…)
So for all couples considering a PWS package with the studio, on top of looking through their portfolio, do check with them to make sure what would be included in the package and think through it before signing.
Overall, it was a pleasant studio experience, but if I were to redo it, I would likely find our gowns and suits elsewhere and hire a photographer (+HMUA) to do our PWS so we can get all the shots!
Little episode: after we confirmed we postponed our wedding date for the first time (6 June 2020 to 22nd May 2021), our original HMUA was not available for the new date and they said they would have another MUA to take over. We requested for another trial with the new MUA but they said the free trial was already used up before the PWS. There was also no portfolio for the MUA upon request so we removed the MUA portion from our package (-$100). We also did ask them about gown rental for our next date but they didn’t seem very interested to follow up, so… yep. (we didn’t continue)
Total spending: $3718 ($3438 PWS+AD package* + 120 for wedding shoot car rental + 80*2 for additional photos from PWS)
Rating: 7/10 (-2 for the expectation vs reality of the PWS, -1 for the HMUA issue)
*Note: we did remove some things from the package, which was either converted to poses (PWS photos) or minus-ed out from the total
Venue + Catering (family-style dining – shared dishes within each table) – 11 The Oval
We were exploring small alternative venues to “ala carte” our wedding since we wanted more autonomy over what is there for our wedding. We actually enquired about Colonial@Scotts (closed now) and Ajay called us offering this venue instead. We were a bit apprehensive at first but went to view and fell in love!
The venue is not big though, so the aisle for walk-in might be short depending on seating plan – you can see our draft plan below:
Ajay was easy to talk to but personally, I found it a bit challenging to work with him sometimes, as it’s not the typical “Singaporean” way of working. I remember requesting for the floor plan with the actual dimensions multiple times but was given the fire evacuation plan… In the end we had to take the measurements and draw up the plan ourselves.
In terms of execution, no worries at all! He was great with managing the whole event and making sure everything goes smoothly so that’s awesome! Maybe we were too uptight about planning everything perfectly – we should have placed more trust in him :p
Their chef customised a vegan + allium-free menu for us and we went for food tasting at their partner restaurant (Young’s) – we did not initially think of going with them before the tasting but the food was BOMB so yes we did in the end.
Our guests loved the food and we didn’t have to worry about the logistics as well (compared to if we were to get our own catering). Dishes were refilled when finished on the actual day and some friends were overwhelmed by the amount of food hahaha.
Total spending: $8062.45 (3150 venue rental and setup + 2250 food + 950 outdoor fairy light setup + 250 additional projector and screen setup + 250 additional service crew x2 + 685 10% service charge + 527.45 GST)
Rating: 8/10
Wedding coordinator – Peiyi from Pei Weddings (@pei.weddings on Instagram)
I found Pei Weddings on Instagram and was immediately captivated by her passion and dedication to her work. When we finally decided to reach out, she offered to meet us over zoom about 10pm at night, which we were pleasantly surprised by. We went through our plan with her – at this point we already felt quite prepared actually, most big things were settled – and she pointed out a few things more we need to look at like transport plan, contact points for different aspects, etc. This was before we decided to engage her btw.
It was a no-brainer once we spoke to her, as we felt like we could trust her with our big day with all our hearts. ๐ And we’re glad we did!
P.s. we were surprised to find out she has a full-time job on top of this – she never fails to amaze us, honestly!
As we ended up having 2 days for our wedding, Peiyi very nicely offered to be with us on 22nd May as well (out of contract), while she had her team (Elysia and Elyn) + her with us on 19th September.
Read our full review here:
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbeolinbelinda%2Fposts%2F10227232437742003&show_text=true&width=500
Total spending: $2236.49
Rating: 10/10 would recommend!
AD photographer – Gloria (@fleurandcraft on Instagram)
When we were looking for PG/VG, many of our first choices were already taken (A Merry Moment, Twogather Pictures)…
We met Gloria at an open house @ The Secret Patio, and immediately vibed with her – she’s very friendly and chill, like talking to a big sister, so I always call her Gloria jiejie :p We love her aesthetics and her personality, so we booked her right on that day! We actually also met Wedding Authors (@weddingauthors – a PG + VG team) on that day, but as we were still unsure as to whether we wanted a VG yet, we went with Gloria!
It was tough to choose actually, but I believe if we were to choose again, likely we would go with a PG/VG team hehe. No regrets working with Gloria though!
Gloria has awesome energy and makes everyone feel comfortable on the two ADs, so the pictures were all great, even if they were candid. She has a keen eye for aesthetics, so her pictures all have the ๆ่ feels hehe, which we love! She’ll also direct us to take more abstract/ feely-feely shots of our hands, of the space, etc – so if that’s what you dig, Gloria would be perfect for ya!
She’s also super responsive and delivers the photos very timely so it was a breeze to work with her ๐
Total spending: $1755 for 10h AD photography (she waived the split day charge for us – thank you Gloria! :’) )
Rating: 10/10
AD videographer – Jach (@treehouseweddings.sg on Instagram)
We found Jach on Instagram and looked through their website, and loved how straightforward and easy it was to navigate. She also has lots of helpful tips on the website about weddings and stuff, so she also feels like a very trustworthy vendor who’s passionate about her work!
Wei Lun from Twogather Pictures was very nice to help check with his friendors for us after enquiring with them and sadly concluding that we did not have matching schedules – he ended up recommending Jach to us after we reached out to her via DMs! What a coincidence! ๐
Jach’s approach to wedding film is more emotions/feelings-based, asking us questions about how we feel at each point as she films us. Awkward me often ends up a bit flustered by the questions and will look at the camera HAHAHA – I think most of the footage likely ends up not being usable, oops. :p
She’s very helpful throughout the process, and loaned us some equipment for our DIY livestream on both ADs (thank you, Jach x10000000!)
Total spending: $2600 (10h AD Videography – 2nd VG was present on 1st day, split day charge waived <3)
Rating: 9/10
Hair and makeup artist (HMUA) – Wendy (@makeupbywendys on Instagram)
Found Wendy on Instagram as well and was pleasantly surprised by her affordability. Her portfolio looked great too! Communication with Wendy was a breeze, and she has a very friendly demeanour as well – very easy to talk to!
Somehow I misunderstood that her package included a free trial, and when I clarified with her, she did end up offering this – thank you, Wendy!!! :’)
Her pricings are also very straightforward, without any surcharge for early morning or for ampoule and lashes (often this is present for many HMUA).
She’s also very receptive to feedback, so let her know if you want any changes and she’ll be happy to help you as much as possible – I requested for a darker lip colour for my dinner reception and loved it! She also has a team of MUA for mother/ sisters – they did great as well, for my Ahma, Mum and stepmum! ๐
Total spending: $980 ($680 for 2 fresh looks – split day charge waived + $100*3 for mother’s hair and makeup)
Rating: 9/10 (-1 because my fringe somehow remained unruly both times and didn’t look picture perfect – but that could just be my hair haha…)
Venue styling – Alycia from Pedestalworks (@pedestalworks on Instagram)
I can’t sing enough praises about Alycia!!! She’s also superb to work with – super responsive and always on the ball + would go the extra mile for us :’) She went to the venue twice with us – once before we engaged her services (1st meetup) and once more to confirm the position of the decor + dimensions.
We were flustered when we had to change our solemnisation timing due to the split day because initially, Alycia and team were not free on 22nd May, but she got it all sorted out for us the previous night + we realised it was an upgrade in terms of the setup!!! *cries*
Honestly super super thankful for Alycia and her team for making both our days so picture-perfect :’)
Her prices are also reasonable and her catalogue is easy to navigate (available upon request). Great service, great aesthetics, great prices – we couldn’t recommend her more, honestly!!!
Total spending: $1565 ($560 for solemnisation setup – arch & table decor + 350 reception table setup + 650 fairy lights backdrop for stage + 5 for carpark surcharge on 22nd May)
Rating: 10/10 would recommend!
Other smaller vendors include:
Wedding favours (60pcs brownies in a box) – Radeau Vegan Desserts (@radeauvgn on Instagram)
Jia Xuan was great to work with in terms of budget, packaging and all. She offered to make samples for us + even designed a sticker for us, and offered to deliver the favours to our venue for free so we got one less thing to worry about :’) – another passionate individual who absolutely loves what she does!
Total spending: $200
Rating: 10/10
Wedding cake (6-inch 3 layers naked cake with florals) – Lalacakeland (@lalacakeland on Instagram)
Easy to order and enquire, and we all enjoyed the cake! It’s a bit on the expensive side and I wish we ordered a cream cake instead so we can have a higher cream-cake ratio! ๐ They’re really good at what they do so definitely hit them up if you need any cake/ desserts for your event!
Total spending: $180
Rating: 9/10
Wedding gown alteration – Mr Sia and daughters (@sia_lc on Instagram)
We bought our 2nd AD (dinner celebration) gown and suit on Taobao (!!!) and I went to get my gown altered. Stumbled upon Mr Sia and his 2 lovely daughters on Instagram – easy to book, appointments were super fast because Mr Sia is so professional, and the services were affordable as well! They are super responsive on IG DMs so do look through their IG page for the FAQs and then drop them a message!
Total spending: $95 (for gown alteration – mine is fully lined and lace so more layers to go through)
Rating: 10/10
Wedding bands – Venus Tears (@ JEM)
Total spending: $2375 (2295 for rings + 80 for kanji engraving)
Rating: 9/10
Guo Da Li / An Chuang items – kekhoon.com
The website is easy to navigate, communication was a breeze, service was great! They shared with us more details upon delivery + they collect the basket (rented) a couple days after!
Total spending: $194.60
Rating: 10/10
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Wedding cakes for distribution after Guo Da Li – Dong Shan Eastern Highland Healthy Cake House
Total spending: $159.50
Rating: 8.5/10
Wedding car rental (for 22nd May) – Audi on Demand
Easy to book online, and very responsive to our messages. The staff drives the car over to us for collection and gives a briefing for the car. Returning the car is also super easy because we just need to let them know the time and location. Car is also clean and chio ๐
Total spending: $396
Rating: 10/10
Reflections:
Overall, the wedding planning journey was enjoyable for us as much as it was stressful, but if we were to redo the entire thing, we’d more likely find a nice hotel or restaurant we like so we don’t have to ala carte everything + people will be able to find the angbao rate… If you add up the few things above, you can see it’s not any less than hotel packages, but because there are no angbao rates available, we “made a loss” as many guests thought it’s cheaper this way. sobs :’)
Oh well! As long as we enjoyed ourselves, and our guests did too ๐
Wishing you lots of joy and love along your wedding planning journey, and of course, a lifetime of happiness together as one ๐
Lots of love,
Beoz
zenwithbeoz 
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