Elaine & Kelvin (Me as the planner)

My best friend is getting married! I am helping her to coordinate the event and will be decorating the restaurant. I am thinking of an exotic and vintage theme that involves peacock feathers and orange calla lillies. I am so excited!

This is the bride on the left and me on the right. Taken at a friend’s wedding last year.

Update

The me now is still excited but sorta feeling exhausted too. Planning a wedding requires alot of hard work, especially when you want the best of everything.

I decided to turn this post into a blog, where I’ll share my thoughts.

View all crafts I’ve created for the wedding
View all floral arrangements (Coming soon)

Week 1

I was alerted one month prior to the wedding that will be held on the 17 November 2007. There will be 150 guests. Time was short but nonetheless I was happy to be presented an opportunity to work on an event. Furthermore, this is my best friend we’re talking about. I was determined to plan the best wedding for her. Although I had some ideas in my head, I find myself working aimlessly. I wanted orange callas. Its the fall season and orange will be the best color. Sure daisies are orange too but callas are elegant. So there was cost to consider. After discussing with Elaine, we decided callas are out.

The next action was to look at the venue for no ideas of mine will fit if I do not know what to expect. I tried forming an image from Elaine’s description but she had no clue. Forgotten the place the minute she walked out! The only thing she mentioned was the waterfall and that the place badly needs deco.

The Setting

The venue is Cafe by the Lounge at Grand Royal Park Hotel. About 5 mins walk from City Hall MRT. Very easy to find. As for the setting, I remembered being stunned for words the moment I reached it. All the ideas I had before vanished into thin air. Suddenly, I don’t know what sort of decoration will fit in. The coordination was all wrong.

Here are some shots:

On the table, the plates reminded me of cheap plastic ware used in kopi tiams to serve half-boiled eggs. No sturdy white basic ceramic ware in sight. Glasses were frosted in deep blue. They were popular once but thats like 10 years ago. Ahem. The table was country. Chair was 2ndhand? It does look at that. I wanted to faint. The chairs are not sychronised too so I found 2 different designs that belonged to 2 different worlds. There were orchids but their beauty were covered with too many overgrown potted plants by the sides. The most important detail was the the two main floral arrangements. It was disappointing. Too much greens with a few sunflowers. Again, too many potted plants surrounding. I wonder who their florist is.

Wendy, the banquet manager was not there. I had Eric who showed me around. A friendly guy who is nice to talk to. He also showed me the reception table on the second level which was another shock. It was a red cover. That restaurant setting and red? No matter how hard I thought, I cant find a match between the two. But that was the only color they had. Seems like everything is the only one available. I was also informed there will be no table cloth or chair drape which they had to use for the ballroom weddings. I cant talk anyone into buying right? For a one-time event? Plus its not like I had other weddings that I could re-use again. Plain wastage. He also gave me a guest book. I took it back.

So as you can see, there is a lot of “take it as it is”. As a designer, these challenges are just the beginning.

Aftermath

I was walking aimlessly around City Hall. Decided to hop into Arts Friends to get some inspiration. Took down a whole list of potential items and their costs and bought a sketch book for my ideas. Most stores are closed by then. Next was back to the shopping complex. I remembered a few stationary stores. Maybe I could get a new guest book and the pen too. No luck.

Back at home, I tried sourcing online. The more affordable ones cost U$40+ for the entire set. Not talking about transportation yet. I need alternatives.

Sketch Designing

For the longest time, my mind was blank and the heart was cold. I needed inspiration badly. So I tried looking at floral pictures and surfing online.

Finally, I decided to use the following color theme:

• Copper Brown
• Fall Orange
• Rustic Gold

Decoration includes:

• Pearl wreaths (inspired by Martha Stewart Christmas beads wreath)
• Pearl initials
• Floral arrangement on each table
• Floral arrangement as the 2 main centre-piece in the restaurant
• Floral arrangement for reception
• Table numbering
• Table decorating
• Block candles at reception
• Candles for every table
• Favors
• Money box
• Register & photo book
• Photo frame for B & W photo of couple

The rest of the week which equals to 3 days is pretty much spent on ideas. I also called my aunt who will be helping me again. Im really thankful!

Week 2

Sourcing Supplies

I went to Spotslight. I don’t really like that place as i felt things are pretty much over-priced. But its always good to give allowances than grudge bias. Then I found an extravagant piece of silk. Something Thai-like but smoother and better. It was going for 50% and comes out around $28 for half a metre. This will be the covering for the guest book. I planned to include a register and photo book. The fabric will be used to cover this two books as well.

Thoughts: Customer service was really bad. I had the gal cut the fabric for me and told her I will collect later. She misplaced it and did not bother to find. I ask for the fabric roll and she did not attend to me either. I was left on my own to search for it. Then the queue! I had to re-queue and it was a good 10 minutes at least. When it’s my turn finally, she turned her back on me and suddenly my fabric was there. I almost slapped her.

Next to was to this new place called Sin Hin Chuan Kee I learnt about online. They do curtain wholesale and had a whole lot of accessories that Female Bridal recommended. I had my dad took me down on last Saturday but they were already closed. So I had to go early on my own during the weekdays. Anyways, I don’t find the place equipped with what I want. Nonetheless, I bought a beaded fabric patch. This is the front decorator for the guest book.

Thoughts: Singapore is a hot hot place! I can’t remember the last time I allowed myself to go under the sun outside! Oh the sacrifices I made… N I became an expert in taking buses, after many wrong ones and depleting $20 worth of fare value in just 2 days.

With some time on hand, I went Arts Friends to get some supplies too. This is when I bought enough to chalk up $100 for their membership. The main items I bought were the iron-on embroidery (for register book), iron-on glitter alphabets (for table naming of “Guest” and “Bride”) and Japanese gold place cards (for table numbering).

At Bras Basah, I went to Tec-man as well. They don’t have a good wedding supply. The ostrich feather quill retails $80. What? The nearby wedding supply store dont have what I want too and the pen quill equally extorsive.

Beads…what can I do without them. They are essential for the wedding wreaths. Cheaper and longer-lasting than floral ones. I went to KME at South Bridge Road. Initially, I looking for orange ones like the ones featured in Martha Stewart wreath craft. But I was introduced to the pearl strands and thought they look more elegant for the wedding. I bought 2 strands to try the design.

And of course ribbons. Plenty of them at Kin Soon. The best place for ribbons I reckon. They do printing too. Around the area, I checked out all the accessories stalls there. Nothing I need for the wedding but useful for future.

I ordered favors from favordesign.com. Vellum envelopes for the chocolates and personalised labels. Later in the week, I tried cancelling the order as I found better alternatives at IKEA. But labels cant be cancelled. I hope they arrive soon.

The favors

Weekend, I had dad took me to IKEA. I saw a few artistically-dressed young designers and was happy to be surrounded by them. One of them was a Japanese yet. Nothing bought for the wedding. I took down a whole list of potential items.

Planning again for the rest of the hours.

Guest Book Makeover

This is when I completed the guest book. The bead patch had to stitched on to secure its location. The silk looked beautiful!!!

********* Before ********************* After ***********

Register Book Making

The register will keep log of the money couples collect at the wedding day. This will serve as a reference copy when they attend other couple weddings in future. I had the embroidery alphabet ironed on the front cover.

Photo Book Making

A memorandum for the event. I added ribbons at the top so it could be hung. Also added the couple pearl initial for an extra touch.

Order these, contact me at helethea@gmail.com.

Week 3

Sourcing Supplies

Its pretty much bulk buying for this week. I went to Arts Friends again but the Takashimaya branch. The SA at Bras Basah told me they have the embroidery lettering at Taka. I thought they really meant Taka the department store and went around the stationary section asking everyone where I could find something like that. Of course no one knew. later I realised there is an Arts Friends in Taka! So I rushed over and gotten the 12 Styrofoam wreaths as well as photo frame and other accessories.

The good thing was I discovered the money box. Retails for $18. It comes in a gorgeous copper brown that will fit in Elaine’s wedding and has a slot for dropping the ang-pao. Kinda think of it, its just paper. $18 for a paper box is really expensive. That very day, another friend messaged me if I will be making any money box so that I can make one for her too and I said no. Fortunately, they do not have stock. Because I eventually decided to make my own. Im glad I did. Turned out better looking than the one on sale.

Another important thing to buy are the pearl beads. I had to go down KME again. This time I got 10 strands of 10mm pearl beads and 44 strands of the 6mm ones. It was a heavy purchase. I have no vehicle and I still had to go down to Kin Soon for more ribbons.
Thoughts: Back at home, I discovered I was short of 22 6mm strands. That’s like half of my purchase gone! You can imagine the madness. I was going to explode already. The next morning, I called them indicating the mistake and said I need them before 1.30pm the very same day. All was going acceptable until the delivery man called. He claimed that Speed Post cant promise the timing but timing is essential to me! Before long, he was shouting and said he doesnt care if I get the beads on time. So i suggested DHL urgent delivery and he called me “Xiao! Pay $100 for delivery??” “Why dont you pay? You pay la!”. Well, get the facts right, it was your side who made the blunder, isnt it? Eventually, he hung up on me.

I called the cashier again and stressed importance of the timing. I gave an allowance of half an hour. She was part of the mistake so I believed she yielded my request and had it timely delivered to me at 2 p.m. Never did I complained about this rude delivery man nor the person who made the blunder, not to the boss as well. I hope my benevolence will increase staff training.

Another trip to the setting was essential. I had to collect the floor plan from Wendy the banquet manager and do some measurements and counting. Alas there are 23 tables. She told me over the phone that there will 30 and I got 30 table numbering cards. At $2.40 per card, this assumption is pretty costly. Arts Friends do not refund items. We discussed a few things. The cake table, the table cloth and banquet chairs for bride and groom table…see pictures below.

To make up the number, she had table and chairs moved from the Chinese restaurant on the second level. The addition was totally out of place. I requested for chair drapes and I really hope she’ll spare a few on the day. I noticed the floral arrangement became more inviting to the eyes. Considering the cost, Im taking a chance going along with their floral arrangements instead of making my own.

Cupcakes…I spent more than a week finding the supplies. The best quotation I got was from Pine’s Garden and Indulgence Treats. Its $575 and $490 (respectively) for

• 100 cupcakes and round cake
• Design customization (for the ones in the pic below)
• Set-up
• Delivery

(this is the design I wanted)

Expensive isn’t it? Freelancers charge me more than $650 for the same request. I’ve sourced online for many days. Thanks Jassilin for helping me to source around too! But please help! Anyone recommends other cheaper alternatives?

Weekend, bought stuff at IKEA before dad left Singapore for a fishing trip.

UPDATE (5/11/07):

Indulgence Treats’ Eunice is a very nice lady. Because I told her about the budget, she recommends me this alternative that still allows me to keep the initial design. She will use fondant to create the initials instead of making the cookie. In a way, it is still customised but the cost will be $2.50 for each cupcake. From $3.90 to $2.50…sounds reasonable to me but Elaine thinks its still expensive. If the cost is too cheap, I WOULD seriously wonder about the quality…like those you take a bite and became full instantly kind. But Elaine decides to do without the ceremony cake. Well what can I say? Even Bread Talk can’t be any way cheaper. For an event that is so important to a woman, I really wonder if she ought to be so thrifty.

I have not tried Indulgence Treats cupcakes before so I can’t say much about the taste. But because Eunice is both flexible and attentive, I strongly recommends her customer service. After all, a wedding is a joyous event, isn’t it? She is one of those that made mine. If you’d like to know her contact, let me know.

Wreath Making

Back to work, I finished all the wreaths on week 3. It was a PAINFUL experience. The flat-head pins arent sharp enough and I had to push them all into the styrofoam. It still hurts as Im speaking now.

Initial Making

I tried making a few dozens. It was less painful but very strenuous on the eyes. Imagine I had to go through all 150 of all. I kinda admire my perseverance.

Learn how to make one (coming soon)

Week 4

I finished all initials as of today (Monday). Wow. Finally. So here I am, typing the bits and pieces of the events that took place. I’m tired.

Its Thursday. I went to Ikea. Yes its the 3rd time. Im seriously making sure I do not need to go again. Ok, first to get a refund and second to get the candle favor. Fortunately Dad is around to take me there else with more 20kg of stuff on hand, I could never make it there myself. So the refund totals about $101. You can imagine how many things there are! Thank god Ikea has such a good policy and one is given 100 days to consider. That’s very generous. I believe they have a very high turnover rate which is why such a system is in place. Furthermore, no questions asked. Its just a straightforward full refund, not shopping vouchers that forces you to spend at their store again.

Scented Candle Favor

Back at home, I started working on the scented candle. Two pieces each for one guest. The combined smell is over-powering. Nana likes to go sniffing around but eventually she can’t stand it either. The candle set is decorated with ribbons and finished with an initial label sticker. I ordered the labels from Favordesign.com and paid U$15 for rush service. Its been more than a week but I don’t see any parcel… …Ribbons have also run out which means I need to go Kin Soon again. Maybe tomorrow.

The raw product & Nana checking the candles

See the finished product here. (coming soon)

Table Numbering

It probably sounds pathetic but I do not have a color printer. Elaine was the one who printed the labels. So having gotten the numbers, I worked on the table number tag too. Rather than cutting the numbers one by one, I decided on the easy way, which is to cut on the border lines. Always use a pen knife if you want the edges to be straight and neat. I made my own stand too. Because getting one (plastic comes with clip) costs $6+ each(quotation from Display101). And they don’t do renting. Hotel doesnt have it either.

Construction Accidents So while attaching the stand to the table card, I burnt my hand while using the hot glue gun. There is a saying if you work at a construction site, you might struck my a falling beam; if you work at a bakery store, your hands might get cut by the machine. So what can happen to a home-based crafter? Burns. I got one burn bump on the left index finger and a patch of top layer skin removed on the right thumb. If I sounded cranky in my wordings anywhere in this post, it probably is due to this burn.

So dad was asking me if its worthwhile and justifiable to work day and night for this. He keeps nagging whole day long. When I got the burns, of course he is the first to rub the salt in. Then again, he still drives me around. When I asked for a transport van, he got his boss to help. There will be workers from his site coming down to help me on that day too. I asked for peacock feathers, he called his friend in Malaysia. I felt very bad about it. All these people are plainly doing him a favor and I can never repay such kindness.

Week 5

The final week is here. All floral arrangements and finishing touches are finished on Thursday and Friday. Aunt and Gary uncle came down to help. They had no idea how grateful I am.