We’ve found a venue!

And so wedding preps have finally begun in earnest – and not quite in the organised fashion we had anticipated.

We had originally planned to have the wedding early next year, but have brought it forward to December 10 so more of our friends here in Melbourne can attend, and because of the venue we will be using.

To be honest, the Stones of the Yarra Valley was the first venue we came across, and we loved it so much, we didn’t really bother looking anywhere else.

This is the sweet little chapel we would love to be wed:

And here’s a sneak peak inside “the barn” where the reception will follow (we’re planning on a luncheon):

As it turns out, settling the venue and paying the deposit was the easy part. But there’s plenty more yet to do as I’ve discovered. I followed Sam’s advice and made us of Martha Stewart’s online planning tools to help me get organised, and it is really good. So ladies, take note.

That’s all from me now, and I promise to post soon about my wedding dress shopping experience and other stressors.

xoxo

What we’ve been up to

Both Heng Khuen and I have had a rather busy past month with work, friends visiting, and a birthday party, so we’ve done very little by way of wedding preps. But I do want to say a big thank you to all of you who have been sharing your experiences with us, giving us helpful tips and advice on where to look from venues to dresses to photographers and more.

Apart from feeling a little burnt out from work, my mind has also been distracted by other things. Musings about what the new season of life ahead would look like, the role of a woman in marriage, whether my career aspirations would (or be forced to) change when I eventually become a mum, and if I would be able to joyously embrace it.

I’m very blessed to have someone who has cheered me along as wholeheartedly as Heng Khuen has done, since I stepped out in a somewhat brash attempt last September to try and carve out a new frontier not just in new media, but in the international student industry here in Melbourne. I’m still trying to understand why exactly I’m so passionate about my work, and there are moments that I worry I will run out of time to see at least some fruit borne out of my labour of love.

But perhaps I worry about tomorrow too much, forgetting that each day has enough trouble of its own, and that God’s mercies are new every morning.

So on a lighter note… I wanted to share some photos of what we got up to last Saturday. We celebrated Heng Khuen’s “3+1” birthday party at McDonalds, which was such a blast!

The theme was “too school for cool”, and our guests had to come dressed in something reminiscent of their schooling days. We had balloons, party hats and all, and  played good ole games like pass the parcel, sculptorade (like pictionary/charades, only you describe the mystery word by fashioning it with playdough) and a colouring competition. We finished the afternoon with an ice-cream birthday cake, and everyone got to bring home a party bag.

The funniest part I think was seeing the little children walk by the party room and stare wistfully at our balloons and party hats, and wondering why a bunch of grown ups had invaded their space.

On a completely side note, and since we were on the topic of motherhood – I did remark to a friend then that we should hold another dress up party when we are parents. And the theme would be “big kids and little grown-ups”.

But enough of my ramblings, here are the photos, enjoy!

Birthday boy waits for his guests to arrive.

Best friends.

Brothers.

Colleagues.

Friends.

Twins.

Must eat cake.

The wedding checklist

I have been looking around for a wedding checklist/planner to get us organised, and came across this one by Bride Online which I’ve found rather helpful. It’s a month-by-month countdown to the day with tick boxes to check off. They assume you are planning about a year in advance, by the way, including the engagement. […]

About the boy + photobook ideas

  Was reading Cup of Jo about the birthday book she recently created for her dad’s 60th, and it reminded me of the one I created for Heng Khuen’s 30th last year. I compiled stories he had written through the years on his personal blog, from childhood memories to teenage hangups, highschool crushes, medical school, […]

Oh-so-cute wedding blogs

I’ve taken some baby steps into this whole wedding planning thing, much thanks to “little K”, my twin (not really, though we look incredibly alike and laugh the same way, like very similar things and love to eat and drink the very same things). She’s super fashionable, possesses impeccable taste, is a shopaholic and a […]

Introducing the husband-to-be

            That’s right folks, this is my husband-to-be looking like an excited boy at Christmas breaking into his box of chocolates. #reasonswhyilovehim  

Fairytale weddings and fears

I know some girls dream about a fairytale wedding and begin collecting ideas and looking for inspiration long before they get hitched. I suppose I’ve never really given much thought to it having grown up hearing stories about the realities of marriage, the pain of infidelity, people who feel they have chosen their partners poorly […]

I said yes: the repartee

You say to-ma-to, I say to-may-to. I made this spur of the moment response video after the proposal. Shared it on Facebook and was thoroughly chuffed by the slew of comments we received. Among my favourites was a line from C who called it my “comeback video”. Hilarious.

Will you marry me please?

       

The engagement story

A lot of friends have asked me about our engagement story, so here it is. Heng and I have been seeing each other for more than two years now, and marriage has been on the cards, but the proposal did come as a complete surprise. I’m part of a closely-knit church community and every month, […]

You say to-ma-to, I say to-may-to. I made this spur of the moment response video after the proposal. Shared it on Facebook and was thoroughly chuffed by the slew of comments we received. Among my favourites was a line from C who called it my “comeback video”. Hilarious.

A lot of friends have asked me about our engagement story, so here it is. Heng and I have been seeing each other for more than two years now, and marriage has been on the cards, but the proposal did come as a complete surprise. I’m part of a closely-knit church community and every month, […]