MUA for my wedding day

YES! I am now Mrs Huang! Just had a tiring weekend due to our wedding, but it was all worthwhile!

Actual Day MUA

Previously I did not dare to recommend the MUA i chose because i do not know if she is good or not? But after reviewing a full list of MUAs, I chose Shanice Makeup & Hairstyling after looking through her extensive portfolio on her Facebook page! I love the contrast of her before and after makeup photos! I love how natural the brides look after the makeup! I love the designs of her hairdo!

Most importantly, Shanice is VERY professional, here's a few examples:
1) She reached EARLY on my wedding day (but sat in her car till i texted her because she didn't want to disturb me).
2) She brought her own lighting for the makeup which is why I got to enjoy my makeup in my air-conditioned room at my own comfort (my sis told me her bestie had to do her bridal makeup in the living room because of the bad lighting in the room). This is how fortunate I am!

3) Shanice uses spray makeup for my foundation which makes my makeup light and comfortable! During my shortlisting of MUAs, other MUAs charge extra for spray makeup ok! I have the tendency to get deep laughing/ smiling line mark (微笑纹) due to my way of smiling which will be VERY obvious if i have thick makeup. Guess what? I didn't have that on my wedding day ;p

4) Shanice managed to settle my very fussy mum who have had a bad haircut 3 days before my wedding! THUMBS UP FOR HER! She dolled up my mum and made my mum VERY happy the whole day! My mum was so 神采飞扬 as if she is the main lead of the wedding hahahas! She is VERY satisfied with Shanice!

And yes, hiring Shanice is the BEST decision i have made my whole wedding! She is patient, meticulous and very skillful. I looked super gorgeous and received lots of praises from my relatives, friends and of course.. my hubby ;p

As I have just changed my job a month ago, i was pretty tied down with all the wedding preparation and job transition stuff. Hence i was not able to fix a date for my trial makeup and hairdo. But having full confidence in Shanice's ability, I was not the least bit worried.

Do consider getting Shanice as your MUA and you will NOT regret!

Accessories

As i had a particular look/ requirement that i want, i had purchased my wedding hair accessories on Taobao! It wasn't cheap but i was lazy to mail back the rented accessories to Shanice so i bought my own. The quality is good and its very pretty!

Why i chose gold accessories to match my white gown?
i have a pair of golden dragon/ phoenix bangles that i HAD to wear for my wedding so i wanted my hair accessories to match my bangles.  Pretty right? ;D

Unfortunately I bought way too many hair accessories and did not get to use most of it (talking about being budget but yet overspending ;p). Sold them at a discounted price to a BTB just yesterday since i have no use for it anymore hahas.

I also bought a set of hair accessories for my floral gown (exact same one i wore for my pre-wedding shoot). Its so pretty!!

I'm selling the set of 3 pins for $18 and the set of 2 hair accessories for $25.

Do send me an email if you are keen to get them (:

I am also selling my SUPER long bridal veil for $20. Soft and good quality!

Its a dual layer classic veil that is 77cm on the front and 2.2m at the back. Perfect for the kind of wedding where the groom will have to unveil the bride :D Its going for $20!

My advice to BTBs if you keen to get hair accessories on taobao is… go for reputable shops and don't go for cheap hair accessories. It's important to have good quality ones that will complement your overall look on your big day. I bought a cheap hair accessory and had the biggest regret of my life when the crystals are falling out when i got them hahahas. So reminder my dearest BTBs, go for quality since these things don't cost you an arm or a leg.

<3

Gold Coast Pre-wedding Photoshoot

 

I am back after a long hiatus! Well I haven’t really been updating for the longest time ever due to my packed schedule and of course… laziness! LOL!

Today I am going to share with you our super WORTH EVERY CENT Australia prewedding photoshoot with my photographer Will from WillideaPhotography!

HTB and I initially didn’t have much expectation at all because all we wanted is to go through the motion and get this checked off our wedding checklist. It just so happens that we wanted to go to Gold Coast for a short break to visit our friends so we decided why not get a photographer to get our pre-wedding photoshoot done as well? Overseas pre-wedding photoshoot feels more ATAS no? HAHAHAHAS! We were pleasantly surprised with the results that we have gotten from Will for the price that we paid!

The package we took up is the gold package which entitles us to 4-5 hours of shoot, makeup + hairdo, 200+ raw photos, 20 edited photos and 1 wedding gown for $868 (current price increased to $968 due to his popularity). I brought my own gown along (-$50) and had to top up for transportation fee (+$100) for gold coast photoshoot as the photographer is based in brisbane and tipped both photographer + MUA ($50 each) out of goodwill. Hence in total, we spent approx $1000 for our gold coast pre-wedding photoshoot!

My MUA is Yui. She is SUPER attentive and gave me a very pretty makeup and hairdo. Just before my prewedding shoot, I researched the makeup and type of hairdo that I like and requested that she gave me something similar (BRAIDINGS woohooooo!). Despite me tearing like mad due to the fake eyelashes, she is very patient with me. No doubt I look gorgeous that day (: The makeup that she uses are brands like MAC etc, not some cheap brandless makeup making me feel very satisfied and secured! Even though it is not stated in the package, Yui followed us the WHOLE day giving me touch-up in makeup+ hairdo, adjusting my gown for me during my photoshoot and acted as a photographer assistant to Will. 

The unglam but very happy me laughing like mad during our shoot

Our photographer Will is very professional! He acted as a director for our photoshoot directing HTB and me how to pose for the photoshoot which was very IMPORTANT for us as we were stiff like woodblocks. He made the process very fun and I was naturally laughing away the whole photoshoot (especially when HTB had cramps when trying to carry me during the photoshoot! HAHAHAHAHAS!). His selection of photography location is great and he knows what angle is the best to capture the different effects. Even the raw photos look great! We had a hard time picking out 20 photos for him to edit as the natural effects of the photos are good enough for us (or because we are simply not that picky hahahas).

Here's some unedited photos for your reference (we are still waiting for our edited photos, cant wait!)

 

 

I would highly recommend Will to all BTBs who are out for budget pre-wedding photoshoot and yet not 100% picky of wanting PERFECT wedding photos. If you want to have the perfect wedding photos, I would recommend you to go for indoor photoshoots with bridal shops so that they can photoshop gao gao (enough) to make you look like a fairy. For HTB and I, we just wanted to enjoy the process, have fun and have some photos to show to our guests. Will definitely delivered the value and quality!

AND YES! My very beautiful floral gown is from Giorgia Bridal that I won during a facebook giveaway from Aido! Vienna the owner is very nice, very meticulous and gown looks fabulous on me! (I even had people requesting photos from me during my prewedding shoot because they say that my gown is very pretty!) HAHAHAS! like a superstar leh? ;p Vienna is very knowledgeable on wedding gowns, how it will look, what kind of design is nice and will make recommendations on what you may like. I highly recommend her! What's more, her gowns are AFFORDABLE even though they are made-to-measure! She chose to set-up a home-based bridal studio so that the wedding gowns are priced right to help brides keep their budget low to get the best valued gowns instead of paying for highly marked up gowns due to expensive space rental. So now if you are interested, pay Vienna a visit and take a look at the gowns that she has! (P.S. I especially love her white wedding gowns with the intricate beadings! Don't miss out on that!).

Will update my blog again once I get my edited photos!  XOXO!

Finding my bridal heels

Aldo is having a mega sales! Up to 70% off!
Bee and I have bought our wedding shoes/heels and guess how much it cost?
Less than $100 for both our shoes! Crazy right?

I have decided to go for a pink/nude based heels and its so PRETTY!
I wanted something that is plain, high with platform and closed toe so its exactly what I want.
Cost approximately $43 (originally approximately $48 but I got 10% off because we bought 2 pairs)
Good deal right? Originally priced at $159!

Okay okay! I cannot deny, Aldo wasn't my first choice. It was a surprise find during shopping ;p
My first choice is of course... TAOBAO!



Bought this lovely designer inspired heels in nude for my wedding initially but Bee doesn't seem too keen on it. He say its too exotic and he cannot appreciate -.- guys~~ So now we are going to take this pair of heels to our prewedding shoot instead. But I cannot emphasize enough HOW HOW HOW COMFY this heels is. The padding is SO good and the quality is really *thumbs up*. A very good buy from taobao. It is on discount now (approximately $30), get it here!

What I like about taobao heels is that they sell heels of different heights of same design!
Can choose the design you like and the height too!

Here are some of the other heels that I have shortlisted ;P

1) Ombre Glitter Heels
Height: 8.5cm
Colour: 7 colours~

Too chio to ignore it

2) Cinderella Crystal Heels
Height: 7cm and 9cm

3) Crystal embellishment heels
Height: flats, 5cm, 7cm, 9cm, 10cm, 12cm

 

4) Customisable elegant pearl heels
Height: 7 different heights available!

 

 

5) Shimmery floral heels

Height: 6cm or 9cm

Colour: 6 colours



6) Modern Chic Heels
Height: 10cm
Colour: 8 colours

 

7) Satin Floral Heels

Height: 4cm, 6cm, 8cm and 10cm

 

8) Pazzion-inspired heels

Available in open and closed toe

 

9) Wifey for Lifey (TOO CUTE!)

Height: 7cm and 10cm

Colour: 3 colours

 

10) Artsy Classy heels

Height: 10cm

Colour: 9 colours!

 



Buying gold for my wedding

For the traditional Chinese, gold is one of the important gifts that traditional mums will definitely want! My mum insist on buying me gold to gift me during the tea ceremony and she insist that my htb family must buy me 四点金! No joke, she would not even accept an angbao in place of the gold.
Gold = face for the family, so it is not something that she would compromise on!

Gold price is approx. $61/g for 916 and $65/g for 999 (it is estimated to be likely to increase due to the unstable economic conditions, hence investors will shift from stock market to commodity investments). But I think the price would hover around that range, hence don't think too much and just buy if you need to. You can monitor the trend here.

Lets be practical, what are the factors that one will take into consideration when purchasing the si dian jin?

1) Price
Wedding is costly enough, make sure that the couple is agreeable on the amount to spend on si dian jin. Si dian jin should be paid by the groom's parents, but in the current society today I think most couple would be buying it themselves. For me, we have to be self dependent (esp when my PILs are retired).

2) Type of gold? 999 or 916?
999 gold has designs that are more traditional and is more costly due to higher 手工费 (workmanship cost). It is softer due to higher purity thus more prone to damage. 916 is harder and easier to be shaped so more designs are available.

3) Design
四点金requires 4 items namely a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings and a ring.
Otherwise you can purchase a 龙凤镯 （dragon/phoenix bangle).
Some people will buy according to their dialects but recent trend is people tend to buy things they like (:

Traditional designs are things like flowers, dragon/phoenix and 双喜wordings etc. SK jewellery has a WIDE selection which I find fascinating. Trendy designs can be anything (I love gold heart's 916 series design as I find them very fashionable).



4) Practicality
Is what you are buying something that you can wear on daily basis? Or for events? Or its going to sit in your cabinet forever? With that, your sourcing criteria will change!

Initially I was looking at 999 gold (because im worried my mum wouldn't accept 916 gold). LOL! But after discussion with my mum, she told me that 999 gold series is ugly and we should get 916 gold (:

I would want to tell every couple, always LOOK LOOK and LOOK + compare prices!
Price of gold is standard, but the 手工费 is the expensive one!
I have heard that 2 gold shops in Singapore does not have GST charge, so it is more worth it to buy from there! You can google more about it (many blogs have information on that).

One of the strategy is to ensure that the shop itemize the cost of the 手工费 per item and negotiate from there. I went to SK jewellery @ JEM to look at the si dian jin set and the sales person refused to itemize the 手工费 for me so I walked out without a 2nd thought. Went to SK jewellery @jurong point and was told that the 手工费cost $419 per bangle (crazily expensive). I would think that those big branches of jewellery shops are not going to give me a good deal when it comes to gold accessories, so I started to look at less prominent gold shops.

Another of my strategy is to bring my mum there with me to negotiate for me! LOL! I will feel paiseh to negotiate too much but my mum is very good at it! ;p

For now, my favourite shop is Royal Dragon @ Jurong point! Some of their items do not have 手工费 so its a good deal! On top of that, you can negotiate with them on the 手工费 if there is any (: if you are willing to pay by cash or nets, they are willing to make a further cut for you! You can look for an auntie there wearing spectacles (I think she is very experienced), I forgot her name ;x think its ivy or something...

I overshot my budget of the bangles by almost twice my budget ;x but got something that I really like (: My 手工费 per bangle is less than $100 (for your reference) so that BTBs can use it as a baseline to make a judgement if you are overcharged for 手工费!

Freebies from Photobook Singapore

As a budget bride, I love freebies and discounts!
Today I am going to share with you the recent freebie that I have found when shopping around (:

Photobook Singapore is having a giveaway now Now NOW!

Photobook Singapore is giving Free 100 4R photo prints or a 6" by 6" square softcover photobook if you subscribe to their website.

The only downside is that you would have to pay for their shipping $8 for 100 4R photos or $7 for the mini photobook. $8 for 100 pcs of 4R photos is like $0.08 per photo! No matter how I look at it, I still think its a steal! They will email the voucher to you and it is valid till Dec 2016.

I have used Photobook Singapore few years ago and found their quality to be decently good. Which is why I am planning to use them to print my wedding photo album and a canvas for my wedding photo (: What I like about them is their software, very user friendly and useful for people like me who don't know anything about designing LOL.
I will do up a review later date for their items (I'm only planning to buy in sept).

For $7/8, I think they are worth a try. They have lots of promotion on their website so if you like what you get, you can explore their promotions. I find their deals still cheaper than other shops in Singapore (:

Go try it out!

Something special for my man- Bowties for wedding day

Other than shopping for myself, I would have to take care of my man on our big day ;p After all he is the lead actor of the big day and without him none of it would be possible <3 Its shopping time for my Bee to pamper him for all the hard work!

To make my groom shine on our wedding day, I started sourcing for some bow ties (:
Why bow ties and not ties? I always thought bow ties are kind of geeky and cute so it suits him~

Of course, I am not going to show you some plain colors boring bow ties but something more artsy, cute and fanciful! I mean if you are not going to try out something crazy for your wedding, when will the opportunity come again?

Bowties shown here $59-79RMB approx. $14-18SGD.

Superhero Bowtie

Cool right? If your man is a geeky marvel lover, he is sure to fall in love with these bow ties! I mean is there any guy that don't love marvel and superheros?
You can buy them here, here and here

Dragonball series! Cool 爆了！
You can buy them here and here

Animal prints Bowtie

Animals from kitty cat, panda, fish, dog, sheep.. All so cute!
You can see the series here

Fruit Series

This is the quirky fruity bow ties!
You can see the series here

Everything from artsy to floral to vibrant bow ties can be found here
I'm sure with all these quirky bow ties, you can definitely find something for your wedding day!

Last but not least, Baymax says BUHBYE!