#Bigbangwedding Makeup & Hair - Eesha KE

I think this entry is more like just on hair and no makeup. Hahaha.

The first time I met Eesha I was very excited because I always wanted to meet a non-local makeup artist.

She's so pretty in real life! And I cannot believe she's a mother of 2 kids (already in primary school), how the hell does she look SO good? I remember being convinced by her physical appearance and own makeup lol.

We had a quick chat, and found her very straight forward. We checked her schedule and booked the dates.

One week before the shoot, I went to colour my hair at PACT + LIM and was super pleased with the results. Received plenty of compliments for the following 2 months ^^. My hairstylist did a chestnut brown base with light pink highlights.

The highlights were done mainly because I know it will look great in braids and I know I want to braid my hair. As compared to curls, braids work much more better for me la.  

In the morning we worked on my face for 2 hours, then she curled my hair but they didn't last long as we went outdoor and I was perspiring quite a bit. It didn't help that I am born with very straight hair so during the shoot I kinda felt like my first hairstyle was wasted. :/

Preparing my second look + hairstyling took the longest time, she crimped and braided my hair to give it some volume.  We topped it off with a veil and ready to be photographed!  This is one of my favourite hairstyle. :D

During the shoot we were running overtime so the third hairstyle was done rather quickly. We let down the bottom half of my hair.

Trial - hair weaved into a big 'bun'

I absolutely LOVE getting my hair done/styled because I believe that it can change how a person look and feel.

Accessories provided by my MUA

Her home studio was cozy, and we only had time to do a hair trial and discussion for hair accessories. We didn't go through a trial makeup at all. Come to think of it, I really trust my MUA a lot huh, no trial at all and I leave my face up to her on one of the most important day of my life heh.

I would love to have hairstyle like these but they weren't suitable for the entire day as it wouldn't hold too.

On my wedding day, Eesha surprised me with this elaborate braided hairstyle!

I look so full of hair, my face looks smaller right? Hurhur.

My fav braidssssss

I didn't have time to take a proper pic, this was taken after my solemnization and became messy already. Loose strands of hair all over the place caught in my zippers, hairclips and what not, I'm super chorlor like that.

1st march-in -

Atom hairstyle lol

I'm still not sure that I like this until now, because it made me look old and face quite big. But would you believe me if I said it was supposed to look like atoms? Hahaha

Hair for second march in; with my glowing flower hair pin :D

As for makeup, I think most brides have to decide whether you want a light/ natural look or heavier makeup on the AD. For the former option, you will look very pretty to all the guests you meet on the actual day because the makeup amount is just right. However in photos, you may appear washed out and with normal to no makeup. I opted for a heavier makeup as I want my photographs to turn out good.

Heavier makeup so that I can look OK in photos

Since I am not skilled in makeup, I really didn't have a preference or know whether it's good or bad. As long the makeup stays, I'm cool. :)


Personal ratings - 
Service: 5/5 (she reached my place even before I woke up on both occasions fml hahaha O_O)
Design: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5

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#Bigbangwedding: Wedding Shoes

There are so many aspects of the wedding to take note of and shoes are quite important to me. I do not like heels that are like this:

I call them the Anna Nucci style.  Cannot, I really cannot.

But I am also not cool enough to wear sneakers (walao, I how short already) too, so I had to hunt for shoes that fit my personality.

I don't know how many pairs of shoes the bride usually wears but I prepared 4 pairs to go with-

1) Main white gown

Because my dress is loooooong, I wanted a pair that is really high (enough) to make myself look taller. I'm below 1.6m.

Tip: Break into the new heels and practise walking at home if you don't wear high heels often!

Satin x glitter in dusty pink 

This was also my favourite pair among the lot because it is so damn comfortable and stable I can run in it. I was told I walked too fast for a bride on the actual day hahaha. The best part of it all was this was bought from Primark when I was in London, so it's really cheap and SUPER worth the price. Lol.

2) Red kwa/kua

I sourced for this with C during our overseas trip. It's not easy to find a pair of flats/slippers to match the traditional costume because the material and colours differ. I did find some flats that were of made of lousy material and the round toe design just makes me look and feel old. This pair consists of a low heel and point toe design which elongates my feet and legs again! Very pretty pair but I won't get to wear it again.  It was the correct size and very comfortable as well, it didn't bite throughout the tea ceremony or chit-chat session.

A dragon and phoenix embroidery on each side :) 

Side view of heel

Near mint condition! No scratches/scuffs.

I am currently renting/selling the kua (size S, will blog about this separately) and the heels (Size 38/ UK 5/ US 7), do email me or drop me a message if you're interested! :)

3) Casual wear  

Past season of Irregular Choice's panda sandals, just because it makes such a cute statement. Goes well with most basics anyway... A few aunties told me that brides shouldn't be barefoot on the wedding day (don't know true or not), so I had to wear footwear all day. Considering I already have three pairs of heels, so preparing a pair of slippers/flats/sandals is advisable. :) By the end of the dinner, I was so relieved to have my pandas with me.  

4) Evening gown 

To go with my shorter night gown, I wanted something spunky or fun to with my skirt design. It was supposed to look futuristic since I had lights on. ;D One day while surfing instagram and I found the perfect pair -

Jeffrey Campbell's Stering Light

You have no idea how disappointed I was when I saw that it was sold out on Karmaloop, Nastygal, Urbanoutfitters, Solestruck... there were no restocks too.

Luckily at that point I still had time so I looked for alternatives, which was my knock off pair of Charlotte Olympia Eclipse's platform heels. It was quite costly yet difficult to walk and wobbly :(

Replica of the designer shoes which still fits the wedding theme 

Cute moon face

But luck was on my side when I found a pair online less than 3 months to the wedding! Anyway, don't know why the lights only available in white and non-flashing, but it works so I'm not complaining. Could it also be a fake? Or factory made this pair with the wrong lights? It's okay :D

This pair hurt A LOT after a while due to the narrow front design. Even buying one size bigger didn't help.

Also in trend with the lucite heel trend ah

Switch and light up!

But yeah, creating the perfect "look" for my dress more important so...

... hehe.

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#Bigbangwedding Chinese Customs 过大礼

Preparing the items for Chinese customs was frustrating to me. Initially both families agreed that since we are a 'modern' couple, we will do away with most of the traditions and keep it simple. But it wasn't. As the date drew close, his side of the family wanted to buy/prepare the traditional things. We spent a good three afternoons (and I mean like 3hours+ per visit) at Chinatown in one particular shop. I personally wouldn't recommend the shop but the salesperson is so good he psycho-ed persuaded our parents, they just bought almost all from him anyway....-___- 

The store I went to was: 

Amanda Dreamweaver

32 New Market Road

#02-1030 People's Park Food Centre

S(050032)

I will share what I remembered from my 过大礼 - 

You will need to take leave if you're working as both the bride and groom + parents, siblings and grandparents should be around for the ceremony. 

From Groom's side to Bride's: 

1) Oranges 

The quantity of the oranges is self-determined, but probably from 12 pcs onwards as you have the bride's side will usually return half of the betrothal gifts. I think we prepared 16pcs or 24 pcs (8 or 12 each side). 

2) Red paper

2 pieces were used to line the baskets holding these "prosperous" items 

3) Dragon Phoenix candles and candle holders 

2 sets each. The Bride's side should return a pair of phoenix candles along with 2 candle holders to the Groom's side after that. 

Note: Different dialects has different requirements for the candles. Ours was based on Hokkien. 

4) Pig's Trotter 

Some families I know still give the entire roast pig. But um, we're not Cantonese, so canned pig's trotters will do. For these we prepared 24 cans, Bride returns 12 cans. 

5) Red banner cloth 

Two pieces of big red banners to hang above your main door. Depending on what type of house you live in, get the correct length. Bride to return only 1 piece. 

7) Alcohol 

The groom should prepare 2 bottles of alcohol (wine/XO) that the future FIL likes and put them in a proper carrier. Bride's side will not return the alcohol.  

8) Bedding

There is supposed to be a whole 安床 ritual, but that wasn't going to be our main bed after marriage, so we decided to skip it just get new bedsheets, comforter, pillow and bolsters for now. :) 

9) Four-piece Gold 

Of course, there'll be dowry/jewelry from Groom's side.  I think traditionally need Pin Jin (cash $) + Gold accessories (earrings, necklace, bracelet, ring) but I didn't want most of them since I won't be wearing them? But my family had requested for a pair of bangles, so we got a new pair which I get to choose the designs hehe ^^v  

10) Angbaos 

Apparently there are quite a number of angbaos to prepare. On top of 聘金，the groom have to give angbaos to bride's parents, sibling, grandparents, and the meipo/ dai kum jie/ wedding chaperone. 

All items have a  囍 sticker on them. 

1) Bedside lamps 

By lighting a pair of lamps by the bedside, [添灯］ is the symbolic meaning of adding sons ［添丁］ to the family. 

2) Tea set & bowls

For use during the tea ceremony. Comes in a set with 1 teapot, tray and 4 cups. 2 bowls for use to eat 汤圆 on the wedding day, 2 bowls for 面线/ vermicelli noodles after marriage. 

3) Orange Juice

 2 bottles of non-carbonated orange juice/syrup. ( So that the couple will not 生“气”）

4) Bathtub, potty bowl, baisin

For um, future baby use I think. 

5) Toilet cup, toothbrush/paste 

For Bride to use after marriage

6) Pyjamas & Slippers

This was annoying. I had already purchased for us but the guy insisted that the PJs have to be in long sleeve AND pants, in a single colour with no prints (flowery designs mean your partner will cheat/playboy). The newlyweds also have to wear the new bedroom slippers for the first 2 nights of marriage. PJs to be worn the eve of wedding day.  

7) Towels 

2 sets of body and face towels. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM for this item. Ours came in red and it was UNUSABLE because instead of drying myself, I became a red furry mess. Wth? The threads came off and stuck onto my body, literally ANG MOH -__- Showered a second time and had to call my mom to hand me another normal towel to dry myself.  It is still unused till date. Lol. And their towels like freaking expensive can? Like $30/40+ for a set of damn ugly and gross towels. 

8) 喜饼／Wedding cakes 

Our relatives are older folks who wouldn't eat cupcakes, so we kept to traditional with banana walnut cakes. :D Recently some couples prefer to give vouchers so the relatives can redeem whatever they want from the bakery. 

9) Angbaos + facial towels

Bride also have to give angbaos and facial towels to Groom's parents. This signifies that the future daughter-in-law will give the parents-in-law "面子". 

Upon delivery of the gifts, groom has to hang the banner for the Bride, along with the help of the chaperone. 

喜饼 from Pine Garden

Miscellaneous items to purchase will include 囍  stickers and decorations for the main doors and around the house. 

All done! Headed out for family lunch

Bride's hair combing set

Both the bride and groom will have to go through the hair-combing ceremony on the eve of the wedding day. We did it at about 11pm +, went on Skype and did it together. 

The set includes the above items for the bride-to-be. The ribbon hairpin was meant to put in my hair, facial powder for mom to dab a little bit on my face, and the rest ... didn't touch them at all. Lol. 

The famous lines!

As both parents hold the comb together, they have to say these lines together out loud as well.  Note that parents must comb beginning from forehead to the back, even if the groom/bride's hair isn't that long.

That's about all I know for the  过大礼! Some dialect groups will require more traditions/ceremony, but this was good for us! I recall the Groom side spending $200+ (excluding canned trotters and alcohol) and Bride's side $400+, it's insane. :O

Also, it's damn funny everyone wore red/orange on 过大礼 day, it feels like CNY! Hahaha. 恭喜恭喜！

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Why #Bigbangwedding?

A lot of people have asked us this: Why #bigbangwedding?

It came about because of two reasons, but none of which referring to the K-Pop boy band. We wanted a theme to hold the wedding, but it wasn't going to be just fixed colours or "simple elegance" of that sort. We wanted to give it more space for creativity.

1) We were both hooked onto American sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, just after we started dating and have spent much quality time watching all the episodes together.

2) Coincidentally, the actual Big Bang theory states that the Universe expanded from an extremely dense and hot state and continues to expand today. Both of us then sees that as a perfect analogy to our relationship -- the creation of our 'Universe'. We will continue to improve and grow old together, carring new 'galaxies' with us...

Oh I just realised there is a third reason.

3) If you know CG personally, you would know that he likes the Outer Space/ Universe in general, like super amazed by it. He watches documentaries about them and read about them online from time to time. And I like the galaxies because of the beautiful colours lol (ya damn shallow wth).

We did try to find other common things that we like or whether he's open to my suggestions but that was unsuccessful --> there goes my Harry Potter themed wedding... hahaha.

Social media sort of brought us together, and we're both very active online, so naturally a hashtag was 'created' to document our wedding planning.

With the theme in mind, I basically worked it into everything possible, including some DIYs ---

Nails for pre-wedding shoot, I can't remember where but it was a home salon in Sengkang.

Sand art; decoration

Hand painted (by numbers) on canvas board; decoration

Origami rockets mostly folded by CG; decorations

More table decorations

Phone wallpaper

Phone cover

2 weeks before the wedding I finally finished the layout and design of our photobook and sent it for print. Made in using p;log, which I highly recommend! I bumped into some technical issues which were resolved rather quickly via email. Collected the book within 2-3 working days upon payment, and the packaging is so cute.  

As mentioned in my previous post, because we didn't have a florist, my buddies and sister helped me make ribbons for the door handles one evening. They went to buy the materials and did these:

Morning theme color: Mint, White, Grey, Red (the van)

Super love them! I just want to highlight these were done by 2 guys + my sister. Hahaha, thank you so much!

2 days before the wedding I used the leftover ribbons and mesh to make a mini wedding skirt for QQ as well hehe.

Nails for actual day, went to The Nail Atelier for this set.

New bedsheet and stuff

Customized lego pieces for the entourage 

Planning #bigbangwedding has been fun and I get to meet a lot of people, but it was also very tedious and tiring. Unless you can afford the luxury of time and energy, I would say signing up for a package or get a wedding planner. At least you don't have to fret over small issues and you just have to take care of your body, face and table seating! I was actually healing from a finger and skin (body) infection on my wedding day.

Rest early and drink plenty of water, brides-to-be! <3 comment-3--="" nbsp="">

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#Bigbangwedding Wedding Videographers - Octopost Production & Androids in Boots

Of all the vendors we had to find, looking for the ideal videographer was super time consuming. The process is super tiring to the point that we had to take naps in between searches lol. We have browsed through countless numbers of videographers and watched so many pre-wedding and AD weddings videos.

We met up with a few videographers before deciding on Octopost for Pre-wedding and Androids in Boots for AD videography.

Shooting Tuesday Report
While couples choose to reenact how they met, CG and I had got together in a very uninteresting manner so no point highlighting. Lol. Moreover, Channel 8's Tuesday Report had captured most of that. You can watch the full video here:


Tuesday Report - Marriage Matters - Episode 3 from Thiang on Vimeo.


I feel very lucky to have that opportunity given, thank you Sheryl and Ka Swan. :)

Pre-wedding Videoshoot
I started with local vendors and decided that they are either too expensive, or shooting style didn't appeal to us. One day while browsing, I saw this pre-wed video and was SOLD. Completely SOLD.


It still remains one of my favourite pre-wedding videos of all time. The video is funny, creative and cute all in one.


Octopost is based in Kuala Lumpur. I got in contact with Kiang, met up with him once when he was in Singapore and the rest was history. To be honest we wanted to engage him for this AD videography services as well because we enjoyed their works tremendously. BUT it was not meant to be as they were already booked one year in advance by another couple.

Kiang and his team came up with the fiction story and script. The shoot was supposed to split into three days, but CG was infected with Shingles during that period so we rescheduled and the only time left to shoot was during the Deepavali weekend. We drove up to KL, spent five days there, of which we shot two days and two nights, started at 8am and went back to sleep only at 1am). Damn shag but had a lot of fun though. :D

We shared the trailer video on Facebook a week before the wedding:


This trailer is done in one shot.

We presented the pre-wedding video at our dinner banquet:




Behind-the-scenes video shared on Facebook after the wedding, keepsake for memories there:



CG has plenty of acting opportunities but this was a first for me, quite nervous doing it. Hehe, the team is a fun + funny bunch and pleasant to 'work' with.

Personal ratings - 

Service: 5/5 (they had to do a rushed edit because our wedding was less than a month away after the shoot!)

Quality: 5/5 (our friends and families had a good laugh, guests liked it) 

Price: 4/5 (as compared to other Singaporean competitors and what their package included)

OctoPost 章鱼后制

Location: Kota Damansara, Malaysia 

Email: kevin@octopoststudio.com, wing@octopoststudio.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/octopostproduction

Tel: 03-61423176

Actual Day Videography

We do not like hard-selling. There was an upmarket videography recommended by our ROM planner, there featured some interesting works on their Facebook too. When we went over to their new office, most of the time the guy just wanted us to confirm with them a package with pre-wedding videography even when we already said we already got somebody else for it. All we wanted was to get to know them and their style better then talk about the rates, but we felt so coerced. :/

Meeting Will from Androids was a casual affair. We met at Starbucks one Saturday and this guy also very funny, left his laptop, wallet and bag with us some 15 mins into the meeting to go to the washroom. I guess we look trustworthy. :D Hahaha.

I don't quite know how to describe the style, but I felt that it was more honest and quaint, like an art film. We were especially drawn to the videos of Ryan + Jessica:


So beautiful and touching. The second time we meet Will was the week before the wedding already. Androids set up a new office just opposite PA. Androids also provide very good photography services but once again, we already found our photographer by then. :)

Ending this post with our Same-day-edit Wedding Video!


The Right Choice (Same-Day-Edit) from AndroidsinBoots (Still+Motion) on Vimeo.


Personal ratings - 
Service: 5/5
Quality: 5/5 (watching it makes us feel grown up lol, plus my dad loves it!). Will also managed to use the song I picked and worked it into the SDE, hehe.
Price: 3.5/5

Androids in Boots
Email: enquiry@androidsinboots.com
Website: www.androidsinboots.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/androidsinboots

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#Bigbangwedding Flowers + Mini Review of Bisoufleur

It was only in the later part of the wedding planning that I found out I really like floral decorations. Turns out that I just didn't like the standard floral options and/or how the hotels usually do their 'package' arrangements.

My hand bouquet was decided some time after I got engaged because I loved it the moment I saw it online. I only held back because there was still plenty of time to the wedding then (still 2012) and decided to only order it in early 2013.

It's true when they say etsy.com is DIY brides' best hunting ground. My 20-stem hand bouquet was sourced there, created by RBKCreations. While her forte is to make button and felt bouquets, she could customize one for me with lego pieces and felt pieces.

I selected the type of "leaves" I want, and let her decide on the ribbon and space (star/moon) elements. She was quick in her replies on etsy mail, and I gave her the color scheme using a pinterest picture.

Before she mailed them she also took some pictures and sent them to me:

Bloom to brighten up the room 

Stars x hidden lego pieces

The whole process took less than 2 months. Honestly I cannot remember the price for the bouquet now, but I remember it being the same price as a real floral bouquet in Singapore, only that I can keep mine forever muahaha. The plan was to use it as part of my house decor.  Shipping was about USD $28-30. The package came in a box with a thank you card.

Perhaps I should also have ordered the groom's boutonnières and corsages from her as well, but I wanted something else at that time...

---

For our solemnization venue it was part of a package so we didn't get much of a say, except for the colour theme. Nevertheless, Chere Weddings still helped us put up simple rose decorations on the chairs along the aisle. Even though I couldn't have the entire walkway scattered with ombre rose petals (expensive!), I got a pleasant surprise with the gradual ombre rose petals that lined our aisle. Thank you Bendy and Wei Wei!

Prettaye! 

The colour scheme here was not accurate but I think we managed to pull it off. :D

---

As for our banquet, the VIP table centerpiece looks like this:

I had much help with this. Having to make some cost-saving measures, once again I could only work around with minimal choices provided by the hotel's florist (meh). I am liking the bold clash of colours here.  Hiring a florist to do up all the 2 venues would probably have cost us about $3,000 more. But I would say definitely go for it if you're having a complete outdoor wedding!

---

Believe it or not, all the boutonnières and corsages (including groom's and parents') were only found a week before the wedding because I forgot about them lol. The downside of having NO planner and NO package means I have to do everything myself.

I found Bisoufleur (currently she is only on instagram) at a flea market -- Public Garden to be exact.

It was also Pearly's first time as a vendor there I just so happen to see her very nice booth and we had a quick lovely chat. Over the next few days I confirmed the orders. I kinda just told her what I don't want, and left the decision making to her.

Samantha helped me collect them the night before the wedding and brought them over in the morning. Here's what she prepared for us:

Wild flower (Metalasia - Eryngium mix) corsages with mint green ribbon and twine for the girls

It goes so well with their mint green dresses! ^^

Deep red roses from Ecuador with yellow Craspedia for the guys:

I think most of them were too busy that day, the places were a bit messy and we misplaced some boutonnières. My mothers didn't wear theirs for dinner and didn't see the brothers wear them too. :(

The best part is the flower corsages have dried up, are wearable and still looks very lovely.

Gotta love 'em wild flowers! I got a bouquet of flowers from Bisoufleur for Lunar New Year too (on my instagram).

Thank you to the hardworking and talented Pearly!


On Bisoufleur

Personal ratings - 
Service: 4.5/5
Quality: 4/5
Design: 5/5
Price: 3.5/5

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