Recap of Our Wedding Special: Bridal Affairs & Partners

In all honesty, we only visited three bridal shops by recommendation before chancing upon the fourth, Bridal Affairs, which we decided will be the one, two years back.

Bridal Affairs is a cozy shop housed in a HDB, located in Tampines. Christine, who was our coordinator, is a cheerful and welcoming lady. She sat us down in a room and gave us a detailed consultation of the packages they offer. She was helpful and patient. She showed us some work by their partnering photographers (only Avenue 8 and Photomoments back then) and allowed me to try some gowns.

We were impressed by the personalised service. Then, Christine do not have any helpers and she did ALL things by herself, with a good attitude.

Many will feel that Bridal Affairs charges do not come cheap. Yes, it may be on par with the well established shops after top-ups, however, it really boils down to what you are looking for. For us, we were looking for personalised /no hard sell service. This is something we failed to find in any of the three shops we visited before Bridal's Affairs.

Every visit to Bridal Affairs was a good one. We got the whole room to ourselves for a good four hours for gowns trying. No one else will be poking their nose in to see what you had on except for your mister, Christine, her helper and yourself! Here are a few gowns that that was tried for our pre-wedding shoot about one and a half year ago:

 

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Shortlisted gowns/suits in our PW photographs (by Avenue 8):

 

We did not have as smooth a coordination with Avenue 8 as compared to Christine herself. However, the end product of our PW album was of satisfaction. That is all that matters, isn't it? :)

Gowns tried for our Actual Day (AD) about half a year ago:

Christine was very nice to inform us about the additional "Elite" category which was not in our contract. She brought one of the two Elite gowns out for me to try. The gown turned out to be really georgeous in real life. Mr Kwek did not hesitate to said "yes" on my behalf. :)

The chosen gowns in AD photographs (official by Luke & non-officials):

Luke from Indulgz Photomoments was the photographer for our AD. We added on his service for a mere $688 (I heard the add on had increased in price!) and we had the best photographs taken by him to preserve memories of the best moments during our AD. Of course, $688 includes only an album of 300 photographs. For the additionals, you will have to top up for per photograph. Please do not skimp on this cost as the photographs are well worth your every penny. You may view some samples of his photographs from our wedding day in here and here.

As for make-up, we had May for both PW and AD. May is very good and fast with make-ups and hairdos. There is no free trial session. You may pay to do one however, I do not think it is necessary. Here is some pictures of the hairdo May did for me:

For those who are concern with the Man's suits, here are two full suits that Mr Kwek chosen for both PW and AD (Choice of suits need not be the same for PW and AD.):

 

Oh, not forgetting, our bride-maids' dresses are also from Bridal's Affairs too!

Finally, for the cost, it really depends on your budget. If you are into simplistic gowns, you will be able to find gowns in the basic and classic category. However if you are like me, loving all things bling and ruffles, most probably you will find gowns to your liking in the premium and above category.
Other than the gowns and the PW that has most variation in price depending on each couple's need, other top-ups that are worthy to take note:

Men Suits:
Includes only black jacket, bow ties/ties and pants.
Vest is an additional $30 per piece
Other colors an additional $30 per piece

Make-up: 
Eyelashes@ $20 per pair
Applying of own ampoule@ $10 per application
ampoules by MUA@ $30 per application
Additional hour for make-up@ $80 per hour

AD photography by Indulgz Photomoments:
Additional photographs@ $1.50 per additional photos after the 300th. Only softcopies for additional.
Additional hours@ $80 per hour

Others:
Bride-maids' dress@ $40 per dress, only 6 pieces available for rental per design.

I hope this helps to give you some insights into Bridal Affairs. Bridal Affairs renews their collections quite frequently. Hence, my post may be slightly outdated. The once premiums may be downgraded to classics and classics to basics. Moreover, they have much more partnerships now, you will be spoilt for choice for your PW shoot. Give this little cozy shop a chance by heading down to see for yourself. You may be surprise at what can be found at Bridal Affairs! :) </>

Bridal Affairs
Reviewed by Jesselyn on Jan 28 2014
Rating: 4/5

Recap of Our Weddng Part 3: The Wedding Day- Night

I have blogged previously about our wedding preparation and our wedding morning. Today I shall continue with the last post of our wedding!

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After ending off with the tea ceremony at my house, we rest and ate the buffet lunch before heading to the hotel with the boys. As we were having our banquet at Sentosa Golf Club, we checked into the Sentosa Resort and Spa which is situated just opposite the club.

It was 2pm when we finally checked in. The boys took turn to wash up and stock take while I slept! (Privilege of being a bride!)  Two hours past and soon it was time to head over to the club for the rehearsal. We had an hour of rehearsal before Mr Kwek & I headed over to the dressing room to get ready and have our early dinner while the rest started to decorate our reception.

Our Movie Theme set up reception!

DIYs #1: Clapboard, film reel and popcorn box.

DIYs #2: Camera signage & props for photobooth

Guests started streaming in at 6.30pm for the reception. By 7.00pm, they were ushered into the ballroom to be seated in preparation for our solemnization, that was scheduled to begin at 7.15pm.

Writing messages on DIY chalkboards before going to the photo booth

Cute max! our DIY ang bao popcorn box

While the guests were viewing our pre-wedding video, we begin to make our way out to the ballroom doorway to prepare for the first march-in.

As our video ended, the door opened, and there I was in a blank state of mind. Yes, I can't remember what happened. All I remembered was telling myself to smile- Just SMILE!!

Once we were up on stage, the solemnization started. Our JP was Mr. Zenon Teh. He was quite entertaining though some may find him to be long winded. He made us repeated "Yes, I do" when we didn't say it loud with enthusiasm! In the end everyone, including us, had a good laugh at our unique way of saying "Yes, I do"!

Our JP even make us kiss on stage for as long as the clapping and cheering last. Indeed the longest kiss ever in our lives in front of 180 people!

Mr Kwek signaling to the guests to stop clapping & cheering!

Finally husband and wife!

After the solemnization that lasted about half an hour, the banquet started and everyone started to indulge in the food. Into the second dish, we had to head back to the dressing room and prepare for our second march-in.

We had an unconventional second march-in which involved our wedding entourage and some of our guests. Can you guess what we were up to?

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Well, we had a flash mob! =)

My brilliant idea for the first part- the wedding entourage dance (taking reference to JK wedding dance) and Mr Kwek's brilliant dance choreography skill for the second part- the flash mob.

the brothers in colorful ties & sunshades, suspenders and DIY heart corsage

the sisters in colorful heart sunshades & DIY flower bouquet

All the guests were caught by surprise and everyone who participated had fun! =) Mr Kwek & I were so glad we did it!

After all the fun, it was back on stage for the cake cutting and champagne popping/yum seng segment.

Mr Kwek, on behalf of us, made our speech in the form of singing which attracted much cheers from the guests. Little did I suspect a surprise performance awaits right after the speech.

Mr Kwek performed the Ukulele which he secretly went to take lessons for three months just to play two songs for me! *feeling loved much*

Loving our customized heart backdrop!

This summarized the highlights of the night which ended with the traditional table-to-table group shots and thanking the guests for their time.

One of my favorite shot! So heart warming!

with my ex colleague's twins!

For information purpose, we did burst our budget by a little even with extensive DIYs. We spent about 20K for the entire wedding.

Cost includes:
Guo Da Li,
DIYs,
Customization of Venue Decorations,
Ang Baos,
Bridal Package,
Pre-Wedding Video,
Pre-Wedding Photographs
AD Videography
AD Car Rental
Banquet losses
AD Photographs top ups

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I had enjoyed planning our wedding and had no regrets at all looking back at that faithful day! I believe all bride-to-be and their other half should try as much as possible to spend some time planning for the wedding. This makes the day feels extraordinary and memorable!

Hope you have enjoyed reading about our entire wedding preparation and day!

Next up will be our long awaited honeymoon to Spain!
Just 10 days more! Simply can't wait! =)