Our ROM celebration

ROM CEREMONY - 1ST SEPTEMBER 2007

For us, our ROM was THE OFFICIAL WEDDING for us as we were more keen on a cozy get together to celebrate our marriage rather than those huge events where we dont even know half the crowd. Thus we envisioned a small cozy event at a nice, hip place with close family and friends. Being kiasu, we started our planning 9 months ahead and below are some of the things we did to make the ceremony a wondeful memory for us both -

VENUE : GLASSBAR @ THE JEWEL BOX , MT FABER

For us, when we first sought out a venue, we considered a few factors like budget, good sales support, flexibility to cater to our needs and that X factor ( scenery, uniqueness etc ) We found that in a uber cool hip joint at The Glassbar, Jewel Box located at the Mt Faber Cable Car Station. It is actually a diner cum bar during normal hours. As the name depicts, it is a glass enclosure with wonderful views from the vantage point at MT Faber overlooking Harbourfront, the coastal area and Sentosa. We liked the contemporary look of the place and it was very good for photography wth plenty of scenery and light.

For the food, at that time, they had two different menus and we chose the one with items like sushi and sashimi since we liked Japanese food. While it is not exactly cheap for $70 pax considering that you only get a light tea buffet spread, it does include a beautiful venue which is worth it.

Oh yes, for those who are going there, do check out the washrooms,especially the female washroom one floor below which has a lounge area and wonderful views, we took some good pictures there ! Below are two shots of us at the washroom.

For those who are interested, you can log onto http://www.mountfaber.com.sg/main-events-venue.htm or call the sales executive who served us - Siew Wen at 98220431. She was quite helpful and took the initiative to highlight certain areas for improvement,such as the arrangement of the seating layout etc. She was on hand throughout the entire ceremony to ensure everything went smoothly.

FLORIST - REDBOX

Speak to Ching about your creative floral ideas. She is quite easy to banter with and will take ideas readily. More importantly, she will go the extra mile to do a gd job and even throw in some feebies to make yr floral decor look perfect. As Gayle likes sunflowers and we though sunflowers add a cheery and happy mood to our bright and cool venue, we chose a floral decor based on sunflowers, geberas, and yellow roses. Each table had a floral tableset which helped to brighten the venue and become conversation pieces for our guests. The guests could bring the floral pieces home so that gave them something to talk about and show. To line the walkway bridal passage to the solemnization table, we had yellow rose petals which 'lit' up the passage way and added colour to the photos. Ching also string strips of yellow geberas on the glass panes which looked like it was raining yellow geberas which was very cheerful and romantic.

For our bridal car, we chose of course sunflowers to keep with the theme and also, the sunflower is the flower of choice for the Beetle. We also ordered a pair of bride and bridegroom figurines from the Precious Moments website to complete the decor. We asked for a yellow colour theme to depict the cheerfulness and happy day for us and of course, no organza as it was too cheena! We asked for yellow silky cloth to drape the car. We also wanted to revive some interesting traditions so we asked Ching to customize for us a just married sign to be placed at the back of the car and also to secure tin cans to trail behind the car as we drive off. You can contact Ching at http://www.redbox.com.sg/ and ask for a customized floral decor package based on yr budget.

BRIDAL CAR :

We didn't want the traditional Mercs, BMW or Jaguar ! As i owned a beetle before and used it for my brother's wedding, i felt that it was quite a good bridal car in sync with the theme of love since the beetle is commonly known as the Love Bug. We decided on a cabriolet as we just wanted a very stylo car and the open air feeling! Please do look for yr bridal car way in advance due to popular demand for cars like the beetle cabrio. For us, we booked the car 10 months ahead.

For those who are interested in the beetle cabriolet, and a white one which is quite rare, you can contact her owner Candy Pan for rental details. Drop by her Blog - http://beetlerental.blogspot.com/ . She is very friendly to banter with and do ask her for her complimentary customised just married plates. There is nothing like a cabriolet to make your day even more special!

PHOTOGRAPHER AKA VISUAL ARTIST :

For our ROM photography, we engaged the services of Kuang from 39 East who is well known for his journalistic and artistic rendering of shots. It was wonderful working with someone who was very passionate about his work, yet had no airs and was very good natured and just easy to banter with. The photos you see in this blog of our ROM are all testimonies of his exceptional works. If you are into details, moods and flair for abit of adventure in your shots, Kuang is your man. I would see him more as a Visual artist than just a photographer. Pls note that he doesn't take posed shots. For that, you either get someone else to take posed shots or you can ask Kuang's colleague Eng Hong for a favor to take the posed shots.
To contact him, go to http://www.39eastimages.com/ or more details of his works, go to : http://www.39voices.blogspot.com/

STRING ENSEMBLE :

To add to the romantic feel of the ceremony, we hired a String Ensemble to play romantic classics to entertain the guests and provide musical backdrop to the venue. We also requested for them to play the wedding march theme which was Pachelbel's Canon in D and really, the soothing and live musical notes from violins, cellos and bass really made the moment special for us. For those who are keen, do look for Elaine from Grace Notes - http://www.gracenotes.sg/
Feel free to share your requirements with Elaine and she is very helpful and professional, keeping you up to date closer to the date and also sharing with you clips of past performances.

SOLEMNIZER :

Justice of Peace - Mr Chan Kai Yau. We selected him based on good reviews in bridal forums from other couples who havehad him solemnize their marriages. Indeed Mr Chan was very good. He was punctual on the dot, was very meticulous( he is quite detailed and formal in explaining the proceedings to us). He has a respectable presence and a commanding and firm voice and is able to speak in both English and Mandarin. During the ROM, he displayed a playful sense of humour when he made me shout out YES I DO by saying mischeviously that he couldn't hear me. Also, as both of us are teachers, it was a pleasant surprise to know that he was once the former Director General of Education at MOE, imagine us teachers being solemnized by DGE! Mr Chan is very popular with couples so we would advise you make an appointment with him way before your wedding. For us, we booked a date with him 10 months before our ROM date.