.::. The Hen's Night .::.

This is ridiculously belated, but I still want to spend some time to put this down.

The girls organized a ‘hen’s night’ for me before the wedding.  I was not that keen truth to be told.  I was simply caught up with settling into the house, getting the wedding details finalized and preparing everything. We had to plan something though, since Ju flew back from the States just for my wedding. *touched*  The initial plan was to have a staycation in Singapore, but somehow that seemed boring and they suggested Batam.  Well, not that interesting either but massage and some relaxation sounded like a good idea and I specifically requested nothing wild, nothing too exciting! After all, I have been legally married for more than a year and I feel so married!

The girls made all the arrangements and I had no clue what’s going on.  We stopped at Batam Center, did massage, had lunch, and did grocery shopping before heading to the hotel.  By the time we reached the hotel, it was almost dark.  The reception was still grand even when it was almost pitch dark.  I can vaguely see the horizon in the darkening sky, and the whole place was airy, with really good service.


 

We were brought to our villa by a buggy.  And once I stepped in, I just kept woah-ing and woo-ing.  The villa was really amazing, with a huge living area complete with TV and cooking area, a private pool, huge bed, huge bathroom and bathtubs and a rooftop garden.  

The girls cooked for me while I concussed on the huge comfy bed.  I woke up to a home-cooked dinner and we spent time in the pool till the wee hours.  

The girls prepared this package of my favorite stuff complete with wands and tiaras. I managed to soak in the tub for awhile, before masking our legs and face.

It was so good, yet too short! Knowing me, it’s probably the best bachelorette night one can ever prepare for a boring bride like me.  =)

Montigo, I will be back!

.::. Pre-wedding - Behind the scenes .::.

Initially, I didn't want to take any pre-wedding photos.  It just didn't seem meaningful to me to take pictures in a studio or typical places.  My dream place is that beach near where I stayed in Sweden, where I thought of him constantly and took videos and sang him birthday songs.  There are so many places in Sweden which would have made beautiful pictures - why hasn't anyone taken pictures there?!





It's self-evident why Sweden is my top choice really, plus it's cooling even in summer. Obviously we couldn't afford that, and there's no place where it's truly meaningful for us in Singapore.  We've been to so many places, share so many memories everywhere!

It was till the husband suggested taking pictures in the home that really got me into planning a pre-wedding photoshoot.  Taking pictures in the home where we planned and designed from scratch, where we will start a new journey together felt right. Then, we decided to go ahead and take some photos for our pre-wedding.

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures taken by our entourage:





I love these pictures, they were taken at our estate - Casa Clementi's garden and from a neighbor's place upstairs!































I personally dislike those typical pose-y wedding photo shoots, especially those in studios or Taiwanese style. I'm a fan of Lightedpixels but we really couldn't afford that 8 grand to get them. I think we had fun, and I was satisfied with the pictures, although not that impressed.

I'm so glad that the husband suggested our home for the photoshoot. That honestly didn't cross my mind!

Shall leave the actual pre-wedding shots from our photographer into another post. =)

.::. The Wedding .::.

They say that a woman is most beautiful on her wedding day, but I know that was definitely not me at my most beautiful.  I knew it wouldn’t be my happiest day ever since the MIL opposed to our marriage just because I wasn’t a Christian.  I had no expectations of my own big day, I anticipated the worst.  I was constantly anticipating something bad, right till the very end.  I didn’t believe that things would go smoothly till we boarded the plane and flew off after the wedding.    There were nights when I had nightmares of my wedding being hijacked by evangelists or horrible scenes with people screaming.  I had dreams of forced divorce and it was just difficult to look forward to my own wedding.  So many things can go wrong, and many did.  I can’t forget that expression nor those words.  One can forgive, but how can one forget?

I’m thankful that so many are happy for us, and we are truly blessed by beautiful people around us.  My parents are probably happy, but I’m not sure if getting married actually takes a load off their shoulders or actually makes them even more worried.  I dread it that they now have to put up with whatever remarks said about me, and be troubled by our marriage life.  I have always did things on my own and never wanted them to be worried about me in any way, yet marriage brought about so many issues just because I chose who I chose.  It’s strange how your spouse is the only family you can choose and marriage makes a whole bunch of people your ‘family’, yet divorce would make these same bunch unrelated strangers.  

Having said that, it seems like many were happy that day.  Everyone seemed more excited and happy than me.  Even the husband was laughing in every photo.  He promised me that we would marry me 3 years into the relationship, and he really did 8 years into the relationship. The girls have been such great support amidst all the chaos, and really took care of everything for me.  It gives me great solace to be surrounded by my loved ones.

And honestly, I don't have much memories of that day.  Everything went by in a flash and I just went through the motions.  A good photographer really makes a difference, and what I know of that day was all through the photos.  I wished we had the budget to get Lightedpixels!

The best advice I've gotten during this period:

A wedding is for a day, a marriage is for a lifetime.

How true.

And here we go again, embarking on yet another journey.