Pre-wedding Photography

Ever wondered why every couple-to-be needs to take pre-wedding photographs? Why is it practically part and parcel of getting married? I guess for one of the most momentous event of your lifetime - the marriage, not the wedding, btw - you wanna capture the special bond you have with your spouse and maybe even remind yourself during the difficult times of your marriage, the love the both of you shared.

Yet many people do feel that pre-wedding photos are often only admired for a season and then the album is left to gather dust. Reckon that there is true for many couples! =) Nonetheless, for myself, I love to take pictures, both of myself (!!) and others. Come on, when you look at pictures, dun you look for yourself first? =)

Before my photo shoot, did some research online on the forums and some photography sites. Some of the pics taken were amazingly stunning! But, mind you, these photographers charge some thou$and dollar$ just for the photo shoot, not including cost of wedding gowns, suits, makeup, etc. Yi fen qian, yi fen huo.

Share some of the nice ones below:

Modern, urban feel







Natural greenery, sunset



Fun, humorous and light-hearted




Personal and significant




Very nice right? You can surf more from the following link.

At the end of it all, I think what matters most is you enjoy yourself and have a good time! My photographer, Dawn, said this: You may prepare lots of props and select several locations but what is most important is the couple, the expression they convey, the "feel" and emotion that is captured. I couldn't agree more. But I think having a good photographer is also extremely important. Will share my photo shoot experiences soon...

V Day Surprises!

13 Feb 2008 (we decided to celebrate V Day one day earlier)

Since going back to work after the CNY holidays, there was some housekeeping needed to be done in the office. So Jasmine and I were clearing all the "kum" since no one was going to eat them anyway... suddenly this lady with a bouquet of flowers said, "I'm looking for Emily...". I saw the flowers, my face turned red immediately and I stopped myself from shrieking in delight!! Hehehe! Joe actually arranged for a bouquet of lilies (my fav!) to be sent directly to my office! So surprised!! So that's surprise no. 2!


After work, we met up and went for dinner at Pasta de Waraku @ Central. The food was interesting but the place not so suitable for a V Day dinner, too cramp and kinda noisy cos it was packed. But I really enjoyed the Prawn and Scallop pizza. The pizza crust was like thin biscuit and the combination of the mayo sauce and the seafood was MMMM!


And then off we went to our favourite hangout - Coffee Club. When we go out for dates, we normally have dinner and then adjourn at a cafe for a drink. Somehow everytime it always turns out to be a Coffee Club. =) Over there, we exchanged our love gifts.

Joe's turn first:
"Surprise" No. 3 - I wouldn't consider this as much of a surprise cos he already let the cat of the bag when we went shopping. Hee! Matching key chains with the keys to our new home! Don't they look really cute?

Surprise No. 4 - Now this was kind of a pleasant surprise to me! Joe kept saying he got me something I would really like and I was scratching my head wondering what that could be! Hahah, CapitaLand vouchers for fussy me! Still, it was really sweet of him cos he said he remembered me mentioning to him that I have decided to ask people to get CapitaLand vouchers instead of Wisma Atria or other vouchers cos there are so many shops at different CapitaLand malls that I can shop at. =p


My turn:


Matching love mugs when we start our new life together! So Dear, I will make malt tea for you and you will make malt tea for me in the morning! =)


A stylo-mylo man-bag from Pedro! Not much of a surprise cos I got him to go shop around with me and tell me which bag he liked. But I did keep him guessing as to whether I really bought the bag or not! Hhaha! Dear, you looked so trendy carrying it!


Though it may be a short celebration, I think we had a good time together!

Thanks Dear for your love to me! I know that you are constantly working towards improving yourself for me and I appreciate your every effort! For myself, I hope I will be a good helper and support to you and see you fulfill the dreams you have for your life. Although there have been many ups and downs in our relationship, I know love never fails. I know there is no guarantee that in future we will not hurt each other, no tears will be shred but I wanna say that I believe in US and will never give up! I LOVE YOU DEAR DEAR!

V Day Headache

How do you celebrate your Valentine's Day? If you are attached, do you and your other half actively celebrate this day? As the cliche goes, everyday should be a Valentine's with your loved one. If you think about it, there are 4 days in a year that requires special celebration between a couple, 1) Valentine's Day 2) Birthday 3) Anniversary and 4) Christmas. Of course, you can also celebrate your first kiss, your first date, your first quarrel.... the possibilities are endless!

So anyway back to the 4 special days, that means cracking your brain 4 times to decide on a nice place to eat, something extra fun to do together and a sincere gift...! That's why Joe and I decided we should only go to extra expense on each other's birthday, the other days dun need to require an actual gift but instead something different. For example, something love-themed on V Day like a couple keychain, a visit to a park on our Anniversary and gift exchange of a pre-decided similar item on Christmas, for example a watch or perfume.

Hmm... but it seems this year he is doing something extra special on V Day for me! Looking forward to it but also extra pressure on me to make sure I at least "measure up" to what he has planned and in store for me!

So anyway, surprise No. 1 was when we went shopping at Taka today and he wanted to use up his Taka vouchers and asked me to take my pick of anything.. Chose this beautiful notebook that I am planning to use as a travel journal on our honeymoon. Turned out it's meant as a gift that I pick out myself since I am always so fussy about gifts. It's really special, not all the pages are alike, it almost seems like a travel journal someone else put together with sketches and photos. Show you a sneak peek of what's within...








Pretty right? I love it! Thanks Dear Dear! It will be a fun V Day this year! And to everyone out there, Happy Valentine's Day! Remember, it's a day to celebrate love of all forms, not necessarily between a man and a woman. It can also be love between a parent and a child, between close besties, between a pet and an owner... and even a passion you have in your work, your hobbies but of course that would be kinda weird... Anyway, keep the lovin' going round!

Old Love

Feb is the month of love and even Pastor Kong has kick-started the month with a sermon on marriage. The married couples also had a chance to renew their vows during service today. Talking about love always makes one feel fuzzy and warm within. I guess it is the love between a couple who has been thru the highs and lows of life and are happily growing old with each other that is most heart-warming.

Saturday Straits Times had a special report on 8 couples whose love had lasted the test of time. The stories are all really touching but more so for those where one spouse had to become the caretaker of the other due to ill health and disease. I think that's the real test of love. When one becomes sick and perhaps half the person you used to know, yet you choose to stay on to love and care for the person.

"Young love is about wanting to be happy. Old love is about wanting someone else to be happy."
Psychologist Mary Pipher

Have a listen at one of my favourite songs - Grow old with you (Adam Sandler)

What's a single girl to do....?

Came across these interesting ads at Raffles Place MRT station, almost all the platforms are plastered with these ads.. the small text says "STOP WAITING. START DATING." It even tells you to get a date by Valentine's Day! These ads were up from 1 Feb, so they are saying you can get a date in a span of 2 weeks!

These ads by a dating website really got me thinking. I remember those years when I was single and available and wondering when my prince charming will appear. I was reminded of my single status all the more on V Day and I told myself to avoid town at all costs on that day. I have several frens around my age who are single and available and I know they hate it when I tease and nag them. And indeed what's a single girl to do?

* Go thru the list of eligible names in the groups you are involved ... school, work, church, cg, zone, ministry, erm.... no one potential leh!

* Ask frens to intro and matchmake their frens... woah, a lot of pressure and stress....!

* Try dating organisations that hold events and activities to help you socialise? Hmm... but too shy leh!

>> Tough isn't it? Honestly, I have no ready answer to all the single gals out there. Only to continue to live a full life... but also to make it known that you are looking around, you are available and be friendly! I was sharing with one of my frens recently that yes though the guy must make the first move, you still gotta create opportunities for him to make the first move! So to all the single gals out there, brace yourself, I'm sure your prince charming is on his way! =)

Marketers wasting company money

Being in marketing, I was intrigued by the title of this news article. My first thought was hopefully the big boss of the Bank doesn't see this article!! ;) But seriously, according to the article, The Fournaise Marketing Group's 2007 Global Marketing Effectiveness Report stated that almost two-thirds of marketing spend in 2007 had no effect on consumers. That is a cause for concern! Furthermore, with the economy slowing down, companies would cut spending in marketing since it is an expense item and does not directly bring in revenue. Would that mean that my job would be redundant soon?

Nonetheless, I think the article brought out a very important point - that marketers gotta track their spending and really measure the effectiveness. We should not be spending just to create hype but we gotta have concrete proof and evidence that marketing works. There are too many people out there who do not believe in marketing and they need convincing thru hard facts. Something to think about this year as I work on my various projects.

Anyway, watch the cool Gap advertisement below. I love their ads but their clothes are just too expensive and the designs too basic. Thus, the product must be a good product to start with. Marketing cannot make miracles!

A new cg, a new chapter

These photos are courtesy of Stanley! Had a fun first cg at Esther's place with yummy steamboat! Everyone pitched in with great food, and the highlights were the beef, the tofu with cheese bits and the big prawns! Ber had a chance to show off her prawn peeling skills and even found a fellow prawn-peeling kaki in Charmaine. Think everyone really enjoyed themselves =)