Taking 3 steps out with 1 bow

We have just achieved another goal set by Fiona during this Vesak Day, on 19th of May 2008. We completed the "3-step-1-bow" ritual at KMS temple.

The whole procession took us 2 hours of queueing up, starting from 12 a.m. of Vesak Day.

We began the the "3-step-1-bow" ritual at 2 a.m. and completed the whole tour around the BrightHill compound at 4 a.m., that is 2 hours of ritual.

By the time we were done, we were already feeling the strain in our thigh muscles.

Nevertheless, it was a fulfilling experience.

This ceremony marked another step into our spiritual well-being as a couple.

She, my wife-to-be

another photo of Fiona, my beloved wife-to-be

it is my greatest joy to walk this journey with her

Photography & Editing by William Tan

©2008

Chef Yong featured on 我报

I am delighted to read on the feature of "Chef Yong Bing Ngen" from "New Majestic Restaurant" on 12th of May 2008, Monday edition of "mypaper" (我报). Chef Yong is now a resident blogger on "omy.sg".

We are thrilled to read his journals since he is the chef who will be preparing our lunch on the 8th of August 2008, day of our Wedding Solemnization.

Read Chef Yong's blog here:

http://blog.omy.sg/chefyong

3 more months to 888

8-5-8... is just 3 months away before the...

888

She's the One

She's the One
Photography & Editing by William Tan

That's how we both began...

11 years ago, they have only acquainted as course mates,
what might seem like a little crush on her, ended too short.
6 years later, he knew she's the one,
with a strong perseverance and a determination,
stood through the trials of emotions,
and eventually won her acceptance.
5 years from then, 3 months from now,
on the 8th of August 2008,
they will exchange their vows in holy matrimony,
and share their lives together as one.

Wedding Invitations

Wedding Invitations

Dear all friends,

by the time you know about this blog,

you have already received our invitations.

We hope you like our humble self-made invitations.

We will really appreciate your attendance for our Wedding Solemnization event.

We understand that the event is on a weekday, a Friday.

It is also the opening day of the Beijing Olympics 2008 and the day before National Day.

We sure hope that your company is giving you an off-in-lieu, otherwise, we will be really grateful that you will be taking a day off for our event and enjoy this long weekend!

Not to mention that we are delighted and excited to treat our guests to a scrumptious lunch at the "New Majestic Restaurant", with food specially prepared by award-winning Chef Yong Bing Ngen who once headed the kitchens of "Doc Cheng’s" (Raffles Hotel) and "海天楼" (Pan Pacific Hotel).

We try to make this event a unique, beautiful and memorable one for ourselves as well as our guests.

See you on the 8th of August 2008!

Yours Sincerely,

William & Fiona

Invitation Cover Art

OUR OFFICIAL WEDDING SOLEMNIZATION INVITATION CARD

In my earlier post, I showed a picture of our draft wedding invitation card: TYPE 1 cover art. The final piece is a much more simplified version with just the centre motif and the font of the Chinese character "婚" (which means "marriage") has been changed.

The motif is created from a photograph which I took and later put it through very heavy post-processing. The motif is shaped to appear as a heart shape rather than an apple. This heart signifies our love for each other. The original photograph lacks colors and is but only dull grey color. Refreshing, bright colors is then added to give it more life and also signifies that only with each other, our previously duller life becomes full of colors and more beautiful. The red-and-black scheme together with the Chinese character used in the invitation is to re-create a Chinoiserie art and possibly depict our fairy tale theme.

Getting There

Getting There

Here are the directions you need to get the New Majestic Hotel/Bar.

By Bus (RED arrow):

Walk along Eu Tong Sen Street and cross at the traffic lights at Pearl's Centre,

then walk along New Bridge Road,

turn in at the first junction Teo Hong Road into Bukit Pasoh Road.

By MRT (BLUE arrow):

Take the MRT or NEL to Outram Park Station,

exit via the EXIT H (near the NEL station),

then walk along Teo Hong Road to Bukit Pasoh Road.

Click on above map to enlarge and download

New Majestic Hotel

Deciding our wedding solemnization venue

A boutique hotel set in Bukit Pasoh, a part of Chinatown where ethnic Chinese heritage is well preserved with a touch of art. New Majestic Hotel puts together vintage and modern art into their design concept. New Majestic Hotel is a remarkeably beautiful boutique hotel which is also featured in DesignHotels.com. Truely a gem and pride of Singapore.

We have a very special affinity for this area and place, particularly myself. I love this area a lot, and so when I mentioned to Fiona about this place, she told me that she had learned about this cool place as well. We then found ourselves falling in love with this place. So we decided that why no make this lovely place as part of memory when we make our vows on ...

8th of August 2008

100 more days to our big event...

I was watching the advert saying "100 more days to the Beijing Olympics 2008",
I thought it is also ...



It is just getting more exciting!

Our Wedding Solemnization Invitation Card: TYPE-1

Our Wedding Solemnization Wedding Invitation Card: TYPE 1

This TYPE 1 version of the card never made it to print. It was debated that the colors are too flashy and the font of the Chinese character "婚" (which means "marriage") is rather hard to interpret. I had intentionally put in images of the coloured ceiling lamps from the New Majest Bar and two old school spotlights from the New Majestic Hotel lobby, and hidden them in the shadows. They appeared faint on screen, but a test print-out did not show up. This backdrop was scrapped as well.

Check out my next post on the meaning of my Invitation Card.