Eat, drink and be married!

Disclaimer: There are inaccuracies in the fiance's account but since he painstakingly wrote it - I shall post it up for remembrance. It is no brainer when women say the men never get it - the details, especially. For the record, he did not give me a ring when he asked me to be his gf, only flowers.

So then read on for his side on how he popped the big question.

• Branded or not branded? Some girls subscribe to the marketing appeal of a robin blue box and other 'diamond is forever' type of marketing spiels. So make sure you check this through.
• Whats your budget? A ring with diamond(s) can set you back from $2,500 onwards, and the sky's the limit.
• Yellow gold? Rose gold? White gold? Purple Gold? Black gold? Ceramic? Platinum? Rhodium? Again, it's knowing her preferences. I strongly suggest observing her jewellery and decide a material that best matches her taste. Or ask her, but you might just give too much info away. If she doesn't wear jewellery often, white gold is often a good material to buy. If she has a tanned skin tone she can look better in yellow gold.
• Size. Now it's not easy to find out, but at this moment at least know if she has very slim or small fingers or she has fingers the size of sausages. Because chances are, you will have to pay quite a premium for both, unless you go with a custom jeweller.
• Store bought or custom made? Store bought designs are mostly branded and therefore have a premium. But they are usually more fanciful or exquisite. Custom made ones are usually cheaper and can even replicate store bought designs, but may not deliver 100% in terms of workmanship. Do seek out different custom jewellers and opinions to see who has the best craftsmanship to get more bang for your buck. 

• Shape. First thing you should know. Most girls actually have no clue and would just say 'I want a round one'. Which is easy for you cos rounds are plentiful in supply. But she may be looking for something fancier, like a princess cut, or marquis, or emerald, or cushion, or teardrop, etc etc. As such, it is hard to say which cut is more ex. The round cut is expensive due to demand for it. Some rarer cuts are also very expensive due to, of course, the rarity of them.
• Carat. Well the size of that rock. Or rocks, if you are going for something fancier. Although most materialistic girls would shout out that she wants something 1 carat and above, do bear in mind that it is often much better to get a diamond closer to 1 carat, say 0.97 carat, then a 1 carat diamond. The price of a 1 carat diamond versus one that is just shy of 1 carat differs by an astounding up to 50% in some cases. Smaller diamonds will be priced accordingly. However, take this into consideration: is she a tall/big girl? Small/skinny girl? How big are her fingers? Most SG girls here will look they have a fake rock if they wear something like 1 carat, because they are rather petite and would not look good with a large rock. So if that's your girl, phew! But good luck convincing her. But if she's the size of a wrestler, well, let's hope you have good credit lines.
• Clarity. Well, most jewellers out there will make you think that only FL or IF rocks are worth buying. But really, those cost a bomb. By a bomb I mean a mid 5 digits and above for a carat. You don't even necessarily have to go for a VVS1 or VVS2, which are also very expensive. As I do not have a huge budget, I would typically go for a VS1 or VS2, which are still good, the imperfections are invisible to the naked eye. If your budget is small then consider SI1 or SI2, their imperfections are only visible under magnification but somehow I think they're not that good. Why so? It's rare that an expert gem cutter would spend much effort cutting a stone that isn't very high on the clarify grade chart with much precision. Lower grade stones are usually cut by less skilled craftsman. I would not really advise going for I1, I2, or I3 grade diamonds, they aren't worth much and they look like glass. 
• Certification. Most people come to me asking whether a diamond is certified smugly, thinking that they know they are making sure they themselves do not get cheated. Well I have to break it out to you. Certificates can be FAKED, and faking is rampant in SG. Although the respectable labs such as GIA or AGSL churn out good reports, there are many labs out there faking their certs. Worse, there are printers who can doctor a cert and print it out for you. You do pay a premium for a cert since the jeweller needs to pay quite a sum to have the diamond certified. So decide for yourself whether its worth paying that premium.
• Cut. Often underestimated, the cut of a diamond actually is what makes the diamond shine. This to me is the most important aspect of a diamond. However, it is tough for you to know what exactly is the cut. Usually, this is found in the certificate, which you might need the help of a jeweller to interpret. But it actually isn't so tough. You don't really need the cert. Ask for a jeweller's loupe (the foldable small magnifying glass) and look through it. First point the diamond at a light source, then at a dark area. Observe if there are any light refraction changes. A well cut diamond should still sparkle in the dark, but a badly cut diamond will appear glassy and have dark patches in it. 
• Colour. Now this gets interesting. The 'whiter' the diamond, the more expensive it is. It starts from grade D – Z. D – F colour diamonds are very very expensive, and are the crème de la crème. If you are going for a solitaire setting (meaning a ring with a singular diamond, usually a round one, held up by a four-prong or six-prong claw), then a whiter diamond is recommended. If you are going for white gold, then D – F is a safe bet. If its yellow gold, you can go further down the scale up to J, or K to L if you want some yellow colour in the diamond. Diamonds with colour N onwards are 'fancy yellow' diamonds. These are usually cheaper diamonds, but funnily enough, they can be very rare to come by (due to lack of demand. They are usually turned into cutting stones instead). So decide on your diamond stone setting, how you want it to look. Then choose a colour. Diamonds with other fancy colors such as blue, pink, or purple, are extremely rare and therefore priced at a premium. Black diamonds are man-made and therefore are usually cheap.

** The following entry has been reposted here**

 Some would have known by now that the last staycation was lifechanging in the literal sense rather than the hotel itself. Nonetheless, here's a pictorial attempt at the most talked about Traveller's Choice Hotel of 2012.



The walkway from the carpark that links to most hotels except Equarius.



I have been quite curious about the string of hotels at Resorts World and Hotel Michael has had much said about their award winning designs....not. I thought the lobby was disappointing, more so the rooms that had expensive fixtures but space was not fully utilised within the room. The bed was incredibly comfortable but the pillows were a dampener.



Flowers arranged by the hotel which comes at a surcharge - no champagne nor scattering of rose petals even. How mercenary, Resorts World.



And then it was a yes. :) It has been a whirlwind of emotions since then and plenty of things to plan. It honestly did not dawn on me till the next morning that the next chapter was real. We could plan for the most perfect proposal, moment or ring even but all it actually needs is a sincere heart. Heartfelt and intimate, we both would remember that moment for the rest of our lives.While on hindsight a restaurant could have made it more pompous but it was suffice for me. :)

Should I just start one called theweddingchapter?

Here's a tour of their hotel room!



Incredibly comfy bed but pillows were causing some discomfort.



Tongue in cheek muses.



The couch we loved!



Cheated of a sea view.



The promiscuous statue at the entrance.



Leonardo DaVinci not but I was really interested in just the apple.



The rest of Resorts World celebrating my anniversary with me too!



And coincidentally or not, we had breakfast at Toastbox the next morning at the Vivocity outlet with a collaboration with Thye Moh Chan for wedding pastries. Perhaps they are going the way of G.O.D. and their heritage tie ups - I am so loving it! Just to sidetrack, prices of ToastBox RWS is expectedly pricier, 10-20% premium across so then the free rail pass we got saved us some moolah!



Pose-worthy props!



Spreading the wedding cheer.







The fiance's pile of eggs. 



I had the Yin Yang Pastry ($1.60) comprising of a bean stuffing, hae bee hiam filling and pork floss.



Massively delicious when I was just expecting a savoury pastry.

Toast Box
Vivocity

Hotel Michael
Resorts World Sentosa