Eat, drink and be married!

I am never the brow person - from the early days of makeup to finally dabbling in mascara and eyeliner. The eyebrow pencil and I were not BFFs, somehow Brow ressurection never quite crossed the mind until a visit to Browhaus for a threading session, I signed a package and a session was scheduled shortly there after. The only day I had perfect brows was on my wedding day and somehow I fell in love with the shape of it and decided to get them embroidered!



2 whole hours I had booked - upfront let's just say there is tattooing of the brow involved, numbing cream is administered and do or die, the tattooing has to be completed within the next 20 minutes or so before the pain starts creeping.

On hindsight, I should have just gone ala carte with the pre wedding photographer and perhaps hired an external vendor decorator (heading down to the church for the decorations was tough business the day before!).

Riding on a high of a bride to be and once in a lifetime, I found THE manicurist. Until I fell into the deep abyss of preetifying my nails, it has been a road of no return.

I scoured high and low for one that would be suitable...I somehow do not want french manicure with flowers plastered all over my fingers - going down the ultimate bridal way. 

Clara is now based in Melbourne and I have been her follower on instagram for a while. Amongst her faithful following include Serena Williams. At the start I marvelled at her works and wondered if I had the guts to take her audacious creations on - and why not? The opportunity arose when she had slots for her brief holiday back to Singapore and tadah - nailed my appointment for the big day albeit a week earlier. 








Definitely not something so outrageous like those above but something more avant garde with a bit of spunk...hehe...Cannot wait for the magic to happen!!

22 awesome days left! xx

<strike> On a whim </strike> After much combing through scores of forum pages and nagging from my mom, I decided to appoint a separate MUA for my AD.

#iamnotabridezilla

Thing is, everyone wants to look good on her big day, not by default but at least we try to ensure the outcome with our choices of...

Groom - That he will not jump onto a horse and gallop away, but cars are actually much faster.
Bridal Studio - The gown would be in our opinion, the groom's opinion and whoever else has seen and commented - the most suitable and gorgeous one alive.
MUA - If the bridal studio's suit then it's a marriage in heaven and if not, it's time to start racking your brains and piggy bank for another alternative.

To get the story right, MDW did a good job with the makeup which is acceptable for photoshoot standards - think my fiance looking like a wax museum figurine and me with a ton of makeup. Photoshop is godsent and does correct the imperfections to a T but I just could not get past the fear of something going wrong. If I had known, I would have negotiated for a trial AD makeup to be part of my package #lessonlearnt.

The story behind selecting my MUA is simple - google, forum and then settle on one with the most positive reviews and of course, browse the portfolio if possible. It could have been just affinity that made me and my sister fall in love with TG's works (though they were dated works).

A string of whatsapp messages later, I confirmed my MUA.

TG met us at his studio and we had a really nice chat about what I wanted on the AD. Pricey he is but I'm glad I'm off to a great start!

We both wanted the PS to be months ahead of the big day to avoid a situation of unnecessary stress and the facial reactions to it hence it was done 6 months ahead! Just two days before, we had to head back to the studio for a last fitting and see if there are further alterations required - Grooms, remember to bring your tux shirts along for the fitting else you have to make do with their samples for fitting.

On the actual day, we arrived at 11am for the makeup and the shoot was to start at 1pm...thank god for great weather..too good infact as we realised later in the day! I suppose rainy weather provides for romantic settings ala walk in the rain but definitely NOT in those heavy gowns.

We were attached to Zoey, our MUA who would also be following us around the entire day. Our photogs, Casey and I-forgot-his-name would be assisting us in capturing potentially the best angles and the best photos. A lady of few words, she warmed up to us later and well, was a really fun experience working with all of them! The PGs walked us through the poses that are common for the shoot, our selected locations and particular shots we wanted to take.

Note that the ampoules used are charged separately, the fiance had one slapped on too for the makeup to last longer. He was not a fan of his "waxed" look, given the makeup made him two shades darker than he is!

Three looks given in total for three different locations and four outfit changes!

First Location: Alexandra Village

The ex-SA alumni wanted to capture the beauty of the grass and buildings within the area but unbeknownst to us, the place had undergone structural facelifts and is no longer what it used to be. We then headed off to Mapletree Business City but faced objections from the particularly sticky security guards. Finally Hort Park that provided a sprawling grass scenery that fit the whole casual, fun, relaxed mode we wanted to achieve. I'm not sure if the gown I selected for this location was the best but it was a black evening gown complete with fuss and the weather completely did not work in my favour. Scorching hot and I am amazed how much water I can retain actually!

They had a makeshift changing room for us to do a quick change, yay! Happiest moment came to change out of the heavy gown into our casualwear. A tip for couples who are into this part of the shoot, do bring as many props as you want but you will be eating into the remaining time for the gown shots.

Second Location: MBS

We did a quick stopover at the Hortpark Handicapped toilet for a hair and gown change - Zoey brought a foldable chair along - phew! Thought I had to sit on the WC to be made up. All these while, the dear fiance was getting cooled in the van and the PGs actually took naps!

MBS has never been more crowded and hot in my memory - oh wait, the heavy gowns made it so. We really could not care less on the people starring and snapping photos - even kissing shots were blase to me by now. At some point we both wished for the shoot to end, pronto.

Third Location: Gardens by the Bay

We stopped over at Singapore Flyer for a quick change in the baby's room - I hope we were not hindering any pooping babies from getting a clean nappy! Zoey left us before the last destination so then the hairdo was less complicated...and I was in a more comfortable gown! YAY.

At least the gown was comfy but my ankles were beginning to hurt. BOO. As usual, throngs of people and we met two other couples doing their shoot too...

By the time we all hit MDW for removal of hair accessories and changing out, it was close to 9pm. What a loooooong day!! 

Fruit and buns were furnished but these were just snacks, we completely had no time for a proper meal prior so we ended up really famished by the time the shoot ended!

While the views at these places were amazing, I wanted to catch a sunset even but the whole procedure took its toll and we just wanted it over soon. On hindsight, it was a pretty good experience and we took some behind the scenes videos to reminisce on such a day.

To date, the experience has been really good and we are so glad that we chose Mydreamwedding...I shall leave my last comments until we complete this journey but for now, we are pleased as punch.

As with every vain bride, I had my nails pampered before the shoot - hoping that they would be featured in the shots.

I had mine done with Junying from Thistlebelle, a homebased manicurist in Toa Payoh. I placed a deposit before securing my slot and headed for my appointment! She's got a really friendly dog - Jewel who is sucha cute fur ball!

I originally wanted something flamboyant and loud but decided against it since it was still a bridal shoot - so here's it with marbling and Sha stickers! Loving the details like the ring on my fourth finger!

Junying is so friendly and we chatted like old friends - how often do you even get that! I've mentioned a halloween theme I wanted to do, maybe I'll head back for that!

**Note: This is NOT a paid review, purely out of my own experience**

Darlie white smiles are considered the standard for pictureperfect. I am no smoker but am born with naturally yellow teeth that has become quite a nuisance when I am meeting people - most assume I smoke.

People around me have long raved about the effectiveness of teeth whitening, afterall it is pretty much like a normal dentist's visit and rather fuss free. If it were not for the dentist's gentle reminder that I can consider doing something about the shade of my teeth, I probably would not consider any teeth enhancement - this is what braces does to you, a heightened fear of dentists. 

With a wedding in the works and a Bangkok trip, I thought - Teeth whitening? Takes guts for sure to trust a dentist in a completely foreign country and their ISO certifications. Gutsy I am and I had a series of email correspondences with Bangkok Smile Dental and even made appointments for my whole family for a list of dental treatments. Prices are definitely a fraction of what we are paying in Singapore and even with Groupon vouchers matching the prices, the results have been varied amongst friends. One claimed that the whitening effects barely lasted 3 months and by her wedding day it was back to the same shade. Tip: Price and quality is directly proportional.

Traffic in Bangkok can be such a pain sometimes and partly due to our miscalculation of time, we arrived too late and was told flatly our appointments were given away and there was no way they could slot us in. Bad service to top it off.



Generally cheaper to go in twos.



If they had slots, we'd have gladly chosen this place!



Still cheaper than Singapore!



We walked around the area and managed to find another to accomodate to our last minute requests.




8am appointments made the very next day and the dentist kindly came in earlier than her usual time to see me. Basic polishing was recommended (800 THB) followed by an hour long teeth whitening procedure (7500 THB). Note that it is definitely cheaper to do in pairs so consider that fellow brides-to-be and grooms-to-be! She explained the procedures clearly so I was sure what was happening. I was clearly informed of my current teeth shade by matching to their shade palette before starting.

I am not going lie and say it was a painless process. In fact, there are three stages of whitening to be done, each lasting 15 minutes. Each felt more intense than the last but at any one point if there were heightened pangs of pain or sensitivity, I had to inform the nurse.

First stage: Went fine and dandy. I still thought - what is the big deal, it was just tanning my teeth under the light.

Second stage: Slight pain felt and sensitivity towards the end. Nurse adjusted the strength of light.

Third stage: Stronger pain felt with jolts of pain searing through the teeth in shorter intervals. I actually told them to stop with 3 minutes left.

I was advised not to touch coloured foods for at least a week i.e. red wine, carrots, chocolate amongst others. Sensitivity is expected to last. This new shade should last 1-2 years if I adhered to the food restrictions.

The teeth sensitivity only lasted 1 day for me, otherwise everything else is back to normal...but with a whiter smile! :) While everyone assumes that service is generally friendly in Thailand, Land of Smiles, I beg to differ. Bangkok Smiles Dental Clinic was bad enough but prices are way cheaper. If given a choice, I would still prefer to head back to Asok Montri for my future dental treatments if I am in Bangkok.

http://asokmontridental.com/

Asok Montri Dental Clinic
38/8 Asok Montri Road (Sukhumvit 21)
Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Thailand