an enjoyable rat race

dan da da da~
dan da da da~....
(here comes the bride....)

wedding bells and the typical old-school wedding tune which is usually played over the organ in the church, is ringing in my ears. i prolly won't get to hear that coz' i'm not conducting my wedding in a church. and temples don't play tunes like that. they're likely to be incomprehensible chants and the sound of goooooong~. then again, i'm not a Buddhist and i need not to go to Buddhist temples for wedding ceremony.

really, it's not easy trying to organize a wedding event. what's more, this is MY wedding event. hence, expectations are like up to the sky kind of thing. to make things worse, it's not as if i get married every day to know the checklist of what and how to go about getting things done. it voices down to how resourceful the couple is, and also, if the couple happened to have relatives or friends getting married as well would really help things. they are the ones who're in it, and they can at least give you some light in the murky waters.

bridal packages, banquet halls, solemnisation.... which comes 1st, you know? with some sound advice and basic instincts, i was spot on: banquet halls booking.

i went on forums to check, the brides there booked like almost 2 years in advance. *gasp!* super kiasu lor. so when i rang some prospective restaurants and hotels, to my horror, most of them were like fully booked throughout the year, i became panicky. very soon, i'm much like any of the kiasu brides-to-be out there competing in the rat race - aggressive and unscrupulous. and some restaurants put it quite clear to our faces: "first come first serve". whoever throws down the deposit to book the date 1st, ta-da, winner! you can say it's their marketing tactics and we can't help being slaved to it, but it sure makes you think twice about leaving the restaurant without any assurance of the date you want. of course, every restaurants and hotels have different sets of T&Cs.

well, i took my virgin step in this whole wedding preparation to source for the restaurants. it was quite nerve-wrecking but yet enjoyable to go through these process. it's just like shopping; only it's on another level coz' you're planning for like something this important. but the added catalyst to make this shopping even more exciting is the ambiguity whether others managed to book that date before you did especially after you (and your partner) personally went down to the restaurant to enquire in detail.

so i did my part to source for the restaurants, now is the bridal package. YM voluntarily take up this task, which i felt it shouldn't be too tough as it's much more straight forward and not so much of rat race to compete. rather it is more on the price factor and whether it deliver what they promises in the package.

in a nutshell, you need the following requirements to be eligible to take on the challenge:

1. Patience and mutual understanding with your partner coz' it's hard to have the same opinion in everything

2. Aggressive and quick in thinking; sometimes you can't ponder too long for a banquet location, esp when u know time is running out! so, if both of you like it, within your budget and you can afford the deposit, go ahead and book. then you've one less thing to worry over on top of the list of things to get done.

3. Money! you don't exactly need alot of money la. of coz have more money is better, but the minimum sum that you need for deposit of the banquet and bridal package (if any). however, don't even bet on it when both of your salary doesn't even guarantee that you'll manage to save up to an amount u need for the whole wedding preparation. yes, things may still work out but you'll prolly be struggling with your daily expenses and then, this. so it might tense things up between the both of you.

4. our future in-laws and parents: they can make things quite tough. and not every parents are that easy-going and would leave it to both newly-weds to handle on their own. so, sometimes do make them assured that you're not jumping into any conclusion before having their opinion. of coz, that doesn't imply that you need to listen to their every word. it's just for "show" that you value their 2 cents' worth.

5. don't stress out yourself unnecessarily; you'll prolly still have ample time to put things into place. so work it out with your partner rather than shoulder the full responsibility. teamwork is very crucial to help ease tensions and make this whole event works the way both of you planned. even if you require additional help from friends, just ask!

6. (to be continued... if i manage to think of something else)