From The Straits Times    |

Photo: Her World Brides March 2016. 

1. You planned most of the wedding with help from a planner towards the end. How did you manage your time, with a full-time job?
Almost all my weekends were burnt at the beginning! Because I do weekend shifts and shows, I do not have the luxury of running wedding-related errands during the day. I managed by rushing to different hotels in the evenings after work to get more information from the various staff and check out the venues.

On weekdays, I would browse through bridal magazines and Pinterest for ideas after work. Towards the end, when I needed help with liaising with the vendors and execution, I engaged a wedding planner. With a wedding planner, everything was much more manageable. On weekdays, all I had to do was to check with my wedding planner on the progress and make sure that everything was in place. I think it definitely helps if you have the understanding of your management who would allow you more personal time during the weekends especially during the final month.

2. Your groom didn’t help much with the actual wedding, but he did have opinions on his suit, drove you around, planned the honeymoon and settled the paperwork for the house. Were you satisfied, or were there other aspects you would’ve liked him to chip in a little more? If so, what were they?
To me, what he did was fairly enough, and I think it’s good to delegate the chores according to our strengths. He was better in planning trips while I hated that. And I had the eye for aesthetics more than he did. Most importantly, he must be there to pay the bill when it calls for that!

3. Did you have any particular aspects of the wedding that you insisted on? Were there any compromises made, and how did you two deal with them?
The most difficult part was to balance between having a traditional ceremony and a hassle-free event. My family was more traditional and we wanted to include those traditions for good blessings, but sometimes my husband wouldn’t understand them. So we really had to communicate and I had to tell him how much keeping to tradition means to me, and he’ll understand and compromise. 

Another compromise we made, was the wedding date. We got married on 27 November because we asked someone to check the date for us, and found that it was an auspicious one. To me, that was something I couldn’t compromise on. I was fine with whatever venue we got married in though, so my husband chose a venue he really wanted.

4. No matter how well planned a wedding is something always goes wrong – is that true for your case? Any major fiascos and problem pre-wedding or on the day itself?
My bridal bouquet was flat and limp on the wedding day because hydrangeas (which featured a lot in the arrangement) needed a lot of water to stay hydrated and my husband wasn’t aware of it. He collected the bridal bouquet the day before, and didn’t tend to it. We had to get the wedding planner to get us a fresh bouquet from another vendor before the solemnisation in the evening.

Also, we initially wanted five brothers and five sisters for the wedding. All my jie meis were prepared and bought their dresses. But two days before the wedding, one of them told me she had to back out because of an emergency. As a result, we had to make do with four sisters and four brothers. But that was okay, and it looked good in the photographs, too.

5. What did you love and hate about the wedding prep?
Too much hassle! It’s about researching, comparing and making decisions. The research took up a lot of time, and because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime affair, you wouldn’t want to make a decision without any serious thought. So that was a little stressful. And you sometimes suffer from buyer’s regret – you’ll wonder if you made the right choice the minute a decision’s made – whether the vendor would do a good job, were you overcharged, and so on. It’s like you feel that everything has to be right and you must have gotten the best person to help you in every aspect.

My favourite part had to be choosing my gowns. I loved trying the different styles and it was the part that got me the most excited.

6. How did you work towards looking your best for the big day?
If you’re talking about weight loss, I didn’t actively lose weight for the big day because I didn’t want to be too skinny. I want to be a happy bride, not a skinny bride. I didn’t want to make myself unhappy by restricting myself too much in terms of diet too. 

Instead, I worked towards maintaining my current weight, and toning up. About one to two months before the wedding, I stopped eating ice-cream and cut down on soft drinks. I added yogurt with blueberries to my diet a few times a week because my makeup artist told me that it would be good for my skin. I’ve already been doing my monthly facials for years, so there’s no difference to that too. Because I have a relatively healthy and proper skincare and body care regime to begin with, so it was more of maintaining it. I also made sure I applied facial masks on a regular basis (at least twice a week). 

The only obvious difference was that I started my personal training months ago to tone up my body and especially arms. Because I had a halter neck for my evening gown, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t look too chubby in photos. 

7. What did you learn from this experience that you would share with other brides-to-be?
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Delegate the right people to do the right chores. Then you will feel more relaxed.

8. Any lessons about marriage you’ve learnt so far?
It’s really important to find the right person who shares the same values as you. Don’t rush into marriage because of your age or peer pressure. Always make sure it’s the right person first. 

9. Complete this! If only…
If only I slept more the night before, if only my husband didn’t catch the flu bug before the wedding (he was sniffing from time to time throughout the day and evening)… But all’s well that ends well!

Thank you and congrats Jiahui! Look out for Jiahui’s wedding feature in Her World Brides March 2016, which is currently on news stands and major bookstores.