Our Home in 2014

Here’s about our house in the wedding prep.

We went the “Singaporean style” of getting married – ie. house first. Haha.

We went to the showflat sometime just after my birthday last year, and we confirmed on the spot.

Seems quite surreal, I was hoping to get DBSS or resale flat (of course money is an issue too) even before we decide on housing.

Dream come true? : )

I even found a friend being our neighbour in the neighbouring block. LOL.

Our House, Completing in 2014: Belvia

Belvia is located at mature housing estate, along Bedok Reservoir Road. The road address would be Bedok Reservoir Crescent. Very near to expressway (another plus point for me to get the driving license hurhur), and minutes walk to future MRT.

Our “popular” question received from friends would be – “How come still choose Bedok Reservoir when there are so many people jumping in?”

Err, it’s a LOL question I guess. The location is great since it’s near The Pau’s parents’ house – we got the extra grant. And it’s not exactly very near the reservoir. Furthermore, it’s quite near our favourite 630 food centre.

So not really an issue for us : )

Anyway, there would be 6 blocks in Belvia, each up to 14- or 15-storey high. We’ve gotten a 3-room flat, 66 sqm, on the 10th floor.

The 3-room flat’s living room at the showflat:

The Living Room – with a little balcony.

The Kitchen – with built-in stove, cabinets, oven.

The Master Bedroom – with built-in wardrobe

The Washroom – with ready tiles and vanity top

We’ve joined a Facebook Group for Belvia, and the people there are really helpful in keeping track of the construction progress ;p

How it look like in Dec 2011:

And in Jan 2o12:

And in Feb 2012:

I can’t exactly describe how I feel, from visiting of the empty site, to its dismantle of showflat, to bringing in the machines etc.. Feels like our “dream” of living together as married couple is materialising bit by bit.

x x x x x x x x x

We have gotten the DBSS because of it’s location – Bedok probably would not be having any more BTO since it is such a mature estate, and it’s very near to The Pau’s parents’ house (And I love Blk 85 chicky wings LOL).

Because we would have consider a resale flat, we decided to go for DBSS, since there is no high COV and it would be a brand new house with furnishings (except ceiling lights and furniture). BTO would be out of our choices due to balloting and location.

For couples considering DBSS/BTO/Resale, probably here are some pointers to think about before purchase:

– Location
The location would be closely related to the affordability. For us, the premium cost (it can be 2 times more than normal BTO flats) can be justified by the location. Furthermore, we do not need to spend much on renovation currently.

A resale or BTO flat’s renovation can be quite high if hacking of walls are involved. But of course, you must like the DBSS layout first.

– Affordability
For booking of DBSS, you would need to put 20% of Purchase Price as deposit. It may be refunded if your CPF Ordinary Accounts have sufficient funds, usually upon getting the grant/loan disbursement.

Monthly installment of loan would be on progressive mode, that is, once piling starts, payment will start – it can be from $30+ onwards till the full monthly installment amount. It will be earlier than BTO, which young couples might want to take note.

– Loan
What’s good about DBSS is that we get to take loan from HDB. Current interest rate is 2.6%, that is only 0.1% above the interest rate offered. Bank loans can offer very attractive i/r in 1st year, but usually 2nd or 3rd year onwards, the i/r will be very high. Of course, subjected to availability of refinancing, that is.

– Other Points to Note While Getting a House
It would be good to start setting aside some amount under CPF investment (OA), probably 5 years prior to getting a house. For myself, I find it good, as my OA gets wiped out, I still have about $7000 “locked up” under CPFIS-OA.

It would be good, especially for employees – During times of unemployment, you could sell away the investment so you need not worry about payment for the house. Depending on your loan amount, $5000 could very well last for about 8 to 10 months of payment.

x x x x x x x x x

Going for our Marriage Prep Course this Sat, and the photoshoot gown selection on Sunday.

Can’t wait! : )

Our Hotel Venue

We’ve finally decided on the hotel venue! Wedding will be in Feb 2013.

My “dream” wedding venue used to be: Amara Sanctuary, Fullerton Hotel Straits Room, The White Rabbit Restaurant.

I like Amara Sanctuary because of the Glass Pavilion, which looks really nice to say our vows in. And not forgetting their villas! A truly resort kind of wedding : )

Picture Source: The Pleasure Monger.
Read more about her wedding at Amara Sanctuary, Sentosa here.

When we realised Amara Sanctuary probably won’t be working out for us, due to some changes, I thought Fullerton Hotel was a great choice.

Love the classic look of the Straits Room, ideal for wedding lunch!

However, we were also not able to proceed with lunch. And the capacity would probably be too small – at 18 tables max.

So….

Next one I was looking at The White Rabbit Restaurant.

Then we realised that The White Rabbit can’t work out for us as well..

So instead we have to go the “regular” wedding dinner style : |

Edited: My Views on Carlton

Pros: Good location, Competitive pricing, Modern & chic outlook after renovation, High ceiling & Pillarless, Well-Known Cantonese cuisine.

Not a particularly fantastic experience, but I would say it’s a good package for its location.

Previously we liaised with William from the hotel, and I really am impressed by his patience, help, friendliness and an air of humbleness. Recently we receive news that William has left the hotel, and our contact was taken over by another senior sales manager.

For myself, I like the hotel’s location (so near to our church!), the lobby and the pricing for the banquet. So we still go ahead to meet the sales manager to confirm the banquet.

I was just feeling a little weird that, no matter what dates we were looking at, there will always be people “tentatively booking” the date. If it’s true that couples are always tentatively booking the dates, and then decided to let it go, says something about the choice eh? So, I wonder if that’s their sales tactic. Haha!

I probably think that the stress from planning of the wedding and wanting everything to fall in place nicely makes me a BrideZilla. LOL. Especially can be seen through this confirmation of the hotel venue – I nearly quarreled with The Pau during the meeting with the sales manager.

Cons: Inflexible menu and house wine, Inflexible & limited perks, Limited themes & table linen.

It’s probably because I am particular with food and wine (Yes, I hear you. If I’m really particular, we could have gone to a good 5 star hotel). But whenever I voice out my thoughts or concerns, I feel that the sales manager just speak whatever she wants, forgetting about my needs (Yes, I hear you. That’s another occupational hazard).

The most *ARGH* incident must have been the wine. We didn’t know we had to choose and confirm the perks at the time of confirming the package, and it’s not re-negotiable at later stage.

I remembered asking William for their house wine before, and got to know it’s from Chile. (Ok la, another occupational hazard from my previous job) I personally enjoy Chilean wine. But I don’t think I want to serve Chilean wine, cos I’m looking for drinkability for wine to be served, so that most of the guests can enjoy the wine. I don’t believe in drinking wine just for the sake of getting drunk.

Click here and here to know more about drinkability.

My concern is that some Chile Cabernet Sauvignon carries strong tannins and smoke. Which some people may not really enjoy.

Maybe it’s my fault cos I “translated” drinkability to being “easy to drink”. Also maybe I had too much pride in myself, especially when it comes to stuff that I love or know about.

So I was totally switched off at that point when she says “what you like doesn’t mean other people will also like. like what he (referring to The Pau) like may not be what you like. it’s subjective“. And she continue to elaborate saying there were couples who, after food tasting, even ordered more bottle of the wine. That made me feel kind of insulted (maybe my fault).

I gave up on putting my point across so we went for the house wine + waiver of corkage 1 bot per table which they very kindly extended to us (I probably believe it’s already in the package).

But hor….. What if they decided to change their house wine sometime later this year?

*Shrugs*

Okaysss, end of complaining! : p We are going ahead!

Wedding Prep: Engagement Ring & Studio Package

Woo, 2 more days before wrapping up 2011. A little too busy to summarise my 2011, but it had been an awesome year!

Experienced rollercoaster of emotions, went through tears & joy, got baptised and confirmed in the church, settled the house and preparing for our future together with The Pau …

WOO! Words can’t explain how I feel, now that I look back upon 2011 with memories.

Though the wedding prep is still majorly not settled, here are some stuff that we have confirmed:

1) The engagement ring

We actually shopped for the engagement ring together (HAHAHA). Mr Pau didn’t felt at ease though I gave him the specifications.. He’s sweet enough cos he wanted me to have THE ring I really wanted ♥

: )

Ring: Jann Paul Diamonds

I am not particularly concerned with the carat size, more towards the color and clarity though (Hehehe).

The diamond is a modified cut – cushioned Brellia, AGS certified. The specs is exactly the “dream” diamond I thought of earlier: Color E, VVS1, 0.468 carat ♥ 

Though I am quite particular about service, I am totally impressed by the guys at Jann Paul. Prompt, professional and smiley. And you get to really learn about diamonds, unlike in the retail jewellery shops out there.

Pictures don’t do this gem a justice, cos in real life, it sparkles with brilliance and is so clear and white in color ♥

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

2) Bridal Studio Package

We are kinda different in the sense that we confirmed our package earlier than the wedding venue.

I am glad we did! Cos the bridal studio takes a little longer to process the photos.

And we are with My Dream Wedding.

Some pictures by MDW:

So far the experience had been great with MDW. Met them at the roadshow and they were all smiley, sincere and friendly.

Just that when we went over to the shop for an “orientation” and fixing of PS date, the photographer attended to us, and made some comments that weren’t very nice.

Like commenting on the LCD monitors of our church that doesn’t make the picture look nice (ERM), and it is very difficult to take nice photos at the church (DOUBLE ERM). And talked about some Singaporean ladies can’t carry off certain kind of gowns from their premium range (ERM ERM ERM).

Anyway.. Haha, still a pleasant experience and I think the package is really a steal la, so still quite happy. Tee hee hee!

– to be continued: Hotel venue –