Shared Passion

Their passion for cars brought them together.

That's why even when his car is being photographed for a magazine in the middle of the night at some (god-forsaken) carpark space, she follows him and brightens up his moments.





Because love may start off with a shared passion.
But a journey together in life is about making each moment special. 

MERRY XMAS 2013

With love from MR & MRS ANG! 

Save The Date!

We are officially 3 months to our wedding day.

Don't forget to save the date!

[DIY] Gatecrash Overalls

To fit the color theme (Light Blue + Lilac) and overall theme of our photoshoot (Motorsports), we decided to dress our Bridesmaids & Groomsmen like mechanics.

Just like what we wore for our photoshoot:







Except that this time, it's in colors!





Bought some dye from Art Friends at S$7.90 per packet.







The Light Blue was beautifully done and was able to capture the color using our iPhone.

The Lilac is still hard to tell now.

Can't wait to see our Bridesmaids and Groomsmen in these specially created looks!

Our Centrale 8 - December 2013

The wardrobes and air-con is up. And our windows are finally closed!

Our matrimony home is almost done.

Wedding Album: Foohui Photography

We finally made a trip up north to collect our wedding album from Foohui Photography.





The album will NOT be on display during our wedding lunch as it is not hardpaper type.

But we will be displaying the album at our matrimonial home when it comes. Photos will be shared on the projector during the wedding and on social media. 

Our Centrale 8

Adding to the excitement of the wedding is the impending arrival of our matrimonial home at Tampines Centrale 8.

Our block already has colors and looks set on the final installation of the wardrobe & air-con.




The only outstanding block is the one that the show flat used to sit on.



Can you spot which floor we're on?


 Hint: The number corresponds with the month our love story began!

Halloween 2013

We aren't the type to dress up for Halloween. But when we do, we dress as a team!

We are the STATE PRISONERS. 







Check out Justina's website for more photos of our night out and the details of putting our outfit together.

http://shad0wcharm.blogspot.sg/2013/10/halloween-2013.html

Gowns Choosing - Bridal Affairs

If you had been following us on our wedding preparation journey, you would have read that we were already done with our pre-wedding photo shoots, and the bridal gowns that Justina had worn on both occasions were purchased by the bride for her keeping.

For the Actual wedding Day ("AD"), however, we both had decided to rent our suit and gowns with the Bridal Affairs.


In May 2013, when we set an appointment for Justina to choose her AD gowns at Bridal Affairs, it felt like there were still many months to the appointment. But alas! Time went by so fast, it was time for the Bride to pick her AD gowns.


Dress #01

Previously at the Bridal Affair when Shawn was there to check out on their extensive range of suits for the groom, Justina had tried on a gown which was similar to a gown she fell in love with.



A-lined from the hips down, it gave her the silhouette that she was looking for. But it lacked the factor that she seek in the original dress she loved.

Original love: Ruffles layer, A-lined gown.

Since we had an appointment for 3 hours of gown choosing, the bride decided to try on other types of gowns to see what she prefers.


Dress #02

The second dress was inspired to rival Katniss, the girl on fire from The Hunger Games.



The veil-like train on the back was majestic and grand for a first march-in, and was versatile to be changeable into a subtle ribbon for easy movement.

But Justina was rather convinced that she does not look fabulous in a mermaid gown which she does not have any curve to fit the dress.


Dress #03

Justina wanted to try on an A-lined gown, with ruffles.



This Vera Wang ruffles A-lined gown with a slight train behind was a hit with the bridal party. Even the bride herself loved the look.


Dress #04

Still loving the ruffles from the previous gown, Bridal Affairs introduced a gown that had both the ruffles that Justina likes and the A-lined from hips down.



The bride was not too enthusiastic about this piece due to the weird twist of fabric on her tummy.


Dress #05

Justina loves simple. Simple like the ROM dress that she wore. Simple and no frills like her.



This A-lined dress was a classic beauty. And it even allows the bride to add a touch of her favourite colour!


Dress #06

The "Paddle Pop" is a customized dress recommended by Christin, boss of Bridal Affairs.



Featuring Purple and Blue overlays, it suited the colour theme of the wedding. But the dress was effin' heavy!



By the time Justina was done with her 5th dress, she had her mind fixed on 2 dresses for her AD.

Till the wedding day, we shall not be unveiling the gown here.


For her gown choosing, the bridal party included:

• Shawn - The Groom knows what Justina seeks in a dress. He is also the pillar of support she would turn to, if the rest in the bridal party objects to the dress that she loves.
• Her Mother - What can we say, "Mummy knows best".
• Her Aunty - When the bride is your favourite niece, you know she'd ask you along to pick her gown. Because your presence means a world to her.

It was a pity that the gown choosing was on a weekday thus her maid-of-honor was unable to be there.

More Short Gowns!

[By Justina]

Ever since I wore that short gown for the photoshoot at Sepang International Circuit, I've been obsessed with such gowns.

And the main reason for looking for more of such gowns is that after the gatecrash on our wedding day, a puffy gown will not fit into Shawn's car.


Decided to search for another gown of such for the morning, and here are some that inspires me. 




But, I really haven't decided on which gown to wear for which time of the day. It is still to early to decide anyway.

Wedding Theme - Colors



His Blue, Hers Purple






In case you've noticed from our photoshoots, you are right!

Our wedding colors will be our favourite colors.


Looking forward to seeing our brothers & sisters wear our favourite colors!

Wedding Photoshoot 03: Botanic Gardens & TWR

Our final wedding photoshoot was one that require plenty of coordination and even luck for the weather to be on our side. Thankfully, it was plenty of sunshine despite the rain on the previous days!

Flowers were bought from our favourite florist at Kovan Market the day before, which cost us S$9 for a 9-stalk bouquet of Gerbera and another S$4 for bouquet of purple Baby's Breath.

BTS at Botanic Gardens Bandstand with the bouquet of Gerbera

Our props featuring the birdcage from Chatuchat Market (Bangkok), Alphabets from Typo and Purple Baby's Breath.

We love how beautiful and fresh the flowers despite the low price. Hence, do check out their stall just behind the MacDonald's at Hougang Street 21:






We even ordered balloons from Balloons Blasters where the nice people advised us on getting balloons stuffing!

BTS with the purple and blue balloon stuffing from Balloon Blasters

The balloons were the priciest among our props with the total price of S$100 including delivery. However, the photo effect was very unique!

Photo preview by JCPictures

We also arranged with the nice people of The White Rabbit to allow us to do our photoshoot within their premises even though our Solmnisation was held there 3 years ago.

BTS at the exact place where we exchanged our vows 3 years ago

BTS one of the many beautiful corners of TWR

Our photos will only be on display during our wedding day. But do check out this space for occasional preview of photos as we count down to our wedding.

Wedding Props #03

We have been stocking up on props whenever we see anything that catches our eyes.

Perhaps it also takes a creative bride to envision how the prop would fit into the wedding day or prewedding photos shoot. Perhaps it's also the mindset that if we don't buy it now, we won't be able to find it when we decided that we want it, thus leading us to buy and just stock up.


Here are some props that we have in our "stock".

1. Mini-Swing


We love the unique little swing that Justina bought during her trip to Chatuchat Market in May. It just look so suitable for our wedding lunch event, especially when we place our new Me-toYou wedding bears on it.


2. Red Clogs



Bought during her trip to Penang, Justina playfully wanted this to replace the tradition of the real wooden clogs needed for the Chinese customs. It is really just a palm-sized fridge magnet.


3. Mini Chalkboards Clips



These look great as labels for our "little treats corner" if we would to have one during the cocktail reception. Not sure how it would fit our lunch theme, but no harm buying some to keep. It would also make great decorative pieces during our baby's 1st month (when we have one).  



* Any friends who would like to borrow our props for their wedding after we are done with ours, kindly let us know :)

Wedding Photoshoot 02: Sepang International Circuit

We finally completed our journey up North for the long awaited pre-wedding photoshoot at the Sepang International Circuit.

The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) is a motorsport race track in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, approximately 60 km south of the capital city Kuala Lumpur. It is the venue used for the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, A1 Grand Prix, Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix and other major motorsport events.


Since  we have decided our wedding theme to be related to how we met, things that spell motorsports will clearly define us. A close friend of ours, being organiser for events at SIC,  was able to provide contacts with the coordinators of SIC. Hence, we were able to liaise with them to do a photoshoot there at a fee of RM600, including the usage of the track from 17:00hours to 18:00hours.

It was tough to coordinate an exact date with them giving that the location is constantly being used for races, practice laps or even concerts. But after many emails, we finally settled on 18 September 2013.


As we wanted to save the hassle on bringing a photographer up North, we decided to search for a local photographer online. Google was a good place to start and Justina was quick to find one that suited our style to capture our moment.

Even the pre-wedding package was rather attractive, complete with a MUA. 

(Quote based on April 2013, subjected to change.)

The morning started with the MUA Angela arriving at our hotel room to get Justina ready for the photoshoot.





While Shawn kept himself busy by collecting the flowers ordered from the florist at a nearby store.


At SIC, we met up with Hui from Foohui Photography. She is a petite lady who made us feel at ease in no time.

We wasted no time in starting the photoshoot since time was limited. Hence, there were no behind-the-scenes photos except for this rare opportunity to drive our car into the Grandstand!




It was tough doing a photoshoot in the full racesuit and having to pose for the camera, but when we saw the preview of photoshoot, we know that all our effort was worth it!







Thank you Hui for the beautiful photos captured. Can't wait to get the full album in December 2013.

* Check out FooHui Photography's blog on our photoshoot: 
http://www.foohui.com/blog/?p=2698

Wedding Photoshoot 01: Casual Theme Shoot

Most friends would know that we are one of the most laidback couples. If we could have it our way, we would do away with the Chinese traditional stuff and just stick to our ROM wedding: casual and simple. Just like us.
 
Hence, it's of little wonder that we plan for all our photoshoot to be done in a very casual manner.


With the Chinese Lunar 7th month ongoing in the past 4 weeks, we weren't allowed to do anything related to the wedding. Now that it is over, we are starting on our photoshoots!


Our first photoshoot is at the Garage since it would be related to our wedding theme.


The outfit is inspired by the mechanics, and we chose white so that it would stand out against the dirty background. 



Justina's make up and hair is done by Karen Lin ( www.facebook.com/MakeupByKLin ). Really love how she separated by colored hair to give the bun a unique look. 

Since the setting is at the Garage, there was no props needed. But we bought a bunch of purple roses, her favourite!



We bought the roses at S$1.20 per stalk from Kovan Market, the stall nearest to MacDonalds. Cheap or what! This is why we always return to that same stall for flowers for any occasions.


It was a fun photoshoot done by Joe of JCPictures, the photographer behind all that awesome photos on NaiseClothes.com. And by the end of the day, we had 1 photo for preview.





We think we look great as Joe captured us in our most causal and loving moments while we were having fun! Can't wait for the rest of the photos.

That special day...

Every year we celebrate a special day.

NO, it is not the day we started dating.
NO, it is not the day we got married.
NO, it is not the day we first kissed.


It is the day we first met, the start of our love story.

We always thought our love story had the sweetest and most "Taiwan Idol" drama type of beginning. And if not for that day on 5 September 2008, we won't have found our missing halves.

Justina: the potential Bridezilla

[by Justina]


Ever since the bitch fit I threw during my ROM wedding that led to my mother reminding me of it every time I talk about the banquet wedding these days, I've been taking precaution to not let it happen again.

Don't every girl wish to have a wedding of their dreams?

I have to admit that I am a perfectionist who wants my wedding to go the way I envision it to be, right down to the tiniest details of what colored shoes are my bridesmaids wearing. Yes, I am a control freak. Yes, I am a bridezilla waiting to be unleashed.

It helps to have a BFF to calm me down way before the wedding by volunteering to take charge on the actual day. But most importantly, I have to overcome this myself.



A good (short) article I've chanced upon while searching for videographer was the personal experience of Bride Lee Amizadai from The Wedding Paparazzi

Her "5 ways to prevent wedding stress and bridezilla moments" is one that I found rather useful:

(Extracts from the article)

1. PRIORITISE. 

First off, decide what you want to prioritise on at your wedding. Do you want it to be first and foremost highly meaningful, awesomely pretty, an occasion to honour family and friends, or simply have fun? Having a priority in mind will help you decide what to keep and what to drop when it comes down to the time crunch on your big day.

2. STRESS *BEFORE* THE WEDDING. 

Do all your running around, decision making, contingency planning and assigning of responsibilities before your big day. Any details that cannot be attended to before your wedding, either forget about it, or delegate to other people who can handle it for you. Which brings us to the next point - 

3. DELEGATE. 

On the day, you are untouchable. Put all your energy into being the happiest, nicest bride ever. Foist everything off on a good friend. Most importantly, empower her with decision-making, some money, and your word that you trust her decisions intrinsically. Of course, if you have a wedding planner, all the better!

 4. WHEN THINGS GO WRONG and they will, remember that there’s no such thing as a perfect wedding. Accept that things WILL screw up somewhere and instead of freaking out or taking your attention from enjoying yourself, find a way to make the best of it and make it into an interesting story. It’s often the wedding hiccups that make the best post-wedding stories. But only if you deal with the issues with humour, grace and restraint. And if nothing can be done to fix a problem, shrug your shoulders, close one eye and trust that everyone will be happy for you despite the tear in the dress, the fact that the flowers are not as fresh as they should be or that the makeup artist was a bit overenthusiastic with the blue eye shadow. I know one groom who forgot to bring the bridal bouquet when he went to fetch the bride. In the end he took the entire floral arrangement off the back of his bridal car and presented it to his bride! : ) It was big and bulky, was probably full of highway exhaust, but it did the job and I bet they’re still laughing about it to this day. 

5. DO NOT BECOME BRIDEZILLA. 

Keep topmost in your mind the fact that your wedding is a celebration of love, family and friendship. Don’t get so caught up on the small details that you forget about the overarching reasons for the celebration. The wedding is a big deal, but you’re shortchanging yourself if you lose friends after the event because you threw a hissy fit, you turn out looking stressed and unhappy in the photos, and half the time you are muttering angrily under your breath in the wedding video!



Looking at the above list, I dare say that I can overcome myself and not get so caught up on the small details during the actual day with proper planning.

But looking back on our ROM wedding, I guess what I really need is to avoid that irritating family member or friend that can bring out that bridezilla in me.

HIS outfit for Pre-wedding Photos

It's been quite a headache for Justina to plan the Pre-wedding photoshoot.

It was not about the locations. Neither was it about the props, or her gown. It was all about Shawn's outfit for the photoshoot, and perhaps even the gatecrash on the actual day.

For friends of the groom, it is a well-known fact that Shawn sweats BUCKETS. He could even sweat in an air-conditioned room! So we had ruled out dressing him in the conventional suit for a groom, until the Actual Day.

Not wearing a suit for the pre-wedding photoshoot was also a great idea since we are not planning to do glamorous or high-fashion type of photos. In fact, it is not our style to be conventional!


But not wearing a suit for the pre-wedding photoshoot proved to be a major headache for Justina when she had to coordinate the outfits to the locations. Thankfully she had the time to scour through the library of images of Google for some inspirations.


She first fell in love with the simplicity of this style.   

That folded-up sleeve was a style that Shawn will rock any time. But she wasn't too sure about the tie as it felt too "office".


She also fell in love with the idea of cropped pants.
 

 But the tie is still too much for Shawn and that blazer will be soaking with sweat in no more than 5 minutes.

That was when she saw this.

Now who said the groom had to look formal while the bride is in her gown? And given their personality, the groom will look best in casual while the bride lets down her hair even with her gown on!


With that, these are the photos that inspired Shawn's outfit for the photoshoot:

It is easy to picture Shawn in the above style as his built isn't the scrawny asian size, nor is he the mature tuxedo style type of guy.


It was also easy to shop for his outfit since Justina had already bought some bow ties and vest beforehand, and all that was left was his bottoms which UNIQLO has!

Now that we have both our outfits, it's countdown to the photoshoot after the Lunar 7th month!