Wedding Guide Asia

Fresh from the FIFOTO blog are these awesome photos of Chang Chang & CJ’s recent wedding. Firstly, congrats to the couple who we hear have been together for 10 years! Who says there are no modern day fairy tales?

Their wedding ceremony was held at St. Mary’s Cathedral, a beautifully well-aged church, that has a slight vintage feel to it. Which if you ask me, perfectly befits the classic black & white photos below.

Unlike most Chinese weddings with separate photo sessions, Chang Chang and CJ did it the Australian way and shot for 14 hours continuously. More than impressive when you think about the heat and humidity that comes along with shooting outdoors. Not to mention the stamina needed to stay in high heels for that amount of time!

Brides often tell us that photographer Fiona Lim & her team from FIFOTO are always easy to work with. Which may explain why they got this terrific shot of Chang Chang flinging her gown. For some of you, it may feel kinda weird posing in your bridal gown. After all, not all of us are like Posh & Becks where posing is mandatory.

Thus when choosing a photographer, remember to not only look for someone who is credible and good – but who makes you feel at ease. You don’t want to be posing with someone you don’t feel comfortable with right?

Next up, photos from the reception dinner: (more…)

Back in 2002, Grant Thatcher realised there was a huge gap in the market when it came to travel guides for the stylish traveler. After all, not everyone is built for backpacking and some of us like it a little more plush, a little more… luxe.  So armed with an idea and a vision, he created LUXE City Guides, which has now become the staple for those who want to be ‘in the know’. With guides that cover destinations all over the globe, which tell you where to go when it comes to food, fashion and entertainment, it’s no surprise that these days, everyone needs a bit of LUXE.

Here’s our 5 mins with Grant Thatcher, founder & editor of LUXE City Guides:

There are many travel guides on the market, what makes LUXE City Guides so special?

First of all our guides have a sense of humour – a first for travel guides! But most of all we tell it like it is and we are not afraid to have a point of view. We tell you the best of the best and leave the rest. Not got a best friend in Seoul? Leave it to LUXE to show you around town.

How does LUXE find the best places in town?

We employ not only a local editor on the ground that knows the city inside out, but also we take the advice of around 20 stylish contributors who live and work in the city. We then send in our own editorial team to check out personally all the suggested entries. No other guide on the planet does this!

Tell us about LUXE online.

You can purchase your LUXE City Guides through our online store at www.luxecityguides.com . You can easily look through hotels, read in-depth reviews and book a room through our beautiful LUXE City Guides hotel & villa collections. How glamvenient is that! Don’t miss our blog, www.luxetasy.com which posts about the things that have caught the gimlet eye of our editors around the world.

LUXE also has mobile guides available! Good news for my Blackberry…

Yes, good news indeed. We have just launched Luxe City Guides mobile.

10 of our cities are now available in app format to download to many handsets including iPhone, Blackberry, Samsung and Nokia. And we are just about to launch 10 more! (more…)

They’ve been featured all over the American press, from Martha Stewart weddings to The Knot to Daily Candy weddings. And now WGA is proud to talk to dynamic design duo, Alix & Kelly. If you’re someone who believes “less is more”, then Alix & Kelly is for you. Previously costume designers for film & television, the two decided to opt for something a little more ‘old Hollywood’ and follow their passion to create bridal gowns that were elegant yet fashionable.

With clients from around the world, we thought it was time they made an appearance here in Asia. Enjoy!

You’ve worked on the sets for films like “Gone baby Gone” and “CSI”. Why the change of scene?

Our background is diverse. We loved dressing character’s in real life situations. But Kelly and I always had a true passion for beautifully constructed dresses and fabrics.

How does Alix & Kelly differ from the ‘typical’ wedding gown?

We make gowns for a more sophisticated bride, a bride that wants a dress to help her shine not overpower her. Comfort is paramount. Simple, elegant, flattering shapes are our specialty.

How often do you launch new designs?

We launch a new collection every year in October. Our current collection is all about old world glamour and sophistication.

What sort of materials do you use?

We use all 100% silks, lots of silk chiffons, and silk crepe that we hand wash for extra movement. All our fabrics are lightweight and have great movement.

For our readers in Asia, how can they get their hands on an Alix & Kelly gown? Also, we’re typically a little bit shorter over here – can dresses be altered?

We have many international clients, all you have to do is order an Alix Kelly gown direct from our website – www.alixkelly.com. All the dresses are made to be easily altered, especially in length! (more…)

Congratulations to Jasmine Ngoi!

She was the very first entrant to get the answer correctly! To everyone else, do come along to the Jungle-Luxe Bridal Fair at Tamarind Springs, KL, this coming Sunday. I’ll be there and from what I hear – they have some awesome wedding vendors, pole dancing performances, food tasting etc, etc!

It’s also free entry!

x

Just got these pics from WGA vendor Andy Lim! He recently shot Pascal & Mishell’s traditional Chinese wedding  and dinner reception at Hotel Equatorial in Kuala Lumpur. Rather than send us an array of photos, to be a bit different this time, Andy kindly edited the pics into a video. Makes checking out the photos easy peezy!

http://www.vimeo.com/13454526

Wonder what Andy’s style is like? He aptly describes it as “capturing emotion in pictures.”

If you like Andy and his work, give him a buzz and contact him through his Little White Book page by clicking here.

P.S – If you feel like you’ve been attending a few too many weddings of late, (more…)

With the Jungle-Luxe Bridal Fair just around the corner (this Sunday to be exact, July 25th), we’ve decided to run a little competition to get you guys in the mood.

Fancy a romantic fine dining meal at Il Tempio?

All you have to do to win a dining voucher worth RM 150 is answer this following question:

• What are the 4 different themed weddings that will be showcased at the Jungle-Luxe Bridal Fair this Sunday? (more…)

Is it me or does it seem like just about every celebrity is getting married of late! From Penelope Cruz to Carrie Underwood to… OK, if Brangelina happens to walk down the aisle this year – I’m buying 4D!

The Clintons - American royalty

But on a (somewhat) serious note, come July 31st, Chelsea Clinton, Bill & Hillary’s only child and daughter, is tying the knot with her fiance Marc Mezvinsky. As a fan of Hilary & Obama, I thought we should give her wedding a little bit of coverage on WGA. Not to mention, it’s actually pretty big news! Given politicians are the closest thing to royalty in America, the media has been scrambling all over to get any word on this secretive wedding.

No wonder there’s even a website purely dedicated to Chelsea’s wedding. Aptly called www.chelseaclintonweddingwatch.

They’re watching you Chelsea.

Chelsea & Marc

So you’re thinking, who’s this Marc dude! Well, being the well-behaved daughter she’s always been, Chelsea chose to date a fellow democrat, as beau Marc is actually the son of a former democratic congressman (at least the in-laws will get along). Presently a banker for Goldman Sachs, Marc has actually known Chelsea’s since her teens, but the two only started dating during their student days at Stanford.

Chelsea’s Little White Book (what we know thus far!):

Astor Courts

Venue: Astor Courts. Located about 90 miles north of NYC, Astor Courts is considered to be one of the grandest Hudson river mansions. Built by Gilded Age tycoon John Jacob Astor IV (who sadly died on the Titanic), it sits on 525 acres of farmland, hayfields and forest. Why is Astor Courts the most probable venue? Because it’s currently overrun by men-in-black, aka Secret Service agents. Who I suspect are not there on a company trip. (more…)

Remember our posts on WGA jewellery vendors Chris Lim and Sara Ooi? Maybe it’s the constant Wedding Guide Asia links appearing on their Facebook homepages or (more realistically!) maybe it’s just the right time, because Chris got down on his knees recently and proposed to Sara!

They shall now go down in history as our first WGA vendor to tie the knot! Haha.

Below, Sara has kindly shared with us the story of Chris’s ‘fishy’ proposal. Enjoy!

The Proposal

Hi! We are Chris and Sara, creators of Goldilocks and morethandiamonds.com.sg, who you will be seeing here on Wedding Guide Asia as we give you the lowdown on buying jewellery, choosing the right design, budding trends and interesting stories! As an introduction, I thought we’d start with sharing our own engagement story. (Yes we are a couple AND we work together – we even share a desk!)

For Chris’s 30th birthday, he organized a fishing trip in Thailand with some close friends. As our jewellery shop was just in transition between Paragon Shopping Centre and our new service showroom, we decided to make it a company trip as well and invited Chris’ parents (our bosses) and Steve our Diamond expert along.

The day after Chris’ birthday, we rented a boat for everyone to go fishing and snorkeling around the islands. After hours of fishing, some wanted to continue while others were getting restless. It was then when Chris made his catch of the day. He asked me to help him reel it in (since I hadn’t caught anything all day). I walked over, started rolling up the fishing line and saw that there was no fish at the end. “The fish must have gotten away”, I said, slightly disappointed. Chris quickly responded with “Pull it up and I’ll re-bait it for you.” After I pulled up the tackle, Chris’ mum suddenly shreaked: “It’s a ring! Oh wow! You caught a ring!”

I saw the ring attached to the fishing line and looked at Chris. When I saw his nervous face, I realized what he was about to do, and burst out in tears! I was wearing sunglasses and I cried so violently that the tears bounced off the inside of my glasses, like something out of a cartoon.

Chris just stood there like a statue without saying a word. “Get on your knees you moron!” one of our friends shouted. (more…)

I’ve just come back from my wee holiday in London and one things for sure – you can’t beat the summer sales. On my trip, I spent my mornings working on WGA and my afternoons shopping and meeting friends (part-time tai tai, haha). However, as much as I liked popping into Selfridges and Waitrose (yes, I love supermarkets!), I equally enjoyed surfing Net-a-porter.com, as it too held a ‘summer sale’ online.

They’ve just added further reductions this week (a Alexander Wang dress I have been stalking is now 60% off!) so I thought I’d send you through our fav bridal picks that are perhaps more attainable than… usual!

Dresses:

According to our London correspondent, Sylvia Tan-Jong, fashionistas in London are going gaga over Temperley London. If you ask me, this bridal gown is perfect for a bohemian or beach wedding. Or simply for a bride that wants something soft and romantic.

This Temperley London ‘Evon silk-chiffon gown’ is now 50% off, at £728.87. If you’re thinking in RM, multiply that by 4.85! Err… welcome to mathsguideasia…

I quite like this 3/4 length Richard Nicoll “Crepe de chine gathered dress”, that is exclusive to net-a-porter.com. At £658.85, this designer garb is sleek, chic and suitable for any bride.

Erdem’s “Niji crepe and lace dress” is a classic cut that is draped in white crepe with a cream lace overlay. Although it looks quite simple, I think it despite being a bit conservative it creates a beautiful silhouette which you could glam up with accessories and heels.

A little pricey still, but it has gone all the way from £2,218.72 down to £1,331.23. As my girlfriends say, “you have to buy to save!” Haha. (more…)

Most couples get pre-wedding shots done prior to the big day, but what about a video? If you’re not camera shy and can perhaps have a little acting streak in you, then this could be a great option.

Here’s another video from top wedding videographer, Jason Magbanua, who for this project was inspired by paper cranes, wedding clips and Mayad. I picked this one because it actually starts underwater which I think is pretty cool for a wedding vid! Check it out, Jason doesn’t do cheesy, typical shots… instead he makes every couple look like they’re starring in their own Hollywood romance. (more…)