Up Close: Le Fairymeadow And Her Floral Creations

Recently, I was bowled over by some lovely floral headpiece designs I saw on facebook, and I knew I had to get in touch with the designer. It was Le Fairymeadow, a florist that promises to " dream away with you, and to make those dreams come true with our floral creations". I met up with her and was utterly charmed by her sweetness and creations.

What got you started in floral arrangements and design?
I used to work in the banking industry, but I've known all this time that one day, I would love to have a flower shop. Initially I thought it would be for my retirement, but when I was planning for my own wedding, I met many vendors pursuing their passions who inspired me, and made me want to pursue my dreams. So I left my job and went to floral design school.

Why the name Le Fairymeadow?
When I think of a meadow, I think of freedom. I want a place where ideas can flow freely, and not be restricted by what mainstream designs are. From the time that I was a bride, I knew what was available in the market, and I now bring in what is lacking in the market so I can be different from others.

Your headpieces are so popular with your customers, how did that begin? 
It all started with a creation for a blogger who wanted a floral headpiece for her wedding photoshoot, which wasn't so common in Singapore, except for flowergirl headpieces. It was also because of her that I started thinking of more elaborate designs for brides.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Actually it's from the brides themselves. I get to know my customers, their preferences, wedding theme, and from there I create pieces unique and inspired by them.

What other floral arrangements do you provide?
We also do events decor, the floral arrangements for the wedding day and the cocktail event, candy bar and hand bouquets.

How about your accessories? I saw some beautiful bracelets that you made.
Those are bridesmaid's corsages. I thought, why not do something special that they could keep as a momento instead of the usual flowers around the wrist. We allow customisation to the bracelets, with one to two months lead time.

Love her style and designs?
Headpieces are from $50 - $100, bouquets from $120. Contact her for her rates on events and wedding floral arrangements.

Le Fairy Meadow
http://www.facebook.com/lefairymeadow/
email: lefairymeadow@gmail.com

Jo's Tips To Finding Your Best Wedding Hairstyles

I love browsing the web for hairstyles.
Brides.com has a great library of hairstyles, which was my to-go page when I started doing bridal makeup and hair. Here's a screen shot of their page, this one has tips for your trial session.

Read it? It is true - at least the bit about wearing your hair out after a trial. I always tell my clients to keep wearing their hair and makeup after the trial, and then tell me after how it went. We'll know then if anything went wonky, or they prefer certain things differently, or hey! that the false eyelashes are actually really comfortable (I use the Princess Lee eyelashes from Taiwan ;] )


Another thing I advise my clients to do, is to search out pictures online about what styles they like. Sure, I do give recommendations and suggestions, but when I meet my client for the first time, I don't automatically know their real style.
I am not psychic. I can't read minds, and I can't quite imagine the exact wedding dress from verbal descriptions (lace, tulle, ivory, princess, mermaid... ).
The best way to communicate with your makeup artist? Pictures. Hell, it actually is THE best way to communicate with any of your creative suppliers, be it your wedding planner, designer or florist.
Because "natural" may mean different things to different people, and so does "casual". There are 1038462 different "smokey eyes" - ok, i exaggerate, but really, if you can be specific, do be specific. It'll save you alot of time and also help us get straight to the point and give you what you want.

And if you still have no idea what you want?
You can ask me , or you can also check out ELLE's list of The Best Wedding Hairstyles, and then give me a call :)

Up Close: The Wedding Stylist

Happy 2012 everyone!! I had a fun Christmas and New Year, and I'm really looking forward to Chinese New Year when my family has chicken rice for reunion dinner! (we're Hainanese :D)

This year, I'm bringing a new feature to this blog, to give you insights for your wedding day. This "Up Close" section will bring you interviews, secrets, and tips on organising your big day while looking your polished best, straight from the professionals in the business!

To start us off, I scored an interview with Caroline Tan- Reed, wedding planner and founder of The Wedding Stylist. Also included are photographs of a wedding she had planned, taking us through from conceptualisation to the actual day.

Caroline Tan- Reed: Founder of The Wedding Stylist

What inspired you to become a wedding planner?

2007, I had a very good friend who asked me to help her with her wedding, and that sparked a passion for it. I got into it full time in 2008.

I did a Wedding Planning Diploma with a school in the UK, which helped me in terms of planning a wedding, such as managing the budget, timeline, and prioritising.
It was more detailed than what I did with friends.



Why the name "The Wedding Stylist"?

I did a focus group with some friends, and we were contemplating on 3 names, "The Wedding Designer", but it sounded too much like a fashion designer. The other was "Unveil Weddings", but they thought it was too boring. The Wedding Stylist was a little bit more American, I wanted to bring a western touch to Singapore weddings.

About 80 % of my couples have studied abroad, or are of mixed heritage, or live abroad, or their other halves are not Singaporean.


What are some of the misconceptions of the job?

The most common misconception is that it is a glamorous job, and it is not a glamorous job at all.

On the wedding day, while the bride usually wakes up about 4 or 5am, I wake up at 3am to prepare everything, and am the last to leave.
I also have to throw out the trash - definitely not glamorous.

Some demanding brides also expected me to book their honeymoon.
One of my brides insisted that I book tickets and plan the route through UK for her pre-wedding shoot and travels.



So what exactly is the jobscope?

I am there to only help her manage her wedding.
Part of our jobscope is also to come up with the concept and theme, to present different options for decorations, give them advice on things like dresses, food, and schedules.

Storyboard: The Wedding Stylist

We usually do up a storyboard, taking into consideration their personality and what they like. It has a floorplan, pictures and colour palattes of our recommendations.
(Other than that, I'm not there to organise their honeymoon.)



What's a typical month/week/day leading up to the wedding?

Month: Final details like flowers, alterations of dresses, suits, wedding stationery, design and fonts of the menus, type of music to be played, itenary for the day, car decor & flowers.

Week: Last minute scrambling for changes, forgotten details, picking up bits and pieces.

Day: Surprisingly, it is very smooth because you already know what you have to do, and it's a long day so you're so busy that you don't have time to think of anything else.


Time line: The Wedding Stylist


But also because you're there?

I hope so, haha.


How does a bride decide if she needs to have a wedding planner or not?

Usually if the bride is very busy, she will need a planner.
The other reason is that they need some inspiration, because they might not have the resources or knowledge to look for ideas, so they come to us to help them design the wedding and recommend our contact list, like you as the makeup artist for example. (Thanks Caroline!)



Have you had weddings where the couple brings you in to salvage their plans?

I had to plan a wedding in 1.5 months, they had only booked the venue and got the gown and the suit. We had to get everything in place - the food, flowers, band, itenery, Justice of Peace (JP). They didn't even register at the Registry of Marriages (ROM) yet.

(Usually the ROM booking opens up 3 months before your wedding, and you need to have your JP who has agreed to marry you, and there's an online form where you sign and pay. )


Where do you get your inspiration from?

Blogs, wedding magazines, friends, people I work with, like photographers. We discuss what weddings we've been to, and bounce ideas off each other.


How about when you got married ?

Mine was a very simple ceremony with only 100 people, a church wedding and a small dinner. I wanted something intimate and cosy.
In the morning we had a colour theme of yellow and pale coral, and we used orchids to incorporate some Singapore touches.
The evening was a small dinner at the Raffles.


Would you change anything if you went back to that?

No, as a wedding planner you lives your own dreams through so many weddings, so when it comes to your own, you know what's really important is the company and that you enjoy yourself and that everyone is there to share it with you.



What's the strangest thing at a wedding you had planned?

It's not weird in a bad way, we had a wedding in Chijmes and we brought in some ah kwas (transexuals) to perform, so that was quite a shocker, but the couple wanted something outrageous and fun.



Are Singapore brides and weddings too mellow or regular?
I think because we come from a culture that teaches us to respect and listen to our elders, a lot of the brides cannot have a wedding that they truly want, but what their parents want. That's really sad because it is their day after all and it is going to happen once in their lifetime.
That's one bit I feel quite sad about, because I know alot of it is planned by their parents, and they're doing it for the parents.

Other than that I've had some brides who are quite chill, and they just do what they want to do. These brides turn out to be the more fun and happy brides, because they give you alot of imput and they are so involved in the wedding.

Which was your most memorable wedding?

There was a couple who hired me 2 months before the wedding, and the bride had lots of ideas but they just didnt know how to execute it.
They wanted a garden theme for the church and reception.
Since she was on a budget, we went to Ikea and bought small vases, and did the flowers ourselves. It was very DIY and we used ribbon strips on the table and paper dollies to make it more garden feel for her. It was fun.
She had a dessert buffet and she made her own doggy bags where she stamped each of them individually.

There was a vintage typewriter so that people could write their messages to them on it.

Photo: The Wedding Stylist

Some things were difficult to find in Singapore, like a clay ring pillow where their vows were written on it, which was very cute.


It was very fun working with her because she was very inspirational.



Show us how your ideas became reality!


The Storyboard



The Venue : CHIJMES






Details:





The Entrance:





Photography: Aloysius, 39 East Photography
http://www.39eastimages.com/



The professionals are in: Caroline's Little White Book


Non-hotel ballroom wedding location:

The Marmalade Pantry at The Stables
http://www.themarmaladepantry.com.sg/
55 Fairways Drive, Singapore 286846
+65 64679328




Burkill Hall at Singapore Botanic Gardens
http://www.sbg.org.sg/visitorinfo/venueforrent.asp
+65 6471 7374
photo: 39 East Photography











Clifford Restaurant at The Fullerton Bay Hotel
http://www.fullertonbayhotel.com/dining-en.html
"With full height glass windows, you don't even need a lot of decorations"
Photo: Fullerton Bay Hotel



Food & Catering:

Asian: Tung Lok
http://www.tunglok.com/

Western: Marmalade
http://www.themarmaladepantry.com.sg/
"They've got great food and impeccable service"


Wedding Gown Designers (all by appointment only):

Louis from Amor Meus Design Studio
23 Purvis Street, #02-01 Talib Centre
Singapore 188613
+65 6336 6930
amormeus@singnet.com.sg


The Prelude Bridal
http://www.theprelude.com.sg/
21A Duxton Hill Singapore 089604
+65 6221 4982
"The Prelude brings in very sleek and modern dresses from the UK and US"

photo: The Prelude Bridal













Love, Yu
http://www.weloveyu.com/about/
8 Mohamed Sultan Road #03-01 Singapore 238958
+65 6235 7781
yu@weloveyu.com




















"Ee-Lyn is so accomodating. Her off-the-rack is a very different style from what people usually go for, but she has designed complicated things very similar to Vera Wang"
Photo: Love, Yu















Wedding Stationary & Cards:

Caroline's team of graphic designers and printers will whip up beautiful bespoke invitation cards if you have something in mind, but if not, pay a visit to
Craft Inc
http://craftincdesign.com/
402 Orchard Road, Delfi Orchard #02-16
+65 6734 1811




To have your wedding planned by Caroline, click here or read more about her work at http://www.the-wedding-stylist.com/
She also has a really pretty blog with ideas and photos

Now I know why so many people take wedding pictures in Taiwan!

Last week I had one of the best times in my life in Taiwan, with 2 amazing girlfriends of mine.
We visited Pu Li, Sun Moon Lake, Yang Ming Shan, Wu Lai, and Taipei city :D

First time ever that I saw Cherry blossoms, and ate a Sakura Mochi!
The scenery is gorgeous and the weather was great (a little cold spell midweek), but when we were more south in Sun Moon Lake, weather was JUST PERFECT! for pictures.

Here are some pictures and recommendations where to go

Starting in Taipei:

Go to the many night markets to have your fill of delicious street food. We went to Shilin night market. I love these meat on sticks



Getting to Shilin night market: Take the MRT to Jiantan


From Taipei you can drive/ take a bus to Yang Ming Shan, which is a live volcano. Here are the pretty sights.. they have a spring flower festival, with lots of pretty Sakuras and other flowers. Now you don't have to go to Japan to view them!




Drive higher up the mountain and on a bad day (like when we were there), it's heavily shrouded in fog. On a good day you'll get a view.
And everyday, it'll smell like sulphur. Yuck.



On the plus side, you can hunt for a sulphuric hotspring. there are many hotsprings there and for about TWD150 ( SGD6.70), you get access to one. They usually have a few large shared pools, and some tiny cubicles with a small plunge pool for those who don't want to get naked in front of others.


North of Taiwan is a spot called Wu Lai. It has many hotsprings too (none with sulphur, thank goodness)
There are also lots of taiwanese aborigines living in this area and the streets are painted with their images.

Gorgeous scenery..waterfalls and rivers run through this area




You can either check into hotel with hotspring water, or go au natural like us, and many senior taiwanese folk, to the hotspring pools next to the river. Bring your own towel and a big smile to make friends with the oldies who come here everyday. Seriously, the old men here are SO FIT! I see some 70 year olds with abs!

Here are my friends enjoying the spring.. it's scalding hot, and after that you have to jump into the freezing river behind. And repeat for at least half an hour.



Getting to Wu Lai via public transport:
Take the MRT train to Dan Shui & change to bus


If you have time, you must go to Sun Moon Lake. Granted, it is a very tourist-y destination, but locals and tourist alike come here.

Lots of people do their wedding pictures here too..

Hijacking their shot :P



When you arrive at Shui She (the town on the north of the lake), drop by the Mochi shop. You can't miss it, there's only one there like this! She also serves delicious fresh Milk Tea in the front, you must try all!



My favourite flavours:
Sakura, Green Tea, Chocolate, Ume, Orange



If you have a couple of hours, take a walk or go cycling around the lake. The scenery is gorgeous, and on a spring day, great weather.
If you are too tired you can take the bus or boat instead.




Drop by the temple on the western side of the lake (about 20mins walk from shui she), the deity here is Yue Lao 月老 (thanks Joey!), he's the one who suppossedly "ties red strings" to join couples meant to be together.







Getting to Sun Moon Lake:
Take a bus from Taipei Bus Station Terminal B. There is a straight bus to Sun Moon Lake but they leave only a few times a day so buy your tickets in advance.
If not, you can take a bus from the same terminal to Tai Chung or Pu Li and transfer to another bus from those cities/ towns.
There is no direct train to Sun Moon Lake, your best option will be to take the train to Tai Chung and get a bus from there.



My best tip? Avoid weekends and public holidays and you can get shots of the lake without people in it :)

Destination: Bali ( Part 1)

Everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Bali. And I mean, seriously, LURVE BALI!

So if you're ever planning for a destination wedding, or honeymoon in South East Asia, heck, Asia, I'm the first one to scream "GO TO BALI!!!"

Why? I can give you more than a hundred good reasons.. but these you should hear:
- BEAUTIFUL beaches set the backdrop for a tropical beach wedding
- Fantastic 5* villas at reasonable prices
- You can book the entire property and all the villas in it to hosts all your guests
- World-class food at a snap of your fingers
- Spa, Massage, you ask for it, you get it. And you can get it cheap, or uber luxurious.
- Wedding planners, hairstylists, photographers, makeup artists, florists, catering, all accessable
- Direct flights to Bali from most Austra-Asian cities , and if you're coming from anywhere else, you can always transit comfortably in Singapore

Villas

Mu Bali
Location: Bingin (The Bukit, South)
Great for: Honeymoon, Wedding, Romantic Getaway

With only 11 individually designed Bungalows spread over a huge property on top of the cliff above Bingin beach, Mu Bali is a back-to-nature-while-keeping-it-luxurious destination. I personally love the Cliff Bungalow (well, it's not really a bungalow because it has no walls or doors!) , the most private and quiet room cut into the cliff, all you hear are the rolling waves, all you see is the infinite sea and the glorious sunset.

The view when you wake up (these are my snap shots!)






Imagine your wedding right here! (A shot from Mu's site)




The property is run by Jerome from France and his excellent team of Balinese women who cook some darn amazing french and indonesian food!

Contact: Endang / Jerome jbataillardbali@gmail.com



Shanti Residences
Location: Nusa Dua (South End of Bali, where all the fancy international hotels are)
Great for: Weddings, large family getaways

Shanti Residences is a gorgeous 5 bedroom Villa property, with your own private swimming pool, kitchen, gym, spa room, sitting room, garden, driveway and parking lot!
The five bedrooms are all different, from the largest Master Suite to the smallest twin room.
Three of the rooms have their own plunge pools and sitting rooms, while the twin rooms are located on the 2nd level and have spacious bathrooms (that's what I love most about Bali, HUGE bathroom spaces!)

Your own butler will take care of your every need, from planning your meals to grocery shopping, to arranging a picnic at the beach, or activities for kids, or picking up your guests. You also get a personal chef who can arrange a quiet romantic teppan dinner next to the pool, or whip up a storm for a large party.

They're extremely meticulous and experienced with weddings, so leave all your worries behind and place your trust in their good hands!

My snapshot of their garden!




Photography: Phil Date/ EastWest Imaging , with model Antonio chilling by the pool!




And if that's not enough for you, they have two more properties in Bali, Four@ Drupadi in Seminyak (if you wanna party with friends for your Stag/Hen's night), or Lotus Residences in Canggu for a quiet retreat near the paddy fields

Contact: info@shantiresidencesandresorts.com



Next post, (i promise I will post in the next 3 days or so)..... Part 2 of Destination: Bali