I'd actually wanted to have way more reviews posted by now, but then I realised that a lot of them would benefit from having photos! Photos I don't yet have! So I'll hold off as long as I can on those and prioritise the review posts based on what needs a photo the least.
So, here we are: the DJ's.
Read MoreStill wondering what those teaser photos were? Well - here's your first answer! They weren't originally meant to be used by the two people pictured, but hey they looked so dainty and charming with them that it seemed an appropriate photo!
Read MoreThe venue was Swanbrook Winery & Cafe, which we chose because we know the owners. It wasn't to get "mate's rates" or "pengyou price" - it was purely because I knew they'd take great care of us. Not because we're mates necessarily, but mainly because they're good people. Add on that I love Swanbrook's look and we had a winner here pretty much from day dot. Here's a quick review of our experiences in having Swanbrook as our wedding/reception venue here in Perth.
Read MoreOkay so we've been married for 16 days (legally for 9 days), but things are only just winding down. We still had people in town from overseas for a few days the Perth wedding, then Christmas, then our 3-day mini-honeymoon down south. We've only just said farewell to the last of the guests who flew into Perth for the wedding, and it's back to work this week.
Read MoreWhen we were looking at photographers back in the day, I was quite determined to get a simple package that was affordable and served to document the day. It wasn't until I actually started shopping around for photographers (and interviewing a few terribad ones that rubbed me the wrong way) that I realized that the process is far more complex than just "show up" and "take photos" and "give photos".
Well, okay, I had some idea from my photographer friends. But I didn't really get it from the client's perspective until now.
Read MoreI'd meant to write this on Monday evening, but then I forgot. And then on Tuesday night we were putting our Christmas tree up and it hit me: IT IS DECEMBER. I am getting married *THIS MONTH*.
Over the last 6 months, all my planning has been done with a single proviso in mind - so long as it's sorted before December, there's plenty of time to address any issues or come up with backup plans. That included potentially forgetting to organise something; as long as I remembered before December, it'll all be fine!
Well, there is now no more "before" December, because we're IN December. Fortunately, rather than anxiety, the realisation that IT'S DECEMBER is actually creating tons and tons of energy and excitement! HOLY SHIT, I'M GETTING MARRIED THIS MONTH AND THAT'S AWESOME!
We're currently sitting at 2.5 weeks out from the wedding and there isn't much left to do. I went from having some planning or decision-making to do pretty much every other day since getting engaged to, well, not having anything left outstanding to confirm or finalise. And that's a good thing because hooray I'm organised, but also a bit of a bad thing because now I'm this excited bundle of nerves and energy and I don't have any projects or outstanding tasks through which to shove it all.
Here's a quick recap of the stuff that's been done since my last Report Card post:
In just over a week, we'll be having the Tea Ceremony in Singapore with our families. I know I talk a lot about the Perth wedding in this blog but that's mainly because the Singapore side of things is being taken care of by my extended family. I actually can't believe that it's coming up so quickly, and that a week from today I'll actually be in Singapore prepping for it!
OH GOSH. SO EXCITED. CAN'T CONTAIN.
Anyone who has ever done any simple sound editing or mixing of any kind with their computer will have, at some point, encountered or even used an open-source program called Audacity. It is probably one of the better programs of that type available, though my use of it was sporadic and basic prior to getting engaged.
As implied, since getting engaged, my familiarity and skill with using Audacity has increased significantly. I hesitate to call myself an expert, but I'm definitely adept enough at it that I know roughly how to get it to do what I need it to do.
This, I think, was a natural result of having 2 people who disagree on what makes "good music". This wasn't such a big issue with the reception, where our music selections could take turns to feature, but it started to become one with the ceremony. I really wanted us both to like what was going to play for the ceremony.
Fortunately, while we had deeply divergent tastes in music, we did have strikingly similar tastes in movies. The problem with using music from movies, however, is that just because you like it doesn't mean it's always suitable for the occasion. It'd been chosen in that movie to reflect/support/heighten a particular scene or event on-screen, and if our guests haven't seen the movie in question, hearing the music alone means they may miss out on a big part of the experience.
That meant that any movie music we decided to use was rarely appropriate as it stood. There were certainly cases where the music was suitable in its original and unedited form (usually because the movie was popular enough or the message was pretty obvious even context-free), but these were few and far between.
Thus came the search for more suitable versions of the music we wanted to use or reference. Acoustic only, for example. Or a slower cover. Or instrumentals only. And it was surprisingly hard to find precisely what we wanted. Youtube was a great source, but depending on the piece of music I was after, there were either only a handful of options or an overwhelming number to filter through. It got stressful pretty fast, particularly when you consider that it's not just my opinion on a cover that matters - Blake's does, too!
I should clarify that we weren't picky to the point where we were going to record anything ourselves. I was happy enough to jury-rig songs to get them to sound roughly like what I'd envisioned. That's where Audacity came in.
The best thing about open-source, popular software like Audacity is that tutorials and how-to's abound on the internet. If I ever wasn't sure how to get a piece of music to do something, a quick Google search would solve my problem. Use it enough times and you start to figure out what the other "bits" of the software are there to do, and some hilarious experimentation eventually did get me feeling pretty comfortable with it.
None of it's perfect, necessarily, but it'll suit.
I enjoy a good laugh, and I generally adhere to the principle that life is too short to take it too seriously. Blake shares similar values and he delights in making me laugh. We have great privilege in being able to look at the world this way, and in some ways I feel this should be celebrated. Live to laugh. Of course, sometimes we go too far and accidentally hurt people, so we do have to get the balance right. Most of the time, though, if we're trying to make you laugh, it's because we care enough to want to see you laugh and enjoy yourselves.
On the other hand, if life is short (and it is), doesn't that also mean that the moments we do have are precious? Shouldn't we appreciate them? Take some of those finite minutes to acknowledge the depth and miraculousness of our existence, let alone what we've made of it? I've talked before on this very blog about how making things meaningful is important to me. Not just because I like symmetry in all things and am a bit superstitious, but also because it's how I was raised. If it adds no intrinsic, meaningful value, then it's a fringe benefit at best or a temptation to be avoided at worst.
The fence on which I've been sitting for the past few months has become increasingly uncomfortable as time ticks on. As you can tell from the title of the post, the dilemma I'm currently facing is whether or not my (our?) vows should be entertaining and amusing, or sincere and emotional.
Now, most of you level-headed, well-adjusted adults out there have already worked out that these things are not mutually exclusive. You can be sincere and emotional with laughter and good-natured humor, or vice versa, and there isn't anything really preventing me from having my cake and eating it, too. These are my vows, after all, to be spoken not necessarily for the benefit of everyone present, but to Blake.
But where I get stuck is making something sound true to me. Is it more "me" to keep it humorous and cute with referenced in-jokes, or is it more "me" to put that stuff aside for a few minutes on our wedding day to speak from the sincere, sappy, syrupy heart? More importantly - what would Blake prefer to hear? What's he planning on saying?
I really don't want to recite heartfelt, tear-jerking vows if he's going to recite something humorous back to me. I think I would actually die of embarrassment, so the tones would have to match. But I also don't want to know exactly what his vows will be before the day itself, because I want to be surprised. Yet his definition of "sincere and heartfelt" are vastly different to mine. I kind of like the idea of working on them together but finalising them separately.
The logical solution is to find a way to punctuate the sincere with the humour, or lead off with one and finish with the other. But that sounds hard! Only writers of the best sitcoms could do that with any sort of elegance and refinement. Me? I don't have that kind of wordsmithing prowess!
So, I turn to anyone who might be reading this. What did you do? Do you have any suggestions?