The Day of Guo Da Li

After months of preparation, the day of guo da li (GDL) has finally arrived.

 

The preparation process was pretty stressful for both of us as our families weren't very familiar with the traditions. We had to read up and ask around for help. But settling on the date was thankfully quick. 

 

We made some amendments to the gifts according to our preferences and conveniences.

• My family do not take pork thus for the cans of pigs' trotters, J replaced it with $$$
• Since my family aren't much of a drinker, instead of the usual hard liquor such as whiskey, martell, my mum requested for DOM so that she can use it to cook my confinement food in the future haha talking about practicality...
• For items such as auspicious seeds, charcoal, unity coins, prosperity lamps, the 5 baby items (tub, basin, etc), we replaced them with $$$ too. The reason being that we do not have a place of our own thus no bed setting was done and for the baby items, we thought we will just get a nicer one when we have one.

After the exchange, we went to my relatives' house to distribute the cakes/candies and came back home to start pasting all the Xi cut-outs and hang the banner! Super CNY feel :p The feeling of going to get married finally start to settle haha.

 

Some photos of our GDL day! 

 

PetiteFreckles ♥

My AD Gowns

Finally, uploading what I have chosen for my actual day!

White gown

Johor's dinner banquet

The coordinator said this dress colour is similar to the one that Elsa wore in Frozen and J have been laughing at me ever since -.-

Singapore's dinner banquet

PetiteFreckles ♥

Traditional Wedding Items Part 2

Last Saturday, Mum brought J and I to buy the 喜饼 Xi Bing (gifts for relatives usually in the form of cakes/pastries) for our Guo Da Li on 27 June, Saturday. Guo Da Li usually takes place 3 weeks to 1 month before the actual wedding date. 

Since my family is Teochew, we decided to get the traditional Teochew pastries from:

Thye Lee Confectionery

108 Hougang Avenue 1

Singapore 530108
Opens at 8.30 am

Ordered 10 boxes of the set below and 2 pkts of peanut candy strips. Total bill came up to S$240. If you decide to buy from the same shop, do note that they only accept cash. 

They also sell the following traditional items :)

And for relatives who do not enjoy Teochew pastries that much, my mum ordered the cakes from:

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry

They have 3 outlets but we ordered from

264 Middle Road

Singapore 188990
Opens at 10.30am

Minimum of 6 boxes, each box cost S$12, which we ordered 10 boxes.

Went in to Johor after ordering the 喜饼, for my make up trial. And I helped my mum purchased the medium sized sewing kit and the pin cushion as part of my dowry. And J bought 2 sets of the dragon & phoenix candles with the holder (龙凤烛) as part of the betrothal gifts. Each set costs RM$18 (S$6.50) and it apparently can lasts for 2 days  of burning. 

Bought it at Big Day Wedding & Gifts, same shop as I bought the tea and bowl set. Sadly, I did not check properly and had a few ugly parts :( But it's still slightly cheaper than in Singapore, the 2 items below costs about S$11.00. Should have bought the bigger sewing kit so that the scissors can fit in too, difference in price only about S$2.50 -.-

PetiteFreckles ♥

DIY: Corsages for Entourage

Few weeks ago, we were supposed to select the bridal bouquet, car decor flowers and take a look at the entourage cars' ribbon plus the bridesmaids' corsages. And boy was it totally old school :(

They had only ONE colour for the entourage cars' ribbon, Yellow -.- and the bridal car decoration looks so sad that I couldn't even select on the spot. And when they showed me the photo gallery with the bridal bouquet, the flower arrangements didn't exactly look appealing either haha. 

Bridal car decoration

Left: Entourage cars' ribbon, Right: Bridesmaids' hand corsage

J and I immediately when online to see what we can buy or how can we DIY the corsages for the entourage and ta-dah, I found the ideal corsage idea on none other than Pinterest ^^ 

Image from Pinterest

I watched the video on how to stitch the hearts together via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tYKnahi9Cw 

We decided to have the stitches along the hearts as we felt it will be more secured and looks more prominent.

 

And Ta-dah, the final outcome :D

P.S. J did most of the stitching haha

PetiteFreckles ♥

Lunch @ North Border Bar & Grill

My niece celebrated her 1st birthday at North Border Bar & Grill @ 2 Rochester Drive, Singapore 139213. They are open from Monday to Sunday. The ambience is great and the price is super reasonable.

Prices for Lunch Menu2 Course: S$23.90++
3 Course: S$26.90++
4 Course: S$32.90++

All sets comes with coffee or tea (non-refillable)

J and I decided to share two 3-course sets so that we have more varieties! Here's what we ordered:

Starters

Gorgonzola Spinach Ravioli served on Saffron Leek Coulis topped with Smoked Salmon
Deep Fried Salmon Croquette with Tartar Dip and Mixed Greens tossed in Pecan Vinaigrette

Soup

Soup of the day: Cream of Mushroom (no photo, too hungry)

Mains

Crispy Skinned Salmon, Roasted Potatoes, Sauteed Vegetables & Bacon Horseradish Sauce
Pan Fried Barramundi, Crispy Fennel & Organic Quinoa Tabbouleh in Leek Coulis Puree

Dessert

Warm Bitter Chocolate Lava Torte with Berries Compote & Vanilla Ice Cream 

Looks yummy, right? Except for the deep fried salmon croquette, everything else was great ^^

PetiteFreckles ♥

Another Soup Union Session

After my IPL session, I had cravings for the chicken noodles from Soup Broth so we headed to Soup Spoon Union @ Raffles City. We ordered a Dark Miso Charcoal Noodle Ramen and Happy Lamburger with Fries.

Super yums and the portion was huge- money well spent! The Lamburger did not have the strong unpleasant smell. ♥ much! 

PetiteFreckles ♥