In a press statement released on Monday, Amber Chia had announced that she has married her boyfriend, whom she has been dating for the past  1 1/2 years, in a private ceremony in Bali. The ceremony was held at a private beach within the exclusive Diwangkara Holiday Villa Resort and was attended by approximately 40 family members and close friends.

This wedding has actually been in the planning for the past 5 months, and the newlyweds are ecstatic that they were able to have a private ceremony with just their friends and family, something they both dreamed of. The couple also visited the beaches of Sanur, the lake of Bedugu and the cliffs of Uluwatu for their pre-wedding photo by The Photoz and video shoot.

Amber’s wedding dresses, 7 in total, were specifically designed for her by two of Malaysia’s top designers, Keith Kee and Alvin Tay paired with beautiful jewelry by Rafflesia.

Amber and her husband are looking forward to settling into a life together. “We have discussed the future, and we definitely want to start a family together” said 28-year old Amber, who jokingly added “I would love to be a mom before I am 30″.

The couple will be shortly honeymooning at an undisclosed destination. Congrats to Amber on tying the knot!

These beautiful photos were taken by The Photoz.

essica Hische is a freelance designer who specialises in typography and illustrations. When I first came across her blog 2 months ago, I was totally blown away by her decorative caps.  Last year, she started a project called the Daily Drop Cap in which she illustrates a decorative letter every day, which can be used for non-commercial use as a drop caps on your personal blog.

Check out her website and be prepared to be humbled by her talent and amazing work of art!

While working as a Senior Designer at Louise Fili Ltd, she worked for clients such as Tiffany & Co, The Book Chronicles and The New York Times, among her many colourful and impressive portfolios.

Her Buttermilk Font can be purchased via My Fonts or check out the store on her  website for more great designs.

Say hello to Jessy and Lipson who had their pre-wedding photos taken in Maldives. Jessy first contacted me in year 2007 when she started planning for her wedding. Unbelievable, isn’t it?! At that time, she insisted on having a beach wedding and the top venue of choice was Avillion Resort Port Dickson.  I still remember the sentence she uttered in a brim full of excitement, “die die also my feet must walk on sand!”.

Needless to say, more than 700 days of thoughtful consideration later, the venue was finally confirmed at The Hilton Kuala Lumpur. No sand indeed, but she got her wish by having a pre-wedding photo session at Maldives.

The infinite shades of blue and the crystal clear ocean is simply paradise to the eyes! To save the cost and hassle, they decided to engage a photographer directly from Maldives.

Did You Know? With an average ground level of 1.5m {4 ft 11 in} above sea level, The Republic of Maldives is the lowest country on the planet.^[6] It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world, at 2.3m {7 ft 7 in}

Here are a few pointers to note before you start scouting for wedding venues because these help to narrow down your choices, and save you a whole lot of hassle shopping for unsuitable venues.

• Determine your estimated number of guests - once you’ve worked out your guests list, you can then shortlist venues that can accommodate your requirement. Nonetheless, there are also hotels with large ballrooms who will charge you a rental fee unless you are able to hit the minimum headcount or minimum spending.
• Your budget – Your wedding reception usually takes up between 60 – 80% of your total wedding budget. How much you set aside for your reception dictates your choice of venues. Remember to set aside some funds for alcohol too.

Once you have a handful of wedding packages, where do you go from hereon? Some key areas to consider when evaluating and comparing venues:

• Comparison of Package Details vs Price
• Quality of Food vs Venue Ambience
• Corkage charges
• Sufficiency of venue’s existing audiovisual and lighting systems
• Additional rental charges (if any) for audiovisual systems such as projector, DVD player, cordless mics.
• Maximum capacity of hall area (with and without dance floor, stage extensions for band, pelamin, etc)
• Exclusivity of hall area (do you need to split the ballroom, or share the foyer area, noise containment)
• Kitchen capacity and staffing – how well does the venue maintain the quality of food and service if they have more than 1 large function going on? (we once did a function at a hotel who had 3 weddings at the same time, and our client’s wedding alone had 650 guests!)
• Flexibility in customizing the menu.
• Payment terms and policy (cancellation fees, deposit, progress payment, etc)
• Accessibility of venue for your guests and sufficiency of parking bays
• Accessibility of hall area for disabled guests (for example, elderly folks on wheelchair).

I’m a person who is strongly dominated by visual representation. So after all the reasoning and logic, I always advise my clients to take another good look at the space and absorb the interior, architecture and atmosphere before they sign the dotted line.

For example; While discovering a garden venue large enough to accommodate 30 tables with a package that is within your budget seem like the perfect fit, is it really ideal to host a garden wedding for 300 guests? Would you be comfortable in your wedding gown or suit? Will it be really stuffy and humid even with the mist fans?  Would the tents (and all the elaborate decor on the tent) overkill the natural outdoors?

If your parents are paying for the wedding or part of the wedding, it is respectful to keep them in the loop of things before you decide.

In our last trip to Macau, we stayed at Casa Real, a rather cozy hotel located adjacent to the Macau Ferry Terminal and Fisherman’s Wharf.  It only costed us approximately RM180 per night inclusive of breakfast for two, and a room that was more spacious than the rooms of some of the 4-star hotels in Hong Kong.

We did all the touristy stuffs, i.e. visiting all the major tourist spots in Macau but not spending enough time to totally appreciate the architecture, history and culture.

At first glance, A-Ma Temple looked just like every other Chinese temples that we have, but it is distinguished by courtyards built into the hill and connected by winding paths and gardens. It’s also one of the most significant sites in the history of Macau because Macau derived its name from A-Ma-Gau or Place of A-Ma. According to legend, A-Ma, a poor girl looking for passage to Canton, was refused by the wealthy junk owners but a fisherman took her on board. Storm came and wrecked everything but she was known to have drifted to Macau where she reappeared as a goddess on the spot where the temple stands. The fishermen built this temple in the 16th century to dedicate it to her, the seafarers goddess.

Being my second time to Macau, I told myself that I must not miss the Serradura! Although this dessert is actually really easy to make, well, let’s just say nothing beats the original, or closest to the original!

We also went to the older parts of Macau. Came across some shops with presumably the old-fashioned way of baking almond cookies but we still ended up buying cookies from the famous Koi Kei Bakery which was flogging with busloads of tourists.

Despite the rapid developments in Macau, the city is still pretty much laid back in demeanor although the locals are rather uptight and serious. All of the action, energy and buzz happen inside the casinos while the streets remain quiet at night except for tourists returning to their hotel, loan sharks lurking around the entrances of hotels or gamblers on their way to board the next ferry back. It really lacks the fun and vibe that Vegas is famous for. Even though Macau may be generating way more gambling revenue, it certainly isn’t a sin city of entertainment where one would wanna go back for a second helping.

I’m a fan of all things vintage and retro. If I was getting married, I would probably have my bridesmaids in adorable  baby doll dresses, spotting geometric or floral prints and whimsical vintage accessories. However, as Asians, it’s hard to carry off vintage and rocking the vintage style to make it look current and timeless, and hopefully not making a wedding fashion faux pas in the process. I believe subtlety is still the key to timeless wedding photos. You wouldn’t want to look back at your wedding photos 20 years later and wonder “WHAT WAS I THINKIN??!!”.

I was actually in the midst of brainstorming for a client’s wedding moodboard as she wants her bridal party to have the vintage style but not wanting to look ‘dated’ either. After one hour of starring at my computer, I decided to put together a colour theme of black, white and yellow with a touch of citrus-y orange. It’s still a work-in-progress but so far I kinda like what I’m seeing.

Styling ideas for bridal party:

• Polka dot yellow button hairclip from Miss Selfridge. There are so many kinds of badges and corsages of such from local flee markets that make wonderful, lasting gifts for your bridesmaids in replace of floral wrist corsages. I believe once we pair them with a simple belle dress, it’ll immediately transform the look with just accessories!
• I’m really loving the yellow silk flower hairband from My Diva’s Closet.
• Black and yellow leathered heels from Net-a-Porter.
• Other than flowers, why not personalise the groomsmen corsages with a touch of whim such as this handmade yacht corsage paired with pin-stripped orange ribbon. The above corsage was taken from Brides.com

I thought of creating a photowall area with the whole nineyards. Confetti has some really cool retro furniture and equipment which are suitable for such themes. Would definitely speak to Desmond soon but first, it’s time I get back to working on my moodboard.

I was totally head over heels with the simple elegance of Andy and Paula’s wedding which was hosted at The Bankers Club. They are both really easy-going couple of whom I’ve had the wonderful pleasure of working with last year. Totally committed in keeping their guest list to a maximum of 160, we had the names of each and every guest painstakingly hand drawn on their three-tiered wedding cake by Truly Scrumptious.  The evening started with a beautiful ceremony witnessed by their close friends and families, followed by a cocktail reception that ended with dance and merriment. Do check out Wishing Tree’s blog for more photos.

Wedding by The Peak Xperience. Photography by Sam Leong of Keep Gallery

No introductions required. The 82nd Academy Awards has come and gone but stunning fashion remains the talk of town. We’ve narrowed down to our top 10 favourite wish list that would go into our planning look book. Which of theses styles would go into your look book?

10. Penelope Cruz in Donna Karan

Seems like a rather ’safe’ gown but we love the ruching works and the simple sophistication of her style. Imagine this in white or champagne gold – boda perfecto!

9. Miley Cyrus in Jenny Packham

The cute bustier brought a touch of adorable youthfulness to this elegant sequined gown.

8. Kristen Stewart in Monique Lhuiller

We’re loving the neat, sleek pleating details but not big on the colour choice though.

7. Victoria Beckhams in her own label from the Fall 2010 collection

When can we get this locally?? This sleek one-shoulder jersey dress is chic. It’s comfortable. It’s current. It’s effortless. It has the signature of Posh glamour all over it.

6. Amanda Seyfried in Armani Privé

Despite looking like it was made out of bubble wrap (and that of J.Lo’s *see below*), we’re lovin’ the futuristic, almost space-like glitter that sparkles throughout the dress. Dare we say one for a wedding? Probably not.

5. Jennifer Lopez in Armani Privé

We totally dig the elaborate yet structured construction of the gown which was such a stunner at the red carpet.

4. Cameron Diaz in Oscar De La Renta

We love her smoking hot makeup and hair that go with that smoking hot gown.

3. Zoe Saldana in Givenchy Spring 2010 Couture

It’s the kind of gown where you either love it or hate it, and we’re certainly going with the nod of approval. This couture gown is such a work of art it takes poise and charisma to pull it off. Oh, and the ombre pom pom ruffles is simply stunning!

2. Demi Moore in Versace

Is it Ashton Kutcher, or simply the dress? Even at 48, Demi Moore radiants youthful glow in this feminine two-tone, tiered, ruffled nude-coloured dress. Somehow, she managed to bring on some rock chic attitude to the dress with her style and confidence.

1. Anna Kendrick in Elie Saab

Our favourite style at the red carpet, simply because everything about her is so ethereal, so understated. From the soft curls of her hair to the glowy complexion of her skin, the romantic fluid draping of her Grecian off-shoulder gown by Elie Saab right down to her shoes and the lace slit. Fashion poetry screaming romanticism!

Now that we’ve round up our top 10, tell us what’s yours?

Photos from YahooNews.

Sex with an ex can be depressing. If it’s good you can’t get it anymore, if it’s bad you just had sex with an ex.

-  Carrie Bradshaw  -