Go ahead, ask anyone what you should do on your wedding day. Chances are, if they even have any clue what they are talking about, they'd tell you the standard template of weddings here in Singapore, along with a few other statements like...
1. "You have to slim down girl. You'll look fat in a gown."
Okay, first of all, a big finger to whoever said that to you because that is pure rubbish.
Unless you are morbidly obese, in which case please do so for your health's sake, there is no reason for you to lose confidence in yourself. We are all born to walk different paths in life and no one should ever tell you to look prettier than you already are for your wedding.
If you want to lose weight, do it for yourself. Not for your wedding.
pssstttt. We've got friends conducting workout classes and all. Feel free to ask. We won't judge.
2. "You have to do this, It's traditional"
I'm talking about the stuff that has nothing to do with what/who you worship. Stuff like Gatecrashing. Things like cutting the fake cake, or having as many of your friends and relatives present as possible.
Oh, but it's traditional to do that in Asia. Our parents will be so ashamed if we didn't have my uncle's goldfish there.
And you know what. Traditions are simply a form of peer pressure from dead people. There, I said it. I'll go pack my desk now and collect my severance package.
My dear readers, we are known as the Millennial Generation. We lived through an era where television sets had antennas, mobile phones had socks (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you are clearly too young strawberry?) to the point where we literally have a super computer in our pockets everywhere we go.
Ahem. My point is: you don't have to do it if you're not comfortable doing it/don't want to. Or if you gotta do it to avoid being a further disappointment to your parents (let's face it, all Asian parents are disappointed in their children until they are doctors or lawyers.), try to have a little fun doing it while appreciating the logic behind doing it (to help entertain yourself).
3. "It's the single most important day in your life!"
What about the day you graduated? What about the day you got that BTO? The day you got hired for your first job?
It is true it is one of the more important days in your life, but definitely not the only one.
So don't fret if things don't pan out the way you want it to, just be happy on that day. Y'know, it is a big day afterall.
Too many people fall into the corporate trap of hey-you-only-get-to-do-it-once and end up spending a huge bomb on stuff they don't need.
If you have to, you can start off with inter-changing out some things, like your wedding favours.
Customise wedding favours to suit your budget, enlist some help from family members, friends to DIY and prep them. Pinterest has plenty of great ideas, if not, Instructables is another great site to check out for DIY ideas.
4. "This doesn't look like a wedding..."
It probably isn't the best idea to include Halloween decorations in your wedding décor, but hey, if you're happy, who am I to judge?
But the point is: not everybody likes the same thing, you probably love flowers, another bride probably likes balloons more, while there are others who simply abhor floral decorations.
And that is absolutely okay. I personally like random, weird things inserted amongst what is supposed to look normal.
Remove the groom & bride, and hardly anyone would associate this with the word "Marriage". Why? Well because since the dark ages, it has been etched into our monkey brains that a wedding has to be white, dainty, full of flowers, et cetera, et cetera. (I blame the Western culture for this)
So through the years and decades, and for the longest time, a "white wedding" became more and more popular through its projection in movies (again perpetrated by the Western culture) to the point it has even affected the Asian countries.
Basically, we highly recommend going for a theme that suits you and your partner. Go dark, bright, pastel, funky, pop, or even futuristic if you want. Don't let the social norms stop you.
5. "You can easily plan a wedding for less than $5000, I did it for mine."
HAHA. Sure.
If it were that easy, this industry would be dead, I'll be out of a job, and I'd have to move in with my uncle and his insufferable goldfish.
There would have to be an immeasurable amount of stress, endless sourcing for the most ridiculously cheap prices (so cheap, there's a 98% chance it's a scam), and not to mention a high chance of you tearing your dress while sitting down, or falling off the steps with a snapped heel.
We've always stressed to never overspend on what you have set aside for your wedding, but... really, let's be realistic here.
- The Wedding People