HK shopping trip for wedding preparation (6th - 12th May) part 1

yup.... as mentioned in previous post, i went back to hk to do some shopping for my wedding stuff.... it was a very sudden decision & luckily we managed to get a cheap air ticket for $286.20 flying cathay pacific with all tax included... this is like the cheapest cathay ticket i have purchased.....

we took the 1am+ flight so we reached hk abt 5+.... after collecting our luggage & freshen up abit, we went to have breakfast at mac...

there is this macaroni thing at mac...

its call twisty pasta or something... doesnt really taste nice...

i also purchased this sim card on board... i think is quite a good deal since is HKD90 for 8days unlimited local call & 5Gb data plan... is mainly for tourists so i not sure if can be purchased in hk stores

after that we went to my aunty's place to put down our luggage, went to have lunch before meeting my another aunty to buy stuff...

yoshinoya beef bowl.... not really nice... the sauce wasnt that good... japan still still the best

since the main purpose of this trip is to buy jewellery/dowry.... we went to nathan road since there has the most number of gold shops.... the popular brands are 周生生，周大福 and 六福 but we prefer to get from the two 周 family.... in nathan road, the jewellery shops are really one after another... i forgot to take picture but there are at least like 10shops of each brand along both side of nathan road... scary.... & most of them are always packed with people... seriously... where all these people find the $ to buy......

i would say if you guys really want to buy gold jewellery... the best place to buy is really hk... first of all, there isnt GST in hk, so you save on at least the 7%... next the workmanship is also cheaper in hk, especially those jewellery we see in SG are mostly imported from hk.... in addition, you can have quite a bit of discount on workmanship in hk... you can easily get 40% off but in SG... getting 10% discount is already like god-sent...but in order to get discount for the workmanship, you have to some sort bargain... if you have relatives in hk will be good then can start saying you have bought like a tonnes of jewellery from them but just dont want to join member those kind of rubbish... then like aiya... i bought so much things... give me more discount, something along that line to get more discount.... so for me... with my parents + aunty bargaining skill, we managed to get 50% off the workmanship price... for gold price + 2% commission is standard so there wont be discount for that....

bangle from 周大福

necklace from  周生生

so for the time we went back, the gold price is hkd14050 for 1 両 (37.7994g)... so is about S$60.5/g for 999.9 gold.... i think is cheaper than the SG price probably due to the exchange rate.... the bangle is pretty standard design... they have more fancy styles but for me i think bangle should go for traditional style since it going to match with kua... the bangle weight about 32g or so and after discount the workmanship is about 550hkd... like excuse me... for bangle you find in SG, the workmanship easily cost S$200 which is like 1200+hkd lo.... then for the necklace, i like the unique design... the phoenix tail really look like a feather & the scale of the dragon look pretty 3D.... personally i do think the workmanship for this necklace is stunning.... again... after discount, the workmanship was something like 600hkd.... we asked before in SG, necklace workmanship easily cost S$500... so that's like 6x the price of what you can find in HK.... not to forget, the workmanship+commission+gold price all subject to GST in SG.... can you imagined how much you can saved if you buy the same piece of jewellery in HK compared to SG!!?!??!?! so... i strongly urge you guys to buy jewellery in HK IF you happen to go HK for holiday!!!!

gown selection at La belle (part 1)

*back dated entry*

before i go onto the actual post... i must praise myself that my blog had reached more than 1000 view!!! omg!!! of cause compared to those popular blogger, this is nothing.. but to me, this is amazing cause  i actually didnt expect people to really read my posts... so really want to thank all the kind souls who read my blog....

onwards to the review about the gown selection at La belle... this is actually a super back dated entry... i actually went down for selection on 1st april, that's like more than 1 month ago but due to some personal issue & my lazy ass, i keep dragging this post.... to refresh everyone's memory, i actually signed up a bridal package with La belle for the pre-wedding shoot during their roadshow at orchard hotel.... the studio is at 87 Tanjong Pagar Rd & they keep the gown on the second floor... so basically that road has whole stretch of bridal shops.... i wont say La belle has like ALOT of variety of gowns but i guess the selection is still ok la... so for my shoot, i can choose a total of 4 gowns, 2 for the actual day & 2 for outdoor shoots.... first up, i will talk about my wedding gowns.... pictures time... sorry ar, i cover my face since most of them were like unglam shots or weird expressions.. also please pardon my flabby arms & protruding tummy....

not bad but abit plain

top is nice but i dont really like the bottom

ok ok lo

this gown is quite unique, is the front short behind long kind... but nope... too small for me...

the super long train... i quite like the satin material but then is too heavy... think i will die of heat stroke

front looks ok....

but the back is nice wor.. i like the lacy part... but didnt choose cause i look fat.. haiz....

after trying afew of the gowns, i managed to narrow down to 2 top choices....

my 2nd choice... kind of look slimmer hor... please ignore my friend's finger

i quite like this gown, really tore between my top 2 choices..for this gown, the dress is actually has abit sparkling material so i think will look stunning under spotlight but i didnt really like tube top since like everybody also wear so i decided to go for the other dress... my 1st choice

tada... my choosen gown

this is more of a classic feel which is actually something that i really wanted to have... there is like a row of crystals & stones at the collar part so i think it bring out the elegant side of the dress.... the material is like full lace so again... classic feel.... this is the side view so i think it didnt do justice to the dress.... so i must slim down my flabby arms before the shoot so that it will look nicer =)

next... is the evening gowns selection.... honestly i feel that La belle has more variety of wedding gowns than evening gowns... probably due to the limited colours that i can choose... because mama say cant choose dark colours.... haiz.... nevermind... pictures time again =)

the fairy godmother lookalike... i quite like the design but then look fat hor...

standard gown lo

seriously, i think i look like some china porcelain vase but apparently my friends & the staff said i look good in it...

i dont really like cheongsum cause i am fat!!! argh!!!

my favourite dress!!

actually i really like this grey dress, fell in love with in since the day i saw it at the La belle roadshow.... really love the gothic look but sadly mama say NO black/grey & they dont have other colours... haiz... so can only try shuang.....

1 of my choices

this light blue gown is 1 of my choice for evening gown... quite unique.... i actually tried afew more gowns after that but we stopped taking pictures so sorry, that's the end for photo time....

after trying out the gowns for like 3hr+, i managed to confirm my wedding gowns, 2 potential evening gowns (1 light blue = above & pink = not shown) & 1 outdoor dress (short wedding dress but picture not shown)... so i went back to show mama the pictures & the nightmare comes.... other than my wedding gown, the other 3 dresses she totally disagreed with my choice... say the colour too light & the style not nice... & forbid me to wear short wedding gowns.... i was like WTF!!!! then we had like this argument & big hoha.... so moral of the story, i had to re-select my gowns.... haiz.... so for the upcoming selection, i am going to bring mama along & let her choose then i try on.... ... so lets wait for part 2 of this gown selection, i hope there wont be a part 3 =p