My wedding plans

I am too complicated for my own good. Actually, it's probably more like I make my own life too complicated for my own good.

When it comes to weddings, well my wedding, it's no different.

I proposed to my fiance two Christmas' ago, as you guessed, on Christmas day. Proposing on a date like that is very practical as it makes the date easy to remember. As you can guess, I'm not a big romantic. So when I asked my girl friend to marry me, it's also for a practical reason, that is, to assure her that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. On top of that, I quite fancy her on most days and we are arguably in love. So I thought, it was not a bad deal at all.

So I decided to buy this ring in Malaysia. Well, I sort of knew what she wanted as she had hinted strongly at a princess cut diamond ring just prior to me leaving for Malaysia. She knew I was going to buy 'the ring' when she discovered one of her rings was missing (I had to borrow it to figure out her ring size lah). She then proceeded to quiz me and one of the things I'm not is a good liar. Even as I stood there denying profusely that I had taken her ring, I knew she had guessed when this massive grin spread across her face and it's as though her face had lit up like the full moon. I thought I saw fireworks exploding over her head too!

Well, I stuck with my plan to buy her a ring without her around to choose it. I was informed later on by my mates that it was very brave of me to do so. Anyways, I stopped by in KL on my way to Kuching. In between buying a DSLR, a new stereo, a new laptop, a new projector and some new clothes, I managed to find just enough time to buy her a ring. All this in 5 hours of stop over time. I was quite proud of my achievement as I had never shopped so hard before. I always knew I had it in me!

Anyways, to cut the story short, the ring came home to Ireland with me. Stayed hidden for 3 months. Which is quite an accomplishment in itself as the girlfriend has a habit of finding things that are usually meant to be hidden. I proposed, she accepted amidst my stuttering of words while I had forgotten my previously well composed lines due to unforseen nervousness. I had even forgotten to get down on one knee as planned. Disaster!

From there on, we lived happily ever after.

Wrong!

You have to plan your wedding ceremony first! The point is, I had planned for the happily ever after bit but I totally forgot about the getting married part. If there ever was a an industry designed to blatantly rip you off, this would be it! Getting married is stressful!

Here's a few things I dislike about weddings
1. It's not really your wedding . It's everyone else's wedding. Those of you who come from Asian families know it's about keeping your mum and dad happy. Your friends and work colleagues happy. You try not to offend anyone. The 'wedding politics' is enough to make you think twice about getting married.

2. It's so damn expensive! We've set our budget at 20k euro. From an Irish wedding perspective, that's actually a pretty low amount. I keep hearing people say, you only get married once. You may as well do it right. But hey buddy, the wedding is just the first day of the rest of your marriage, do you really want to start it by being in debt ? I know plenty of people who have to take out a loan to get married. But we're saving for ours and we can't afford more than 20k. That's a deposit on a house!

3. It takes too much organizing. Why can't I have a wedding perfectly tailored for me without me having to cut corner and stick to the budget? Why can't all the people I don't necessary want at the wedding but I have to invite anyway for my parents' sake simply declare themselves unavailable for the wedding so I don't have to sort out my wedding invite list like it was some kind of military strategic planning?

4. The evil florist. It appears weddings are synonymous with flowers. So you can't have weddings without flowers but bloody hell, flowers aren't cheap. The florist know they've got the market cornered on that one and aren't shy about charging you an arm and a leg for a little carnation for your button hole. Well Mr/Ms Florist, No! I don't want to pay you 50 euros for some kind of consultation fee just because you call yourself a 'designer' florist!

5. Wedding photographers. These guys really really rip you off! I'm rather disgusted with this lot. I work as a doctor. Even I don't get paid as much as this guys for the kind of hours they put in. Enough said.

6. My wedding car isn't a spaceship. I don't want a horse drawn carriage or some vintage car. I want to beam into church please!

Ok, maybe I might have it tough! But I've been assured by my female friends that the brides have more to worry about. Well guess what, better them than me.

So that's that! Next time I'll try and post some tips about saving money for your wedding but don't hold your breath! I haven't got any yet.