Marrily: Planning Your Wedding Online Happily - A Close-Up Review

I stumbled upon this website too late for my wedding preparations but nay, it is never too late to share the good stuff.

Marrily is a website tool that helps in wedding planning. If you think that it is "another one of those website huh", then I suggest taking a closer look. I actually signed up for the trial to take a look and I'd thought it is so good that I should write a review on it.

Once you have signed in, you would see a dashboard with the following:

1. Upcoming Tasks
2. Wedding checklists
3. Guestlist
4. Budget

And of course the top right hand corner shows what you can do in the setting of your account. (we will get to that later).

Tasks

At first, I was a little confused between this and the checklist. But it did not take me long to understand that the Checklist section was meant for a general overview of how things are progressing (BIG PICTURE!) and the Task was for the teeny daily action items. 

The Tasks section tracks Upcoming, Pending, All Pending (further in the timeline) and Completed Tasks.

Adding tasks are fairly simple with all the details you need captured - date, time, details, category and a small part that says "Vendors".

The vendors part is interesting because it links to another section of Marrily where you can keep a list of your vendors and details. It also tracks any associated tasks and expenses with these vendors as well! 

Checklist

You can have several checklists which can be named to your prefence. They can be also be subdivided into sections.

The lovely thing is that Marrily has come up with a template checklist for "Ceremony and Reception" that gives a guide on what to do across a timeline till the wedding date. This is extremely useful as from past experience, one needs to wreck one's brains to come up with a complete set of checklist of To-Do's which may not be totally encompassing.

The beauty of it is that you can add to that list as well, fitting into your own context. For eg, being a Chinese Singaporean, I need to add portions for the customary rites. And being a Catholic, I need to add parts for arrangements for the Mass etc. Well, depending on you, you can even create another checklist for different segments. But I suggest keeping to the timeline thing that Marrily has done would be the cleanest!

Expenses

The Expenses segment is simple to use and tracks total cost of the wedding. A great thing that it does is that you can associate the expense with a listed vendor. This vendor will auto-populate if you have already included in the details before. If not, you can add Vendor for tracking of expenses under that same Vendor.

Guests

This section is exceptionally well thought out. 

Users can import guests contacts into the list, track gifts from each person and even assign seating arrangements!! The seating arrangements can be formatted into tables of varying sizes and can be colour coded for ease of tracking groups of people from different parts of your social circle. 

Of course, the all important RSVP tracking is also there and whether a Thank-You note is sent.

Account Settings

This is where you can change your user info, timezones and manage your categories in the various dropdown lists of the site.

Also the amazing thing is that you can add users to the account! This is important for couples to plan the wedding together. Closer to the day of the wedding, you may give access to your wedding helpers so that they know what is going on. You may even have an actual day checklist for them to refer too.

Wedding planners can be also invited in to work on the wedding. In this case, you can even ask them to plan the wedding and add in the important stuff to remind you to do as well. 

Summary

Marrily is a GO-TO place if you are looking for an online platform to plan for your wedding. The cost of it is not exorbitant given that it is a once-in-a-lifetime event you are planning for. There are monthly, 3-monthly and 6-monthly subscriptions you can refer to. 

If your wedding is one year away, it would merely cost you $100, which I would say is extremely decent for the savings in terms of time and hassle one has to go through in coming up with all the things from scratch. You should see the number of Google Documents I have on my own wedding.

If there are any improvements I say the site should have, they are

1. a file-sharing feature, 
2. iPhone app for true portability and 
3. a further look into adding users to "assign duties" 

Other than that, Marrily is totally Awesome :) 

You can try it out here for a 14-day risk free trial. 

Marrily: Planning Your Wedding Online Happily - A Close-Up Review

I stumbled upon this website too late for my wedding preparations but nay, it is never too late to share the good stuff.

Marrily is a website tool that helps in wedding planning. If you think that it is "another one of those website huh", then I suggest taking a closer look. I actually signed up for the trial to take a look and I'd thought it is so good that I should write a review on it.

Once you have signed in, you would see a dashboard with the following:

1. Upcoming Tasks
2. Wedding checklists
3. Guestlist
4. Budget

And of course the top right hand corner shows what you can do in the setting of your account. (we will get to that later).

Tasks

At first, I was a little confused between this and the checklist. But it did not take me long to understand that the Checklist section was meant for a general overview of how things are progressing (BIG PICTURE!) and the Task was for the teeny daily action items. 

The Tasks section tracks Upcoming, Pending, All Pending (further in the timeline) and Completed Tasks.

Adding tasks are fairly simple with all the details you need captured - date, time, details, category and a small part that says "Vendors".

The vendors part is interesting because it links to another section of Marrily where you can keep a list of your vendors and details. It also tracks any associated tasks and expenses with these vendors as well! 

 

Checklist

You can have several checklists which can be named to your prefence. They can be also be subdivided into sections.

The lovely thing is that Marrily has come up with a template checklist for "Ceremony and Reception" that gives a guide on what to do across a timeline till the wedding date. This is extremely useful as from past experience, one needs to wreck one's brains to come up with a complete set of checklist of To-Do's which may not be totally encompassing.

The beauty of it is that you can add to that list as well, fitting into your own context. For eg, being a Chinese Singaporean, I need to add portions for the customary rites. And being a Catholic, I need to add parts for arrangements for the Mass etc. Well, depending on you, you can even create another checklist for different segments. But I suggest keeping to the timeline thing that Marrily has done would be the cleanest!

Expenses

The Expenses segment is simple to use and tracks total cost of the wedding. A great thing that it does is that you can associate the expense with a listed vendor. This vendor will auto-populate if you have already included in the details before. If not, you can add Vendor for tracking of expenses under that same Vendor.

Guests

This section is exceptionally well thought out. 

Users can import guests contacts into the list, track gifts from each person and even assign seating arrangements!! The seating arrangements can be formatted into tables of varying sizes and can be colour coded for ease of tracking groups of people from different parts of your social circle. 

Of course, the all important RSVP tracking is also there and whether a Thank-You note is sent.

Account Settings

This is where you can change your user info, timezones and manage your categories in the various dropdown lists of the site.

Also the amazing thing is that you can add users to the account! This is important for couples to plan the wedding together. Closer to the day of the wedding, you may give access to your wedding helpers so that they know what is going on. You may even have an actual day checklist for them to refer too.

Wedding planners can be also invited in to work on the wedding. In this case, you can even ask them to plan the wedding and add in the important stuff to remind you to do as well. 

Summary

Marrily is a GO-TO place if you are looking for an online platform to plan for your wedding. The cost of it is not exorbitant given that it is a once-in-a-lifetime event you are planning for. There are monthly, 3-monthly and 6-monthly subscriptions you can refer to. 

If your wedding is one year away, it would merely cost you $100, which I would say is extremely decent for the savings in terms of time and hassle one has to go through in coming up with all the things from scratch. You should see the number of Google Documents I have on my own wedding.

If there are any improvements I say the site should have, they are

1. a file-sharing feature, 
2. iPhone app for true portability and 
3. a further look into adding users to "assign duties" 

Other than that, Marrily is totally Awesome :) 

You can try it out here for a 14-day risk free trial. 

Enjoy wedding privileges with DBS Cards - 19 Jan 2011

Image via Wikipedia

Got this in my email.

For anyone who is looking for great credit card deals.

Pls go for the wedding shows if possible. They give good insights and help refine what you might want for the actual day. :)

You can see the mailer here too.

Enjoy 3X Points on your special day! As our wedding gift to you, receive 3X Points when you pay your wedding bill of min. S$20,000 to your DBS Card! Click here to download the application form. Mandarin Orchard Singapore Wedding Show of the Year Date: 27th March 2011, Sunday Time: 10.30am – 5pm Venue: Grand Mandarin Ballroom, Main Tower, Level 6 Admission: S$78 nett per couple for DBS/POSB cardmembers (UP: S$88 nett) Throw in the latest bridal trends with our selected partners, add a dash of chance to win 10 complimentary tables or a honeymoon, sprinkle in an interest-free instalment plan* of up to 12 months and voilà! - you get the wedding show of the year at the talk of the town that is 333 Orchard Road. DBS/POSB cardmember exclusive: Enjoy up to S$888 nett off total bill** when you book your wedding banquet with Mandarin Orchard Singapore. *3X points are not valid for interest-free instalment plan **Terms and conditions apply For enquiries, call 6831 6029/6082 or emailweddings.orchard@meritushotels.com Grand Hyatt Singapore A New Beginning At The Gallery Date: 19th March 2011, Saturday Time: 11am – 5pm Venue: The Gallery Grand Hyatt Singapore unveils a brand-new concept, The Gallery, delivering the ultimate event experience. Exciting features such as Loft Kitchen serving classic cuisine and interactive technology will ensure a perfect wedding in an inspirational environment. Discover the ultimate event and celebratory experience at Hyatt. For enquiries, call 6416 7068 or emailsheauwen.lek@hyatt.com Grand Park City Hall Wedding Lunch – Complimentary 6 bottles of red winewith minimum booking of 22 tables (weekend) Wedding Dinner – Unlimited servings of beer from 7pm to 11pm with minimum booking of 25 tables (weekdays) Valid for bookings made by 31 December 2011 and for weddings held by 31 Jan 2012. Min. booking of 22 tables is required for wedding lunch package (weekend only) or 25 tables is required for wedding dinner packages (weekday only) held in the Grand ballroom. For enquiries, call 6432 5518/5520 or emailbqt.gpch@parkhotelgroup.com Goodwood Park Hotel Free flow of local draft beer from Monday to Thursday bookings, or 1 x 30-litre barrel of beer for Friday to Sunday bookings Complimentary 12 bottles of house wines Corkage charge waived for "sealed and duty paid" wine brought into the hotel for consumption Promotion is only valid with a minimum booking of 18 tables (Tudor Ballroom) or 25 tables (Windsor Ballroom). Promotion is only valid for weddings booked between 01 January 2011 to 30 September 2011 and for wedding banquets held at the hotel by 30 December 2011. Not valid in conjunction with any other offers or promotions, and not transferable or exchangeable for cash or any other items. A 20% deposit is required to secure bookings and balance payment is to be made at the end of the event. Both payments are to be made with DBS / POSB Credit & Debit Cards. Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Free barrel of beer S$200 voucher, valid in all F&B outlets in the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel or as a rebate off total banquet bill Valid with a minimum booking of 17 tables. Other Terms & Conditions apply.

Engagement Ring - 9th September 2009

For unknown reasons, James Allen sent me an email and gave me a high resolution of the engagement ring customized and bought for Addy.

It sure brings back memories on the research done and wondering what she would like.

The good thing is that she still wears it! :)

Valentine's Day - Unbeatable Gift Ideas?

It is one more week to Valentine's Day!

Married also still can celebrate hor? But it is always a time where all the prices are jacked up.

I just did a search on Amazon to look at Valentine's gifts.

This looks damn cute la! Anyone want to buy me one?

I remember doing a Squidoo Page on romantic ideas before. :)

There's still 7 days to do any of them without breaking the bank!

1. Photo Calenders
2. Person of the Year!
3. Cupid Chocolates
4. Words of Appreciation
5. Countdown! - Fabulous for proposals
6. Photo gifts - Cliche but still one of the timeless classics 
7. Puzzles
8. Video Camera montages
9. Song Dedications
10. The Umbrella Card - my signature (proposal event on 9.9.9)
11. Spamming love messages 

For those proposing or thinking of getting a wedding band, it might be too late but James Allen has one of the greatest selection of customizable rings. :) I got mine from there.

 

Reunion Dinner 2011 @ Soup Restaurant 三盅两件 (Paragon)

My family booked 2 tables to celebrate our reunion dinner together today.

The menu can be found on the left.

Food was fantastic (especially the speciality Samsui Chicken and the soup) however the service was left much to be desired.

There were 3 sessions of meals they packed into the whole dinner time. Our session was the first from 530pm to 7pm.

Given that they served dinner slower (took so long after the Lo Hei for the dishes to be served!), the service staff were not apologetic for rushing us through our dinner.

Moreover, tea were not topped up regularly, plates not cleared sufficiently fast plus the lack of smiles. There was once when one of them broke a plate and even used our own wet towels (tear open an unused one and wiped the tables!) to clear the pieces. And comeon, asking our domestic helper to help clear the pieces as well...

My cousin in law called the manager to feedback on the service level.

If the first session is like that, I cannot imagine when they have worked till the last session.

CNY is supposed to be a time for the family to gather and enjoy themselves. And paying a premium price at least deserves a decent level of service.

Great for the food, but perhaps for festive occasions, a place to avoid unless you are really just aiming for the food.

How much to pack in Red Packets for Chinese New Year

After being married for 3 months and 1 day to be exact, there are so much to update but I don't know where to start from. I'd thought I should start with something I feel like talking about.


Chinese Lunar New Year is around the corner. As a newly married couple, it might be seen as one of our worst fears as we have transited from recipients to givers of the Chinese Red Packet (Ang Pao 紅包).


I think one of the biggest headache would be figuring out how much to put for such an occasion, especially the first timers. How much is actually enough without being offensive at the same time, even with the understanding that such customary practices are for "good luck and wishes"?


I'd thought come up with a systematic way to judge how much is reasonably enough without breaking your bank.

1. Count the number of red packets you may be giving
   - Count the number of visits to whose house, where and when
   - Estimate how many will be receiving red packets from you in those places - mostly the unmarried ones and children. And of course, filial children may give their parents red packets no matter.
   - For the purpose of this exercise, let us assume that 2 sets of parents would have an average of 3 siblings (your uncles and aunties). And each of them would have 2 children each. Let us also assume one married and one isn't. And also that the married one has 2 children. Let's say you and your spouse have a sibling each, one is married with 2 kids and one is not married.
   - This will add up to 4 parents, 1 sibiling, 3 unmarried cousins, 8 nieces and nephews to give red packets to.
   
   
2. Apportion your salary for the occasion 
   - Depending on how generous you are and your current needs, a good estimate would be 1/4 to 1 full month's wages. (For the purpose of this exercise, we shall take a generous $1,000 to be the 1/2 of the average Singaporean's wages to be given away)
   
   
3. Red Packet Quantums
   - Amounts in red packets usually come in the following numbers - 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18, 20, 28, 40, 48, 68, 88, 100 (do note the "8"s and that even numbers are used only)
   - Rank the importance of people whom you are giving red packets to and allocate
   - Using the above:
   --- Parents - $100 each ($400)
   --- Sibling - $48
   --- Cousins - $40 each ($120)
   --- Nieces/Nephews - $8 (64)
   This is a total of $632. Of course you can vary and increase the quantum for some.
   - Pack the rest in various forms of $8 and $10, say 20 extra packets, for contingency cases as there may be surprise visitors or even your unmarried friends!

Packing red packets at the end of the day doesn't seem that hard after all if planning is done in advance. :)