Wedding Beauty Tips For The Bride-To-Be; How To Prepare Yourself For The Big Day?

Every girl dreams of being the most beautiful bride on her "Big Day". The reason many brides look so stunning, polished and head-turning gorgeous on their wedding day is not just because of the exquisite wedding dress, it's because their beauty prep began long ago before the invitations went out. Here are some useful pre-wedding beauty tips for the brides-to-be.

1. Get Your Skin Ready

• Drink lots of water for hydration - try to get in at least 1-2 liters of water per day.
• Supplements like fish oil is fantastic for skin & hair.
• Regular facials - keep those break-outs at bay!
• Skin lasers - for that extra brightening boost and have a pore-less look.
• What I Did?
  ~ Regular facials to condition my skin & skin brightening laser for a radiant glow, click here for more details.

Look at the immediate difference!! The lower half of my face, i.e. my nose, cheeks, mouth and chin area, became a totally different skin tone as my forehead. The area that had received laser toning treatment was immediately brightened whereas my undone forehead was still dark & dull looking. Amazing!

2 . Whiten Your Teeth

• To get a perfect smile on your wedding day, pearlie-white teeth is a must!
• Most professional teeth whitening treatments tie with teeth sensitivity, so try to do this earlier to prevent having to deal with the sensitivity on your wedding day.
• What I Did?
  ~ Professional teeth whitening trays for home use and laser teeth whitening, click here for my review.

Ugh.. look at my yellow teeth before. Check out my new pearlies in my Instagram post!

3 . Laser Hair Removal

• Want hassle-free hair removal? Try laser hair removal.
• Schedule your appointments months before as it'll require you at least 15-20 sessions (depending on area) to see full results.
• What I Did?
  ~ EPL hair removal, check out my review here.

Don't forget to apply anti-ingrown hair serum to keep those pesky bumps at bay!

4 . Enhance Your Features (If Needed)

• You may have always wanted a higher nose bridge, sharper chin, or puffier cheeks - fillers are great for a temporary enhancement.
• What I Did?
  ~ Fillers for feature enhancement. I've been wanting to try out for the longest time, waited for a good reason to get it done. Heh! Click here for my review.

Check out Dr. Leong working her magic.

5. Botox?

• Botox takes a few days to a month for the effect to kick in. If you are considering, see your aesthetic doctor a few months before your wedding.
• What I Did?
  ~ Jaw slimming Botox as I have bulky muscles on my jawline due to too much chewing. I do not have a review for this as it was done early this year in Taipei. Usually the effects of jaw slimming Botox takes a month to be visible. Check with your aesthetic doctor on suitability for this procedure.

6. Eat Healthier

• You are what you eat - switch out fried/sweet/fatty foods for something healthier, not only you'll thank yourself for keeping your waistline in check, you'd feel much better about yourself too. Trust me, you won't know until you've tried! 
• Remember not to go on crash diets! You want a healthy & radiant glow, not a weak & tired self from crash dieting.
• What I Did?
  ~ Moderation is the key to a healthy diet. PM me if you'd like more advise in this area. ; ) I'll try my best to help, the rest is all yours.

7. Exercise Regularly

• A slim & flat tummy looks best is any fitted gown and staying in shape to fit that wedding dress of yours requires effort - exercising regularly also keep you fit & healthy, both mentally & psychically.
• Join a gym, workout with a friend, or yoga away.
• What I Did?
  ~ I work out at least 3 times a week at the gym and it's been this way even when I was pregnant. Working out not only keeps my hunger pangs at bay, it makes me happy and feeling confident all the time. It's definitely my happy pill. Click here for one of my workouts you can do at home.

Fit in quick & effective exercises into your daily routine, almost anywhere!

8. See Your Hairstylist

• Decide on the hairstyle you'd like on your wedding day - if you need it long, plan to grow those tresses out before the big day. If there's not enough time, check if your make-up artist can clip on some hair extensions. 
• Colour your hair or touch up those roots - my hairstylist recommended a dark brown shade to keep hair looking fresh & shiny yet not overpowering the whole look. Less is more.
• Nourish scalp & strengthen those roots with scalp treatments as usually there'll be LOTS of styling products to keep hair in place on your wedding day.
• Hair treatments can wait till after the wedding as hair that's too smooth tends to not hold up well after styling.
• What I Did?
  ~ I've been doing monthly scalp treatments to prevent hairloss after my pregnancy, results were fantastic for me - you can click here to find out more about it.
  ~ Pre-wedding: I touched up my roots with a shiny dark brown colour and had a trim.
  ~ Post-wedding: Most times i keep my natural curls & fly-aways tamed with DYNA Mucota treatment, which is a little similar to rebonding but its not harmful to my hair and also has a more natural finish compared to the super flat look from rebonding. Click here for my review.

Always love fresh hair! Freshly touched up & trimmed hair a week before my big day.

Look at my gorgeous hair on my wedding day. I thought the colour turned out just nice. Big thanks to my stylist, Charles, who always knows what's best!

9. Shape Those Brows

• If you've heard that eyes are the windows to your soul, then eyebrows must be the framework to your face - bad eyebrows can make you look older, unkept, or even fiercer, so remember to trim them!
• What I Did?
  ~ 6D Eyebrow Embroidery for the natural Korean-brow look, read about it here.

After the latest touch-up session I had... This was immediately out of the shop.. Looks great eh! Check my IG post on this!

10. Bridal Nails

• Get a good manicure & pedicure, then colour those nails with gelish polish for long-lasting shine. 
• Then maybe add some nail art for the complete bridal-nail look.
• What I Did?
  ~ Simple white French gelish manicure & pedicure with Bride & Groom nail art, click here for more details on my bridal nails and where I did them.

Loveee!! : D

11. Waxing

• This is not mandatory but it's nice to feel clean & neat down there.
• What I Did?
  ~ Brazilian wax. I would highly recommend Stripz (not sponsored) 'cuz by far they're the least painful waxers I've tried out of the many salons. But with that saying, most comfort & best service comes with a price. Here's the link to Stripz.

12. Exfoliate

• If you haven't already been doing this, try exfoliating 1-2 times a week to slough all the dead skin cells away. Dead skin cells are the cause of dull-looking skin and prevents proper absorption of products into your skin.
• Be gentle on your skin as you do not want to harm your skin and strip it off its moisture.
• What I Did?
  ~ Nothing special, I just maintained my usual weekly scrubs using loofas for my body.  Try a gentle exfoliator for your face. Remember to exfoliate your face and body few days before your wedding for the glowy look. Here's a link for more details on the "whys" & "hows" of exfoliation.

13. Relax Yourself

• Stress is seemingly inevitable for brides-to-be. So try to relax, get enough rest, pamper yourself - you don't want the effects of stress to start acting up and cause any unwanted trouble for yourself. 
• What I Did?
  ~ Went for a swim at the hotel I stayed the night before the wedding day. Had wine by the pool, a good dinner & wine in the room watching my fav shows, soaking in the hot tub all by myself and also with a glass of wine. Ahhhh**, total enjoyment. I wish I could do this more often. Lol.

And that's all for this write-up... I'm glad my wedding is over & was a successful one with the help of so many people, making me beautiful & feeling great on my big day. Plus all the love & help from our family & friends. No doubt the pre-wedding period was really a stressful one, it also helped Hubs & I feel closer by a few more notches. And because this month was filled with so much love, I decided to hold a Special Give-Away to all my dear readers. Check out the contest details here!! Don't miss it b'cuz contest ends on 9th October 2016, 8PM!!

Feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s and I'll try my best to answer if its not already stated in my blog above. 

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Thank you for reading my blog. Cheers and stay tuned for more. ; )

Beauty Review_Postpartum Slimming With Marie France Bodyline - Part 3 -RESULTS!

Hi Mamas!! I'm finally back for part 3 of this review which is also the time I share the final results of my 3-month program with Marie France Bodyline. Been so busy with wedding prep & also planning for Baby F.'s 1st birthday, but I'm glad everything fell in place and excited for our next phase. 

Just to recap my "goals" I've mentioned in the last two posts; I have been working out since 2 months postpartum and had a healthy & balanced diet, but any hows I still had some loose skin, mild cellulite, and fats on certain areas of my body (e.g. lower abdomen, hips, and thighs). I knew these were just the norms of being a new mom, but I was also sure most women would want to regain their pre-pregnancy figure or at least strive to do so. I am not overweight to begin with so my goals were really to firm/tighten up my loose skin, smoothen out cellulite areas, and try to lower my body fat percentage.

Let's take a look at some figures of the results.. I'll try not to bore ya'all by quickly running thru them with simple explanations. 

This is Jin Fang, the nutritionist that helped & reminded me of my goals along the way..
She was very friendly and we always had good chats during our sessions. Thanks alot for your help!! : D

What you see here is a brief analysis of my body composition which includes body fat, muscle and water. Right is the "before" and left is the "after"... 

After my 3-month treatment with MFB, I managed to reach my goals by achieving lower body fat percentage & fat mass, increase in muscle mass, and gotten a better proportion of muscle distribution (will talk about this later). Okay, I know it is starting to sound a little technical... haha!! But I need to explain if not many of you will be confused about the figures! Some of you might be wondering how come I got heavier after the treatments even though my fat percentage decreased, that is because muscles are heavier than fats and it's normal for one to become heavier when he/she builds more muscles.

Picture taken from: https://natalliasfitness.wordpress.com/tag/fit-slim-calories-muscles-fruit-weights-resistance-training-carbs-protein-berries-workout-healthy/

To explain quickly, the woman in the picture above is lightest on the left but the slimmest & fittest on the right - I'm sure you'd find her figure most sexy on the right eh? This is just to show you that weight is just a number and being lean does not mean that your body fat % is in a healthy range; you need to tone your body up by building more muscles and not fats. When I mentioned muscle is heavier than fat, I really meant that for the same weight of fats compared to muscles, the mass of fats is much more than of muscles. That was how the woman in the picture above looks slimmer yet weighs heavier than her old self - amazing? Haha, now you know. By the way, another benefit of having more muscle mass is that it'll increase your metabolism rate. That also means your body burns more calories = slimmer you (but doesn't mean you can pig out hor)! Anyway this is just the gist of it, if anyone is interested in this topic do leave a comment below and I'll probably talk about it another time.

Here we see the overall inch loss.. I was surprised to see that I've lost in overall inches 'cuz I'm already slim to begin with and i didn't expect to lose more, I thought there was nothing to lose already - LOL. So overall I still managed to lose 4.5" and each body area mostly lost from 0.5-1.5". 

Above I mentioned that I gained more muscle mass. In the beginning, Jin Fang advised that my upper body has significantly lesser muscles than my lower body. I've always felt that but now that I have prove it is a fact, I started training harder for my upper body. If you look at the results of my muscle distribution now, even though the proportion is still quite far off at least I am improving slowly. One thing about fitness training is that whatever your goals may be, it always takes time to see results. Consistency is the key & choosing the right food and doing the right treatments suitable for your body type is very important.

Besides achieving my goals of fat loss & muscle gain, the treatments also gave me smoother & firmer-looking skin. I don't have a picture b'cuz the cellulite area was mostly just on my butt & hips, and I don't think I'll be posting up pics of my sexy butt here - hahahah! 

Overall I'm feeling great about my body b'cuz I keep a healthy lifestyle and maintain my figure even though I'm a Mom now. I really liked how Marie France Bodyline helped me out with my postpartum slimming journey with the great advise as well as pampering treatments to help attain my bodily goals at the same time leave me feeling relaxed from all the hectic schedules of working and being a Mom & Wife.

And that is all for now. Keep fit, be happy, and stay strong! Jiayou Mamas! ; )
Feel free to leave comments in the comment box below should you have more to ask pertaining the topic today.

If you are keen to try Marie France Bodyline's treatment, they have some fabulous promotional deals for you!! Just select the promotion you prefer and sign up via the link given and Marie France Bodyline’s representative will call you back soon: https://goo.gl/jp8f3A

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Beauty Review - Facial Aesthetic Treatments with VidaSkin; Facial Fillers - In Preparation For My Wedding

Hi there!! As some of you may have known that I've been very actively sharing posts on my pre-wedding beauty preparations, I recently also shared my first facial aesthetic treatment with VidaSkin (on facial lasers - see post here). Today I'm gonna share with you my facial filler session, with Dr. Leong again, b'cuz so far I've been very pleased with the line up of treatments prepared for me. Yeah!

Prior to all the pre-wedding prep, I already knew what my face was lacking of - my cheeks. I've always had this problem with my flat cheeks and it's "dent line" or "depression line". It's nothing major that's why I've not done anything about it but just for the sake of looking my best on my big day, wanted to have it fixed at least just for this period. My cheeks look alright when I smile, but when I don't my entire face looks really flat. See even when I smile, my cheeks already look quite flat & the depression line is rather obvious.. tsk*.

Before this I ever thought of going for fat grafting to fill up my cheeks, but I dropped the idea when I found out F.G. was neither permanent too - similar to facial fillers, fats from F.G. dissolves over time. Though lasting a little longer than fillers, F.G. requires surgery (thus downtime) and needs to be "refilled" at least once before your look settles in before looking full. I've heard of friends going to Korea for F.G. procedures, aiya so troublesome they had to fly over twice to complete the entire procedure. That's why I decided on facial fillers, which is non-invasive and also helps with my flat-cheek problem.

Before we began, Dr. Leong went through the paperwork as well as explained the nature of the procedure itself. It is important you ask questions (if any) and have them answered before you start any treatment/ procedure. During consultation is the best time to have your expectations managed and have yourself prepared; its good to know what happens before/during/after the procedure.

Facial fillers are generally deemed as safe cosmetic procedures when practiced by an experienced & licensed practitioner. Using fillers from reputable brands are also a way to be safe. But as with all other treatments/ procedures, mild side-effects are still possible like bruising, redness, swelling, pain, or itching. These symptoms usually go away in a few days. Dr. Leong used one of the most prestigious brand of fillers - Juvederm Volume and Volift on my cheeks. Juvederm is one of those very well-known brands for injectable fillers who's also FDA-approved. Safe is first! We were all set after all the explanation, before a therapist took me to the treatment room for my face to be cleansed in preparation of the procedure.

Step 1 - cleanse injection site with disinfectant wipes.

Step 2 - mark out the injection site/s.

Step 3 - inject fillers.

That was about it; 3 steps were all it took. Simple? Yes! I didn't even had to use any numbing cream or what-so-ever, pain level I would say was around 3/10? All the time I merely felt the pricking of the needle which felt like ants biting, no pain nor soreness when the fillers went under my skin. I remembered Botox to be more painful (?), or more achy I would say. Oh ya, I almost forgot to mention, there's some anesthetic content in the fillers itself so it actually helps to keep pain factor low during the procedure so you may expect to feel a little more after a few hours.

One side of my cheeks was done at a time, Dr. Leong took a short break in between to let me have a look at how much was injected to the site. If you see from the picture above, one side was done and that side looked fuller than the undone side. It's okay if you can't really tell from the picture b'cuz the picture doesn't really justify the results as much as in person - which looked quite different to me. The thing about aesthetic procedures, is that it's really meant to make subtle enhancements and not change your look entirely. That's why usually after getting these treatments done, your friends & family probably notice you looking better but for some reason can't tell what or where - LOL.

This ^^ (above) was after both sides were done - you can't see drastic changes but if you'd to look closely, my cheeks are actually contoured on the sides and even on the front. Basically my cheeks looked filled and I look younger lah! Hahaha. Agree? Well, at least I feel so - hurhur.

Some post-procedure notes I'll like to share:

1. overall pain factor: 3/10.
2. hours later after the anesthetic wore off I still didn't feel pain, 
3. maybe just a little soreness that lasted a few days.
4. initial days when washing or touching my face it felt a little strange,
5. but quickly after I got used to my newly contoured face.
6. no downtime at all for me, no side-effects.
7. daily activities remained as usual for me.
8. probably just note to be careful with your face first few days after the procedure, just to make sure the fillers sets in properly.

Juvederm has the longest longevity compared to other fillers and in experiments that they did, it lasted up to two years. In practical situations, the clinic's results usually lasts up to 18 months. Just FYI ; ) 

That's about it! I hope this post was informative for you if you're keen or just curious about aesthetic treatments. I'm loving my face and wanna thank Dr. Leong for planning the pre-wedding treatments for me to help make me beautiful at the same time not burn a hole in my pocket, hahaha. Thank you!! :-* 

**Note: I paid for this 'kay!**

If you'd like to find out more about VidaSkin or the treatment above, visit them at their:
Website @ www.vidaskinclinic.com/ or 

Facebook @ www.facebook.com/vidaskinclinic

That's all for this write-up... Feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s and I'll try my best to answer if its not already stated in my blog above. 

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Thank you for reading my blog. Cheers and stay tuned for more. ; )

How to Plan Baby's First Birthday Party

My Baobei Baby F. has just turned 1 year old last Saturday and boy time has just flew right pass our eyes, this little baby has now become a little girl who's all shouting & walking around our house everyday all day long - LOL! I'm having so much thoughts thinking back about when we first planned for a baby, then actually got pregnant and went thru the journey of being a Mom-to-be then eventually becoming one... there were actually alot of ups & downs in terms of my emotions but I'm not going to pour my heart out right now b'cuz today I'd like to share how I planned for Baby F.'s 1st birthday party - a small, cosy & budget one. 

So this was one of the best picture I could share with ya'all, that captured all of us nicely as well as most of the decor for the party. Baby F. isn't a very camera-friendly baby 'cuz she tends to be easily distracted, either that or usually she'd be camera shy and not smile when she sees us taking a picture of her. Haha as you can tell from the picture.

My party theme idea was inspired by these 2 pictures... I liked the birthday banner & fan background...

As well as the pinkish theme for a baby girl..

We only invited family & relatives as we wanted to keep the party small since the party was held in our home. I tried my best to plan for a budget party with all the nice decor & yummies yet not overdo it since I didn't like the idea of wastage.

Things To Prepare For The Party

1. Customized Name Banner - from Craftsmomship

First thing that came to my mind was a customized name banner. For some reason it seems like this is one of the popular must-haves for children's parties. I guess it's to show everyone what we are celebrating and who we are celebrating for. 

One year ago I already wanted to make one for Baby F.'s full month party. But b'cuz back then we weren't allowed (due to Chinese traditions) to plan for a full on party b'cuz of my FIL's passing, I gave it a miss. What I liked about this name banner or puff pillow was that we could actually reuse it again for another party or use it for her room decor - sweet eh? See more cutesy name banner designs here!

Draft was shown to me before Craftmomship started with the sewing.

This was one of the things I prepared/ordered the earliest as the entire waiting time could actually take up to 2/3 weeks (I'm over estimating) to be made then sent to you. You'd have to discuss with the vendor the theme and design you want and have the her prepare a draft for you to confirm before the actual work starts, and of course some more time for her to do the sewing as well as mailing out of the end product to you. Since Baby F. is too young to know what her fav cartoon character is, I decided to go with the sheep theme since she was born in the year of goat. And rainbow simply b'cuz its colourful & happy and I like it - hehe.

Website: www.carousell.com/craftsmomship

2. Customized Birthday Banner - from Sparksmoments

I ordered a customized birthday banner from Sparksmoments who specializes in custom made party banners, cards and cake toppers. The banner was done in light & dark pink shades to match the customized name banner. There's more designs to choose from like adding tassels or ribbons to the banner - you may check their Facebook page here. Waiting time was fast, some what around a week to receive from the time my order was placed. Honestly speaking if you have the time & paper materials at home, you can actually make your own birthday banners. But b'cuz we were too busy and since these didn't cost much, I think it was worth our bucks for the time & effort saved.

Ta-dah, both the banners on the wall of our home. Pardon the unsightly blue tack, I was damn kiasu (scaredy-cat) and afraid the banner would drop so I spammed blue tack - haha. You may find your own ways to put it up if you cannot tahan (stand) seeing the blue tack on the wall.

Website: www.sparksmoments.com

3. Decor For The Party Table - from Daiso

What do you think of this simple-looking party table decor? Its really budget yet I think it looks pretty decent for displaying pastries and also for photo-taking. I think almost 80% of the decor here was from Daiso?

Let me name you what was bought from Daiso here:

• Party gifts/favours - get packs of candies & snacks and pack them into plastic gift wrappers. Kids love cute little gifts like these. 
• Colourful/cute printed napkins - great as decor to lay around the party table and double up as serviettes for your guests.
• Colorful/cute printed paper plates - similar purpose to the napkins.
• Cute bottles - to fill with colourful candies, I used marshmallows 'cuz they won't "lao hong" (turn soggy) as compared to biscuits or stick to each other if you put in chocolates. Unless you use M&Ms, but the crisp sell would also "lao hong" after some time if you do not manage to finish them.. I'm assuming those cheap plastic bottles aren't air tight.
• Fancy dish & cup (see below for pictures) - this is a budget way to create a makeshift cake/pastry stand. Usually a proper cake stand probably cost at least $20? This cost me $8 to make two, and after the party we could use it as normal kitchen crockery.
• Shredded paper fillings - I bought these when I saw them b'cuz I knew it could come useful. If you had large mason jars/bottles, you could always use them to fill the bases before you add in your goodies. For me, I put it around the cupcake stand since I decided in the end not to spend more on mason jars 'cuz I checked that they cost around $20 each. 
• Lace cabinet cover - I do not know if I'm naming this item correctly, but the picture on the label showed like its a screen to cover your open shelves or cabinets. I used them as makeshift table laces attached to the table cloth. Tassels along the linings of the party table look great, but also can be quite costly.
• Little pastry holders - you can use them to hold different types of pastries, cookies, or snacks. In my case, I put mini packets of nuts in them. Okay, I know they're out of theme but I bought them for the older folks to enjoy - you know some may not have sweet tooth to enjoy the other cakes and all... just being thoughtful! If you can bake or want to bake your own cupcakes/pastries, these can come in handy to hold them nicely.

So this was how I made the makeshift cake/pastry stand. You could always get a taller cup/glass to have a taller cake stand, or get 2 sets and stack on top of each other to have more than 1 tier. If you find it boring to have clear stand legs, you may add in some shredded colour paper for visuals. I didn't do so 'cuz my stand was not tall enough for the legs to be that visibly noticeable.

4. Decor For The Party Table - from Carousell & Others

Previously I mentioned that a regular cupcake stands would cost quite a bit so I decided to get paper ones made from cupboard material. Didn't want to spend on cupcake stands 'cuz I don't think I'll be using them anytime soon after this party, and I'd still have to find space at home to store them away... zzzz.. Why not just get paper ones to use for the time being, and if they are not damaged I'll probably be able to keep them for use again. They are easy to store since it comes flat in a plastic package.

I got a set of pink cupcake stands from Carousell, at $7 each. Im sure Taobao sells them for a cheaper price but due to our busy schedule and planning for our wedding the week before, we didn't have the time to order online as the regular sea shipping from China would take a few weeks to arrive. But if you have the time and know how to shop on Taobao, do check them up online.

A panorama shot of the party table before the cake arrived. Pretty decent eh? Oh yea, other things on the table were chocolates I bought from Value Dollar store for $5+ a pack, the mini packets of nuts which came in a big bag for $7 which can be bought from most supermarkets, macarons & cheese tarts from Bread Talk (both were quite yums & prices were reasonable, our guests loved them!), and the fruit tarts were from part of the buffet spread - tried to save money & food since there were not too many people around; I'm just particularly not big on wasting food... I really dislike the idea of wasting food!

For the table cloth, all that I could find online were plastic ones and I personally preferred paper ones 'cuz plastic ones can look abit flimsy. Didn't find alternatives so I ended up getting crepe paper from Popular book store for $1.30 each. Our table was huge so I used 4 pieces to cover up the entire area. Its quite equivalent to getting plastic table cloths 'cuz those cost about $5 each. So really depends on which type you prefer. Again I think you can try Taobao for more options. We didn't order from TB 'cuz we were out of time to do so.

5. Customized Birthday Cake - from Delcies Healthy Desserts & Cakes

I had a really tough time deciding on the right birthday cake and cake vendor since I was spoilt for choice. These days there's simply too many good bakers around who make the prettiest cakes. Then I stumbled upon Delcies who are know for their healthy desserts & cakes. Me being a health-conscious person immediately found interest and I had to find out more about them (check their Facebook page here). Besides having healthy options like diabetic-friendly, gluten/nut/soy-free, vegan desserts & cakes, Delcies also have a baby-friendly option to choose from - just what I found perfect for Baby F.'s 1st birthday party!

This was how the actual cake looked like. The rainbow was supposed to be larger but we had to improvise b'cuz it broke on the was to us. Though I was quite disappointed seeing the rainbow broken into half, the party still went well and I loved the cake - so did Baby F.! Haha! Service recovery was great as they were apologetic & immediately issued a cheque refund. Nevertheless, the cake was still pretty and looked like what I had in mind.

Ombre-coloured cake - inspired by.. Just requested for an all pink theme. Actually the purple was really pretty too.

Rainbow fondant - inspired by..

And the Sheep fondant - inspired by...

All pictures were taken from the internet and provided to Delcies for a customized cake order. Do place your orders for customized cakes at least 2 weeks prior to the party to prevent any delays. The cake I ordered was a traditional cake with cream-frosting outer layer b'cuz I didn't like fondant like those on 3D cakes as they tend to be outrageously sweet as they're just sugar. I ordered 2 8" cakes (they were placed on top of each other) and were supposedly enough for 30 pax to taste. IMO I think this cake is suitable for up to 40 pax to taste as there were still plenty of cake left. I gave the leftovers to my neighbors and a box for my hub's colleagues at work.

Website: www.delcies.com

See this girl... enjoying her first taste of cake. Hehe.

6. Matching Mummy-Daughter Outfit - from Lovey Dovey Fashion

Daughters are one of the best reasons for you to dress up in the same outfits. As we do not head out too often, I hardly have the chance to dress Baby F. up. I'm the rare type of Mom who doesn't quite dress her baby girl up fancily and prefers simple-looking clothes for her. But for her birthday I thought of making an exception to try out our first Mummy-and-Daughter matching outfit.

Lovey Dovey Fashion is an online fashion store originated & registered in Malaysia. They are specialised in Women's clothing as well as matching Mother-Daughter outfits. Most of their baby outfits suit toddler sizes & up, but they do have a small range of outfits for 1 year-olds. I chose this white dress since I liked simple and not too loud outfits especially for her. Both dresses were ordered in the smallest sizes and it sure fit well. Quality & cutting was great too. Do remember to order at least 1-2 weeks pre-hand 'cuz like for me they ran out of size for my dress and had to order from the warehouse which took slightly longer than usual. Check out more cute matching outfits here!

This was probably one of my fav shots of the day!! Adorbs can!! *Helloooo*****

Website: www.loveydoveyfashion.com

7. Buffet Catering - from eCreative

It's our third time ordering from eCreative in a span of one year. We first ordered from them for Baby F.'s full month party, our wedding day high tea after the tea ceremony, and now again for Baby F.'s first birthday. What we liked about eCreative was that their prices are alot cheaper than most other named caterers, food is quite good (feedback from our relatives & friends), and they also have cakes available for your order or even customized cakes if you'd like to save time having look for separate vendors. Food portion was pretty much in proportion to the recommended number of guests - means little food wastage!! You can check them online here. For full month parties, the buffet comes with free cupcakes - one of the reasons why we ordered from them in the very first place. Though not the fanciest-looking cupcakes, I thought they were cute and decent enough to be served.

Panorama view of the 10-course buffet.

Was a winner for hubs 'cuz he loved the curry. I agreed too but have to admit its a tad too salty for my liking 'cuz I don't take rice - you'd have to try out on your own since I'm not the best person to feedback on "not-so-healthy" foods. 

What do you think? Looks not bad eh? For dessert I ordered the Soy Beancurd Pudding. I didn't try it but I was told it tasted like "Lao Ban".

I liked the "Shui Jin Bao" aka Crystal Dumpling - which was some what like Soon Kueh.

Website: www.ecreative.com.sg

8. E-Invite

Last but not least, do not forget to create your e-invite!! Do state down the date & timing of the party as well as your home address. I cropped off my home address for privacy purposes. Also remember to add a cute picture of your little one for the whole invite to look in place.

And that was about all I had to plan & prep for! It doesn't sound like alot but can be quite time-consuming just to think about the ideas & theme to tie the whole party look together (especially if you're gonna plan the whole party on your own). Im glad the 2 most busy occasions this month has been successful and now it's time to partay~~~ Haha.. like real.. Come come, share with all of you some other snippets of the party.

Family photo time! Look at her confused face, as usual...

Happy Birthday To You!

*Say Cheese!!* Where are you looking at my dear, starring at the macarons?!?

Haha please don't laugh at the makeshift cake stand.... I'm sure no one paid attention to it if I didn't mention.
And this again just saved us money! *Ka-ching*!

Close up of the very cute Sheep fondant from Delcies... as well as the used 1 YO candle.. When I asked my helper to get rid of some waste, she asked if I was gonna keep the candle. I looked at her confused and she explained to me that in the Philippines they had the tradition to keep the first birthday candle. What for? I really don't know. So I got her to wash it and I'll decide what to do with it later. Haaaaaa...

Hehe.. Baaaaaaaa~~~

My dear Baobei... *Muacks*

And that sums up my party planing advise and pictures to keep in memories of Baby F.'s 1st birthday celebration. I hope you have found my party planning advise informative even though to be honest we could have saved even more but I really do not know how to bake such a nice cake!! Why did I say that? B'cuz the only thing that was costly was the birthday cake which I think alot of you would have probably known that a customized cake can easily cost $250-$500. Apart from the cake, I would be proud to say I helped hubs to save quite abit - hehe.

Feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any questions regarding this topic and I'll try my best to answer if it's not already stated in my blog above. Thanks for reading! : D

P.S. If you'd like to see my future posts, follow me on FB & IG.. 
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P.S.S. In view of September 2016 being the month of love; our wedding, honeymoon, and Baby F.'s 1st birthday, I'm throwing TWO special give-aways on my Facebook & Instagram with lovely gifts to be won. Do check my page out for contest details & good luck to you!! Bye~!!

That's all for now, cheers and stay tuned for more. ; )