Day 1: ROM

I slept for 5 hours and got up at 6.30am to get ready to meet R and head to the Registry of Marriages to collected our Certificate. We wanted to get there to beat the queue so we arrived at 8.15am, 15 minutes before the office opened. There were already 4 other couples in front of us. I made sure we brought along all the right documents.

When the shutters began to roll back slowly on the dot at 8.30am, none of the couples made a move so we quickly walked up and took a queue number. In the end we were the first couple to be seen despite arriving later than some. We still don't know why they didn't step forward when the doors were open. Last minute hesitation?

The process took 10 minutes, and it involved checking our identification and taking an oath to state we made no false declarations. By 8:42am we were out of ROM and walking toward City Hall where I needed to go to the bank to get some cash.

We also grabbed a coffee and orange juice at McDonald's before heading toward IKEA in Tampines to get some red new bedsheets, as instructed by my mother. I had lunch at IKEA while R had a drink and then I had to go to have my facial. My beautician was extra gentle and careful while she was extracting the impurities from my face to make sure she didn't leave me scarred on my big day.

In the evening I helped R prepare the items for his Guo Da Li ceremony (2 red packets, 1 cake, 2 boxes of Xi Bing (wedding cookies), a few Mandarin oranges and a round red tray). He will take all these to my place tomorrow morning. R also had a haircut at the neighbourhood salon.

My Mum picked me up after this to head to Tampines Mall where she wanted me to pick some jewellery as her gift to me. I thought of going for a bracelet but in the end I chose a pair of earrings and a ring.

There were some problems with my phone so I had to go to the SingTel shop to get things sorted while Mum headed to the shops to get herself a pair of heels to match her Qipao. I also got a blouse for my helper to wear on that day.

On our way home in the car, I made a few last-minute phone calls to make sure people knew when and what time they had to turn up on Sunday. When I came home I spent hours packing the items I needed to bring to the hotel tomorrow for the one last meeting as well as preparing all the red packets.

Tomorrow night I'm hoping I will be able to get an early night since I have to get up at 5am to do my hair and make-up.

It's 00:43 and I think I should sleep now. My best man texted me, "You'd better turn in early otherwise you will have dark eye rings and you won't be pretty on your big day."

I think he's quite right.

Everyone, be prepared to meet the Panda on Sunday.