Happy Holidays
Filed under Love & relationships
Selamat Hari Raya Puasa to all, especially those who have been fasting the past Ramadhan. Maaf Zahir dan Batin, and may you have a very blessed holidays.
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Its a great day to settle the invitation card deliveries. We're having one of those massive Chinese Wedding Dinners where one table goes at over RM1000 each, and running on a budget, there's this 'limit' the number of guests. So what happens is, we have been very specific with how the invitation cards go. For couples, we're placing it as Mr & Mrs XXXX, or if they're not married yet, we're going for Mr/Ms XXX & partner. For just the lone guest, we're settling for Mr/Mdm/Ms.
There's the other issue of trying very hard to explain to friends from other cultural traditions why we have to be so 'stingy' on the invitations. I was at the card printers last week, and the workers were busy sticking on the inlays for over 2500 pcs of invitation cards, ordered by a Malay customer for her wedding in early December. So one of the workers said, 'Wah if it were a Chinese couple sending out over 2500 pieces of invitation cards, can you imagine? He'll probably be spending half a million on the wedding dinner alone.'
i.e. Per table, 10 seats approximate RM1000, therefore, it costs RM100 per pax for the dinner.
With 2500 cards, assuming we're counting about two persons coming for each card, we'll have 5000 people attending this dinner, and the hosts will have to fork out RM5000 x RM100 = RM 500,000 per person.
I had one of our friends telling us that he would be bringing NINE (9) people to the wedding dinner. Eric and I were astounded, and we did spend some time sitting down discussing how we would explain why we're being so specific with who's coming. Finally, we gave up on 'being nice'. I just have to tell my friends who wouldn't be receiving a card from me these things now.
1. Space is limited. The restaurant can only fit so many people, so many tables.
2. We're trying hard to stick to the budget, both Eric and I are more keen on keeping our finances sturdy for the marriage rather than accumulating debt thanks to a grand, dream wedding.
3. Its not that we don't love you okay. WE DO! If you're not invited now, fret not, there's many more anniversaries, birthday parties, housewarmings, Christmases, Merdekas and etcs that both Eric and I are planning to host. We'll give you guys a holler then!
Ok it's back to the work for me. Happy Holidays once again.
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Oct01
October 1, 2008 at 11:57 am
And don’t forget to allocate a couple spare tables (just in case some decided to “just turn up” or bring extra mates along. Not exactly pleasant to turn away guests at your wedding dinner, even though they are totally thick skinned…give grace lah.
And dun worry too much about the dinner costs. Most of it will be recovered through the red packets. I stressed big time but in the end, we still came up in front.
Better to save the moolah for bub and given the current credit crisis world wide, it would be prudent too.
October 1, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Yeah, but don’t depend totally on the red packets. They may not be enough.
But it’s within your rights to limit your wedding dinner invites anyway. I don’t see a reason not to.
October 1, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Okay, I’m going to be very frank – sorry if I step on anyone’s toes. Just want to relate my own grievances when I was planning my own wedding. I don’t know where the hell people get the idea that they have to be on the top of the guest list just because they are friends.
Sorry but weddings have always been and will always be for family members FIRST (and even then it goes according to rank – not everyone gets invited). If there is space, then by all means, invite business partners, friends, followed by colleagues. That’s how it is in the real world. If you’re going to invite EVERYONE you know, you’ll never find a hall big enough for all those people. If your friends are going to throw a tantrum because they weren’t invited, just tell them to wait until it’s their wedding and they get a taste of what it’s like trying to juggle everything.
As for the red packets, just get ready to fork out moolah. I know of weddings where the angpows didn’t even cover half of the dinner costs. There are cheapskates around… =.=
Btw, this fellow who is bringing 9 people – who is he anyway? A bloody tour guide? =.=
October 2, 2008 at 4:59 am
Wow, didn’t know that there are people who are eager to attend wedding(s).
Was in a casual discussion the other day during supper where getting invited to a wedding was likened to getting a traffic summon.
October 2, 2008 at 11:02 am
Eh, definitely heed Kenny’s advice about having a couple of spare tables…we had 2 extra tables just in case and were glad we did.
About friends who may get offended, we had a special dinner for my friends one night (just seafood in Klang) and another dinner for dh’s friends another night so we kept everyone pretty much happy (i hope).
Either way, they grow up lor…we do what we can but at the end of the day “You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time”..a bit out of context…but you get it
)
October 2, 2008 at 1:35 pm
hi hi…. selamat hari raya everyone….
5000 people u expecting? divide that by 10 heads per table, that equalls to… holy crap, 500 tables!!!!
anyways, have a good time.. was just playing bodoh…
October 3, 2008 at 10:10 am
i tot it is expensive ??!! 1k/table??!
wif abalone shark’s fin + lobster in cold dish was juz 700+
October 4, 2008 at 5:41 am
think tats b4 minyak naik?
but of course hopefully the returns oso inflation adjusted!