i was showering and my mom popped her head into the bathroom asking me what my plans are for the day. told her we were going to flower mart, then drop things off at turnip rose and finish packing up the gifts for the wedding entourage. then she goes, "it's your last night here. i'm sad." and she made a frowny face. "awwwwwww! ma!!!" i said. she started crying, so of course, i started crying! "awwwwwww," and i told her, "it's not my last night here! it's okay!" awwwww, sad!!!! "that's why i was waiting for you to come home last night, but you got home so late" [from music practice]. awwww!
mannnnn, this is why i didn't want to get ready at the house. it'd be filled with all the crying and stuff. we'll just save that for sunday night, before we leave for the airport. but at the same time, these are the moments that tell me that this wedding is mine, not just for a client. tomorrow, i'll be mrs. pang. and tomorrow, we'll be partying like it's 1999! whoohoo!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
weather is clear!
oh heck yea! it's gonna be a beautiful day!
"delightful" it says! what a wonderful thing for a bride to read 8 days from her wedding. and the sun will set at 6:04pm, just perfectly in time for our surprise! i do hope everyone gets to cocktail hour on time.
i'm getting so excited now! 2 weeks ago, i was really pretty stressed, but now, as tasks get completed (picked up the bridal gown, it fits perfectly now!), i'm getting more and more excited! and it totally helps when i hear how people are excited for us too. i received an email from a client of mine who just expressed such sincere excitement for my wedding. and she can't wait for me to work on hers too! and then last friday, my dept at work threw me a surprise bridal shower! it was so super sweet of them and their thoughtfulness was so unexpected and appreciated! they got us the coolest gifts and i was totally floored at how many things they were able to purchase for the group gift! i felt so blessed and loved!
and yesterday, we finally booked our hotels in italy and we're so excited to stay 2 nights at these small seaside towns of cinque terre. we'll also be going to rome for 3 nights for our big splurge! thank goodness for points eh?
how can i not be excited?!
"delightful" it says! what a wonderful thing for a bride to read 8 days from her wedding. and the sun will set at 6:04pm, just perfectly in time for our surprise! i do hope everyone gets to cocktail hour on time.
i'm getting so excited now! 2 weeks ago, i was really pretty stressed, but now, as tasks get completed (picked up the bridal gown, it fits perfectly now!), i'm getting more and more excited! and it totally helps when i hear how people are excited for us too. i received an email from a client of mine who just expressed such sincere excitement for my wedding. and she can't wait for me to work on hers too! and then last friday, my dept at work threw me a surprise bridal shower! it was so super sweet of them and their thoughtfulness was so unexpected and appreciated! they got us the coolest gifts and i was totally floored at how many things they were able to purchase for the group gift! i felt so blessed and loved!
and yesterday, we finally booked our hotels in italy and we're so excited to stay 2 nights at these small seaside towns of cinque terre. we'll also be going to rome for 3 nights for our big splurge! thank goodness for points eh?
how can i not be excited?!
Monday, October 8, 2007
form versus function
i'm all about the cutesy little tokens during weddings. and believe me, i do take them home, so all of the time and effort spent folding, gluing, ribboning is totally not wasted on me as a guest. but as much as i love the cutesiness of things, i really also appreciate the function. and while some items are purely for novelty, i love it when brides find a cute new way to present things that have a specific function.
at first i thought my programs would follow the same intricate, time-consuming japanese binding/sewing that my invitation booklet had. and i definitely wanted the nice "tears of joy" tissues, cuz god knows, i cry at all of the weddings i've been to. but i also knew, first and foremost, that my programs were going to be functional. my primary purpose for them was not just to have something cute, but i wanted it to serve as a very detailed guide to encourage community involvement and response and even singing. being that half of my guests are chinese and non-catholic... heck, more than half of my wedding party are chinese and non-catholic, i felt that this was important and necessary. our family and friends are important to us and we definitely wanted not just witnesses to our ceremony who watched by the sidelines as we said our vows, but actual community involvement with responses to those vows. so i do hope that people use the programs to follow along and respond appropriately. it's not something that you skim really quickly because it's just an outline and then it just sits on the pew to be forgotten. and i hope it provides some comfort or direction for those who don't know when to sit, stand or kneel.
because the content of my programs are quite detailed and quite abundant, i wanted to make them extra large, so i chose legal sized paper folded in half. henry even liked the idea of making them exactly square, but then, we'd lose an inch, plus it would require more cutting. i really liked the fact that i didn't have to cut any further and we could use the standard legal size and i was really against losing another inch of space. so, function definitely trumped form on that idea.
like i said, i thought i was going to do the japanese binding/sewing thing... but we actually ran out of ribbon and i wasn't about to lose more time and money on this project, so we're stapling it. yes, oh yes, i know you can't believe it, but yes, we're stapling it. but not to fret, i didn't get the ugly standard aluminum staples. for the cute, yet still functional factor, my staples are red! so that was a compromise. and honestly, i love the clean look of the whole program. it's a neat booklet, no fru fru ribbon or bow. and it lays nice and flat.
as for the tissue pockets, i've decided to keep them separate from the program piece. i had planned on the martha stewart little pockets glued to one of the inner covers. but it was so bulky and interruptive and i just wasn't satisfied with any idea of it attached inside the program. thinking about it was honestly stressing me out, so we're keeping it simple (stupid) and just keeping them separate from the program. if people wish to take one, they're free to do so.
sometimes, being in the wedding business totally makes you nuts with all of the ideas for projects and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) items. what have you chosen to do or not do? or what areas of your wedding did you choose the more functional route rather than the cutesy form?
at first i thought my programs would follow the same intricate, time-consuming japanese binding/sewing that my invitation booklet had. and i definitely wanted the nice "tears of joy" tissues, cuz god knows, i cry at all of the weddings i've been to. but i also knew, first and foremost, that my programs were going to be functional. my primary purpose for them was not just to have something cute, but i wanted it to serve as a very detailed guide to encourage community involvement and response and even singing. being that half of my guests are chinese and non-catholic... heck, more than half of my wedding party are chinese and non-catholic, i felt that this was important and necessary. our family and friends are important to us and we definitely wanted not just witnesses to our ceremony who watched by the sidelines as we said our vows, but actual community involvement with responses to those vows. so i do hope that people use the programs to follow along and respond appropriately. it's not something that you skim really quickly because it's just an outline and then it just sits on the pew to be forgotten. and i hope it provides some comfort or direction for those who don't know when to sit, stand or kneel.
because the content of my programs are quite detailed and quite abundant, i wanted to make them extra large, so i chose legal sized paper folded in half. henry even liked the idea of making them exactly square, but then, we'd lose an inch, plus it would require more cutting. i really liked the fact that i didn't have to cut any further and we could use the standard legal size and i was really against losing another inch of space. so, function definitely trumped form on that idea.
like i said, i thought i was going to do the japanese binding/sewing thing... but we actually ran out of ribbon and i wasn't about to lose more time and money on this project, so we're stapling it. yes, oh yes, i know you can't believe it, but yes, we're stapling it. but not to fret, i didn't get the ugly standard aluminum staples. for the cute, yet still functional factor, my staples are red! so that was a compromise. and honestly, i love the clean look of the whole program. it's a neat booklet, no fru fru ribbon or bow. and it lays nice and flat.
as for the tissue pockets, i've decided to keep them separate from the program piece. i had planned on the martha stewart little pockets glued to one of the inner covers. but it was so bulky and interruptive and i just wasn't satisfied with any idea of it attached inside the program. thinking about it was honestly stressing me out, so we're keeping it simple (stupid) and just keeping them separate from the program. if people wish to take one, they're free to do so.
sometimes, being in the wedding business totally makes you nuts with all of the ideas for projects and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) items. what have you chosen to do or not do? or what areas of your wedding did you choose the more functional route rather than the cutesy form?
and we have have nightmare #2
this time, the setting was at a huge mansion. and of course, there's hustle and bustle everywhere. i don't remember much else about it, but i do vividly recall the same stressed out feeling as in nightmare #1. this time, what i forgot were my shoes.
henry's had a nightmare this past weekend too. jeez.
so, note to self:
~ don't forget your veil and shoes. for that matter, don't forget your dress(es). and jewelry.
~ make sure the choir director knows the line up of the songs and who's gonna sing what.
~ have explicit, written directions and guidelines with diagrams if possible, so that the coordinators know what to do.
~ trust everyone to do their jobs and relax!
henry's had a nightmare this past weekend too. jeez.
so, note to self:
~ don't forget your veil and shoes. for that matter, don't forget your dress(es). and jewelry.
~ make sure the choir director knows the line up of the songs and who's gonna sing what.
~ have explicit, written directions and guidelines with diagrams if possible, so that the coordinators know what to do.
~ trust everyone to do their jobs and relax!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
nightmare
oh i had the worst dream last night! everything i love about my wedding totally went wrong! i was late to the church and i forgot my veil! the songs were sung, but not during the parts that jei and i had discussed. and then henry left to start partying without me while i had to stay at the church and clean up with my mom! that's when i got really mad and told my mom to call him and get his butt back over at the church. strangely enough, he came back with anna, chris & iya and some of their friends! it's strange because first of all, they're more my friends than his and 2nd, in reality, they're not able to make it to our wedding. soooo weird! and then my photographer came and i started to vent to her, except after she left, i realized that she's not even our photographer! she just looks like our photographer. and then my chest tightened up at the thought of how much we're paying our photographer only to have her source out the job to some look-alike!!! and that's when i woke up, thinking thank god it was only a dream! but aughh, it seemed so real! i swear i was trying to hold in my anger and frustration as all of those moments occurred in the dream. but in the end, i felt like my chest imploded. yea, not exploded, but caved in and collapsed inside!
*breathe, dorothy, breathe*
*breathe, dorothy, breathe*
Monday, October 1, 2007
may i have the rings...
hehe, wow, 2 posts in a row! well, i finally uploaded my camera, so i do have more items for you to feast your eyes upon!
last weekend, our rings were ready! i really wanted our wedding bands to match, rather than have my band match my engagement ring. it took us a few weeks to decide on a design that we liked, but multiple mall stores and many websites later, we finally found something from novell. henry and i weren't really too fond of the basic plain designs. my e-ring is more antique-looking and although we didn't need the bands to match that, we wanted to remain within the same sort of style. so here, i present to you our wedding bands:
we purchased them at black starr frost
and here's their nice store in South Coast Plaza:
being that it's south coast plaza (in the ritzy wing, i might add), i expected the people to be a lil snooty, but they really weren't actually. the lady who helped us (forgot her name) was knowledgeable and helpful. and the staff were all friendly without being fake.
so here's my ring in detail:
and his ring in detail:
we both love the fact that his ring looks like my ring enclosed within the outer bands. it's like my ring is being *hugged*!
here's my e-ring together with the band:
see, it doesn't really match, but it kinda goes together in a coordinated sort of way.
i won't be wearing it together though. i'll wear the band on my left and the e-ring on my right. i wore it this way all day long on saturday. we were both really excited and didn't want to take them off. henry kept saying how weird it felt and how he has to get used to it. but he didn't say it in a complaining tone at all, more like a super-excited-little-kid-got-a-new-toy tone! by the end of the day, we figured we better take them off, so we can save the moment for when it's time. and when i took off the band and put my e-ring back on my left, my right finger felt so empty!
and one last picture of the very happy couple:
last weekend, our rings were ready! i really wanted our wedding bands to match, rather than have my band match my engagement ring. it took us a few weeks to decide on a design that we liked, but multiple mall stores and many websites later, we finally found something from novell. henry and i weren't really too fond of the basic plain designs. my e-ring is more antique-looking and although we didn't need the bands to match that, we wanted to remain within the same sort of style. so here, i present to you our wedding bands:
we purchased them at black starr frost
and here's their nice store in South Coast Plaza:
being that it's south coast plaza (in the ritzy wing, i might add), i expected the people to be a lil snooty, but they really weren't actually. the lady who helped us (forgot her name) was knowledgeable and helpful. and the staff were all friendly without being fake.so here's my ring in detail:
and his ring in detail:
we both love the fact that his ring looks like my ring enclosed within the outer bands. it's like my ring is being *hugged*!
here's my e-ring together with the band:
see, it doesn't really match, but it kinda goes together in a coordinated sort of way.
i won't be wearing it together though. i'll wear the band on my left and the e-ring on my right. i wore it this way all day long on saturday. we were both really excited and didn't want to take them off. henry kept saying how weird it felt and how he has to get used to it. but he didn't say it in a complaining tone at all, more like a super-excited-little-kid-got-a-new-toy tone! by the end of the day, we figured we better take them off, so we can save the moment for when it's time. and when i took off the band and put my e-ring back on my left, my right finger felt so empty!and one last picture of the very happy couple:
it's moving too fast
we're less than a month away from the wedding. gosh, where has the time gone? wasn't it only a lil while ago when i just got this little rock on my finger? i knew the engagement would fly by, but i didn't think it would happen this fast. being a wedding planner, a lot of my own wedding plans have been more like the other wedding work that i've done. so when my best friend asked me this weekend, "are you enjoying your engagement?" i had to kinda think about it first. i mean, i love the details and working on it and putting my vision together. but most of it has seemed like scrambling and hurrying to get things checked off the list, panicked because we're late according to the timeline that all the wedding magazines and websites have set. it's been difficult to stop and smell the roses sometimes.
then there'll be those few moments, like when i first received my veil and got to play with it after the hair and makeup trials... or when we picked up our gorgeous rings and didn't want to take them off so we wore them for the whole day... these were the times when it actually felt like it's our wedding. and those times when he's holding me close to just calm my stresses away and then i remember, this is why we're doing this. to have this peace all the time for always. and i let out a deep breath and finally relish our engagement.
then there'll be those few moments, like when i first received my veil and got to play with it after the hair and makeup trials... or when we picked up our gorgeous rings and didn't want to take them off so we wore them for the whole day... these were the times when it actually felt like it's our wedding. and those times when he's holding me close to just calm my stresses away and then i remember, this is why we're doing this. to have this peace all the time for always. and i let out a deep breath and finally relish our engagement.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
mama's wedding dress updated
so you want to see a preview? (henry, look away now.)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
before:
during:
after:
the new neckline:
do you like the new shape? it's totally different! and i quite love the new neckline! but she definitely has to adjust the seams where the skirt flares out. i can't quite figure out what's wrong with it, but it looks a little odd. do you think it needs to flare out more? how would i accomplish that? crinoline underneath? or do you think it needs to bunch up less or more?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
before:
during:
after:
the new neckline:
do you like the new shape? it's totally different! and i quite love the new neckline! but she definitely has to adjust the seams where the skirt flares out. i can't quite figure out what's wrong with it, but it looks a little odd. do you think it needs to flare out more? how would i accomplish that? crinoline underneath? or do you think it needs to bunch up less or more?
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
i'm the bride!!!
i've been planning this wedding for many months now and yes, at times, it feels like one of my wedding planning/coordinating jobs. yesterday, i felt for the first time, wow, it's MY wedding!!! I'M the bride!!!
Last night, I had my first hair and makeup trial with Lisa and Ona. It was truly a long night. I got there at 7 and didn't leave til past 11pm. I got airbrushed, curled, painted on, pinned up, generally purrtied up. Of course, I examined, and gave my feedback, and we changed some things, tried new looks. But the most spectacular thing happened when I put on the veil.
Oh My God. I'm the Bride! Meee! We took a few pictures and since it was late, we started packing up. But I didn't want to remove the veil! I drove home with it on and yes, at 11pm, I woke up my mom and asked her, "you wanna see?" with this excited glimmer in my eye. Hehehe, she was excited too, so she got up and grabbed her camera and I twirled around my living room, tossing the veil up, so she could capture that "veil flying" shot that I love.
my mom was a little slow with the shutter speed with this shot.
then she finally got the timing right!
And then she went back to sleep. I, on the other hand, knew that I had to sleep, but somehow, I was trying to figure out how I could do that and still wear my veil. hehe, i knew i really couldn't. so, very reluctantly, i took it off, and carefully hung it up. i did, however, keep the makeup and hair on. i actually wanted to see how long the makeup would last. so this morning when i work up and inspected it, i was glad to see that it actually lasted the 8+ hours since it was fresh. of course, it had faded some and the lashes were starting to come loose. and i'm sure there's makeup on my pillow, but overall, it was pretty good. my lipstick totally lasted, but didn't feel dry. and my eyes still had that nice shimmer. so i'm totally happy with it. but i knew i would be. i was very persistent in booking lisa even though her schedule is crazy. out of all my bridesmaidships, her makeup was simply the best. she laid on the lashes best, her foundation was nice and light. i didn't look like a drag queen. (i almost cried one time when i came home and my brother goes, "you look like a chola". nothing against cholas out there. i just didn't want to look like that on that day.)
here's an eyelash shot:
and a full frontal face:
i love that i have visible eyelashes now!
and a plain jane shot just for comparison (sorry for the lack of rotation, no time):
when did you first get that sudden realization that you were actually the one getting married? was it when you put on your dress? or your veil? or your make up?
Last night, I had my first hair and makeup trial with Lisa and Ona. It was truly a long night. I got there at 7 and didn't leave til past 11pm. I got airbrushed, curled, painted on, pinned up, generally purrtied up. Of course, I examined, and gave my feedback, and we changed some things, tried new looks. But the most spectacular thing happened when I put on the veil.
Oh My God. I'm the Bride! Meee! We took a few pictures and since it was late, we started packing up. But I didn't want to remove the veil! I drove home with it on and yes, at 11pm, I woke up my mom and asked her, "you wanna see?" with this excited glimmer in my eye. Hehehe, she was excited too, so she got up and grabbed her camera and I twirled around my living room, tossing the veil up, so she could capture that "veil flying" shot that I love.
And then she went back to sleep. I, on the other hand, knew that I had to sleep, but somehow, I was trying to figure out how I could do that and still wear my veil. hehe, i knew i really couldn't. so, very reluctantly, i took it off, and carefully hung it up. i did, however, keep the makeup and hair on. i actually wanted to see how long the makeup would last. so this morning when i work up and inspected it, i was glad to see that it actually lasted the 8+ hours since it was fresh. of course, it had faded some and the lashes were starting to come loose. and i'm sure there's makeup on my pillow, but overall, it was pretty good. my lipstick totally lasted, but didn't feel dry. and my eyes still had that nice shimmer. so i'm totally happy with it. but i knew i would be. i was very persistent in booking lisa even though her schedule is crazy. out of all my bridesmaidships, her makeup was simply the best. she laid on the lashes best, her foundation was nice and light. i didn't look like a drag queen. (i almost cried one time when i came home and my brother goes, "you look like a chola". nothing against cholas out there. i just didn't want to look like that on that day.)
here's an eyelash shot:
and a full frontal face:
i love that i have visible eyelashes now!
and a plain jane shot just for comparison (sorry for the lack of rotation, no time):
when did you first get that sudden realization that you were actually the one getting married? was it when you put on your dress? or your veil? or your make up?
Monday, September 3, 2007
i think i'm turning chi-inese, i think i'm turning chi-inese, i really think so!
hehehe, for those who grew up in the 80s, i know the song's supposed to be japanese... but hey, this version works for me.
on sunday, henry and i went out with our moms to chinatown. we were looking for a cheung sam (chinese long dress) for me to wear during the tea ceremony. our shopping list also included a tea set to use for the ceremony. it was a great success as i found my dress, and even better was the price of $20!!! my co-worker had been looking some up for me and all of the prices we were seeing online were at least $75, so this was such a steal! and even better that i was able to find one close enough to my shade of blue, with some red details on it. and it even fits perfectly! sweeet! my mom also got a black dress with red details. the designs on hers are of bamboo and cherry blossoms. and she got some outfits for some relatives including a matching mother/daughter set! it's sooo cute!
the tea set was equally of great value! we needed lots of cups, so we bought 12 little sake sized cups for $0.69 each and a teapot for $9.99. it's clay brown and carved with a dragon on one side and a phoenix on the other side. it's perfect! from the traditional chinese weddings that i've been reading about, the dragon symbolizes the man and the phoenix symbolizes the woman.
and here we are when we had dimsum for lunch. tony, henry's brother also joined us. it was a great day and a great bonding time for all of us, especially the moms!
i feel so blessed to have a FMIL (future-mother-in-law) like mrs. p. i've heard sooo many brides and wives complain of their MIL and i'm so glad that she's so very easy going and loving to me. how is your relationship with your FMIL/MIL? did you guys plan any bonding activities with the moms before you got married?
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
fathers and daughters
henry and i came home from a most wonderful engaged encounter retreat weekend and we were just on such a high, feeling such incredible love and closeness for each other and looking forward to our future together. but in the midst of all the togetherness and new life, there's also something else going on...
my mom told me that my dad wants to bbq for my bday on saturday. nice to hear, especially cuz i kinda forgot my bday is this week just because we've been so involved with the wedding planning. my mom mentioned to me that it's cuz it'll be my last bday before i get married. i just got all awwwwwww. it completely surprises me when men express their sentimentality. you see, i really didn't want to focus on the "leaving home" part of the wedding. in fact, i'm taking deliberate strides not to do the whole getting ready at home because i don't want it to feel like i'm leaving home. i don't want to focus on that fact at all because i don't want to be sad about it (aka, bawling the night before because i'm an emotional wreck!). i don't want to remember the day of my wedding to be the day i leave home... as if i'll never come back, gone forever and ever in married never-neverland. but i understand that it is one of life's milestones and it has an effect on everyone in my family. i just want the day to be a happy one, starting a new life with my husband, not of leaving an old life behind.
for those who have lived at home for a while... and even for those who don't, how have your parents dealt with you "leaving the nest?" and will you get ready at home? for sentimental or practical reasons?
my mom told me that my dad wants to bbq for my bday on saturday. nice to hear, especially cuz i kinda forgot my bday is this week just because we've been so involved with the wedding planning. my mom mentioned to me that it's cuz it'll be my last bday before i get married. i just got all awwwwwww. it completely surprises me when men express their sentimentality. you see, i really didn't want to focus on the "leaving home" part of the wedding. in fact, i'm taking deliberate strides not to do the whole getting ready at home because i don't want it to feel like i'm leaving home. i don't want to focus on that fact at all because i don't want to be sad about it (aka, bawling the night before because i'm an emotional wreck!). i don't want to remember the day of my wedding to be the day i leave home... as if i'll never come back, gone forever and ever in married never-neverland. but i understand that it is one of life's milestones and it has an effect on everyone in my family. i just want the day to be a happy one, starting a new life with my husband, not of leaving an old life behind.
for those who have lived at home for a while... and even for those who don't, how have your parents dealt with you "leaving the nest?" and will you get ready at home? for sentimental or practical reasons?
Monday, August 20, 2007
on the home stretch!
6 weeks, 180 invitations, and 2 post offices later... we are finally on the home stretch!!! this morning, my mother and i went to the lovely la mirada post office and that visit was a flop. when i handed the lady one of my boxed invitations, she weighed it again and told me the postage would be about $3! ummm, no. i already checked how much postage would be at the pasadena post office last week and was quoted $1.64, exactly 4 $0.41-cent stamps. and then she proceeds to tell me, it's because it wouldn't fit in the official slot on a card that she produced from underneath the counter. "see, it has to fit here," she says, as she pretends to shove my 1-inch high box inside the quarter-inch wide slot. and i just smiled sweetly and told her, it's okay, i'll just take it to another post office. somehow, i half expected the failure anyway.
so off i went to the pasadena post office near my work. i love that post office because it's in an old building and the fixtures look like the old post offices with wrought iron gates and that old architecture. and i love them even more because they're always very courteous and nice there. very un-postal service-like. so i got up to the window with my big box of 60-some little boxes, and i asked the lady to double check my postage. i held my breath as she says, "$1.64". whew! and i asked about the hand-cancelling of the postage and she said that they don't do that there. but they'll have to be hand cancelled anyway because they're boxes. they won't fit through the machine. score!!! i had her double check the boxes that were going to canada and the philippines. the one for canada actually cost less than the ones staying in the u.s., but the ones for the philippines were short from what the 1st post office told us. so i just added a few more stamps to the invites for the philippines and handed them to the lady. and off i went to work, with a much lighter load, both physically and emotionally.
i gotta say, it certainly could have been worse eh? any horrid post office experiences out there?
Friday, August 10, 2007
parental involvement
it's so cute how my parents have been excited about my wedding details. my dad came with us to the tasting last weekend and at that time, i asked him to make the wooden frames that the drapery and hanging orchids will hang from as well as the trellis for our favors to hang from. he's very handy, having built many extensions of our house, as well as an elaborate tree house for my brothers, a gazebo for a spa and a fountain for the corner of our backyard. so of course, his role would involve building something for our wedding. we're having these little chimes made of bamboo that we purchased from the philippines as our wedding favors. and they will double as our escort cards with a hanging tag, so we need to devise a way for guests to be able to find their chime in an organized manner. my dad's engineering mind started cooking lately at how he will create this display and he just called me to tell me how much the large bamboo was (toooo costly!) and how he can make something similar and nice with regular 2x4 frames, and just adding the smaller pieces of bamboo. i can't wait to see how it turns out. but most of all, i love that my dad is involved and excited about my wedding! we didn't have a very good relationship in the past, but it's slowly but surely improved over the years, so i'm really glad that he's more incorporated in the planning now.
how are you parents involved in your wedding plans?
how are you parents involved in your wedding plans?
ah progress
making the invitations has been a long arduous process for me. i know it's partially my fault because i totally burned myself out too much in the beginning and then i just didn't want to look at the darn things for at least 3 weeks. of course, that put us totally behind schedule and now, we're scrambling. we wanted to get these babies out before this weekend so that we can hand deliver them to our friends and families during the showers. i must say, they did turn out really nice. i'm very happy with the new paper, and the redesign of the pages. what i loved most, was that i was able to print everything myself and it all looks just beautiful. my parents thought they were very professional looking and my dad looked shocked that i printed it all on my color laser printer.
so without further adieu, i'd like to present, my invitation booklet:
i'll be showing the whole package soon as well as how my fiance and i did the japanese binding.
so without further adieu, i'd like to present, my invitation booklet:
i'll be showing the whole package soon as well as how my fiance and i did the japanese binding.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
little angels
i'm lucky to have relatives able to sew things for me. uncle dags' mommy is sewing the sashes for our little angels and look how great they turned out!
here's drexel, our little rosary angel:
okay, pa-cute, pa-cute (translation: make a cute face):
and here she is with her wings:
and here we are trying on their wings:
hehe! we'll have 2 flower angels who will distribute little bunches of mini roses to the guests as they walk down the aisle. a bible angel, who will carry the bible, a rosary angel, who will carry the rosary, and our ring and coin angel, carrying the all important rings and coins. total of 5 adorable little girls!
the best part to their outfits: $14.99 each at downtown LA. $7.99 each for the wings that include little fuzzy halos too (but they won't wear the halos for the wedding). and the sashes are being made from the material that i've purchased from the philippines. same material that the bridesmaids' dresses are made of, so it'll match perfectly!
what are you kids wearing at your wedding?
here's drexel, our little rosary angel:
okay, pa-cute, pa-cute (translation: make a cute face):
and here she is with her wings:
and here we are trying on their wings:
hehe! we'll have 2 flower angels who will distribute little bunches of mini roses to the guests as they walk down the aisle. a bible angel, who will carry the bible, a rosary angel, who will carry the rosary, and our ring and coin angel, carrying the all important rings and coins. total of 5 adorable little girls!
the best part to their outfits: $14.99 each at downtown LA. $7.99 each for the wings that include little fuzzy halos too (but they won't wear the halos for the wedding). and the sashes are being made from the material that i've purchased from the philippines. same material that the bridesmaids' dresses are made of, so it'll match perfectly!
what are you kids wearing at your wedding?
Friday, July 27, 2007
arras
the arras is one of the only wedding ceremony items i did not pick up in the philippines. first of all, i didn't want filipino coins, because, well, henry and i didn't grow up with them. even though we're filipino-american and chinese-american, really, we've spent more of our time here in the states. so i figured dollars would be more appropriate. i thought it would be cool to find $1 coins of our birth years to have as our arrae, but this would be difficult to find. so okay, we'll just go with 2007, it'll be much easier and meaningful as the year of our wedding. i was just gonna collect random $1 coins or even just quarters. but then i came across these babies. i think it'll be cool to have the brand new $1 presidential coins where the "in God we trust" is inscribed on the edge of the coin. i only need 13 of them, so i think i'll just go to my bank and request them, although i could purchase a whole roll here. and i have the perfect little dark red organza pouch in the shape of a heart already at home! it was something from my manager that she stuffed valentine's day goodies with. perfect!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
my mother's wedding dress
as promised, here is my mom's wedding dress... and me, trying it on. it's quite wrinkled as she was storing it folded inside a plastic comforter bag. i can't believe it even fit me, as she said she was 89 lbs. when she got married.
here's the beautiful detail along the bottom of the skirt and the bottom of the arm sleeves. the pearl beading is wonderful...
so i'm toying with the idea of updating her dress and getting it made into a dress to change into for the reception or even for the day after brunch. i was already wanting a 2nd dress for the reception, especially because i want something that i can dance and move around in. i don't think i can wear it for the rehearsal because i'll be wearing something like this for the tea ceremony, which we'll do during the dinner. although, i guess, i could also change from one to the other on that night too.
and of course, here is my parents' wedding portrait:
they looked so very beautiful and happy. very 70's with the bell bottoms and the bell sleeves, no? i think the dress will bring good fortune and success to my marriage. it certainly comes from a couple who has survived many challenges through their relationship. maybe the strength will be passed on to me and henry. :)
here's the beautiful detail along the bottom of the skirt and the bottom of the arm sleeves. the pearl beading is wonderful...
so i'm toying with the idea of updating her dress and getting it made into a dress to change into for the reception or even for the day after brunch. i was already wanting a 2nd dress for the reception, especially because i want something that i can dance and move around in. i don't think i can wear it for the rehearsal because i'll be wearing something like this for the tea ceremony, which we'll do during the dinner. although, i guess, i could also change from one to the other on that night too.
and of course, here is my parents' wedding portrait:
they looked so very beautiful and happy. very 70's with the bell bottoms and the bell sleeves, no? i think the dress will bring good fortune and success to my marriage. it certainly comes from a couple who has survived many challenges through their relationship. maybe the strength will be passed on to me and henry. :)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
i won i won i won!
wowoweee, i won something!
a couple days ago, i entered this contest, and how could i not? it was as easy as commenting on my favorite website!
today, i got this email from mrs. bee, saying:
Hi aoedorothee!
Congratulations! You're the winner of the $50 Ideal Favors Gift Certificate in yesterday's contest. Please email us your address so we can send you out your cert. Thanks for playing!
i totally didn't think i had a shot, there were 360 entries! but hooray for the laws of random probability!
a couple days ago, i entered this contest, and how could i not? it was as easy as commenting on my favorite website!
today, i got this email from mrs. bee, saying:
Hi aoedorothee!
Congratulations! You're the winner of the $50 Ideal Favors Gift Certificate in yesterday's contest. Please email us your address so we can send you out your cert. Thanks for playing!
i totally didn't think i had a shot, there were 360 entries! but hooray for the laws of random probability!
Monday, July 23, 2007
excited for...
you know what i can't wait for? to wear my veil! hehe! i finally finalized the order from www.occanseydesigns.com just last week. kathy, the owner, was so nice and responsive. we had gone back and forth on all kinds of different veils, lengths, types of combs, types of bunching on the comb, beading... shoot, i never knew there was so much to buying a veil! so here's the description:
A Diamond white, single layer veil 50" long, mantilla cut, standard fullness, very minimal gathering at the comb, cut edge scallops with pearl clusters (5 pearls around a rhinestone) at each point and then a repeating pattern of seed bead, silver bugle, seed bead - and then a space - and another repeat -around the edging, attached to a 4.5" metal comb
and of course, the best part was the freakin price, dun-dadaaa (trumpets blowing): a whopping $85! whoohooo! yes, this is a good thing considering that the best veils that i've seen range from $200-600! so i was incredibly happy to have come under budget on this item.
i've been thinking about my mom's wedding gown lately though. she's got such wonderful pearl beading on hers. i'd love to incorporate it somewhere. and just to that touch of "something old" would be nice. i'm so sappy and nostalgic that way. i'd love to have a part of her wedding gown to add to my wedding day. and then maybe my little girl will want to incorporate a part of my wedding gown to her wedding day. awww, *tear*
i'll share pictures of me trying to fit into my mother's gown later tonight. i was like a suman (sweet rice tightly wrapped in a banana leaf). she was only 89 lbs when she got married! i was shocked i even got it to zip up!
A Diamond white, single layer veil 50" long, mantilla cut, standard fullness, very minimal gathering at the comb, cut edge scallops with pearl clusters (5 pearls around a rhinestone) at each point and then a repeating pattern of seed bead, silver bugle, seed bead - and then a space - and another repeat -around the edging, attached to a 4.5" metal comb
and of course, the best part was the freakin price, dun-dadaaa (trumpets blowing): a whopping $85! whoohooo! yes, this is a good thing considering that the best veils that i've seen range from $200-600! so i was incredibly happy to have come under budget on this item.
i've been thinking about my mom's wedding gown lately though. she's got such wonderful pearl beading on hers. i'd love to incorporate it somewhere. and just to that touch of "something old" would be nice. i'm so sappy and nostalgic that way. i'd love to have a part of her wedding gown to add to my wedding day. and then maybe my little girl will want to incorporate a part of my wedding gown to her wedding day. awww, *tear*
i'll share pictures of me trying to fit into my mother's gown later tonight. i was like a suman (sweet rice tightly wrapped in a banana leaf). she was only 89 lbs when she got married! i was shocked i even got it to zip up!
Friday, July 20, 2007
bridesmaids dress update
oookay... so that seamstress might have been a dead end again... she's the 2nd one. i'm not as exasperated as i was with the first seamstress. she was charging $120, which was more of a shock to me. this seamstress... well, she came back with $165. it made my heart do that "oh my lord!" for a second. and then i recovered quickly and just was sad. i was really hoping that these dresses would be less than $100. i mean, i did buy the shantung silk already. so i was expecting labor to be much more reasonable. i expressed my frustration to my aunts and they acted quickly. the one who found this lady promptly called her and they had a nice chat and she got her to drop it down to $145. i mean, if you attach the word "custom" and "wedding", it's like they have higher rates for it. she scouted out local tailors and got quotes from them and they came it at $220. of course, she was scouting santa monica, ca cuz she lives in culver city. not exactly the lowest of standards of living over there. so she already sort of cut us a break. it's just that i think it's still a lot for my bridesmaids to pay for. what do you think? is it reasonable? or should i keep looking?
Monday, July 16, 2007
the bridesmaids dresses
finally found a seamstress to make the bridesmaids' dresses. she's a really nice lady who made bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses for 20 years. her husband had passed away 7 months ago and she was very eager to just talk and talk and talk to us. i think she's pretty lonely. so we're both super excited to have each other. it seems we're meant to be because she started having dreams to go back and start sewing. and just when that happened, my aunt called her to see if she was available for me. so she interpreted all that as God's way of telling her to get back to work and continue with her talents. i saw her the wedding gown that she made for her daughter 2 years ago and her embroidery and beadwork were pretty impressive. i'm looking forward to the wedding dresses.
here is the idea board for the dresses. i have yet to take pictures of the overlay, but i'm excited about the overall look of the dress. :)
here is the idea board for the dresses. i have yet to take pictures of the overlay, but i'm excited about the overall look of the dress. :)
Friday, July 6, 2007
crisis averted
omg, i was sooo freaked out! this post totally made me a nervous wreck. and it scared me into action. i was already trying to figure out in my head who will be available to handle certain tasks during the day of the wedding and really struggling with possibly relying on my younger cousins. and then when i read this post, granted, nothing truly major happened; the cake didn't splat on the flor or anythng, but shoot, if things didn't go as planned like i'm envisioning it, i'd just be really really disappointed. so i sprang into action and spoke to one of my bridesmaids. i had initially asked her to be my DOC (day of coordinator), but then realized that i really wanted her to be my bridesmaid. and truly, she can do both, except during some parts of the ceremony when she can't. and then, that conversation prompted me to ask one of my old friends to be my day of coordinator. oh thank freakin god she said yes! i'm so excited! she's just as meticulous. she's also currently working on becoming a wedding/event planner. and she's super organized and creative already anyway. i totally trust her with my big day.
and now, i'm calm again. whew!
and now, i'm calm again. whew!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
bridezilla moment?
yea, i think i may have flipped out a lil too much over this cake thing. but i also think i have some valid points. lemme just share my immediate reaction. this was from an email on the monday after the tasting:
oh i gotta tell you about the bakery appt. i was quite dissatisfied. i was already surprised at the lack of choices Rockwell's Creative Cakes (total misnomer!) had. they only have very very basic cake flavors, fillings and icing. and then, when i asked to do a couple of things out of their small box of creativity, the lady just kept saying, "we don't do that" in a snotty attitudy voice! i was staring at her, asking to color the bavarian cream filling in a light blue (put a couple drops of food coloring in it, dammit!) and after she repeatedly said, "we don't do that", she was like, you don't understand, we're like a factory back there. we just don't do that. and i responded with, wtf, (minus the actual verbal wtf) even if i'll pay you? (that, i actually said). then, she said (kind of with a huff), well, let me check. and came back and said $50. they'd do it for $50. aughh... i left there annoyed and irritated. but, that cake is actually gonna be worth a grip, probably more than $1000 with 5 tiers and 100 tiny desserts of eclairs, brownies, and cheesecakes, so we're taking it. it comes with our package. but i'm sooo gonna let turnip rose how we wre treated. i was talking to metzi (older dazer, also a pastry chef) and she couldn't believe a bakery would talk to a bride and tell her tha she's just a part of a "factory" assembly line process. i wasn't even offended by that comment, but after metzi said that, i was like, ya, huh?
i have yet to provide them with the design for the outside. but after researching a bit, this is what i like:
now, we'll see if they can/will actually do this shape. if it's just round, i don't mind. but i do like the design of the piping for this one. i didn't care for the quality of any of their swirl work. i figure dots won't be as easy to screw up.
oh i gotta tell you about the bakery appt. i was quite dissatisfied. i was already surprised at the lack of choices Rockwell's Creative Cakes (total misnomer!) had. they only have very very basic cake flavors, fillings and icing. and then, when i asked to do a couple of things out of their small box of creativity, the lady just kept saying, "we don't do that" in a snotty attitudy voice! i was staring at her, asking to color the bavarian cream filling in a light blue (put a couple drops of food coloring in it, dammit!) and after she repeatedly said, "we don't do that", she was like, you don't understand, we're like a factory back there. we just don't do that. and i responded with, wtf, (minus the actual verbal wtf) even if i'll pay you? (that, i actually said). then, she said (kind of with a huff), well, let me check. and came back and said $50. they'd do it for $50. aughh... i left there annoyed and irritated. but, that cake is actually gonna be worth a grip, probably more than $1000 with 5 tiers and 100 tiny desserts of eclairs, brownies, and cheesecakes, so we're taking it. it comes with our package. but i'm sooo gonna let turnip rose how we wre treated. i was talking to metzi (older dazer, also a pastry chef) and she couldn't believe a bakery would talk to a bride and tell her tha she's just a part of a "factory" assembly line process. i wasn't even offended by that comment, but after metzi said that, i was like, ya, huh?
i have yet to provide them with the design for the outside. but after researching a bit, this is what i like:
now, we'll see if they can/will actually do this shape. if it's just round, i don't mind. but i do like the design of the piping for this one. i didn't care for the quality of any of their swirl work. i figure dots won't be as easy to screw up.
Friday, June 29, 2007
torn
i really have this silly lil thought in my head that as the bride, i should have all things white. white dress (of course, well, ivory, but it's still in the white spectrum). white veil, white shoes, white flowers, white, white, white. but esp with the flowers and the shoes, i'm really looking toward the idea of having them of another color. i'm toying with the idea of blue shoes, but this isn't a huge deal to me. the flowers on the other hand, i'm suddenly quite obsessed with. at first, i thought it would just be too much white, but then i saw this and it looks wonderful! so now, i'm torn between this white on white look (mrs. pootiekins) because i'm a bride and ought to wear white:
now, of course, exploring all of the internet has given me vast more options. i REALLY love this idea of a bouquet wrap. it looks sooo romantic and soft, like the flowers have a dress on too (courtesy of mrs. apple)
and the bouquet wrap really looks best with the dark red flowers. i could totally see it with a dark red flower in my hair. but do you think i should reserve that for the bridesmaids? and have mine all white cuz i'm the bride? or should i just get over the all white bride thing?
and of course for the bit (lot) of bling (from the knot):
so whadya think? go with the red? or go with the white? i suppose the white would be fine with the bouquet wrap too... help me...
now, of course, exploring all of the internet has given me vast more options. i REALLY love this idea of a bouquet wrap. it looks sooo romantic and soft, like the flowers have a dress on too (courtesy of mrs. apple)
and the bouquet wrap really looks best with the dark red flowers. i could totally see it with a dark red flower in my hair. but do you think i should reserve that for the bridesmaids? and have mine all white cuz i'm the bride? or should i just get over the all white bride thing?
and of course for the bit (lot) of bling (from the knot):
so whadya think? go with the red? or go with the white? i suppose the white would be fine with the bouquet wrap too... help me...
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
invite progress
this is what i've been consumed with for the past 3 weeks. last week was pretty much a bust because i burnt myself out so much. so this week, i decided to focus on something else and let my husband-to-be take a stab at it.
this was my very first try. note the all-too-shiny side of the silk and the waayy too wide sinamay.
this was my 2nd try. thought i'd make the sinamay vertical. still too wide though, but at least you can see/feel more of the fabric.
the lovely back side. the main invite piece will end up here. i ordered it from the philippines and my cousin's bringing it back here next week. yayyy for no shipping charges!
the progress as of last week. each yellow post-it note represents 10. the stack is being flattened by the albums on top. the albums contain our engagement photos, by the way!
this week, henry tried his hand at it and he was great and just as meticulous about it as i was! you can't even tell which ones he did from mine!
my darling htb (husband-to-be) hard at work:
this was my very first try. note the all-too-shiny side of the silk and the waayy too wide sinamay.
this was my 2nd try. thought i'd make the sinamay vertical. still too wide though, but at least you can see/feel more of the fabric.
the lovely back side. the main invite piece will end up here. i ordered it from the philippines and my cousin's bringing it back here next week. yayyy for no shipping charges!
the progress as of last week. each yellow post-it note represents 10. the stack is being flattened by the albums on top. the albums contain our engagement photos, by the way!
this week, henry tried his hand at it and he was great and just as meticulous about it as i was! you can't even tell which ones he did from mine!
my darling htb (husband-to-be) hard at work:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)