mama's wedding dress updated

so you want to see a preview? (henry, look away now.)
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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?

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?

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?