Bridesmaids Dresses

I'm glad I've stuck with my ultimate decision on these bridesmaid dresses.
I've envisioned my wedding this way since I first laid eyes on those dresses. These three lovely besties of mine look amazing in them!

Furthermore, my husband says, 'I was wrong, they do look great.'
hehehe...

Wedding Planning is Over

I'm waiting for my photos still.

Lots to discuss and talk about. Let's just leave it here=)

The day has finally come!

This bride has finally wed!

Wedding Programs

My Wedding Programs was not shared on the wedding day.

It was all packed and ready to go too=(

Entertainment for a wedding

We are lucky to have some talented members in our family. REVERB DANCE CREW (well, some of them)
 were able to perform at our wedding. It was truly amazing.

Bridal Shower at Shaw Tower

Had an amazing bridal shower.
I cannot say more=)
4 more days until the wedding and I am super-duper busy!

Great company

 amazing gifts

 tasty food

Best friends

Fun games

I hope I can post more before the wedding, we'll see=)

Stationary Attempt #2

My first Stationary was my delighted Invitations that I got to send out.

The second was my programs.

I went to Michael's for some craft paper and was hoping to put together something cute. My crafty cupcake, alitreofsunshine, as sweet as she was, offered her equipment and time. I have to give her an extra shout-out because she has been so supportive. We took under an hour to cut these fine beautiful paper into intricate edges.

In nearly an hour of continuous pressing, we managed to finish a good 200+ cards! I instantaneously fell in love with these cards. What will I do with them? ---You will have to wait, still in progress!

 Thanks alitreofsunshine <3

Mom and Dad moments

I just realized I've been so busy wedding planning that I haven't even gotten a chance to update this page! Now there's only a month and a half left (I think!) and there's still lots to do!

I've done a lot of things on the side so far and everything is really coming together! Just when I thought I have most things done, I realize I have a bunch left.

Just yesterday I went shopping with my dad for a new suit. At first he had one that he wanted to wear and it was snuggled in his closet; however, with the groom-to-be not wanting these colors to clash, we decided to change my dad's outfit. Honestly, I was surprised I did pretty well with my dad's suit. Because I remember the first time we went for suit shopping, he literally had no smiles at all. But today, it was awesome! My little sister came with me so we both did some good. Haha. Note to self, ALWAYS have a second opinion! We went to mc.donald's to celebrate for Father's Day too!

Dad, I love you so, but please take some time off. He works everyday and I had to squeeze in this appointment between his 2pm-4pm break at work. Wish he'd work a little less =(

Today, after work, I went with my mom and my sister too of course--- to check out different hairstyles for my mom. She has been worried about it for quite a while. I just have to say, a quarter less of a tank of gas was worth it! My mind is at ease. To further my complications and Asian rants, my mom didn't want to put on make up the day of the wedding. She does wear makeup at some occasions, but that comment really freaked me out. Am I becoming a bridezilla? I just want her to look good on my wedding day.

(She does look good, but I want her to be well-catered that day as well!)

Now, I'm working on the schedule yet again.
This time, it's for the LIMO. Wish me luck!
Stay tuned, hope I can do this=)

April Wedding Planning

So my alterations were finished within three days! I have to say my secret alteration service is quite the deal. She had 60 years of experience and her rooms were filled with wedding dresses! This time I had my mom with me. With her blessings, I felt even more at ease. I couldn't be happier with the results. If anyone needs a good hook-up in alterations, please let me know!

I am so so sooooo excited! I am ecstatic! Once I put on that gown, it just felt like, "This is the one! I look like a bride. I will marrying the man of my dreams in this dress. I will be celebrating in this dress..." Out loud I kept saying, "Hell yes!" hahahaha. The thoughts kept going on in my head. It just felt like the perfect moment. All I need now is a veil, a bird cage and jewellery!

Oh yeah and I found my shoes too! It was on sale! hehehe. Extra sparkly! Will show soon!

April is ending soon. Four months away. With my wedding dress alterations completed, along with my wedding shoes, and an ordered wedding cake, I feel like I made a lot of progress this month. Fingers crossed to finish much much more=)

Until then=)

Alterations

It feels like I've done so much in the past couple of weeks. But there are so many things that aren't set in stone just yet. I'm still weighing out my options in wedding decor, flower bouquets, music, and wedding cake. I have, however, chosen my wedding shoes yesterday. 

I went to my first dress fitting today. I went alone and was pretty nervous about it. Some of the things I wanted to change was the length, the corsette area, taking out a flower, and adding a bustle. I have to say, this place that I found for alterations was truly amazing. The prices cannot be beat. She was so attentive and even offered a custom veil for $30. This tiny little lady just tagged and pinned everything under 30 minutes. 

Please let me know if you would like more information on alterations!

DIY Wedding Invitations

I thought I had all my invitations prepared, but apparently the parents took all the cards so now here I'm back to square one.

I originally wanted to make my whimsical one. However, after much thought and spur of the moment, I have pulled something out something just-right-for-me.

Ingredients:
- Michaels: Arts and Craft Store and it's discounts
  >> Card Stock
  >> Card Cover

- Printing Studio (I found one for cheap!) and they even cut the paper for me!

Bridesmaid dresses Update

 

Shopping for my bridal dress was easy.

Choosing my bridesmaids dresses wasn't. 

This is part of the wedding planning that I feared the most. I have heard that this subject may either make or break a friendship. Surely bridesmaids don't want to overtake the wedding, but they don't want to look old-style cliché. I plan to pay for my bridesmaid dresses, so I really want to make sure my values were considered too.

The criteria that hit me this time was:
- The material:  Light and chiffon, I never really fancied the traditional satin material dress. 

- The color: blush, light pink-beige/peach

- Matching the wedding theme: Blush/Pastel/ rosy-pink-beige

- Matching my Bouquet: Blush roses, carnations, peonies

- How it would compliment your dress.

All in all.I think at this point, I knew what I wanted. It was more of a "Love at first sight" kinda dress.

It has some crochet lace in the front. It's a light peach-nude-blush color. It's up to the knees. I don't want to post up a photo just yet. So just hang on tight=)

Inspirations:

Choosing your Photographer

Okay, I can't help but post because I am so excited!

Choosing a wedding photographer is one of the most important decisions in wedding planning. These people will pretty much be up, close and personal with you from the beginning of engagement to the end of the wedding night.

You have to love their work. Every photographer has their own distinguished characteristics. I have studied and browsed through a lot of wedding photographers and their portfollio.  I remember reviewing several options based on their methods and techniques. No matter how and what they were regarded for, I felt like there had to be a spark of some sort. There has to be chemistry.

Beyond the love of their work, the next thing on the list is meeting them. I felt like we had to be compatible. Getting along with them is very important because you wouldn't want to capture any incompetence in these photos. Get to know them and their work ethics. When will the photos be ready? Are they fully responsive and able to communicate when needed? I know there's a limited time for these occasions, but it sums up how your photos will turn out before and after the wedding. This relationship will be an important one, so it's best you hire someone you trust.

For the budget-safety brides, compare quotes for the pricing and value. Make sure you look over the contract to fully understand the value you are receiving. Consider  the facts, Do they offer engagement photoshoots, edited prints, albums, and online options? Make sure you do the research. Google is your second hand here.

Prepare to make another commitment (with the first being your fiance) and put down a deposit if you are real serious for the deal. That goes to the fact that I would like to share my experience...

I am happy to announce that David Tam Photography is our photographer for our wedding journey. A true and honest man. He is truly amazing. He meets all the requirements and criteria as a Wedding Photographer in our perspectives. 

We have the utmost confidence in him in truly making these memories count. 

Did you want to see the First batch of engagement photos at Grouse Mountain?

Engagement Photography

My fiance chose a great place to take our first engagement photos. I absolutely loved it. It was certainly a day where we can focus on each other. It has been a while where we got to stare into each other's eyes and it felt like it was a time to celebrate our love together. Thank you David Tam for capturing these moments. 

Modern Brides Expo at the Radisson Hotel

I took my mom to the Modern Brides Expo. My mom and I haven't been on the same page with my mom because weddings have changed quite a bit since her time. I really wanted her to have a glimpse of what happens at a wedding nowadays. I have to say though, it was quite a rough start because my mom went into every booth. EVERY BOOTH. Everytime that happened, people looked for the "bride". I can't say "No", I'm too nice about it. But, after a good walk through the booths, I was almost hypervenilating. My mom thought I was crazy. I can't help but feel overwhelmed.

There were a lot of awesome booths.

Rueben Alexander Salon - Gold Sponsor, Gregory Lui Photography - Gold Sponsor , Marsha Steeves Destination, Weddings - Gold Sponsor, The Tux Store - Gold Sponsor , Mia Boutique Bridal and Occasions - Gold Sponsor, 4everluv Photography, Luscious Creations, Tuesday’s Fabricare, Fired Up Catering, All Spiced Catering/ First Services Hospitality, Fiesta Creative Catering, Time Limo, Smooth Groove, Bell’s Bakeshop, Art Glass Designs, The Flower Box, Creative Gifts & Cards, The Studio Video,Cathy Jenson, Nutritionist, Arbonne Skincare, “It Works” – Weight Loss, Edward Jones – How to save for Educational Funds, Fifth Avenue Jewellry, Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport, The Travel Life Network, Diane Friesen, Century 21, Lesley Wagstaff, Remax Results Realty, Stella & Dot, Accent Cruise Lines, Audio Edge Entertainment, The Bay Registry, Perfect Wedding Magazine, Dinner for Two by Table Charm, Ainsley’s Affair, Wedding Connections/Wedding Planner & Directory,  etc.

We had fun and it was very informative=)

Say "Yes" to the Dress

I am watching "Say Yes to the Dress" right now. The Atlanta one.
I've been watching these episodes almost every night now and I find it sinfully entertaining.

A lot of brides feel pressured on how they look on their wedding day
They see the magazines. They see this tall thin figure. They wanna look like that and we are not all built like that.
So how do we get around that?
It's about finding the right garment that makes her feel like a million bucks.
So we really need to convince her she doesn't have to be a supermodel to be beautiful on her wedding day.
So your job is to make every girl see herself as a bride
That's a beautiful thing.


Possible wedding-dress induced anxiety attacks:
- Having too much audience: your friends+bridal party+grandma+mother+in-law+fiance?
- Hoping that you will feel that "ONE MOMENT" and being particular about it. This bride is asking to have that same butterfly-in the-stomach moment when the fiance proposed. She kept saying "no".
- Remember it's your day not your mother's. (Although I'm a super-mommy's girl who would love to please all parties)
- If you've tried more than 50 dresses, come on, what is going on?
- Best to trust your instincts, don't second guess yourself
- If you like lace, don't bring a friend that hates lace and calls it a table cloth.

Once you do feel that moment though, 
- Your heart starts racing
- You feel beautiful
- You see yourself celebrating your wedding in that dress


Dear bride-to-bes, Be confident, make a decision. Trying on more dresses should not be a stressful experience.

Cake Tasting

This was my very first cake tasting experience.
I have to say it was quite enjoyable.
Although my family will be serving a ten course meal, I would like to end the meal with a delicious satisfying dessert.

I get to choose the wedding cake of my dreams and I hope to find the right one.
This cake needs to serve 250 guests.

Does anybody have any recommendations in choosing a wedding cake?

The Red Qi Pao/Cheongsam

My dream-online qi pao dress

Now I wasn't looking too forward to finding my Chinese outfit of the night, but I knew it was an important part of my culture to be wearing a form of red.

Qipao traditionally is very form fitting. If I lived in China, I would've had my own custom designed qipao. I wish I were able to visit there to have most of my wedding things done, but I don't think it would happen anytime soon. The fiance and I decided to check out some store down in China town. I tried on a couple of dresses. Some qipao had mermaid styles, some with lace, and some were completely flashy.

I was looking for...
1. Something that complicated my body, that had just the right curves.
2. The neckline in the center (If it were more off to the side, it was considered more of a "mui" dress. It was more elegant to have it centered.)
3. Something that represented me. Not too flashy.

If I had this dress...

After three stores in search, I finally found something! I don't want to show it just yet, but I completely fell in love! I brought my mom in the next day to make the purchase. She settled the pricing and we made a huge save=) I loved it very much because:
1. It fitted me perfectly. (It even had that extra breast cushion! double "yay"!)
2. The neckline was in the center. The neckline has a little sharpness to it.
3. It is a red. A matte material with red dragons embroiled all over the dress. The material is thick and firm. There's two slits on both sides (Sexy! haha).

Advice for bride to bes: I've googled and searched for different qipao dresses online. Seeing and trying it on makes a huge difference when it comes to these form-fitting dresses. Be sure to have a couple of opinions before making the purchase. I had my fiance, mom and dad come check it out.

If any brides in the Vancouver area needs some help with qipao shopping, please message me!


Update:  To all the brides out there. I've been receiving a lot of messages about qi pao dresses. This is the place to go for Qi Paos in Vancouver: KK Boutique.
http://www.kkboutique.ca/about.html

Just make sure you bring your fluent chinese skills with you. Bargaining will certainly be possible. They have quite a selection when I went there. You can rent or purchase qi paos there. 
154 East Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1T3

Chinese Wedding Invitations

So... I really wanted my whimsical "Did it myself" invitation. Unfortunately, the parents set the record straight and I will be using these Chinese invitations. I really wanted to do it myself, but I will keep you posted if I do end up getting to use the ones that I made.

After a week full of defeat, my parents have nagged me enough to visit various Chinese Wedding Invitations. I have finally settled on full traditional Chinese wedding invitations. Gold and red. Can you guess which one I end up choosing?

"Double Happiness with attitude"

"Double Happiness in signature"

"Double Happiness formal as can be"

I honestly think these three invitations really define me. The Chinese "double happiness" are clearly smacked up front. Well, I have chosen #3. The one in melted in gold. It matched my "theme" =)

Wedding Show

On Sunday, my MOH and I attended  ENGAGE VC at The Vancouver Club.
A big thank you goes to Blush Occasions for the invitation.

I have to say, hands down on the best wedding show of the year.
What makes a show wonderful?

• Floral Gallery
• Cake Gallery
• Bridal Gallery
• Bridal Fashion Show
• Mini Spa and Beauty Room
• Wine Tastings
• Signature Cocktail Tastings
• Canapés and Chef Station
• Live Music
• Lavish Prizes

Furthermore, I have never seen so many men at a bridal show before!

I am so happy to be introduced to annaelizabethcakes, Blush Occasions, LuxeBeautyLounge and CountDownEvents. 

BRIDAL FEVER

There's a difference between Bridal Fever and Wedding Fever.
Bridal Fever: Wanting to be a Bride.
My term: I want to just marry my man.
The wedding never occurred to me. I just wanted to be married to my man.
(I didn't experience wedding fever just yet! Thank goodness!)

I must admit. At one point I really had bridal fever.

I think it all started when my friend got married.
Then it was the talk of the "years" involved.
Now dates are very important to the Chinese. One of the biggest worry was getting married in the year 2014. I really didn't like the number and it didn't give me a piece of mind. The year 2013 isn't that awesome either because they call it the "Widow Year".

I think as a child, the only thing I only planned about weddings was that I would get married by age 26 and that was it. But as years passed, not everything may have followed as scheduled. I have to say, the bridal fever stopped when I read a random blog, "Wouldn't you rather him surprise you? You wouldn't want to ruin that moment." That's true. My Bridal Fever stopped a month before he proposed. I remember going to a wedding and just enjoying our youth.

Bridal Fever Symptoms:
- Looking at Engagement rings
- Talking about weddings all the live-long-day
- Hinting the boyfriend too often
- You watch, eat, sleep and dream about it.


The Cure:
- Admit to it
- Talk to him about it and where the relationship is going.
- Calm yourself down or it may not even happen at all.
(What I mean by that is he may be scared away even more. Furthermore, it's a big turn-off.)

Stay strong. The right moment will come. For me, I left it to fate.

My Wedding Dress Journey

Image received from Bridal Guide

I had friends tell me that wedding dress takes a lot of time. I had friends that told me that they had to go through many stores and had headaches along the way. I had friends that found something on a sample sale in that one day.

Every women does it differently.
But for me, once I got engaged, I knew I had to prepare myself.
I knew exactly what I wanted
Sweet heart top with almost an A-line meshed with a mermaid ending.

I went wedding dress shopping by myself that first week in New Westminster, Vancouver. I just wanted to see it for myself and try it on for myself. I completely fell in love with the first one that I put on. It just felt completely right, but it wasn't fully. It just didn't define me well enough. Then I tried on the next, then several more. In the end I tried on about nine dresses and I liked them all. I put aside four dresses for a re-visit. It was pretty nice experience for myself. I think the only problem was, was that they were all so beautiful and I felt so confused into choosing the one I wanted.

A couple of weeks later, I went with my MOH and bridesmaid. We made an appointment to try at this store in Hastings, Vancouver. I had to say, I was not impressed at all. We browsed through another store and nada, nothing! Funny thing was, I went to check out this store that was "just for fun" on Renfrew, Vancouver and I fell in love with a dress. I tried on many that day too. But for some reason, this one dress that was way over big on me felt like "the one".

What I learned through this experience:
1. Make sure it's within your budget (which mine really was and was on sale!)
2. Do your research online
3. Try on several dresses
4. Keep an open mind
5. Focus on the style, not the size
6. Plan early!
7. Does it make you giddy? (because it did for me! I'm not the crying type!)
8. The material and color may make your decision as well! Is it off white? ivory? pearl?

I will show my dress in August. It will be a surprise=)
But I have to say, it's similar to a "Trumpet" shape.

DIY: Save the Dates

I've made this "Save the Date" not too long ago.

These classroom photos weren't my engagement ones. Instead, it was taken as a pre-engagement shoot by my talented sister. Honestly, I'm nervous to have my official engagement photos taken. We will see when that happens. I am still deciding on several things... mainly, the location.

The reason why I chose a classroom shot was because my fiance and I met in high school. We had English class together and that was when we started dating. Yes, highschool sweet hearts. We dated for over 9 years now. It will be ten years this August when we wed. Quite exciting indeed.

I know in Chinese traditions, we just called each other and that would be "good enough" for saving the date. Since the parents will be choosing Chinese red invitations, I decided to make a "run for it" for the Save the Dates. I wanted to create my own. Something that portrayed my fiance and I. After playing around on paint and GIMPshop, I managed to produce something I really liked. Clean and simple. I should send them out soon. Especially when everyone is booking their vacations early this year.

Bridesmaid Dresses

Photo I found on a Pinterest. I really like these dresses.

Having your best friends/family members by your side on your special day is important.

My wish is to make sure they are dressed well for such an occasion.

The biggest challenge is choosing a dress that fits several women.

Then you think about the other things:

1. Does it compliment your dress?

2. Will it do justice in your photos?

3. Is it affordable?

I thought of bridesmaid dresses long before my wedding dress. For some reason, I always thought I had it all planned out.

{PLAN A}At first I thought of henkaa where my fiance's cousin's friend owned such a creative shop. Wouldn't it be awesome for all the girls to design their own dresses and chisel it to their own likings?

{PLAN B} Then i thought of cute and simple dresses from forever 21 or h&m because it can naturally be "pulled off" in a summer wedding. There's always a good load of dresses to look through.

{PLAN C} I hope I don't have to resort to this, but CUSTOM-MADE could be one of the options. My mom has made my prom dresses for my older sister and I. She has even made me countless of clothing items. She even recently made bridesmaid dresses for a friend of mine. However, I hate to put this load on her. I would hate to put this stress on her.

Help me out!!!

DIY Invitation

I decided to make my own Wedding Invitation.
After much conversation, I went home one day and was playing around with paint. My laptop being it's cheezy old crap-a-roo could not handle photoshop or any other fancy art studio workshops. Within a half hour of doodling around, I have completed something that I hope to use...

but I highly doubt I'd be able to use it because I just found out my parents want my invitations to be red and gold. Sigh, traditions.

I've really fallen in love with it. I really have.

Table Cloths

If this was to be my wedding... I will not survive such things...

The first time my parents and my in-laws met was at the Chinese Restaurant we chose for the Banquet. I honestly wanted a Western wedding because I felt the food would be more fitted for me. I was talking to one of my clients today and he told me that the wedding was to fit the guests and the elders more than the bride. How can I complain. I will get into detail more later in the blogs. 

The first problem I had was my dad wanted a wedding where all the table cloths were bright red. He is completely traditional. Furthermore, if I couldn't do red, it would have to be pink. Can you honestly imagine a room full of red or pink? Eventually after a week, my parents said it was fine for me to choose the "beige" I wanted. I feel that this incident will be the first of many. 

May I have your daughter's hand in marriage?

Now let's skip back a few steps. 

First thing was for my (truly glad to call him) fiance to ask my parents for permission to have my hand in marriage. It's a good gesture to show the father-in-law what a gentleman you are. I know it's more of an old tradition but it shows courtesy and respect to the family you are about to be united with. Having this blessing from the parents is the first step in building a positive relationship with the in-laws. My fiance have met with my parents in many different occasions and maintained a good connection.

So when it came to asking for permission, in Western cultures:

- Your man should meet with your father in person
- Have a good private conversation
- Express your feelings for her daughter

- Sincerely ask for his blessing

Our experience was more of an Asian culture that just ended up happening in a good note.

 My mom was more of "the boss" in the family. My dad was easy going. Knowing how my parents were, I don't think they could keep a secret. Furthermore, I bet my mom would lose sleep over it. I must admit, the fiance was pretty smart about it. He called my parents an hour before he popped the question. The main events in that phone call was:

Him: "I would like to marry your daughter, can I have your blessing?"

Mom: "About Time."

As traditional as I am about this subject, I was kinda happy about it. I got to be surprised and my parents got a phone call hours later when I got engaged.

The Proposal

I couldn't be happier with how my man did it. It truly took my breath away. It happened amongst all our friends. It was caught on video and pictures were taken in a 360 degrees angle by everyone.

It was at a Halloween Party. We had a Pumpkin carving contest. Everyone waited outside and slowly each one went in to judge the pumpkins. I was the last one to enter escorted by my fiance. Then I saw it. A large pumpkin in the middle that said "Will You Marry Me?" I turned around and there he was, down on one knee.

It was a sensational feeling. A time where my heart skipped a beat. I remember everything moving so slowly and I completely cherished every second of it. After dating for nine+ years, it was worth the wait.