Chinese wedding favors

Today I found something about having a Chinese wedding in theknot.com. Here are some ideas about wedding favors.

http://www.chineseweddingsbytheknot.com/ODB/THEMES/CHINESEWEDDINGS/View.aspx?ID=13255&STYLE=CHINESE&MSDVISIT=1&TYPE=1

I like the ideas of chopsticks (fast son, it's interesting to first hear about that), Sandalwood Fans (maybe also customize our names and wedding date on it), Potted Flowers and Seed Packets (eventhought i am not sure what's potted flower), and silk bags. Actually the bamboo idea is good too.

But who will really touch or use the wedding favors after a wedding? The two candles from mike's wedding are still sitting in the corner of my desk. Only the cup cushions from Guo guo's wedding are actually practical and being used.

Some more ideas:
http://www.asianideas.com/

What do I need to add to CD?

Looking at two real weddings @ CD, I found that there was something lacking. But I just couldn't figure out what it was. From the photoes, the ballroom just seems so pale and no character. Maybe like dave said, because she used all white flowers then there was no depth of color. I want the photoes look colorful~ So I need to add more colors to the venue. But what exactly can I do especially with a tight budget? I think a rich color bouquet and center pieces also flower petals would absolutely help. But is it really important? I don't know. And maybe some chinese decorations? I hope I am more creative and spontaneous... Maybe given some time, I will come up with some good ideas.

Here you see are two good pictures from one girl's wedding @ CD. I love them~ This pic was taken at the side entrance of CD. I will show it to my photographer these two for sure. Ahh, about photographer, it's not what I need to worry about. We have specific job, he takes care of choosing photographer, I take care of florist. Maybe I need to start to talk to some florists to get a basic idea first. Sigh, I wish i was a professional wedding planner. Apparently, I am not as bored with plannning a wedding as with my research. :(

Overwhelmed by so much information!

Stayed at home for a whole day looking for wedding vendors' information and somebody else's experience. Just feel so overwhelmed with too much information. I think I need to organize what I have learned and then go from here.

About the caterers, we have met Koriander's and Shaxamaxon already. The first one is a husband & wife biz. The old guy we have met is very talktive and i can tell that he is passionate about food or we say, cuisin (SP?)~ But what concerns me is that they seem not as experienced as the second caterer especially with Colonial Dames. For the second cater, Shaxamaxon, there were a lot of comments about it in the indiebridal forum. It seems like a very popular and nice choice for CD. So I would list it in the higher priority list than K. Another two caters we are planning to meet are Manner Cater and Frog Commisary. Manner is the other one who got a lot of recognition by the IB girls. We were anxious to meet with them. But they were so hard to get hold on. They didn't reply our emails neither did they pick the phone. hmm...I guess we will see what's happenning with these two. Then we have to schedule probably two tastings. I would say that we will end up with either S or M. Since Dave said Frog is a little in a pricey end.

I am glad that we finally complished something during the spring break. That is the groom's formalwear. After visiting several stores carrying formal wear, we have decided to purchase the tux instead of renting. This way, he can really get one tux that fits him very well. And Men's wearhouse has a nice CK tux for $600. Also I would like the groom's men rent the same CK tux to keep the formality. It costs $150 each for everything. Even including shoes!

For invitations, hmm...it's just ridiculously expensive when you talk about wedding invitations. And the design is not special at all. I think it might be better to design our own invitaion and it should be a fun experience too. Here I saw some very nice design from another philly bride.

The folder is from this website:

http://www.textstyledesigns.com/index.php

and the other things are from :

http://www.paperandmore.com/index.html

Images are from Dr. google; And she used the software Adobe Illustrator.

Another big thing done!

After months of searching, from as far as pocono area to an hour or so driving Leigh valley area, we finally decide the cozy and pretty location Colonial Dames, located in downtown philly. It's so convenient!! And the layout of this place is the nicest amont all that we have seen. Maybe the garden is not as big as some of others. But who can beat the location and convenience?! Now I can go get my hair done and makeup in the store nearby instead of hiring somebody onsite. Save money too! And we don't have to travel to choose DJ and florist etc.

And good news for some shopholic like me. There are tons of shops for you to hang around before the ceremony starts. :)

So basically, we are planning to start the ceremony at 5 pm and then followed by cocktail hours lasting for an hour or so. Then the reception will start around 6:30ish. Another nice thing I have to mention about CD is that we can buy our own alcohol!!! I like mixed drinks. So the favorite drink for the nite might be cosmo or crabeery&vodoka. Let's be ready to get drunk~~~~

Wedding gown is finally done!

Every woman will have a story to tell about their experience shopping for wedding gowns! I am, too. There is a long story! And it was not easy for me to finally settle down to the ONE dress that I will only wear once in my life. I'm not going to go through the details now about the process how I finally decided the dress. I just want to say thanks to some friends who were involved and help me greatly in every aspects. My dear roomate, my pretty labmate, my nice fitness partner, my cute shimei, my as intimate as family hunan fellow Hong, and my closest couple Dihui and Xiang. I really appreciate your help and support~ My experience of shopping for wedding dress was full of happiness because of you.

The debut of my new blog

Finally, I decide to write something in the new blog. I think currently the main topic will be the WEDDING! I want to record all the details of this long journey and the biggest party in my life. Also the most expensive one, i bet.

Here we are!