Pictures

This past Saturday a friend told me how it rained on her sister's wedding day so they had problems taking pictures outside and they ended up going to Grand Central. I never thought about this b/c all the places that I wanted to take pictures at are outdoors:

• Staten Island Ferry (25 minute ride each way provides view of lower Manhattan's skyline and the Statue of Liberty, plus opportunities for the veil billowing in the wind)

• Stone Street (for its quaint, cobblestone streets, proximity downtown and how it reminds me of European street cafes)
• Noguchi's Red Cube? (not sure about this one but it provides a different, Modernist backdrop and it's red!)
• Battery Park
• Brooklyn Bridge Park and Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park for views of the Brooklyn Bridge at the foot of the bridge
• Brooklyn Heights Promenade
• Brooklyn Bridge (if we had time and energy, I'd like to walk the bridge for pictures right under the famous arches)
• other cobblestone streets in DUMBO, which is close to Brooklyn Bridge
  

But what if it rains?! Winter Garden?

Let's eat cake!

We RSVPed to attend "Celebrate the Cake II" at Michael C. Fina -- a cake-tasting event with a bunch of pastry chefs. It's a little odd b/c they are like a gift/registry store and cakes (which they don't sell or have any partnerships with) are totally unrelated to what they do. At least at the Target event almost every station was related to what they sell (makeup, hair products, registry items, etc.). I hope it's not like that episode of Martha's Apprentice where they try to sell wedding cakes to ppl.

In a recent Daily Candy, they were talking about Insolia inserts which sound very comfortable. These inserts provide comfort when wearing high heels by shifting weight from the ball of the foot to the heel. The main reason why I don't like wearing heels is b/c of the pain in the ball of my foot. Though pads work, they don't last throughout the day for me. So I'm excited to try these for my wedding shoes. It sounds too good to be true (and I'm often disppointed by these things b/c my feet are so temperamental!) but with a free 30-day trial and free shipping (probably included in the price already), it's worth a shot. Also, the price is OK and if you buy 2, you get the third for free.

Music and stuff

Today we met with an old friend of fiance's who started his own entertainment company. I've seen him emcee weddings but I think he usually works with a DJ who takes care of the music. Even though he's a nice guy, I'm really not sure about 1) having a DJ and 2) booking him. His packages consist of the usual stuff -- all the stuff that I don't like about DJs and clubs. Even though we told him that we don't like hip hop and reggae and all that stuff, he still seemed to steer us toward the lighting, smoke machine, etc., stuff that I don't like. Ideally, if we had an unlimited budget, I would want a rock band that plays covers. If only I knew of a band like Hep Alien (Lane's band in Gilmore Girls) -- a band just starting out, trying to make it big.

In terms of the ceremony, at the service that I went to today, the prelude and offertory music was a sonata by Bach for piano and violin and it was soooo beautiful (I love the sound of strings, especially violin!). So I would really like that at the ceremony. The church could provide an organist, which would be really ordinary, but BM knows of a violinist who said that she'd play for us. Now if we could just find a pianist.

I've also been thinking about makeup lately. BM's friend is a BM in another bridal party and recommended someone who does both hair and makeup as a sidejob. I was so excited b/c she's worked on ppl that I know and they were happy but when she sent me some pics, I was not thrilled. Showing it to my mother and BMs, they didn't think it was that great either. So I'm back to square one now. :(

I did come up with an idea for my flowers though. A few weeks ago, someone in my small group gave us all these ribbon bookmarks with a charm on one end. While playing with it at a recent Bible study, I thought that I could incorporate this ribbon idea with the idea for my bouquet and instead of a charm hanging at the end, it could be pomander of flowers. I'm not sure if making a pomander of fresh flowers would be easy or not.

My friend was describing what she did as MOH for her sister's wedding and she said that they got up very early to get to the flower district Friday morning and it was a lot of work. She said that b/c their family is so big, they had to do a lot of stuff (besides the usual stuff, every close relative got a flower too). So maybe, with one less BM it won't be so bad for me? However, I will not have someone who knows how to arrange flowers. :(

An open house's closed doors

This weekend, in our quest to find affordable housing and to be somewhat settled in it prior to the wedding, we went to a couple of open houses. The first one we found in the NYTimes, called Flagg Court in Bay Ridge. I think that complex has great potential: a couple of old buildings joined together with a huge courtyard in the middle, which gives it a campus quad feel. There is a gate that encloses it but you can also enter into each of the separate buildings through doors on the side. They also have a sizeable parking lot and tennis courts (which need quite a bit of work and are currently being used for storage). Unfortunately, the apartment had much to be desired (tiny, odd-shaped rooms, all electric cooking, in need of much upkeep, mostly rental) but I think it has character that, if used to its potential, could rival Peter Cooper Village.

The other open houses that we went to we came across while driving through the neighborhood. Because fiance couldn't find a parking space, I went in by myself to this nice condo on the second floor of a 16-unit building. The unit was pretty nice (2 small bedrooms/2 bath, plus laundry room), but twice our budget so I thanked the agent after taking a quick look and left. Since it was just on the second floor, I decided to go down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. Bad move! I realized that the fire doors do not open from inside the staircase so I had to go down all the way to the parking area. Unfortunately there was no way out of there that I could see -- I tried all the doors and they wouldn't open, including the one that I walked out of. The "Exit" sign pointed to the garage doors which didn't open despite my frantic pushing of a button on the side. I hoped that they activated by motion sensor so I started jumping up and down to make it recognize me. Of course that didn't work. So I walked back up the bird poop-laden driveway to try other tactics. To make matters worse, I really had to pee. The lot was desolate except for a sad beat up Hyundai and there were walls all around that reached way above my head. I thought for a brief moment, am I going to die here?! I had to pee so bad that I thought of at least relieving myself in the corner since there'd be no one around to see me (but I didn't). I called fiance, who still hadn't found a parking space yet but said that he'd come get me once he did. He couldn't help laughing at me though (it is somewhat funny in retrospect). I thought about calling the realtor, who had given me her card but she'd probably laugh her head off at me, plus she probably didn't know how to free me either, nor could she leave the apartment empty. And I think her card just had her office number. So I tried all the doors again, this time also trying a door that I had not seen behind a corner. Whew! That door opened and led me up a few steps to the lobby. Freedom!! I will now think twice about taking the stairs, especially in newer buildings!

To floral monogram or not?

As I mentioned before I wanted to do a floral monogram on the church doors. But I slightly modified the design to make the letters wider to match the logo thingy that I designed. But is it too wide? And our logo has serifs but these letters do not, so does it even matter that I made it wider? More importantly, do gerbera daisies make it seem too casual? Will a white satin-like cloth in the background dress it up a little?

Stress!

Oh man, have I been stressed. I have to do my taxes, plus all this wedding stuff, and trying to find a future abode is just plain crazy!! On top of all this, we're trying to plan the honeymoon, which is another cause of stress, even though it's supposed to be a fun thing. We've settled on Spain but with the strong Euro, it's hard to plan something reasonably within budget without staying in hostels. One really neat idea that I'm exploring (though quite expensive!) is a luxury train tour called Al Andalus Expreso. It sounds so cool: an old restored train (they describe it as a "luxurious moving hotel") that goes through Andalusia (from Seville to Cordoba to Granada and back to Seville), the mountainous region of Spain. Along the way they stop and give tours of stuff, including Alhambra Palace. I think it's cool to travel overnight on a train too, kinda like a land cruise. They do have a honeymoon discount but at around $2000 a person for just 5 days/6 nights, I'm not sure we can afford it. I believe it includes drinks and all meals (some of which are on board, which would be an interesting experience). It'd be nice to go all out for once and not do a budget vacation though. Of course, while we're on the other side of the lake, I'd want to visit Madrid and Barcelona, so that will be more tacked on to the price.
Aside from all this, I've been getting stressed about stupid details like how flowers will work out (I saw a great paper flower idea but some say it's bad form to carry fake flowers), whether our monogram is OK b/c I designed it with his initial before mine, how the church will be decorated, what to put on the RSVP cards (should we ask for music requests? would it be too much to ask for guests to fill out other things?). I think this is partially the fault of getting all these great ideas from websites. Yet I can't pull myself away -- I'm so addicted!!

But these are such minor things. I have yet to:

• fix my dress (I am waiting on a co-worker who said her fellow churchgoer knows of a great seamstress in Jersey City. Each week she's not been able to get me the info. I'm setting myself the deadline of this Monday -- if I don't hear from her, I will decide between Pinpoint and my friend's friend.)
• do BM dresses (a friend is going to China, who knows of a tailor that can do drastic alterations for a low price so I have to get one BM's too large dress pinned and measured out in time for her departure; still haven't figured out what to do about other BM's dress)
  
• find a DJ

And despite all that I have to, I am just blogging!! (Speaking of which, I enabled anyone to post comments. So post away, unless you're a spammer!)

SPAM or reasons to not attend bridal shows

Ugh! I got a second call from those annoying 21st Century Todays Bride people. First of all, can they come up with a less cheesy name for their scam operation? Second, it's just wrong to prey on ppl who are going through a happy time in their lives. Their plot is so corny that I smelled fish when they first called. A seedy-sounding woman calls me, addresses me by the fake name that I used to fill out all the stupid forms at that horrible bridal show, NY Great Bridal Expo, tells me that I've been selected out of all these ppl to win some prize. The woman tries to play up the whole thing but the prizes are kinda corny too: a free trip to blah blah place, $500 to spend at some mail order place, and one other thing that's completely vanished from my mind. The catch is to go claim these prizes, which you can only do in person with your fiance, at a crackpot hotel in Brooklyn. There, they're supposed to show you their cookware and cook stuff for you. No thank you!! I've read how similar scams push you to join their club (or pyramid scheme, or whatever you call it) and ppl actually run into debt b/c their crap is so expensive. And I do mean crap!! I've seen pictures of their stuff and it looks like the stuff that college kids would buy in the supermarket out of desperation for something to cook with. And they won't stop calling me!!! In retrospect, at that horrible bridal show (I can't believe ppl actually paid to go there -- I got free tix somehow), I remember some person asked us to fill out a card with a yellow highlight through it and wouldn't tell us what it's for. I assumed it was a registration for the show b/c the woman was hollering for us to fill it out and I think she said that we had to fill it out. I didn't think it was for a vendor b/c none of the other vendors specifically asked for your info. (They were just optional drop offs to be included in raffles for prizes that I doubt even existed.) And to elaborate on the cheese, the woman offered pens for ppl to fill out the forms but asked for all the cheapass, used, dirty Bic pens back. The Club Wedd event thrown by Target was sooo much better -- they gave out FREE pens (pretty nice ones too), plus all this other stuff and I didn't have to give out ANY of my personal info. The only halfway mediocre thing about the corny bridal expo (and it was very crowded, not just w/ ppl but some pretty crappy vendors too) at the hotel was maybe 2 decent free magazines. Everything else was just wasted trees. And though the show was free for me, I feel like I've been paying ever since. I keep getting junk mail (of the paper and email variety, everyday!) for services that look a little too shady for me (imagine gaudy postcards with the word 'special' all over it and emails from ppl named A-Class). And some things are just really stupid and irrelevant to me -- I'm NOT INTERESTED in locations in Long Island, CT or upstate NY. I found a photographer, thank you very much. I don't need any more dresses. These ppl should do at least a little homework before wasting their time and energy.

A possible 'first dance' song

Words to songs, though they may have a great melody, can totally kill the song for me. For instance, my co-worker suggested the James Blunt song "You're Beautiful" and I've thought 'nice song' when I've heard it on the radio. However, when I looked up the lyrics, I was totally put off and it's completely inappropriate, in my opinion, for a wedding song. But at the wedding that I was at this weekend, they played a song that I've always liked but never thought about using at our wedding. It was good enough that fiance and I actually got up to dance. The translation (included below) is a little cheesy but I don't want to give away so much (by providing the actual song or title) so that there is at least a little element of surprise on the big day. In any case, we really need to track down a DJ as I feel like the clock is ticking for that. But I'm really disinterested in finding one....

This weekend we also went to Staples to buy some cardstock for the RSVP postcards, directions, and the invites. They've got this great scam going where the stuff that's on their website is not necessarily in the store. I'm not so surprised at that as I am about them not carrying their housebrand of paper in-store (that's what I wanted b/c it's a little bit cheaper). Also, they didn't have the exact thing that I wanted in the bulk pack and so we had to buy more packs of the smaller size, which is more expensive than just getting the 500 pack. They did have the heavier coverstock in the 500 pack which turned out to be cheaper per sheet than the lighter stock, which totally doesn't make sense to me. So we were forced to buy the more expensive stuff b/c paying for shipping makes it not worth it (we didn't qualify for the free shipping). The service there sucks too -- two clerks avoided me when they saw that I was trying to approach them to ask a question. And when I cornered the third one by catching her by surprise, she was upset that someone actually asked her for help. Another clerk actually asked if I needed help but she looked mortified when I proceeded to ask her my question. She didn't really know the answer but fumbled around for a somewhat satisfactory one and was completely relieved when I got distracted by fiance calling me over. Anyway, I can't wait to finalize the wording for the invites (waiting on the decision about whether or not to have a cocktail hour) so that we can start printing, cutting, and gluing (oh my!).

Here're the lyrics for the song that I mentioned above -- extra credit to the person who can guess which song it is. :)
When I’'m alone
I dream on the horizon
and words fail;
yes, I know there is no light
in a room where the sun is absent,
if you are not with me, with me.
At the windows
show everyone my heart
which you set alight;
enclose within me
the light you
encountered on the street.

I’'ll go with you,
to countries I never
saw and shared with you,
now, yes, I shall experience them.
I’'ll go with you
on ships across seas
which, I know,
no, no, exist no longer;
with you I shall experience them.

When you are far away
I dream on the horizon
And words fail,
and, Yes, I know
that you are with me;
you, my moon, are here with me,
my sun, you are here with me,
with me, with me, with me.

I'’ll go with you,
To countries I never
Saw and shared with you,
now, yes, I shall experience them.
I’'ll go with you
On ships across seas
which, I know,
no, no, exist no longer,
with you I shall experience them again.
I’ll go with you
On ships across seas
Which, I know,
No, no, exist no longer;
with you I shall experience them again.
I’ll go with you,
I with you.

Cake flavors

Some yummy flavor combinations that a magazine article on Sylvia Weinstock suggested:
- hazelnut cake with raspberry cream and chocolate mousse
- white cake with pistachio and apricot buttercreams
- yellow butter cake with blood-orange, key-lime & raspberry fillings

I like the idea of almond, chocolate, or hazelnut cake and the following fillings (though not necessarily together):
- chocolate
- raspberry
- mocha
- strawberry
- coconut
- hazelnut
- pistachio
- apricot

Some flavors offered by the cake baker we met with:
- green tea cake
- praline buttercream
- chocolate truffle ganache
- 100% pure fruit preserves

I'm also considering red velvet cake b/c of the dramatic red color.

Some sites to check out to find vendors:
- wedding consultants: bridalassn.com
- DJs: adja.org
- flowers: aifd.org
- wedding photojournalists: wpja.org (this is the only site that I've used and I found some decent ppl but most were beyond our price range)

Postcard

According to the Postal Service, postcards should be:

Dimension	Minimum	Maximum
Height	3-1/2 inches	4-1/4 inches
Length	5.5 inches	6 inches
Thickness	0.007 inch	0.016 inch

Any item smaller than the minimum dimensions is not mailable.
For postcards, length is the dimension parallel to the address.
Postcards must be rectangular and be made of unfolded and uncreased paper or card stock.

The 3.5x5.5 inch height is perfect for fitting into the pocketfold and four can be cut from 8.5x11 cardstock with little waste. I'm guessing 60 lb. stock should be OK (no idea how heavy .007 - .016 inch equals and I left my micrometer in high school).

The Chinese Dress

Check! This is probably the task that was completed the quickest thanks to my mother. (Delegation is a beautiful thing!) She's been keeping an eye out for dresses, in particular the Chinese kind (qipao or cheongsam, I think it's called) for me. The other day she presented a few business cards of the places that she visited and liked. I didn't think much of them but today we decided to go check them out in Chinatown. (man, I couldn't help but notice how touristy everything is now) The first place I walked through by myself, since we agreed to meet there and I was very early. The ppl kept asking if I needed any help but since I had no idea what I was supposed to look for (does it have to be red or have the dragon and phoenix on it?), I kept saying no. I must've walked the store three times through (they have a lot of knick knacks too) while waiting for her so the workers must've thought I was acting suspiciously (not everything that they sell requires a lookover) so they kept following me. That was pretty irritating and weird and I ended up buying a little white bag that I thought I could use as a bridal purse or something. I now have buyer's remorse b/c I think the bag is too white and I don't like how they charged me more than the bag is really worth (it's a very simple design and I heard them say 'oh how much should I charge her'). Anyway, when my mother finally showed up, we went through a couple of their dresses and she said there should a dragon/phoenix on it and it'd be best if it were red). I tried on the only one that they had with the dragon and phoenix and it was quite fugly. It looked like it was more suited for an old woman. So they showed us others, some red, some with cap sleeves, some sleeveless. They were all unspectacular but they would brush off our complaints of how it didn't quite fit (too loose here and there) or that they weren't really appropriate for weddings b/c they weren't red, yet they just said you could wear teal and it doesn't need the dragon/phoenix thing. I'm glad we didn't settle b/c the last store we went to (more like some rented space in a larger, undeveloped shopping mall on Grand Street) had this beautiful red dress with gold accents (including the appropriate dragon/phoenix). I like it b/c it is slightly different from the ordinary Chinese dress with a keyhole opening in front and is sleeveless. It fits perfectly (though a little too perfectly as my tummy roll is very obvious) and is better constructed than other dresses that I've seen b/c it is lined so it falls over my body nicer. I just need to get shoes (maybe slippers?) and bodyshaping underwear to go with it.

Yesterday we met with a cake baker and I was quite impressed with her portfolio. She charges $4 per slice or $3 for sheet cakes, not including delivery charges. I think that is low on the cake cost spectrum for fancy wedding cakes but expensive compared to Chinese cakes (which can be flavorless, too spongy and/or dry, and not that nice). Though the flavors are tempting I'm not sure if I would justify spending so much on cake. At the same time I'm not a fan of the Chinese cake so maybe we'll check out Veniero's (ironically I hear they are cheaper for cakes b/c it is much simpler -- fresh fruit, cream, white cake, I imagine).

Upcoming: we really have to work out the music situation. The problem is that I dislike loud music and I think most DJs are like that but from previous experience, a lot of ppl have complained about how boring live music is (be it jazz or a slightly more upbeat rock band). This coming weekend we'll be headed to an out-of-town wedding so we won't be able to get much done but at least I'll be able to steal some ideas. :)

Connections

Score one for connections! My friend, despite her own recent engagement, has agreed to tape our wedding. She is a video editor by trade so once she's done shooting, she can make it into a fantabulous DVD like she did for another friend. I won't want quite as much editing but I am
imagining full coverage of the ceremony, maybe some coverage of us taking pictures around the city, and then just a portion of the banquet (like when we're introduced in the beginning, a quick pan of the place full of people, and maybe a few shots of the scrumptious food). I think it'd be really cool to have a "Director's Cut" version of it all but have us talk instead of a 'director' or maybe a 'Pop-Up Video' rendition if there are enough interesting things to pop up. And I would want those bookmarks that DVDs have placemarking the different parts of the day, like processional, officiant's message, vows, recessional, etc. just for ease of viewing the final video.

And I'm excited about meeting a friend of a friend who bakes wedding cakes this Saturday!! I've seen a pic of the cake that she made for one of her friends' wedding and it was pretty nice (not perfect but you know me, I have to pick out at least a flaw or two). I'm willing to give her a chance though, to start up her business and also b/c I think that this is an area we can scrimp a little (though I'm not sure how much she would charge) b/c in my eyes, the cake is not that important (I know, with my sweet tooth, how can I say such a thing?). Well the cake is the last thing you eat and after 10 courses, including a sweet soup at the end, you hardly have enough stomach space for it. (Though I've heard the cake she made was delicious!) So it's been fun looking for designs and thinking of flavors.

Now if we can just find a connection to do the flowers!

We've been leaning more and more towards going to Spain for the honeymoon. I've been reading Rick Steves' site (we also watched one of his specials on PBS about Sevilla and some other coastal region) and he's got some great information. I also talked to my co-worker, who spent a year there for study abroad and it sounds so much fun.

On another note, I'm wondering if we need a day-of coordinator to keep things running. Maybe I can pull a connection in that court too.

The inspiration

So let me just solidify the theme idea: fall. My inspiration is this leaf (can I take any non-fuzzy pics?), one of the many that we gathered last fall up at Bear Mountain and went home and pressed. The red of the leaf is about the shade of the BM dresses, which also, incidentally is a 'lucky' Chinese color, and so, is the main color scheme. I am hoping that the excess fabric from the dresses can be made into bowties for the GMs or at least can help them find something similar in shade. To distinguish fiance from the rest of them, he will also have a vest in that shade? (I can't decide whether or not that would look nice). Maybe boutonnieres can have a leaf in the back as well, kinda like this picture on the right. We happen to have a bunch of acorns too, though a lot of the double ones broke apart.

The 'inspiration leaf' also has patches of yellow and orange, even brown, which I can try to tie in secondarily, through other aspects, like favors, bouquets (I'm leaning towards orange-shaded flowers for the BMs, like orange callas, poppies, dahlias, or maybe even roses), perhaps invites. The leaves, I'm hoping, will make an appearance in mini wreaths at the end of pews (scroll down), and also as the escort cards at the banquet.

And I want to create this flower monogram (yes, I threw that image together in Photoshop using images of the flowers). I think the monogram will be made out of silk gerbera daisies (silk b/c I won't have time to arrange this using real flowers on the day of) and it will hang on the church doors (if they allow us, or somewhere else, if not). I'm thinking this creation will be on a white piece of fabric so that the colors pop out and it can be hung like a banner, with rods inserted into a flap sewn onto the top and bottom to keep it from flapping about. If not a piece of fabric, then maybe put into a big frame?

If I were to have centerpieces (still not sure if that is possible, given the massive amount of table space needed for the food), I'd like to do a pyramid of stacked, upside-down Gala apples, which are yellow with a red blush (or a similar apple with red striations). Apples fit the fall theme too and there's the added benefit of being able to eat them afterwards. Those old Chinese women will love that -- instead of stealing the flower centerpieces, they can eat away!

And I was thinking of using wreaths to mark off the pews instead of flowers and bows. I especially like this one made with the berries as it's not screaming "look, more leaves to get the fall idea across!" like the one below.
But I like the colors of the leaves all together. I'm pretty sure we don't have enough leaves for all this.

There are also a lot of red and orange drinks to use to create a signature drink, if we indeed go that route. Or we could do something with apples or cider.

And lastly, I'm trying to come up with ideas for the design of the cake topper. I think it'd be a nice touch if FMIL made a stained glass one since she makes that stuff all the time. I just need to convince her and come up the design. I guess coming up with a cake and baker would be important too.

Words of wisdom

This weekend an older couple dispensed some helpful wedding advice (they married a few years back). She said that it is important to delegate responsibilities b/c you have enough to worry about on the big day. My aim, as she did, is to not know about every little thing (hence, not worrying) but to just have it fixed. She also advised setting limits on the budget -- first decide how much you'd be willing to spend on each item, then do the research to see if that's possible. Obviously there will have to be adjustments, some lower and some higher than you expected but at least that's where you begin. Very interestingly, she said that there will be one BIG fight when there are about 2 months or so left. I had heard about the normalcy of fights during the planning (we've fulfilled that part already) but I hadn't heard about there being a big one. I guess it makes sense b/c you'd be increasingly stressed as the date approaches and as she said, by that time all the big stuff should already be planned. Of course there was talk of the guest list (they had 50 tables!) and dealing with family and the types of gifts you get (this is the second couple that said some ppl surprisingly give very little but in the end she thinks they broke even all around). It also made me feel a little better that we're not the only ones crazy enough to look for a place to buy while planning. In the end, they settled for the house that they're living in now b/c they really needed a place to live and at the time, the housing boom was just beginning and they were outbid on everything.
I'm getting concerned that we don't really have a theme (perhaps that's the cause of our disorganization?).

On a related note, we went to the Crate and Barrel Sunday Morning Engagement today. We showed up at the Madison Avenue store at the early hour of 9am. It was so cold and I saw some crazy ppl waiting outside before they opened their doors. When we went in, we were greeted by not very chipper ppl who checked off my name (I don't know why they keep it so exclusive -- if someone wants to start a registry there but didn't RSVP, what's the harm in signing up at that moment?), gave us a map of the store, a pencil, and a list of essential items to add to the registry. They said there was a coat check in the back, refreshments upstairs, and a place to pick up your scanner in the middle. They actually took my ID as a deposit for the scanner (is there a huge run on these things?) and they described how to use it. We definitely know that we need pots and pans but on our way there, we got distracted by the electrics (food processer, etc.). And the defining moment: our very first scan. We pushed and pushed the button on the side but it refused to scan!! So much for this being a 'much easier' to use scanner than other registries (as the woman described). We even tried sliding the paper out of the sleeve to no avail. Finally we just punched in the code. A woman nearby making juices out of this huge, powerful juicer explained that those codes didn't scan but needed to be manually entered (sheesh, why bother putting that tiny bar code below the letters and numbers then? Other stuff [those w/ SKUs] were eventually scanned in.). We tried some pear juice that this woman made (it was pretty good!) but later on fiance said she didn't remove the sticker from the pear before juicing it (yummy!, I write with much sarcasm). By the pots and pans, there was also a pancake station but I didn't try any of it. Upstairs, there were mimosas (not very much champagne, so it was tasty, yet it still made me flush though it finally circulated my blood so that my hands were no longer cold) and muffins (which I didn't try). After checking out furniture, which is hard to do without a place to furnish, we went back downstairs. A somewhat helpful woman saw us checking out their flatware and suggested we pick some china first, then we can bring it over and see whether it matches. So we did that. She walked us through bone china, porcelain and all that jazz. There was also a very sweet lady who stopped us around the ovenwares and told us about their completion program (10% off stuff that's still on the registry for 6 months after our wedding). After we were finally done, we went to the booth and created the registry. This involved typing in a whole bunch of info, inserting the scanner into a slot (which is kinda cool -- I guess the info is transferred [pretty quickly] over through infared), and then printing off our list. Then we returned the scanner, got our gift (still haven't opened it but it's supposed to be a pair of their heart-shaped champagne flutes), took a bunch of those papers that you can include in invites about registry info, and we were on our way.
Overall, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. There is some cookware that we still need/want which they don't carry but I guess they aren't a mecca for serious cooks (like us, haha!) so their selection is limited. Their china is somewhat limited too, as expected. Surprisingly, they had some cast iron stuff (I think that it is finally catching on and Mark Bittman's praise of it in a recent NY Times article could only have helped) but fiance already has a whole bunch of it thanks to Walmart. I also didn't think that the staff were that knowledgeable. More than one person hesitated when I asked them questions, giving a sort of runaround answer while they read the product description (I guess I should've read it myself before asking). I think they also pointed us towards 'popular' stuff, not necessarily stuff that would perform well. But it was cool that they closed the store to everyone else until noon (they turned quite a few ppl away who just wanted to shop). I expected the staff to also be very friendly but only a few were and I think that's b/c it was so early. And where was the advice? The ad said that there would be some (I imagined that they would sort of guide us along, have ppl talk to us about the essentials like the Target event) but I think there was just (limited) help with the products themselves. Anyway, quite a few couples showed up (it was pretty crowded in some areas towards the end) despite the cold. One of the guys mentioned that 17 couples showed up last week, even during that blizzard! I can't imagine setting up a registry as that important, but to each his own.

Officiant where art thou

I recently checked my account on the Knot and I saw that we are behind on so many things! Top of mind is getting an officiant. Normally this would be a simple task for ppl who belong to a church but not for the retarded folks at our church. It is already a difficult situation to not have a pastor but it's that much harder (and extremely frustrating!) when there are politics involved, preventing pastors that we would like to officiate. The easiest thing may be to get a judge that we have no connection to at all. :( (or to elope!)

We've also got to book a florist (if using), book musicians/DJ, finalize guest list
And upcoming (but not yet overdue): book wedding cake baker

Flowers

OK these images are NOT from my recent web surfing but from the book To Have & to Hold by David Stark and Avi Adler (the book I got from Target's Club Wed). Sorry these images are not very crisp (I don't have a scanner and I kinda like how they came out a little grainy). Like I mentioned previously, I wanted to incorporate my Bible with my flowers. The problem is figuring out what flowers go well with it. I think it has to be a pretty small nosegay b/c it will be too difficult to hold otherwise. Flowers that I'm considering: hydrangea, peony (so pretty, but out of season), zinnia, anemone, calla lilies (not sure if these are feasible b/c you would need a whole bunch to make an impact).

Obviously the one on the left is a boutonniere.

Or just a bunch of callas like this picture (I was watching a rerun of "Friends" recently and had to look up some images). I like this pic also b/c Monica's dress is similar to mine and I'm thinking of copying her w/ her hairstyle -- it is simply pulled back at the top with a fancy barrette (but I think I would curl mine more) and then a floor-length veil. She also lets her hair down completely at the reception.

Web compilation

I found this site and have been addicted to it: www.weddingbee.com. From that, I found a whole bunch of links that have kept me busy all day (urgh--info overload again!!). One of them is a listing of bios on the Knot. It is like crack to go through these bios and learn from everyone's ideas (some aren't that good, so I've been going through what's labelled the "Best Bios"). Some ppl even use these bios as info pages (I guess it's a quick and easy way to put up a webpage) and I've found the "Specialty Bios" page helpful. Two ppl have created odes to Martha and I found these (gotta remember to buy WATERPROOF calligraphy pens):

So upcoming posts will have a trove of ideas that I've found and like (and those posts will be updated with more stuff as I find them, like an idea attic, if you will).

And I found this quote that I like: “We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.” --Agnes Repplier

I have no idea who Kepplier is so I have to check to see if she really said this. There is also all those quotes from Rilke that I came across while reading his Letters to a Young Poet and ever since college I've been trying to find the poem that I thought was very romantic back in 17th century poetry (it was either Donne or Jonson, or was it someone else?).

Anyway, we finally went to the photographer and dropped off the grand. Finally, another thing can be crossed off the list!

Paper

To save on postage and to be a little different, I've always liked the idea of postcards for RSVPs. Taken off that Weddingbee site, I found this example. I especially like the wording: "__ of # will be attending." In the same vein, I think I've also seen something like "Two seats have been reserved for you." And then the usual lines of will/not attend.

I know that we are using the pocketfold invites but I've been struggling with how to close them. I like this idea of the ribbon going across and under the seal on one end and then ending inside the pocket (you also hide the gluing of the ends).

And I like this fall color scheme (from Inventations):

I think it's very similar to the red with cream-colored cardstock that I had imagined and it just may be close enough to do the switch to get both the fall theme and the Chinese red across.

I like this idea for placecards but we probably won't use them b/c we've got those leaves we gathered (which still need to be waxed or polished).

This is an interesting idea for table numbers. Though I've also got the idea from Martha with the radio wire (at right). I think the red wire makes it almost look Asian-ish, very much like those closures on the Chinese dress. Maybe I'll use one idea for the menu and the other for the numbers. I am hoping to get someone to do the calligraphy for the numbers in Chinese and then on another side will be the English.

Veil

I've been obsessed with the veil lately, mainly b/c I want to make mine and I don't know if I can get it right (it is ridiculous that they cost about $100 when you can make it for much less).

I found a great site that walks through the DIY process: www.wegotgame.net/jen/veils.html.

I definitely want a double-layer, raw-edge (unfinished end b/c I like that wispy look) veil but I can't decide if I want a fingertip one or a floor-length one.

TO DO:
- find a place that sells those plain combs
- buy the tulle (I should ask around where's the best place to get it -- Fashion District? online?)
- figure out whether I can pull off diamond white tulle or bridal illusion with my light ivory gown
- decide on fingertip or floor-length

Related to veils is hair, and the only style that I've found online that I like is this (but I think not as curly at the crown): [I got this from some Knottie's site]

The only other hairstyle that I like is what I saw on Queer Eye: a very simple twist up (in the hair trial they tied her hair into a ponytail and swept it up) without a lot of hairspray or other product. At the reception, the bride took off her veil and let her hair down (though she looked kinda messy) for a second hairstyle. That gave me the idea of having multiple hairstyles throughout the day to match the multiple dresses that I will be wearing. I can also (easily, I hope!) change makeup accordingly by making it more dramatic at night. I think Sonia Kashuk's advice was to "glam it up" with false eyelashes (gotta learn how to do that if I want to do my own makeup) and more makeup (by going lighter during the day and using a heavier hand at night?).

Shoes

The shoe dilemma: finding nice shoes that would go with the wedding dress and the evening gown (asking for it to match the red Chinese dress too would be asking too much) and hopefully would go with other things so that I wouldn't wear it just once. I had been surfing on the shoe sites (zappos.com, myglassslipper.com -- they have an 'Under $100' section that I had read about, shoebuy.com) for silver shoes, staying away from the bridal shoes b/c I find most of them ugly and not very comfy-looking (not to mention they don't fit the criteria of being able to be worn more than once). I was also pretty sure that I'd want a wedge heel (more comfy) and a T-strap (slims wide feet like mine). I ordered 2 shoes from Zappos mainly b/c they received pretty good reviews but when I tried them on I realized that I have very difficult feet to work with (they were uncomfortable and one pair didn't fit at all). The shoes were also extremely poorly made. I can't believe that they cost over $50 b/c if they were in one of those ghetto stores that sell cheap clothes, I'd guess that they were $20 at most. One of them had a tacky clear plastic strap with beads glued on it and the other one had dried beads of glue oozing out of the undersole. Thank goodness Zappos has that free shipping free returns thing (maybe that's why the shoes were so expensive). I am impressed by how nicely wrapped up everything was (everything was tightly wrapped in tissue paper and taped) though.

Then I went to Macy's this past Sunday (b/c it was tax-free week and to check out BM dresses). I saw a pair of silver T-strap sandals that looked kinda nice (even on my feet), with big jewels down the T-strap. While they were on sale for $60, I wasn't sure if I should get them since they didn't look too comfortable with the 3 (2.5?) inch heel and narrow front, which squeezed my toes together (the only thing keeping my feet from sliding down was the bone above my pinky toe so you can imagine the pain that would result from the rubbing as I walk). They weren't that uncomfortable for the minute or so that I had them on though. I left empty-handed. Throughout the week, I pondered whether or not I should go back and get them. I even went to the Nine West by work but they only had it in the bronze color. So I went back today determined to try on the shoes again and try to break them in and return them if they weren't comfy. This time, after wearing heels all day at work, the transition to the sandals wasn't as weird so it didn't feel unstable. But after walking a little and standing in them, I felt the balls of my feet hurt. Plus the back of the shoe was loose and looked weird no matter how tight I closed it. After much thought I decided to let these shoes go (even though they were the closest thing that I liked so far). I thought that I'd have to resign myself to wearing flats or sneakers on my wedding day (I still may do the sneaker thing at the banquet) and cursed my f'ugly feet for always giving me so much pain (3/4 of all shoes that I like I end up not buying or wearing b/c they are unbearably uncomfortable). Then I walked around a little and I saw a silver, pointy-toed shoe on the clearance rack. When I scanned it, it said $38 or so. After trying them on (they were pretty comfy compared to the boots I was wearing and the shoe that I had just tried on), I decided to buy them. The saleswoman was pretty nice (NOT the norm at Macy's shoe department, in my opinion) and noticed that the price was wrong b/c they should be 75% off. And instead of being $38, they were just $20! Woo hoo!!
I wonder, am I supposed to wear hosiery with these shoes? They still need breaking-in, I'm sure. But at least I can go get my dress fitted for the right length now.

Speaking of which, a friend recently asked her friend who used to be in the wedding gown business whether or not he'd be interested in helping me fix mine. He said yes! I don't mind going to Pinpoint and getting it all fixed up for about $450 (I even made an appointment for this Saturday) but if he can beat it and do a good job, I'd be even happier!

This Friday I'm hoping to go to a tailor in Chinatown to see whether or not she can downsize the evening gown from a size 20 to a 4 for a good price (I've heard anecdotally that she charged only $7 to hem a four-layered dress). And Saturday we're supposed to meet with the photographer to work out last minute contract details and give him a deposit to secure him for the day. We've already turned down two photographers that we met with so this one better work out! Finally, progress!