Your Wedding FAQs for Me

Wanted flower: Chocolate Cosmos!

I had a good weekend while the kids were out in Whistler (kids as in the guys). The wedding stuff is getting somewhere. Decorations have begun! Time to shop for stuff. So far, the tulle is just enough so all we need are some ribbons and fake flowers. I would like to keep it simple and elegant. Less flowery, more ribbon-y, and not overwhelming. I don't know, I guess I like to keep things simple and clean just how I design my websites too.

I'll also need to start the wedding favors soon. I don't know if I want to make caricatures of us but we'll see. It'll probably take two days max to press buttons but designing can take longer if I'm picky. I have yet to decide what goes on the buttons. Yes, button wedding favors! Our wedding has more thought put into it than money. Believe me when I say I enjoy the thinking part most. 

It's almost time to make the menus, call the restaurant manager for the food dishes, and create our program/itinerary for the ceremony. I believe we also need to invite people to the ceremony. We haven't done so yet and with my bad memory I really do forget.

At one point I had a bit of a low. Realizing that not everyone could be invited to the reception was just something we couldn't do anything about. It's our budget and somewhere in there we just got to make the cut. Plus, here's my thought: Who wants to be invited to a wedding if they themselves don't even know the couple? I guess for me, I don't feel offended when people don't invite me. I understand it's not cause I'm not liked. It's cause there's no room, low budget, and possibly the fact that the person just doesn't know me well enough to invite me. It's not a dislike of the person but an indifference. Don't we all have those people in our lives who are merely acquaintances or friends we haven't seen in a long time?

Wedding FAQ's

Are you excited for the wedding yet?

Yes and no. I am excited but maybe half anxious and half just praying for some peace. At this point I ultimately want a peaceful wedding. I come from a divorced family so I just want my family to get along and make peace with each other. If you pray, please pray for that. And for all our guests we want you to have fun, participate in all the games and activities, and laugh at our MC's jokes even if they're not funny.

Are you stressed out?

No not really, surprisingly. Although I would experience moments of: "geesh, how will I get through this and why is there so much stuff to do? SO many tasks to carry out, appointments to make, shopping, people I need to coordinate with, etc." But overall, I sleep well at night and when I don't it's usually cause I slept too late.

Do you care about not having the flowers and bouquet you wanted?

No not really. I am happy with roses and calla lilies. I really wanted chocolate cosmos. These are exotic flowers that have a chocolate scent to them and they are brown : )

I wanted a fierce bouquet like this one except softer, replacing the white with peach roses.

What is your color theme?
Brown and cream/ivory. Mostly ivory I guess.

What should I wear to your wedding?

Anything you like but preferably have a warm jacket to go with it. It should be a bit cold by then and possibly rainy so bring an umbrella. Girls should bring a pair of comfortable shoes cause heels will hurt after a while.

Are you going to have a dance floor?

Yes, we will have space allocated for dance and we'll have pre-mixed dance music. As for a dance FLOOR (special flooring for dance) it's still in progress. We will see how much money we can pull out of our pockets.

It's not going to be club style so everyone should be comfortable. You know, it's like Filipino parties where families and friends all get together and dance and have a good time.

Is your planning done? How's everything coming along?

No it's not done. It's never really done but yea just coming along. I just hope it's considered done one week before our wedding so Stephen and I can relax and go out for fish n' chips, enjoy a day at the spa, and watch some tv while we wait for the big day.  : ) I hate to be a last minute bride. I want to be free of doing any stressful last minute wedding planning a night before. I swear I will not be staying up late to make wedding favors or creating menus the day before.

Are you having a tea ceremony?

Yes at my house. No we are not playing games (unless the bridesmaids call it).

Is your dad walking you down the aisle?

Yes he is.

Are you going on a honeymoon right after?
Yes, either one or two days after the wedding. We will be having a local honeymoon within BC. It will be a week getaway to Tofino or Victoria - somewhere with a nice resort and good food. Stephen got his days off and we are so blessed once again. Next year or the next next year we will be going to our bigger honeymoon/vacation to Asia.We need to make some money first if you know what unexpected financial chaos we got into - but still we are very blessed.

Are you renting a car for the wedding?

No. We're really using an old Mercedes but honestly we don't care.

Will you be having kids anytime soon?

No haha. We need to adapt to married life first. But if a baby pops out he's the one to blame. : P

Wedding Shoot is DONE!

Hey our wedding shoot is finally done! It was so eventful and such an experience. I will have to make a full update another time but here's some eye candy for you - haha it's me! lol I get to look hot for a day and Stephen looked pretty chill and ready for spring in his green tie and vest I must say. These are from our camera but the real photos will take about 2-3 weeks to get to us.

VLOG below talks about some preparations prior to the shoot.

VLOG: Brief Wedding Shoot Preps

Hey it's photo day today and it's bright and sunny outside. Here's a 5 minute VLOG on what I did for prep. I decided to do a video rather than take pics and blog about it. (Some of you might fall asleep watching this haha) Anyway, let me know if you want to see more VLOGS in the future and I'll try to make more. If not I'll stick with normal blogging. Haha do you like the Jay Chou song I used? lol enjoy.



By the way, I didn't win the grad poster contest. It's not really a contest but basically it was down to the top three posters chosen to represent our grad class and mine was one of the top three. Only one out of the three could be chosen and mine didn't make it. But good news is they selected my website to use as the website that holds all our portfolio work on it (big surprise for me actually). You'll see the site soon when it is launched. Anyway, good stuff : )

Wedding Eh?

Wedding planning isn't much fun to be honest.

But guess what, on the bright side, I have people thinking I'm too young to get married.
"You're getting married? Sorry to say this but.. aren't you a little too young to get married? You're 19 right?"

Right. Going back to being 19 I was dreaming about getting married. Right now I just want to get this going and finish it up nicely. But thanks for the compliment anyway!

Honeymoon destinations:
- Cancun
- Australia
- Carribeans
- Jamaica

Our ideal place is sunny weather and good eats.We wanted Malaysia but we'll wait til next year's vacation to go instead just to take advantage of the good food being in season. We'll go when we can visit Hong Kong and Singapore all at the same time. Paris is probably out of the question though.

Where did you go for honeymoon / want to go and why?

Photoshoot Preparations for May 15th

I don't really know what needs to be done prior to the photoshoot but here are some things I thought of. If you have any suggestions or if I missed anything, feel free to comment!

Bride

- facial
- waxing/threading (usually upper lip, eyebrows, and under arm)
- accessories: earrings, necklace, hair pieces/decor
- bouquet
- shoes
- makeup and hair
- nails?
- arms length gloves
- fitted wedding dress
- hair coloring?

Groom:

- eyebrows
- facial?
- make up (just powder)?
- tux
- shoes
- a hair cut
- hair coloring
- matching socks

The shoot itself:

- photographer
- propose some styles of photography
- determine indoor location
- determine outdoor location
- getting around (a vehicle)
- a GPS
- lots of sleep prior

Engagement Pic and Food

So my mom says there's a relative of ours that wants a photo of us (Stephen and me). I suppose we're gonna send them this one:

Want good seafood kimchi hotpot? Seafood kimchi hotpot is the next best thing to good weather. I love Sasaya cause they make theirs the best. I've tried at least three places already. But since I have a sweet tooth, I tend to like food that is spicy but sweet. This hotpot has that sweet flavor seasoning and comes served with squid, tofu, prawns, kimchi, bean thread, egg, mussel and marinated pork. It's located in Burnaby. They're so good that I decided to do a review on them at dinehere.ca.

Good seafood kimchi hotpot at Sasaya.

In other news, bad seafood kimchi hotpot places also get reviews by me -- on a napkin:

Seafood kimchi hotpot fail. Let's not embarrass them.

They forgot to serve it with the bean thread. -_- Not to mention, no service after we seated for at least 10 minutes.

Wedding update: Waiting for my photo shoot dress to get altered at Metrotown. (You have two dresses?) Why yes I do! In fact, I got my photo shoot dress at an uber cheap price. Since I'll only be wearing it once, I camped Craigslist and found one for $75. I loved the ruffles in the back so I had to get it. It's cheaper than renting and it's in good condition so why not? Only thing is it's slightly too small so I'm getting it to fit bigger. Who else is busty? So altogether I only pay a little over $100 for this dress. Tip: good wedding dresses do exist on Craigslist if you're not picky and aren't sentimental about keeping the dress forever.

Good Dates Good Food

A random semi blooper shot by Tessa. One of our engagement session photos. We really don't have that many good ones to share lol.

We visited the Olympic Store multiple times - guess all the Canada hoodies really are gone for good huh? 50% off all Olympic stuff right now if you want to snag a tee shirt.

We made our own homemade burgers, pan fried potatoes and sauteed mushrooms.

We started our gift registry already - anyone wanna get us a $100 coffeemaker? Don't look for our registry yet, we still have items we need to remove.

We go eat japadogs when it's raining hard. Stephen buying us japadogs. The guy behind looks like he's gonna mug him for one.

We ate our japadogs.. at the lobby area of Winners. I like oroshi best. This is okonomi and tery-miso (sp.)

Roles and Helpers

For your convenience, this post has been moved here. Look for future wedding shortcut links on the right hand side.

Chinese Dressies

When I had to pick out my Chinese dress, also known as a qipao or cheong sam, I knew I wanted it red. I knew I wanted it red plus the fewer colors there were on the pattern the better. I also realized I wanted a lucky Chinese red rather than a darker burgundy shade of red. You know, Chinese red is similar to the shade of lucky red envelopes. I'm more warm than cool when it comes to my skin tone.

Shopping with my aunt wasn't successful for me but it was for my mom. She found herself a purple qipao and I got to try on this:





Really now, it was a really good fit. I looked taller cause the pattern was vertical from neck to my feet but... I didn't like the pattern. It was too vertical. (The bottom hem of the dress had no other patterns other than the ziggy zaggy you see here). This was when my mom and aunt and the sales lady all insisted that it looked great on me and I should get it. Stephen had a good eye and he agreed that the pattern wasn't stunning even though the fit was good. So I declined it. I didn't love it. They were a little surprised but I told myself I could find better - and I did.

After some time shopping, my aunt brought us over to her place. She gave me her daughter's dress to try on. It was nice but it didn't work out:

So what did I end up with? I rather not show the dress but from my last post about Chinese dresses, I can say it has those buttons like the last pic on that post. It's a lucky Chinese red with gold print, sleeveless with collar. Now use your uber imagination and you'll see it lol.

This is mango sushi from SUSHIWA which is like a block from my house. Their sushi is really good, really fresh. Just decided to share the pic for a nice splash of color... for all you sushi lovers.

Tux - Mission Accomplished

We went tux shopping today... and it was successful! Prior to that we tried to go twice and both times they were closed. It was such a disappointment because we only had so much time before our coupon expired. As wedding couples, the best tip we can give you is to cheap out as much as you can - on what you can cheap out on. I'm sure a lot of you know that but sometimes it's really easy to overlook certain things and spend more than necessary. So sort out your list and see what can be compromised slightly.

Well it's also our luck that we got a coupon from attending the wedding fair this year. Even though we didn't win the draw for the $100,000 grand prize, we entered mini draws and got a lot of inspiration from the booths and.. got coupons. Rent 4 tuxedos and get one free! Now we have one free one to go towards our pre-wedding photos. Tip number 2: attend a wedding fair.

The tux rental place we went to is called Black&Lee's. They are located downtown on Richards Street. I would love to show you the matching color vest and tie and the tux but unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me. You can browse their site but the colors in their catalog are very off.

For the wedding day Stephen will be wearing a latte brown vest with matching tie. The grooms men will be wearing a chocolate brown vest with matching tie. It works well with the bridesmaid dresses color which is mercury according to the sales lady (who was super nice by the way). Its got a brown tint so I don't know what to call it. Tip number 3: bring the bridesmaid dresses if you want a good color match.

What will he wear on our photo shoot day? For our photos he'll be in sage green matching vest and tie. Why green? Tessa, our fashion consultant suggested we should go with the groom's favorite color. Awesome idea by the way. I love green and the green just looks refreshing for spring since our photos will be done in May. Pray for sun please?! I think this tie is the closest shade of green I could find that best resembles what he tried on but this one's darker/brighter. Tip number 4: Make your photo shoot personal; make it yours.

Cute Buns

Buns! Gotta have a bun for the wedding ya know. Well, maybe it's just me but I think buns give you an overall fresher appearance and better complexion. Good for photography and personally I just like buns to go with the whole wedding dress - it makes it complete. (I know, some of these are either half buns or just curls that look like a bun - updo's a better word).

Messy buns and clean buns... what's your style? I'm leaning towards something similar to the third photo but with a flower. This would be for pre-wedding photos if it all goes well. Any tips? Suggestions?

Stay tuned for an update soon on tux shopping. So far it hasn't been the best experience. I'll tell you why on the next post.

Wedding Postponed

Sorry folks, the wedding's going to be moved to next April instead. Stephen and I have decided that since we wanted to go to Malaysia for honeymoon, we would have to go during a time when where we get the most out of the trip. In November there's clearly nothing in season in terms of fruits and good eats. You know how much I like to eat and you know how much I like to fool you guys. Have a good one lol. It's totally true regarding the in/out of season fruits though.

Ok here's the real update. Looks like I'm going to be in India from July 23 - August 8. Mission trip baby right before the wedding. 

I Do.

I do want a wedding dress like this.

Cupcakes Will Design Our Wedding Cake...

Cause WE WON! Some of you may know that during the end of the last month of October I submitted a cake design to the Creme de la Creme Cupcakes Contest (<-- see cake design here). Well, that was what all that craze was about spamming y'all to vote on Facebook. And the good news is it all paid off! Thank you guys for voting and for supporting! Those votes got my design into the TOP 5. Out of the top 5 one cake gets picked based on the judging criteria of creativity, originality, and elegance. Here is the contest event if you're curious.

I can taste the waffle cake... : ) This is like a dream come true.

So thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your votes and thanks Creme de la Creme for holding such a creative contest that pushed my creative limits and inspired me to push myself as a designer.

Much thanks - Danielle & Stephen

Wedding Cake Design Contest

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Hi! I need all your help and support! I've designed a wedding cake design and submitted it and I only have ONE more day left to get all the votes in. I want to see if I have chance to win and if I win I get my dream wedding cake made for me. If I don't win then at least I still got to design my dream wedding cake : )

This is what my cake looks like and when you've reached this page click 'like' to vote!

Thank you in advance!
Please pass the word along by reposting this link on your facebook.

The Useful Pashmina

Why I wore a pashmina to my friends' wedding:

• during times when it was cool outside I used it to cover my bare shoulders
• it added a nice touch to my outfit which also had some black in it
• it helped conceal my excessive cleavage
• it was worn tied behind my waist during the day and as an evening stole for the night
• my outfit looked more fancy than it really was with it draped over me
• it was summer so when it got too hot and I had to carry it around, it was light weight and convenient. Sometimes I would tie it around my purse. (I'm glad I didn't bring a jacket)

If you're interested in a pashmina, I can hook you up with one for $10. : )

Chinese Qipao or Cheong Sam

Cheong Sam just means 'long dress.' I decided to google up some images of this Chinese traditional dress but didn't have much luck finding the really nice ones. A few of them look pretty nice and as always I find nice things that stand out about each one. I am also looking into purchasing my very first Cheong Sam or qipao (same thing) for the wedding reception.

Click on Photos to Enlarge.
I actually like the pattern on this one. However, I'm not sure how the Chinese elders would like the part where a big gap exposes part of my chest.

I like the print on this one. Its got nice flowers but not a typical wedding qipao.

A nice design especially where the buttons are off to the side but the pattern reminds me of the red background with gold dragons that you typically find in Chinese restaurants.

It's a nice print. Love the flowers and the whole look.

I like green as it's one of my favorite colors. However, the right shoulder would be totally exposed. It looks kind of modern but both color and style doesn't seem to suit a Chinese reception.

Once again, love these buttons. Pink looks quite nice but I like it without sleeves.

The way the the collar is sewn creating that tear drop in the middle looks pretty cool.

This one is quite simple. Maybe a little too Miss Hong Kong pageant (Is she?). I do like the idea of the red flower in her hair.

Gold colored qipao. One of my friends wore a gold one. It seemed to suit the wedding reception.

The design is quite nice. Maybe without the sleeves. I would look so Miss Hong Kong in one of these.

Anyway, nothing wrong with Honger looks or anything. I'm just not used to qipaos and looking oriental. But hey, I'd love to wear a qipao for a day just cause they're so amazing in their different prints and styles. I tried a few at the mall and I guess I do look like a Miss Hong Kong. I get my 'look' from my dad.

Any nice qipaos that you've seen on the internet? Send me some photos or you can let me know what styles are in... or perhaps where I can get one.

Blog Response: What To Wear To A Wedding

I decided to do a blog response to SoloLisa's blog post on what to wear to a wedding. This coming August I will be attending two weddings and the weird thing is they are both on the same day... what are the chances? So since I can't be in two places at once I will have to make a sacrifice. It looks like I'll be spending most of my time at one wedding and then dropping by for the after dance party for the other. It's unfortunate that I can't be fully present for either weddings. Summer weddings sure are popular.


The dress here I bought at RW&CO a while back. It makes a good evening or daytime dress in my opinion. Perhaps if I dress it up with a black shawl it can look more appropriate for the evening. The red is like a raspberry red and the brown is like a darker shade of tan with white flowers. The photo doesn't really make the dress appear exactly how it should but pretty close - and it fits nice and snug on me, not loose.

I have not yet figured out what shoes and accessories to pair it up with so feel free to leave a suggestion or two. Most likely going with my coach wristlet that's the same style as the one below but burgundy wrist strap instead of brown.

color same as the one below:

Dream Dress Part II - Disney Style

As I blogged in part I of my dream wedding dress post, I had a few styles in mind for my ideal wedding dress. However, in reality after reading SoloLisa's blog post response there is a small chance that the dress I want will be the dress I'll wear for that grand day. You just need to try on plenty of dresses to really get a good idea of the way they fit on your body. I have yet to do that maybe the next weekend. This coming weekend is my work's company retreat so I'll be lucky if I can make it back and allot myself some time to do some dress fitting.

So part II of my dream dress is all about a Disney wedding. I guess the idea came to me since I've always loved Disney Princesses as a little girl. I liked how poofy their dresses are and the whole Prince and Princess happily ever after story. I still remember feeling agitated watching that octopus lady Ursula take away Ariel's voice. Then feeling happy that she got to be with her prince at the end. Anyway, maybe it's just me who dreams of a fairtytale wedding.

Here are some princess inspired dresses by Ever After Bridal:


What do you think? Are they quite close/far off from the original cartoon princess versions of the dress? More about these designs found in this article.

Got this off of my friend. It made my day:

Dream Dress Part 1

Click on photos to enlarge.

Modern Trousseau - Camille (back)

Modern Trousseau - Camille (front)

When it comes to choosing a wedding dress, I do have my biases. I learned this soon after browsing at some bridal collections online. I am attracted to the styles that either have lace trims and patterns and/or ribbon sashes around the waist. Even though I'm not a fashion guru, I can only see so many wearable dresses. Something practical, not too boring, and definitely nothing too dominating, not poofy, A-line preferred, tube, and nothing too tight or slim fitting around the bottom half of my legs (picture a mermaid).

With that being said here are some photos of some of the dresses that I've taken an interest in. It won't take long before you pick up on the similarities between them.

Mon Cheri Cindy #9206
I love the lace and especially how it goes across the chest, slightly snug around the hips but overall it's quite romantic of a dress


Mori Lee #2309
Something different - it's not lace but I like the fitting of the dress cause it's more relaxed

Melissa Sweet - Hallie
Gotta love lace


Something simple. I like looking at it but not for a wedding.


Fontaines - Simple dress no.2

Simple dress no.3

Sleeves - not my style but a friend suggested something like this for the top part.


Love the scrunch effect although a little too much considering there will be a bouquet


AJ - Ashten
It's quite a sweet dress especially with a country side background but my fiance says it looks like she's a wearing a mosquito net 0_0

Hopefully gloves shopping won't be too difficult (I'm old fashioned I like gloves)... and don't forget the veil.

Open to suggestions and feedback! Send me your ideas or your own dream dress.
PS: This post will be responded by SoloLisa for her input/views.