Having a headache on wedding theme? (II)

Every bride is greedy when it comes to realizing her wedding fantasy. I WAS! Fortunate to have the support from my sweet hubby, the afternoon ceremony was a merry diversion from the dinner banquet commanding an edgy air of black-and-white.

Abundant blooming floral revolving around palette of pastels, fluttering butterfly flavors in exuberant celebration of the season. Yes this is my spring garden wedding!

Tip #1 Celebrating the season after all is a classy and easy theme to start with

Tip #2 You can then speak the season with colors, say pastels/green for spring, colors of harvest when getting hitched in fall, white with red accents to invoke warmth in winter...

Mood board presented to our vendors

Snapshots of my spring garden wedding

Having a headache on wedding theme? (I)

The easiest way to start with is picking a color. Inspired by the timeless elegance of Audrey Hepburn, Patrick and I chose black and white. Quite a daring one in Chinese families, yet we believe that it's classical and stylish. With that in mind, we then came up with a mood board to illustrate visually the direction of style we were pursuing to our various vendors/

Tip #1 Mood board is for overall look and feel, no need to be 100% exact

Tip #2 The format doesn't matter. It can be objects, music, anything. Just that doing it digitally is convenient

Tip #3 (Patrick and I are grateful for the freedom granted by both families) Again, be sure to check with your families, as many of them are unexpectedly very passionate planners.

Mood board presented to our vendors



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snapshots of my wedding

 

A few thoughts about Pre-wedding Photography (I)

#1 It's NOT a must. This is your wedding, just follow your heart

#2 We are just ordinary couples, so it's perfectly OK that we're not used to cameras/ flashes and can't pose like professional models. No worry, the photographers are there to HELP!

#3 If you can afford, do take 2 sets. Make use of the 1st chance to practice and increase your photo genes. Keep the pricier photographer later in your queue to be more cost effective.

Will write more about how to choose photography style.

The Sensory Pleasures

Don't be mistaken this entry is referring to spa experience in hotel, but sensory indulgence for our guests.

Very few weddings will stimulate all your senses, in particular the sense of smell, the one that people are least likely to forget. At our reception, however, we've encapsulated the sweet scent of roses and blackcurrant leaves with the fragranted candles "Baies". 

Many were amazed by this little detail, in fact, got lots of enquiries from our guests about the fragrance upon bidding farewell or even till now. I should have asked Diptyque for commission :P

The FIRST Impression (I)

Been spending some entries on dresses, let's switch to something else before coming back. The first impression lies in wedding invitations to your guests, so WOW them, create anticipation!

Patrick and I were daring enough to challenge Chinese custom with black and white theme. Combinations of chandeliers and damask patterns bring Old World Glamour to life, while use of silver foil stamping and embossing show our appreciation for ornate detailing and luxury. The attentive design keeps all the loose parts tidy and clean. (Greedy us included registry kit, cake voucher and red envelope in the suite)

1st moment of WOW: Unveil matching damask pattern on the flap of the envelope. After all, it's unexpected detail that makes a difference.

2nd moment of WOW: Who says an invite is just an invite? Ours is an invite, a calendar, a piece of decoration on wedding day... Who will forget the date when it stands right on your desk?

How many dresses should I wear for Chinese banquet?- Cocktail dress

Apart from my wedding gown for march in, only 2 for me, as Patrick and I would love to spend quality time with our guests rather than stuck in the room changing styles and leaving our guests bored. As I only appeared in 3, all of them should be very distinctive from one another.

All guests will be looking around for the bride when they arrive (grooms, know you'll feel bitter, but hey admit it, that's the truth and you'll do the same in your friend's wedding), SO the dress has to be captivating enough, though not necessarily in an exaggerated manner that undermines your grace.

My pick was tailor made from scratch, o, should be a piece of vintage French lace. Patrick felt just like serendipity when he saw this golden piece of lace embroidered with some subtly sparkling sequins. Just a perfect match with the classically elegant surroundings in the Peninsula. And it's a different beauty from my Eliza ball gown, exuding an aroma of timeless elegance with its asymmetrical sheath design flowing naturally along the body shape and cascading down to modified sweep train.

Undecided on Chinese kwa?

Chinese kwa or not? I was so determined NOT to wear it at first. I used to believe firmly that traditional ones are too old-fashioned and modern ones a bit too cute for my wedding. Was actually thrilled to know that there's no pressure from either family that it's a necessity.

It appeared as a total twist when I came across this piece named "Hydrangea" in magazine and saw it for myself. Hydrangea retains the essence of dragon and phoenix, meticulously handcrafted in a vivid, traditional way with lots of silver and gold threads, yet a modern touch embellished by real Swarovski crystals. A sweet surprise that it's very reasonably priced for rental.

Tip #1 Never say never

Tip #2 Check your families when it comes to Chinese rituals

Will share a few more thoughts on kwa and Chinese traditions soon.

Finding THE dress

You will know when it's THE dress. Mine is Eliza from Vera Wang that I came across 2 years or so before the proposal and it's real love-at-first-sight and just couldn't get it off my mind. In fact I've tried a few, but those were only justifications for Eliza. Quite a few friends of mine even cried when they knew they've found their dresses, and almost all of them ended up with styles they haven't even thought of at the beginning.

Tip #1 Be open-minded to try different styles and it often surprises you.

Tip #2 When you've found your dress, trust your bridal instinct! Just move on to other prep works.

That's it for today. Will write more on what dress fits who later on.

That's how I start this blog walking down the memory lane!

Perfectionist, passionate about beauty, detail-oriented, decisive are descriptions of ME. I took the challenge to plan my own wedding from big part to each and every single detail. Most guests were and still are amazed that I have not got a wedding planner and still claim that my wedding is hard to beat with all the personalization and details.

Helping my bridesmaids to weave their dreams while my paper anniversary is approaching, detailing my path of becoming mrs maybe a good way of reminiscence, and hopefully can also shed some light for other mrs-to-be.