38chi's biography
my fiance and i were engaged on 9.27.08 (left). we tied the knot on 8.29.2009 in san francisco, ca (right). planning for the big day was hectic and exciting...thank goodness for PW and the inspirational girls on the forums. there is tremendous support and energy here! THANKS ladies for helping make our wedding that much more wonderful! keep creating and sharing!
~HAPPY PLANNING to all brides-to-be...
~CONGRATS to the newlyweds...
My website: www.brilliantlybeautifulevents.com
My Blog: http://brilliantlybeautifulevents.blogspot.com/
******GETTING READY - HIM**************************************************************
*******GETTING READY - HER***********************************************************
******FLOWERS & RINGS ***************************************************************
******CEREMONY**************************************************************************
******BRIDAL PARTY PICTURES**************************************************************
******GOING TO THE RECEPTION***************************************************************
******RECEPTION***************************************************************************
wow, can't believe we've been married for over a month now! loving married life!!! woohoo!!!
our wedding day was a blast - definitely not without glitches but we overcame them & had a blast! we just came back from a wonderful honeymoon - another one of our whirlwind excursions; this time to the lands downunder (australia and new zealand! - see below for separate post of honeymoon!).
but wanted to spend some time to relive and share some of the moments of our wedding day...
FRIDAY NIGHT (after RD): i'll start with after rehearsal dinner friday night since that's when we really started preparing for the wedding day with our DIY centerpieces! (not to mention the months of planning before that :P). we all returned to the hotel and met in my room. i really didn't know how this was gonna work out because i didnt know how much help i was gonna get. but my 2 aunties, sisters, cousin, bridesmaids, and 9-yo niece (FG) were all there cutting stems and arranging the flowers - we were done by midnight (started around 9:30pm)!!!...all 16 centerpieces, 2 small FG bouquets and 6 cocktail lounge area centerpieces...here are some pics.
SATURDAY @ MIDNIGHT: centerpieces done - check! my bridesmaids decided they wanted to practice bustling my dress so all could be perfect the next day. my dress was hung on the door because it was too long and we didnt want it to drag in the closet. i suddenly heard a "OMG!" from one of my bridesmaids...i walked over to my dress to see a black stain over my left bust - at first not believing what i was seeing. apparently when the girls were moving the dress around, it brushed against the door hinge and the black door hinge grease got on it! now what? i was a upset initially and my BMs felt horrible!!! they went out in the middle of the night in SF downtown to look for club soda, baking soda, anything they could get their hands on to possible lift the stain. none of remedies worked. we also didnt want to be too agressive since we didnt want the spot to smear more or make the spot bigger...the girls were very consoling...i just left it up to them because i was busy writing checks for the vendors for the next day as well as sending last minute emails to the DJ/MC - yea it was late! in the end i just went to bed, or more like forced to bed while my BMs continue to deal with my dress...they were so sweet and really great at not making me worry!
SATURDAY (beginning at 830am): i woke up after about 4-5 hours of sleep, feeling excited and a little nervous. i went to look at my dress and the stain was still there. while i was showering, my MOH decided to call concierge to see if they had any solutions and the concierge called as many dry cleaners as they could in the area opened on a saturday but all refused because it was so close to the ceremony time and they didnt want to risk putting chemicals on the dress that may/may not work...but leave it to my baby sister, one of the BMs, to come up with a brilliant plan...since my dress has rouching all over the bodice, she said "just fold over it and sew it down"...wow, why didnt i think of that?! since the stain was no bigger than it was before but clearly obvious because it was on the tip of my left boob, i carefully folded the stain under, created a new fold and sewed it down with several hidden stitches (THANK YOU Mrs. Fish, my clothing and design teacher from high school!).
...getting ready: the photographer and MUA arrived at 11am promptly, as i was throwing in the last couple stitches. of course they were all questioning what i was doing so i told them. i asked LH (lawrence ha, photog) to work his magic and make sure the stain doesnt show, since i also found out the stain extended down the front-left of my dress where the rouching gathered - so the gathering an folds there kinda hid the light streaks...LH was like "what stains?" - very funny/charming...then i sat down do get my MU & H done by AH (styles by ann (ho), MUA) and everything started to sink in. i took a deep breath and suddenly felt calm and so happy that the day had come. nevermind the dress had some dirt on it. nevermind worrying about whether the DOC had all the contacts and everyone who said they would help would actually help - i just decided whatever happens will just happens...and whatever needs to be taken care of will be taken care of. my priority from that moment was to enjoy and experience the gorgeous day and marry the man of my dreams (cheesy, but love it! and love my DH!). AH made me feel so beautiful that i almost wanted to cry - but i thought "my mascara!" she even, last minute, put silk flowers in my hair that my sister brought from taiwan. the MU & H turned out better than the trial; AH definitely exceeded my expectations. and her timing was perfect as well! LH was snapping away the whole time with his assistant and joking with the BMs and other people that came and went in the morning hours...was great!
...the ceremony: started right one time. i was worried about parking for the guests because GGP had a huge concert that weekend! my cousins cindy and gary did a wonderful job setting everything up, along with the groomsmen. the string quartet was ready and playing the songs we requested. as i walked down the path with my dad, i looked at my FI/DH and couldn't hold back my tears because he was crying too!!! til this day we're still trying to see who cried first. our pastor gave a short and sweet ceremony, with the "blessing of the hands" - done by one of dear friends. there were funny moments in the pastor speech as well as from my DH - ex. when the pastor said "you may now kiss the bride...", DH briefly did his famous overexaggerated stretching exercises before we did our grand kiss (hi-lar-irous! - the stretching part; hopefully not our kissing part :P).
..........(ceremony) Blessing of the Hands (from several other PW brides! thx for sharing)
Chi and Ron, please join hands so that you may see the rings you have offered to one other.
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you.
These are the hands that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever.
These are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief tries to overwhelm you.
These are hands that will wipe tears from your eyes countless times, both tears of joy and tears of sorrow.
These are the hands that will help hold your family together as one.
These are hands that will give you strength when you need it.
These are the hands that even when wrinkled with age, will still be reaching for the hand of your beloved, still giving the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.
........(ceremony) songs: processional - don't stop believing (journey); bridal entrance - can't help falling in love (elvis); recessional - viva la vida (cold play)
...the reception: all went according to planned...except my DH and i realized (back in the hotel room that night) we forgot to do a thank you speech to everyone. but we figured we said our thank yous when we did our table walk to each table so that kinda counts right? :P but anyways, my DOC (cousin) did an awesome job recruiting people and decorating parts of terra, esp where the florals were concerned. our sweetheart table was adorable! the staff at terra were awesome as well. everything looked so beautiful. and the wedding cake/cupcake set up was gorgeous as well. jasmine (cake person) made it sure all the pieces fit on our DIY stand, which was surrounded by votives and flowers! our MC/DJ dynamic duo from spintronix were awesome too. the MC was so good and mingled so well with our crowd that people thought he was my cousin! i couldnt have asked for a more perfect night. our best man and MOH speech were funny and touching - made me cry (again). everyone had a great time, from the photobooth, to the wish jar, to the food and drinks, the looping slide shop throughout and the dancing! my DOC even had a clean up crew that had everything put away before the evening concluded...everything just went so smoothly in the end...
.........(reception) songs: grand entrance - viva la vida (cold play); first dance - everything (m. bubble); father daughter da nce - que sera sera (doris day); cake cutting - lucky (jason muraz/colby caillat); money dance - when you say nothing at all (?) , true (ryan cabrera), i knew i loved you (savage garden)
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THE DAY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE PERFECT!
things learned/my humble advice: don't worry about the details! enjoy the day/absorb every moment! trust that everyone you recruited to help and vendors know how to make the wedding perfect! i was worried about the stain on my dress but then my entire train was pretty dusty by the end of the night, so oh well! no one even noticed! i was worried if the flow of the events would be smooth - remember that the vendors have YEARS of experience and do this every weekend, so they know what they are doing...so i did a lot of worrying for nothing! learn to let the details go on that day! have a DOC - it helps to have someone you know help out along with the site manager/DOC provided by the venue, so your personal DOC can represent you throughout the evening (my cousin was fabulous! we think alike!). have a person designated to do video (pro or nonpro) to capture the moments - we didn't hire one but had several people filming her their personal video cameras; good enough for us, esp since we like to self-edit and run through all the footage! when planning, prioritize what's important for you and your FI/DH (so you dont overspend on unnecessary things). for us it was PHOTOGRAPHY - gotta find that person who can capture your day for you. our photog ended up bringing 3 assistants with him! and bounce ideas off others (if not your FI/DH, then your BMs & friends, and PW girls!!!); to help keep things in perspective :P. most importantly, have fun with the process! i almost wanted to change careers and become an event planner after this - despite the stress!
was definitely fun, stressful, exciting, confusing, creative, expensive, tiring....
but it was worth it!
SALE ITEMS on the bottom of the pg...check it out!
our ceremony will be at the shakespeare garden in golden gate park. i chose this setting because of its romantic feel. i wanted an outdoor ceremony because august in san francisco is gorgeous! also the park venue is very affordable with natural decor - perfect on the budget! i was able to get in touch with bridal party ahead of me for that day as well and share rentals for the ceremony!
our reception will be at the Terra Gallery in the SOMA district of the city. it is a beautiful art gallery with a modern, lofty urban feel - not to mention the huge windows for some cityscape. the venue is essentially a gorgeous canvas for one to create whatever inspires. the owner and his staff are the easiest people to get along with as well.
and here are some pictures of the gallery in wedding-mode:
Ceremony: Shakespeare Garden (Golden Gate Park), San Fran, CA
Reception: Terra Gallery, San Fran, CA
Photography: Lawrence Ha Photography, San Jose, CA
Catering/Event Rentals: Devoted Catering/Hartmann's Rentals, coordinated by the staff at Terra Gallery
Lighting: Terra Gallery
DJ & MC: Spintronix, San Fran, CA (Tony and Charles are awesome!)
Cake: Jasmine Rae Bakery, San Fran, CA
MU & Hair: StylesbyAnn, Milpitas, CA
Photobooth: PartyBooths (nationwide)
String Quartet (ceremony): Stephanie Lai (my sister's friend, she does weddings with her musicians friends all the time! she has an awesome music background! PM me if you want her contact! she is super cool!)
Officiant: Pastor Kevin Lee, ALCF (abudnant life christian fellowship), Mountain View, CA - doing a nondenominational ceremony for us!
Florist/Decor: Angela's Flowers (Santa Clara, CA) for bouquets and boutinneres; DIY centerpieces
Alterations/Seamstress: Thuy's Pro Bridal Alterations, Milpitas, CA
Invitations/Stationary: DIY, Paper Source Company + others (where the sales are!)
MY DRESS: W1 White One (sister company of pronovias), style 433 (silk)
MY SHOES are yellow (bandolino elmont - yellow).
THE BRIDESMAIDS: J.Crew Silk Tricotine (Sunflower)...with silver shoes and citrine/CZ jewelry
THE GROOM & GROOMSMEN looks:
DIY #1: STDs: sent!
DIY mock up: decor for registration table: experimenting...maybe without the lemons? had to use a lot of lemons because they kept floating to the top...neighbors with lemon tree - a plus! arrangement is very heavy though - may be a tranport issue.
DIY #2: monogram:
DIY #3: invitations...sent!
DIY #4: cardbox - done!
DIY #5: table names!!! we're gonna use all the places we visited as table "numbers"; we wanted to display some of the pictures we took while on our trips so i thought of doing a collage...i had postcard paper from papersource i didnt know what to do with (bought sporadically cuz was on sale), so i took three cards, arranged my pictures/table name, punched out holes at the top/bottome and connected them with a ribbon...i liked the way they turned out...i've only just started though...aiming for 16 tables...
DIY#6: Centerpieces - see my trial below! here are some samples: 
DIY#7: Cupcake stand trial #1 (L) vs. my inspiration cakestand (R)
then decided to make it more stable with by inserting metal rods --> new one is TALLER (to cover the rods so we didnt have to cut them - no tools to cut them)! - esp, when the 2-tier cake sits at the top!!! so the new taller cake stand is 24" tall :P
DIY#8: Sign-in/Wish:
DIY #9 Seating chart - "Sharing with you our travels from around the world...", to match the table names. I glued a blue jeweled embellishment on each country represented. I tried to reproduce the layout of the dining room so guest can orient themselves, with the "Let the world be your dance floor" as a prompt. So using the world map as the dance floor, i hope they can find their tables. It's hard to see in the picture, but on the very bottom of the chart, there is a flower with "You are here..." attached to it to help with orientation. I hope they get it :P...The smaller round on the bottom is our sweetheart's table. I haven't put guest names on them yet but plan on sticking them on the rounds then they are finalized - just trying to anticipate last minute changes...
DIY # 10 Menu cards - simple but DONE!
DIY #11 Ring pillow - made from scraps of my wedding gown and silk flowers from gifts wrapping!
DIY #12 Candy Buffet signage
DIY #13 Photobooth stuffs
the product after the wedding...this worked really well!
DIY #14 Ceremony program - framed. Basically ran out of time and didnt make programs - but who keeps them anyways? so did this...
DIY #15 Parasol basket - gonna have a "like some shade?" sign wrapped around ribbon...took it off already, since posting this picture after the wedding :P
DIY #16 THANK YOU CARDS - we decided to include a mini-cd of the photobooth pictures and a few group/guest pro pictures, personalized to each guest that came to the reception. everyone had a blast with the photobooth and we have SOOOOOOOOO many pictures from that so might as well distribute them. we also chose 3 pro pix of us and printed them out wallet size at costco, used a corner cutter to hold the photo and made a thank you logo (in english, chinese and tagalog) - easy peasy! we'll write a personal message on it and sign the card, of course, before we mail them!
my tasting with jasmine rae bakery 5.21.2009:
clockwise from the top row...
1. coconut cake filled w/ passionfruit curd topped w/coconut whip cream & toasted coconut flakes (my fave!)
2. coconut cake filled w/coconut chocolate ganache topped w/chocolate frosting & toasted coconut flakes
3. coconut cake filled w/almond paste+rum+coconut milk topped w/coconut whip cream & raw coconut flakes
4. cornmeal cake with fresh strawberry center topped with vanilla buttercream rose frosting
5. chocolate cake with fresh strawberry+coconut cream center topped with cream cheese frosting (his fave!)
MY SETUP INSPIRATION:
our tasting was delicious! the catering company terra hooked us up with is called devoted catering (based out of the east bay)...
our passsed h'orderves will be: seared ahi with mango salsa, duck spring rolls and shanghai lumpia.
we are having food stations: a pacific delight station (asian) and a carving/californian station (steak/potatoes)...
our PACIFIC DELIGHTS station will have:
1. Lechon (filipino pig) 2. RICE, of course 3. Chef's choice Fish
4. 
5.
the CARVING/CALIFORNIAN station will have:
1. 
2. 
the DESSERT station will have 2 or 3 of the following + fruit display + coffee/tea:
we will also have a CANDY BUFFET...and of course wedding CAKE/cupcakes...
this seamstress is amazing and affordable! check out her reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/thuys-pro-bridal-alterations-milpitas
thuy is super professional, listened to what I liked/disliked and kept repinning til i was satisfied!
my total (quote): $260, hem + french bustle + cups :P (i love the way my dress looks!)
went to SF flower market and bought these!
and my centerpiece trial:
step one: 
step two: 
step three:
i put hydrangea (1), football mums (LOVE, 2), white dalias (1), pale yellow dalias (2), yellow roses (3), yellow ball thingys (billy bobs?, 3), solidago (yellow/green things, as many as i like!)...total estimated cost per CP, including the vase: $16 (not too bad, in my opinion)...
the works of lawrence ha (http://www.lthphotography.com/)
we had a great time! we have a lot more pictures - too many to post...
thank you lawrence ha!
here are some pictures our 8 candy jars and candy bags with twistie ties...
our candies will be: 1. Lemonheads, 2. Passion Fruit salt water taffy, 3. Peppermint (safeway special, wrapped in yellow tissue), 4. Combo of dove's chocolate (blue foil) & hershey's Bliss chocolate (blue foil), 5. Yellow Rock Candy on a stick, 6. Hi-chew (japanese fruity chewy candy from taiwan), 7. Mele chocolates (toffee covered mac nuts covered with chocolate, from Hawaii), 8. Pineapple candy (from Hawaii).
this is the DIY candy wrapping posted originally by jamiesue on PW (http://www.i-do-it-yourself.com/2009/05/wrap-idea-tissue-ribbon-makeovers/). except i'll be securing the sides with the twistie ties you see above (since i have 1000!!!! of them).
in all, i'll have about 5lbs of each type = 40 lbs of candy!
the calculation per person = 0.25 lbs x 150 guests = 37.5 lbs...should be enuf to for everyone!
Lemonheads, Rock candy and Salt Water Taffy ordered from www.candydirect.com - flat shipping fee or free shipping if order > $75.00; which was easily done.
i'm thinking about a staggered setup like this w/ DIY candy labels:
can't wait to see how it turns out!
our sign-in/wish jar:
signature drink: Yellow Cosmo 
photobooth by www.partybooths.com: 
sweetheart table ideas:
uplights - amber, provided by Terra Gallery
photos looping all night via projector (no slideshow)
My lovely day!!!
shower & lunch at the house with the girls!
pole dancing in campbell!
dinner at krung thai!
partied it up in santana row!
thx ladies!
EVERYTHING IS gently used!
1. Frames (4x6) - I used to display family wedding portraits on our registration table which later turned over to become the candy buffet. I have 7 of them. ($3 each or $15 for all).
4. Table easles ($5)
- easel #1
6. 2 tall vases $8 ea
So excited and happy about the way it turn out! Was initially nervous because the preview book had a few grainy pictures but they all turned out fine, for the most part (i included some nonpro pix). the blurb support people were very helpful and prompt in answering all my questions. they have great layouts - although each one has it's own limitations; see sample layouts below (the choices are great!). Some layouts allow text as well so you add whatever you want (ie. i added lyrics from our first dance, our blessing of the hands, and just short comments that were personal to us)! you get to be really creative and retell your wedding day in ur own way!
the dustcover is AWESOME, with the jacket flaps. In all, my book is 108 pages, with about 350 photos - just the photobooth pictures page (see below) had 30 pictures on each page (so 60 in all!). I would totally recommend this company. Even my DH (who was initially skeptical and hates spending money on "extras"), said "i'm very impressed!" So we're both happy with the product. Easy to navigate, easy to design (just do a little everyday), and the final product is great!
There are lot's of other reviews the different photobook companies on the forum as well...can have a look there too!
DUST JACKET/COVER: front & back & flaps
THE INSIDE:
Our second wedding reception in Taiwan was beautiful. My parents and two older sisters planned the entire event. We had larger guest list than our reception in the States. The location was a modern chinese restaurant - mostly black and red decor accented with birdcages and lanterns. Our food was the traditional chinese 10-course banquet.
I wore my white gown again and added my chinese chipao, which I didn't get a chance to wear in my August reception. My sister had her MUA and hairstylist friend create two different looks for me that night. I really had fun with my hairstyles and hair flowers! My DH also changed with me into a second outfit - his barong (filipino traditional attire).
We were excited to have our families meet again, this time in Taiwan. My DH had some of his relatives fly over from the Philippines as well.
The evening consisted of our bridal party (partial) and us walking into the dining hall in the very beginning. Our American wedding slideshow was looping in the background. At the 4th course, I was told to go change into my chinese chipao - the MUA transformed my look in 15 minutes! My DH changed as well at this time and we walked in again for the second time. We sat down as my dad started his speech. Then my sister gave a brief synopsis of how my DH and I met before we started our childhood/couple slideshow. After the slideshow, it was my turn to thank my parents for everything (chinese tradition); I managed to not stutter too much as I delivered my speech in Mandarin, then translation in English (for my Filipino family). I then presented two large bouquets to my mom and MIL.
No photobooth, dancing, or cakecutting at this reception - but the program was still very packed! We all had a great evening and I was happy to have my extended family in Taiwan meet my DH and my new family!
I couldn't resist taking more wedding photos during my trip to Taiwan with my DH for our second reception. We totally had a blast. The package was a great deal that included 5 outfit & hair/makeup changes, an album and digital copies. Here are some:
