How it began

We became friends in high school. I was a graduating senior and he was a sophomore, and we had Calculus class together. Our friendship became something more when we decided to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance together. We had a lot of fun and sparks began to fly. Within a month we began to date, and we've been together ever since.

We got engaged on February 16, 2007. He took me for a surprise picnic in the park, and we played board games. I LOVE board games. Afterwards, we took a stroll in the nearby Japanese Gardens. By a waterfall, he dropped to his knees and asked me to marry him. We're now planning for a wedding with a theme of deep red, chocolate brown and champagne.

His Band:

He chose the Tiffany's double milgrain band in platinum, 6mm. It's such great quality!

My band:

I chose the matching setting of my engagement ring. It has 12 round diamonds.

My rings will have a total of 22 small round diamonds.

Our church ceremony will take place in the beautiful St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica in San Jose. It is absolutely gorgeous, and is also where I was baptized as a baby.

Our reception will be held in the Fairmont Hotel San Jose. It's a two minute walk from our church, so our friends and family will be able to head over to the cocktail hour immediately after the conclusion of our ceremony. It's a gorgeous hotel. We will be in the Regency Ballroom.

We ordered our STDs and attachment cards from agiftfulheart. We also bought custom stamps from zazzle:

Our engagement pictures were taken by the ever-so-talented Jennifer Skog. She is so amazing! We decided to take our engagement pictures on the campus of UC Berkeley not only because of it's beautiful landscape, but also for sentimental reasons.

After visiting tons of bridal stores, I eventually found my dress at Bella Mia Bride in San Jose. It was nothing like I had ever imagined myself wearing, but when I put it on it just felt right.

This is when I purchased the dress:

Yay, I have my dress! The dress in the pictues are ivory, but I purchased my dress in white.

I'm going very minimal in terms of jewelry. No necklace or bracelet. Just earrings and my rings

I absolutely fell in love with these Haute Bride earrings. I purchased them with a Euro backing, and not the clasp or hook, as in the picture. (Please ignore my dopey face)

I'll be wearing this double gardenia flower pin that I purchased from GabbyMac. I thought it was too small when I received them, but it really looked great!

I absolutely love the look of this veil. Very simple but stunning. I want a simple two layer veil, and I will use the top layer as a blusher. I'm planning on getting the longer layer detachable so that I can wear the blusher as my veil for the reception. I would like my blusher to extend beyond my bouquet when I'm holding it.

UPDATE:

I bought a two layered silver pencil edge veil from occanseybridal.com. The pictures of the back didn't come out well, so here's the front with the blusher.

Manolo Blahnik Fieno Sequined Sandal

Jimmy Choo Leona Gold

I found these shoes at Nordstroms' Half Yearly Sale. I couldn't decide between them so I decided to get both of them! The gold ones I'll be wearing with my Vietnamese dress, and the silver ones will be for my bridal gown.

I bought the garters from let's dance garters. They normally carry CAL garters, but when I went to purchase them, they were temporarily sold out. So instead Patty made me the CAL garters without the CAL pin, and I purchased the pins from the CAL bookstore. I think normally the CAL pins stand out more than the ones I purchased, but I'm fine with the way they came out. GO BEARS!

I play with my hair too much, and I get sweaty too easily. So for my wedding day, I would like my hair to be completely up, and pulled back. I don't want any hair covering my face. I love the look of a loosely pulled back up-do.

For make-up I want it to look natural, but with the focus on the eyes. A very neutral lip color. 

UPDATE: MY HAIR & MAKE-UP TRIAL:

I love what Maria Chang did for my hair and make-up. It looks so flawless and natural, but with a hint of elegance! I love it!

These would have been the actual MOH dresses had Jim Hjelm not discontinued this color. This is the MOH dress, except that it will be in the new "scarlet" color. We have yet to see what the color "scarlet" looks like, so here's to hoping it looks nice!

These are the bridesmaids dresses, but they will be in the color scarlet" as well.

UPDATE:

Here are how the dresses will look together. The two dresses look similar enough to match, but the MOH dress has the additional sash in the back to distinguish them from the other bridesmaids.

UPDATE: 

We were actually able to find the MOH in the color scarlet! So here is the color of the actual bridesmaids dresses. They look great, really elegant! We've ordered all the MOH and BMs dresses from netbride. They were $100 cheaper than most bridal stores!

UPDATE:

THE DRESSES ARE IN! The dresses on the left are the MOH dresses, and the dresses on the right are the BMs dresses. They're very wrinkled and folded in odd places, but they're still beautiful!

All the dresses together.

The men will be renting their tuxedos from MW Tux. FI chose the Claiborne Two-Button Super 100s Shadow Stripe Notch Lapel for both the guys and himself. FI will be wearing a white wing collar shirt with a Primetime White Vest and euro tie.

The groomsmen will be wearing a black wing collar shirt with the Herrington Wine Vest and euro tie.

The groomsmen's look on the mannequin.

My two little cousins are our flower girls, and they will be wearing the Lovely Triple Layers Flower Girl Dress.

Our ring bearers, coin bearer and bible bearer will all be wearing these stripped suits from Little Angels.

Example of our printed invites. We tried homemade calligraphy, and we sucked at it. So instead we printed our invites. I couldn't black out the last name, too pretty!

The back of our envelopes.

The outside of our invites. Excuse the flash. Our invitation folder is actually metallic bronze, and the enclosure backing is a garnet color.

Our invites opened

The main invite. It is in English and Vietnamese

The reception card

Reception card swiveled, direction card peeking, the back of our RSVP postcards

Close-up of RSVP postcard. (I've sent one of our postcards through the mail before I mailed all of our invites, and they came out fine. Very excited to save the $$). The only problem with this format was that when it went through the mail, there was ink all along the top, so the "Kindly write us a note" section may have ink all over it.

Reception card swiveled, direction card, and RSVP postcard opened up

Close-up of direction card

Front of the RSVP postcard

 One of the exciting parts of our invitation was using the "Brookstone spy pen" to secretly number each invite. I didn't want to use a pencil, and this was so much more fun!

This was one trend that I didn't mind following! We're doing a photobooth as our favors. We've rented the contemporary photobooth from partybooths.com for 6 hours. We'll also be doubling these as our guestbook. We're hoping for something like this:

I bought a bunch of red guestbook albums from Borders @ $3 each, with black pages. I also bought metallic, non-acidic, archival quality pens from Michaels for our guests to write with.

UPDATE:

This is our wedding setup with the guestbooks and the pens I made into flowers.

From the wedding:

We had so many tabs leftover from our wedding invitations that we were putting them everywhere...including our cocktail table centerpieces. Really simple, just square vases from the dollar shop, filled with coffee beans and a tea light. We wrapped the vase with brown ribbon and stuck our tag on both sides.

We bought a chest on sale at Michaels and put a sign in it. Simple too.

Since we're having a photobooth as favors, we decided to have escort envelopes. This way our guests can put their photobooth pictures in it, and also find their table.

A bunch of the escort envelopes together, along with a sign indicating the bride's family

The sign for the escort envelopes

The signs on their easels.

UPDATED: I've been messaged frequently about a template for my programs. Unfortunately, I no longer have my template due to my computer crashing.

We used the same tags from our invitation on our ceremony programs

The inside with our "For your tears of joy" packet and our vellum with our invitation design

Our engagement picture

Bridal Entourage

Ceremony pages

Pictures of us in the past decade

Order for formal portraits and announcements

Our Thank Yous

Another engagement picture

The last page of vellum with our invitation design and quote from our song

This is the fabric of my ao dai. "I" (read: my FMIL) picked it. I don't own anything pink, I never wear pink. This should be very interesting.

UPDATE:

This is me at my first fitting. The dress is very pink...VERY pink.

Assorted dim sum

Red boxed pig

*****

Appetizer

Deep Fried Stuffed Crab Claw

*****

Soup

Scallop with Julienne of Roast Duck-

*****

Entrees

Mixed Seafood in Potato Basket

Air Dried Barbeque Duck

Braised Lobster with Supreme Sauce

Steamed Fresh Fish with Ginger and Scallion

Chinese Filet Steak with Tender Greens

Mushroom with Vegetables

Steamed Rice

*****

Wedding Cake

two flavors:

white cake with fresh strawberry filling, and

white cake with black currant and mango filling

Above was our cake tasting.

Top: white cake w/ fresh pear filling; White Cake w/ Black Currant & Passionfruit filling; white cake with fresh strawberry filling

bottom: chocolate cake w/ grand marnier filling; Tiramisu

Reserved signs for the church ceremony. We're attaching the ribbons to weights.

With the help and guidance of Bloominautumn, we gocco-ed these coasters for the wedding.

This is the inspiration for our cake, but we'll have 6 tiers instead. I love how it's not your traditional white cake, yet it looks very elegant and classic. I especially love the subtle hearts design.

This is our cake topper. Contemporary, yet romantic. I think it'll go great with the cake

And this is how I want the cake table to be decorated, minus the "I Do" letters.

We made a simple rehearsal dinner invite. We took one of our engagement pictures (gotta make the most of them!), and took one of those cute rehearsal poems.

One of our bridesmaids made us these cute small ring pillows. Since our ring bearers are young, 3 and 4, we opted to not have them carry the rings on these pillows. Instead, we put a dahlia (like the ones we used for the guestbook pens) on the pillow.

A lot of Filipino brides or brides marrying Filipinos ask about wording for the veil/cord/candle/coins, so I figured I'd post what I wrote:

Donning of the veil

The veil symbolizes the all-encompassing presence and sovereignty of God. The veil represents God's protection that will accompany the couple as they encounter the challenges and difficulties that will come as they build their life together.

Presentation of Coins

The thirteen coins, which symbolize Jesus Christ and His twelve disciples, are a sign of the husband's dedication to the well-being of his wife and their children. The offering and accpetance of the coins symbolize their promise to provide all things for one another.

Coins w/ pillow made by bridesmaid

Lighting of the Unity Candle

The flame symbolizes God's presence within their union and to invoke the light of Christ in their marriage life.

Donning of the Cord

The cord symbolizes the unifying bond of committed love between the couple. The cord binds their hearts and souls together so that they may respond to the truth and love of God, and endure the trials of life with a solid commitment to each other.

One of our bridesmaids bought us the Lenox Jubilee set for us. It's so beautiful!

Bouquets

Bride - white cracked roses with a band of fluffy white feathers, wrapped with white satin ribbon

MOHs - Black magic roses with burgundy calla lilies and monkeytail, wrapped with chocolate brown satin ribbon

BMs - Black magic roses with burgundy calla lilies, wrapped with chocolate brown satin ribbon

Jr. BM - small version of BM bouquet

Mother Mary bouquet - small version of bride's bouquet

Flower girls - Burgundy carnation pomanders

Bouts

Groom - white rose with monkeytail

Best Men - burgundy calla lily with monkey tail

GMs - black magic rose

FOB, FOG, GFOB - White Phalaenopsis orchid

Sponsors & readers - Burgundy cymbidium orchid

Ring bearers, coin bearer, bible bearers - Hypericum berries

Corsages

MOB, MOG, GMOBs, GGMOB - White Phalaenopsis orchid pin corsages

sponsors - Burgundy cymbidium orchid pin corsages

Ceremony

two floral wreaths to go around candle sticks (picture below but without the ivy)

Reception

Head table runner with flower petals and vases for BMs bouquets

Cake table covered in flower petals with small blooms scattered on cake

1 dahlia on each place setting

toss bouquet - small version of bride's bouquet

Ceremony

Bridal Party processional: "The Prayer" instrumental by Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion

Bride processional: "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy

Psalm Response: "I will praise you my God and my King" by Nelson Gonzales

Alleluia: "Misa del Mundo"

Cord/veil/candle: "My heart belongs to you" instrumental by Tom Booth

Bringing up the gifts: "My heart belongs to you" by Tom Booth

Holy, holy: "Mass of Glory"

Memorial acclamation: Mass of Life

Amen: Mass of Life

Lamb of God: "Lamb of God by Matt Maher"

Communion Songs: "One bread, One Cup" by Bobby Fisher

Flowers to Mary: "Hail Mary/Gentle Woman" by Carey Landry

Recessional: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" instrumental by Stevie Wonder

Reception

Bride & Groom intro: "Sirius (Bulls Championship Song)" by Alan Parson Project 

First Dance: "Spend my Life" by  Eric Benet & Tamia; "Forever" by Chris Brown

Father/Daughter Dance: "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts

Mother/Son Dance: "Always be my baby" by Mariah Carey

Cake cutting: "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies

Bouquet toss: "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado

Garter toss: "Doin it well" by LL Cool J

I really wanted to do table pinspotting, but it wasn't in the budget. But we're definitely doing red uplighting around the room to give it a romantic feel.

We'll also be putting our names on a custom gobo for the dancefloor.

I had one of our friends design a Thank You card with pictures of us. I think it came out great!

This is the front:

And this is the back:

Here's the link to the bio I made for my non-pro pictures:

http://sites.google.com/site/charm3ng

To see more of our pro wedding pictures, visit my married bio or see our slideshow

One of guests recorded our First Dance and then my brother put it on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS19igjtXPg

One of my friends sent me a short video that he took at our wedding ceremony:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvMx6_5Dy0s

Ceremony Venue: St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica, San Jose, CA

Officiant: Fr. Kevin Joyce

Reception Venue: Fairmont Hotel San Jose

Catering: Pagoda Restaurant, Fairmont Hotel

Engagement, Boudoir, & Wedding Photographer: Jennifer Skog Photography

Videographer: Lumitone Productions

Hair and Make-up Artists: Professional Make-up Artistry

Florist: Anne Mendenhall Flowers

DJ: DJ Sequence

Lighting: Swank Audio Visuals

Photo Booth: PartyBooths.com

Cake: Pastry Chef of Fairmont Hotel San Jose

Bridal Salon: Bella Mia Bride, San Jose, CA

Veil: Occanseydesigns.com

Ao Dai: Y-Nhu Tailoring & Alteration, San Jose

Alterations: Si Arima, Santa Clara, CA

Bridal Shoes: Nordstroms

Earrings: Haute Bride

Hair flower: Gabbymac.com

Garters: letsdancegarters.com

Spanx & undergarments: Nordstroms

His Wedding Band: Tiffany & Co.

Her Wedding Band: Blue Nile

BM Dresses: Jim Hjelm from netbride.com

Tuxedos: MW Tux

MOB dress: Group USA

Flower girl dresses: mygirldress.com

Ring bearer outfits: Little Angels

Pashminas: RainbowBridgeBiz.com

GM gifts: Nike Factory (shoes), Express (socks)

STD: agiftfulheart.com

Custom stamps: zazzle.com

Invitations: Cards De Luxe

Thank you card printing: psprint.com

Color printing for programs: Office Depot

Unity Candle & candleholder: Michaels

Ring bearer pillow materials: Joann Fabrics

Cord, Veil, Coin: bought from the Philippines

Bible & Rosary: Ave Maria Community Book Center

Paper products for DIY: paperandmore.com

Scrapbook guestbooks: Borders

Guestbook pens & materials: Michaels

Cardbox: Michaels

Sign stands: Daiso

Frame for engagement picture: Aaron Brothers

Vases and tealights for cocktail tables: Dollar Tree

Toasting flutes & cake serving set: Jubilee by Lenox

Wedding website host: www.weddingwindow.com

Wedding registries: Bed, Bath & Beyond; Macys

Photo-sharing host: flickr.com

Travel Agent: Laurel from True Tahiti Vacations

Moorea Hotel: Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa

Bora Bora Hotel: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa

I absolutely love being on PW, and getting to meet the ladies whom I talk to every day is pretty awesome! I highly recommend going to a GTG near you!

Madison G2G: Paisan's in Madison (4/19/09)

1- Left to Right: Sarah (almostSMN), Danielle (meadowcroft14), Lindsay (badgerbride), Me (Charmeng)

2 - Clockwise;12: Me, Sarah, Danielle, Lindsay

NorCal G2G: Crepevine in Burlingame (6/06/09)

1- Left; Back to Front: Jaci (JDWeddingDay), Wendy (Bluegenes), Michelle (MeeshMosh), Haley (Starg8zer), and Miwa (SFBridefromLA)

Right; Back to Front: Priscilla (Prismis), Jamie (JamieSue), Sandra (MissQnomore), Me (Charmeng), Vicki (VDGianella)

2 - Top Row; Left to Right: Vicky, Wendy, Sandra, Michelle, Jaci, Haley, Maria, & Me

Bottom Row; Left to Right: Miwa, Priscilla, & Jamie

3 - Clockwise;12: Priscilla, Vicky, Wendy, Miwa, Sandra, Michelle, Jamie, Maria, Me, Haley & Jaci

NorCal G2G: STRAITS in Burlingame! (6/18/09)

1 - Miwa (SFBridefromLA), Rebecca (yelppuppy), Wendy (bluegenes), Me (Charmeng), Tammy (memoirestudio), Chi (38chi), Michelle (MeeshMosh), Thony (MissYou), & Priscilla (prismis).

2 - Top Row; Left to Right: Thony, Priscilla, Miwa, Michelle, Me, & Wendy

Bottom Row; Left to Right: Chi & Tammy

NorCal G2G: ROCK BAND in Redwood City (6/27/09)

1 - Top Row; Left to Right: Wendy (bluegenes),

Bottom Row; Left to Right: Tracey (Tracey), Rebecca (yelppuppy), Thony (MissYou) Vicki (VDGianella), Jaci (JDWeddingDay)

2 - Top Row; Left to Right: Wendy (bluegenes), Me (Charmeng)

Bottom Row; Left to Right: Tracey (Tracey), Jamie (Jamiesue), Rebecca (yelppuppy), Thony (MissYou) Vicki (VDGianella), Jaci (JDWeddingDay)

not pictured: Chi (38chi)

We were totally honored to be chosen to be as PW's Real Wedding of the Week (3.30.09)

http://www.projectwedding.com/real_wedding/show/marie-john-san-jose-ca?page=9