My husband and I were never quite into weddings. After we got engaged on Valentine's Day we didn't touch the idea of weddings for over 6 months until we decided we wanted to at least get a marriage license by the end of the year.

Before we knew it was had committed to multiple wedding ceremonies and receptions.

Our first one in the SF Bay Area was in Dec 2008. The ceremony was private and that is what we wanted. City Hall ceremony with a justice, a photographer and the Best Man. It was beautiful and truly us. That Saturday we hosted a small Chinese Banquet reception for our local friends. It was a totally DIY job done in one month for 30 close friends, and we loved the intimacy of it.

Next up we had committed to a May 2009 ceremony and reception in the LA area. This would be for our parents. As I said we are not wedding people but before I knew it we had all that "stuff" - wedding planners, DJs, MCs that traditional weddings need. Amongst other things we didn't have a choice on the ceremony or reception locations and as I soon learned location basically determines everything else. We dealt with it the best we could. There were glimpses of my husband and me, but in terms of compromising, my husband and I did most of the compromising and the wedding was more a reflection of our parents' taste.

Through it all, PW has been a blessing. Almost every vendor that I found on PW was a great one and everyone's reviews were immensely helpful when were made final decisions. On top of that all support from other PW ladies (and gentlemen) has helped drag me through the tough times. So thank you to everyone and congratulations!