Hi ladies!

Please check out the items I have for sale at phancythings.weebly.com.

Most of the wedding decor has been sold - but a few nice items still available

(Bride Tank, Gray and White heels, BCBG reception dress, etc.)

Hello! Welcome to (what was) my wedding planning craziness :) I am now happily married, as of April 10, 2010!

I have several pages that are "friends only", but please feel free to add me as a friend!

Friends only pages include:

• Wedding photos and summary :)
• personal photos (engagement photos, etc)
• Milly Bridal dress info (timeline, sketches, test dresses, etc)
• personal info about me and my fiance :)
• my DIY projects (and tips!)
  

Thanks! good luck planning your wedding :)

I originally thought I wanted a ring with clean lines but with a unique setting arrangement.

But then I saw an antique Edwardian engagement ring and fell in love! After going to a bazillion shops in the Diamond District in NYC, I found Leight Jay Nacht from AntiqueEngagementRings.com. And coincidentally, he's located in the district too!

So instead of choosing from his stock designs, I decided to custom make mine with some ideas that I already had in my head. My FI even pitched in with some great ideas :) With the jeweler's knowledge and our visions, we came up with this delicate beauty to hold the brilliant diamond that my FI got for me.

Take a peek! :)

FINALLY decided on our wedding bands :-P I was being so indecisive, but I finally went for the classic, elegant look with a bit of an antique look so that it'd go with my E-ring.

Below is the wedding band with the model of my E-ring (to show how it'd look side-by-side). And my FI got the solid gold band w/ the comfortfit. (He likes things simple.)

Ahh, the dress. I had no idea what kind of dress I would want.

Upon trying on a ton of dresses at several bridal boutiques in NYC and SF, I definitely found out my preferences. I continually leaned towards the Mermaid/Trumpet with a sweetheart neckline.

After awhile, I realized there was no "This is the ONE" moment for me. Never had a revelation, though I did have some "Goodness, this dress is A-MAZING". (Those were also the $4000+ dresses...hehe) So I decided to go through Milly Bridal to get my dream dresses at a fraction of the cost.

As of right now, I'll be wearing 3-4 dresses on my Wedding Day (Ack!)

1. Wedding gown - inspiration: Casablanca & my own visions (made by Milly Bridal)
   
2. Short reception dress - inspiration: Romona Keveza (made by Milly Bridal)
3. Ao Dai #1 (Vietnamese traditional dress): for the day time ceremony
   
4. Ao Dai #2 for the night time celebration
   

I only wanted 1 Ao Dai since I have 2 white dresses, but my mother and FMIL are going fabric-crazy and now want me to have 2 Ao Dais instead. I never EVER thought I'd be a 4-dress bride! I thought 2 max - a wedding gown & Ao Dai. But then I fell in love w/ the Romona Keveza and couldn't say no :)

Here's a preview of my inspiration dresses: (Casablanca & Romona Keveza)

Don't you love em? ;)

So the dresses are finally done...almost.They're in the midst of re-beading b/c they used the wrong beads and forgot to do a section.

Wedding gown:

Reception Dress:

Conclusion:

Reception dress: I'm happy w/ how the dress looks in the photos. It looks like what I had wanted.

Wedding gown: As an outsider, it looks like a beautiful dress. As the "designer", it's disappointing. So many aspects had to be compromised b/c of their poor time management and lack of awareness to the details (type of beading, placement of beading, placement and sewing of of organza layers.) So much so that I kinda gave up in the end. It's close enough, but not my dream dress. Although most wouldn't notice what's missing, I'll still know.

Rating: 2/5 stars

I know that my friends and family won't care and will think I'm beautiful anyways. :)

I want colored heels - in green or orange...

Unfortunately, I can't find affordable cute green satin heels ANYWHERE. Please let me know if you're willing to sell! (Size 8 please)  :)

Here are some that I love but they're either discontinued or way too $$$.

Christian Leboutin Heels *love*

update: I bought the ivory version of this! (Martinez Valero brand) see below

Nordstrom BP Enlightenment - sadly discontinued :(

Orange heels: (The right one is also a BP Enlightenment)

Nina - Charcoal Gray heels. I got them on sale at DSW! *yay*

Badgley Mischka Randalls: If I were to get ivory shoes, then I'd get these babies.They're even prettier in person! It's a 3 7/8" heel though...which is a bit too much for me.

Martinez Valero: I bought these babies! They're a more affordable version of the Laboutin, but in Ivory...not available in green :-(

My Makeup Artists/Hairstylists:

Kansinee A. (www.alistmakeup.com) for my bridal Hair & MU
Mina Tran (www.bellaminaesthetics.com)
Cindy (www.alistmakeup.com)
Kathy (www.alistmakeup.com)

The Hairdos:

In the Morning: Long, loose curls with my hair down (so that it's easier to wear the Khan Dong - Vietnamese wedding hat).

In the Afternoon/Evening: I'll have an updo with loose curls and flowers in my hair

PW inspirations:

*The left photo is of my friend Jaci's (JDWeddingDay) gorgeous hair for her wedding!
*The right photo is of JamieSue's trial!

Makeup:

Morning makeup: fresh, rosy and light

Source

Evening makeup: darker eyeshadow, more dramatic

Our wedding colors are moss/edamame green, burnt orange with a base of charcoal gray.

My wedding "theme" is Organic Rustic Elegance with a touch of Modern Vintage (mouthful i know)

I love moss and wanted to have an apothecary teranium with succulents. But then I found out how much those apothecary jars cost...and well, i can't afford them :(

My bouquet: i love texture & I've fallen in love with so many things. (Obviously can't have them all in my bouquet but i wish I could!)

Succulents, scabiosa pods, pincushion flowers, hypercurium, white peonies, orange dahlias/ranunculus, cymbidium orchids (orange and green), lady-slipper orchids, fiddlehead ferns, green hydrangea, twig balls

Sola/Balsa wood flowers: So beautiful and eco-friendly

BM bouquets (Mostly Green bouquet): Kermit Button mums, fiddlehead ferns, hypercurium, succulents, green hydrangea, leafy greens, scabiosa pods or billy buttons

Boutonnieres: succulents, fiddlehead ferns, berries, or scabiosa pods or billy balls, etc

Centerpieces:

I don't know what's going on with me, but as I get older, the more I adore vintage-y/antique-y things.

And I'm in love with old bird cages as centerpieces with flowers overflowing out of them. My idea is to put candles (3) inside and surround it with hydrangeas, succulents, moss and orange flowers with curly willow circling around inside it. No birds -fake or otherwise.

Cake topper:

Love the fiddlehead ferns on the cake topper and adore the twig cake stand!

I plan on having 4 tier round buttercream cake with a 0.5" burnt orange ribbon at the bottom of each tier. The design pattern we have on our wedding invites will be copied onto the ivory cake in a green. Succulents will be sparingly cascading down the cake. Not sure about the cake toppers yet.