slurpee's biography
Check out my favorite photographer, Mimi Nguyen!
http://www.facebook.com/miminguyenphotography
She's awesome! =) Mimi and a Project wedding bride were recently featured in Ceremony Magazine 2011!!
http://miminguyen.com/blog/2011/01/18/published-ceremony-magazine-2011/
http://www.projectwedding.com/post/list/we-re-in-ceremony-magazine-2011
And here's an adorable set of another PW bride:
http://www.projectwedding.com/biography/list/cayann32/the-kid-in-me
International fine art wedding photographer: Available for Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, New York, destination weddings - open to worldwide travel.
A good collection of her photography is on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mimi-nguyen-photography-irvine
My sister, Mimi
, launched her official photography site (though she has been taking pictures for years)! She is so talented and passionate about her work and style.
She makes sure that each session is unique and reflects the personalities of her clients. I am so fortunate to have front row seats to Mimi's life and journey. :)
Check out Mimi Nguyen Photography or her blog for her portfolio and updates!
Below are some of my favorites: 
The lovely Mrs. Caramel from WeddingBee!
Project Wedding Bride =)
CrepeMaker
was one of the biggest hits of our day! We hired
CrepeMaker as a caterer for our tea ceremony and brunch, and I have heard nothing but compliments on the crepes! Everyone loved the idea, and our guests couldn't get enough of the delicious crepes! They had a fantastic menu (SO many entree
and dessert choices)! Many guests came back for seconds! My cute nephew, Jeremy, ordered a crepe, ran back excitedly to his mom and said, "MOM! I didn't have to paaay for this!!!" Haha. My only regret is that our immediate family did not have a
chance to taste any of the crepes! We were shuffled around like sheep!! :P I am sad I didn't even have one bite! Jim and Coco set up on time, brought some French music as ambiance, and was cordial to all of our guests. Everyone, young and old, loved them!! The crepes were a perfect addition to the brunch/lunch hour! I am so glad we booked them as one of our vendors. Fabulous! I hope we can throw another party where we'll be able to hire them again and taste those crepes that we missed out on on our wedding day!
[P.S. Parts of the above were included in my Yelp review--we actually went back to Crepemaker last weekend, and Coco remembered us and welcomed us very warmly. The crepes were YUM. Highly recommend!]
All photographs below are courtesy of Julie Weaver Photography.
Since the girls' bridesmaids dresses were a deep chocolate brown, I wanted a more vibrant color for their ao dai dresses. The girls all wore different styles, with slight variations in shades and fabrics. I was elated to see how they all looked together.
We are glad to have incorporated some traditional customs and attire, even though it made the day so incredibly long!
Mimi Nguyen Photography
Mimi Nguyen Photography
Mimi Nguyen Photography
Thuong Thuong Photography
Thuong Thuong Photography
Thuong Thuong Photography
Thuong Thuong Photography
Thuong Thuong Photography
There are so many songs that T and I love, but there was no question as to what would play during our first dance. It is a lesser known song that T played for me in college when we first got together. Though very special then, the lyrics hold so
much more meaning today. Despite that this song did not play for our first dance as intended (see entry below), we know that the music and words will resonate throughout our lifetime together. We will try to incorporate the song in our video or
slideshow so that it will still be a part of our experience.
Have a listen:
"For You" by Kenny Lattimore
For you I'd give a lifetime of stability
Anything you want of
me
Nothing is impossible
For you there are no words or ways to show my love
Or all the thoughts I'm thinking of
Cause this life is no good alone
Since we've become one
I've made a change
Everything I do now
makes sense
All roads end
All I do is for you
For you I share the cup of love that overflows
And anyone who knows us knows
I would change all faults I have
For you there is no low or high or in between
Of
my heart that you haven't seen
Cause I share all I have and am
Nothing I've said's hard to understand
All I feel I feel deeper still
And always will
All this love is for you
Every note that I play
Every word I might say
Every melody I feel
Are only for you and your appeal
Every page that I write
Every day of my life
Would not be filled without the things
That my love for you now brings
For you I
make the promise of fidelity
Now and for eternity
No one could replace this vow
For you I'd take take your hand and heart
And everything
And add to them a wedding ring
Cause this life is no good alone
Since
we've become one you're all I've known
And if this feeling should leave I'd die
And here's why
All I am is for you
Everything I do now makes sense
All roads end
All I do
Is for you
Only for
you
View the full, uncensored album here:
Lazaro dress (Style LZ3501, modified Sweetheart neckline)
Haha, the photographer had me do a cheesy pose, and T's reaction was so classic! lol.
Bridesmaid dresses: Laundry by Shelli Segal
Chair Covers: Made lovingly by yours truly, family and friends
Gold charger plates:
Also our own
Backdrops, head table draping, Floor-length table linens: Lifetime Wedding and Events
Grade: A+
Allison
blew me away with our flowers. I loved my bouquet, and the pink bouquets she created for the bridesmaids were absolutely gorgeous. The altar arrangements were so lush and beautiful - I was truly amazed! The cake
decor was as I had requested - very elegant. The chiffon fabric treatment was very pretty, and though Allison tells me that chiffon is very difficult with which to work, she did such a great job and I love how they looked in pictures.My only wish is that I had a larger budget for the centerpieces - something a bit more lush and full and with flowers that matched our bouquets. I was a bit underwhelmed with the centerpieces; however, they were still very beautiful. One or two tables were missing centerpieces only because the coordinator did not tell her which tables to skip (kids table and reserve table). The banquets manager gave her the incorrect information, so I was a bit sad to see that one table in particular was missing a centerpiece. I wish I had caught it earlier. I did not get to see a final mock centerpiece, but she did make a few samples along the way (not using the actual flowers or colors). I also do not know what happened to my mini bouquet/toss bouquet. We could not find this during the reception.
Allison called me a week prior to let me know that she could order the peonies in July after all! A++ for this! She was willing to work within our budget and was always friendly at our meetings. She truly has a passion for her work and it shows! We have received a lot of accolades for the floral decor from families and friends.
I had met with a number of vendors before booking Allison. Out of the florists, I felt that she would work with me best on customizing the flowers to what I had envisioned. She does not have cookie-cutter designs and listened well to everything I described and gave me her input and suggestions. She is very knowledgeable and works hard to make your wedding beautiful. Allison and her staff even took on some extra duties for a reasonable fee: placing on our satin wrap chair covers.
Allison is a very busy woman; thus, most of the time, it was almost impossible to reach her. She had moments where she was available and e-mailing regularly and/or taking calls. Other times, my phone messages and e-mails were left unanswered for weeks on end. This would be the only area of improvement that I see. She is; however, very upfront about it all. She could probably use a staff person delegated solely to returning calls/e-mails because I am sure she receives tons of inquiries, especially since everyone loves her and she is so stretched at times. However, I do believe that a vendor should give his/her clients the courtesy of a return call/e-mail in a timely manner. On the plus side, she is yours the week before your wedding. Thus, for communication, she is a C.
Overall, we are super happy to have had Flower Allie as our dream floral vendor. We were all gushing over the flowers! Each time I think about the flowers, I smile remembering how beautiful they were and how much they added to the wedding day. Despite the difficulties in reaching Allison, I have no reservations recommending her fully to families and friends. Allison is booked pretty solid, so catch her while she is available!
Oh no, it happened. Friends warned me. Apparently, I've already hit the next phase.
Wedding invitations have been replaced by baby shower invites. My record was 9 weddings in one year! This month alone, I have 4 baby showers to attend.
It's a good thing that I love lil munchkins, but hello, I'd like to stay on the ascending side of the hill, please. ;P
Ah well, such is life. Off to shop for strollers and jumpers.
I bought a new green dress that I may wear to an upcoming summer wedding. I love the details! Loop trims, pockets, adorable flower appliques, and removable sleeves!
For those who were inquiring, the dress is by Zac Posen.
I recently attended a wedding with a gorgeous deep purple and pink scheme. The altar pieces were divine:
My nieces and nephews crammed into the photo booth and gave me some of my favorite booth pics:
We ordered canvas gallery wraps for our bay area reception, but they were larger than we thought! haha.
I have no reason yet to purchase these adorable lunch bags, but I.COULD.NOT.RESIST after reading a blog post about it. :(
I decided to take the plunge and purchase a cow lunch bag as a gift or for our future kids, lol! So irresistible!
I wonder if my co-workers will think I am crazy if I use this myself. hahaha.
Update: I bought the entire set!!! LOL.
The groomsmen were *sooo* excited when I showed them the socks they were going to wear under their tuxes, lol:
Inspiration:
So T and I spent our dance like so:
T: "Honey...why are they playing this song?"
L: "I don't know, honey! This isn't the right song!"
T: "I hate this song!"
L: "Me too!! Can you make them stop?!"
We
both looked over at the band pleadingly to stop the music.
L: "Honey, this song sucks! Will you tell them to stop?"
T (gestures to the band to cut the music by running his finger across his throat): "I can't believe they played
Celine of all people!"
L: "Me too. I love you, hubbie."
T: "Love you too, honey."
Kiss. Kiss. The band stops playing the horrid song that will forever mark our first dance, and we run to our seats.
T: "That pisses me off.
I hate Celine Dion!"
L: "Yah! That's lame!"
T: "I'm going to tell them off."
L: "Yes, tell them no more Celine ever tonight!!"
So there you have it. The behind-the-scenes, super romantic dialogue that transpired during our
first dance. Unforgettable, yes? :) I am sure we'll laugh about it a few years down the line. On second thought, it's Celine so perhaps you all can give us at least a decade to recover. :P
Shoes are evil. They take you to an utterly happy place until you see the bill. ;P
I ended up wearing the Loubs posted above, but I still love the first pair of wedding shoes I purchased: the infamous Silver Sedaraby's:
Image kindly borrowed from Elizabeth Anne Designs (found via google).
These d'orsays are still one of my favorite pairs, but I'm bummed that I didn't purchase them in a different color since I don't wear silver very much. :P I ended up not wanting to wear silver with my wedding gown and felt the other pairs were a better match. But I love the style and fit of this pair! These babies are totally worth the splurge since they make me happy each time I slip them on! However, they were popularized by Carrie in "Sex in the City," so they are not as unique (but for good reason as they are very pretty!).
Stardream opal cardstock with our motif.
Table Cards and Table Numbers by Sweet Paper Studio (who has since been MIA; see review)
Stardream Opal text paper with our motif. Stardream antique gold cardstock for backing.
Japanese paper and double faced satin ribbon purchased at Paper Source.
Though I modified it a bit to make the petal cones larger, a template can be found here: http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/04/25/as-we-walk-down-the-aisle-together/
Speaking of...
the dress. Did I tell you I received a free dress? Yes, freee! Each year, Mon Amie Bridal Salon hosts a Military Bride Event where they give away 100 dresses to military brides. Either the bride has to be active military or be engaged to active military. The dresses are samples from their stores - some nicer than others, but still! Free! They also gifted veils, shoes, garters, bridal cruise event, and a few other freebies. Very generous of the salon! I hear mixed reviews of Mon Amie, and I can surely understand why. My experience at the Military Bride Event was very different from my bridal gown shopping experience, but I'd have to say there are more positives than negatives.My consultant seemed rush at times, but she was not pushy. She did seem a bit fake, but no problem, we aren't going to be best friends. They tried to get me to order a slightly looser size and made me sign a waiver that I disagreed with their recommendation. They measure bust, waist and hips. Bust and hips place me in a certain size. Waist places me in one size higher. Since I am planning to lose weight, I opted to order the smaller size but the experience was less than nice. They seemed upset that I wanted to go lower, but I stood firm on it. The designer, Lazaro, was actually present and gave me a sketch of my dress. I also got a trunk show discount and some savings on a matching veil.
But back to the Military Bride Event. They were so so nice and made us all feel like princesses. The dress I received is actually very pretty, but it just wasn't what I was looking for...so I may sell it, or I may wear it our smaller reception up in the bay area. I wish everything else were freeeeeee! :(
His (on the right):
Hers:
I actually love his ring so much that I convinced him to get me the matching ring for my other hand as a future anniversary (pictured in the 1st photo). :) When his ring was new, it was shiny on one side and matte on the other. Now that it has been a year (our anniversary was yesterday!!!), we can't tell the difference between either sides because of wear and tear, hah!
He wears his ring EVERYWHERE (to bed, in the shower,...unlike me, I actually take it off when I shower or sleep), and though it is all scratched up, I adore that he loves wearing it so much and doesn't like taking it off. :*)
Mimi just dropped some AWESOME posts on her blog:
The awesome James Kyson Lee (Ando from Heroes)! James used Mimi's images to update his website: http://jameskysonlee.com
This video is just too adorable and funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suSA2YKia9k
From Brides.com:
Fresh Hubby of LA - A Love Story
Back in May, Dana LaRue, author of The Broke-Ass Bride, and her husband Hunter filmed a video to show at their wedding reception right before the toasts began—but this wasn't just any old montage. "Since we come from creative backgrounds, and our love story is a bit untraditional, we wanted to do something more uniquely 'us' than just your average sitting-on-a-couch-telling-the-story-of-how-we-met video," says Dana.
So Hunter wrote a rap in a Fresh Prince fashion and sent it over to their friends at Digital Princess Productions, who helped execute the project. Entitled "The Fresh Hubby of LA," this true story is a whimsical take on videography that accurately captures the couple's spunky personality. And Dana says the crowd went absolutely wild: "The excitement of it infused our wedding with a joyous energy that carried through the night!"
—Melanie Baevsky
I love love love paper! Originally, when I was planning for the wedding, I thought I was going to stay pretty simple with invitations, so I completely under-budgeted! But I ended up causing serious damage! =P But the more I looked around, the more I fell in love with beautiful paper. Letterpress, Japanese paper, glimmery paper, pretty cardstock. I just had to splurge! lol.
I ended up having three sets of invitations. Yes, I know, pretty crazy. I loved all three sets!
The English set was by Vera Wang Fine Papers, approximately $11 each (I can't find the pics of my invitations, so for now, these are photos from the website):
I loved the lined envelopes (the lining is the same shimmery design). The Oyster White paper was so thick and luxurious. The only caveat was that Vera Wang only prints through William Arthur, so you had to go through only them for printing. This set only allowed thermography printing. I actually loved another Vera Wang style as well, but this shimmery set matched the look and style of our wedding a bit more. Perhaps I'll use the other style for our vow renewal! haha!
The other sets were designed by Phyllis Wong, Sweet Paper Studio (aka Phyllis Wong Designs). I had a Vietnamese set for our parents' friends and family. And I ordered an English version as well, for family and also as extras. Phyllis was a sweetheart during the entire invitation design process; however, since then, she has been MIA. She designed a lot of the paper products for our first wedding (we had a second reception for husband's side of the family in the bay area). After our wedding, I asked her whether she was up for designing another set of invitations for the bay area reception. It was going to be the exact same design, just wording changes. She agreed, but then I never heard from her again (along with a few other brides). I was so sad to post an updated review on PW, because she did a great job with our first set and other wedding paper items (programs, table cards, table numbers, signage, photo booth banner, menus, and favor tags). I ended up having to rush order through a local printer since it was 7 weeks out.
But back to the invites! We tied the invitation designs around a motif. When the invitations came, my mom felt they were too simple and small. She seemed so sad about it! So I ended up ordering patterned pocketfolds from mygatsby.com, and we assembled the invitations using the pocketfolds. Mom loooooved the invites afterwards, and she was so proud to give them out. It was the best unexpected $500 I spent on the wedding. I will post pics when I can grab them from another computer, or I will just take new ones! =) But Mom loved the pocketfold design. The paper was thick and slightly shimmery (similar to the Vera Wang invitations), and the design pattern was also very close to the Vera Wang look. She also loved the ribbon that we used to tie the invitations. We received a lot of compliments from friends and family. Again, best extra $500 I spent - completely worth it to make Mom that happy. Hah! I looked at a lot of other pocketfolds, and I didn't like any of them! Phyllis designed our printed invitations on Stardream Opal. Although I love the glimmer, I think I'm sick of Stardream paper nowadays! haha. My good friend also loved the pocketfold set more than the Vera Wang set. I loved both - I had the best of both worlds!
Design of the outer pocketfold, "Diamond - R82" pattern (found under Envelopments Pocketfold 5X7, Portrait). Larger square sizes and landscape designs are also available. EXCELLENT quality!
The pocketfold set totaled approximately $8 each after I added the pocketfolds. We used the Xyron to attach the printed invitations, backing paper and ribbon onto the pocketfolds. The Xyron was awesome; however, the machine tore a lot of the Xyron paper and I haven't used it since. But I loved using it during the wedding and the second reception.
Phyllis also designed other paper products:
Because I didn't have any letterpress for the invitations, I had to have it somewhere! I ended up ordering letterpress thank-you cards (as seen above). I can't believe how much I spent on paper, but would I do it again? YES! =P But for our vow renewal, I will probably go with all letterpress! =D
I will slowly be updating this page with wedding items for sale. Sorry for the low quality iPhone photos!!
1) LOVE Glass Coasters (Set of 20) - $.50 each set of 2 SOLD
2) Wedding Gift Card Box - $20
White satin card box is beautifully e mbroidered with a decorative tassel closure. The card box stands 15 - inches tall. Original price was $49.99 + tax. Selling for $20. Pick up can be arranged in Orange County. Please inquire for shipping rates - it will require a larger box but I will check for most economical shipping rate.
3) Vintage-style metal stands for signs/photographs - $5 each SOLD
4) 12X12" Rag & Bone Dupioni silk album with black pages - $70
- Stardream Opal (metallic) envelopes A7 7 1/4 x 5 1/4 - $5 per pack (25 envelopes per pack). 8
packs available 4 PACKS SOLD. (Invitations should be 5x7 to fit) 4 packs available.
- I have one pack, 18 envelopes, lined with antique gold stardream paper (see photos) $4
- Belly bands, Stardream antique gold, pre-cut (see photos), measures about 15" long, more than 175 count, $3 for entire set
Satin Wrap Chair Covers (as pictured below)- Buy for the same price as a rental! You can sell them again!
BLOW-OUT. SOLD AS IS.
FOR SALE FOR $3 PER CHAIR COVER. THIS IS LESS THAN THE PRICE OF A RENTAL!!
275 SOLD. 175 SOLD. I HAVE 123 CHAIR COVERS LEFT, PLUS 9 THAT COULD USE EXTRA SPOT CLEANING/BLEACHING (The 9 will be included for free to the one who purchases the covers, if desired, just as extras).
Gold Chargers
REMAINING CHARGERS FOR SALE FOR $0.50 PER CHARGER. 250 SOLD, 150 CHARGERS AVAILABLE.
ALL SOLD.
BONUS: WEDDING MAGAZINES - LOTS of magazines FREE to anyone who makes a purchase. Martha Stewart Weddings, Modern Bride, Ceremony, Brides, Bride and Bloom. Available for PICK-UP
ONLY in Orange County. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
Most of these sources are unknown (possibly from weddingbee or theknot), as they were all saved a long while ago (while I was planning):
