Evaluation (it’s long)

The wedding was very successful with a few minor problems.  I will write about the good and the bad and leave some contacts and advice for the all the brides-to-be! I guess these will be my last posts to this wedding planning blog. Maybe I will  start a new blog to talk about our life in Beijing, using some China blog because WordPress, like Facebook, is also banned in China. So everyone, please start setting up your Renren (china version of facebook) account!and get QQ (china version of msn), and weibo….

Let’s talk about the happy stuff first and then I will talk about the problems we had! So the wedding overall went smoothly with lots of smiles and compliments. I am most happy about my shoes!!

THE GOOD

Shoes

As a bride, you would be up most of the time, so the comfort is just as important as the looks! I had two pairs, one for my Chinese kua, and one for the bridal gown and evening gowns. I bought both pairs at Beverly Centre – 百利 in the same shop (the bridal mall in TST) 。　The guy took away my receipt when i went to collect these shoes so now i can’t even advertise for him..i forgot the name and shop number. You will find the shop when you go up the escalator and walk to the furthest end…a man in his 50s owns this very small shop. But omg, especially with the 5 inch heels one, they were not one bit painful, not one bit tiring! I am just really impressed and shocked.

In terms of the Chinese aspect, I like everything traditional, so I picked these traditional flats to go with my kua. I love the embroidery and they just felt like slippers. My maid of honour even said I could match these with jeans! HK$98.

Wow. These are the most amazing shoes ever. They are 5 inch at the back, and 1.5 inch in front. These were customized to my preferences, so I picked a thick heel in the back and a thick platform at the front just to make everything comfy. If you wish, you could have a thinner heel to make them look more sexy. What’s more impressive is the price, they are only HK$580!!!! Yes all the shiny stones are inclusive!! I was jumping and dancing, walking on the grass in them. I had no blisters, nothing.

Gowns

I am also very happy with my bridal gown. Although I gained weight since my last fitting, and the hook broke when my bridesmaids tried to put it on for me, it worked out at the end (after my bridesmaids sewed it back on, i love you girls) and it was so tight that it didn’t slip down at all. I love the sleek form and it was fairly easy to move in. I had some cleavage on my back my bridesmaids had to help me push the meat apart, that was quite funny. I was so unwilling to give it back to the store but i knew it would be useless if I kept it. At least other brides can wear it too. Advice #1: don’t have hotpot twice in the week before your wedding =.= 

Contact: Peony Bridal, www.peonybridal.com/ 2/F 42-48/F Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, 28824688
The staff is really nice and honest with the business. My package was $7 or 8,000 with 4 dresses (including the Chinese kua, bridal gown, and two evening gowns). Then I had to pay a premium to tailor make and rent the bridal gown. The bridal gown itself costed $14,000. So worth it imo.

Make Up and Hair
I also loved my make up and hair. I usually have very very light make up on, cuz I think I look like a man when I have heavy make up on. So I made sure my bridal make up was just as natural and simple. My stylist (who was originally a hair stylist so she is really good with hair) did a fantastic job for both the signing ceremony and banquet!! I showed her a pic of Jessica Alba’s hairstyle  and she was able to apply it on me according to my face shape and facial features. I hate it when stylists just follow exactly what you show them without considering if that would actually suit you. My stylist knew that I couldn’t have the exact same style as Jessica Alba cuz my forehead is a lot bigger, so she changed it around to have something similar.

Contact: Also from Peony Bridal, her name is Cicy. Costed $6,000 for two days for two people (me and my mom).

The Banquet

Everything at the banquet was great. The service at Sheraton was impressive (except the marketing staff). Everything is inclusive so you don’t need to worry about additional cost if you want an extra mic, or if you want dance floor or a stage, or special lighting arrangements. The minimum charge is basically all inclusive. I loved the part when the suckling pig came out with the crazy mission impossible music and flashing lights!! Awesomness!!! And I also heard from guests that the food was pretty good too (i didn’t really get to eat that night and last time when we went to menu tasting the food was not to standard for some reason.) But at least our guests liked it! The only problem was that we forgot to use their snow effect (exclusive in hong kong)! argh!

And of course we have to thank our bridesmaids and groomsmen for helping us put on such a wonderful and exciting show!!!! Everything went according to plan and I have heard so many compliments from our guests!^3^ I am just so lucky to have all of you as part of our wedding party, i can’t emphasize this enough!!!! You guys and girls definitely made this wedding so much more memorable!

Photographers and Videographers

We had different photographers for signing day and banquet day. The signing day ones were the ones that took our prewedding photos and we love them!!!!!! They are funny and smart. The most important part is that they really care how you look. Especially Elvis, he is so meticulous and he teaches you how to pose!!! Ah Chung is funny and will make everyone laugh. I am so happy we asked them to be our photographers for our actual wedding.I highly recommend them to take your prewedding or wedding photos.

Advice #2 – for wedding day photographers, make sure you get someone that you have met beforehand, best if you have worked with them before. It really makes a difference!! You will have no time to communicate with them on the wedding day and you will not feel as comfortable in front of the camera. That’s why we didn’t like our banquet photographers as much, we never met with them before and we found them annoying at times.

Contact: Signing day photographer: Elvis 9100 5641 (his partner is called Ah Chung)

We also had a very good videographers. They are the team from KC production. Our signing venue was small and nothing luxurious. But in the video, it looked grand and romantic!! The editing was excellent in the same day edit video. We can’t wait to see the full version from both days!

Contact: KC Production http://wedding.chankichun.com/

Of course nothing is perfect…please wait for tomorrow for THE BAD!

The sun is out :D

Typhoon Banyan is getting really close to Hong Kong and looking at the cyclone track, there is a high chance of a typhoon 1 or 3 this weekend. But at least the sun is out today, or it could be the calm before the storm… whatever it is, the wedding should still be on!

We just finished the seating chart with both sides of the family. I never thought this chart was such a last minute thing, the hotel staff just told me to send it to her a day before the wedding. We also went to Sheraton to do a lighting rehearsal and it reminded me so much of my high school drama when I was part of the lighting crew! I must say, Sheraton has a very well-equipped A/V system. The best part we like about the banquet hall is that it has a huge projection screen so even people sitting right at the back can see clearly. It has all kinds of lights, spot lights, gobo lights, and 8 wireless mics, great sound system, flexible stage, dance floor, all with no additional cost. This is perfect for us because we are treating this banquet like a mini concert with lots of performances and slideshows. Now we have both sound and lighting effects to enhance the overall atmosphere! The A/V staff is smart and helpful. But the marketing staff is a bit loopy and frustrating at times.

I am really worried now that I wont be able to fit into my dress. The tailor tightened my dress last week because I actually lost some weight then. This week I went to hotpot twice and i feel bloated…I should have had more self control. But the most important part I hope is for everyone to have a good time and please, no drama >.<

5 Days.

5 days left. We had a great afternoon in the last meeting with our bridesmaids and groomsmen. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Words just can’t describe how excited I am about this !!! Anyway, I dyed my hair today, well just to touch up the roots and my eye brows, and went to get a manicure. If there is any time remaining this week, I will also get a pedicure, if not I will have to do it at home myself.

So i found out that the  week before the wedding is the busiest of all. I have appointments after appointments, and shopping last minute for wedding stuff. We are meeting with the Sheraton AV staff again for AV testing and lighting rehearsal. I still have to get my red shoes for my Chinese kua. Just can’t wait =)

I am looking forward to this weekend, and this month!! So much is happening!

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7 Days

EEK one week left!

So what am I doing one week before the biggest day of my life?

I just finished writing my vows. We decided to add on some personal vows before saying the statutory vow. At first, I had no idea what to write and what personalised wedding vows should be like. I started going on youtube, searching the web to see what others did. Some of them are so touching I teared up. We are keeping our vows as a surprise for each other so I am really worried when I hear his I am going to burst into tears … oh gosh.

I am also finalizing the rundown and preparing all the things we need for the banquet. As for the signing day, there is not much to prepare for except that game we have to play with the groomsmen. We are really tight with time on the signing day so we had to come up with this short but fun game. I am sure the boys will enjoy it keke =) The bridesmaids will be preparing for that since I live with my fiance so it is hard for me to do anything without him knowing.

I went for my final fitting and guess what, I LOST WEIGHT! I can’t believe it. My gown is quite heavy with all the lace and beading, so the dress has to be dead tight on me for it not to slide down. I think the main reason I lost weight is because I have been sick for the past week, chucking down antibiotics. I have also been going to the gym and trying to eat less than my usual diet, I just hope I can in this shape for one more week. Then I can enjoy all my lasagne, cheeseburgers, and rice!!!!!

14 days.

Countdown: Two more weeks until the wedding!!

It’s so close and I am so excited yet nervous at the same time. I can finally check the 14 day forecast just to get some idea about the weather. It’s nice that the temperature has finally dropped a bit. I just hope that it will not rain on that day. Maybe I will do some dance everyday to make sure the sun is out that weekend!! It’s been 11 months since the proposal and so many things happened during this year. I am glad things are more settled now and everyone is just focused on the wedding.

We are finalizing the guest list and organizing the seating chart. We are also busy with planning and getting everything together for the banquet. I went with my mom the other day to Beverly Centre to buy all those Chinese wedding deco, teapots and cups, cushions, pjs, slippers. The bride is supposed to wear a set of new red pajamas the night before the wedding and then the kua (Chinese bridal wear) goes directly on top of the pjs on the wedding day. Some sort of good luck and blessing for the bride. A very traditional Chinese wedding custom is the combing ceremony performed on the night before the wedding. It is usually done by a “good fortune” woman (meaning a woman with a good married life) , she combs the bride’s hair three or four times, each stroke has a special meaning and the good fortune woman chants out the blessing while combing the bride’s hair. I am not sure if I am doing this combing ceremony since many young couples nowadays skip some Chinese traditions and mixing it with Western wedding customs. But we did buy the red umbrella which is used when the bride steps out of the house and the umbrella protects her from evil spirits. I just think it’s really pretty and cute!

After the wedding, we will be moving to Beijing. For how long? We are not even sure. But this will be a very long honeymoon for us =)

Partyin’ Partyin’ (Yeah) Fun Fun Fun Fun

Just saw my friend’s wedding photos and they look so lovely!!!! Mine is in less than 3 weeks and I still can’t believe it is happening. This all has been like a dream but I am just really happy to get married with this special guy who I fight and laugh a lot with!

Over the weekend, we had our bachelor x bachlorette party in Macau. Yes we somewhat had it together, many people asked why together, well that’s how we roll – do (almost) everything together 😀 >3<. Thank you so much to all our bridesmaids and groomsmen that made this so memorable and fun! I had dinner with the girls and did some planning for the "pick up bride" part. Then we got ready for clubbing at Cubic at the Hard Rock Hotel. It's been awhile since I was with a bunch of girls dressing up, putting make up on, just looking pretty to go out! I loved it!! That night Cubic had Naughty by Nature as performers and the crowd was so high. The dance floor was packed with people from all over the world. It was definitely the best clubbing experience I ever had.

Then there was some drama at night, but it would not be the Chungs if there was no drama :p I really think we need a reality tv show – Keeping Up With The Chungs.

Other wedding details: We booked the flowers already including my bouquet. It will be white tulips with some green leaves to complement the flowers. I was so happy when the florist told me that October was the season for tulips!! I hope it will turn out looking beautiful because this has always been what I want for my bouquet! We also finally got the groom a tux but we will need to get him a thin tie for the banquet. We are missing the ties for the groomsmen. They want something different so who knows…

On its way…

We had a very productive weekend with our bridesmaids and groomsmen. The guys are basically responsible for the entertianment part and the girls are responsible for the planning and rundown. I am finally starting to feel the excitement. Thank you so much for our BM and GM to be a part of this and helping us with it all!!

Most of the things are settled, the only things missing are the flowers, and Chris’ tux.

The Chinese Letter

This is the letter that made me fall in love with my fiance.

Well he wrote many poems, I uploaded one on here before. I love his poems, I love his writings, I just love this creative expressive side of him. But this Chinese Letter is definitely not a poetic piece. I just asked him that if he was so good at writing, why didnt he try to write me something in Chinese.

I knew he sucked at Chinese so it was just a tease. I didnt expect him to hand write me something and fax it to my hotel ( I was in Berlin at that time, business trip , best job ever, more stories about that later). When I got back to my room, there it was. The hotel staff put the fax in an envelop and slid it under the door. Looking at his  level of Chinese and his ugly handwriting, this simple cute gesture just touched my heart.

I think sometimes that is just what girls want. Something simple yet romantic. The German staff probably thought it was some important letter cuz he told them it was urgent.

The 123456789 means 12:34:56 7/8/09. This was like one of those once in a lifetime moment, and we spent it together, 🙂

It’s getting so close!

Countdown: Only one and a half months to go until our wedding!!

Time is passing by so fast! Most of our close friends would know that we have some breaking news for our plan after the wedding. I am really excited about it and it is definitely a good move for our situation. I guess our honeymoon will have to wait until Chinese New Year.

We got our pre wedding photos back. I like them a lot and I can’t thank our photographer enough for teaching us how to pose. They turned out looking natural even though I felt really awkward when I had to bend my back in a weird angle and place my arm in a certain way. I guess he knew what he was doing. Check my facebook for the photos!

So there might be some changes to the rundown for our wedding weekend. We might skip the Chinese tradition of “picking up the bride” and just go directly to Cyberport to sign with our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and relatives. It’s not a bad plan…at least we don’t have to wake up so early 😛

So many people are getting married this year!! Kim Kardashian just got married last week and I can’t find any of her wedding gown photos. I can only see her voluptuous top half. It was designed by Vera Wang, again.

Another Step Forward

Countdown: Three months from the wedding

It’s so nice to stay home on a rainy day. I am starting my two-week holiday so I will make good use of this time to do some wedding planning. I can’t wait for the wedding to be over because my wish list is piling up but I have to save all my money for now for the wedding (just incase). Maybe I will start a shopping blog after this ^.^

The good news is that we bought our wedding bands!! It’s my dream brand (aside from Wellendorf), Van Cleef & Arpels. We chose the traditional plain round hoop design. We tried on many different brands and the ones from Van Cleef had the most comfortable fit. The curvature and the finishing seemed to be made more elegant than the other brands. In terms of materials and colours, we picked pink gold. In between yellow and white gold, pink gold matches our skin tone the best and it goes really well with my engagement ring! Something like the one on the right:

We also confirmed on our civil celebrant. Everything is almost good to go. Thanks honey for being such a good sport in this whole thing at this time, it’s really not easy. I love you.