Planning Updates

According to my wedding planning guide, I'm a little behind schedule with the save the dates. Sending them out was not our top priority as STD is not a common practice in Cambodian culture. However, we did want to make sure our OOT guests and our Caucasian guests receive them. Originally, I planned on evites but felt they were too informal. Luckily, we found a free Mad Men inspired custom design Save the Date on Weddingchicks.com The STDs are printed on flat 4 X 6 postcard material which we attached magnets to so guests can put them on their fridge. We ordered beautiful vellum envelopes on Paper and More for $5.99! It was a a total steal. I can't wait to pick them up this week and have them sent out.
As for our menu, we finalized it with the caterer. We won't get a quote until after Saturday. The caterer wants to visit the venue space and go over the set up details for the day of the wedding. Easton Beach Rotunda does not have a kitchen on site but a space for caterers to set up and prepare food. We are hoping there won't be any logistical problems as this could increase the cost.

Other wedding items in production or in the mail include our custom designed guest book scroll, cake topper and the name luminaries for our head table decor. Next week I start the DIY ribbon wands for the kiddies. The other DIY project is our origami crane escorts and the Manzanita tree. Blooms and Branches recently added to their catalog, the Manzanita wish tree kit in the sandblasted color. I can't wait for it to come in so I can get started on that project - although with school and work, I might not tackle it until early March during Spring Break. I'm allocating vacation time to finalize details with the florists and order the vases for our centerpieces. I am also hoping my cousin will come through with the linens too. Still waiting for word from Cambodia :-/

On the calendar next week is my first dress fitting! I lost 5 lbs so far but need to shed 10 more pounds before I reach my weight loss goal. Pepe and I started the slow carb diet to help shed the weight. It was a difficult battle for me because I love fruits and carbs but I made it through week one. We modified the diet to fit our needs and life style. So far success! I am also looking forward to my new role as moderator on the Knot R.I board and while I have been slacking with my blogs on Chattybrides.com, I still want to contribute. What I am truly looking forward to is meeting other brides on The Knot next week!

Tie the Knot

Step in style with ties that don't suck. The guys at Cyberoptix Tie Lab create simply just that! They have stylish screen printed silk or microfiber ties as well as bow ties too. Pepe and the guys will definitely be sporting one the design prints featured on their Etsy store. The great part is the ties come in an array of colors and the prices are reasonable too. Check out their store for more ties!

Little White Dress pt. II

Gallery of short and sassy reception style dresses to delight the eyes!

Little White Dress

My beautiful Pronovias Romina dress made an appearance on last night's episode of Say Yes to the Dress: The Group Calls It. The bride who wore it looked absolutely stunning! However, I will have to change into a second dress as it is customary in Cambodian culture for the bride to wear a traditional outfit when greeting guests at their table. I'm still on the fence on whether I want to go this route or if I should change into a reception dress as my Romina is so lacey-long and delicate. I've seen a rise in this popular trend where more brides are opting for a wardrobe change into something more fun and flirty and short. Some brides still opt for a full length gown but modern and stylish. I've fallen in love with a few short styles including the soft and romantic Oscar de la Renta dress, Jasmine Couture chic dress and the ultra sophisticated Romona Keveza number

22E53

F417

RK91

Money Talks

When Pepe and I first started planning our wedding, we didn't exactly sit down and come up with a budget. We didn't have a clue where to begin or how to go about planning the wedding. So I immersed myself in research and came back with a figure that steadily grew to what the budget is today. Since we were paying for everything ourselves, we knew that it was not possible for us to have a big wedding. Luckily, our parents were okay with it. Pepe and I are also low key people so we prefer an intimate gathering of friends and family over a Big Fat Cambodian Wedding. It also didn't make sense for us to go into debt when we wanted to buy a house. Yes, I know most Cambodian couples make bank after the wedding because guests give monetary gifts but we didn't want to make our wedding about money - spending it or making it. We wanted our wedding to be about our love and we wanted to throw one big party to celebrate it.

So this meant we had to have some priorities for our big day. We knew that great food and music were essential ingredients for a memorable event but the venue would be the determining factor on how our wedding would look and feel. The splurge on the Rotunda was worth it. It created a destination feel for our wedding. Easton Beach also had a special place in our heart as we spent some sizzling hot summer days there. The distance from the ceremony to the venue was also within convenience too.

Photography was another important thing to us as our visual-memories were going to be the only thing we had left at the end of our wedding. Everything else didn't matter as much - well that is until I saw all the pretty weddings on the pages of every bridal magazine I open and on every wedding blog I frequented. At some point, I realize it didn't matter if my wedding wasn't blog worthy. So I scratched the uplights and the grand floral fantasy I had planned for the venue. It wasn't in our budget and we were not going into debt for it. I constantly had to tell myself this because one year after we started planning our wedding, we have a new house and a cute little doggie too. Most importantly, we are not in wedding debt (nothing on plastic). These things meant more to me than a few hours of uplighting and flowers that would die the next day. Starting our life together debt free is much more important. And somehow it all worked out because I actually found a compromise that would allow me to still have flowers for our wedding without going over our budget.

I am really proud of myself because before I started planning our wedding, I didn't have a drop of discipline. Really, I would spend money if I had it and if I wanted, it was mine. My fiance on the hand was the money manager in the relationship. He taught me how to live within my means and this wedding turned out to be our first lesson in marriage. We learned to sort out our finances and how we as a couple would spend our money. It has been the most valuable lesson I have learned so far. I have my honey to thank for it too. :-)

A fan favorite

Pin wheels, paper tissues, buttons, brooches, feathers, and parasols have all been used as an alternative to the traditional floral bouquet. I will be carrying a bouquet of blooms but my maids will be carrying brightly colored hand fans to go with our Chic Modern Asian wedding. The fans make for a stylish accessory for our outdoor nuptials on the beach. It might also have a practical purpose should the mercury rise that day. However, I still want to include flowers for the girls. My budget friendly idea is to have them wear floral wristlets. I want to use orchids for their exotic beauty and because my MOH is allergic to fragrant blooms, orchids have a light scent and hold up well out of water.

Image by Datura: A Modern Garden

As for the wedding flower situation, I am not going the DIY route. The time sensitive and delicate craft is best left in the hands of the professionals. My type A personality would agonize over every detail. Nor do I want to enslave my bridal party and family. It's too much work and simply not worth all the stress. However, flowers do mean a great deal to me. So it is really important that the artist who creates the flowers for our wedding day completely understands my vision. The problem is finding a florist that will work with our teeny tiny flower budget. My solution...divide and conqueror.

Whole Foods! At first I was quite apprehensive about a super market chain providing the wedding flowers. However, I was sold after I read the rave reviews on the Knot about the quality and freshness of their work plus their very competitive pricing. Unlike a typical flower shop, Whole Foods does not have a high overhead cost to cover for materials, labor and rent so they don't need to charge exorbitant prices to make ends meet. As a result, Whole Foods is able to offer customers whole sale prices for buying flowers in bulk. Since our centerpieces are relatively simple, we would only need Whole Foods to provide us the 9 short centerpieces, two small ceremony centerpieces and provide us with fresh petals and dozens of blooms to decorate the head table and window displays at the venue. The location I am working with also offers delivery services which is a big plus. The other plus is Whole Foods buys locally and seeks out earth friendly selections from around the world.

As for the personal flowers, I would prefer a local florist to provide us with the flowers. I have some very specific requests for my bouquet, which might provide a challenge for the staff at the Whole Foods flower department. I also have some unusual requests like floral garlands for the bride and groom. I will be paying relatively more for the flowers but it's okay because I saved on the flowers for the centerpieces. The flowers for the bridal party only includes my bridal bouquet, 2 floral garlands, 2 floral corsages, 3 bouts for the groom and groomsmen, and two pin on corsages for the moms, and 2 bouts for the dad so it is still considerably small. I saved money by not having my maids carry bouquets and by having a smaller bridal party.

Phnom-enon Food!

Food has always been an important aspect of Cambodian culture. The complex layers of flavors and unique ingredients make the dishes a real treat for the palate - especially when paired with a nice bowl of Jasmine rice. So it was without a doubt that our wedding would be focused on the menu for the ceremony and reception. We decided to serve the truly authentic and include some of our favorite dishes. The list below are the contenders we are strongly considering for the ceremony menu

Ceremony Buffet brunch

1. Cambodian Beef Salad in tangy lime dressing (plear)
2. Cambodian Chicken and Shrimp Salad (Nyoum)
3. Papaya Salad (Cambodian-style)
4. Marinated lemon grass beef kabobs
5. Lobster ginger stir fry
6. Cambodian egg rolls also known as Lot
7. Spicy chicken wings (Aaron's recipe)
8. Jasmine rice
9. Banana tapioca pudding
10. Coconut custard
11. mango with sticky rice

The reception dinner typically includes Chinese dishes (paying homage to our Chinese roots). Traditionally, 7-8 course meal is served family style. We are going for a tasting next month to finalize the menu and other important details. The food won't be cooked on site since our venue does not have a kitchen. The restaurant has assured me the food will be served steaming hot.