Our "Wish Board"

Photos courtesy of our photographer, Sarah K Chen

I have received nearly a dozen of emails this week about this DIY detail so I am thankful to Wedding Bee blogger, Miss Cupcake, for posting a detailed "How To" for making these boards. For her carefully thought out directions: click here

We loved the idea of signing postcards vs. a traditional guest book; it all tied in to our travel theme. We named our tables after places we have visited or hope to visit.This was our sweetheart table:

Photo by Jonilyn Photography

I made the table cards by googling images and then photo editing them so that they would all have the same antique-looking tint. Then after adding the text using Powerpoint, I got a little carried away and traced over the letters with an embossing pen and powder to add some dimension to the paper. Like I said, I got a little carried away! Since I already had the saved images from those table numbers, I resized the pictures to make 3 x 5 postcards for our signing table. Originally, I had planned on guests putting the postcards in a mailbox or vintage suitcase but I had opted for something more visual to entertain guests during the cocktail hour and that's when the wish board idea was born.

I cannot take credit for the labor of it though. It was my dear uncle who took this idea and created the beautiful boards you see in the photos, and with less than 24 hours till showtime ;) Huge thanks to Uncle Rolly and his family for coming all the way from NY to share our day with us and for lending a hand and their talents when we needed it most!

"Do Something Creative Everyday" - Paper Source ;)

All Smiles

Courtesy of Jonilyn Photography :)



Makeup by Liz ♥




He looks kinda nervous... too cute




CHEERS BABY!


The absolute cutest picture ever! The "mini-me" version of my brother -


My Bouquet


This is my anxious look...


I swear I was walking my bro down the aisle and not the other way around.

He was probably more nervous than I was!


With this Ring, I thee wed...


WOOO HOOO!!!


Newlywed portraits






DETAILS...






Time to GET DOWN! And YES, that is my mom in the middle picture getting low with one of Mark's friends! hahahaha



Jonilyn's work is so impressive! She works tirelessly to get the most priceless shots. We are so pleased to have been able to work with her and even more happy to call her a friend.

Jonilyn, THANK YOU for capturing the very heart of our day! We love you! ♥

*** CLICK HERE to see the full post on Jonilyn's blog ***

Back to Reality

Everyone said I was going to be the poster child for post wedding blues since I was so deeply entrenched in wedding details. I swore that would not be the case. Yet sometimes in the calmness of all this new found down-time, I quietly find myself freaking out. Wait - am I a victim of PWDS? Post Wedding Depression Syndrome?! ME? NO! But I may have a mildly severe case of withdrawals. Let's examine...

Upon arriving in Maui for our honeymoon, me and the hubs found ourselves at the bookstore looking for a new read since he proudly finished his last book on the plane. As he skimmed the back covers of autobiographies, I wandered off to the forbidden magazine rack. You know what kind of magazines I'm talking about - Bridal Mags! I'm sorry but I can't help it! I am addicted to letter pressed stationery, color palettes, and tales of uncooperative bridesmaids. I didn't buy the magazine, but I [cringe] wrote down a bridal website to check out later.

Our honeymoon was bliss, but the plane ride home was a little disturbing. As I watched Maui disappear beneath the clouds, I thought of all the things I wanted to do when I got home. In fact, I made a list... hunt down wedding photos, re-inventory our wedding items, pick out songs for our wedding video, write wedding thank yous, wedding this, wedding that, check, check, check, check, DONE. Wait - done? Then what will I do?! Mark looks over at what I'm writing, sees the panic in my eyes, and pulls out the peanut m&ms. The daunting thoughts slip far from my mind, at least momentarily.

I arrive home and check my email, expecting there to be an overwhelming amount since I hadn't checked it in over a week. But the emails I was expecting weren't there. Neither were all the calls I had anticipated in my first week as a newlywed. Hello out there?! I'm back! Where is everyone??? Then it hit me. It hit me like a freight train..... I am no longer a bride to be. No one is calling me to see how I'm feeling or what I'm working on. My 15 seconds of fame and glory... over. WAAAAAA!!! HAHAHA I know that sounds depressing, pathetic, and shallow but it is actually kind of comical to me the way the whole cycle works. And its even more funny learning that I had fallen victim to it! As with every addiction, there is always some sort of lull after a high, a state of nostalgia. Think about it... as a bride you spend months (years) planning your weddings and during that time there were lavish celebrations in your honor, people were extra sensitive about your feelings, your very best friends even elected to wear monogrammed robes with your initials on it. It is the one time in your adult life where blowing up pictures of you and your honey is not ridiculed (well, not to your face) or viewed as narcissistic or creepy. Oh yes, it was good times :)

I thought that post wedding blues/withdrawals had something or everything to do with not being happy with your new married life but I discovered that's not it at all. I think what is plaguing me is the absence of strategically planned tasks and the sudden freedom of time. And ya know, its not like I have LOADS of free time, but there are moments where there is nothing that needs to be done right then. Those moments are so awkwardly foreign to me. And its not even like I don't have anything to do. But finishing 3 loads of laundry, bathing the dog, and organizing the medicine cabinets is not really as satisfying or rewarding as flawlessly embossing your RSVP cards or discovering the joy of satin charmeuse fabric! whatever.

Point of the story - I am back to reality. And I am not a bride anymore. BUT - I am a wife ;) And that, my friends, is a completely different high.... one that lasts not a moment short of forever. And it doesn't hurt either to have someone who, everyday, throws his own mini celebration in your honor ♥

Cheers to the narcissists in us :)

[ Left: At our rehearsal dinner ] [ Right: Posing with our marriage license. ]

A woman after my own heart <3

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. Really?! Only a thousand?! Are you sure about that? Because when I saw these I could've sworn more than a thousand came to mind!

They also say that all good things are worth waiting for. I might have to agree with them on this one; in fact, they very well may have been referring to the uber-creative work of Sarah K Chen. If I haven't said it before, I am in absolute awe of this woman. If it possible to take a feeling/a moment/a memory and capture it in the click of a camera, this would be Sarah's specialty! I already had a lot to look forward to this weekend so you can only imagine the squeels that came out of me when I saw an email from Sarah that we had officially been blogged! If I called you at almost midnight last night, this is why! Sorry!

It is very hard to pick favorites since each and every one really pierces the very heart of me but here are a few that nearly brought me to tears (tears of joy, of course!)

My dress - My "Must Have"


Getting dolled up by Liz - a juicy shot of our bouquets


The girls applying some last minute touches


Our precious flower girls


The very fact that someone considered my love affair with shoes makes me swoon BIG TIME! I may have to frame this one.


Playing dress up ;)


I call the one in the middle! hehe On a side note... Seriously - How COOL is Jae?!


Yes, they are kind of ridiculously good looking! If you think those bridesmaids are cute, you should see their sister ;)


Just moments before the big show...


Anxiously waiting in the bridal suite -


If only you knew how I feel about this little man, then you'd know why this picture's an obvious favorite for me.


I did. He did. We did!
Photo taken by Sarah's 2nd shooter, Thuan of Fotografiablu Photography - a truly talented man!


These types of shots always make me smile.


JUST MARRIED!!!


This shot alerted authorities - literally! One of a few lucky shots we got before Homeland Security banned us from shooting on a public transit platform.


Though most of the night just whizzed by, I actually can still recall precisely what I was feeling at this moment!


Feeding the bridesmaids - is that weird or something?! haha It's sort of a little tradtion we started. (And to answer my own question, yes it is a peculiar little inside joke!)



YUMMY on so many levels!



And finally... MY MOM - The Dancing Queen...


Sarah simply does not disappoint! Do check out her blog post for a few more photos and commentary. She took some HOT photos of the girls as well as some fabulous detail shots which I am saving for their own post.
Sarah, thank you again for being on our dream team!

iHeart the iPhone

I don't have an iPhone and it may very well be obsolete by the time I can afford one, to which end I am bitter and I loath its existence. Wait - that's not what this post is titled. woops

iHeart my brother's iPhone at this precise moment, for these precise reasons...

He soooo made my day! I mean, it's no SKC ;) but not bad. And just for the sake of comparison/fairness - here is a shot from my sister's blackberry...

Thank God for the camera phone.