November 16, 2011

October 23, 2011

October 10, 2011

January 04, 2011

In my old age I have gotten lazy(er) and decided to use a third party web site rather than make my own.

The price was not bad for what we got, and this particular website had good reviews, so we decided to go ahead and plunk some hard earned cash to have this site up and running for the next year or so.

As such, The PIT will suffer for a while, as it has been suffering for the past few years. But it is all for the better I say, for a life alone can not compare with two lives together. (Simple math: 1 < 2.)

I hope you all enjoy the site and can come to celebrate our wedding with us in Hawai'i!

January 09, 2011

Maggie was very unhappy with my initial Save the Date, so I spent a day putting together a new one to send out tonight (and tomorrow, and later as I find peoples' e-mail addresses).

Yes, I was trying to get the stamp effect.

Yes, there was originally no background so the trick I used to make the images look like stamps would normally have worked, but it still turned out okay.

Yes, I did use a template from Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 which showed me the trick for making the images look like stamps.

Yes, we will get the RSVP section up and running.. soon.

January 09, 2011

Since getting engaged last February, I had only looked online and through magazines for wedding dresses.  I finally had the time to go wedding dress shopping for the first time this Saturday and ended up buying my dress! 

To get more physically fit, Jenning and I started boxing on Friday, so I was feeling super sore and not able to carry all the dresses, but I was lucky to have my sister (Jean) come along to help out.  Jean who is in my bridal party, picked out a really beautiful dress for me. 

I think I tried approximately 10 dresses and there was a tie between two dresses, luckily Jean, my friends (Haidee & Viloletta) were also there to help make the decision super easy.  I went in thinking that since it was my first attempt shopping for a dress, I would only be trying dresses out to get a better idea of what looks good & fits well, so I really shocked myself by being able to make a decision so quickly.  Jean said "Maggie, take the dress!  If you regret it, I'll take it".  It was a unique design that looked good, a great deal considering the original cost of the dress, so I didn't want to not take it and regret it later on. 

I learned that Bridal boutiques tend to not provide the names of designers/dress models or allow customers to take pictures of dresses when you are trying them out to prevent/deter potential customers from buying the same dress elsewhere.  The sales assistant who was helping us was nice and let us take pictures of dresses I tried, but I think this was only because I was set on buying the dress.   The pictures weren't the best because of the lighting and some of the ones I took were shaky due to my sore hands.   Since I was in a little bit of a shock, I realized after purchasing the dress, that I forgot to ask the sales assistant for the name/dress model (so that I could search the internet for the original price to see if I got a really good deal).  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to coordinate to have my mom come along for this trip because of transportation, so I wanted to email her and the rest of my sisters/best friend a picture and dress info asap.  Bridal store websites usually provide pictures of the dress, but they don't always include the name of the dress or the price, you usually have to call or provide info to get a quote.  I spent almost 3 hours doing a search and was able to find the designer, dress name and pictures.  Surprisingly, I also learned that there's sort of an online club of brides who have the same dress and was able to get info on the original price.  I was super happy to find out that my dress was a deal.   

Now the hard part for me is to keep this dress as a surprise for Jenning.  I was so tempted to put it on and just strut around the condo yesterday.  I actually can't put the dress on by myself, so this is good because it prevents me from ruining the surprise.  Jean told Jenning to stop me if I am ever tempted to show him the dress.  We had to go to Jenning's parents today to get stamps from Costco before the price goes up by 2 cents on Jan. 17, so I took the dress and asked his mom if I could store it in her house to further prevent me from 'accidentally' showing him the dress. 

347 days until Jenning gets to see me in the dress...

January 10, 2011

I have been spending the past couple of hours entering in addresses for the people that I have contact information for, and I do realize that I only have about a quarter of the addresses that I should have!

Apart from the sheer monotany of this type of data entry, just sitting around all evening was making me really sleepy.

I also did not get a lot of sleep this past weekend..

Okay, I will finish this later.

January 10, 2011

It's been about a week since I started working on this website, and I can see how it can really consume one's time and energy! 

I got the idea for the website from a really helpful destination wedding book given to me by a co-worker.   Originally, I was pretty naive to think that it is super easy to just whip up a webpage, so when I asked Jenning to do it and he gave me a 'are you kidding me? Do you know how much time that will take?' look.  Instead, he found this great website called weddingwindow.com, and I must say that it is a fantastic tool.  The developers seem to have thought of a lot of things and it is super user friendly so far.  I think we can almost plan this whole wedding on the computer and I can return the heavy file buggy I borrowed from my twin.  There are so many resources out there and super creative people sharing really good ideas.  I hope that this website will serve an alternate purpose and provide helpful ideas to those of you who will be planning a wedding/future events.

January 17, 2011

So, the plan was to go to the Ritche sale on Saturday morning to: 1) find a wedding dress for Barbara, and 2) try out bridesmaid dresses.  Instead, our plans got delayed because of mother nature.  Due to the heavy snowfall, it was unsafe for almost everyone to drive to the hotel where the bridal gown sale was being held. 

Instead, Barbara called and woke me up Sunday morning saying that she wanted to just 'check out the Ritche sale for 1 hour, then go snowboarding afterwards'.  Her reasoning was that the Ritche store is very expensive regularly, so how much of a sale could it really be?   I told her, that I didn't think 1 hour would be enough, but sure whatever.  The sale started at 11am, and we got there at 11:15, which was really good cuz we were able to get 2 small change rooms next to one another, which we converted into a much needed larger change room.  About 45 minutes into trying some dresses, Barbara realized that 1 hour was not enough and she called Alan to let him know that she would need more time so he should go snowboarding without her.

I also suggested that we should call our sister Jean as she would be very helpful, but Barbara said she just wanted to go in and out quickly so she didn't want to bother Jean.  About 1.5 hours into trying gowns, my fingers were becoming super raw from zipping and un-zipping dresses, so we called Jean and asked her to taxi it to the hotel.  Jean took about 40 minutes to meet us, and my right hand was super happy when she arrived. 

Barbara was very determined to buy a dress by the end of the day, and we were able to meet this goal.   It turns out that the Ritche sale had more better quality dresses and lower prices than the bridal sale I went to last week, which had more ugly/tacky dresses you would see on those romance novels with Fabio on the cover.  I do have to say that I have no regrets about buying my dress last week, as I really love the dress I got, which was not available at Ritche. 

Since I had a little experience from the bridal sale last week, I learned a few tricks/tips and felt better prepared to help Barbara at the second Bridal gown sale.  If any of you ever have to go to this type of sale, I highly recommend the following:

1)  Bring flip flops to keep your feet clean and also allow you to protect your feet so you don't accidentally step on any needles used to pin dresses

2) Bring an easy to wear pull-over dress so that you don't have to waste time donning/doffing layers of sweater & pants when you have to go back out to the racks to look for more dresses

3) Bring lots of hair clips.  We found it super useful not only to clip up our hair to get a better idea of how our dresses and veils would look, but it was also super helpful with keeping the flimsy change room curtains closed for more privacy

4) Be prepared and wear a strapless bra and flattering under-garments

5) Be open to trying out different styles of dresses, even if you think you have an idea of what you want.   We both ended up liking and looking really good in dresses we would never have originally considered

6) If possible, get two change rooms next to one another and make it into a larger change room.  This is easier if you go to a sale where the staff let you do your own thing, and only help when you ask for it 

7) Be sure to schedule more than 1 hour of your time so you have lots of time to try the dresses!

All in all, I think Barbara may have tried over 50 dresses (10 dresses/hour).  We were there from ~11:15 am-4:30 pm so I lost count.  I only realized at the end of the sale that I did not eat (so I guess another tip is for shoppers to eat before a sale and bring water to stay hydrated).  I am extremely glad that we have both found our wedding gowns!  I seriously don't know how some brides can go to multiple stores trying on hundreds of dresses.  The next item on the To-do list is to search for bride’s maid dresses.

January 25, 2011

Jenning and I have finally contacted our wedding coordinator at the Ritz.  She initially emailed us in November, but because of the holidays we never had time to sit down and think about what we wanted until this week. 

One huge advantage of having a destination weddings is that there are many package options you can select, so you don't have to do the search for vendors which is really hard when you are so far away.  When we first looked into having our wedding in Hawaii, we were advised that we should stick with reputable vendors.  There are stories that during the recession there have some un-trustworthy vendors, who ended up running off with some couple's money.  So to avoid scams and big headaches, we decided to spend a little more to make our lives easier.

On our to-do list is the selection of our wedding flowers.  I have a super sensitive sinus and an unfortunately hyper-sensitive sense of smell.   Since working in a hospital, I learned that I am allergic to lilies which are very fragrant and gives me a really weird and uncomfortable head & eye sensation.   I have to go to a florist, test out which other flowers I may be allergic to and confirm the info with the coordinator.  Today we had a patient send thank-you flowers which had lilies, I mentioned my lilies allergy to a co-worker from South Korea, who informed me that in her country, by law lilies are banned in hosptials and something about how it considered a 'death threat' which I found interesting.  I think most people may not understand how heavy perfume can really bother some people, I have gotten a few headaches just from standing in elevators with super fragrant individuals.  Because of my allergy, I decided to go with the traditonal bouquets & for Jenning to have a matching boutonnniere.   One of the next items is to consult with bridal party and family members  to see if they prefer the traditional boutonnieres/corsages or Hawaiian leis.

One of the key thing we had to select was our photographer.  I  remember getting a link for a wedding photographer before and I saw a picture of a toilet in one of the 'bridal-party getting ready' shots and found it to be super awkward as it should never show up in a wedding album.  After consulting with a few people and looking through the portfolios of the Ritz's 7 preferred photographer's, we were able to narrow it down to 3 choices (yes, we didn't notice any of their portfolios having a toilet in their shots).  It wasn't too hard to choose because we ended up selecting the photographer who took the photos we hope to see ourselves in.  We submitted our selections this week and were actually able to book our 1st choice (I guess early birds really do get the worms).  We are really happy with this because we wanted a photographer who is able to balance the photojournalistic and traditional styles.  We are going to have lots of family members and friends with big and fun personalities celebrating with us, and since the photographer describes his images as spontaneous, fun, real, we think that is how our pictures will turn out.  Check out his websites at:  http://www.scottdrexler.com/  and  http://www.photosonmaui.com/

A huge item on our current to-do list is figuring out our flights and accomdations.  It's a huge task trying to coordinate ~25-30 family members & friends with varying preferences!  A number of family/friend are asking how much it is to go to Hawaii but it's a catch 22 situation because the airlines/hotels need us to provide numbers before they can give us quotes.  It feels like we are going around in circles and making estimates. 

I am really looking forward to the wedding day... 331 days to go!

February 03, 2011

So, Happy Year of the Rabbit everyone!  We have been informed that when it is the year of your animal, one has to be extra careful/cautious because of the higher chances of bad luck. 

Reflecting back on Maggie's year (dog), she was quite lucky because she met Jenning!  We went to spend time with Jenning's mom before she flies out to Shanghai on Saturday, and she informed us that this year the dog is the rabbit's companion animal/good luck charm!  So all he has to do is attach Maggie to a keychain and he'll have good luck all year.  This didn't seem to be a good or practical idea so instead, his mom gave him a jade dog charm-keychain.

February 21, 2011

Jenning already purchased a couple of tuxedos last winter when Syd Sylver, a men's attire  rental company went bankrupt.  The deal was really great, we could purchase a whole suit with the shoes, cufflinks, suspenders, tie etc. included for less than the price of a rental.  Jenning decided to buy 2 suits since the deal was so great.  At that time, we never even thought of Hawaii as an option for our wedding, it seemed like we would have the wedding in Toronto and the tuxedo would be suitable.

Now that we are having a wedding in Hawaii, we are hoping that the tuxedos won't be too hot to wear.  Jenning can get over heated quickly, so we planned it so that our ceremony would be in the early morning when it's supposed to be cooler weather.  We're looking into possibly getting a suit made of lighter fabrics such as linen, but I am wondering if it will get wrinkled too quickly. 

We went to Buffalo, New York to shop since we wanted to take advantage of the Family Day long-weekend and the Canadian dollar being practically at par with the U.S. dollar.  At one of the outlet malls we went to there was a store called 'Tommy Bahamas', which I saw an advertisement for in a bridal magazine.  The ad had a bride and groom, in very destination wedding style attire (i.e. super casual white/khaki outfits).  I was curious to see if they would have any deals on light weight suits that might be good for Jenning to wear, and I was really disappointed with the so-called 'sale'.  Once we walked in, all the racks had super colourful and oversized button-up tropical shirts (i.e. exotic birds, palm tress, flowers imprinted) that seemed super over-priced [$49 and up].  It seemed like it was more catered to retirees who go to hibernate in tropical destinations, not the style of clothes the bridal magazine advertisement tried to sell to a younger clientele.  Anyway, if any of you are ever looking for tropical clothing, this store's got it.  

Jenning still plans on brining his tuxedoes to Hawaii, but just incase it's too hot we need a back up suit.  Since I do not wish for him to get a heat stroke on our wedding day, I will have to keep an eye out for a suit that may be more suitable for warmer climates when the weather turns warmer.

February 22, 2011

Our wedding is literally 10 months away! 

February 25, 2011

We just found out that the Peel district school board has set their winter break to start on the 26th this year. This can pose a problem for those people who want to come to the wedding!

March 03, 2011

So after looking into our options, we have determined that we may have to change the date of the wedding to take into account the new Christmas break schedule that was released a little while ago.

We are still looking at other options so that we can keep our current wedding date, but just to be safe, do not book anything until we get final confirmation on what is going on. Hopefully this will be in the next week or so, as we are now in March and the wedding is less than ten months away! (Delayed or not.)

March 14, 2011

In case any of you didn't read the what's new/welcome page entries, we contacted the Ritz Carlton wedding coordinators today and have officially changed our wedding date to Tuesday, December 27th, 2011. 

These last few weeks have been very slow in terms of wedding planning.  A group of us are still waiting for airlines to quote group rates for flights! According to WestJet, we're still early if you can believe it.  We still haven't heard back from Air Canada.  This makes it frustrating because we can't book our accomodations  (which involves an even larger group, some who have already booked their flights individually).  I am really learning that patience is a virtue. 

I am also crossing my fingers and toes that with the date change, we are still going to the our 1st choice photographer (Scott Drexler).

A few weekends ago, we went shopping in Buffalo, and I helped my mom find a colourful dress for our oceanfront wedding ceremony.  I also found really cute shoes for our nephews (Magnus & Marcus).  Using Marcus' foot as a sample, I took a guess at what size both their feet would be in December and couln't resist buying the shoes because they were so adorable.  I figured if they don't fit the shoes on our wedding day, they can just wear it another time.  During boxing week, I also got really cute bow-ties from Mexx for the little guys.  They will stand out and share the spot light for sure!  I am always keeping my eyes and ears open for ideas and sales, so feel free to share them with us. 

I guess I haven't done much for the wedding lately because of other engagements.  March seems to be the month of showers: I went to Tina's bridal shower on Saturday, Cora's baby shower on Sunday, and Angie's bridal shower is this coming Saturday.  You really get to see people's creative sides shine at these showers.  We made toilet paper bridal gowns, and interestingly I think the winning dress may actually be a design a real bride would wear (see posted picture).

The bridal team is going to start searching for bridesmaid dresses this weekend, I know it won't be made out of toilet paper even if it's called 'Cashmere'!

March 21, 2011

This entry is non-wedding related, but I thought I should post it because I have encountered this a few times in my life and find it 'interesting and frustrating'.  I attended a workshop a couple of weeks ago and ended up sitting next to a fellow Chinese co-worker I just met.  This was our conversation:

Co-worker (CW): Are you Chinese?

Me: Yes 

CW: Do you speak Cantonese?

Me: No

CW: Do you speak Mandarin?

Me: No

CW: But you are Chinese, how come you don't speak Chinese?

Me: I speak Hakka.  Do you speak Hakka?

CW: No

Me: You’re Chinese, why don't you speak Hakka?

CW: No further response   

 I find it interesting the number of times I meet Chinese individuals who seem to think that every Chinese person on earth speaks Mandarin or Cantonese; and if you don’t speak either dialect, then shame on you and/or your parent for not teaching you.  I find it effortful to try to explain to these individuals that there are other Chinese dialects too (I get nods but I don’t think the info really registers).  It gets even more interesting when they find out that I’m from India (then I usually get “So you’re Indian?”).

I know some might say, "You should learn Mandarin/Cantonese!", and I do have an interest and wish to be more fluent one day; but I just think it is ignorant for these individuals to think that you are less or not very Chinese if you don't speak the main dialects.

Have any of you non-Mandarin/Cantonese speaking Chinese people encountered this situation before?

April 08, 2011

Last weekend, the bridal team finally went shopping for bridesmaid dresses.  First we headed out to Sears in Yorkdale because Jean had seen a nice dress on their flyer.  When we got there, we found out that they didn't have the dresses in stock, so the sales associate took my info and said she would call me once it was ordered.

We then headed to David's bridal, which just opened in Canada last month.  Apparently, you need to book an appointment ahead of time so we didn't get to try any dresses out since all the change rooms and associates were busy.  The dresses were definately more expensive than the U.S. stores and website.    We left the store and headed a few doors down to Winners, I didn't think we'd find anything but I was up for some regular shopping.  Similar to when I went for the first time to buy my wedding gown, I didn't expect us to find anything, but surprisingly, we were able to find the bridesmaid dresses there.  Since Jean is a shopaholic, she has a super good eye when it comes to finding good styels/fit etc.  (she was also the one who initially picked my wedding dress).  The best part is that we got all 3 dresses for less than the price of 1 dress at David's bridal.  I vowed to never become a 'Bridezilla' throughout this planning process, and since every bridesmaid was happy with the colour,  styles and looked good in the dresses, I was also super happy that we found the dresses on the first attempt.  I won't reveal the dresess until the wedding, but all I can say is that it is 'tropical and oceaney', very suitable for Hawaii! 

May 17, 2011

We booked our flights and accomodations last weekend, which is a great relief.     We will be working on the rest of the wedding planning and making more updates as plans unravel.

May 27, 2011

√ Accommodations booked

√ Photographer booked

√ Wedding-bands ordered

√ Meet with seamstress and get measured for alterations

June 17, 2011

Maggie and I went downtown to pick up our rings from the goldsmith. We also dragged my mom downtown with us since she had a good rapport with the lady. We had planned to pick up the rings, eat lunch, do a little shopping, and get back to my parents' place by the early afternoon but ended up spending the entire day downtown (much chatting with the goldsmith) and crawled through rush hour to get back uptown.

The rings look nice though.

July 05, 2011

Maggie and I went with Gina and Kendrick to go suit shopping for me last night. The whole ordeal took about forty-five minutes and we were able to find a nice suit and shirt for the wedding!

I probably had the least amount of input, because I had the least amount of style sense in the group. If they thought it looked good, then that was good enough for me.

Mind you, we spent just about as much on the suit as we did on the wedding dress..

Next up: The Invitations!

August 14, 2011

August 16, 2011

August 23, 2011

August 24, 2011

August 29, 2011