Real Wedding: Flights of Fancy

*Sigh* Oh, how I try not to be so envious. But it's hard after seeing weddings like this -- Brian and Ngoc in Nebraska. It's a wedding that seems to have it all -- style, class, creativity, gorgeous details, incorporation of culture and, well, love. The bride's not wearing all white, but she's looking too cute with that baby blue bolero! Who needs conventionality when you're looking this hot?

Ngoc's whole ensemble is beautiful, but daaayum, those Badgley Mischka shoes and her baby blue bolero...perfect!

I love the "Bird/Asian" theme goes seemlessly together with the soft blue and green color schene. Perfect! The lanterns and the origami paper cranes are a very nice touch.

All photos by Ling Photography

Wedding photo of the Day

This was one of those photos where I literally stopped, stared and thought, "how fricken clever!" As a wannabe photographer without any real training or equipment to speak of, I was jealous I never thought of that angle/shot/idea before. But I would put the page to Song of Songs -- I think the most romantic and sensual (yes, sensual) book in the Bible. Beautiful!

From Burns Wedding Photography

Our bridesmaid bouquet

After our trip to the LA flower mart, I'm thinking our selection of bridemaid bouquets can be expanded beyond carnations. I still think they're cute and very budget-friendly, but I'm liking this bouquet:

Cute, unique and fits our color scheme of purple/plum/gold very well. I know that roses come in the cheap at the LA flower mart but don't know how much the orchids will cost me. I'll do another DIY trial with these flowers, so stay tuned!

It's...just...cake

So we're cutting back on a few things, but cake is not one of them. Although it may look like we are from the looks of our single-tier 10 inch round wedding cake we ordered. No, everyone is getting cake -- a pretty good-sized portion and mighty delicious. But it ain't coming from the cake the fiance and I are cutting. That's just for show cuz, well, we're dropping $45 just so we can have a mound of flour and sugar to cut into. Our restaurant offers a dessert option meaning everyone will already have chocolate mousse cake with their meal.

mmmmm

But you might recall my moment of insecurity when the future in-laws griped at our decision to order a tiny cake, the cake they coined "Mickey Mouse." Never mind that everyone will be served cake. Never mind that dessert is already added to our catering expense. According to our in-laws, we must have the tall, gigantic wedding cake for the photos and for display. Who cares that no one will have room to eat it. Who cares that it will cost us another $300 (at least). They even offered to pay for it. Now some folks won't mind the offer and gladly accept. But I would rather put that extra cash somewhere else. It just seems such a waste for a prop.

But it will be so embarrassing. Who wants to look at that tiny little cake? You don't want a mediocre wedding!

Yes, those were their words. Mediocre? But...it's...just...CAKE!

As a foodie, I love cake. I love anything that will satisfy my obsessive sweet tooth. But I think our chocolate mousse cake will be far better than any three-tier confection we can afford to buy. I don't feel like purchasing a huge cake just because, OMG, what will people say???

So I think our 10-incher will suffice. It's from Ninong's Pastries in Granada Hills, a Filipino bakery that also serves some yummy Filipino-style breakfast (ahhh, longanisa and eggs!). We had a cake tasting at their shop and even though we thought chocolate was the winner, we went with vanilla. It will be a nice contrast to the Chocolate Mousse cake we're serving to everyone.

So, it will be a vanilla and buttercream cake, and they even offered to add strawberries to the filling for free. It serves about 30-40 people and we figure the wedding party can have dibs on it if they chose to eat it. With a bridal expo coupon, we purchased the cake for about $42.

Can a single tier wedding cake look classy? I figure we'll place it atop a tall cake stand. Our baker will wrap the base with a ribbon. We'll also top it with some fresh flowers.

Here are some inspirational photos to make me believe that yes, it can be done!

Here's something closer to our color scheme. I like the pearls and swags.

I like the simplicity. Don't think we'll be going with the bride and groom cake topper. It seems a little dated to me.

Pretty. Simple.

Oh, but how are we going to decorate the cake table with such an itty bitty cake? I thought I'd place some flowers at the base, like below. Champagne glasses...no...maybe some candles.

So, am I just being delusional, blinded by my need to cut corners? Or can this really work?

Say yes to videography

OK, we give in! We want videography. Or at least some sort of video at our wedding. But let me assure you, photography is our main concern. We would gladly skip video for photos we're proud of. So, why reconsider video when we're on a tight budget? Well...our photographers do videography as well, and while a full 40-minute video of the wedding day might still be out of our budget, they offered to shoot key highlights for free! Well, we do have to pay a $250 editing fee. Still, the entire photography/videography package keeps us within our under-$1000-photography budget. The video will look something like this, but a little longer:


Video from Bliss Imagery

After watching this clip, I feel like I was actually there! In the end, we figured, it is our wedding day. A video isn't something we'll watch every day, and sure, it'll likely collect dust in our collection, but it's one other way to preserve and relive memories. Unlike photography, video captures the movement of those memories. Maybe, once in awhile, we will watch the video, and we'll remember what it was like as I walked down the aisle with my father, or our first kiss as husband and wife, or how much fun everyone had. In the future, any ways you preserved those moments and memories will be things you were glad you did.

Purple Wedding Shoes

Part of the wedding planning syndrome is that you're prone to giving in to certain trends you never would have thought of before... had you not become addicted to Style Me Pretty or Snippet and Ink. No, I've never desired mustaches on a stick, the time warp vintage wedding, or macaroons (I've never even had a macaroon in my life!),  But I do desire a pair of plum color, peep toe heels as such:

I know I'm a bride, and I must wear all white and all, but c'mon! You gotta have a little splash of color, even if no one will even notice it! So I'm on a look out for these plum colored hotties. I found these available kicks on the web,

like these very hot, but very expensive ruffled "Salsa" sandals from Nordstroms:

at $154, it's almost as much as my wedding gown! But it doesn't stop me from coveting!

Then there are these selections:

Nina Kora for $76 at Lori's Shoes

This came off of the British site, Footwear Studio, for 22 pounds (that's double the US dollar!)

Here's another nice, and very affordable pair also at Nordstrom's.

I shouldn't really spend too much on my shoes, but...my eyes keep wandering back to the "Salsa" pair. Now those are hot!

Calling all DIY Brides: Head to the LA Flower Mart!

If you're seriously considering DIYing any flower projects for your wedding, I highly suggest...no, I insist you head over to the LA Flower Mart! Folks, this is where most of So Cal floral vendors get their flowers, and if you want to cut out the middle man, here's the spot.

 The LA Flower Mart offers tons of flowers at wholesale prices. I just about died thinking of all the floral possiblities I can do for much less than I would have paid a florist. $40 for a bridesmaid's rose bouquet? Psssh! How about for one for about $10?

A 40-count of roses is just $8!

Or a carnation bouquet for less than $5?

 

Mix n' match flowers, because they have just about every flower in season (and some not in season!)

 

I have never seen roses this shocking blue until I came here!

A bundle of Asian lillies for about $9 each

They have bamboo by the bundle:

 

and the elusive Manzanita branch for $7 each!

There also tons of accessories and supplies you'll need for centerpieces such as vases, candles, ribbon and even sea shells!

And we found our potted orchids! We found some for about $6-$9 each, but as we compared orchids from all the different vendors, we noticed some looked healthier and prettier than others. The ones that looked centerpiece-ready were about $15-$20 each. Still not bad considering some stores will charge you $40 for each!

 The flower mart is open to the public for a few hours each day, so you might want to check their hours on their website. It costs $2 a person for those who aren't badge members (which costs $50 a year). But the $2 general admission is worth it! The place is huge, so you want to get there early for the headstart and the fresh dibs on the selections. Also, prices and quality will differ between vendors, so keep looking. I would suggest making multiple visits so you can keep note of the prices and selection. Also, keep in mind that prices and selection differ between seasons.

And...since you're in the LA area and you might be hungry after all that flower shopping, grab a bacon dog!

Total artery-clogging goodness--it's what LA's all about!