Honeymoon on a white sandy beach of...

We booked our honeymoon!!! Imagine us, lounging by the beach, frolicking on a white sandy beach of...Kauai, HI!!!

What? But what happened to our free honeymoon? The one we won at a bridal show??? *Sigh* Cue the violins. It was not meant to be.

When I last mentioned our honeymoon, luck landed in our favor and handed us free accommodations at a resort in St. Thomas. My name was drawn from hundreds of entries at a bridal show and we were thrilled beyond belief. Perhaps I was overly excited about our prize, because I purchased a wedding gown on impulse 20 minutes later. Well, let's just say our luck did a complete 180 by the next morning. Not only did I agonize about my decision over my wedding gown, but we discovered our certificate for a free week in the Caribbean expires one week BEFORE our wedding. Noooo!!!

 First, I called Travel by Horizon, the vendor who sponsored the prize. Initially, their rep assured me that they would be able to extend the expiration date, but I would need to wait for a confirmation. So I waited. And I waited. I made several unanswered calls to their office. I was now being completely ignored. (A call back explaining the situation would have been nice. Seriously, if that's how they treat a customer inquirey, I would never consider booking a trip with them!) So I called the company who issued the certificate, but I was finally told there was nothing they could do for me. We would have to travel by the expiration date.

Moving our wedding date to fit in our honeymoon was not an option since we had already put down our non-refundable deposits for both venues. We simply would not be using the certificate for our honeymoon (I decided to give the prize to my sister, lucky girl!) So there we go, we won a free honeymoon, and then we lost it. Major bummer.

But where would we go on a meager budget? $3,000 was all we set aside for the entire honeymoon. We knew we wanted tropical. We wanted to get away from California. We weren't interested in Mexico, or a cruise. We wanted a place where we could fully immerse ourselves in our surroundings. We also wanted a place with a kitchen. Not only is it romantic to make dinner and eat a quiet meal together, it saves us so much money!

Then my FSIL who works at a travel agency offered help us find a deal. Bless her soul, she found us a great deal: 6 days 5 nights at a beachfront condominium in Kauai!

Kauai is an island both of us have yet to go and it was actually our first choice, but with crazy rates on airfare, we thought it was beyond our price range. With my FSIL's help, we booked our package through Costco, and with accommodations, airfare and rental car, we paid $2200 for the both of us! Sweet!

I am so excited for this trip! Sure, St. Thomas would have been nice (free is always nice!) but really, Hawaii is where we have our hearts set on. We have a soft spot for Hawaii- with its tropical surroundings, great food and Asian and Polynesian cultural influences, we feel right at home! Our wedding theme is a mixture of our cultural backgrounds--Filipino, Chinese and Samoan and Hawaii encompasses all of those multicultural aspects.We love Hawaii so much, the tune playing in the background of our Web site is the Hawaiian song "White Sandy Beach of Hawaii." So, hello!!! Makes perfect sense to head there for our honeymoon! Anyone out there wanna tell me where they're headed for their honeymoon? How did you go about finding yourself a great deal?

PS. Don't fall for promotional gimmicks offering you a free honeymoon if you buy their products. If it sounds too good to be true, it is...unless, of course, you really want to buy expensive knives...

Ask and you shall receive

I had been really worried about our reception timeline for awhile. When we booked our ceremony and reception venues, the only things we asked ourselves were: Love the place? Check. Fit our budget? Check. Available on our proposed wedding date?  Check. We were good to go. The thing is, our church schedules morning weddings at 11 a.m. Our reception venue is booked from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. What we didn't realize was that an 11 a.m. ceremony would cut our reception to about three and a half hours. A very cramped three and half hours. Our ceremony will last at least 30 minutes, and with 1 hour of portraits and photos, and about 10 minutes of travel time, lunch won't get started until close to 1 p.m.  I figured we would be tossing dishes in front of our guests and as soon as they take their first bite, we'd be moving right into dessert. Bouquet toss? Forget about it. Speeches? Say "Thanks and good luck," Dad, and move right along. Seriously, I never knew that one lost hour would cost us so much.

So what to do? We already put down our deposits for both venues. Any way we can borrow time? Our reception venue told us extending our time slot was not an option. Great. My fiance thought it was a lost cause. We would just have to live with a very casual reception. I can live with casual, but darn it...we would barely have time to eat with that time frame, let alone dance. Would we even get through a song?

So, I thought I'd try and talk to our priest to see if starting our ceremony earlier would be an option. I thought it would be a long shot...perhaps they would have events already lined up for the day. If it wasn't possible, it would be ok. We had already resigned ourselves to a bare-boned, lunch-only-and-that's-it reception.

When I called our priest and sheepishly asked to move our ceremony earlier, say 10 a.m., he was more than willing. Not a problem, he said, that actually works out better for us. Perfect! It's an early ceremony (yeah, I'd like to see my punctually-challenged relatives be on time for that!), but hey, it gives us more time to really enjoy the day! We don't have to rush the ceremony or reception. Now we can listen to their embarrassing speeches! 

Vendor Spotlight: Richelle Dante

I’m very excited to share with you my first Q&A feature on this blog. I started this blog merely as a personal journal for my own amusement, but as I discover talented people throughout the wedding blogosphere, I decided, shoot, why not give them their props? My first feature comes from the very talented Orange County photographer Richelle Dante. You might recognize her name and work from the ultra fab Broke Ass Bride. Richelle offers some great advice for couples out there from a photographer’s viewpoint. Her price range is $2000-$4500, although she does offer the opportunity to tailor her packages to work within a couple’s budget.

Without further delay, meet Richelle!

How did you get involved in photography?

I've always had a love for photography and when my church offered a photography class, I jumped at the opportunity. It was taught by Dane Sanders, Jessica Claire and Mike Colon. At the time I had no idea they were some of the top photographers in the wedding industry but I did know I wanted my photos to have the same quality. I am based in Orange County but travel to LA and San Diego for many weddings and shoots.

When did you start shooting weddings?

Last year was my first wedding season and I absolutely loved every minute of it!

What is your photography style?

I love to feel like I am a fly on the wall capturing real moments. I would say my style is definitely more of a photo journalistic style.

What would you say would be the most interesting wedding you ever shot? What was it that made it so good?

My first wedding was a very cool wedding. They were on a tight budget but the wedding was so them. They had a friend with a home in the Hollywood hills that offered their beautiful backyard. Since they met in elementary school they had kind of a shabby chic school theme to the day. They were the sweetest couple and so in love that my second shooter at the end of the night said, "they make me believe in true love." Besides riding a tandem bike during their formal shots, my favorite moment was when the wedding party jumped in the pool. The bride jumped in with her dress on... it was awesome!

As a wedding photographer, what are the components you look for that make a great wedding shoot?

The biggest technical component is light! The best light is right before sunset. That is when you can get the beautiful back lit shots! Other than that, I think having a relaxed bride and a fun wedding party make the event much more fun!

What advice would you give to couples out there as they pick their photographer?

Definitely meet with your photographer in person or at least talk on the phone. I think the most important thing is that you’re comfortable with your photographer. They will be there pretty much every moment of your day so if you can't be yourself around them, you will have a bunch of awkward photos. Trust is also important. The last thing you would want to worry about on your wedding day is if the photographer is getting the shot. If you really click with someone but their prices don't quite fit in your budget, you might want to consider shifting things around. Remember that the photos last forever and you want to be able to enjoy them!

All images by Richelle Dante

Finally! Our Save the Dates!

I'm kind of shy about sharing these with you. As I said before, I'm no Martha Stewart. I'm a wannabe crafter. I'm the kind of person with more ambition than actual talent, the A for effort kind of gal. Our STD's are not the blog-chic STDs that will make every bride mad with envy, the kinds that I've been gushing over lately. They're simple, and that's what I love about them, I'm also kind of shy about showing my face. My friend designed our STDs using shots from our engagement shoot, and if I want to share these with you, I'll have to let you in on a peek at our funny mugs.

But I love our STD's because they're uniquely ours. C'mon, nothing says "uniquely yours" than your own faces! My friend did a great job designing them and I'm thrilled to finally send out our first official piece of our wedding to our loved ones. This is really it. This wedding is really happening! The fiance and I will be married...soon! I actually started tearing up as I wrote out the addresses.

And I love that I had some part in the crafting process, even if that part screams novice to some folks. It was fun. Embossing is my new obsession.

So without further delay and stalling here they are, step by step to the finished product!

Materials for my DIY envelopes. I made liners out of scrapbooking paper and embossed a stamp image using embossing powder, ink and an embossing gun. My friend threw in a box of 4X6 envelopes along with the design. Awww!

 

Stamping and covering the image with purple embossing powder. Tip: Using a small paintbrush to brush off the stray flakes really helped create a cleaner image.

The embossed image up close

Of course, postage will be added.

Adhesive seals from Michaels

Sorry, about the unattractive redaction. Well, at least you can see how we look like...sort of.

The backside of our card.

While the cards, envelopes and address label were free, I did purchase the materials for the embossing, liners and stickers. Using coupons from Michaels, everything came out to $30 for 50+ envelopes. I'll also reuse some of these materials for our DIY invitations.

STD's...they're infectious

We thought we weren't going to send out Save the Dates. It just seemed like they were an added expense we didn't need since most of our guests were local. But when you see STD's like these, it's catching (I'm sorry, just had to throw that pun in there). And it's hard to wait until three months before the wedding to share the good news! You want a cute official announcement of your exciting day, and sorry, newspapers aren't cutting it anymore. (Although I still read the paper, I hardly know anyone that actually subscribes to them anymore!)

It's just ridiculous how creative people are getting w/ their STD's. I saw this cute, budget-friendly and paperless STD, and I got envious. I just can't copy this. This is just too cute and unique to even try.

So why STD's? Yes, they're a recent trend in the wedding world and yeah, I thought they were just a frivolous expense. Someone told us that our STD's were a waste of money and since we're on a tight budget and we're having a local wedding, we shouldn't even bother. Well, luckily for us, our STD's were free. A friend of ours designed them and the folks at work printed them as kind of a wedding gift. Even if they weren't free, I would have probably thought of sending some out at some point. We are having a summer wedding, people have busy lives and tend to plan out their summer vacations in advance. I know my trips are usually planned out at least six months ahead of time. Friends are even starting to ask us when the big day is so they can work their summer plans around it. STD's can be a great courtesy heads up for the guests you really would like to attend your wedding.

Giveaways Part II

Who doesn't love free stuff? Check out more chances to win!

The Giveaway Diva is giving away a gorgeous clutch valued at $75! Be sure to check out Clutch That on etsy!

Check out more giveaways from her site:
Handmade Pink Pearl Earrings Giveaway from shopbyhand.com

Also: Win a Kodak digital frame at sahmreviews.com

Giveaways! Part 1

There's a huge load of giveaways happening in the blogosphere, and I highly suggest you try your luck! I know I am! First up, the Bon Bon Rose Girls' Five Day Giveaway! Win a handful of cool prizes, like etsy jewelry, gift certificates and more! Perfect for those Bridesmaids gifts! Good Luck!

From Bon Bon Rose