Asian SF Weddings

Wedding Gown: Should I go 'all-in'?

2008-06-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

It is surprising that I have not written an article on wedding gown. Should a bride go 'all-in' for a wedding gown? My answer has always been '100% yes' until recently. It's been 4 years since my wedding and I have been regretting that I did not spend more to pick an even nicer dress since then. (For your reference, I spent $2500 on a Justina McCaffrey dress.) Now, my husband and I start to have a hard time remembering our wedding anniversary, and this is the time when I realize I could have done a lot with that $2500.

I am not saying you should buy a cheap dress. NEVER buy a cheap wedding gown, as you will look cheap real-time and on your photos! I am saying there can be ways to buy a premiere designer gown with less.

One store I like which sells discounted bridal couture:

Glamour Closet in San Francisco, where you can get excellent labels for less. The nice thing is no appointment is required. This is what I called the 'win-win' situation - wear a nice gown on your wedding, while saving the money to do other things that are valuable in your life.

Makeup & Hair: a few personal recommendations

2007-09-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

This may be my biased opinion -- invest in a good makeup & hair artist! As mentioned in my previous article Wedding Makeup, it is exceptionally difficult to find a good makeup & hair artist in the bay area. Regardless of how good the photographer and how nice the venue is, these are all useless if you do not look good on the wedding day.

Below are a few personal recommendations:

Evan Huang (styleevan@yahoo.com): Evan helped on my own wedding; and after that, 5+ friends also hired him for theirs. I think he is the best full-service makeup and hair artist whom you can find in California. He is super skilled and fun. I would recommend him to all my friends. You need to book him really early since he travels around the world to work on fashion shows, etc.

Jessie Wang (weddingbyjessie@yahoo.com): I have seen Jessie's work in 2 weddings, and the brides looked stunning! Jessie does a superb job!

Hair & Makeup by Masami: Masami is a rare Japanese hair and makeup artist serving weddings in the Bay Area. Japan has always been well-known for its clean and elegant hair and makeup styles. It is definitely worthy to make a trial appointment with her.

Christine Makeup & Hair Design: Another decent Asian makeup and hair artist serving Bay Area weddings.

Other popular choices:

Professional Makeup Artistry: Maria is a well-known and popular makeup and hair artist in the Bay Area. You can't go wrong to hire her.

Taylor Pham: Taylor is an Asian makeup guru in the high end.

Makeupnv by Nam Vo: Nam is another Asian makeup guru in the high end.

Photographer: a few personal reccomendations

2007-09-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Photography is an item you cannot save too much on. Couples easily spend $4000+ for whole day coverage, I think it worths the money. Below are a few recommendation on photographers:

Jay Kelly photography: Jay is a hidden treasure. He does not get himself advertised on any of the popular wedding sites, and he is already fully booked with clients via referrals. Jay's shots are fun and unique, and he is very nice and easy to work with.

Jade Studio Production: Philippe helped at my own wedding, and I highly recommend him due to his professionalism, skills, and pleasant personality. Philippe also helped on 2 other close friends' weddings, and the pictures turned out to be all awesome.

Photomomento: Michelle is a fun and talented young artist. Her work is beautiful and candid.

Videographer: a personal recommendation

2007-09-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

Videography is not as insignificant as most people think. You will be surprised how often you will be watching the video even long after your wedding. If you have a tight budget, hire someone to shoot and and deliver the raw tapes. Asking a friend to do it may not be a good idea, as the friend will unlikely to be able to enjoy the wedding. Below is a personal recommendation:

TruVision Media: Albert and Eric helped on my wedding. They are very 'quick-actioned', and uses really nice and unique shooting angles. Their post-production DVD was delivered within 2 weeks after the wedding, and quality was very good - simple and elegant!

Florists: a few personal recommendations

2007-09-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Is floral arrangement a potential area to cut budget on? Hard to tell. You don't want to be holding a cheap looking bouquet on your wedding day; at the same time, it may not make sense to pay a fortunate to fill your ceremony hall with exotic flowers.

How would I save money? My suggestion is , at the minimum, you need to hire a florist for your personal flowers. Fortunately, most of the time, only minimal floral decoration of the venue is required. Less is more. Altar and aisle are usually the places you want to spend some money on decorating. Again, hire a professional! It is too risky to DIY in those highly visible areas. On the other hand, it is totally feasible and fun to make the banquet table centerpieces yourself! A typical Asian wedding can easily involve 10+ banquet tables. A LOT of money will be saved if you DIY. You just need to buy simple glass holders and flowers from Costco, and prepare the centerpieces the night before. At the end of day, you can even ask your guests to take the centerpieces home if they like.

Below are a few florists in the Bay Area whom my friends and I recommend:

1. Mints Workshop: Canna and her team is very creative and is great at bringing uniqueness to floral arrangements. Though their price range is not on the low end side, their work is awesome. I personally saw one of her arch designs at a friend's wedding, and I was stunned.

2. Huong Pham (4150.668.9215): Huong creates floral arrangements out of her own home. She is phenomenal at her job and can re-create any arrangement from a photo you provide. She offers suggestions on what works well together and has pictures you can choose from if you don't have something in mind. My friend brought a photo of a bouquet from a Martha Stewart magazine and she was able to create it exactly as it appeared in the picture. Some friends even said her bouquet arrangement looked better than the photo. She also charges reasonable prices.

3. Le Bouquetier: Jacklyn helped on a friend's wedding. Her flowers were one of the most beautiful among the work of all the vendors that I have seen so far. Her style was simple, clean, and contemporary.

Transportation planning: More than just the Rolls Royce

2007-09-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

When it comes to transportation planning for your wedding, probably the first question that comes to mind would be "Should we get a Rolls Royce which holds just the two of us, or a stretched limo so that we can enjoy the ride with the bridal party?" Indeed, transportation planning can be much more than this. Asian weddings can be more like our parents' shows; i.e. making relatives happy is way more important than everything else. I have met brides who rented tour buses FULL DAY to transport relatives and guests between hotels and venues, and the family and friends were thrilled to be served!

Missing out the transportation arrangement for relatives was the biggest regret I had for my own wedding. Though the bus rental cost can be daunting, I really think it worths every penny. If you haven't, make a good transportation plan for your beloved relatives and friends.

Wedding Makeup

2007-09-08T22:27:00.004-07:00

I often hear from Asian brides-to-be that it is very challenging finding a good makeup artist specializing in Asian makeup in Bay Area. It is interesting that western-style makeup gives the Asian brides a more 'mature' and elegant look; while asian-style makeup gives them a more natural and 'cute' look. I observed that western-style makeup in general uses heavier eye shadow and darker lip color, and focuses on highlighting Asian brides' facial features; while modern asian-style makeup uses light-color and illuminating foundation and blush, lip gloss, and 'non-traditional' eyeshadow colors. I suggest, so do many married Asian women, Asian brides to have an asian-style makeup. However, your groom-to-be may have a different opinion, especially if he is a non-Asian. After all, your wedding makeup is 50% for the groom, 30% for yourself, and 20% for your guests. Make a good judgment!

Alternative guest book

2007-09-08T22:27:00.003-07:00

Imagining your guests have signed wedding guest books countless times, would you like to lighten up the guests with an alternative guest book? I have seen a couple renting a mobile photo booth and placing it at the reception site entrance. The guests were excited lining up at the booth to take their best shots! After having a final finishing touch to the pictures with their words of blessing, they sticked their work of art on the guest book in any creative way. The guests love it; and you laugh when you read the guest book. Why not?

Dance like a pro?

2007-09-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Many to-be-weds want to look like pros in their first dance. If they are already dance pros, this is effortless and fun. I have also seen others who did not know ballroom dancing, but gave themselves an action item to take dance lessons, hoping that they would dance elegantly in front of friends and families. On the contrary, the guests often struggled together with the couple as they tried to remember their dance steps under stress. Why not just be yourselves and be spontaneous? Create your own dance steps, enjoy your first dance, and make your guests smile!

Wedding Planning 101: Delegate. Do not micro-manage!

2007-09-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

Planning your own wedding is like being the CEO in your own wedding organization. Almost all leadership classes and books cover the topic of delegation; your wedding is not an exception. Learn to delegate! One of my favorite old sayings - "Don't hire someone you distrust, and trust the ones you hire." Regardless of whether they are vendors you hired or friends helping out, clearly communicate the objectives and schedule, and clearly describe their roles and tasks. Then, trust that they will deliver, have a good sleep the night before, and enjoy your wedding day!

Do vendors have to pass your Personality Test?

2007-09-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Who does a bride see the most on her wedding day? Hint: Not the groom.

#2 Makeup/Hair artist - A bride wakes up in the morning and devotes at least two hours, one-on-one, with her makeup/hair artist. Those two hours are important because it determines not only how good the bride looks, but also the bride's mood for the entire day. Finding a cheerful makeup/hair artist can make you relax and truly enjoy the rest of your day!

#1 Photographer - Even the most candid 'invisible' photographer needs to communicate with you often throughout the day. A professional photographer normally ensures one crew member to be with the bride the whole time (perhaps only except bathroom breaks) capturing every moment. This means he or she will be in your vicinity all the time!! Now, do you agree that it is important to find a photographer with the personality that makes you feel comfortable, in additional to skills?

Timeline for forming your Wedding Crew

2007-09-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

To me, as well as to many Chinese brides, the biggest piece of wedding planning in Bay Area is bringing together a team of vendors, who have the best balance of quality, style, personality, and price. Know what you need and define a timeline to help yourself.

Prerequisite: Know what you need through process of elimination.
You can easily find 20+ vendor/resource categories on a random wedding website these days. Don't worry! This doesn't mean you need them all. Cross out the ones that are not a must! Remember, there are always things that do not fit your wedding style, there are things that you can do it yourself, and the time and effort are proportional to the number of vendors in your dream team. Know what you need.

Define a timeline and know when to find them.
Here is an order that I find very effective and very common for Asian weddings.

Time 1. Ceremony and reception site(s):
Sites got to be the first decision to make. This helps you visualize and establish your wedding theme and style. It is an essential step to help you make other vendor choices.

Time 2. Photographer:
A good photographer will give you plenty of valuable advices because they have seen so many weddings in your local area.

Time 3. Bridal gown:
My favorite step in wedding planning. Brides-to-be easily get overwhelmed during wedding planning, and they deserve some goodies which make them feel good in order to keep them going! To girls, what feels better than seeing themselves at the mirror wearing the prettiest outfit of all times - wedding gown? Trust me, this is effective!

Time 4. Makeup + hair:
Most brides-to-be underweight this category. Start finding makeup/hair artist early, and do not cut budget on this! All girls want to look perfect on their wedding date; however, they all have very subjective taste on makeup and hair. It is not easy to find your best fit. Ask for portfolios, have trial sessions, and compare!

Time 5. Officiant, flower + decor, videographer:
I would have to say there are 'less stressful' items. A tip - it may be tempting to skip videography, but don't! At least ask your friends or hire someone to shoot and get the raw tapes. You will regret if the merriest moment in your life is not captured.

Time 6. Tuxedo + formalwear, bridesmaid dresses:
Hate to admit, bridesmaid dress selection can take much longer then finding a tuxedo for the groom. Another tip - do not let the bridesmaid pick. If possible, pick the dresses for your bridesmaids to save time getting your bridesmaids into consensus.

Time 7. Invitation, cake, music + entertainment:
Cake selection is another favorite step of mine. It is like having dessert in a private room! Sweet.

Time 8: Favors, transportation:
Relatively easy. Whew!

Time 9: Honeymoon:
You are almost there!! It's time to step away from the stress, and daydream about you and the person you love in your favorite location. This is another energy boost you need as it gets closer to the wedding day!!