Weddingbee

Way, way back, I mean like a year ago way back, I unexpectedly stumbled across a pair of shoes whilst looking for wedding inspiration. They were a lovely pair of d’orsay pumps in a gorgeous, dusty pale pink. Even though they were posed and fuzzy in the background of the picture, I was in love.

‘You should buy these,’ said my impulsive self. ‘Go ahead, get it out of the way.’

‘Wait a minute there, girly,’ chimed in the more rational side. ‘The wedding is over a year away. You haven’t even looked for a dress. You don’t know what other shoes might be out there. Wait a month or two. Look around. If you still love them, then buy them.’

In Paris they say you should dress from the shoes up and I wish that I had heard that adage before a few nights ago because what did I do? I waited. I looked. And I saw nothing that inspired the same warm fuzzies as these shoes. Unfortunately by this time, InStyle weddings had featured them in their magazine and inspired warm fuzzies in many brides. It was too late. My shoes were sold out.
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Today I am not feeling so great. I’m achy and my throat hurts and I feel a little bit out of it. I am always very aware of my throat because, in addition to being a singer, I also have chronic strep throat. The first term of my sophomore year in college I came down with a really hideous case of strep throat. Ever since then the pesky illness has made an unwelcome appearance at least twice a year and usually whenever I am the most stressed out. The week before my sister’s wedding, where I was a bridesmaid AND the soloist, it payed me a visit. I had a fever of 104 and couldn’t speak for the few days before the ceremony. Thankfully I made a rather miraculously recovery for the day of and was able to pull off all my duties, but the high fever coupled with the 10 or so pounds I lost left me pretty weak. I made it through the reception, but crashed at the after party my parents threw at their house.

Since then I’ve become hyper aware ANY time my throat even begins to twitch and I now know the other little symptoms that usually accompany a possibly severe case as well. The day before our elopement in Japan I woke to some uh oh signs and I immediately began the hunt for Vitamin C and lots of it. I discovered this little guy at the corner store…
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A couple from our Marriage Preparation class last fall were married this past December in Manila Bay, The Philippines. Mr. Donut and I had lunch with the happy couple this past Sunday and got to see pictures of their beautiful wedding. We were instantly in awe of her very unique cake - a gorgeous 5 layer pillow design from The Cake Artist Judy Uson in Manila.

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Mmmm, cake. I have to say that I have a serious soft spot for really good wedding cake. Sadly, there has not been nor shall there be a cake tasting for us. We’ve had to go on reputation and word of mouth to find our cake baker and the fabulous Edna of Edna’s Cake Creations and Confections comes highly recommended. Our wedding cake will be a simple 3 or 4 tiers based on these designs:

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Mr. Donut and I have been deciding on rings this week or, to be more accurate, HE has been trying to decided on a ring. I know what I want:

The 3mm platinum Lucida band from Tiffany & Co.

I love that it’s simple and traditional and engravable. In a perfect world where settings didn’t become loose and stones didn’t fall out and I am a size 2 forever, I might have gone with something more sparkly. OK, maybe not, but I would like to add an anniversary band one day. This one would do.

3mm diamond and platinum band from Tiffany & Co.

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{Stacie Tamaki Cranes}

Since the first knot we tied was in Japan during the cherry blossom festival, we’re incorporating some elements of that day into our celebration. I have to admit, my first vision was way overboard. While Mr. Donut and I enjoyed our time in Japan and think we have a really cool story to tell the grandkids, the way the planning was going really wasn’t very reflective of who we are as individuals or as a couple. We are keeping a few elements, though, one of them being 1,001 origami cranes.
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I knew pretty much from the beginning that shopping for a dress was gonna be tricky for me. After all, a bride needs that person or that group of people who will tell her, straight up, that that dress she loves so much in the magazine “just looks, well, horrible on you.” I wasn’t going to have that. All of my people were on another continent. I’d send my mom and my sister pictures of dresses I liked and in return I would receive a noncommittal “It’s pretty, but I’d have to see it on you.” Good point. I needed to get up close and personal with these dresses. I needed to try them on. But try googling Monique Lhuillier and you’ll discover that she isn’t sold here in Singapore.

Melissa Sweet? Nope.

Amsale? Christos? Lazaro? Oscar? Nada.

What about Vera? Someone’s got to be selling Vera. OK, there is one shop here that sells Vera and Reem Arca, and I think one more that sells Jim Hjelm. Other than that, Singapore doesn’t have a single shop that sells any of the designers found on The Knot. Tricky was becoming trickier. What was a bride in Singapore to do?

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Look what arrived today, all the way from the U.S. of A.!

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This time last year I knew two things. First, that we were moving to Singapore. Second, we were getting married. Our first concern was the when and the where. Once that had been determined, it was time to get down to business and start on the details. Of course, like any giddy, brand new bride-to-be the first detail that came to mind was The Dress. Since we were still in Mongolia with nary a bridal salon in sight, I turned to the ever trusty Internet to do some virtual dress shopping.

My first stop was The Knot. I think every bride knows what an invaluable tool The Knot is and I am no exception. I pored over countless dresses, popping over to designers’ websites if I really liked their work, then hitting google for more eye candy if I really, really liked a specific style. This lead to the discovery of sites such as Preowned Wedding Dresses (.com), Your Dream Dress, and Scarlett’s Closet. These sites carry preowned or sample dresses and they provide one very important piece of information I can’t seem to find anywhere else - they list the original price for each gown. If, after all the research, I still wanted to “try it on”, I’d save it in a special file simply titled “The Bride”. Here are just a few of my favorites:

from Scarlett’s Closet

{Christos gown}

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In true Southern style, Mama and Papa Donut are hosting our wedding and reception. Out of a sense of fairness, they offered me the same deal they offered my Sister Donut when she got married in 2001. They would pay X amount of money and then we would be responsible for anything over that amount. OK, cool. I know how lucky I am to have parents who are willing and able to help foot the wedding bill. So with parental blessings and a number in mind, we began planning our day.

One of the very first things Mr. Donut and I worked on together was our guest list. We have a certain kind of day in mind. We want to treat our guests to a really special weekend with lots of good food and drink, and plenty of things to see and do. Given that we have a pretty set budget, this means that the smaller the party, the more the trimmings, which is great, since we want to spend our day with a few people who are truly special to us, not a bunch of people neither of us know. So, we set some rules for ourselves:

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