I liked this post because I learned so much about Chinese traditions through the Chinese cookie party tradition. Weddings are as much about joining families as they are about the couple. Respecting and honoring traditions of the past, no matter how strange they may seem to us today, is a way to honor our families, too.
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I wouldn’t consider myself traditionally Chinese in the cultural sense. My Cantonese is at the same level of a three-year-old and my family doesn’t really celebrate any of the Chinese holidays, the Lunar New Year included. But when it came to my wedding, my mom insisted on going through the whole shebang of Cantonese wedding traditions.
This weekend, my family threw me what Cantonese people call a “cookie party.” The tradition goes something like this:
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… Minutes, that is, since we’ve been married. 
What’s changed in the last two years?
1. We bought our first home! Thanks to Obama and Schwarzenegger, we were able to take advantage of some first time home buyer tax credits to purchase a 2BR/2BA condo in downtown SF. Nevermind that we are too broke to furnish it. Ignore our ghetto “drapes”, i.e. the faded bed sheet we attached to our window with painter’s tape. We have double sinks! Do you know what that means? I can ignore the nasty, hairy shaver “sand” around Mr. Eggplant’s sink! And I’m finally near public transportation so I have an excuse to leave work early; “Sorry guys, gotta go catch my ferry!”
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Letterpress for the home crafter? Could it be?
Since planning my wedding, I’ve become a HUGE fan of letterpress stationery. Letterpress note cards, greeting cards, and business cards–I love them all! I realllly want to purchase an antique letterpress machine, but Mr. Eggplant axes the idea because my craft room is already packed to the brim with stamps, die cut machines, and paper. Plus, letterpress machines and replacement parts are often hard to find and expensive, and the learning curve can be steep.
But, this week I just got a newsletter in my inbox that this fall, Lifestyle Crafts (a division of QuicKutz Inc.) will be releasing the L Letterpress, a letterpress machine for the home crafter. And the starter kit is only $149! What?! I know nothing can replace true letterpress, but this might be a fun alternative for those of us who don’t have the space or money for a real machine (kind of like an Easy-Bake Oven versus a Viking convection, yo). I’m crossing my fingers that the L Letterpress machine will allow crafters to create and use printing plates with their own designs, too.
Here is a picture tutorial from the Lifestyle Crafts website:
Last week I shared Catherine & Mark’s lovely beach themed invitations with you. Today, I’m going to share some images from their wedding.
As I mentioned, the lunch reception was hosted at the Marine Room in San Diego, and this picture above showcases the amazing view that was right outside the window next to me. In fact, I took this picture while waiting for my first course to be served. It was a mid-January day, but no one would’ve known it with the 70 degree weather!
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Last month, Mr. Eggplant was the best man for our friends’ wedding in San Diego. Coincidentally, one of my bridesmaids was the maid of honor! The wedding was gorgeous. Our friends hosted a lunch reception at the Marine Room, a restaurant with an AMAZING ocean front view. The beach was literally right outside the window. Unbelievable. And the food… Oh. Mah. Gah. It was the best wedding food I’ve ever tasted.
Hubs gave a hilarious Best Man speech where he made fun of the Cal/Stanford rivalry between the couple (Mark, the groom, graduated from Cal, and Catherine, the bride, from Stanford). Hubs got some good chuckles from the crowd–he’s such a ham. He also prepared a slideshow for the couple, which was better than the slideshow he prepared for us! Why? Well, Hubs did something super sweet for the bride and groom: he emailed all of their close friends who couldn’t attend the wedding and asked them to record a short video sending well wishes to the newlyweds. Then Hubs added the footage at the end of the slideshow as a surprise! The couple was definitely surprised. How stinkin’ sweet is that? I’m so proud of Hubs. He thought the idea up all by himself.
Thanks to our superawesome photographers, Ray & Erwin of Apertura, Mrs. Eggplant’s right arm has now been published in a national wedding mag! Apertura printed their very first full-spread ad in this month’s issue of Inside Weddings, smack in the middle of the magazine too. Watch out, Hollywood… here I come. 
The image on the right side of the page spread was taken just before I walked down the church aisle. My cousin, Monica, was fixing my lipstick as little Jillian watched in wonder. Jillian was the cutest little flower girl ever and she definitely stole the show. I’m so glad this moment was caught on camera! I’m also so very glad we picked Apertura to document our wedding day. Best wedding decision ever.
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Hiya, bees. 
How are ya? Long time, no blog!
I’m back today because I wanted to share my wedding experiences from the other side. Not the married side, but the bridesmaid side! I’m a bridesmaid in my future sister in law (FSIL Eggplant) and brother’s wedding next year. They recently got engaged and set their wedding date for October 2009 and I couldn’t be happier for them! I couldn’t have picked a better match for little Brother Eggplant if I had chosen her myself.
Last week, I got my very first bridesmaid newsletter from FSIL Eggplant. It was so stinkin’ adorable, I just had to share it with the hive.
It is a very sad day indeed.
On Saturday, Brother Eggplant gave me a Riso Print Gocco PG-11 as a surprise gift for designing his wedding stationery. I was so excited to start printing! I promptly began Googling all articles Gocco related, until I came across a letter posted on Flickr from an a representative of NEHOC, an Australian Riso distributer:
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Well folks, as the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” This is the final installment of the Eggplants’ wedding recaps (*sob*). How fitting that yesterday (10/20) was our one year wedding anniversary. 
It has been such a pleasure getting to know you all and sharing the most joyous period of my life with you.
But, an ended wedding can’t keep this bee off the web. To follow my chronicles as a Mrs., you can find me at my personal blog, The Sunset House, where I write about my unhealthy obsession with rubber stamps and paper crafts (seriously, I have issues). And, of course I will continue to stop by to share all my wedding related projects with you guys. I’m helping Brother Eggplant with his 2009 wedding, so you know I’ll be back soon! Once a bee, always a bee!
But, enough with the mushy stuff… onto the final recap!
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Wedding receptions are often the most anticipated portion of a nuptial event, and it’s no wonder why; it will probably be the only time that all of your closest friends and family from both sides will gather in one place. As Mr. Eggplant described, we had a captive audience, which he took full advantage of.
Part I: Primped and Prettied | Part II: The Dashing Gents | Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcheroo | Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel! | Part V: Meet ’n Greet | Part VI: Ceremoniously Wed | Part VII: Wedding Portraits | Part VIII: Down to the Details
After cocktail hour, the guests were seated and the bridal party waited outside of the reception room to be introduced. Our best man planned a big entrance, which involved downing a beer and throwing a long pass.
The one project I unfortunately didn’t get many photos of on W-Day, was our ribbon board with our decorated place cards. I say unfortunately, because this baby took hours upon hours of grueling labor. We finished the project the night before our wedding rehearsal!
To make the board and cards, I needed the following materials:
Photo credits: Mrs. Eggplant unless otherwise specified
I am not a tiara type of girl. In my mind, a tiara was one of those accessories that screamed, “princess!” Early during my planning, I decided that it would be a snowy day in July before I’d wear a tiara at our wedding.
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Ahh, the wedding reception details. I think happy thoughts when I see these photos. It’s so satisfying to see nine months of planning come to fruition. The projects weren’t Martha Stewart perfect, but they were special to me; it was the blood, sweat, and tears of myself and my closest family and friends that helped to pull this event off. I’m also deeply indebted to our floral designer/DOC/life saver, Stacey Miller. She handled a few emergencies without mentioning a single word to me, and she made our day utterly fabulous!
Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcheroo
Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel!
Part V: Meet ’n Greet
Part VII: Wedding Portraits
All photographs are property of the awesome Apertura Photography.
While Erwin was finishing up our portrait session at the Stanford University campus, Ray headed back to take awesome pictures of our wedding details:
Hi folks! I’m back from my trip to France and Spain with the hubs and it was amazing. Mr. Eggplant and I ate lots of tapas, took lots of metro trains, and even spoke some French and Spanish. Now that I’ve returned, it’s time to hurry and finish up the wedding recaps before our first wedding anniversary approaches. 
Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcheroo
Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel!
Part V: Meet ’n Greet
Part VI: Ceremoniously Wed
All photographs are property of the awesome Apertura Photography.
If I could change one thing about our wedding, it wouldn’t be the bridesmaid dress fiasco. No, I would’ve left that well enough alone. The only thing I wish we had was more time for portraits. We set aside two hours, and it still seemed so short. But, I’m extremely happy with our photos so I have no complaints.
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Dear readers, I will be on a blogging hiatus for a bit. I’ve been a busy bee lately; I’m going on a trip to Europe with Mr. Eggplant for our anniversary next week! Fourteen days in Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona. The only thing is, I haven’t touched our itinerary yet—yikes! If anyone has suggestions for must-see sights in these three cities, feel free to help a procrastinating Eggplant out and comment below. I would be incredibly grateful.
Now, on to our ceremony recap, before my blogging break starts!
Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcharoo
Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel!
Part V: Meet ’n Greet
We arrived at the church right on time with zero minutes to spare. In fact, I had no time to be nervous because it was go, go, go. In hindsight, this was probably a good thing.
All photographs are property of the awesome Apertura Photography. Please provide credit if you re-post their photos.
Mrs. Eggplant, San Francisco Age and Occupation: 28, Human Resources Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Associate Marketing Manager Engagement Date: January 19, 2007 Wedding Date: October 20, 2007 Blogging Since: May 31, 2007 Venue: Ceremony at a cement and stained glass cathedral and reception at a boutique hotel ballroom About Me: I'm a shopping junkie who lives to discover great deals and a craft addict that loves to scrapbook and knit. My profile picture was taken on the day I got engaged which is why my smile is so huge!
