Weddingbee Blog

There is a rare, giant 603 karat white diamond that sold for $12 million at auction. Known as the ‘Lesotho Promise’ diamond, the estimated price of the diamond when cut is approximately over $20 million. Holy Bling Batman! I can’t even begin to imagine where you would wear that. The only image that comes to mind is from Ducktales where that really rich woman (duck) wore a huge diamond pendant and wheeled it around in a wheelbarrow. Hah!

My engagement ring is by no means a big big bling. But I love it nonetheless. This is not an actual picture of my ring, but it’s exactly the same setting.

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Earlier this year a Long Island couple hosted their Valentine’s Day wedding reception at McDonald’s. The total reception cost was a mere $250!! According to this article McWeddings are not the first of its kind. A new trend perhaps? Maybe I should check out Burger King for a fairy tale themed wedding!!

Everything went beautifully for our Civil Ceremony. Now to continue planning our big wedding in September of next year! Here’s some eye candy.

I hand tied the bouquet myself. As well as made the boutonniere that my fiance is wearing.

Sitting in the waiting room

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As of late I’ve been doing research on wedding studio photographers. My fiance and I will be traveling to Thailand in April and want to get our pictures taken while we are there. I want pictures of us frolicking along a beach as well as some other great & fun outdoor shots. The biggest problem is finding a photographer and booking one before we get there, so we can go out on a shoot the very 1st week we get into Bangkok.

I’ve been rummaging through Thailand’s equivalent to The Knot type websites, trying to use my Thai reading skillahs that I learned in Sunday School & Summer School. (Go me and my (supposedly) 9th grade reading level!!!~) Here are examples of some work I’ve been looking at.

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I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Moonberry’s outdoor pictures she took in Bali (see below) and would love to get in some great shots like she has as well.

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Edit 1: And I’m not officially a Mrs. just yet. We are having our civil ceremony in 2 weeks. But the big shabang wedding will be September of next year.

Edit 2: I noticed whenever I read Thai websites I MUST increase the font to like super dorky 40pt font in order to read them. If the text isn’t at least 2″ high it makes me upset because I can’t read as well. What’s wrong with me? I’m such lame-o.

Dinners like this is why I can’t lose weight dammnit. *sigh*

My fiance and I are going down to City Hall this month to officially get married. Since this year is an auspicious and lucky year to get married, we thought it would be a good thing to do. For the wedding that I am planning for next year, I’m not going to have an officiant as we are already going to have TWO cultural ceremonies. That in itself it going to be a hella long day!

We both thought it would be a good idea to get married on the same date as our ceremony/reception of next year - that being September 29th. Lucky us that this year it lands on a weekday and we can go down to City Hall to have our civil ceremony. Something small and simple, with just our parents, and a few good friends as witnesses. And afterwards we will go have small dinner celebration.

I’ll be doing my own hair & make up, just something simple. And as for the dress? I’ve purchased this one to wear for the Civil ceremony. I think it’s very romantic looking, and it makes me think of when Kelly married Zack on Saved By the Bell. Okay okay, her dress was different, but I don’t know why it makes me think of that. The fiance will wearing a shirt that matches the sash on the dress and a suit.

Did any of you have a civil ceremony?

I love lanterns. The vibrant colors, the faint glow that they cast across the room. They set such a romantic, and festive ambiance to a space. They can turn your plain Jane white room, into a warm and lively space. Here are some lanterns I came across while looking for some to use to decorate my space. I’m having my reception at a Chinese banquet hall, so I need all the ambiance help I can get to try to make it not so restauranty.

Huinita had beautiful hanging lanterns at her reception. I really love those colors!

This last picture isn’t of lanterns, but paper pompoms that can also set a fun and flirty mood to your space.

Almost everywhere I turn everyone is raving about Spanx. I’m considering going out and getting myself Spanx-ed out as well. As a not so thin girl, I need all the help I can get! From what I hear it’s supposed to hold everything in place, give you ultra clean lines under your gown (no unsightly pantylines) and give you some nice lift and contour just in the right places.

My current dilemma is which Spanx should I get. My choice of wedding gown has a pretty low back, so I’m not sure a bodysuit would work for me. Although, I would love to be able to wear something that helps me with the tummy area as well. Any of you Spanxed out ladies have any suggestions on which Spanx us ladies wearing low back/backless gowns should look into?

Here’s a glimpse of what the back of my gown is going to look like.

I can’t imagine having my wedding without my furbabies somehow being a part of it. Even though they might not have a functional part like walking down the aisle with me or doing something significant, I want them present nonetheless. Call me crazy, but my pets are part of my family. To some they may just be a dog, an animal; but to me they are my adopted son & daughter, who is furry, short, walks on all fours, and doesn’t speak.

My baby girl Sango was strutting her stuff in her cute beaded sweater at my engagement ceremony last Christmas.

She and her little brother Vash will also be there for the Thai water ceremony I will be having on my wedding day.

It’s not uncommon these days to have your beloved pet in your wedding, as shown in the recent articles below.

• CBS News: Some Weddings Going to the Dogs
• Ezine Articles: Who’s Missing from Your Wedding Party
• New York Tails: How to Make Pets a Part of Your Wedding Day

I know I’m not the only insano one that wants my furbabies to have a part in their wedding. I’ve even been searching for outfits for them - I think I want Sango to wear this pink dress and Vash in this little tux.

Look at the pictures below of people who had their furbabies with them on their wedding day!

Would you/are you including your pet in your wedding day? What ideas do you have about this topic?

My wedding dress has been on my mind lately. I have an appointment to go in and order it in less than a month from Bridal Reflections in Long Island. I got my dress at a great discount, about 30% off the original price tag, but my concern is with the alteration prices. The alteration is capped at $295, and I was told that most brides just end up paying about $120. Not a bad deal huh? However they want to charge me $250 for a french bustle and $90 for a regular bustle. I was thinking of maybe getting my bustle done elsewhere, but after hearing horror stories about brides getting their dream dresses butchered by other places, it makes me a little wary.

Dilemmas like Miss Ant’s is not uncommon for brides. I decided to weigh the pros & cons of getting the alterations done in-house at the bridal salon versus taking it elsewhere to be done.

Pros of doing it in-house:

• The seamstresses there do this day in, day out. Their specialty is wedding dresses so your gown will most likely be expertly altered.
• If they do mess up your dress somehow, then they have a policy to rectify the situation, and would most likely have a new gown for you asap.
• After the alterations they steam, clean and press the gown ready for you to pick up to wear on your big day.
• It’s all done at one place. No chance of getting your gown ruined during transport.

The HUGE con is obviously the hefty price tag they are charging for the work.

This is not to say I’m against taking the gown to be altered elsewhere. But finding an excellent seamstress can be a bit tricky. Even if you do ask to see samples of their work there’s still that “what if.” How would they compensate you if they ruined your beautiful designer gown? And can they really compensate you for ruining the dress of your dreams?

I guess my final word on it is, unless you know a seamstress that is an expert at altering wedding gowns at a great price, that extra money you’re shelling out to the salon for alterations is for your piece of mind.

We’re knocking on heaven’s door. Almost paradise how could we ask for more….

Ya darn tootin’ I’m gonna ask for more. Every bride/bride-to-be dreams of her wedding day. Daydreams are like viewing things though a camera lens where everything is seen in a soft haze. Everything looks so beautiful and perfect. The flowers are just right, the tulle is draping just perfectly, and you float around the room like an angel, making the entire scene look ethereal, almost like paradise.

If only everything could be as easy as you can envision it in your mind. The truth of the matter is, to get anywhere close to what you are envisioning takes tons of research, some imagination, and don’t forget to throw in some blood, sweat, and tears.

I feel that colors and lighting really set the ambiance and tone of your wedding. Whether it be soft sweetpea pinks and lavenders, or firecracker reds and oranges. While surfing the web for how I’m going to decorate my reception site, I found some beautiful ideas which I’m considering incorporating to my wedding. I love these colors. They are so fresh, crisp, and vibrant you can almost sink your teeth into them. Does that make sense? Or am I the only insano one that thinks that you can taste & smell colors?

I love this curtain made of strings of colorful orchids. I might want to use that as a backdrop for photos at the entrance of the site.

This rectangular bowl of floating orchids is also beautiful. Perhaps at the sign in table.

It’s amazing how the burnt orange drapes make this space just pop out at you.

Beautiful colored orchids make a simple napkin and place setting exqusite.

This origami fortune cookie is adorable!

I love the colors in this bouquet.

What kind of decorating ideas are you girls using? What are your wedding colors? What kind of ambiance are you going for?

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Edit: Does anyone know where I can buy wholesale loose orchid blooms in a variety of colors? (Obviously I’m looking for fucshia, oranges, greens) Either online or in the NYC area?

This weekend I went to a girlfriend’s wedding. I’ve known her since we were in the 6th grade, and it was wonderful to be there for her wedding. Their first dance song was At Last by Ella Fitzgerald, and I could tell they took some dance classes judging by their fancy footwork. It was beautiful, very romantic and dreamy. I’m such a sap.

Seeing their first dance made me think of what song I would like for my first dance, and what songs I want to use for the bouquet and garter toss. Here are some of the contenders:

First Dance:

• Amazed - Lonestar (this is actually our song, because it was playing in the background when we shared our first kiss)
• Someone Like You - Van Morrison
• These are the Moments - Edwin McCain
• That’s All - Nat King Cole
• Breathe - Faith Hill
• Forever and for Always - Shania Twain
• I Wanna Grow Old with You - Adam Sandler

Bouquet Toss:

• I’m Gonna Getcha - Shania Twain
• One way or Another - Blondie

Garter Removal/Toss:

• Wild Thing -Tone Loc
• Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
• Cherry Pie - Warrant

At this moment my favorites are:

• Bouquet Toss: I’m Gonna Getcha - Shania Twain
• Garter Toss: Wild Thing - Tone Loc

and…

• First Dance: I Wanna Grow Old With You -Adam Sandler

I just love the lyrics of this song. It’s so sweet & simple. The song is short (under 2 minutes) so I was thinking of using it as the intro to our first dance song, where this one will fade out and we will dance to another song - perhaps That’s All by Nat King Cole. I’ll post links for lyrics to both songs below.

I Wanna Grow Old with You - Adam Sandler
That’s All - Nat King Cole

What do you think of the idea of using this song for a first dance? What songs are you considering choosing for your reception?

On the day of my wedding, I will be having a traditional Thai Water Ceremony at my mother’s home in Westchester. My dilemma now is getting a Thai dress to wear. Unlike the myriad of Chinese Bridal shops in the NYC area, I have yet to find a Thai one. Actually, I don’t think one exists (but hey I could be wrong). I pretty much have 2 options here as I see it.

1) Find a Thai dressmaker here in NY and have them tailor one for me. (Although, I think finding the appropriate matierials, unless they have a large selection at hand, will be quite challenging.)

2) Take a 2 week trip to Thailand for my vacation sometime next year and have one made there.

Of course, I’m loving the thought of being whisked off to Thailand to pick and choose what I want there. On top of that I also wanted to pick out some favors and Thai decorations there as well. (I’ll get into my thoughts & ideas about decor later.) Now I’m on a mission looking at different Thai dresses/styles, and picking and choosing some of my favorites. (God, I love the internet!) Here are some of the dresses/styles I’m taking into consideration.

I just added the blue one because I love the way the color just pops out. Beautiful… But my favorites are the 1st and 2nd one.

I actually wore a Thai dress for my engagement ceremony. I’ll have to find a picture where I am standing up when I get home. Here’s a picture of me sitting down with my uncle after the ceremony. Please disregard the crazy hair day I was having. And just for kicks I also added in a picture of me cheesing it up for the camera. Despite my messy hair, I think the expression shows how extremely happy I was that day. I can only begin to imagine how happy I’ll be on my wedding day.

Which of these dresses do you think looks best? Are any of you ladies also having a cultural ceremony? What cultural background are you from? What kind of dresses will you be wearing?

While looking through some sites for bridesmaid dresses, I found some beautiful dresses by Watters & Watters. I really love the vibrant colors and how flirty and sexy they look. I want my girls to be looking hot!!~ Another thing I like about these dresses are that they are made of dupioni silk, the same fabric/texture that my wedding gown will be in. The dresses are also not overly fancy, so that they can choose to wear it on another occasion.

My sister who is my MOH will be wearing the Midori Green, while the other 4 girls will wear either the Spice colored one (perhaps with a green sash instead of the pink that they have shown)

These are my 2 favorites of the dresses they have in dupioni silk, but they have many more that are available in these colors. So I will have the girls choose their dress of choice (with my approval of course) and they have have different style dresses with the same color.

I got quotes for these dresses on http://www.netbride.com/ for a fraction of what it would cost in boutiques. Are any of you familiar with this website? As with every smart bride, price is always taken into consideration.

Ann Taylor also has some pretty dresses from her Celebrations collection that are on sale now for around $100.