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Last night I had my hair & makeup trial with the Pedala sisters: Maureen (hair) and Claudia (makeup). I had written earlier that unlike many brides these days, I’m not going for the natural look on my wedding day. I want to look extra glam and extra fabulous.
Maureen and Claudia delivered. And much more.
What first struck me as I met them was just how down-to-earth and friendly they were (not to mention, Claudia has the cutest little yorkie 
). Unlike my previous trials, they spent a full ten minutes just talking to me first to get an idea of what my wedding dress looks like, how I envision the big day, and what kind of look I was going for.
I admit it - I was a bad bride. 
I didn’t bring any pictures of my dress, hair and makeup I liked, etc. I knew that I wanted my hair down in loose curls…. perhaps a crystal headband or a small tiara. Bridal experts tell you that you should bring your veil and accessories to your hair trial, but I haven’t decided on either. As for makeup, I usually look very washed out in photos so I wanted stronger shades. I have small eyes and thin lips so I basically asked Maureen to do anything she can to make them look larger and fuller.
It seems that whenever a man is in a relationship, he has to endure the “whipped” teasing from his friends at least once. I know for a fact that some of Mr Peony’s guy friends tease him about this, but it’s all between good friends and no harm is done.
I personally do not think that Mr Peony is “whipped.” He makes his own decisions, and although I like to have my say in things, he ultimately has the last word on any issues that concern his own life. I know that marriage is about the convergence of two lives as one, but I still believe that we should keep our own identities. So unless he makes a decision with which I strongly disagree, or will have an adverse effect on our lives, I usually let him do his own thing. Mr Peony is the same with me.
However, we do know some people who are, for lack of a better word, immensely “whipped.” While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make your S.O. happy, some people take it a bit too far. So much so that their friends and family become genuinely concerned that they are losing their identities. These people act like lost puppies when their S.O. is not around, and often neglect those who were once close to them.
Standing at a whooping 5’1″, I can confidently say that I’m short. I have trained myself over the years to be comfortable in heels, and unless I’m exercising, I’m always in heels that are at least 3½” inches tall.
I was ecstatic when the Cole Haan Nike Air Collection was announced. It’s definitely more than what I usually pay for shoes, but they’re worth it - they really are the most comfortable heels around. I once walked more than 20 NYC blocks in these shoes and all the men who were with me were very impressed.
However, none of the shoes in the Nike Air Collection are very wedding-y. In addition, I knew that I wanted my shoes to be 4-5″ for my wedding day just to give me that extra lift…
Unfortunately there are very few nice-looking shoes that are this high, and I didn’t want to shell over $500+ for high end designer shoes. It’s even more difficult finding bridal-looking shoes at this height.
Mr Peony and I were at a Barnes & Noble over the weekend and saw a display of Christmas cards (is it me or does Christmas seem to start earlier and earlier each year?). Immediately I was reminded of our very first fight…
Mr Peony and I hardly ever fight. We bicker over little things and constantly tease each other, but we’ve had very few actual fights in the course of our relationship.
Two years into our relationship, I suggested that we send our Christmas cards together that year. We had already been living together for a year, and everyone knew we were in a serious relationship, so I just figured that this would be the logical choice. Many other couples we knew were doing it when they had been together for shorter periods.
However, Mr Peony was vehemently against it. He believes that Christmas cards should only be sent together after marriage. He thinks that sending out Christmas cards together is a tradition that should be shared between family, not boyfriend-girlfriend relationships.
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Before I begin, I’d like to say that this topic may be controversial. I apologize in advance if I offend anyone and I want to let you know that it is not my intention to do so.
My family immigrated to the states when I was 7 years old. Having spent 20 years in the states, I wouldn’t be lying if I said that I feel a bit detached from the Korean culture and traditions. Mr Peony says that I’m a twinkie (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) because I’m a lot more Americanized in my ideals and beliefs.
Mr Peony is from Hong Kong. He went to high school in London then came to the states for college, where we met. His parents still live in Hong Kong. He is a self-proclaimed FOB (fresh off the boat) and even after a decade of living in the states, he’s still deeply rooted to the Chinese culture and its traditions.
Mr Peony and I have two anniversary dates because we still bicker over which is the correct date.
The first, which is coming up in two weeks, is the anniversary of our first date. Although we had been friends for a while, this was the first time we went out to dinner with just the two of us and later that night, Mr Peony made the first move. 
This is the date that I consider to be our anniversary.
The second date comes months later. We had been seeing each other for a while, and already said “I love you” to each other. However, this is the date when Mr Peony officially asked me to be his girlfriend. Obviously I said yes, but I had already been considering him as my boyfriend for a while. Mr Peony says that because he didn’t officially utter the words “Will you be my girlfriend?” until this date, this should be our anniversary.
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When Mrs Caramel wrote about the amazing Jessica Lee, I couldn’t help but turn green with envy. I even (briefly) had a vision of myself being filthy rich so that I could fly her out to NY for my wedding. 
Like Mrs Caramel, I don’t want a natural look for my wedding day makeup. For one, I look like I’m 12 years old sans makeup, so I wear it almost every day for professional reasons. I want to look at least a bit different for my wedding…more glamorous, more polished, more vavavoom!
I also tend to look very washed out in photos. Take a look at my profile picture - it was taken at a wedding and I was wearing full makeup that day. I tried to go heavy on the application and colors but I still look like I’m barely wearing anything! I want to look ravishing in my pictures. I want to evoke old Hollywood glamour. I want to look like I’m wearing makeup!
I’m sorry I’ve been MIA lately. Between trying to get a good mortgage rate amidst these market conditions (WaMu’s CFO said last week, “I have never seen housing credit conditions change so significantly over such a short period of time, nor can I remember a period when there was less clarity about near-term housing and credit trends.” 
) and Mr Peony breaking out in one of the worst cases of poison ivy I’ve ever seen 
, I just haven’t been in a blogging mood lately.
However, I’m happy to announce that we finally decided on a location for our engagement photo session. We know that on the actual day of the wedding, we will be shooting in Central Park and a very urban environment that is TBD. At first we wanted someplace urban as well for the engagement photos, but nothing really stood out. Our photographer suggested Coney Island, but it has been such a popular location for engagement photos lately and I wanted something a bit different. In addition, Mr Peony and I had never visited Coney Island together before and I wanted a location that was meaningful to us.
I racked my brain for my favorite spots in NYC - there are so many!
Then it hit me, and I couldn’t believe it wasn’t my first choice from the beginning. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I just had a horribly vivid dream that Mr. Peony had cheated on me with several different girls. I woke up covered in sweat, with half-moon crevices neatly dug into my palms by my nails because my fists were clenched so tightly. I was tempted to wake up Mr. Peony but I knew that it was just a dream.
I continued to think about the dream well after I woke up and I asked myself what I would do if Mr. Peony had cheated on me now, during our engagement. Would I cancel the wedding and break up with him? Probably. But the more I think about it, the harder it must be….not only due to the wedding cancellation, but because of the emotional attachment and investment on my part. I actually began to sympathize with the women who decide to stay in their marriages after their spouse had cheated.
I remember reading once that infidelity can actually make a relationship stronger because it really makes you question why you were together in the first place. But would you chance it? Or would you pick up everything and leave?
A large majority of my guests will be traveling far for our wedding, many from across the world in Asia. A large portion of that number will be staying in NYC for the trip for its many attractions; however, our venue is a good 20 minute drive from midtown Manhattan. So for the convenience of our guests, we will be chartering a bus.
I had briefly mentioned this idea before and several readers asked about the details. I’m sorry I didn’t write about this sooner, but there was a good reason for the wait: it really did take us this long to find a respectable charter bus company at a decent price.
The company we decided to go with is BusBank, a nationwide company. The price for a 49-passenger deluxe motorcoach for 7.5 hours is $935 plus 10% gratuity. Although this wasn’t the least expensive option, I felt that their level of service (just from emails and phone calls) were far superior than others.
Yes I’m exactly that: a lazy geek. A lazy geek with a very short attention span. So how would someone like me lose weight for her wedding?
I really want to get rid of the 15 lbs I accumulated over the past 5 years. Averaging 3 lbs per year, it’s not that bad….until your “fat” jeans start to feel snug!
I’ve tried practically every fad diet since I started gaining this weight. I gave up Atkins after just one week because I love carbs too much (I’m Korean and I grew up on rice and noodles…..I can’t live without them!).
I stayed on South Beach for a couple of months and lost about 10 lbs, but the meals were too restricting for me and I began to tire of making my own meals. See, I told ya I was lazy. I quickly regained all that weight.
Although the ink has long since dried on the divorce papers of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, I still consider myself a fan of their show Newlyweds and was pretty sad when they announced their separation.
My favorite part of every Newlyweds episode was at the beginning credits when they show scenes from their wedding. More specifically, it was seeing the expression on Nick’s face as he sees Jessica for the first time that always tugged at my inner sappy romantic:
When I first started planning my wedding I envisioned a modern affair: sleek, minimalistic, and urban. Sorta like this photo of The Metropolitan Pavilion:
I’m not a very affectionate person. I don’t coo at babies. I feel uncomfortable when people stand or sit too close to me. I have trouble saying “I love you” even to my family. And I don’t like cuddling.
Yes, that’s right. I’m a girl and I don’t like cuddling. Because I need my own space when I sleep, dammit.
This causes a bit of a problem because Mr. Peony is a cuddler. In fact, he loves to cuddle. He’s always begging and whining for me to cuddle with him.
Being the dutiful fiancee that I am, (ha - that sounds funny even to me) I oblige most of the time. If he is lucky and he catches me when I’m mucho tired, I will fall asleep in this position. But when I wake up, I’m on the opposite side of the bed. See, even in my sleep I don’t like cuddling.
Mr. Peony and I had a discussion about mother-in-laws the other day and ended up questioning when exactly it became the norm to not get along with your (future) mother-in-law. Was it always this way? Did cavewomen butt heads with their MILs too?
After spending time with my mother every day for the last 9 months, Mr. Peony now loves her despite the language barrier (she speaks very little English). She in turn loves him back and treats him like the son she never had: cooking for him, cleaning up after him, giving him gifts, and even taking his side when we argue.
I, on the other hand, never really spent too much time with Mr. Peony’s mother because his parents live in Hong Kong. We’re friendly to one another but I wouldn’t call us friends. Whenever I do see her, I turn into a stone version of Miss Peony. I get super nervous, and the thought that I’m the girl who’s taking away her first born son away from her is always at the back of my mind. In addition, she doesn’t speak much English either…trying to converse with your FMIL when you both already speak the same language is hard enough! She’s never been nothing but nice to me, but I’m so bad at small talk and those awkward silences just kill me.
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Mrs. Peony, New York Age and Occupation: 27, Marketing Coordinator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, QA Engineer Engagement Date: June 28, 2007 Wedding Date: April 18, 2008 Venue: The Fountainhead Blogging Since: August 7, 2007 About Me: Both Mr. Peony and I are huge computer nerds, and our conversations usually consist of the latest gadgets, programming languages, and video games. At the same time, I can also be very girly with an obsession with handbags, makeup, and high heels. And art! I've studied studio art extensively, almost majored in art history, and freelance as a web and graphics designer. Mr. Peony and I are having a ball of a time planning a wedding for 250(!) guests, doing our best to infuse our personalities (geeky chic) with the wishes of our very traditional Asian parents.
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