Mrs. Tomato, Napa Valley
Age and Occupation: 25, Technology Project Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Engineer
Engagement Date: October 22, 2006
Wedding Date: July 1, 2007
Blogging Since: May 1, 2006
Venue: Auberge du Soleil
About Me: I love all things beautiful. From handmade stationery, feminine fashion and delicate flowers to the little moments in your life treasured with your loved one. I am also notorious among my friends to be a deal hunter! My best deal was perhaps my Monique Lhuillier dress for $1100 (orig. $5000). I also tend to use a lot of exclamation marks! =)
Filigree Cupcakes
November 17th, 2007 @ 12:36 pm by Mrs. Tomato
Dear Bees,
It’s been a long time since I posted, as I’ve just started a new job (among other things)… but I came across this lovely cupcake picture today, and wanted to share it with you all. This would work particularly well for a winter wedding…
You can buy them here.
Meeting With My Videographer
October 20th, 2007 @ 2:59 pm by Mrs. Tomato
After three months of anticipation, I finally had the chance to meet with my videographer this past week. Alex Tomek greeted us warmly when we arrived, then ushered us into the mock living room that was set up as part of his office. As Mr. Tomato and I settled comfortably into the couch, he started to play our video. To my surprise, a lump formed in my throat as I saw the opening scenes of our wedding day. Alex had wonderfully captured the way the sun shone that day, the span of the gorgeous view that Auberge was known for, and the interaction of my loved ones as they arrived for the ceremony.
I had never planned on hiring a videographer for my wedding, since I believed having a photographer was enough. But when my friend introduced me to Lumitone’s work, I discovered otherwise.
For example, Alex has multiple cameras set up in various spots during the ceremony so he can capture expressions during times that no one else can. He caught the winks and nudges of Mr. Tomato and I as our pastor was going over the wedding message. He caught the sound of laughter, and the speeches by our best man and maid of honor. He caught the performance of a song that some of the guests sang for us. You simply can’t capture music on a photographer’s camera.
The Biggest Wedding Cake EVER
October 11th, 2007 @ 5:20 pm by Mrs. Tomato
…or at least, the biggest wedding cake I personally have ever seen. Here’s a cake I saw in a bakery window during my honeymoon in Vienna:
Orange County Makeup Artist Part 2
October 11th, 2007 @ 10:55 am by Mrs. Tomato
Some of you have been asking for pictures of my makeup/hair from the Southern California reception. Sorry it took so long–it took me awhile to find them again! Without further ado, here they are…
A Five-Star Orange County Makeup Artist
September 30th, 2007 @ 11:59 am by Mrs. Tomato
During the countdown of the last month before my wedding, I suddenly realized I had forgotten to book a make-up artist for my Chinese reception down in Southern California. I panicked as the first two people I contacted were already booked. Would I, Ms. Never-Wears-Makeup, be left to my own hands?
I scoured both The Knot and Weddingbee, and soon found a few more contacts. Natalie Buketov was the first to reply back to my emails (score for promptness!) and within a few days we had scheduled the time and date, as well as negotiated a price. Since I mentioned I found her on The Knot, and that it was just for a reception and not a wedding, she was willing to do my hair AND makeup for only $95 on location! Being used to the higher prices in NorCal (average of $400 for hair/makeup on location) I was both surprised and pleased. Obviously I would not have a chance to do a make-up trial, but since the Chinese reception was less formal than a typical wedding/reception, I wasn’t too worried. Plus Natalie had been given rave reviews on The Knot, so I figured I was safe.
True Conflict-Free Diamonds
September 14th, 2007 @ 2:40 pm by Mrs. Tomato
I’ll admit it: I never watched Leonardo diCaprio’s movie Blood Diamond. Many of my friends said the movie made them so depressed they no longer wanted to wear their engagement ring, and, well…I like my ring. If I stopped wearing it, I’m not sure Mr.Tomato would be thrilled to find it sitting in my jewelry box for the rest of our marriage.
I will say though, that before Mr.Tomato purchased my ring he asked the Bulgari salesman if it was “conflict-free.” The response was that though they try, it’s very hard to track the diamond from the moment it’s mined to the moment it arrives in the store. However, they only use reputable dealers who supposedly avoid such means. So the truth is, tracking the origins of a diamond is questionable at best.
That said, I know there are some people who are truly concerned about this issue, and refuse to have a diamond ring because of it. For that audience, I found this site: http://brilliantearth.com/
The Red Ballpoint Pen Stain Vs. My Wedding Dress
September 11th, 2007 @ 6:46 pm by Mrs. Tomato
During my wedding planning madness, I never thought about where and how to get my dress cleaned post-wedding. After all, I would have plenty of time after the honeymoon. Right?
Lo and behold, when I started doing my research, most websites recommend that you get it cleaned immediately after the wedding (we’re talking about the day after). It sounds a little ridiculous, but it makes sense. If your favorite white blouse got stained, you would have it cleaned immediately instead of letting it sit while you go off on a trip to Hawaii.
Many websites also recommend that your dress NOT sit in a zippered plastic bag on a hanger in the closet. The closed plastic can make the gown sweat and hanging it by the dress loops can make it sag and misshapen.
I started freaking out. Did I wait a month too long to get my dress cleaned? I checked to see if my gown-in-plastic had turned yellow during my honeymoon. I kid you not, I breathed a sigh of relief to find out it was still ivory.
Wedding Day: Part 6
August 27th, 2007 @ 11:04 am by Mrs. Tomato
As Mr. Tomato and I waved good-bye to our guests, the cameras continued to flash. No, it wasn’t the paparazzi (though as we waited for our getaway car to arrive, we were introduced to one of the founders of youtube!), but I had requested that the photographers follow us to Napa Cottages, where we were planning to stay that night.
I had heard of people having a “Day-After” photo session, with the idea that the bride/groom can take some more relaxed, fun pictures. But Mr.Tomato and I had plans the next day, so unless we wanted to wake up at the crack of dawn to take pictures, it wasn’t the greatest of ideas. That’s when I thought of taking pictures in the hotel room. I already had some ideas I wanted to try–like jumping on the bed and sexy pictures in the bathtub. Luckily, our photographers were more than eager to accommodate. Scott Robert and Junshien never fail to exercise their creative side!
So without further ado, I present to you the final pictures of the Tomatoes’ wedding day:
The Shoe Game
August 21st, 2007 @ 5:59 pm by Mrs. Tomato
A bit more about the shoe game that Mr.Tomato and I played during the end of our reception…
Basically, the bride/groom take off their shoes and trade one shoe so that each are holding a bride shoe and a groom shoe. The couple is then seated back to back (we had chairs set up at the front of the room so everyone could see) so that they can’t see each other.
The emcee then asks questions that the bride/groom must answer by raising the appropriate shoe:
Who is more likely to make breakfast in bed for the other? Who is more likely to clean the bathroom?
And some of my favorites:
Who is better looking? Who is a better kisser? (Mr. Tomato and I both selected the other in this one) 
I first saw this game at a friend’s wedding, and it was thoroughly entertaining to see which questions they agreed on and which ones they didn’t. With Mr.Tomato and me, he would raise his shoe(s) right away while I took a little longer to answer (I do take my time in answering questions). Apparently our guests thought this was quite humorous. 
Wedding Day: Part 5
August 17th, 2007 @ 4:06 pm by Mrs. Tomato
It was 6pm, and the bridal party was due for their big entrance.
7:10
Wedding party line-up in hallway; Auberge staff turns off music
Chris plays music
MC makes wedding party introductions:
- Alice Tan & Dan Tsui
- Janice Chen & Vincent Ko
- Judy Liang & Dean Chang
- Bride & Groom [play “Sexy Back”]
If I had to pick one miniscule disappointment on my wedding day, it was that Mr. Tomato and I didn’t get to do our “entrance dance” to Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” (yes I’m a pop girl…can’t help it!). Not that it was anything terribly original (and it was only 30 seconds long), but I HAD bought a top hat for it and we HAD practiced beforehand. But the timing was off, so we ended up running in instead, half-embarrassed:
(I still look happy though!)
