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Miss Hot Cocoa's Picture
Miss Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical Student Engagement Date: May 30, 2008 Wedding Date: March, 2009 Blogging Since: April, 2008 Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey About Me: I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
About Miss Hot Cocoa

Photo-shopping

September 26th, 2008 @ 5:17 pm by Miss Hot Cocoa

As I mentioned in a previous post, I definitely had a tough time choosing photographers. I had a gazillion photography blogs on my Google Reader, and I’d scroll through them, making half-legible notations on a piece of scrap paper about the ones I “liked.” And heaven forbid if I had to actually express why I liked what I liked! I would have been as inarticulate as a 4-year-old (”pweeety pictures”) or Rachel Zoe (”I die.”).

I think a lot of the difficulty I was having came from seeing each photographer’s photos in isolation. It’s hard to articulate what you like and don’t like when brides, weddings, locations, etc. are so different; there’s just no baseline for comparison. Recently, though, I discovered that a lot of the photographers I was blog-stalking attend the same photography workshops and — here’s the useful part — since all the photographers at a particular workshop work with the same model/environment, if you get a hold of those pictures, you can actually compare the styles and techniques of the photographers. No more comparing apples with oranges.

For example, the Southern California photographer Jose Villa leads a number of workshops each year. Here are three photographers’ work from one of the workshops:

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Mr. Mango's Picture
Mr. Mango, Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 27, Stem Cell/Nanotechnology Researcher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 21, Political Scientist Engagement Date: June 12, 2008 Wedding Date: December 2008 Blogging Since: August 4, 2008 Venue: Picking between 2 About Me: It's not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me (cheesy Batman reference). I'm a Pakistani-American who lives his life as a nerdy scientist by day, and a nerdy artist by night. According to many, I'm as "metro" as they come, and that's probably why I'm so interested in all this wedding business. Honestly, I've become a bit of a "groomzilla". I'm here to prove that we, as grooms, actually can work a Gocco, plan a wedding meal, create breathtaking centerpieces, and rock a dress, just as good as my female counterparts (well maybe not the last one).
About Mr. Mango

The Mango Registry that Never Was Part II

September 26th, 2008 @ 11:18 am by Mr. Mango

(left to right) Girlfriend Pillow, Bouquet of Roses Caftan, Super Kegel
Big Game Telephone, Skiing snowball, Gopher 3-deluxe pick up tool

Why is a girlfriend pillow the perfect gift to put on a registry? Ms. Mango complains that I’m oblivious to the rules, regulations, and technique of cuddling. Apparently, you should sit still during the complete duration of cuddling, which can last over an hour. That means no asking to get a drink, no grabbing of any other body parts, and no mentioning of how much time has already passed. Also, sometimes we males need cuddling and are too proud to ask for it. Talk about a way to quench your cuddling appetite.

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Miss Hot Cocoa's Picture
Miss Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical Student Engagement Date: May 30, 2008 Wedding Date: March, 2009 Blogging Since: April, 2008 Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey About Me: I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
About Miss Hot Cocoa

A Bookbee Reviews Bridal Bargains

September 25th, 2008 @ 6:27 pm by Miss Hot Cocoa

“Yo, que me figuraba el Paraíso bajo la especie de una biblioteca . . . .”

- Jorge Luis Borges

[A picture of one of my bookshelves (and probably the inside of my brain): wedding books and mags on the top shelf,

critical theory texts on the bottom shelves.]

When I first emigrated from Hong Kong at the age of 8, I was a shy kid with limited English skills and a bowl cut. So when normal kids were out on the playground, I was hanging out in the Bookmobile or the library, getting acquainted with my fictional friends like The Babysitters Club or Nancy Drew. To this day, I’m still a bookworm — um, I mean bookbee. In fact, I’ve managed to make my awkward phase into a profession; now that I’m a doctoral student in English, I get to read books for a living.
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Mr. Mango's Picture
Mr. Mango, Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 27, Stem Cell/Nanotechnology Researcher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 21, Political Scientist Engagement Date: June 12, 2008 Wedding Date: December 2008 Blogging Since: August 4, 2008 Venue: Picking between 2 About Me: It's not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me (cheesy Batman reference). I'm a Pakistani-American who lives his life as a nerdy scientist by day, and a nerdy artist by night. According to many, I'm as "metro" as they come, and that's probably why I'm so interested in all this wedding business. Honestly, I've become a bit of a "groomzilla". I'm here to prove that we, as grooms, actually can work a Gocco, plan a wedding meal, create breathtaking centerpieces, and rock a dress, just as good as my female counterparts (well maybe not the last one).
About Mr. Mango

The Mango Registry that Never Was

September 25th, 2008 @ 11:55 am by Mr. Mango

With all this recent talk about wedding registries (Espresso, Champagne), I cannot help but to think of what I would have chose, if I had the power to create my own registry… which I didn’t. However, I provide you with: the Mango registry that never was.

My first stop would have been KB Toys. I know people would contend that Toys “R” Us is a better store for wedding toy registries (as if there was such a thing), but I feel that Toys “R” Us is a bit “bourgie”. I kind of like the fact that almost everything in KB is “buy 1, get 1 free”. Secondly, I’m a little scared of Geoffrey the Giraffe.

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Source

Anyhow, I think the following would be floating somewhere on my registry:
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Mrs. Caramel's Picture
Mrs. Caramel, Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 24, Art Gallery/Museums Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Engineer Engagement Date: January 8, 2007 Wedding Date: October 6, 2007 Venue: a beautiful church and hotel reception About Me: I love dancing, singing, eating out, eating in, surfing on the net, and brainstorming fantastic ideas. I also love cats, coffee, and know every quote written on Sex & the City. I'm known to laugh really loud and have really crazy hand gestures while I talk. My fiance writes songs and I take pictures. What else? We're just a crazy young couple in love, trying to make a fabulous wedding!
About Mrs. Caramel

Remember the Invite

September 25th, 2008 @ 11:27 am by Mrs. Caramel

Who really remembers cards and invitations? Well, ever since Mr. Caramel and I have started to pack for our NYC move, we realized that we have to trash a lot of sentimental things that we don’t want to forget.  One of the things we had to throw away were our wedding cards and extra invitations.  Since so much thought went into picking our cards and invitations, I couldn’t bear to just throw them away without some type of documentation, especially the really beautiful ones!

So… I took pictures of them!

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How adorable are these??
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Mrs. Daffodil's Picture
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy Consultant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident Physician Engagement Date: December 29, 2006 Wedding Date: May, 2008 Blogging Since: August, 2007 Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LA About Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
About Mrs. Daffodil

I See You! Daffodil Day Pt. IV

September 24th, 2008 @ 5:29 pm by Mrs. Daffodil

Pt. I: Make Me Pretty!
Pt. II: Time to Get Bridal!
Pt. III: On the Other Side

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Seeing Mr. D for the first time was a moment that will always stay with me. It was the first of many moments that day that everything felt just too perfect, too wonderful, yet so real… and so completely right.
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Mrs. Peppermint's Picture
Miss Peppermint, LA/Palm Springs Age and Occupation: 23, Actress Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Web Producer Engagement Date: October 21, 2006 Wedding Date: December 2007 Blogging Since: July 2, 2007 Venue: historic estate overlooking the heart of Palm Springs About Me: I am a Southern California native who enjoys cooking, writing, travel and all things in the arts. Mr. Peppermint and I met in college and he proposed on our four year anniversary in one of our most special places, Joshua Tree National Park. We're having a destination wedding in Palms Springs that will incorporate tradition as well as reflect our personalities!
About Mrs. Peppermint

Travel Through Our Guestbook…

September 24th, 2008 @ 11:01 am by Mrs. Peppermint

First off, hello hive!! I’ve missed you! I know it’s been a long time since I last posted, but I’m back…

I thought I’d kick it off with a post about our guest book. To remind you, we got married in Palm Springs last December. While neither Mr. Peppermint nor I are from there, it had long been a special getaway for us. We had family coming from all parts of California as well as Virginia, Minnesota, Wisconsin and New York. We wanted our guest book to reflect this travel theme, so we settled on postcards! Basically, the week before the wedding when we were out in Palm Springs getting ready, we went to tourist gift shops, antique stores and anywhere we could find postcards (new and vintage) of Palm Springs and the outlying areas. During the reception, we had guests fill them out and drop them off in a caddy that also doubled as a pen holder. Originally, I was going to find a mailbox, but couldn’t find one that was just the right size.

Here is how it was set up at the reception:

After we got back from our honeymoon, Mr. Peppermint and I assembled an album with the postcards. It was such a nice treat to revisit all of the wishes and kind notes that guests had written…
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Miss Hot Cocoa's Picture
Miss Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical Student Engagement Date: May 30, 2008 Wedding Date: March, 2009 Blogging Since: April, 2008 Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey About Me: I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
About Miss Hot Cocoa

Vedding Registry

September 23rd, 2008 @ 5:45 pm by Miss Hot Cocoa

A little joke for you from Anita Diamant’s The New Jewish Wedding: “The tongue-in-cheek Yiddish-English ’translation’ for R.S.V.P. is Remember to Send Vedding Presents.”Hahaha. Call me a dork (or a 95-year-old Jewish man), but it’s a knee slapper! Snort. Snort.

As you might remember, I’m in the process of converting to Judaism, and Mr. Hot Cocoa and I are looking forward to setting up a Chinese-Jewish household once we’re married. But one can’t possibly be expected to be a balabusta (that’s yiddish for quality female homemaker) or balabusto (that’s cocoa-yiddish — coquidish — for quality male homemaker) without the proper accoutrements, right? So even though we haven’t given any thought to where we’d register for our everyday items, I have already come up with a list of judaica stores with online registry services. And since my Judaism homework this week involves studying the rituals associated with celebrating the sabbath — in particular the tradition of shabbat dinner — I thought I’d also list a few of the shabbat-related items that might go in a vedding registry.
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Miss Meatball's Picture
Miss Meatball, Hollywood Age and Occupation: 30, Actor/Writer/Office Maven Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Actor/Writer Engagement Date: October 7, 2007 Wedding Date: May, 2009 Blogging Since: September 16, 2008 Venue: Private Garden/The Bungalow Club About Me: I love melty cheese and diet coke almost as much as I love my man. I'm from Chicago, he's from NYC, and we both miss public transit and great pizza. We have an adorable muppet dog called Paco. I'm part hippie with a healthy dash of hip hop superstar, have excessive empathy for animals, and have not one, but two bionic eyes (long story). We're broke and it ain't no joke. It can't stop us from planning the bold and whimsical wedding of our dreams, but we've had to get pretty creative to make it work, yo!
About Miss Meatball

Macy’s Cash Rebate Alert!

September 23rd, 2008 @ 11:25 am by Miss Meatball

From September 24th through October 5th, Macy’s is offering a $25 cash rebate on $200 tabletop purchases from one of 26 participating vendors like Lenox, Waterford, Wedgewood, Kate Spade, and even the new Martha Stewart Collection with Wedgewood.

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oooh la Lenox!

This is a great opportunity to ease the sting of buying a special couple a wedding gift, or simply to fill out your dinnerware service after the wedding is over!
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Mrs. Margarita's Picture
Miss Margarita, Boston/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 26, Healthcare Consultant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Doctor Engagement Date: March 21, 2007 Wedding Date: August, 2008 Blogging Since: June 18, 2008 Venue: Saddlerock Ranch About Me: I grew up in Southern California, moved to Boston for college, New York for grad school, back to Boston and now I travel the northeast every week for work. When I'm not on the go, I love to read, draw, shop, sleep and spend quality time with my fiancé, family and friends. We're long-distance planning for our "big fat brown wedding" in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
About Mrs. Margarita

DIY Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Programs

September 18th, 2008 @ 6:29 pm by Mrs. Margarita

Our programs were a labor of love. All in all they took us literally weeks to complete! The reason it took us so long was because I didn’t plan out the supplies very well, and since we started with only a few weeks from the wedding, I was just over it. That said, I’m SO glad we put so much effort into making them because they were a huge hit at the wedding.

Here’s the result of our weeks of work (excuse the bad quality picture - my camera is on the fritz):

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