Hamel Wedding!

You've got mail

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:11:43 GMT

Things received:
- Freeze dried rose petals
- Eiffel tower cake topper
- Wedding Favors
- Paper parasols
- Dinner and Cocktails napkins

Things to receive:
- Gold shoes
- Flower girl dresses
- To have and To Hold orb for ring bearer
- More wedding favors
- Vases for centerpieces

Things to order:
- Personalized ribbons
- Paper for menu, table numbers, escort cards

Things to do:
- Sign contract with caterer
- Rent more chairs for ceremony
- Create cones for petals tossing
- Create menus
- Create table numbers
- Create escort cards
- Create wedding programs

Freeze Dried Rose Petals

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:35:54 GMT

I just bought two colors of Freeze Dried Rose Petals from FlyBoy Naturals:

Summer Sun and Coral Pink

They were pretty expensive because I got the 60 cups + 6 Free. Shipping is around $40.

I will post pictures when I get them!

Dance lessons again tomorrow

Wed, 14 May 2008 04:28:48 GMT

It's 12:24am and I'm not asleep yet. I'm waiting for the CD that I made to finish verifying. We've been going to dance lessons a few times a week and tomorrow we're going to start putting our "dance" together so I had to edit the song using Cool Edit Pro.

Wedding favors have been ordered!
Cocktail napkins and dinner napkins have been ordered!
Parasols have been ordered!

Next ...

Logo for Gobo
Songs list for DJ
Songs list for Trio
Finish writing wedding ceremony
Silk flower petals
Create timeline
Create ceremony program
Create menus
Create reception program
Buy hair accessories
Buy wedding jewelery

Cocktails Menu

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:05:21 GMT

We originally got a menu that was more exotic than what our families could handle so I did a search for really simple/basic cocktail foods and this is what we came up with:

Cocktail Sandwiches on White and Brown Bread (Meat and Vegetarian)
Crab Wontons
Chicken Skewers with Peanut sauce dip
Beef Tenderloin brochettes
Oven baked scallops wrapped in bacon
Fresh Fruit Salad

Drinks:
Orange Juice & Soft Drinks
Freshly Brewed Coffee & Tea
Strawberry Daiquiri
Lime Daiquiri

We've hired the Civilization Museum for the catering.

Parasols ordered

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:46:42 GMT

Because there is NOTHING in Canada, everything I order online is from the US and I'm paying crazy shipping fees.

I just ordered 40 parasols (half red, half yellow), shipping is half the cost of the total order!

I hope to be able to order the wedding favors, napkins & coasters, and silk flower petals today.

Update:

Napkins and cocktail napkins ordered from Foryourparty.com

He proposed again!

Sat, 03 May 2008 20:30:28 GMT

I was feeling pretty "blah" yesterday. I was being very indecisive and suggested that we take a spontaneous trip to Toronto, to which he answered with "Not this weekend, maybe another weekend. Do you want to go to Loblaws?" -- I was not impressed. I thought this was typical "now that we're living together, go to the grocery store and get me food" attitude.

Once we got home, I told him that I wanted to do nothing more than to sit in the home theater room, eat watermelon and veg. However, at around 7:30pm, P-Man insisted that we go out and get some food. Once we were in the car, he told me to keep my eyes closed and that he'll take me to a new place to eat. I lowered my car seat and thought he'd just take me to a restaurant by the river. He told me "It's nothing big but I think this will be fun. We have to go there late because it gets really busy there. I have to do this more often. I'm just sort of winging this but I think it will be good." He drove and drove for about half an hour or more. I could not figure out where we were going at all and he told me that we've never been there so I didn't try to guess.

Once we arrived, he told me to wait in the car and keep my eyes closed. He went for about 5 minutes and when he came back to the car, he tried to get me to follow him with my eyes closed. I was freaking out at this point because the door was squeaking and it smelled old. I thought that maybe he was taking me to a cemetery and broken into one of those graves that holds a family. After a while, he picked me up and carried me up two flights of super steep stairs. While he was taking me up these stairs I asked him, "Patrick! How are you taking me upstairs without anyone saying anything???" At that point, I figured that maybe he had taken me to an old bed and breakfast and there were no patrons. I was soooooo wrong.

He sat me down and told me to open my eyes. To my surprise, he had taken me here!

He was on one knee and trying to catch his breath. I could not believe it. When we first started dating, he arranged for a private tour of the Bytown Museum with the museum's director after hours because I wanted to hunt for ghosts. That was the same night that we fell in love with each other.

"This is how I've always wanted to propose to you because this is where we fell in love. I love you so much and can't imagine myself with anyone other than you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be my wife, will you marry me?"

At this point, I had already transformed into a human water fountain. I said "yes" and he pointed to the camcorder that was recording.

I want to always remember how he looked at me, on bended knee, when I opened my eyes. He looked at me with so much love, I couldn't believe that he had done all this for me! It was then that I felt like I was grounded again and although there is so much work in planning a wedding, I just want to marry Patrick and become his wife! I am the world's luckiest girl to have his love.

Bytown Museum is where we had our engagement pictures taken.

I love you Patrick!!! I love you I love you I love you!

Marriage License!

Thu, 01 May 2008 01:11:45 GMT

HOORAY!

We got our MARRIAGE LICENSE today! I was so giddy with excitement ALL DAY. Seriously, I was such a happy camper before sleeping last night in anticipation for the monumental event today at city hall. Even the woman who was sitting next to us in line at city hall asked us if we wanted her to take a picture for us, "I figured that you were here for your marriage license since you are so happy."

DAMN RIGHT I'M HAPPY! :) As we sat patiently waiting for our number to come up, the woman next to us shared stories of her wedding 20 some years ago.

I am seriously so happy right now. I don't know why but getting this marriage certificate makes me feel ... at peace. Does that make any sense? I am CERTIFED to marry my big French Man! YAY!

This is what Patrick looks like after he pays.

Honeymoon in Hawaii

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:04:01 GMT

I just realized that I haven't said a word about where we're going for our honeymoon! Given that we are paying for our own wedding, we definitely do not have the luxury of escaping our normal habitat for an extended period of time. However, with the amount of time that we do have, it will be spent relaxing on the beaches of Hawaii. Originally we were planning a European honeymoon but given the time constraint + too many attractions would mean that we'd probably be entirely pooped. So although it's going to be insanely hot while we're there, I'm definitely going to enjoy being away from work! The trip to Hawaii (location, hotel, timing) was arranged by P-Man as I am consumed with wedding plans. I definitely appreciate him taking the initative and getting that done!

No engagement party = anti-climatic

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:33:55 GMT

A disadvantage of not having an engagement party to celebrate is that I feel like no one really cares that we're getting married and they also don't realize the amount of work that is required.

It gets worse because my parents and his parents aren't really big on celebrations and definitely aren't familiar with planning what is essentially a big party. Our friends are all pretty wrapped up in their own lives and have not offered us any help. I'm fairly positive in a not so postive way that it won't really feel like we're getting married until some of my relatives/out-of-town guests actually start coming into Ottawa (Most of my family members aren't even in the country). In the meanwhile I'm busy making tons of arrangements, yet our parents and friends still expect us to be able to commit the same amount of time to them as though we aren't planning a wedding. Yes I understand that it's just a 1 day event, but this 1 day event is costing us a lot of money.

Although we will definitely not be "showered", and I don't expect anyone to offer us help with much, the least that I should be able to expect is that they don't request help from us. That kind of behaviour is what ticks me off and makes me want to stop talking to these people. It's not just that they have the nerve to ask, it's the manner in which they ask the favor in. You realize we are incredibly busy, how dare you ask us to do you a favor ASAP. Inconsiderate and selfish attitudes like these makes me wonder why we didn't just elope.

Table Linen Woes

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:58:48 GMT

I have rented gold chivari chairs for the ceremony and reception. I'm pretty sure that Patrick will wring my neck if I try to add anything else to the budget now that it is TWO MONTHS UNTIL THE WEDDING! But I'm still dreaming about red linens that reach the floor. Our round tables are large, which means that 120" will not reach the floor. Right now we will be having white table linens with gold overlays ... but my biggest beef with this is that the table cloths will not reach the floors! Sigh. This has also totally messed with my color scheme, why don't reception halls have linens in multiple colors?

What do you guys think? Should I just leave the tables as they are?

Hair Inspiration Pictures

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:57:12 GMT

Now that I have ordered my veil and OBridal has sent me the tracking number (Wow, quick service!), I have to concentrate on my hair!

These are some pictures that I have collected:

I love ponytails:

Which one should I get?! I wish I could have 2 hairstyles :( Could I? :D

I've been veiled!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:44:35 GMT

My veil search is over! Last week, I made a point of visiting local boutiques and seeing what they had to offer. I was able to cross off every bridal boutique because they didn't meet my requirements:
- Veil needs to be 108" cathedral length
- Veil needs to be no more than $150!
- Nothing sparkly on veil
- Must include detachable blusher

Basically the CHEAPEST veil I could find was $150 and it was super short (much like the one that I already have at home). I ended up buying my veil at Obridal.com because I refuse to pay $400 for a piece of tulle that I will only be wearing for a few hours maximum. The woman was really helpful and answered my e-mails within a reasonable time period. I also had the option of requesting a rush order with no additional fee. I will take a picture as soon as I receive the veil!

Scrolls as Wedding Favors

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:12:32 GMT

Ever since we got engaged, I've been searching for "the perfect wedding favor." After an endless amount of google image searching, I've also come to the conclusion that there really is no perfect wedding favor. Even if you had a huge budget for wedding favors, nothing seems to have that "meaningful" element to it.

I really did not want to give chocolates/mints/candies. I also detested the idea of giving dollar store coffee scoops or overpriced keychains.

Increasingly discouraged, I tossed around the idea of giving tea tins (as a sign of respect) or setting up a candy buffet (fun for the kids!). Neither of those ideas stuck since they still didn't have that "memorable" aspect. I kept imagining the tea leaves being boiled and the tin being tossed or the keychain rusting and breaking apart.

Finally, I realized that in order to give my guests something special that they can keep forever and still have it be affordable for me, I'd have to make part of it.

I've now decided to volunteer my Daddy's beautiful handwriting (using a calligraphy brush) on red scrolls that guests can either hang on the wall or just keep on a bookshelf.

I plan on asking my Dad to write a Chinese love poem/proverb on each of these scrolls and include an english/french translation. I've always adored his Chinese calligraphy and I'd love to share it with everyone. I've already ordered 5 samples from India and they should be here in about a week! I'm so excited!!

What do you think? Would you keep this wedding favor?

Wedding Flowers Quote

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:56:12 GMT

Around a week ago, I ventured out to a local florist called Flowers Talk and met with Elizabeth. I had already heard of great things about this florist and knew that she has done many beautiful weddings.

My requirements are the following:
1 Bridal Bouquet - Peach and Pink Peonies & Roses
1 Groom's Boutonniere
2 Mother corsage
1 Grand mother corsage
2 Fathers boutonniere
6 Boutonniere
Sweetheart table
8 cones of flowers for chairs at ceremony
Standing balls of flowers for ceremony

------------------------------------
The cost is $1300 (with taxes)

We have decided to book with Flowers Talk due to Elizabeth's (who is also the owner) extensive knowledge of flowers. I loved how she wasn't afraid to tell me what she didn't like about some of the flowers she has done and I also found that we have similar tastes in flowers. Since I know nothing about flowers, I appreciate someone who can offer good advice! Before going to Flowers Talk, I also paid a visit to Carling Flowers because I was hoping to get the "special deal for Chinese customers" (no tax and 10% off flowers), but I was scared away by the owner not know what kind of flowers were in the picture I showed her.

Lesson to learn from this is "don't always try to find the best deal!" :)

** Picture reference:
http://images.gtdecorations.com/product_thumbnails/39630073/200_200_pink.jpg http://www.weddingbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/07/604.jpg
http://www.distinctivedesignsforweddings.com/images/tn_ceremony-chairs1.jpg
http://patmarkphoto.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/041407_h.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/2wevwpy.jpg
http://www.wildflowers-design.com/brides_magazine/brides_magazine_cover.jpg

Chinese Tea Ceremony

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:52:27 GMT

Originally we were going to have our Chinese Tea Ceremony in the morning at Chateau Laurier. Then I realized that I'd be really rushed and really didn't feel like switching from my Chinese Qua to my ceremony dress in such a short period of time.

This is the tea set that we bought in Toronto (except ours has about 6 cups):

Apparently people have been using this tea set style for decades because my Mom said that they used to have this exact same tea set but they gave it away! Back then it only cost them $15, I bought this for almost $40!

Along with the tea ceremony, Patrick's friends & family will also be arriving with "gifts". These gifts are traditionally part of the betrothal and includes items such as a roasted pig, double happiness cakes, fruits, etc (my parents have made a list of all the items). I will talk about this some more as we get closer to the wedding!

Wedding budget worries

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:19:33 GMT

I could not sleep last night. I kept tossing, turning and calculating how much we have paid, how much there is to pay and how much we can expect from wedding gifts (using the worst case scenario: where all I can depend on is moola from our parents and my relatives).

Then I kept trying to calculate the sources of the growing cost of our wedding. Reception, photographer, videographer, dresses, cake, flowers, ceremony location, caterer ... the list goes on. At 5am, I woke Patrick up and tried to get him to talk to me.

Jenny: "Patrick, I can't sleep. I'm worried about the cost of the wedding."

I don't know what I expected, I guess I was hoping that he'd wake up and calm my fears so that I could sleep. But all he did was tell me that he had a big day and needed rest.

So then I went back to worrying and trying to figure out how long it would take to pay off our debt.

Sighhh. I imagine that there will be many more sleepless nights for me in the next two months.

Reception Decor / Invitations / Cake Testing

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:35:27 GMT

Around a month ago, we scoured Toronto for the most perfect red lanterns to change our very western-style Congress Centre into a little chinatown. We ended up buying $500 worth of lanterns of various sizes. Here are the lanterns all wrapped up!

The weekend after, we spent it at my parents and put together our invitations! My awesome Dad handwrote every envelope and also added a little quote inside for the non-Chinese speaking guests. The invitations are trilingual (French, Chinese and English).

Our invitations:

The map that I made in illustrator printed on vellum.

Overall, the invitations were more expensive than I expected.

Card + Envelope + RSVP card (upgrade on paper, extra language) = $500
3 Inserts (Accomodations, Directions and Map) = $120
Stamps = Approximately $150
Total Cost = $770
------------------------
$7.70 each

We had to put extra stamps on them because they were oversize in weight.

Cake Testing! We have decided to go with Swiss Pastries:

Wedding Dress / Make up Trial

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:34:48 GMT

We are almost 2 months away from the wedding! Yesterday was a really busy day and we were able to cross a lot of things off our list.

9:30AM - Make up trial with Grace's Esthetics
I got to Grace's a tiny bit late due to construction and I was also confused about where I could park. I generally do not like to park on the street because my car is black and gets dirty really easily.
Excuse me for my hair, this was just a make up trial and I usually do nothing with my hair:

I tried to take pictures while I was driving out to Carleton Place. You can't see the make up really clearly but I was not happy with this trial at all. Basically my eyes were full of glue, the lashes were cheap and criss-crossed. The lipstick was also not applied correctly in my opinion. You could see a clear separation between the fake lashes and my real lashes. If I hadn't pushed her, she wouldn't have even put eye liner/mascara on. The eye shadow wasn't blended in well at all!

11:30AM - Shoes at Sinder's Bridal House
I've been pretty picky about bridal shoes and my indecisiveness prohibited me from getting sexy shoes with bows on them from the internet as I was running out of time and really needed my shoes for the appointment with the seamstress.

11:45AM - Seamstress appointment at Rose's
I've heard of all sorts of horror stories about alterations appointments but actually I had a really great time! At one point, I had 3 girls underneath my dress to make adjustments. I am relieved that my dress only requires minimal alterations. I don't need a bustle because I have my Lia for dancing. The length was perfect and I don't need to have it shortened at all (just like my Lia).

Pics of my Ceremony Dress - warning: has not been steamed yet!

1:45PM - Finally got back home to eat some Chinese take-out

3:45PM - Dancing lessons at Fred Astaire's School of Dance
We practiced the foxtrot, waltz and tango. The lessons aren't cheap, they're a whopping $745 + tax! We're scheduled to do them twice a week since we are really running out of time.

Afterwards, we went to some mexican place downtown for drinks on the terrace. 24 degrees, it felt like summer!

5:30PM - Holt Renfrew, Make up trial at Laura Mercier
I have officially booked my make up for the wedding! This girl is from Vancouver and went to Blanche Macdonald.

It is really hard to adjust to that much make up on my face but I guess I have no choice for pictures.

That's all for now! I will post pics of my lanterns and wedding invitations in my next post!

Wedding Cake!

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:54:48 GMT

I have found the wedding cake that I want!! And the baker that we have pretty much chosen said that it will be no problem!!!

Without further ado, here is our beautiful cake design:

This fits perfectly with our theme! My Chinese Paris!

Year of the Rat!

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:54:32 GMT

Brides this year, who are mailing their invites, will be pleased to find that the rats that appear on the Canada Post stamps are dressed like traditional Chinese bride and groom! Check it out here:
http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/collecting/default-e.asp

Save the Dates are in!

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:39:36 GMT

We've gotten our STDs! I'm not quite sure how long they took to get here through standard shipping (since I wasn't anal enough to go check my mail box every day), but I don't think it took longer than a week and a half - decent for out of country shipping.

As for my dress shopping ...
I did not get to try on my dress one last time before purchasing it (I just wanted to get it over with!). So lately I've been google imaging my dress. The results have not been good. I remembered my dress being LOVELY and flawless like the picture on their website -- but pictures that I've seen on random internet people make the dress look ... I know I will sound mean, but ... they looked TERRIBLE. Have I made a mistake??? My dress does NOT look like that at all! Has anyone else tried using a search engine to check out how others looked in their dress?

Budgeting

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:16:09 GMT

It was a dark, cold and snowy night last Thursday ... But I finally went to get my measurements done and to also buy my wedding dress! I was putting it off for a long time because we've had no time to go on the weekends and it's only open late on Thursday nights (it's pretty far away to go there after work). But now that we're counting down in the 6 months range, I was beginning to run out of time! To my dismay, the dress that they had in inventory was no longer there so I could not try it on one last time. I didn't care though, I just wanted to get it over with. I was in and out in 20 minutes. The girls that worked there asked if I wanted to check out other wedding dresses -- NOPE, I did not want to try on or look at another dress.

The contracts have been finalized with Quality Entertainment (DJ and Ceremony music) and also with Millenium Limos. Now we just have to go in and pay the deposit.

I was adjusting our budget excel worksheet to reflect recent payments/changes/etc. Working on that made me realize that we really have to put more money towards the wedding instead of spending money on frivolous things such as champagne (which we consume weekly!).

Last night, we bought our Save The Date photo cards from Snapfish.com. When we first got engaged, I really wanted to make my own save the date magnet/cards. But at the prices at Snapfish, it made much more sense to have them made. They ended up costing around 58 cents per card! We are also considering making some Holiday cards with Snapfish but I figured we should probably wait until we receive the first batch. I will post pictures once I receive them!

Another thing to cross off list - Day of Wedding Coordinator

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:57:57 GMT

After picking up our brand new TL last night, we had Mariam from Top Marx come to our house. Mariam's discounted offer of her Wedding Day Coordinator services was very enticing. As much as we think Esther is a very pleasant person, we were not comfortable with hiring her since she was unable to provide us with pictures of her services. Mariam is also extremely pleasant! She does not have any experience with Chinese weddings, nor does she have experience at the Congress Center, but she was able to provide us with examples of weddings she has done. At the end of our meeting, we ended up signing with her and giving her the deposit!

I feel really relieved to be able to cross that off our list of things to do -- especially a coordinator. I think she will prove to be very valuable to us. :)

This chart was really good in helping us select our day of coordinator:
http://www.blissweddings.com/wedding_planner/consultants_chart.asp

Questions to ask your florist

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:28:03 GMT

I am still trying to find the "perfect" florist for my wedding. By perfect, I mean that I want someone who has the same kind of style, is modern and up to date, but is also AFFORDABLE.

Here are some questions that I found online:

1 How long have you been in the business of designing arrangements for weddings?
2 Do you belong to any organizations?
3 Do you have photos of some weddings you’ve done?
4 Do you provide references?
5 Do you hand tie and wrap each bouquet?
6 Are you familiar with my reception site?
7 How far in advance do you set up for the ceremony & reception site?
8 After you drop off the flowers at the church, do you stay to help distribute corsages? Is this
included in your fee?
9 What is your payment policy?
10 Deposit required? How much? Due when?
11 Balance due?
12 What is your cancellation policy?
13 What form of payment do you accept?
14 Do you outline in a contract exactly what products and services you will be providing?
15 Is the delivery and set-up fee additional?

Flowers are so pretty yet so hard on the wallet!

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:40:26 GMT

I sent a mass e-mail "RFP" to a dozen or more florists late last night and have received a few responses back this morning. The quotes that I received were really quite frightening to me since I did not expect flowers to cost such an incredible amount! For the information I gave them, it would cost over $3000 just for flowers! I opened my budget excel sheet to try to work the numbers but I really cannot justify the cost of these flowers.

On top of that, I just found out that the cost of a live band is also much more than I expected. And I thought that DJs were expensive at $1000+. The cost of a live band is insane unless it is a trio. I found a trio band called Jukebox Revival* -- they're $1500 and can also MC in French. I figured that maybe we'd be able to get them to charge $1000 But now with this new information about how pricey flowers are, I definitely cannot work it into the budget. I'd be best with a DJ who can provide a variety of wedding songs. Now if only I can find one and stick with him!

Another problem is that I found out that my potential, Chinese-speaking, MC is religious. I have no problems with someone who is religious but I fear that he might break into some God-loving talk.

This is what I sent to florists, I was too optimistic:
- 15 Centrepieces (Attached are pictures of centrepieces)
-Boutonnieres (6)
-Groom's Boutonniere
-Bride's Bouquet
-Mother and MIL corsages
-Father and FIL boutonniere
-Corsage for grandmother
-Boutonniere for grandfather
-Floral for ceremony
-Floral for reception

*Description of Jukebox (French):
Notre Trio joue de la musique rétro des années 50 à 70. Les
instruments sont le sax, la guitare électrique et les percussions
(congas). Nous utilisons des pistes qui ont été enregistrées par nos
musiciens en studio (batterie, basse, claviers et trompette) donc ça
sonne "live" même si c'est juste un trio. Nous jouons très peu de
chansons francophones ( 2 ou 3) mais nous animons en français bien
entendu.

Notre cachet est 1500$ incluant la sonoriation.

p.s. Notre garantie: Si les gens ne dansent pas, c'est GRATUIT.

So beautiful but I'd rather spend that on a nice plasma :)