Dress Hunt – Vera Wang Maid to Order
Published: April 23rd, 2009Posted in: Featured Vendors, Wedding Planning
Featured Vendors
Dress Hunt – Glamour Closet
Published: April 22nd, 2009Posted in: dot's wedding journal, Featured Vendors, Wedding Planning
For me, wedding planning is almost like going through my quarter life crisis again. Do I want a solitarie or three stones engagement ring? Do I want the diamond surrounded by bead-set diamonds or band with diamonds? Should I pick strap or strapless wedding gown? Mermaid or A line? sweetheart V-neck? how many bridesmaids? and gosh, the wedding color?! so many choices and it is incredibly hard for a person with Indecisive Syndrome.
Luckily I got Canna and Mei to help me out with my dress hunting! Our first hop was Glamour Closet in San Francisco. This place is highly recommended by a few of our clients. It carry designer gowns, such as Reem Acra, Monique Lhuillier or Vera Wang, and all these sample dresses are discounted 25-75%. It had the “March Madness” sales, where brides get an additional 25% off. No wonder one of my brides got her dress $7000 less than the retail price (huge markdowns!!). Too bad that I didn’t start my dress hunt earlier. =P
Since many brides mentioned this place is crowed on weekends and the wait can be extremely long, we visited the store on a weekday and I didn’t have to wait at all. I was surprised that this is not an “outlet” store. Instead, it is a charming boutique with good customer services. I tried on 5 dresses but didn’t find anything here as it specializes in selling samples “off the rack,” which means most of them are size 8 and up. It just wouldn’t make sense to alter a dress down to size 0 but overall it’s still a fun experience.
One thing I learned from this hop: Though I love lace but it doesn’t fit the venue’s style (yep, it is true that you need to find the venue before your dress hunt!!). I want something modern and dreamy/romantic at the same time. For my petite frame, no ball gown and I need something light and simple. hahaha…axing choices!!
Dot’s wedding journal – Carmel Valley Ranch
Published: April 2nd, 2009Posted in: dot's wedding journal, Featured Vendors, Wedding Planning
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your wedding at St. Regis in Bali? I always wanted a destination wedding but traveling far wouldn’t be feasible for most of our families and friends with kids. My friends and I traveled to Los Angeles last year with 4 babies and we were lucky enough to witness the record high heat wave and the most thorough LAX security check. so in a way I know it is a definite no-no. But can’t fly to Mexico or Thailand doesn’t mean we have to give up this idea altogether! We have many options for sorta weekend getaway destination weddings in Northern California. Napa Valley, Santa Cruz, Halfmoon Bay, just to name a few locations.
As I am seriously in love with Monterey/ Carmel (probably because of the Marine Biology class I took at Cal, which got me very interested in whales and dolphins or watching Olivia with a cup of hot coco at the forest theater in Carmel many years ago was the most romantic moment), it is really a no-brainer choice for us. First, it is only less than 2 hours drive. Yep, no flying required. It is tucked away from the city and it offers the stunning ocean view as well as serene mountain view. For our friends and families, it has tons of attractions, activities and things to do in Monterey Peninsula. I am not sure if I can wake up 7am to get ready for the whale watch the day after our wedding but I am sure Salad will love to visit the Aquarium one more time!
In less than 2 weeks of searching and calling, we nailed down the location – Carmel Valley Ranch. It nestled in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains and its club house has floor-to-ceiling windows which our guests may enjoy the picturesque views and the culinary by Michelin-rated Chef Michel Richard (Citronelle). We had lunch here and it’s delicious. I especially like the white leather chair and the fireplaces in the club house making the room look rustic, cozy yet modern. I can’t even tell you how much we love this place once we walked into the room! We both knew it right then this is it. Janice Twomey, the catering manager, and her assistant Kevin Doscher are also very helpful during our visit. Not only she patiently answers all our questions and sent us the estimate and pictures right after we met, she even helped us call a few photographers and vendors. It’s really thoughtful of her. I really highly recommend this place.
So here it is – my wedding location.
All photos are from Carmel Valley Ranch.
Life is full of fun
Published: April 23rd, 2008Posted in: Featured Vendors, Wedding Planning
Life is full of fun — This is exactly how I feel when I visit Augie Chang’s website.
Recently, one of my friends sent me his link and I was instantly wow with his work. His pictures not only capture the emotions at the very right moment but each set has its personal uniqueness. And they are all so happy!! Maybe I am being silly, but I really do like to look at wedding/ family pictures, they remind me how lucky I am to have a great family and friends and make me feel like the world is super beautiful.
haha…since I have shaky hand syndrome and I can only take blurry pictures, I decide we should send Gary to take this class by Augie and hopefully, we can share some cool pictures with you this summer. =)
Masse’s Pastries – Berkeley
Published: December 13th, 2007Posted in: Featured Vendors, Foodelicious
