Wil and I had our tasting at Citronelle at the Carmel Valley Ranch yesterday and it was an amazing experience. Last time we had a mini-lunch in the relaxing lounge area by the fireplace and we really liked the salad and the petite baquette, and this time we had a 4+ course meal and OMG! the food was soooo delicious! Now I am very very much looking forward to our big day coz we have so many foodies coming and they won’t be disappointed for sure!

From room design to tasting, food presentation to service, everything was beyond 5 stars! First of all, the room is contemporary and spacious with a nice view of the nature. Our waiters were very friendly, attentive and knowledgeable, gave us detailed descriptions on every dish, which is a great assurance as I want my guests to have the best dining experience! Last but not least, the food was excellent and was a work of art! Every single one was executed so well that we just started stuffing things into our mouths and totally forgot to take pictures! hahaha… and we were not even hungry! We actually did our cake tasting at Layers right before the dinner and hahaha I hope they didn’t think we were such a pig! =P At first, we didn’t plan to add dessert to our menu as we already have a wedding cake plus a dessert table, which will be designed by L’ Atelier Vi. We even planned to take the desserts to go since we were really full after the 3rd course!! but we got busted by Chef Anthony Keene, who came out to say Hi and insisted we should try the “Kit Kat” chocolate bar and the Napoleon cream brulee. And I bet it was his trick to get us hooked coz after the first bite, we were determine to add these to our menu as well. Citronelle is really the best of the best!

BTW, do you know that President Obama recently took his wife for a special dinner at Citronelle in Washington DC?

~Hors d’oeuvres~

Wild Mushroom Bouchee
Shrimp Cocktail
Charred Yellowfin Tuna, Jasmine Rice Cake, Mango
Crab Cigar
Charred Beef Tri-Tip Miniature Sandwich

~Starters~
Tuna
olives, chorizo, crispy potato

Sea Scallop
duck foie gras, carrot ginger sauce

~Entrees~
Pacific Salmon
dungeness crab risotto vanilla bean

Sea Bass
paella style

Roasted Filet Mignon “Au Poivre”
potato gratin, shallot confit, peppercorn sauce

~ Dessert ~

Here comes my flower girl gang: Sammi, Shannan, Jaylyn, Charlyn, Sarissa & Naomi (who couldn’t make to the Oakland Zoo that day)!! I bet they are going to steal the show!!

My online idea hub:
I like flipping magazine and touching & feeling paper, but I am sure all of us spend way more time google images and ideas. I usually find about 20+ links a day and how on earth am I going to remember these sites, rt?! Fun DIY projects from design*sponge, cute favor ideas from Martha Stewart Weddings, real wedding pictures from Style Me Pretty & Southern Weddings, and many many more resources from designer websites and blogs. To keep myself sane and organized, I use Google bookmarks to save my favorite sites, each with a label so it will be easy to find later. The best thing about this Google bookmarks is that I can pull up any favorite sites anytime even if I am not using my computer.

All bookmarks are also stored in my Google notebook, which is a great way to keep my wedding planning ideas and contact information all in one place. All I need to do is select text or images and right click “Note This” and it is saved. Isn’t it easy? And if I want to share images, ideas or links, all I need is to invite the person to view or edit my notebook.

Google Docs:
Our budget, guest lists, design plans, menu, estimates, invoices…etc are all in my Google doc. Yep, no printing at all. After all, things are changing every day and it just makes so much sense to have these files online, viewable/ Editable by all of us. I can upload HTML, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint and I can also export these files. I just find the Google Docs extremely useful as we can make changes without worrying who has the latest file.

Google Form
This is probably the best way to get the mailing/ contact information from your guests! You can create a form in a Google docs spreadsheet and send to your guests through email. Their responses will be automatically added to your spreadsheet and you don’t need to retype/ copy and paste anything. Go figure. I am sure you can do more than collecting addresses!

Google Calendar:
Wahahahahaha….I don’t keep check of vendor payments and appointments! So I assign Wil to do all the calls and with the online Calendar, we can both update and get reminders and I can monitor his progress. =P

Lastly but not least, read all of my favorite wedding blogs (like this one) with Google Reader. I don’t need to go to ten different sites but just one place to read all new posts. cooool.

Yeah!! I am so proud that I have saved a little tree!!

image by Paulette Macarons

I still have not yet decided on our dessert tables, but I know I will do two different tables mixing snacks and sweets from the East and the West.

All images from Amy Atlas Events

“Three letters” includes a request letter from the groom’s family to confirm the formal arrangement of a marriage, a gift letter indicating the list/ qty of the gifts, and lastly a wedding letter which would be presented on the wedding day to confirm the union.

“Six Etiquette” includes a formal proposal from the groom’s family with the help of a matchmaker, checking birth dates for compatibility, and about 15-20 days before the wedding day, the groom’s family would send cash and gifts, such as fish, coconut, cakes, and religious items, to the bride’s family, and a wedding banquet on a lucky day.

Wahahahaha, so complicated and I wonder who actually still does these rituals today. I guess most of the Chinese couples nowadays only do 3 steps: meet the parents, send gifts and money to the bride’s family as engagement party, and of course the wedding banquet.

Usually all gifts/ cash need to be in even numbers (odd is bad luck) and here is the list of gifts the groom’s family needs to prepare:

1. lucky money (it would be cool if I can keep some and spend it on my shoes, rt?!)
2. 400 pieces of Chinese wedding cakes/ pastries (what?! How can I fit in my dress after this?)
3. 4 kinds of seafood, such as lobster, shark fin, dried scallop, abalone (yeah, seafood feast!)
4. 3 poultry, such as a pair of chickens and a piece of pork meat.
5. 2 fishes
6. 2 pairs of coconuts
7. 4 bottles of wines
8. fruits & tea leaves
9. and another gift box with lucky money, lotus seeds, dried lilies, sesame, red beans, green beans, red dates, walnut, dried longan, as well as a red string, gold jewelry, and a pair of dragon and phoenix candles.

Then the bride’s family needs to return the following to the groom’s family:

1. tea leaves, sesame and fruits, such as lotus root, taro and pomegranate
2. a towel (is it to remind him to shower everyday? Hahaha, just wonder what’s the meaning?)
3. a basket of cakes, pastries, and sesame balls with lucky money
4. belts, wallets with lucky money, one pairs of shoes and two pairs of socks

Do I scare you with this long list of weird things? We are skipping a lot of them for sure, but will sure give our relatives some Kee Wah bridal cakes or gift certificates. Yep, they are probably the only store in US you may find the traditional bridal cakes with beautiful packaging. As for friends, let’s do beard papa’s cream puff gift certificate. Wouldn’t it be a nice modern option?! Thanks to Canna for this brilliant idea.

image by 唐國書.

images by paisley and posies

I learned about Good on Paper Design by Lisa Wong Jackson about 4 years ago and I was particularly fond of her simple yet chic eco-friendly designs. I forgot where did I find her wedding pictures that have been featured on Martha Stewart Magazine, Project Wedding as well as tons of websites and blogs and her wedding was put together by an amazing team, including Nancy Liu Chin, Lisa Lefkowitz Photography, and of course herself. I like the way she combines color and nature and makes the mundane things look modernish.

Since we were kids, Canna and I are inseparable even though I am into books and she is into lipsticks and heels. Disregarded our differences, we walked to school together. We sneaked out to play together. We bought our first sanrio pencil cases together. We traveled together. We cried and laughed together. So it is really true that I can’t plan my wedding without her being by my side. As Canna is a certified bridal make up hair stylist, it is really my privilege and it is really personal to have her do my makeup and hair. Thank you mom for giving my such a talented sister! Now I can just simply cross out one more thing on my to do list!

Before we started Mints, Canna got her professional training from Make Up Forever Academy and Bebridal will be featured on The Knot this coming fall!

photo by Myrtle and Marjoram Photography

all images by Sarah Seven