Long time no blog, but plenty of work done behind the scenes. In one Saturday we took care of our banquet menu, ordering invitations and selecting the weddings bands – it was a long day but a productive one.
What’s in a menu? Well, at least in a Chinese wedding menu there is plenty to it. Traditionally there are 8 courses including seafood, pork, beef, chicken and dessert on top of the wedding cake. A combination of these are a must and the best way to describe it is…it’s a marathon. Some first timers make the mistake to speed through the first couple of dishes and by the time they reach the shark fin soup (like the intermission of the meal) they’re stuffed. Slow and steady wins the race.
Jimmy from Pacificana was more than helpful with deciding on the menu, the options for the table cloth colors and the additional services he offered us. All I can say that he’s taking great care of us and happy that I don’t have to think/worry about the reception. He did convince us to have an open bar that we purchase the liquor to manage the cost – it’ll make things fun he says. We originally thought of doing only wine and beer to 1.) manage costs and 2.) hold responsibility for our guests since many of them have to drive. After our session with Jimmy, we were set for the evening – such a relief.
After our visit to Chinatown Brooklyn, we headed over to Chinatown Manhattan to order the invitations. It probably
Our invitation - the red bomb - with the traditional dragon & pheonix
took 20 minutes too long picking amongst a few invitation designs. How hard can it be to pick amongst red invitations with double happiness signs? More difficult than I thought it would. We picked out one with a double happiness sign and a cartoon of a wedding couple in traditional Chinese dress. It was cute, but very bright orange red. Later on in the week when we confirmed the wording of the invitation, we changed the design to a more traditional look and less offensive to the eye. Plus, they were cheaper at 70 cents each! There isn’t a need to spend so much on an item that will either get lost or end up in the trash anyways. In total we ordered 300 invitations and RSVP cards.
Since we were in the city, we visited the jeweler who helped Jerry find the diamond for the engagement ring. Even though we visited him the week prior with out our parents, mom wanted to look into buying a bracelet and earrings. Of course while we were there, she wanted to see the wedding bands we picked out and got me looking at bands with diamonds. We originally picked out plain white gold bands because it was within our budget. While looking through some new designs, I picked out a new band that is unique and absolutely beautiful. Jerry stuck to his guns and still wanted his plain matted finished band. Then it was another item on our check list done.
Chinatown is the best one stop shop for Chinese weddings, gotta love it.
Since that week, we’ve picked up the invitations and started mailing them out. We also had our engagement photo session with our wedding photographer, Bill Xie. It was fun to me despite the 90 degree weather. We started off at
- Got my hair did for the engagement photos – my hair stylist, James did a great job giving me the Hong Kong star inspired do.
Central Park and ended in Brooklyn for beautiful sunset pictures. I have to give Jerry credit, being able to go through the 4 hours in the heat and not
- The result of James going origami with my hair. I’m not used to this kind of hair style, but it’s fun.
comfortable with taking pictures. But Bill was great with us, equipped with over 40 pounds of camera equipment on his shoulders and waist. From the pictures he showed us through his camera, I’m excited to see the full set and know that we made a good choice with our photographer.
Now we’re less than 90 days before the wedding and little by little I’m making progress with Jerry and our bridal party to get things done. It’s coming together. I just paid for our honeymoon a week after the wedding and if anything, at least we have a vacation!
