No no to Hoedown

How awesome would a wedding be with self serve buckets of ice cold imported beer

Then the unlimited great Bar-be-cue, aka catering from Woodranch. ooh, those garlic rolls

Dancing under the stars.  Not happening in LA's smog, so with the help of strung up lights

And the most wonderful night munchie, an In'n'out truck rolls in!! Or maybe King Taco to make it more "us"

.. And then I imagined my parents horror and grandparents confusion. Sigh.., outdoor rustic barn theme is just Not gonna happen

Picking the Date

How do people go about this?
I know some people like the look of numbers, especially 7/7/07.. And actually, I have a friend getting married on 11/11/11, yupp! National Pepero day, hehe. Others seem to dream of a summer wedding for various reasons.. lush flowers, outdoor receptions under bumblebee lights, supposedly the wonderful California weather. But honestly, I'm avoiding the summer in fear of heat strokes and being a sweaty mess under the gown. And the men in tux! Also seems like April and November are popular months, for a non-season wedding discount.

At my rate right now, it seems as though we'd be picking on availability.

so so in Love

Lalala~

It's my blog, I can gloat of I'd like

Booked!!

Ooh I'm kidding, we are far from

But seriously,
What's going on?

- A top contender is booked every Saturday and Sunday till October 2012, and that'll be a Sunday availability
- Another possibility has 1 Saturday and 1 Sunday available. We put a soft hold on the Saturday pending a tour. Even before we get a chance to check it out.. do we want to put a deposit? There's another couple interested.. And *poof* it's gone. The Sunday, too
- Here's a place that has a Saturday that opened up, the catch? It's in 3 months
- Actually, another has some availability on a discount.. Want a Christmas wedding?
- Wow! This place has a couple Saturday open.. Whoops day before Easter
I did notice many sites had the Saturday before Mother's day, but I dont want a flowerless wedding

Is this the reason why most couples have a 1+ year engagement?

Being KoAm

Getting a bit ahead of myself, but there are elements of my Korean culture I'd like to include in my wedding..
1. Dress the mothers in HanBok, traditional Korean silk gowns.
2. Stationary appetizer station during cocktail hour, featuring traditional rice cakes (signifies long healthy life together, good fortune) & other munchies
3. Pae-Baek ceremony, the traditional Korean ceremony of where the bride and groom celebrate family union. The couple gets dressed in the ceremonial HanBok and bow to family, perform a short tea (or rice wine) ceremony towards family elders, and accept wishes, advice, or wisdom regarding the future. I think it's cute when the couple attempts to catch all the dates and chestnuts thrown at them with the brides apron. Later, the couple gets to eat the ones they've caught.  I think dates symbolized daughters, and chestnuts sons. It used to be something the grooms family set up, correlating with the bride entering his family. No longer the case now. For me, It's colorful, a great change in pace, and wonderful photo opp.
.. My favorite is when the groom piggy backs the bride around the ceremonial space, then her mother to show thanks, and then his own mother.

No ring, no bring

Totally realizing that the biggest factor in wedding budget is the size of the guest list. It determines everything!! First of all, My being over 120 shut down a couple of my fore runners. Then there is the price attached per head.. Food, drinks, cake, parking, rentals, and so many more per person fee I can't keep track of!

Honestly, simplest way to trim that guest list..
No bling no bring. No ring no bring.

Yupp! Unless there's a hunkamunka diamond on her hand, or a copy of a marriage certificate, no plus ones at my wedding. Why does my special day have to accommodate you being sensitive about your single status. How does my paying for your guest (that you scrimmage up just to keep you company) have anything to do with me wanting you to enjoy your time. So really, cut out someone I know to have you bring a stranger? Does anyone else think the same?

Funny thing, read on theknot.com that "If asked why you're not allowing single friends to bring guests, size constraints or your parents' never-ending guest list are always good fallback white lies." .. Psh, not gonna be white lies for me. I'm having huge size constraints.

 Goodbye dream wedding venue .

Black & white

Bride V's favorite colors were.. None. She just stuck with the non colors, aka black & white. So it was a very easy choice to have a black & white wedding. A perfect fit that led her to a gorgeous Chanel inspired 5 (or was it 7??) tier cake, that inspired every other aspect of her production of a wedding. Without her requesting it, we knew to throw her a black & white bridal shower today. She's such a consistent girl, that all her gifts were wrapped in black, silver, and white. The rehearsal bouquet I made with all the tissue & ribbons will match her wedding! Will match her!

Interestingly enough, I've found that black and white is a very popular choice. This is really from my limited exposure to wedding via browsing randomly for possible venues. But is that a trend? Or are modern brides just not the frilly flowery as our older counterparts? Easter is out, huh?