Engagement Photos In!
Posted by Minh on July 17th, 2011
I am SO excited about the proofs of our engagement photos in Malibu and Santa Monica, California. Overall the photos turned out so fabulous! Our little doggie, Taz, was such a good model during the shoot, even if it it was really hot during the afternoon. Taz actually listened to our instructions and was such a ham throughout the sessions. 
We had our photo shoots in 3.5 locations, starting around 6 p.m. PST. When factoring in traffic and travel time to the shooting locations, it took about five hours for our engagement session, of which three hours were truly dedicated to the photo shoots. Craziness! The first session was held at Malibu State Creek Park. Then on our way to our next location, Jason, our photographer asked us to pull over for a random shot with some beautiful trees on top of a hill, which makes this the unexpected 1/2 portion. I’m really glad that Jason was able to spot this location on the whim because there were some amazing shots from there. Afterwards, Robert and I changed outfits in the nearest porta potties at El Matador State Beach in Malibu. Totally glamorous, right? 
The sun was setting at this point, and it was REALLY cold near the beach, so Robert and I decided to conclude the shoot at one of our favorite places: Santa Monica Pier.
Now that Robert and I are familiar with our photographer’s style and approach, hopefully we will have even better photos on our wedding day. It was difficult selecting which photos to be posted on our wedding website, but here are some of our favorites. Enjoy!
Anticipating My VW Wedding Dress This Month
Posted by Minh on February 19th, 2011
When I purchased my Vera Wang bridal gown in August 2010, the sales associate told me that I’d expect to pick up the dress in February. Well it’s now February, and I’m very excited!! I’m hoping that I’ll still remember what it felt like when I try on the dress because it really is absolutely stunning. A little bit of anxiety is settling in as I think more about it. Hopefully I’ll fall in love with the dress all over again when I see it. I originally intended to try on Vera Wang wedding dresses at the Saks Jendel boutique because they were having sample sale, but it turns out that my dress was part of the latest VW collection so of course it wasn’t on sale. Oh well! 
Although my bridal gown exceeded my budget, I really think it’s worth it!
My mother flew to DC from Georgia to be a part of the wedding dress shopping experience. I’m glad she was able to participate, but she drove me insane during the entire time! She was picking out gowns that were $10,000+ because she thought they would look great on me. I’m sure she was probably right, but COME ON! I was paying for the dress myself and there’s no way that I’d pay that much for a dress! I suppose you can’t fault my mother for having great taste. In the end, my friend Kim helped my mother realize that this is not about her and rather it’s about me and my special day and my wallet. Fortunately my mother conceded and everything worked out in the end.
Some women express true, extreme enthusiasm when they know it’s “the dress,” but not so much with me. It just so happened that the first dress I tried on was “the dress” for me, even after trying on 4-5 dresses subsequent to that. I didn’t have one defining moment that made me think “THIS IS IT!! I AM SO PURCHASING IT TODAY!!!!” In fact, it was a silent and reflective moment that helped me realize that the first dress was “it.” Since I was 15, I dreamed of walking down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown and nothing was going to stop me from achieving that dream. I’m so happy that my dream came true! I didn’t have much deliberation when I tried on the dresses other than budget considerations because I’m one of those people who immediately know what they want when they see it. So it wasn’t a big surprise that I had reserved that special ‘it’ moment for myself first.
Without giving any important details away, the dress is what I envisioned it to be (and more). I didn’t realize that such dress could make a compelling impact for me, but it did. It’s feminine and flowy, but also elegant and classic. I will update this blog once I receive my dress. I hope to lose quite a bit of weight before the big day because after all “you don’t change Vera Wang to fit your body; you change your body to fit Vera Wang” (Bridal Wars movie).
Introduction
Posted by Minh on January 8th, 2011
Hello!
Robert and I are so excited about our forthcoming wedding and are overjoyed about sharing such a happy occasion with all of you! You all have been such an important part of our lives, and we appreciate your love and support. We hope that our wedding is more than a marriage between the two of us but also the beginning of a friendship between our family and friends.
I observe that people seem to have a visceral reaction when they learn that Robert and I are not getting married in the DC/Northern Virginia area. Questions such as “Why LA? Do you have family there?” or “Did you grow up in that area?” always arise. In circumstances like that, we always respond “Well, why not? We want a destination wedding.” Since the majority of our friends and family would be flying to the event anyway, we want to offer a new experience to our guests, considering most have never been to LA before.
I’ve always known that a destination wedding was the ultimate wedding experience, and fortunately Robert was supportive of the idea. LA was actually not the first choice of destination event for me. In fact, I was debating between Napa Valley or NYC. We even talked about getting married in Hawaii, but we scrapped that idea quickly. Robert knew that I had been reading LA wedding blogs for years, and he expressed his desire to have the wedding in LA so we can take advantage of (1) the beautiful weather and (2) the opportunities to work with amazing wedding vendors. After hearing Robert’s convincing points for an LA wedding, I finally conceded so we’re getting married in LA! Isn’t compromise one of those important lessons in a marriage?
Since Robert and I became engaged in February 2010, we had been making a couple of trips to LA for the wedding. We knew that there’d be financial and personal sacrifices associated with a destination wedding, and we were prepared for it. Although it’s been a long engagement, we’ve been very lucky in enjoying the process, primarily due to our helpful and patient planner, Yelena, of The Stylish Soiree. Yelena had instituted a detailed timeline for us, but like most things that are planned, they did not go according to plan (which is not a big deal). I was hoping to secure a wedding venue first, but it turns out that this was the LAST thing that occurred. We looked at over 10 venues before deciding on the most suitable place for us. Yelena, Robert, and I had been researching wedding venues for months, and I thought it’d be easy to find the ‘perfect’ venue. I was so confident that the right venue would be discovered during our first trip out to LA. How wrong I was! I deduced that it was my tendency to be picky, along with having high expectations, that resulted in me not being happy in all these venues. It took a second trip back to LA for us to finally discover ‘the one’ venue.
In addition to committing services with our wedding planner and the venue owners, we are currently under contract with the following vendors:
Did I mention that I also have my dream Vera Wang wedding gown? My mother, Robert’s mother, and my dear friend Kim were there when I tried and picked out the beautiful dress. I can’t wait to wear it on the day of! There are only a few months to go before the event take place, and I think Robert and I have made solid progress so far. As strange as this sounds, I felt so much better after writing the checks for the deposits and signing the contracts. Now I can look forward to the fun design aspect of our wedding like putting creative and personalized touches to little things.