Feathered Frenzies

So I wanted to finish the bracelet and the headband today.

Unfortunately, the feathers are proving a little more fractious than I anticipated... I can't seem to get them to stay flat, or rather they're too flat -to the point if dicing straight out when I need then to curve around the bracelet into a nice, tame cuff of eyes.

I also need to scrounge up the black it dark brown head band that would camouflage into my girls' hair better than the reddish tortoise shell one that I currently an using for my prototype. 

I also have decided feathers never again as all the little hairs and now all over, despite a good sweeping.

To add more to my plate...

So I've been playing around with the idea of these tissue paper pom poms to hang from either the trees or the strings used for lights above the grassy area (where the tables would be).  I'm not sure if they would still look okay even without the lanterns with them...

The poms are pretty easy to make; I watched a video with Eddie's cousin the other evening.  All I need is different colored tissue paper (anywhere from 8-14 sheets depending on how puffy I want them) and a pipecleaner to bind it together. 

I thought that the poms would be a nice addition of color and flowery shapes to the garden (which I fear pales in comparison to the gardens at the Huntington Library that we saw on Saturday).  I think I'd go with purple, teal (if we can find it) and white pom poms - each pom one color, not multicolored poms.  I'm pretty sure I can go to Kohls and get a few packs of the colorful tissue paper to try it out.  I just need some pipe cleaners from Michael's or Joann's.

Bracelet idea

Something I found and want to try to recreate. 

Got a bracelet at Kohls (thanks Dad for those $10 coupons) for $0.04. 
Got the feathers from my 400 pack.

The problem I'm having is that peacock feathers aren't as small as these other feathers...so only two or three fit, but even then it's overlapping or haning off the sides.  I'm not sure how it will look or if the feathers will fall nicely...  I'm going to try to get it done this weekend.

PS Just read somewhere that brides are moving away from the matchy-matchy jewelry/accessories for their bridesmaids.  Look at us on the cutting edge of all things wedding... ;)

On the Nature of Blogs, Wedding Photography, Customer Service, and the Bomb Dot Com

(Another draft of a blog that never got posted) from May 12

OMG.  Yesterday night I had a "blogs-are-public-forums-and-you-never-know-who-might-stumble-across-your-blog-and-read-things-about-themselves" moment. 

So around 9 o'clock, I get a phone call from a number that I didn't recognize.  And imagine my surprise when it was Allan Jay, our wedding photographer.  We're not really scheduled for anything else between now and the wedding, so his call seemed to come out of the blue.  He had happened to stumble across my blog when Googling Triversity Wedding Photography (his company).  So he called after reading the blog entries about the engagement photos and our reactions.  He was concerned that we were not satisfied with the engagement pictures.  He was also very positive about criticism, as he viewed it as a way to improve and grow because few people often give him feedback like that.

To be completely honest, I could not, for the life of me, remember what exactly I had posted in the blog, and I wasn't really sure that I even really had offered any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism in the post.  I know how we felt about the pictures being more dramatic and not very natural to our usual selves, but I thought of it more as a practice for the wedding, giving us a better idea of what we wanted in our pictures and knowing more what was his style.  But I did post some of the pictures that we felt were NOT the style we were going for.  Can we say awkward?...the captions were meant jokingly, but could totally be read rather as insulting (just thinking if I were the photog, I would be sensitive about my work!)...

After my initial mortification, this is was actually an encouraging encounter with thoughtful customer service.  Allan truly cares that his brides (and grooms, but we all know who's opinions are REALLY more important ;) ) are happy with the work and pictures and the whole experience with the TWP team.  He was very open and wanted to dialogue about what we wanted in our pictures (while I was still trying to get my metaphorical foot (in the form of typed words) out of my mouth).  He even offered to retake the engagement pictures.  Even if we were too busy before the actual wedding, he wanted to take them after the wedding when we're freer.  I'm going to be messaging him with more specific details of the style/sentiment/etc. of the photos.

So to anyone else Googling Triversity Wedding Photography, Allan and his team are fully committed to you and making your wedding photography experience everything that you want it to be.  They are the bomb dot com ;)

Check and check

(had this from May 7th... just never posted it...) Went to pick up Mei's dress, but it was still tight under her arms, so we'll pick it up when we get my dress.  Since it was slow and I really haven't had the time to work on the beading of my dress, I brought it down to be alerted (tighten the mermaid shape, shorten the length, add the bustle).

Mum also came along to see what the dress shop was all about. She talked with the lady at the shop about the styles she was interested in and the materials.  After much debate, and the lady's insistence that Mum pick something that wouldn't make people say "THAT's what the Mother of the Bride is wearing?" (apparently Mum's taste is too simple...), Mum has decided on a scoop necked dress with rosettes and short sleeves made out of a crinkled taffeta.  The lady is ordering samples of blues and greens of the materials from which the dress could be made.  She also suggested a rhinestone or something at the center of each rosette to make the dress, as Eddie might say, pop.

We'll head back to the dress place on May 21st to pick up my dress, Mei's dress, and talk more details and hopefully order Mum's dress.  We'll also probably have Becks along to get her dress altered and maybe Marianne's if she's free too.

I did forget to bring my cheong sam to have that taken in a smidge as well.  Maybe I'll just go to the alteration place across the street from the Highlang house.  A few times on the way to the Stater Bros, I've seen the little, old Korean lady working dilligently by the front windows of the shop with her sewing machine and reading glasses.

Headband ideas

To Do!!!

Eek. 

 

So I need to get back on the wedding bandwagon and get some things done!  There are only a few more weekends til the wedding!  And most of them are booked!!

 

I was thinking about all the little odds and ends that I have to do before the wedding and it turns out that there are A LOT of little odds and ends! 

 

I need to:

• organize and order the photobook which will serve as a guest book (hopefully before the 8th because I have a coupon for a photobook for 30% off, and I do enjoy using my coupons whenever I can)
• contact the DJ at some point (and have a list of songs that we will want for different things)
• contact the bakery to let them know which flavors and design we want FOR SURE on the cake
• contact the venue to see if they have the table card holders; if not, find somewhere that I can buy/rent them
• ask Uncle Mike to help me design numbers for each table
• plan and design the programs
• buy and make the programs
• contact the music people at church for ceremony music
• put together a PPT with the readings/songs/etc. for people to follow along at Mass
• contact people at church about access to the projector for the PPT during the wedding...
• pick up Mei's dress
• finish bridesmaids gifts
• find/make a bracelet
• finish the headband/hairpiece
• BEAD MY DRESS
• get my dress altered
• bedazzle my shoes (not really bedazzle, just needs a little something)
• invitations for church people invited to the ceremony but not the reception
• decide on favor bags and get them ordered; order ribbon too
• bake sugar cookies
• make pineapple tarts
• wrap favors
• buy candles for the hurricane lanterns and perhaps votives to put around hurricane lanterns (I wonder if we could line the hurricane lanterns with those irridescent glass stones...
• plan and buy supplies needed to make the 8 centerpieces (vase, orchid stems, etc?)
• finalize menu and caterer
• contact the videographer about the slideshow
• find a limo driver
• assign jobs for day of wedding stuff (who is picking up the flowers, who is bringing the flowers back to the reception venue, who is picking up the green curry, who is driving us to the hotel, etc. etc. etc.)

These are just a few of the things that I've brainstormed.  I'm sure I will revisit this list and update it, but for now, lunch is over and I have a class to teach.  :)