While we were in Maine, I got a phone call from the Chinese restaurant where the reception is going to be held. The manager reminded us that we were supposed to pay part of the cost soon. So we asked them to charge the amount to the card we used for the deposit. Nope, nope, nope, check or cash only. Right, I forgot, it's a Chinese place, it's all cash transaction. I thought, yes, credit card company charges merchants, it's wise of them not to accept credit cards to keep the cost low. WAIT, I forget again, they are Chinese and so am I. There were more than a few of my Chinese friends whom had their own businesses wondered why I paid so much taxes every year. They said that there were "ways" to maximize my income, paying taxes smartly was one of them. OK, I am always able to sleep at night, I think not maximize my income might work better for me, I don't mind being a bit "not smart". So I looked at the contract again, they'd take another check for half of the total cost the month before the event date. Then on the event date, they would only accept cash. Humm, I don't know about you, I think they definitely try to minimize the amount of taxes they need to pay.
I was always wondering about flowers. So the nice Chinese owner in the restaurant gave me a brochure of this place that was very good with flowers. Then she said, "yes, they are good, they are cheap, they are Russians." OK, is there a double meaning to this statement? I'll be sure to contact them because they always deliver to the restaurant. But then, is this another way for the restaurant to "maximize" their profits? But then, the world is indeed very small, today, I went to lunch with a few very good friends of mine, one of them told me the owner lady went to high school with his mom, he said he might be able to get a good deal for me. You can never underestimate the power of Asian connections.
When we were in Maine, we tried to have some photoes taken for our engagement but it was too hard to get the shading and the lighting right even though it was absolutely beautiful there. We'd been shopping for wedding photographer for awhile now, we got some recommendations and looked at their websites. We knew we found the perfect match. We really liked her work, she priced very resonably, the name of her business is called Black Cat White Cat Photography. . :-) We set up an appointment with her before we left for Maine. After we got back, we met with her, and I like her even more because she's Chinese who speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin, just like me. I don't know about Rob but I really think it's meant to be. One of her packages included an engagement session, we thought, we should just "dewit". Our session is this Sat, so I'll see how I'm going to glam up Rob. Just kidding, I like him just the way he is. I think maybe the next post, I'll post a photo or two of our engagement photo session.
Invitation
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Thankful
This blog is about Rob and I's wedding, and it's been 39 days since our engagement. We've been a good team and knocking work items down swiftly and decisively. Through this process, other than the excitement of getting marry, I've also learned a thing or two about myself and my wonderful fiance. I also learn that I have so much to be thankful for. To spare your time, I've summed it up to the 4 things below:
1. My daughters - Their big job that they do so naturally well was just to be there. I'm just happy that I have them with me. A lot of times, though not physically here because they live with their dad, little gesture they made that I noticed really warmed my heart. Like clearing out their schedule to go dress shopping with me. It sounds crazy, they have so much homework, it's unbelievable.
2. My friends - The outpouring support and well wishes from my friends make me understand that all these years being here in America without my family around, I actually have a great big family right here in the US.
3. Rob's family - I was very nervous in the beginning, I wasn't sure if I would fit in, I wasn't sure how they feel about me. Just like Rob, I don't think they have any expectations of me. I can just be myself, and I really feel like they take me in with open arms.
4. Rob - Love of my life. Through years of going through and struggling with life, I have forgotten at one point, I really had a list of attributes I would want in the man whom I would share my life with. When Rob and I started dating, these qualities I once wanted starting to appear again right in front of me.
I thought about being 43 years old, I'll turn 44 next year, one step closer to mid 40's but there is nothing to be afraid of or worry about anymore. Next year this time, Rob and I will be married and we are starting our lives together, we are counting from 1 again.
1. My daughters - Their big job that they do so naturally well was just to be there. I'm just happy that I have them with me. A lot of times, though not physically here because they live with their dad, little gesture they made that I noticed really warmed my heart. Like clearing out their schedule to go dress shopping with me. It sounds crazy, they have so much homework, it's unbelievable.
2. My friends - The outpouring support and well wishes from my friends make me understand that all these years being here in America without my family around, I actually have a great big family right here in the US.
3. Rob's family - I was very nervous in the beginning, I wasn't sure if I would fit in, I wasn't sure how they feel about me. Just like Rob, I don't think they have any expectations of me. I can just be myself, and I really feel like they take me in with open arms.
4. Rob - Love of my life. Through years of going through and struggling with life, I have forgotten at one point, I really had a list of attributes I would want in the man whom I would share my life with. When Rob and I started dating, these qualities I once wanted starting to appear again right in front of me.
I thought about being 43 years old, I'll turn 44 next year, one step closer to mid 40's but there is nothing to be afraid of or worry about anymore. Next year this time, Rob and I will be married and we are starting our lives together, we are counting from 1 again.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Rehearsal Dinner!
Seriously, I had no idea what rehearsal dinner was the first time I got married. I don't know if it's got to do with being 23 or being married in the LDS (Mormon) church, it does have a different culture, there wasn't much to rehearse because everything was in a particular order, there was really no deviation. Then, the first time I heard the term "Rehearsal dinner", it was from the movie, "Freaky Friday". In the movie, there was a big wedding and the rehearsal dinner looked just as big as the wedding. I thought, humm, that was weird, they didn't rehearse anything in the movie, it seemed like it's an extra dinner before wedding, maybe only really rich people do that.
Then my big brother Eric was getting married. Eric wanted me to sing a duet with a very nice gentleman from his church at his wedding, so I was part of the rehearsal party. It was at a park, he had a barbecue place cater to the park. It's not big, nothing like the movie, and we actually rehearsed. Basically, who's going to walk down the isle first, and the order of the steps taking place at the wedding. It was really good, I knew exactly when I'm supposed to be standing by and getting on the stage. And the dinner was small, just family and people that had a job at the wedding. I saw it as a great opportunity for immediate family to get together and visit before the wedding day.
So, with the actual wedding venue and dinner in order pretty much within the first week after we were engaged, we knew it's time to take care of the rehearsal dinner arrangements. Since we were going to have a Chinese wedding banquet, we should have a western flare rehearsal dinner, so we picked Willows Lodge http://www.willowslodge.com. It's a beautiful hotel/spa in Woodinville, WA; event catering is done by the adjacent restaurant, the Barking Frog. The chef, chef Bobby is a usual, featuring in food magazines; Rob and I have dined there before, and everything we had was delicious. I sent a mail to them a couple of weeks ago requesting a proposal. They sent back the venue rental cost and a set of menu. Like most places, you could choose between buffet or plated dinner. Rob and I preferred plated dinner. I was, however, confused about the plated dinner price and menu, there were so many options to choose from but I wasn't sure how the cost map to different options. We also would like to see the place as well. There were different rooms accommodate different party size, we had our sight set on the library.
We arrived a bit early, Rob started taking photos of the place, by the way, the photos are on Facebook, check it out, it's a beautiful place. The event manager came and showed us the library, it's just as I imagined, Rob seemed to like it as well, though I didn't know if he had any expectations of the library. He did notice one feature, there was a big flat screen TV on the wall. He asked if we could put football or baseball on if it's a game night. I gave him the "look", and he just started giggling. Eventually, we did settle for no talking about putting any kind of games the night of the rehearsal dinner. I also asked the event coordinator if she could put something up to hide the TV, just in case, so nobody would be tempted. :-)
After that, we set down and the coordinator explained how the plated menu worked. Everything just fell into place, we paid the deposit, signed the contract, and we had a place for our rehearsal dinner. The only thing that's left is wait until Nov when their menu for Nov to May comes out, we can send that to our guests and have them choose their main course, then we'll be all done. We are looking forward to rehearse. :-)
Then my big brother Eric was getting married. Eric wanted me to sing a duet with a very nice gentleman from his church at his wedding, so I was part of the rehearsal party. It was at a park, he had a barbecue place cater to the park. It's not big, nothing like the movie, and we actually rehearsed. Basically, who's going to walk down the isle first, and the order of the steps taking place at the wedding. It was really good, I knew exactly when I'm supposed to be standing by and getting on the stage. And the dinner was small, just family and people that had a job at the wedding. I saw it as a great opportunity for immediate family to get together and visit before the wedding day.
So, with the actual wedding venue and dinner in order pretty much within the first week after we were engaged, we knew it's time to take care of the rehearsal dinner arrangements. Since we were going to have a Chinese wedding banquet, we should have a western flare rehearsal dinner, so we picked Willows Lodge http://www.willowslodge.com. It's a beautiful hotel/spa in Woodinville, WA; event catering is done by the adjacent restaurant, the Barking Frog. The chef, chef Bobby is a usual, featuring in food magazines; Rob and I have dined there before, and everything we had was delicious. I sent a mail to them a couple of weeks ago requesting a proposal. They sent back the venue rental cost and a set of menu. Like most places, you could choose between buffet or plated dinner. Rob and I preferred plated dinner. I was, however, confused about the plated dinner price and menu, there were so many options to choose from but I wasn't sure how the cost map to different options. We also would like to see the place as well. There were different rooms accommodate different party size, we had our sight set on the library.
We arrived a bit early, Rob started taking photos of the place, by the way, the photos are on Facebook, check it out, it's a beautiful place. The event manager came and showed us the library, it's just as I imagined, Rob seemed to like it as well, though I didn't know if he had any expectations of the library. He did notice one feature, there was a big flat screen TV on the wall. He asked if we could put football or baseball on if it's a game night. I gave him the "look", and he just started giggling. Eventually, we did settle for no talking about putting any kind of games the night of the rehearsal dinner. I also asked the event coordinator if she could put something up to hide the TV, just in case, so nobody would be tempted. :-)
After that, we set down and the coordinator explained how the plated menu worked. Everything just fell into place, we paid the deposit, signed the contract, and we had a place for our rehearsal dinner. The only thing that's left is wait until Nov when their menu for Nov to May comes out, we can send that to our guests and have them choose their main course, then we'll be all done. We are looking forward to rehearse. :-)
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