Monday, November 1, 2010

A Wedding Flashback

Today is my second wedding anniversary!  Hubby and I met 8 years ago when we moved into college apartments right next to each other... and we've been pretty much inseparable ever since!  Like all couples, we've had our ups and downs over the years (mostly ups thankfully!), but these past 2 years of marriage have flown by so fast!

Our wedding day, unfortunately, did not go as smoothly.  We'd planned for an outdoor ceremony in a garden gazebo, had it all nicely decorated and ready to go... and then it RAINED!  Not just light sprinkling, but pouring cats and dogs rain.  We didn't even have a plan B, because it so rarely rains in SoCal.  In fact, it hadn't rained for weeks before and didn't rain again for weeks after our wedding... but we picked the lucky six-hour window!  Well, at least they say it's good luck, right?

Here are some highlights from the wedding...

The dress:

The shoes:

The hair:

The makeup:

The traditional gown:

The traditional ceremony:

The bridesmaids:

The bouquet:

The groom:

The planned ceremony:

The actual ceremony:

The reception:

The cake:

The end!

Hope you enjoyed the quick fly-by!  Some quick notes... my dress was a Casablanca, ordered in size 2 with exact hollow-to-hem measurement (so no hemming required) and then altered to fit.  I wasn't very satisfied with my alterations experience, but that's a story for another day.  My shoes were the Chinese Laundry Baldwin, which have an almost 5" heel but were amazingly comfortable thanks to a high platform (my bridesmaids were both 5'5" so I needed the extra height!). 

Sorry for the mostly people-less pics, the hubs isn't ready for prime time yet, so I guess I'll have to hog all the attention :)  Speaking of which, I'll leave you with a posey engagement pic:


I know most couples take candid engagement pics nowadays, but being the fobs-at-heart that we are, we went the traditional route and took reeeeally Asian studio pics with multiple dress/makeup/hairstyle changes and random backgrounds.  The rest of the pics are so cheesy, I'll spare you for now :)

44 comments:

  1. awwww you look so pretty in your pics!! love them. the dress fits you amazing too. love all the decorations too! did you do all the planning yourself or did you hire a wedding planner? awww it never rained on the day of your wedding! can't believe it. congrats on your 2 year anniversary!

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  2. Congrats on your anniversary! I remember seeing your wedding dress posted in the forum and thinking it was beautiful. Now that I see it in action, it looks even better! I really like your traditional gown too! The headpiece is gorgeous.

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  3. haha of all the days for it to rain there..it had to be your wedding day!!! Wow, that photo of your dress hanging there is BEAUTIFUL. <3 You are very pretty, missy and you look beautiful in both gowns. Congrats on your wedding anniversary! May the future bring you more happiness! The colour theme of your wedding is very nice. ^_^ Love pink.

    I actually worked at a banquet hall for 2-3 years a while back and saw a very similar cake to yours! Their theme was an "autumn theme". I think your floral pieces look 100x better though. (click here to see the cake I saw) Sorta off-topic now, but are you Viet, by any chance? : )

    xx The Little Dust Princess

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  4. ahhhh :D yay! i'm so excited to see these beautiful wedding photos. awwww i really want to see pictures of your hubby with you. tell him it's for the greater good hehe

    you're absolutely stunning. i'm going to go read your coming out post after this. curse my neuro exams for keeping me from reading blogs for about a week. i wish that someday i could have a day as dreamy as yours :D *gets all mushy*

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  5. Your wedding photos are so beautiful! I love the dress picture hanging on the door, it's such a gorgeous photo, great photography!!

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  6. You look flawless in your wedding photos! Everything looked so beautiful.

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  7. You look so beautiful! Congratulations on your anniversary.

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  8. You look so gorgeous in your wedding photos. Congrats on 2 year anniversary. I had my wedding outdoor too (on the beach). It was rainning that day but thank goodness it stopped 30 mins before the wedding started :) Thanks for sharing your special day with us

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  9. What a gorgeous dress, I love it! Also, the fobby asian engagement picture is hysterical- please share more ;)

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  10. Omigosh I loooved looking through these photos! You looked gorgeous on your special day. At first I was like, wow, your bridesmaids are also quite petite! Then I saw your note bout 5 inch heels and how they are 5'5" lol.

    And who doesn't love asian glam shots? They make skin porcelain smooth and I havent seen one person who doesn't come out looking like a movie star. My grandparents even went and got it done at age 75 lol! Maybe your hubs will get less camera shy as time progresses... : )

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  11. *by camera shy i meant blog stardom shy

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  13. gorgeous wedding pictures!! i love asian studio pictures too as everyone looks so glamorous. i even had them done several years ago in Taiwan just for run!

    many congratulations on 2 years!! please do share more pics!

    kileen
    cuteandlittle.com

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  14. You look like a princess in your wedding dress, it is gorgeous. My favorite picture is the black and white one of you getting your hair done. Everything in your wedding is beautiful. Thanks for sharing, i really enjoy looking at them.

    My 7th wedding anniversary is a few months away, my husband and I will celebrate it in my country where we got married. I am so looking forward to having our photos done, mainly outdoor. It will be unique and fun wedding shoots as i plan on including our little girl too.

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  15. Wow so glad you decided to share these photos! Gorgeous!

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  16. Awww you looked SO pretty!! What a beautiful dress and wedding. Happpy anniversary!

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  17. Congrats! The pictures are beautiful--your wedding was beautiful!!!

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  18. You are a beautiful bride!!! Love the photos. Happy Anni to you and your DH. :)

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  19. Happy Anniversary! Everything looks gorgeous!

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  20. Omg! Wow- you are a gorgeous bride! Even though it rained, it still looked AMAZING!!!

    Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby!!! :)

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  21. Your dress is absolutely gorgeous. The photographer you hired is quite amazing. bthe lack and white shots are really pretty... and I just love the pictures of your bouquet and the tea set.

    Didn't know you're Vietnamese until I saw the Ao Dai picture.

    Happy Anniversary!!

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  22. happy 2 year annie girlie! i love all the pix and also the flowers too!

    The day before our wedding day, it rained cats and dogs and i was soooo stressed and nervous..U would think I would have a plan B but I didnt lol..the day of..the morning was foggy but somehow around 10am it was so nice and sunny and it all worked out..our ceremony was also outside so I won't know what to do if it would have rained that day. Congrats again!!! xoxo :)

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  23. Congratulations!!!! How cool, our anniversaries are so close to each other. You looked absolutely amazing in your dresses, I love seeing these pictures. I was going to say the same as PAG about your bridemaids until I read further :P I wore the highest heels I could walk in that day but it really didn't make any difference as Husband is 6'5" :P

    Sometimes those unexpected moments (rain in your case) are what make the day all the more memorable :)

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  24. Your pictures are amazing! Congratulations! A whole bunch of friends are either engaged recently or getting married soon. Seeing these pictures makes me want to go plan their weddings, lol. I heard about rain on your wedding day is a sign of good fortune/luck and obviously if you made it to 2 years than it is. =0D

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  25. Happy wedding anniversary!!! You look so happy and absolutely radiant on your wedding day. Gorgeous pictures, thanks for sharing!

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  26. Awww! Thanks for sharing! Congrats on your two years! You looked gorgeous for your wedding night! Love the hair, make-up...everything!

    I love that you chose that pretty rosey pink for the bridesmaids! The top of your dress looks very similar to the bridesmaid dress I wore for my sister-in-law. I was very disatisfied with my alterations. I felt so unfomfortable in the dress...and there were two receptions, so that was double wearage! It was all in the chest and armpit...all wrong! Now I want to know what your alteration problems were! :p

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  27. What a beautiful wedding! You look like one of those Asian movie stars in your pics - absolutely gorgeous!

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  28. Wow thank you everyone for all the nice comments! Weddings are horrendously expensive (I had such serious sticker shock), but at least the memories last forever and can be shared with new friends!

    Ping - I wish I could afford a wedding planner! Nope, had to learn how to do everything from scratch, and I was doing my internship at the time too (the first and worst year of residency). It's actually quite amazing that it turned out somewhat decent lol.

    AN - Wow you remember my blurred out pic on the forum! (I always found the blurred faces to be so creepy, but I guess it gets the job done).

    The Little Dust Princess - I sure am! Are you? :P Thanks for sharing the cake pic, I think my cake design was lifted off some bridal magazine or website or something... apparently Asian bakeries can recreate anything as long as you bring them a picture!

    Angie - I can't wait to see your engagement/wedding pics already! Just imagine all the poses you can do! :P

    DSK Steph & kali - I'm glad you like the pics, because we paid so much for photography! I'm still shocked at how much weddings cost!

    PetiteLG - Your wedding sounds gorgeous! You should share some pics too! You're so lucky the rain stopped 30 min before, because the rain started 30 min before mine!

    thegoodgirlgoneblog - Lol there are definitely lots of cringe-worthy pics in the batch of engagement pics.... maybe when we know each other better ;)

    PAG - Oh wow I'd love to see your grandparents' glam pics! Lol... did they dress up in ancient costumes and stuff? That'd be so cute to see!

    kileen - I'd love to see your pics too! They do photoshop everything to death, but hey, who doesn't want to think that their skin is flawless, eh?

    Nelah - That sounds like it's going to be an amazing trip! I can't wait to see your pics already! :)

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  29. Gracie - Yup I am, and these are some of my favorite shots too! :)

    simplyvonne - I'm so glad you didn't run into problems with the rain! We ended up hastily moving the decorations we could into an indoor banquet room and it was fine, but I really would've liked to have the outdoor ceremony like we'd planned!

    curls-and-pearls - Omg, your husband is so tall!!! How do you manage lol. My hubby is only 5'8 and I already have to crank my neck up to talk to him!

    Banhannas - That's what everyone kept telling me about the rain, hopefully it's true :) I honestly did not enjoy the wedding planning process very much, because it was last-minute and stressful (and costly), but maybe it's more fun when you're doing it for someone else :)

    Michelle - It took me 6 fitting sessions and I still had issues but ran out of time. I crazy Hollywood-taped myself into that dress!

    SewPetiteGal - Heh, I wish... but thanks for saying so :)

    Frankincensy, Vyzie, sophia, PetiteGorgeous, jlovesBal, SugarNikita, Really Petite, Cee - I'd say stop, but what girl doesn't love compliments about how she looks on her wedding day! Thank you guys! :)

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  30. Happy anniversary! You are one gougeous and beautiful bride. I like your traditional gown too.

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  31. Congratulations on your anniversary! You made an absolutely gorgeous bride!!

    Your wedding was so beautiful too--I can't believe you planned it yourself! Everything turned out so good! Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos! :)

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  32. Wow you had a beautiful wedding. Congratulations on two years!

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  33. OMG!! You are so gorgeous and I love the weddings pictures!! I love fobby pictures, when I get married, I want some fobby pictures too!

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  34. Beautiful! Congratulations on your 2nd year of marriage!

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  35. oh my gosh! You look gorgeous! I didn't know you were Viet- I love both of your dresses! I have not had my chance to wear an ao dai yet. Hopefully one day! The photos are amazing- everything is just perfect! :)

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  36. Congratulations on your two year anniversary! Anyway, I didn't know that the Asian glamour shots were still done (we're talking about the ones that are done at a studio like a few weeks before the wedding, right?) - many Asian friends/contacts went the North American route and had engagement pics done instead...others went hybrid and did location wedding shots before the actual wedding...

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  37. Congrats on the anniversary! :) You look SO beautiful on your wedding day (not that you don't usually but happy brides get brownie points). your wedding looked gorgeous (in spite of the location change) - I really like your studio pictures, if I ever get married I am getting those too.

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  38. Congratulations! I enjoyed looking at your pictures, and I actually wouldn't mind seeing more of your Asian studio pics (since I had some taken for my solo self). Your hair and makeup are gorgeous!

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  39. I'm a girl in grad school and most times it seems daunting that I'll ever find a great person and have an awesome marriage...as well as have that amazing career too! Thanks so much for showing me such a great real life example. It's so very encouraging and heartwarming <3

    -amy

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  40. Oh wow, happy belated anniversary! You look gorgeous on ur wedding day!! That's a beautiful gown and love ur glamour shot;)

    TheOwlsCloset.blogspot.com

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  41. Mix & Match - Thank you! The traditional gown was custom-made (there was no way it would've fit otherwise), so I got to pick my own fabric which was kind of nice.

    Mich LA - Well, the wedding wasn't without (lots of) glitches, luckily we can have selective memory and only recall the good parts :P

    Carrie, Whitney, & The Owl's Closet - Aww thank you! :)

    Curvy Petite - Lol... fobby pics are fun, they make you feel so pampered... but it's tiring though! Literally took an entire day for all the make-up/wardrobe changes and photos, and I didn't even get the more expensive outdoor package that would've required travelling.

    Stephanie - Yup, I sure am! I'd never worn one either before my wedding day haha (used to dress up in my Mom's for fun though :P)

    CynthiaC - That's right, bona fide Asian studio with a blown-up shot on canvas to display at the reception lol. We live relatively close to a densely Asian area with lots of these studios... otherwise we would've gone the American engagement pics probably.

    Elle - If you've never had them done, it's actually quite an experience! And of course you can always do both studio and regular engagement pics ;)

    Pam L - Ooh I'd love to see your pics! I've had solos taken once before in China where I was all dressed up in ancient costumes/hair... that was loads of fun (my dorky roots are showing hehe)

    Amy - I'm very lucky to have found someone who supports me 100% early on, which makes balancing all the other things a little easier. But don't worry, I'm positive you'll have all those things and more, it's just the order and timing is slightly different for everybody :)

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  42. I love wedding pics - the train of the gown and the bridesmaids dresses are my favourite parts. Gorgeous.
    x

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  43. Aah, I loved looking at your pics. Have just very recently stumbled upon "petite" blogs and am loving it. Congrats on your anniversary. I wish that I'd known more about proper fit of a wedding dress for petites when I got married. But there weren't nearly as many TV shows and websites devoted to that kind of stuff back then. I literally looked like a little doll, and not in a good way lol.

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  44. Besides the rain, your wedding photos looks perfect! I also like your asian-posey pic! haha I'm probably not gonna marry until i'm 30+ so I'm gonna need those asian-posey pics to hide my acne scars and wrinkles. I love looking at wedding photos, I can't wait to see more from the petite community. I often wonder how I'm gonna get a wedding dress to fit being petite myself. Do share more of your wedding fitting/alteration experience in depth sometimes :)

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