Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Wedding Bands...

A long time ago, (ok, a few months ago,) when we were window shopping for engagement rings, one of the store owners told Edward that his wedding band can't be "flashy" or "cool", but needs to be traditional and "reliable"! Needless to say, Edward didn't want to go back to THAT shop!

So Sunday afternoon Eddie surprised me with a trip to the jewelers to pick out our wedding bands. He took me to the same jewelry shop where he bought me my first necklace (five years ago when we were both students at Shih Hsin!)

We picked out some stylish, modern bands, but we're still deciding what to have engraved on the inside.

Here are the pictures:
Unfortunately my camera doesn't like to take close-ups of shiny things, so they are a little blurry. :-( SORRY!

Natalie's Wedding Band
Colors: Silver & Rose Gold) 


Edward's Wedding Band
Colors: Silver & Black

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Backyard Wedding Inspiration...

Lovely inspiration for backyard wedding and receptions:

I Love ...the white globe lanterns! ...being outside with all the flowers!... dancing under the stars!
and ...the sparkler send-off!

FUN! Budget-Conscious! Down-to-Earth! and still BEAUTIFUL!

US couple got married back home, but did all the planning from Korea!

Lot's of details and ideas!

So sweet!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Dress Shopping Taiwan Style!

Wedding dress shopping in Taiwan!


Most Taiwanese brides rent their wedding dresses. Since they are supposed to wear at least three wedding dresses during the traditional Chinese banquet (groom's side), not including those they wear to take fabulous engagement photos, or to their engagement banquet (bride's side), it makes sense to rent instead of buy. But for me, I only want one white dress, and it's probably more cost effective to buy the dress than rent it for the 2+ months I will be back in the states.



Looks like backstage to a Las Vegas show? Right?




So the search for a wedding dress begins...


Natalie being nervous - I was fine after we got going!
Friday afternooon, Sarka and I went dress hunting in Jhongli! We decided to go to Jhongli and not Taipei because 1) a shop there had actually responded to my email about buying a dress and 2) it is closer (and possibly less expensive?).


Pros about dress shopping here: 1) customer service is excellent! (Everyone was friendly, the shops are all elegant and comfortable, offering tea for your friends, while you try on dresses in your own private 'dressing room'), 2) large selection of styles, 3) all the shops are clustered together, when you're done at one place, you just walk next door!


1st dress I tried on, not the one! (Still a little nervous!)

Cons: 1) On average Taiwanese girls are smaller than I am! (Many of the dresses were too small, too short, or made for a different body type etc.) 2) Styles can get a little crazy! (See below!)


We had a great time. Found a few "maybe's", quite a few "no way's", and even a YELLOW dress for Sarka!

A few "maybe's"
No! No! No!
They "made" me try on this dress -- just to see the foreigner in it!
~Sarka's Yellow Dress~
For brides-to-be looking for their dresses here in Taiwan, here is a map of the wedding-shop area in JhongLi. Most of the shops are located at/near the corner of YanPing Road and ZhongYang East/West Road. I didn't have an appointment with any of the shops, and they all welcomed me in to try on dresses. (Even on a Friday afternoon/evening!) They all were willing to work within my budget (>6,000 NT) as well!


One shop that went out of their way was the 101 France Shop
I also recommend Taipei-Paris Wedding Shop and Sophia
Skip visiting Cathleen Wedding Photo (The sales people are PUSHY and the quality of their dresses does not compare to other shops!)


View Larger Map



Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Invitations...

One of the few things we CAN take care of here in Taiwan are wedding invitations!

I am inspired by the invitations and programs from my friends' recent weddings.
I love the idea of using photos! The invites might be less 'formal', but what better way to personalize them!! AND according to my friends they are relatively inexpensive to print here in Taiwan! (Great for students on a budget!!)

Dirk & Angel's Wedding Program:


Here are some ideas I found at http://www.rexcraft.com/ :





Since we'll be having an engagement photo session here in Taiwan, (BIG THANK YOU to Maria Jose, our photographer who is also Eddie's classmate at NCCU!) this would be a great way to utilize those photos!!