Home again, Home again...

I'm home! After almost 2 days of traveling, I arrived safely back in Michigan, and today I finally feel like I am over my jet-lag. Although, I did wake up at 6:00 AM this morning.


Here are some photos of the hard work Mom and Dad have been putting into the gardens around the house. Looks like we will have a beautiful wedding reception venue, a.k.a. our backyard!

Michigan Gardens

Invitations...

Well, getting our invitations printed in Taiwan wasn't too bad -- but because we only had three weeks to design and print them, it was a bit stressful at times.

The first drafts had lots of room for improvement:
Notice the Taiwanese affiliation for pink! :-S

After various discussions with our designer we came up with this as our final design: 

A good blend of Taiwan and US style, just like us!

Engagement Photos...

Here's a taste

from our engagement

photo session

with Maria Jose!

Engagement Photos

A Productive Week...

So much to do, so little time...

This past week was SUPER BUSY, but we got a lot done. I think we've earned a well-deserved break, but I don't think we'll get one just yet!

Sunday through Tuesday, Edward and I were privileged to spend some time with this year's Roberts Fellows. It was great to see Dr. Hinderer again, and to meet some fellow Cardinals!

Wednesday we had some time to work on our theses. Edward's proposal defense is scheduled for next week, May 28th, and my final defense is on June 9th. We're in the final stretch!!

The weather report for Thursday had looked promising, so we scheduled our engagement photo session with Maria Jose. In addition to being a talented amateur photographer, MJ is Eddie's classmate at NCCU. We had a wonderful time and (hopefully) took some good shots! MJ made us feel very relaxed and we actually had FUN!! :-) By late-afternoon, it was pouring rain, so we didn't make it to the beach for any sunset shots. I can't wait to see the photos~!

Something borrowed...

If my cousins can find it,
I plan to wear my mother's wedding veil!




(Aunt Rosemary and Mom at her wedding :)

It's actually my grandmother's wedding veil, and my mother wore it for her wedding too! I hope that it is still in good condition, it would be the perfect length, and the edging actually matches my dress! I guess it fulfills the something borrowed AND something old! Now for something blue and something NEW!

MORE Dress Shopping!

I finally found my dress!!!! YAY!!!
(But I want it to be a 'surprise'... so no pictures online!)


However, here are some of the other dresses that I had to try on...

Finding a wedding dress for sale in Taiwan has been a challenge. After finding a few dresses that I liked, and only being told that I needed to purchase an entire wedding photography package, I decided to try my luck at Olivia's 2nd Hand Wedding Shop. (Near MingQuan West Road MRT Station, #130 ZhongShan North Road) : http://oliviawedding.pixnet.net/blog/post/23555215

Their dresses are all $100 (3,000 NTD) no matter the style, condition, etc. All of the dresses can be altered for each bride (basic alterations are included in the price.) I would like to change the neckline of my gown... so it's going to cost me an extra $10 (300 NTD) Not a bad deal for a wedding dress!!

If you do visit Olivia's be prepared to dive in and get your hands 'dirty'... the shop assistants don't help you much, and they don't hover, but they will offer their comments :-) Bring a friend, dig through the gowns and see if they have anything you like! :-)

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