Elie Saab Runway- Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture

My current obsession over all things lace, ruffles, sparkles and light chiffon fabric. Find these dresses quite inspiring!

What's to come in 2011

I know it's been a while since my last wedding related post but I have so much goodness coming up that I promise it will be worth the wait. Instead of doing a recap on 2010, I thought it would be fun to give you some sneak peeks of what's coming up for us in 2011. We're overly thrilled just thinking about this new year for several reasons. Now that we're a team of three coordinators, we are so ready to give our full attention to each clients' needs and not to mention filled with enthusiasm & willingness to go above & beyond and trust us, no detail will be left behind.
While I'll be focusing mainly on event design & planning aspects of each wedding (I'm currently all booked until September with a few dates open), Christine and Leena will be strictly focusing on the day of coordination which has worked out very well so far.
Today, I am absolutely thrilled to highlight some of my favorite photographers artists that we'll be working with this year! They are definitely going to step up our game for MBS! After designing & coordinating weddings for quite some time now, I've come to realize how important is it to have an awesome photographer.. No matter where you're getting married or how much your budget is, if you can splurge on a great photographer, you can rest assured that your wedding will look awesome. Call me a photography snob, but I've personally had some not so good experiences with a few photographers in the past years. It literally broke my heart to pieces when they weren't able to capture the look and feel of their wedding day. Dear brides to be, I cannot help but stress it one more time- Please don't cut corners on photography. You can try to look for reasonably priced vendors but not on photographer. Yes, you can thank me later. ;)

Here are some out of state photographers I've been dying to work with and SO excited that they'll be capturing our clients' most special day!
Jen Huang Based out in New York, I absolutely love her clean, fresh, romantic feel to her photos!



Our Labor of Love Based in Atlanta, Georgia, they create one of the most artistic, edgy, dreamy images of all time.



Clayton Austin Based in Austin Texas, (Known for his 'Hammers & Strings' engagement session as you may have already seen it on GWS, my heart skips whenever I think of Lydia & 's wedding in June.




Scott Andrews (he's actually based in Norcal) so excited to be working with him next month!




Here are some SoCal based photographers that I've been stalking on their blogs & twitter for sometime now. 
Ja Tecson- We recently did a photoshoot for Utterly Engaged and was SO thrilled that Ja was able to come on board! He's one of the most down to earth kind of guy you'll ever meet. I love his lifestyle, editorial look to his photos and can't wait to see how the shoot will turn out! Be on the look out for this month's issue!

He & She Photo Go check out their blog if you haven't already. Our bride, Anna is making 250+ paper flowers and we did a mini mock up session this week & their wedding going to be oh so gorgeous!

Sam Lim- If you're looking for a timeless, classy yet editorial feel to your photos, Sam is the guy you need to contact. We have two weddings with him this year and super excited to be finally working with him.




Rachel Thurston Love the warmth and depth to her photo s.

If you haven't checked out their blogs yet, please do so NOW! :) As for us, we are overly ecstatic to be working with such talent. Hooray for the New Year! We are looking forward to creating a lifetime of memories this year with our beautiful brides!

Finding The NEW Me.

Oh hello, faithful followers & readers,

I've been meaning to update you and you've been on my mind for the longest time but had no idea one month has flew by so quickly and there's a reason for this. To make a long story short, when I turned 31 in December, I was hit with a reality check, or shall I say, a wake up call. One day, I took a look at myself in the mirror and saw the mother of a beautiful child & a wife to a wonderfully faithful husband, but could not see me. Esther.
Yeap, this is how much I DON'T like taking pictures after the baby arrived! Covering my face w/ the Iron Man mask at the WI Spa in LA :P

The woman I used to be in the past was gone. Somewhere in between the diaper changes, playdates and my career, I had lost myself. With the business thriving, I devoted all my energy, time and creativity to each of my clients and felt quite proud of all the accomplishments I had achieved. Each wedding was so special and near to my heart as I developed attachments with all the wonderful brides, but deep inside, I was not loving the way I looked or felt.

You see, ever since high school, I have been battling with my weight. Unlike the 80% of Asian women who are petite, I always struggled with being 20 pounds heavier some years, and 20 pounds lighter other years. I know I should always watch what I eat for my health, but after the baby arrived, I lost complete control of what I was eating. I had gained 40 pounds throughout my pregnancy(definitely took advantage of all the cravings) and was expecting the weight to come off in a year or so. As the business grew and I got busier, I found myself eating as a way to relieve stress. I consumed junk food in between house chores, meetings, emailing & watching Grant, and started taking care of meals with takeouts more and more. I barely exercised and sat on my butt for hours on end, sometimes all day, as I responded to emails. As other moms and friends encouraged me by telling me that the postpartum weight will come off after a year & that women need to eat more when breast feeding, I learned to convince myself of the BIG FAT LIE that it is ok for me not to take care of my body and make excuses. Sure, I was conscious of what I was feeding my kid (especially with the whole fruit/veggie bar we created) but that was far from what I was eating on a daily basis. I didn't mind eating veggies and fruits as long as I got my daily dose of Starbucks Frapp or Iced Caramel Macchiato. Oh...and can't leave out a side of Chipotle burrito bowl... :P Ironic, isn't it?

2006 in New Zealand looking healthy & fit ;)

2009: 25 pounds heavier me & my son on his 1st birthday

But please don't get me wrong, I love motherhood.. ;)

Sometime after New Year's Eve, I weighed myself & realized that I was the heaviest I had been in my entire life. I felt quite depressed. It wasn't so much the weight gain but the fact that I had let myself go was far more painful for me to swallow. The confidence I had way back when was gone, as putting on clothes became so discouraging that shopping was no longer fun. Some people say that weight doesn't effect your self esteem as long as you're happy with yourself, but I don't think that's entirely true. Although my husband loves me regardless of the changes in my body and constantly reminds me of how beautiful I am, it was evident that my weight gain was affecting my mood swings, attitude, and loss of confidence.

So on January 3rd, I finally decided to make a change. Oh yeah! Jennifer Hudson, you sold me! ;) A change for the better & healthy living style that would impact not only my health, but my family's health as well. To help me get started, I joined Weight Watchers (my first time ever joining a program!) to lose the 25 pounds I still needed to take off after the baby arrived. So far, the program has been a break through for me both mentally and emotionally. I'm learning about food in a different way and can definitely choose healthier & filling food options without consuming too much high calorie foods. It's only been two weeks but so far, but I've already shed a few pounds. One of the most dramatic differences that my husband noticed is how I cook at home much more often, and no longer dine at restaurants or eat late at night.

I still have a long way to go in this journey, but I really hope that some of you can relate with me in regards to this topic and encourage me from time to time. I also hope that you all readers can keep me accountable as I strive to develop a healthier style of living & gain myself back. As I am being vulnerable and sharing my weakness, it would help me tremendously if you can also share with me the journey of finding yourself.

As we all know, a happy mom = a happy & health family! Here's to the NEW me in 2011!

I NOW LEAVE YOU WITH A SHOCKING BEFORE & AFTER PHOTO.. Hopefully it will be the other way around by end of this year. :)

BEFORE picture of me was back in 2008 after I finished a half marathon.. It's probably one of the biggest accomplishments of my life!! And AFTER.. well you get the picture. I could have used a better photo but this is pretty dramatic that I'm going to print it out and post it on our bathroom mirror. lol!

Sincerely,

Once lost, but now found (hopefully soon! :)), Esther

P.S Any brides who would like to shed some pounds before their big day, maybe we can check our progress together~ :)