Sylvia & Dongmin Tie the Knot (Part I )

Hope you are in for some treats!! This is just a sneak preview of what is to come and I can't wait to receive all the detailed images shortly.

For eight months of planning, Sylvia and I probably shared more than 100 emails back and forth. I met Sylvia & Dong Min on the day they got engaged and I loved helping her put together this fabulous Cafe Pinot "downtown city theme" wedding. Keywords that drove the design of this event included deep purple, silver, modern, stylish, city, and romantic. Despite the weather circumstances, it was quite dreamy to see everything come together so perfectly on the day of. I am dying to see all the photos of our hard labor! :)

I cannot rave about how wonderful my clients are, but this couple was seriously something. She had so many creative and unique ideas that we instantly clicked right away and meeting up with them every time was pure joy. I did see her being a bit of a bridezilla at one point, who wouldn't be? (Sylvia, I know you're probably giggling while reading this comment, haha), but she was one of the sweetest, caring, and fun brides I have worked with. This wedding was one of the most international weddings I planned and there were guests who flew in all the way from Singapore, New Zealand, China, Texas, and etc.

Now on to the images!! I am delighted to share these stunning images from their day thanks to Jennifer S. Rau! Stay tuned for Part II

Looking flawless in her Jim Hjelm wedding gown and Erica Koesler hair piece

Huge thanks to Nicole DeAnne for turning her into a stunning bride

Awww...this picture is making me teary for some reason. I love this shot!

Bride's bouquet consisted of purple anemones, purple tulips, purple mokara orchids, and white ranunculus.


My favorite shot... They both look so happy!

Their choreographed dance was superb! If you're looking for a dance instructor, shoot me an email.

The sparklers entrance after the pae bek ceremony. It was a huge hit!

Can't believe it's already May! This month will be crazy busy as my in-laws are finally coming from Korea to see the baby and to celebrate his 100 days of life (called Bek Il in Korean). On top of this, we're moving to a bigger place end of this month and I have 2 weddings to coordinate. Talk about being a super mom! As a nursing mom, it's physically difficult to leave the baby at home and work 12-14 hours straight, but I am incredibly thankful that my job allows me to work at home and be flexible with scheduling appointments. I am actually getting too excited (more than any other special occasions) to celebrate my first "mother's day" this month!! No really... I would have never imaged that I'd have this much love for my son and my dear husband.
I love motherhood....

Boudoir Session

Guest Blogger: Won K. Choi

Image from: photograffiti.us

I'm sure you may have heard of Boudoir Session, a new sexy trend, yet it might still be a little strange to you. It is a photo album with you in sexy lingerie with beautiful, dramatic, and alluring poses. This photo album can be a memorable surprising gift for your going-to-be husband and it usually gets good reactions! It is okay even if you are not a pro, but here are some tips that can help you to end up looking like a pro with confidence.

Boudoir Session is definitely gaining attention and popularity, but what exactly is it all about?

The photo shoots can be taken in a relaxed atmosphere of a private studio, the bride’s house, her friend’s house, or a luxury hotel room. The most important thing is for you to be comfortable and feel safe and secure.
You may bring anyone you feel comfortable with, as your enjoyment sharing partner, but usually it is best you to come alone only for the best results; often times, you become self-conscious with other friends, fiancés or family members looking at you. Children are not allowed to be there when the session is on.
You should bring your own outfits, different lingerie items for a variety of shoots. You can wear whatever you want, but photographers don’t provide what you are going to wear.
It is helpful that you bring some magazine with different poses you would like to try or, at least, think of the poses before you take the shoots. It does, of course, save you time and lessen the awkwardness during the photo session.
You do not need to worry about your body even if you don’t have a so-called perfect body or you don’t wear size 0. Photographers will capture the natural beauty of you and will focus on minimizing certain attributes and maximizing others. Your going-to-be husband thinks you are sexy the way you are!
You will be consulting with your photographer before the session. You will discuss the location and how the session will be conducted. Your photo will never be on the public unless you give them the ‘go-ahead.’
The part you don’t want to show won’t be shown. Not to worry, you are not going to take a nude shot unless you decide to do it. Believe in the technology and skills of photographers, you will end up seeing princess-looking pictures.

Everything is all up to you so plan carefully, yet be carefree with your shoot: Show off how fantastic you are! Photographers are there to help you have the most beautiful images of you, so just work with them as you have fun. Every photographer is different in their styles, so choose the photographer only after you visit their websites, see their galleries, or contact them to ask some questions. Don’t be shy, be proud of yourself- revealing your beauty can be fun and thrilling. Think about your fiancés who will enjoy it! It really will be an incredibly romantic and intimate gift to your fiancé and an unforgettable experience for youself, too.

Photo Credit: Jasmine Star
Photo Credit: Jennifer Skog

Vendor Spotlight: Kelly Zhang Make Up and Hair Team

Hello Readers, I thought I would do another vendor spotlight on hair & make up artists since this is one of the most popular questions I often get from brides-to-be. Kelly Zhang is an extremely talented hair & make up artist and for those who are getting married in OC, LA, or SD, please be sure to check out her blog to see her latest "BEFORE & AFTER" shots of brides. Talk about some amazing transformations! Her team will be beautifying one of my clients' & bridesmaids in July and can't wait to see how beautiful she will look on her wedding day.
Photo Credit: Sarah K. Chen

Audrey Magazine Wedding Feature

Audrey Magazine is the Asian American women's lifestyle magazine celebrating their 6th year anniversary, and now they have published the first wedding issue. Anne, the editor-in-chief contacted me couple months ago to write an article on wedding planning tips, advice on dresses, decor, and latest trends. I was about to give birth when she contacted me so I had Elisa work on this while I was in labor and it turned out awesome!
April/May 2009 is now available at bookstores and if you would like to receive a free copy, please leave a comment on my blog with your email address and I'll be happy to send it to the lucky winner!


The magazine also features the best beauty trends, honeymoon looks after the big day, and where to spurge and save planning tips along with other great stories.

Some of the wedding photos I coordinated from last year's weddings

To read the article, click on its image. I'll post up the full article on the next entry.

A Cute Little Card Welcomes Your Guests!

Guest Blogger: Won K. Choi

The first impression is made when the guests arrive at the wedding reception.
The escort cards are honored to display the guests’ names! The card should be eye-catching and able to let guests know where to go sit. It allows you to be creative and unique with how you make them.

It can be very simple, but also, you can decorate the cards with flowers and some centerpieces.

Photographers: Leigh Miller, Sean J. Mason
To save you time there are also small Cards Holders you can purchase conveniently with a good price and amount.

Images from: www.getaframe.com, www.joyfulbrideonline.com

These are some of less-costly DIY Escort Cards you can make with some cardboards, ribbons and even forks!

Images from: intimateweddings.com, imaginewedding.co.uk, dancerdiva25.blogspot.com, do-it-yourself-weddings.com

These cards look simple, but can be a decoration with a unique set up. Attach Place Cards with pins or clips to a board or frame and covered with different color ribbon and fabric. Place the board where it can be found easily!

Images from: cheripearlphotography.com, furiousphotographersblog.com, weddingbee.com, tinaphotographers.com

Images from: dancerdiva25.blogspot.com, ardentphtography.blogspot.com, stylisheventsblog.com, weddingbee.com

When asking friends to help out with your wedding..

The process of preparing for your wedding could be so much more fun when you have a gang of enthusiastic friends by your side who are eager to lend their services. It definitely helps to have readily available hands to fold those myriads of invitations or pull off all those detail-oriented, time consuming DIY projects. But brides, be careful not to take advantage of your friends' generosity too much. You'd be surprised how many times I've seen friendships take a strain during these times because the brides were getting too carried away and taking their families and close friends' efforts for granted . Here are some tips you can consider in asking your friends for help in your wedding preparations.

Make sure . . .

1) the person you want to ask for help is someone that you had kept in touch with within the past two years. If you know that you're probably not going to contact them much after the wedding, then it's also probably best not to call them just to ask for a favor, even if that person's talents/services could save you a lot of money.

2) you ask for their help plenty of time in advance. This shows that you have thought this out carefully and consider them best for the job. I would say one month prior to the wedding is the absolute latest you should ask.

3) you are communicating the job descriptions clearly. Please don't just say "I need your help" without supplying specific guidelines and expect your friends to know what you want. The more you communicate, the more it will also help them acquire a sense of ownership to their responsibilities and produce better outcome.

4) you do have plans to show appreciations for their help. Thank you cards, gifts, or thank you get together after the wedding... You can discuss this with your fiance for ideas and include this to your budget.

And to those of you who ARE the friends who's been asked to help, please don't back out at the last minute when you have agreed to help. Trying to find a replacement for you will cause further stress on the bride and groom, on top of all the other stress they already have. And please, please be ON TIME if you're helping on the day of. I've seen so many friends who agreed to help in ushering & gift attendants that do not make it on time due to their personal reasons. On several occasions I had to frantically find replacements and let me tell you, it's not easy to find replacements at the last minute! For those of you who are helping with putting together a video or a slide show for the wedding, do work on it early and finish it at least one week prior to the wedding so you can go back and revise the work.