S+J

Stick-On Boobs

2008-03-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

I picked up some boobs today from Target, since the dressmaker that made Stacey's bridesmaids dresses forgot to sew in padding for mine. Wow.....can I just say that I am in love with these things?! They are amazing! They are so comfy and they work so well. You just stick them on and they stay....like magic! And Vanessa will be glad to know that they feel very natural. ;)

If you want to pick up a pair for yourself, it's called Lingerie Solutions Strapless Adhesive Bra. Very much like the NuBra.

Viv Rocks!

2008-02-26T19:14:00.000-08:00

I might be a little partial, but I think my maid of honor Vivian made the best invites EVER for my bridal shower! She literally took everything I love and jam-packed them into one AMAZING invitation!! I was so touched by the fact that she put so much thought and effort into them, and that she tried to incorporate so many elements that I love. When I first got the package in the mail, part of me couldn't wait to open it, part of me didn't want to ruin it by taking it all apart, and part of me could not stop documenting every little detail about it....haha!

Here are a few pictures.....because they are just too awesome not to share!

JAC Beauty

2008-02-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

make-up trial

Our wedding days are fast approaching, and since Stacey is much more on top of things than I am, she scheduled a make-up trial with JAC Beauty and brought me along so I could do a trial too. What would I do without her? (Well mostly she just wanted someone to take pictures of her. ) We had such a blast with Jean, Ann, and Carol! From the moment we entered their apartment, I felt like I had known them forever. Actually, if you read Weddingbee as obsessively as I do, then you'll probably know Carol as Ms. Caramel. It turns out we also graduated from Irvine the same year.

Jean, Ann, and Carol were so much fun to work with - they were constantly complimenting us....and complimenting each other on the awesome work they were doing. When I left I seriously felt so good about myself. Can I just hire you girls to compliment me everyday? Haha. Seriously though, they did a great job with our hair and make-up. They're really good with asian faces, and although it feels like they're putting a lot of make-up on, it photographs really well. Plus, they are really affordable and just so much fun to work with! If you are looking for a make-up artist/team for your wedding, shoot them an email at JACBEAUTY@gmail.com

Here are a few pictures from the make-up trial.

Carol, Ann, and Jean working on Stacey

A picture of us after shooting Stacey's engagement session.

I love this picture Stacey took for us! I think I should train her to be my assistant....haha.

Response Cards

2007-11-14T10:23:00.001-08:00

I'm really digging the look of talk bubble response cards:

Cynicism & Snarkiness Part II

2007-11-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Love this post from Another F*ing Wedding. Here's an excerpt:

"We still had to write out the respond cards and didn't really like the
assumed emotion that most reply cards have. Your guests are forced to "gladly
attend" or "regretfully decline" to attend the wedding. But we don't want to
assume how our guests feel, so our respond card said simply:

We sent the cards out and instantly rued our decision. We should have
provided more choices:

And of course there are always a couple of invitations where you wish you
could send a card like this:

"

Sometimes I Love Cynicism and Snarkiness

2007-11-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

Photo Station - Part 2

2007-10-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

As an addition to the previous posts, here are some ideas I'm playing with for how to set up our photo station.

1. Hang up wall paper, fabric or a bedsheet with a cool design.

[from Laura Novak]

[from Lena Corwin]

Here are two bed sheets from Urban Outfitters that I think are cute.

2. Hang up these fun dots.

[originally posted on Brooklyn Bride; from Fred Flare]

3. Make cardboard cutouts of ourselves.
We were thinking that since there will be so many guests and only 2 of us, this might be a fun way to "take pictures with" our guests.

[photos by Amelia Lyon]

[originally posted on Another F*ing Wedding]

4. Provide fun props for our guests to wear/take pictures with.

[originally posted on Brooklyn Bride; photo by Elyse Hall]

[photo by John & Joseph]

[photo by Elsie]

I love these pictures from the surprise bday dinner my MOH planned for her bf, Lloyd, and our friend, Dan.

[photos by Eric Chan]

5. Provide a board for guests to write messages.

[photo by Scott Robert]

Photo Station - Part 1

2007-10-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

I loved the idea of having a photobooth at our wedding. I thought it would be a fun favor, and we'd get the added bonus of having pictures of all our guests. Plus, since I'm a photographer, it felt appropriate. But as we hammered out the details of our budget, and the numbers started adding up faster than I could add, it quickly became clear that it was something that did not fit too well within our budget. Photobooth rentals range from around $1300-1800, and with the number of guests we'll be having, we'd probably have to rent 2 photobooths.

So on to Plan B. I've decided to set up my on photo station for guests to take pictures at. I figure that buying a decent lighting set-up, a nice background, and possibly a sync-cable will only cost me about $5-700. And the great thing is that I can keep all of it for future uses. The hardest part for me now is figuring out what kind of set-up I want, and how to achieve the lighting I like.

I've amassed a small collection of pictures from various blogs of photo areas that others have set up.

[from Boutwell Studio]

[as seen on Faye and Greer]

[from GH Kim]

[from skippeahn]

[from Brides.com]

[from MS Weddings?]

[photos by Scott Robert]

You'd Think It Was Good News

2007-10-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I went down to Union Station to check out their event space yesterday......and WE LOVE IT!! The site coordinator there was really helpful and offered so many suggestions on things we could do and ways we could set things up. And they are surprisingly relaxed about how we use the space. They have hardly any restrictions and seem really accomodating. I am so IN LOVE.

So why the title for this post? Well, yesterday morning my dad received a call from our original reception venue. They were the whole reason we had to go in search of a new venue site. Turns out the manager that my dad knows and has worked a lot with had been on vacation for a month due to some injuries, and so we were getting a lot of mixed messages and uncertainty about whether or not we'd be able to have our reception there. The manager is back now, and he called to confirm and assure us that, although they are in the midst of changing ownership, nothing would interfere with us having our reception there. Great.....just great!

You'd think this was good news. Instead, we are slightly frustrated....not to be a brat or anything. It's just that we went through 7 blissful months of not having to worry about a reception site, only to have our plans changed with only 6 months to the wedding, then spending 2 stressful weeks frantically searching for a new venue, and after finally finding "the perfect" location....it feels like our hopes have been crushed again. It's such a tease! Am I even making any sense?

Of course, there are far worse things that could happen. And really, I am grateful that now we've gone from having no venue options to two. That's definitely a good thing. But

Union Station

2007-10-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

Out of all the places my mom, Jeremy, and I have looked into, Union Station is looking the most promising right now. Most of the places we have inquired about are either booked or ridiculously expensive. Jeremy contacted Union Station and they said they are available and that they have no preferred vendors. There is a $6500 location rental fee, but since we can use whatever vendors we want for catering, tables, drinks, etc., we can probably make up that cost by finding vendors that are less expensive than the ones most places would require us to use. That sounds pretty good to me! And the great thing is that the location is super close to my church....about a 5 min drive. The architecture is beautiful as well.

A few pictures from Lisa Ling's wedding at Union Station.

[photos courtesy of Hot and Nerdy]

Top Contendors

2007-10-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Center at Cathedral Plaza

[photo courtesy of Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels]

Union Station

[photo courtesy of Bumatay Studio]

[photos courtesy of Hollywood Locations]

Almansor Court

[photos courtesy of Almansor Court]

Venue Search

2007-10-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some potential venues that we have been looking into.

CHINESE-STYLE BANQUET
San Gabriel Hilton

Capacity: 600
Available: Yes
$$: $70 pp

888 Seafood Restaurant

Capacity: ?
Available: Yes
$$: $60 pp

Universal Hilton

Capacity: ?
Available: ?
$$: min. $888 per table

WESTERN-STYLE BANQUET
Almansor Court

Capacity: 580
Available: Yes
$$: $65 pp

Los Angeles Theatre

Capacity: ?
Available: Yes
$$: 15,000 rental fee

Sheraton Universal

Capacity: 400
Available: ?
$$: Food minimum of $12,000

Marvimon House

Capacity: 150
Available: Yes
$$: $5500 rental fee

The Center at Cathedral Plaza

Capacity: 600
Available: Booked
$$: $50 pp

Union Station

Capacity: 500
Availability: Yes
$$: $6500 rental fee

The Omni Hotel

Capacity: 800
Available: ?
$$: ?

The Biltmore

Capacity: 750
Available: Yes
$$: $140 pp

Westin Bonaventure

Capacity: 600+
Available: ?
$$: $100 pp

LACMA

Capacity: 600
Available: ?
$$: $6000 rental fee

Pasadena History Museum

Capacity: 2-400
Available: ?
$$: $3000+

California Science Museum

Capacity: 500
Available: Yes
$$: ?

Gene Autry

Capacity: 400+
Available: Booked
$$: $6000 rental fee

LA Music Center - Grand Hall

Capacity: 600
Available: ?
$$:?

@#($*&$@!

2007-10-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

A month after we got engaged, we had booked a church and a reception venue. It was great - 2 of our biggest tasks were done! No worries. No hassle. No having to run around all over town searching for venues or cross-referencing prices. We were planning to get married in my church and then have a Chinese banquet at Empress Pavilion across the street. Seemed like the perfect plan - no time wasted traveling from the ceremony to reception venue, plenty of seating for all our guests, and hook-ups because my dad has worked with the restaurant a lot in the past.

Now, with 6 months till the wedding, we've been forced to look for a new reception venue.

My initial thought....!#%$^%!#*&$!!!

My second thought....Maybe this will be a blessing in disguise.

I'm trying not to get too upset, frustrated, or stressed out by the prospect of having to search for a new venue. I know we will work something out, whether it be by cutting down the guestlist A LOT, or splitting the reception into 2 nights. But I still can't help but be a little miffed by the fact that things didn't work out with the restaurant and that we now have to deal with this situation when we should be working on other aspects of the wedding.

So what happened? Well, the restaurant is currently in the process of changing ownership. However, they can't quite come to an agreement on things, and so the fate of the restaurant is still undetermined. Will they change the name? Will they renovate? Will they still offer the same menus and services? They can't confirm our reservation till January, four months before the wedding. We can't wait till January for them to guarantee our reservation, because if things don't work out, we'll have even less time than we do now to find a new venue.

We're trying to see the bright side in all of this. Maybe now we can have our reception at a really cool location and "do what we want." Not to say that the whole Empress Pavillion thing was something we were forced to do. But it was kind of just a given, a default. I was completely happy with it, but now maybe we'll have the opportunity to get a little more creative and not do the "typical FCBC thing."

So here's to the unexpected!

Speak Up!

2007-10-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

I have a tendency to keep things bottled up inside. I'm not very open about my emotions and I'm not very good at expressing how I feel. I probably also have a fear of confrontation.

Jer, on the other hand, is much more able to express his thoughts and verbalize his emotions. When we first started going out, my inability to vocalize my feelings or hurts really made things difficult. I would get upset at Jer and just completely shut down and not say a word to him. (I'm really good at the silent treatment.) I know it was so frustrating for him because he had no idea what he did wrong, and I wouldn't tell him what was upsetting me because I thought it was obvious.

Since then, I've gotten a bit better about talking about what's bothering me. But I occasionally revert to my old habits and shut him out. I think we deal with emotions differently and I'm starting to see and understand that more and more. He's the type of person that will think out loud and verbalize his feelings on the spot, where as I'm the type of person that needs some time to think about what I'm feeling and understand it before I'm able to talk about it.

I know it's not healthy to keep my feelings bottled up inside, and my friend Jean recently sent me this article that talks about how keeping your feelings bottled up can actually have a negative affect on women's health.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/health/02well.html?em&ex=1191470400&en=8f0060cd5f4bd5b2&ei=5087%0A

I Bought A Dress!

2007-10-02T11:12:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it! After going to countless bridal shops and trying on probably hundreds of dresses, I finally found a dress that I'm happy with!

(Sorry for the not-so-great pictures. I snapped them quickly with my camera phone when no one was looking.)

STD's!!

2007-09-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

When I first started reading Weddingbee, it took a while to get used to all the acronyms and shortcuts people used - MOH (Maid of Honor), FOB (Father of the Bride), FI (fiance), FMIL (Future Mother in Law). One that particulary mortified me was STD - short for sexually transmitted disea.....er, I mean Save the Date. Ok, seriously, who in their right mind would use that acronym? Imagine my confusion when I read things like:

I don't know what to do about my STD's.
We started passing out our STD's.
Thought I'd share our STD with you guys.

WTH!? I mean....seriously, that's a terrible acronym to use. But now Jeremy and I find it hilarious and we joke endlessly about awful ways to talk about our STD's.

Which brings me to my next rant. Whoever thought of the whole Save the Date concept is freakin brilliant! Must have been some genius in the bridal industry. Boy, are they good at getting brides to spend money on things they don't really need. I mean, seriously, people are going all out on their Save the Dates, spending more on one STD than I would care to spend on a whole invitation. Not to mention it means killing more trees (no, I don't consider myself a tree hugger, but since everyone else seems to be going "green," I guess I'll go along with it too). Also, I honestly don't really want people to "save the date". I mean, with 800+ guests, I wouldn't mind if a couple hundred guests didn't save the date. I keed....really, I keed.

In all honesty though, I do think Save the Dates have their value. But because we have such a large guestlist, it's really impractical, in my opinion. However, there are some people we really do hope will show up (i.e. our families and the bridal party). So I did design this simple little STD to pass along to them (via email, of course, because I'm cheap.....er....practical like that =P).

Inspiration

2007-09-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

The other day I read this post over on Black Eiffel and thought, "Well there's an idea!"

Seriously, why is it that the first thing people ask you is, "Have you picked your colors?" I have to admit, I've been guilty of the same offense. It's really not such a bad thing, but Kim has a point....it is "such a surface place to start planning something so special." And so I love her suggestion of picking words that you want to represent your wedding. I think it's so easy to get caught up in the little details....Do my napkins match my table cloths?.....Are my centerpieces too tall?.....Should I get that overpriced track suit with 'bride' monogrammed on my butt?

So it got me thinking......What words would I want to represent my wedding?

Seeing as I will have an insanely big wedding (and when I say big, I mean BIG....like 800+ guests big!), there's no way we're going to be able to make it feel small and intimate, as nice as that would be . So instead, I'm going to see it as a big a** party. I want people to have fun and enjoy themselves. I'd like the atmosphere to feel relaxed and casual, not all formal and stuffy. I hope to include elements that are unique to us, so it's not just "like that other wedding we went to." Mostly, I want it to be about the love that is shared.....between my fiance and I, our families, and our friends.

So, the words I want our wedding to be about?
fun, unique, family, friends, love

The Dress Hunt

2007-08-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

The search for my dress continues. I have tried on soooo many dresses I can't even remember them all. I don't know what it is....am I just super picky or what? I can't seem to find one that I absolutely love.....and that's at a reasonable price. That's probably my problem.

These are a few of the dresses that I've tried on so far that have stood out to me. There's something about each dress that I love, but there's also something about each one that I don't really like. I know eventually I'll find my dress....I just have to search a little longer.

Jim Hjelm - I actually really liked this one. It's not one I would have picked out from a picture, but we all agreed it was really flattering on me. Even Jeremy liked it. But Jim Hjelm is out of my budget.

Jim Hjelm - A really pretty lace gown, but unfortunately....I have no boobs.

Monique Lhullier - Loved this dress....but once again, I have no boobs!

Monique Lhullier - A little too heavy on the lace for me, but otherwise really pretty.

Alfred Angelo - Love the lace on the bottom, but I wish it was more fitted. And I didn't really love the color.

Alfred Angelo - Something different but detailing on the side is a bit much, and I was afraid the bottom would look weird b/c I'm kinda short.

Alfred Angelo - Cute....but I didn't like the split in the middle.

Casablanca - I really liked the sleeves and the rouching, but I think I want something strapless and more fitted.

Birnbaum and Bullock - Really pretty!....but too princessy for me. It looked really good on and it was really lightweight and comfy though.

Vera Wang - Found it used on Craigslist. Really gorgeous dress, but a little too big for me and I didn't want to pay to get it cleaned.

Mika Inatome - The most flattering lace dress I've tried on thus far, but it's a custom-made dress, so I'm sure it's expensive.

Christina Wu - Love the beading on the top, and the detailing on the bustle, but overall I felt it was a little too siimple.

David's Bridal - This dress looks so cute in the picture and I totally fell in love with it. When I tried it on, it fit really well, but it just didn't feel "weddingy" enough....if you know what I mean? I think I need something a little poofier.

David's Bridal - I like the cap sleeves and the empire waist, but the quality wasn't that great, especially for the price.

Melissa Sweet - Very cute and vintagy looking, but not me.

Melissa Sweet - Love this one, especially the dropped waist.....but everyone kinda has it.

Dessy - My friends liked it, but the thing I've found about most lace dresses is that they're too shapeless.

Anjolique - Love the lace! but I'm afraid the top might be too revealing.....cuz I have no boobs.

Jim Hjelm <3

2007-06-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

I have been to A LOT of bridal stores in search of "the perfect dress" (if you could see me, you'd see that I'm rolling my eyes slightly). And by a lot I mean 15+ bridal shops!!! It boggles my mind to think of how many hours I've spent and how many dresses I've tried on. And STILL, I haven't found a dress.

Actually, there is one that I am absolutely IN LOVE with! But unfortunately it is way, way out of my budget. It's a Jim Hjelm dress, and it's probably one of his most expensive at $3400. =*(

Isn't it so gorgeous? I tried this dress on at The Wedding Day in Fountain Valley, CA. I've tried on a ton of dresses where I liked a certain part of the dress but not the whole thing, but I liked everything about this dress. I love the crystal bodice, the dropped waist, the train, and the cut. But I just don't have the heart to drop that much money on a dress that I will at most wear for 8 hrs. Sure, it's "my big day"...."it's once in a lifetime"....blah blah blah. Still, I can't justify it. $3400 is a lot of money.....and I could buy a new camera and a really good lens for that price (yes, I think of money in terms of camera gear).

So, my search continues...

We Bought A House!

2007-04-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's official! Jeremy and I bought our first house! It's been in the works for a few weeks now, but I didn't want to say too much because we had just started the whole escrow process and it wasn't a done deal yet. But today we received the keys to our new home!! It's so crazy! Jer and I feel so blessed to have found a house so quickly...and we are especially grateful to his parents for helping us out so much.

Our new place is in Norwalk. Come visit us sometime (after we get some furniture and what not).

Here are a few pictures from our new house!

Our peach tree. Yay...I love peaches!

Entering our new home for the first time

The kitchen

Jeremy's area.....hahaha (because I don't know how to cook)

We have 2 bathrooms. I think Jeremy prefers one over the other. =P

This is gonna be my photography headquarters!

The living room

Dining room and kitchen

Usually there are two fake drawers where the sink is.
Ours flip out to hold sponges and other sink accessories. So cool!

The kitchen

The Proposal: She Said

2007-02-15T01:24:00.000-08:00

It was around our 4 yr anniversary. We usually don't celebrate anniversaries.....we're just not really into that. Plus, we don't really have an official date......just sometime between the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day. But this year we decided we'd go out to celebrate since 4 yrs is a pretty long time.

Wait....let me back up a little to 2 days before. It was Friday morning and I was awaken by the buzzing of my phone. I had a new text mssg. I groggily clicked to view the mssg from my friend Stacey.

Guess what? I got engaged! I'll tell you more about it tomorrow!

OMG!! What?! I was so excited I couldn't sleep anymore. I called my bf to tell him the news. Then I texted her back.

Ahhhhh!!! CONGRATS!!! Btw, thanks for being first. =P

We've had this little inside joke going for a while now. At our church, we were the only 2 girls our yr that were in a dating relationship....and the only ones any where close to getting married. Except neither of us wanted to be the first to get married. So when I heard the news, I was really excited for her.....and also not-so-secretly glad that I wasn't first.

Well wouldn't you know.....2 days later Jeremy proposed to me! It was the most unexpected thing in the world.....especially in light of the fact that Stacey had just gotten engaged. That was surprising enough as it was. Seriously, one of the first thoughts that went through my mind was, No one is going to believe this!

So how did it happen? Well, that morning when I called Jeremy to tell him that Stacey had just gotten engaged, he instantly thought, What are the chances!? Jeremy and Stacey's fiance have met before, but they definitely had not planned to propose within 2 days of each. That was totally a coincidence! Jeremy called up his brother and asked him if should still propose this weekend. He was worried I might think it was a joke. His brother told him to just go for it since he had already been planning it.

So that Saturday, we had a little church get-together. Everyone was congratulating Stacey's fiance, and then turning to me and Jeremy and joking that we were next. I kept saying, "No way! Not for a while." I honestly thought it would happen later in the yr.....maybe in the summer. Little did I know...

As the day wore on and the get-together was wrapping up, I started bugging Jeremy about what we should do that night. We had set aside the evening to celebrate our 4 yr, but we hadn't made any real plans. I kept asking him what we should do before dinner since we had a little down time, and he kept saying that he was really tired and that he wanted to go home and sleep. I told him to just come over to my house and sleep, but he kept insisting that he wanted to go to his bed and sleep. I thought that was kinda weird because he usually says that my bed is way more comfy than his and he always falls asleep in my bed. But I didn't push the matter. Strange as it was, if that's what he wanted, then....whatevers.

I went home and was bumming around the house. I started to get lazy and didn't really feel like getting dressed to go out. I was almost fine with just not going out at all. I called Jeremy to see what the plan was. We can be really indecisive at times. What should we do? I dunno? What do you want to eat? Doesn't matter. Where should we go? I don't care.

Finally, Jeremy suggested heading down to Orange County to visit some of the places we used to hang out at back when we went to school down there. Uh....why?! I got a little suspicious there, but then I wrote it off because he was being so casual about everything. If he had made reservations somewhere, that would have totally tipped me off, but he really didn't have any set plans. He played it so cool that I didn't really suspect anything.

We finally decided to grab dinner at Roy's, this place we had heard about while vacationing in Hawaii but hadn't had a chance to try yet. Then we hit up this French-Japanese dessert and pastry place. Afterwards, Jeremy suggested we go to the Orange County Performing Arts Center to check out their new music hall and to take some pictures. There was this one Valentine's day where we spent the evening shooting pictures in Chinatown for an assignment for my photo class. It was really fun and since we hadn't done it in along time, he thought we should go.

When we got there, it was really windy and cold! I wasn't feeling particularly inspired to shoot, so I let Jeremy do most of the shooting. Actually, Jeremy had wanted to go to an opera that night to celebrate our anniversary since that's what we did on our first date.....but I said vetoed that idea. Haha. Eventually, Jeremy walked over to this bench and sat down. I hesitated. I started to get suspicious again. Why is he sitting down? Why? What's gonna happen if I sit down?

I hesitated a little longer. I thought that if I didn't sit down that maybe he wouldn't propose. Haha. Well I still didn't really think he was going to, so eventually I sat down with him. We were talking for a little bit when out of nowhere he whipped out this scrapbook he had made. Uh....what the? Why is he being so crafty? He's never this crafy! More suspicions. He flipped open to the first page and their was a little note about our 4 yr. Oh....phew! Ok, it's for our 4 yr anniversary. As he flipped through the pages, I kept wondering, Is he going to propose?! I almost asked him flat out, but decided it might ruin the moment if he really did.

As he got to the last page, he hesitated for a second before flipping to it. OMG!! On the last page of the scrapbook was a picture of the most beautiful ring ever....and the words Will You Marry Me? I was stunned. Even though I was slightly suspicious at that point, I didn't really expect it. Next thing I know he had pulled a red box out from somewhere and was on his knee. I don't really remember what exactly happened at that point. I think he probably said, "Will you marry me?", and I answered, "Yes!" I grabbed the ring out of the box and slipped it on my finger. It fit perfectly! We hugged and suddenly I thought,

Wait! Did you ask my mom?

Yes, he had. The weekend before, I had gone up to Nor Cal to shoot an event, and that's when he took my parents out to dinner to ask for their blessing (Jeremy was advised to ask for their blessing, rather than ask for permission). Apparently my parents grilled him big time. Don't get me wrong.....they like him....my mom just has separation anxiety issues. After some tears on my mom's part, I guess he left with their blessing.

The Proposal: He Said

2007-01-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

[as told by Jeremy]

Preparation Timeline:
(skip to JAN 27th Night for the proposal)

(12/2/06) After looking around for rings, I decided to get a ring custom made - Serena wanted a cushion cut rock.

(12/23/06) Picked up the ring on the Saturday before Christmas - went to a party at Ed Ie's house that night.

...Decided to propose on Saturday Jan 27th - It was about the 4th anniversary of our first date. For our "first date", Serena and I went to Orange County Performing Arts Center to see a Mozart Opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio. (I had counted our first date to be a Rolling Stones concert at Staples Center, but I'm the guy, what do I know...that's some of the reason for the "about the 4th anniversary")

(1/20/07) Took her parents out to Maki Sushi the week before to ask for their blessing - rushed up to Monrovia from surfing at 39th St w/ Henry and Karen.

(1/26/07 am) I got a call from Serena telling me that Stacy and Daniel got engaged the night before after hanging out with her church friends- Serena and Stacy always joked saying the other should get engaged first (apparently we won the race for second).

(1/26/07 pm) I picked out some pictures to make a photobook and saved them to an SD card.

(1/27/07, 9am) I took pictures of the ring and sent the pictures to print at Costco - Apparently, it's hard to take a good picture of a ring with a point and shoot camera. Good thing Serena bought a good macro lens.

(1/27/07, 11:30am-2:30pm) I hung out with Serena and FCBC peeps , bowling and playing Wii at Washington's house - Chili+Cream Cheese=YUM.

(1/27/07, 3:00pm-6pm) I made a stupid excuse so I could go finish up the photobook and finish preparing for the night.

**JAN 27TH NIGHT**:
We had talked previously about doing something for the anniversary of our first date, but I kinda left most of it as a surprise / spontaneous set of activities. Weeks before, I had asked her if she wanted to see Don Giovanni at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, but she didn't want to. I decided to take Serena down to Orange County anyways and perhaps go to a few places we had hung out when we first started dating.

We first went to Fashion Island to eat at Roy's. We ate at Fashion Island's Cheesecake Factory on our first date, but I decided to upgrade this part of the night.

Then, I took her to Cafe Blanc to pick up some desserts. Austin Szu recommended this place to me, and their desserts are incredible. They were just closing when we got there so we picked up a couple things to go.

After that, I took Serena to Orange County Performing Arts Center. I had told Serena to bring her camera and told her that I wanted to walk around and take some pictures of one of the new halls that they ahd just finished. So, as we got out of the car, I grabbed her camera stuff, and put the photobook and ring in her camera bag. After walking around for a bit and taking some pictures, we sat down on a bench by the main entrance of the performing art center.

I pulled out the photobook as an anniversary gift. We flipped through it and looked at pictures of some great memories that we've made through the years. I flipped to the last page, a picture of the ring and 4 words, "Will you marry me?"

I grabbed the ring, got down on one knee, and asked Serena to marry me.... now I'm engaged.

Engaged!

2007-01-28T14:21:00.000-08:00