Honeymoon Registry!

Asian weddings in general don't really include much of a gift registry because cash is the traditional and expected gift.  I wasn't much interested in the idea of a registry at all until I came across the idea of "honeymoon registries."  WHAT IS THIS AWESOMENESS, you ask?  It's pretty much how it sounds: you register elements of your honeymoon--it could be anything like flights, meals, room upgrades, excursions, even the accessories you'd need for your trip!

The site I browsed through to look at samples was Honeymoon Wishes.  They have samples for all the destinations they have.  Here's one from a Cancun registry!

Although I'd still rather have cash gifts to contribute towards building a home, I would entertain the idea of at least a small honeymoon registry if people wanted to register gifts.  Also, this is a great registry alternative if you already have a furnished home with your significant other.

A bit more form-fitting

I saw the following dress from Claire Pettibone's Fall 2010 bridal collection (Willow) and just loved the detailing on the top and back! 

The bottom part of the dress, I don't feel too strongly about.  But this is a gorgeous, unique design that demands an updo! :)

Soda Bar! And other edible/drinkable delights...

The mister and I are not big drinkers (though he can certainly hold his liquor better than I could), so I was delighted to see this:

A soda bar?  Adorable!

These jars are lovely!  Plus it gives us a lot of flexibility on what we'd like to serve, alcoholic or not. :)

Other treats I've run into: HEART-SHAPED MACAROONS. OH.  EM.  GEE. (Click on the image for the recipe.)

Finally, I love how beautiful and refreshing cherries would be to serve as a snack for guests!  This bride had set these up as a post-ceremony snack for guests and had decorated the bags using a Martha Stewart edge punch and a "With Love" stamp she bought from eBay.

Edit: Just saw an idea for a DIY cupcake bar!  I'm not crazy about the execution, but it's another option to consider and could be fun. :)

Hairpieces

I love the crystal headband look!  I found these on Etsy but neglected to save the links to the vendors' sites. :(

Mermaid Silhouettes

Expanding a bit on my last post, I'm going to start looking at mermaid-silhouette dresses for inspiration.  Here are a few I've seen that I like so far:

From Sophia Tolli

From La Sposa

 

From Anjolique Bridal 

From Lazaro Wedding

From Mikaella

First dress?

I was hanging out with girlfriends K and C, whom are getting married themselves (not to each other, though!).  After happy hour, we headed back to K's place for C to try on her wedding dress.  Their friend had bought 3 dresses at a sample sale, so K invited me to try one of them on, just for fun.  It was a mermaid silhouette, one that I hadn't considered before in my browsing for wedding dresses, and I looked fabulously curvy!  I wasn't crazy about the dress itself, but I liked the idea of showing off my figure (and I think the mister would love it, too!).

I wish I had a photo to show you, but I was worried it'd be bad luck before even getting the proposal! :(

Another issue I've come across in the dress search is that I know my mom has her heart set on making my wedding dress.  I'd rather buy a dress and ask her to alter it, but I'd hate to hurt her feelings.  Plus I have 3 more sisters after me, and I see this as "taking one for the team."  But it's been awhile since she's made dresses for people, so maybe she's not as keen on the idea anymore?  Or, as K and C suggested, maybe I could ask her to make my ao dai.  I'll cross that bridge when it comes, but until then I'll keep looking through dresses for inspiration.

Dessert Table

I read somewhere that a standard wedding cake can go anywhere from $2-$8 a person and that couples typically allocate about $500 for the cake alone.  I'm not much into wedding cakes myself (at least based on the ones I've tried).

Without a doubt, I know I'd want to have a small, single-tier cake (maybe double-tier at the largest) for my wedding as part of a great dessert table with all the great desserts the groom and I have enjoyed over the years.  Benefits of a dessert table:

• It accommodates to many different tastes for the guests.  Some people will want the traditional cake dessert, but maybe some will be too full from dinner and will opt for fruit or candy.  Or cookies.  Or jello.  Or pies (hell, I could probably do a pie table alone and still be able to satisfy guests' tastes).
• It can be really affordable, depending on the desserts you decide to go with.  I imagine more candies and cookies will keep the price lower.  A 8" guava cake from Aki's Bakery would probably feed about 12 people (depending how you slice it), and that's $30 ($2.50pp).  Gourmet macaroons costs about $2 a cookie (ouch!), but the costs might be lower if you order in bulk; Trader Joe's supposedly has some frozen macaroons that are actually pretty decent and are $5 for a dozen.  Pies go for about $8-$12 a pie, with each pie feeding maybe 8-12 people ($1-$1.50pp!).  DIY-desserts are the cheapest (boxed brownies on sale for $1 can yield 2 dozen brownies (less than 5 cents a serving!). 
• The dessert table doubles as decor!  If taken the time to set it up nicely, a dessert table could look really stunning.

Okay, so this last one is just mostly about the cake.  I'm not too keen on the actual design of this, but I do love the strawberries!  Feeding each other strawberries instead of cake would be more fun. :)

A list of desserts that could be included (pending budgetary allowances of course):

• Candies: chocolates, gummies, and sour candies
• Fruits (in-season is best)
• Chocolate-dipped
• Tart form
• Parfait form (parfait bar?  Awesome!)
• Pies (chocolate pie, strawberry pie, apple pies with an a la mode option, custard pie)
• Cupcakes (banana cupcakes, s'mores cupcakes??)
• S'mores
• Small ice cream sundae bar (good for a summertime wedding); alternatively, maybe a halo-halo bar!
• Hot chocolate (good for a wintertime wedding)
• Guava cake, banana cake (cupcake forms are also acceptable)
• Doughnuts (could rent a mini-doughnut maker machine and give them out in pairs like "wedding ring" favors)
• Pudding?  Banana pudding, rice pudding
• Brownies
• Cookies (those Japanese cookies that the mister loves so much, classic chocolate chip, baklava)
• Cheesecake

And there's probably a ton more I haven't thought of yet.  I'm sure there could be a game made out of this like an Iron-Chef style contest among tables to see who could make the tastiest dessert. :P