Alterations

It feels like I've done so much in the past couple of weeks. But there are so many things that aren't set in stone just yet. I'm still weighing out my options in wedding decor, flower bouquets, music, and wedding cake. I have, however, chosen my wedding shoes yesterday. 

I went to my first dress fitting today. I went alone and was pretty nervous about it. Some of the things I wanted to change was the length, the corsette area, taking out a flower, and adding a bustle. I have to say, this place that I found for alterations was truly amazing. The prices cannot be beat. She was so attentive and even offered a custom veil for $30. This tiny little lady just tagged and pinned everything under 30 minutes. 

Please let me know if you would like more information on alterations!

Say "Yes" to the Dress

I am watching "Say Yes to the Dress" right now. The Atlanta one.
I've been watching these episodes almost every night now and I find it sinfully entertaining.

A lot of brides feel pressured on how they look on their wedding day
They see the magazines. They see this tall thin figure. They wanna look like that and we are not all built like that.
So how do we get around that?
It's about finding the right garment that makes her feel like a million bucks.
So we really need to convince her she doesn't have to be a supermodel to be beautiful on her wedding day.
So your job is to make every girl see herself as a bride
That's a beautiful thing.


Possible wedding-dress induced anxiety attacks:
- Having too much audience: your friends+bridal party+grandma+mother+in-law+fiance?
- Hoping that you will feel that "ONE MOMENT" and being particular about it. This bride is asking to have that same butterfly-in the-stomach moment when the fiance proposed. She kept saying "no".
- Remember it's your day not your mother's. (Although I'm a super-mommy's girl who would love to please all parties)
- If you've tried more than 50 dresses, come on, what is going on?
- Best to trust your instincts, don't second guess yourself
- If you like lace, don't bring a friend that hates lace and calls it a table cloth.

Once you do feel that moment though, 
- Your heart starts racing
- You feel beautiful
- You see yourself celebrating your wedding in that dress


Dear bride-to-bes, Be confident, make a decision. Trying on more dresses should not be a stressful experience.

The Red Qi Pao/Cheongsam

My dream-online qi pao dress

Now I wasn't looking too forward to finding my Chinese outfit of the night, but I knew it was an important part of my culture to be wearing a form of red.

Qipao traditionally is very form fitting. If I lived in China, I would've had my own custom designed qipao. I wish I were able to visit there to have most of my wedding things done, but I don't think it would happen anytime soon. The fiance and I decided to check out some store down in China town. I tried on a couple of dresses. Some qipao had mermaid styles, some with lace, and some were completely flashy.

I was looking for...
1. Something that complicated my body, that had just the right curves.
2. The neckline in the center (If it were more off to the side, it was considered more of a "mui" dress. It was more elegant to have it centered.)
3. Something that represented me. Not too flashy.

If I had this dress...

After three stores in search, I finally found something! I don't want to show it just yet, but I completely fell in love! I brought my mom in the next day to make the purchase. She settled the pricing and we made a huge save=) I loved it very much because:
1. It fitted me perfectly. (It even had that extra breast cushion! double "yay"!)
2. The neckline was in the center. The neckline has a little sharpness to it.
3. It is a red. A matte material with red dragons embroiled all over the dress. The material is thick and firm. There's two slits on both sides (Sexy! haha).

Advice for bride to bes: I've googled and searched for different qipao dresses online. Seeing and trying it on makes a huge difference when it comes to these form-fitting dresses. Be sure to have a couple of opinions before making the purchase. I had my fiance, mom and dad come check it out.

If any brides in the Vancouver area needs some help with qipao shopping, please message me!


Update:  To all the brides out there. I've been receiving a lot of messages about qi pao dresses. This is the place to go for Qi Paos in Vancouver: KK Boutique.
http://www.kkboutique.ca/about.html

Just make sure you bring your fluent chinese skills with you. Bargaining will certainly be possible. They have quite a selection when I went there. You can rent or purchase qi paos there. 
154 East Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1T3

My Wedding Dress Journey

Image received from Bridal Guide

I had friends tell me that wedding dress takes a lot of time. I had friends that told me that they had to go through many stores and had headaches along the way. I had friends that found something on a sample sale in that one day.

Every women does it differently.
But for me, once I got engaged, I knew I had to prepare myself.
I knew exactly what I wanted
Sweet heart top with almost an A-line meshed with a mermaid ending.

I went wedding dress shopping by myself that first week in New Westminster, Vancouver. I just wanted to see it for myself and try it on for myself. I completely fell in love with the first one that I put on. It just felt completely right, but it wasn't fully. It just didn't define me well enough. Then I tried on the next, then several more. In the end I tried on about nine dresses and I liked them all. I put aside four dresses for a re-visit. It was pretty nice experience for myself. I think the only problem was, was that they were all so beautiful and I felt so confused into choosing the one I wanted.

A couple of weeks later, I went with my MOH and bridesmaid. We made an appointment to try at this store in Hastings, Vancouver. I had to say, I was not impressed at all. We browsed through another store and nada, nothing! Funny thing was, I went to check out this store that was "just for fun" on Renfrew, Vancouver and I fell in love with a dress. I tried on many that day too. But for some reason, this one dress that was way over big on me felt like "the one".

What I learned through this experience:
1. Make sure it's within your budget (which mine really was and was on sale!)
2. Do your research online
3. Try on several dresses
4. Keep an open mind
5. Focus on the style, not the size
6. Plan early!
7. Does it make you giddy? (because it did for me! I'm not the crying type!)
8. The material and color may make your decision as well! Is it off white? ivory? pearl?

I will show my dress in August. It will be a surprise=)
But I have to say, it's similar to a "Trumpet" shape.