did some additional searching for some other potential photogs.... and found a few.
HOWEVER got dissed today by my other top choice.... he is truly good and truly booked! cliff mautner- amazing pictures, and honestly just talking to him on the phone, sounds like an amazing guy. he was nice enough to give me referrals, and then say that if none of them worked out, to call him back and he would help me until i found one!
so here are the other one's i'm considering (if they have blogs, i'll list them instead since those seem to show more work) susan stripling (this was the reco from cliff) karen wise christian oth studios (christian + shawn are too expensive for me, but the others are possibilities)
i never thought that booking the photographer would be such a pain in the ( | ) (yup that's a butt) i guess since this is the one thing that you absolutely don't want to compromise on and certainly want to splurge on to ensure great pictures (as everyone says, they're the only thing you'll keep to remember this one expensive, and special day).
so all that said- we have met with over 10 different photographers. everyone with their own style, their own sales pitch and their own "packages." some edit + some don't, some give you the negatives/files+ some don't, some give you 7 hours and others give you 9, some are worth what they charge- and most (quite honestly) probably aren't...
where does that leave me then......?
everyone we met with that i really liked is not available- except 1 whom i met with this past weekend (art of love). we met, her stuff was great (even in albums), and i had a good feeling! i especially liked that she actually edits ALL of the photos. THEN-i call her to follow-up and see if i can negotiate a package, and one of the major wedding planners that brings her a lot of business, ends up needing her now on may 2nd. of course she has to take that wedding and not burn the bridge with the planner....
so back to square 1
help please...
- - -
fortunately everything else is coming along nicely...
thanks to everyone for voting on hair styles....i think i'm going to go with the 3rd style with a lower poooof-although my mom keeps trying to convince me that i should wear my hair down (EEEK!)
also my super awesome cousin sarah has agreed to be my day of coordinator. this is excellent for two reasons. 1) i won't go crazy now and i absolutely trust her 2) she runs her own catering + event planning business (Hanuri) in chicago so she is the perfect person for the job! too bad the wedding's not in chi-town....it could have been amajing ;]
she also recommended Truly Smitten for the wedding invitations. i've been checking out her stuff and it's great! i bet she could come up with something super-fab with the color theme/style....so i really hope it works within the budget! also when i was blog-stalking her, turns out her own wedding colors were yellow + black! (the banner at the top of her blog was the design for her own wedding i think...)
bridal party....i know i am lagging on this like a gimp this is going to be done in the next week of so. john and i were just trying to figure out # (4 or 5 or 6??) and also trying to decide how family would play into everything too.... we finally decided we're going to just go w/ 4 to keep it small and simple. but that also means there are a lot of friends/family we aren't going to get to ask :(
IN OTHER NEWS
john + i bought our first car together last week! it was so weird making such a big purchase, but definitely a good step towards realizing that we are actually a real (almost married) couple! now if only i could get him to give me his credit card..... haha jk!
finally, CONGRATULATIONS to my favorite biotech Jaymin on getting engaged! if anyone has any cute pictures of farm/outdoor weddings, send links this way so i can pass along to her...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
decisions decisions
soooo i finally met with all the photographers and had narrowed it down...
BUT- then my friend just referred me to this photographer this morning, who turned out to be....just.......amazing! GH Kim
MOVING ON....
i know everyone is sick of the color and theme- i am too. so this is the last time i'm changing it and i'm sticking with it!!
......yellow + grey...... and vintagey look & feel to focus around the photobooth theme. (some of you initially voted for this color scheme back in the beginning.....i shoulda just listened then!)
HAIR/MAKE-UP did my hair/make-up trial this past weekend in queens with reiko utsugi. i had originally heard good things about sachiko yanase, but when she was booked she recommended reiko. turned out be great too! with make-up i realized there wasn't much to do....but for hair there were 3 styles we tried out. (some of the pics are hard to see because of the lighting and also bc i realized it's hard to notice details with all black hair! also didn't have front shots of some but you can use your imagination :D )
1) grecian updo
2) low side bun w/ bangs
3) poof and chignon
which hairstyle do you like....?
TIPPING? so i've been thinking about this lately and was hoping some of the married people could offer help....do you have to tip your vendors on your wedding night (ie: photographers or florists, etc). we end up paying a lot for each vendor, but for some that are service based, i'm not sure if we're supposed to tip- and if so, how much is appropriate? (for example, at the reception hall, we are given a "recommended" amount to tip the "Captain" who runs all of the logistics for the wedding the night of...)
ok that's all the updates for now....
PS- i ended up getting the jcrew shoes with the side bow bc they were a little more fun and colorful, and i know i would probably never get to wear the pretty ivory ones again....
PPS- can anyone help me find cute yellow dresses for the BM's (that won't break the bank?)
after a nice hibernation, i'm back and ready to start plannning! (sorta)
so some major decision planning ahead of me in the next 2 months (before i move to cali)... wanna help? :D here's where things are at, and also a few updates....
NEW DATE i know i mentioned this already (but people have been saying they didn't know the date was changed)- wedding will now be on o5.o2.o9. see you there! (unless you're not invited...hahajk!)
DRESS arrived!! good news: turns out i did order it in ivory bad news: jjom tight. i get serious back-ass (you know when the back folds into a butt-looking shape squeezed into the dress as you try to zip it up....) it's cute. i think i'll keep it this way...
PHOTOGRAPHER here are the folks i've met with (or will be meeting with in a few weeks)
Heather was my top choice, but was booked on my new date....and i'm meeting with #5-7 in the next few weeks. so far i'm hearing that Anja seems to have the "cleanest" or "sharpest" looking pictures, whereas the others are not as consistent with clarity, shakiness, focus, etc. unfortunately i never took photography in my pratto9 curriculum so any photographers out there with advice on these folks- it would be greatly appreciated! (and on pricing, unfortunately they're all pretty pricey, but around the same price range so that probably won't be the determining factor)
COLOR SCHEME i think i'm going to move forward with the ivory/sage-olive scheme. it's seasonally appropriate, and well- i know everyone is doing that color combo these days but i think it'll be easy to do...
THEME? well john has been getting really into golfing lately, so some wonderful friends had the great idea of incorporating a golf theme in little subtle ways- maybe something with the place cards and table numbers...still brainstorming on this so send ideas this way! BOOKED:
music
videographer
church
TO DO:
florist
BM dresses
hair and makeup (trial in november- any ideas for hair??)
invitations (maybe try to make these with my good 'ol pratt colleagues)
book honeymoon (greece!)
ok what else am i forgetting to do....??
i leave you with two final things...
1) please vote for the shoes you like better:
(a) (b)
2) can someone help me make/find this birdcage-ish veil?
finally finally finally.....the date is set! mark your calendars everyone...
saturday o5.o2.o9
same reception hall, same church. only problem now- i'll be 40 by the time i'm finally married! jk- ok but really, the make-up person i want is already booked for that date, and even worse, the photographer i wanted is booked already too :(
so no sachiko yanase. no heather waraksa. booo
alright ladies- i'm going to temporarily revive wedding planning to at least book a photographer so PLEASE help me.....
....i need back-up! (for anyone who understood that reference, you are a geek- along with me)
on a more serious note, a very critical change has happened that will force me to start wedding planning more quickly, furiously and seriously....[boooo]
there's a chance the wedding may be pushed up to october (but more realistically) november. can we pull this off girls? will the reception hall and church even be available? will the other factors fall into place?
fortunately i at least ordered the dress right before i left for korea. only problem is that they say it takes 6 months to deliver it.....(!!!!)
so i have been slightly MIA....because i broke up with wedding planning. it was too demanding, too abusive, and i always felt like i was being taken advantage of...hustled. (hahah jk-kinda)- but i have a feeling we'll be getting back together again soon.
and no it's not because of the hold-up in deciding colors....well maybe partly
alright- in the meantime, something easier to decide on: a photographer!
i met w/ heather waraksa last month and she was really sweet- very creative, very brooklyn! (like danah our famous artist chingoo) right now, heather is my top choice, but only because i haven't yet had a chance to meet with scott lewis (or anyone else besides kenny...)
i also found a few new photographers who i think are pretty great- check 'em out and lemme know what ya'll think.
i was reading one post that said that the color scheme/theme should be based off the venue- but i guess that's kinda hard bc right now we don't have a church yet, and i have no idea what color theme should be reflected off our reception hall (classic? formal? match w/ the deep purple curtains?) other consideration is because it's spring, maybe picking a flirtier, lighter color palette (contrary to my beloved k-town get-down black on black)
a play off of "just friends"- since that's what john + i always were (even though we all knew he secretly loved me all that time) :D
since we're going to have a photo booth, maybe a picture/photo theme (have vintage photos up/pics from our parents weddings, etc) and/or incorporate "vintage" theme
UPDATE: here are the final color schemes for everyone to vote on. thanks for everyone's initial feedback- hopefully once we lock down the color everything else will fall into place! also really liking the vintage theme- here's some inspiration(thanks jane).
1) midnight blue + champagne/gold 2) pale yellow + grey 3) pale yellow + black + white 4) pale pink (or as martha likes to call it- cameo pink) + black 5) pale pink + grey
since i'll be in the motherland from the end of may through mid-july....those would be the key months to make some of the more major decisions. SO, i'm hoping to do more now (early on) rather than later after i get back.
so let's huddle up!
april to-do-list
engagement party(done)
set the date (done- 4.4.o9)
create preliminary guest list (kinda done)
set budget (more or less)
book reception hall (done)
select officiant (done)
pick color scheme + theme (HELP!)
find church
meet photographers (looks like favorites are heather, kenny, and scott)
ask wedding party (maids/men)
if i'm ambitious
STD (no you byuntae, save-the-date) cards - this could match w/ the photobooth we'll have
order dress
so, jimin would like to tell you that i'm indecisive (which i usually am), but i think that it's because i can't fake being artsy or pretend like i have a clue about what's going on with all of these things that require so much attention to detail, creativity and personal "style." i have none. haha (sad) i like neat ideas but then i want to do them all, and i think i can! i'm sure once i've set a theme it'll be easy/clear to see what things will work and what clearly won't. soooo in the meantime please keep it coming with the cool, quirky, cute ideas and great websites! :D
cool sites:
cool branches + sticks- i like the pussy willows and curly willow branches- maybe something for the centerpieces? also the site shows cool ways to do place card holders
i guess i have a general sense for likes/dislikes- but i'm just not sure how it'll all play together. so please please please leave feedback or votes for the stuff below:
"inspiration board" (ala "style me pretty" - don't mind the ghetto-ness)
color scheme
my original preference was black & white (formal), but john wasn't having the black...so
navy or midnight blue + ivory/pale pink/gold (does that even work?) -hopefully the blue will be darker (than the inspiration board) -gold may only be in the BM shoes, cake -pale pink in flowers (BM's + centerpieces) -ivory (dress, table cloth, chair covers) -maybe a "point" color (dark pink?) for bride's shoes and groom's socks (like argyle?) -OR open to any suggestions too.....
So with some sweet coaxing and bribery of free food- i convinced jimin to check out the madness that is Filene's Basement's "Running of the Brides"
bright and early, we awoke last friday 4/4 (yup the 1 year mark!)- and convinced ourselves that maybe it wouldn't be as hyped up as it seemed on the website... taking our sweet time, we got coffee and leisurely made our way over to tyson's, only to be greeted by a line going around the building and past the parking garage... we were still about an hour early!
apparently this is supposed to be one of the major bridal events (fortunately it was right down the street from us), and people bus/fly/drive in from all over the place at a shot at finding the "dream designer dress" for a fraction of the cost. well, we soon discovered it's a fraction of the cost because of the ridiculous quality and styles (long lace puffy sleeves, gold leaves stitched onto the dresses, rips down the side, busted zippers). although, watching that youtube clip below, it seemed like other filene's locations actually did have some decent dresses (and a lot more too). maybe the tyson's filene's was for all the reject dresses...?
anyhow, i'm doing NO justice to this post in explaining the wildness that we experienced that day (not to mention this girl we met on line, Connie- whom we quickly befriended after realizing how hilarious she was.... "mmm my fiancee told me to go find a dress at David's Bridal and I said- David's Bridal? HELL to tha NO!" )
ok so here's some descriptions and pictures about the event (from the filene's site), with my own running side commentary of course...
fyi- i didn't find a dress there (not surprised) but i'm so glad i got to go and witness that savagery for my own eyes... we made it out in an hour with no damage to our wallets or bodies!
News reports so often compare it to the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain that the event is now officially called the “Running of the Brides.”
The day of the sale, brides-to-be and their helpers line up early. When the doors open, they run full speed towards the racks. (i crap you not people were getting run over and pushed around....i've never seen so many girls sprint so fast in my life-shoot event jimin engaged in a light jog) In less than 60 seconds, the racks are stripped bare (store employees have to hold on to the fixtures so they don’t topple). The women grab whatever gowns they can, haul them off to a corner, strip down to their underwear and start trying on dresses. Minutes later the trading begins. Every dress, no matter what size, style or color, gets bartered for another, as each bride tries to find the gown of her dreams at a cut-rate price.
Do I need to make an appointment? What are the hours of the sale? Doors open at 8:00am, but brides-to-be start arriving much earlier. In fact, some brides arrive the day before and bring lawn chairs, sleeping bags, and even pop-up tents. Most brides arrive between 7:00am and 8:00am. The sale continues all day until store closing (which varies by store).
What happens when the doors open? Customers run full speed (and some of them girls were BIG! my shirt got ripped when i got pushed around in the crowd trying to get in...) to the racks; they grab as many dresses as their arms will hold. It takes less than sixty seconds for the racks to be stripped bare; the record is 36 seconds. The brides-to-be stake out a spot on the selling floor, preferably in front of a mirror and start trying on dresses. Even though we sometimes build a temporary fitting room on the selling floor most brides try on gowns in the aisles. Some women wear sports bras and shorts, others wear the lingerie they plan to wear under the gown. (some people brought their own full-length mirrors in with them!)
Should I bring help? Definitely bring help—your mother, bridal party, a style-savvy friend. (i rolled 1 deep that day...) You need people to help grab gowns off the racks, make trades with other parties, help you in and out of the dresses, and guard the ones in your “maybe” pile from prowlers. It’s a good idea to have a team “uniform”—something that will help you find each other in the crowd, like wearing the same color shirts or big hats. Some teams get very creative. They print their team name on t-shirts, carry whistles or walkie-talkies, and so on. Some teams have strategy meetings before the sale; one woman created a Power-Point presentation for her team all about the dress she wanted. (i saw jimin's true ahjooma skills that day as she started with nothing, found a fugly dress, and proceeded to barter, beg, and trade our way up to some decent dresses- we then walked around negotiating with four ugly size 10-12 dresses)
I’ve heard all kinds of stories about how people behave at this sale—are they true? This is an emotional purchase so we see a range of behaviors. At the start this event can bring out the worst in shoppers—shoving, elbowing, hoarding, and so on; but eventually it brings out the best. A lot of bonding takes place between the bridal groups. Everybody stops what they’re doing and cheers for brides when they declare a dress “the one.” Once, when it was discovered that one bride’s mother couldn’t fly in from Chicago because of bad weather, all the other mothers acted as surrogates and helped her find her wedding gown. Brides-to-be who are shopping alone have met on-line and in line and joined forces and help each other.
The behavior of Bridal Gown Sale customers has been studied by two professors of marketing at BentleyCollege, near Boston. They have shared their findings in scholarly journals and at academic conferences. (err....study of bridezilla's =scholarly)
How far do brides travel for this sale? We’ve talked to brides who traveled from Alaska, the U.K., Switzerland, all over. A group from Fresno, California flew to Boston for the sale after hearing about it from an uncle who lived in Taiwan. The gowns themselves have traveled too. One woman sent 4 dresses to her nieces in Russia; another from Brazil shipped a gown to her future sister-in-law, who loved it.
What is the most unusual wedding gown sold? A few stand out. One was custom designed gown and train made of white lambskin. The skirt was gored alternating leather with different patterns of ecru lace. Another was hand-made by designer Michelle Roth for a runway show. The skirt had five layers—one layer was hand painted with flowers and it was sandwiched between two layers with three-dimensional flowers sewn on, underneath, a layer of crinoline, and finally, a layer of lace. Two other gowns were memorable for their hand-painted skirt designs: one was a peacock and the other, a map of the world.
thanks so much in advance for all your help, advice, feedback, and mostly your support during this time...
my goals 1) to not be a bridezilla 2) to not waste an obscene amount of money (which only really perpetuates the monster that is the wedding industry, right?) 3) to enjoy the process (hence see #1) 4) to have a smashing and memorable wedding with friends and family...and ultimately to kick off the more important thing....the marriage!
so please check back frequently (hopefully i'll update this more than my xanga and facebook) and everyone is welcome to add stuff too!
One year from now, our dear Hannah Song will be married and will transform as the fabulous Hannah Park! wow. wow. wow. In this blog, Hannah will post up timelines and goals for her wedding planning. Let's all work together to get the most fabulous and stress free wedding up and going for Mrs. Park-to-be. (wow I gotta get used to that..)
This website will be used by Hannah's Wedding Planning Committee (WPC) only!
Rules for the WPC: 1. Hannah is boss. 2. Maid of Honor (Esther Shin) is second boss. 3. Be creative! 4. We love discounts and DIYs. 5. Do all that you can to make Hannah's wedding the most stress-free (at least for the bride) ceremony ever.
Hannah will be posting ideas, needs and questions in this blog. Please feel free to comment and participate. Research Research Research!
Last but not least,
That (up there) is NOT going to happen to us (or so we hope).
(b) 
