Photo/Video.

I'm a little concerned about this. I've sent two messages to Chin, the guy that took our engagment pictures, on Facebook and he hasn't replied back with a yes or no yet. I really want him to take pictures for the wedding because I really like his work. I also asked if he might know someone to do video.

I think it's time I start looking for plans B-Z for this one. =/



Update
I found a company called LA Color through yelp.com, where the single reviewer gave an excellent review and mentioned their familiarity with Chinese weddings. Visited the website and was quite impressed so I e-mailed them.

Got a reply to that e-mail quickly, and ended up on the phone with the videographer Taky. He was a great guy to talk to, and gave me lots of information about his and his partner's services for photography and videography. Their pricing seems to be on the high end, but after talking with him and browsing the website, it seems like they might well be worth it.

No matter where I read, people say not to skimp on the photo and video. But I'm not sure if we can handle $2300ish each (so $4600 or so total). He did offer a good amount of incentives, including extras and discounts. They also offer something called a magazine instead of an album, which I've never heard of before (probably because I'm way behind the times). So all the pictures are put in the correct orientation printed in magazine quality.... and you get a magazine of the pictures instead of an album stuffed with individual 4x6 pictures. Plus a disc of the pictures in case you want to print more on your own.

The other reviews I found outside of yelp were also really good. They pride themselves on excellence since most of their business is by referral. Since I'm unable to meet with them, he arranged to have more of their work e-mailed to me so I can see what a final product would be like. For one thing, I'm already really impressed with his customer service.

As I continue my search, the huge thing that's drawing me back to LA Color is their familiarity with Chinese customs. It's something I feel I just can't trust to an American. Heck, Taky can even refer me to an MC that speaks Cambodian, Chinese and English... all the languages I need!

So we'll see how this goes. I really need to get on a budget about now. I don't want to get my hopes up about things only to find out we really can't afford it. I mean... we can only rely on the income from the restaurant so much. Really, we shouldn't rely on it at all. We have time to save up, but I know I need to reground myself.

Hopefully going to this Wedding Expo will help us figure out what general pricing is on things -- help us make sure no one's trying to rip us off about anything.

Dress Progress.

Did more searches online and I found these two very pretty dresses that I think I'm going to base my convertible dress off of. There's a dressmaker all the way over in West Seattle that has gotten great reviews. I'm going to have to call her and make an appointment to meet with her, see if she can do what I want and if it'll actually look good on me, and get a quote for the project. Here's hoping this all works out and doesn't break the bank.

Convertible dress.

I had an epiphany about my dress -- convertible. One dress for the reception with a fuller skirt tied or belted on for the church. Doing a search online came up with some decent ones, so I just need to go into bridal boutique or something and see what it'll take to get something custom like that. I think that will either be cheaper, or at the most about the same, as buying and altering two separate dresses.

So the plan is to get something that looks great for the reception that I might be able to wear another time -- something that doesn't scream wedding dress too badly -- and just be able to donate/sell the skirt attachment as scrap fabric or just toss it and not feel too horrible about it. Or save it and use it as scrap material myself... I mean, I have a sewing machine. =P

If I really commit to this, I'm going to start looking at dress styles sooner rather than later so there's enough time to create what I want. I'll keep the two dress option in the back of my mind... or I'll even see if I can find something for the church that I'll still be able to dance in comfortably without any ridiculous bustling.

My mom needs to talk to my dad about purchasing the dresses though.... I'm scared he won't go for it because it's a loss instead of profit. We'll see.

Cosplay wedding.

I've wanted one for a long time, but Yubo shot me down.

HOWEVER.... out of absolute randomness, we found a scene where he would allow a cosplay wedding.

If you know me, the randomness of the train of thought shouldn't be too surprising.



It began with me wanting to go to Sephora after Best Buy.

Then I for some reason said "Sephirothia."

Then thought that would be an awesome name for a Sephiroth theme park. As you walk in, Sephi's theme blasts in the background. But then I couldn't remember what his song was. Kept mixing it up with "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana.

On the drive over the Sephora, Yubo looks up Sephi's theme on his iPhone and we enjoy the live version (with the Black Mages) on the drive.

Then said to Yubo, "We should walk down the aisle to this."

Then Yubo says we should write Nobuo Uematsu and ask him to write a song for our wedding for the wedding soundtrack.

Then I say we should get the Black Mages to play at the reception.

Blah blah blah.... back to walking down the aisle to Sephi's theme. Said that should be Yubo's entrance music. Ask he bursts through the doors, he walks down with flames (the fake plastic ones with the fans) bursting up as he walks past each pew. He said the only way he'd make an entrance to Sephi's theme is to fly down. Then I thought if he was gonna be Sephi, I should be Aerith and have people scream, "No! Don't do it!"

Finally, Yubo ended with this: I, as Aerith, should be at the front first. Then he, as Sephi, would swoop down and meet me.... and on the happiest day of our lives, we remind all of our gamer friends of their anguish during that scene in our beloved FF7.

And that is the only way he would allow a cosplay wedding.

The end.

Career Interests.

There's been a little bit of talk about getting into modeling, more on Yubo's part than mine. It was something his mom suggested, but we don't even know if Yubo would have time to take on part-time modeling. With Alex (my best WA girlfriend) already an amateur model, that got me searching craigslist.com.

It was entertaining browsing through the listings, but it got me thinking about what I'm doing and what I want to be doing.

It sounds like fun to be a model, but I definitely don't have the body for it (or even the face, in my opinion). Even the listings asking for anyone just to expand their portofio got me thinking that nobody in their right mind would want to photograph me. All the acting listings caught my eye, but it's been so long since I've acted that I'm probably horrible now.

I wanted to post a want-ad for models to help me gain more experience as a makeup artist, but I don't exactly have anything to compensate them with. I wonder if I'd be able to pair up with one of those photographers and do makeup for their photoshoots.....? Just a bunch of amateurs trying to gain experience, right?

Anywho, I just wonder what I'll be doing after we get married. The plan was to take up my Mary Kay full time and be more serious about it, but I'll admit that I've lost my passion for it. I don't even go through my own skin care routine properly. I still believe in the products, because they really are great products, but I just don't have the motivation to go out and do classes anymore. I've even been considering trying to get hired at a makeup counter just to get training and gain more experience.

I also had a lot of fun taking pictures and videos of Alex during our Hawaii trip, but I'm nowhere near a decent photographer -- I just get lucky sometimes. I was thinking of carrying around a white sheet and posterboard for taking better before and after pictures though. =P

Not sure what to do. Lots of ideas floating around, but nothing I intend to hold onto just yet.