IT’S OUR ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!
WOW! I can’t even believe it’s been a year! I’ve been meaning to share more about our wedding but a pandemic happened and we were focusing on life. Then we found out we were being featured on Love Inc. Magazine…was I really going to have someone tell our story before I do? LoL…
so Where do I begin?
There’s so much to say but I want to highlight our friendors who made it all happen first because they worked so hard in making our vision come to reality!
First and foremost, We want to thank our dearest friend, Marcus Moore who flew out from Texas to be with us and marry us!!! he even sang our favorite song at the end of the night, ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ by Whitney Houston.
DTN Tech!
OMG! I wanted something basic and they come up with this beautiful acrylic invitation set for us! AHH! So blessed!
24 Carrots Catering
They literally rescued our wedding. We had let go of our previous caterer because they were the
biggest assh*les I’ve ever worked with.
I had to cancel the wedding venue because of them.
Leaving me to find a venue a month prior to the wedding.
Long story short, Nicole Gagnon came to the rescue.
She got the venue and catering secured, sent me contracts within an hour, and boom, the wedding was back on!
AV Irvine
I did a hard hat tour here 5-6 years ago. I couldn’t wait to do an event there.
It was going to be this sick warehouse with all the lighting technology available at your fingertips.
I even took Tony here for their grand opening! Who knew we would end up getting married here!
If you’re looking for a club-like venue, this is it!
Balloonzilla
is one of my fave unique vendors in our industry. I love Marla, Bryan and Angie so much! I met Marla at a networking event and I was hooked. She has so much creative energy that I’ve ever witnessed in my life! She also has the best loving family too! I wish she would adopt me into her family already! We wanted to do something fun and different so we filled a room with balloons for our guests to enjoy during cocktail hour and took amazing photos. We welcomed guests with colorful balloon garlands. I really loved the concept of 29 Rooms, Ice Cream Museum, MODs Museum, so we wanted to create areas for photo ops and we did just that with Balloonzilla! We are so thankful for you and your amazing team who created this beautiful design!!!
Makeup and Hairstylist - OKAY...this was REALLY hard but also became a really easy decision and here’s why lol. Vivian Tran Artistry was my first choice because she just knows how to glam a girl up. Unfortunately, she was going out of town the weekend of our wedding and couldn’t be by my side as I imagined. BUT, this made it much easier because Travis Vu has always been my go-to when I needed hair and makeup for events and family shoots. He just knows my face and how I want my hair. We’ve also worked together since 2005? He did an amazing job transforming my face lol but also still making me look like myself!
If you’re thinking that I accidentally wore my Adidas tracksuit instead of a floral robe, you’re so wrong! I always encourage you to plan your wedding to what represents you! Don’t jump on the silk PJ or floral robe with rhinestone names because it’s on Pinterest! You HAVE to plan your wedding around your love story!
Casablanca Wedding Dress
Again...I am a horrible Bride. Did you know it takes at least 4-7 months to order a dress after you have placed the dress order? Well, I knew that but I also knew that I fit a sample size 10! So 3 months prior to the wedding, I bought a dress off the rack and got it altered! Again...this was not something I wanted. I wanted to wear an ivory suit with a navy bowtie for our wedding but Mama Chan was going to complain for the rest of her life if I didn’t wear a wedding dress. Poor Mollie had to help me try on the whole store because I couldn’t find anything I liked. It’s hard to like a dress when you don’t like to wear a dress! Mama Chan's first choice was a mermaid lace gown with ostrich feathers. However, I came back to the store and switched it out for a giant princess dress to surprise her. I figure...what the heck, I’ll go all out and be a princess that she has always dreamt about LOL!
Oceanic Flowers
We were the worst nightmare of a couple ever to work with. Bless Oceanic Flowers’ soul for dealing with me! Confession time...I personally don’t like flowers. I think they’re beautiful but I don’t appreciate owning them. I think they look beautiful on a farm and in photos. So please NEVER get me flowers. You want to impress me and make me happy, get me a Thai tea with boba and you’ll see the biggest smile ever. Anyways...I told her to do whatever she wants for the wedding. Just make it look happy and not boring. My personality is wild, exuberant, extroverted and Tony, he just likes expensive shiny things. My favorite color is purple and hot pink and she did exactly that. Thy and Amy designed these beautiful, bright, and happy floral arrangements. When you walked into the room, it just made you smile because the colors were just so fun and welcoming! I appreciate you Thy and Amy so much!!! BTW, our floral consultation consisted of 20 text messages exchanged HAHAHA! Not sure if that’s the easiest or worst way to deal with a Bride. Keep in mind...all the flowers were for Mama Chan’s eyes lol!
Photographer - Ohhh...this was so hard. I’ve worked with SO many talented photographers and it was really hard to choose. I chose Red Pin Studio because Sean is one of the sweetest photographers I’ve ever met. He specializes in fashion photography and usually shoots outside of the box. I wanted a very K-drama feel with pops of colors and he did exactly that!
Cinema - This was an easy one, Yaz Kim. Gosh, we’ve worked together since 2007? We’ve worked together on soooo many weddings, this was just a no-brainer!
DJ Wrex
This was one of the hardest decisions because there’s SO SO SO many amazing DJ’s in OC that I could have chosen from. I also had quite a few DJs attending the wedding as guests. So that helped me eliminate who to choose because I wanted them to enjoy the wedding as a guest. DJ Wrex was the chosen one. He’s just been part of the Litty Committee since day one of meeting him and was so blessed he wasn’t offended receiving a 2-page song request from my Groomzilla! Note to others, your DJ will do just fine without your long list. LoL!
Mitchell DeGuzman!
Master of Ceremonies - Okay...this ONE was really hard and again easy at the same time. Our great friend, Dante Le is an amazing MC in OC and I have always imagined him being our MC for our wedding but my goal was not to have any friends work the wedding unless it was absolutely necessary. So of course, there’s no one like him, he is one of a kind...what do they say, always “often imitated but never duplicated”? Yup, that’s Mitchell DeGuzman! I straight up told him, do whatever you want in order to make this the most LIT AF wedding. And guess what he did, just that! I hope he didn’t lose his voice because our wedding had a lot of rachetivities!
Bella Ballroom
First Dance - I think this is one thing couples think it’s unnecessary to do but I think this is one of the best parts of wedding planning and that’s to hire a dance instructor for their first dance. Tony and I can dance by ourselves and suck at dancing together. Thankfully the team at Bella Ballroom made it all come together. Leanna and Jenelle helped us execute our crazy vision! Of course, we wanted something unconventional because that’s who we are! We started off with a Waltz to “Earth Angel” because Tony is a huge Back to The Future fan and transitioned to a hip hop song, “Rolex” by Ayo & Teo because I’ve always joked (mostly serious) that I would rather have a Rolex than a ring! A Rolex can tell time, hold value or go up in value and still look amazing while a ring...is just a ring!
LoL! Just speaking for myself though!
The Lion Dancers - if you know me, I will hire a lion dancer because your daughter’s tooth fell out. Forget the tooth fairy, we’re hiring lion dancers! I just love the energy, the good luck, and the excitement that lion dancers bring when they enter the room! They’re definitely part of the Litty Committee! We used Phap Long Lion Dancers and they always come through!
The Table Greeting Dress from The White Dress in Newport Beach- I met Adam Zohar through my lovely Bride, Charlene. He makes wedding dresses with stunning details, shapes, and cuts. I knew I had to wear one of his dresses for the wedding. I was so blessed that he took me in, measured me, and got me a dress in a short period of time. I loved it so much because it resembled the dress that Mama Chan wore for her wedding! Check out his dresses at his new salon, Laguna Bridal!
Friar Tux
Eric Acuna and Team helped us dress Tony for the reception. We fell in love with their new Navy Blue velvet blazer! He loved it so much! The fit was perfect and it looked amazing in photos!
LTD- yup, that’s right, that is Lynda Trang Dai! Tony’s family is from Missouri and his Mom is a huge fan of Paris by Night. We’re spoiled because we live in OC where famous people and luxury cars are a common sight plus I see her perform all the time at weddings and I used to see her a lot at her sandwich shop! LoL! I hired her without anyone knowing. It was a huge surprise for our guests and Tony as well. I had no idea that so many people were screaming when they saw her up on stage! I mean...who doesn’t enjoy a good new wave song? Especially by Lynda Trang Dai!
Sweet Traders
hands down have cakes that Asians will love. Something sweet but not too sweet, just a perfect balance! I would recommend their fresh berries cake BUT my all-time favorite is Chocolate with Chocolate Ganache and a layer of peanut butter! Please go try them out! You won’t regret it. We love them so much, I ordered another 8” round cake for our one month and one year to savor the taste again!
The NSX - people are asking why the NSX was part of the decor. Well, it all started on Match.com! One of Tony’s photos on his profile was him and an NSX. The caption was “if you know this car, we will be really good friends”. I of course being in my OC bubble, living that Hot Import Night Life, knew exactly what car was in the photo. I hit reply, “What is an NSX. Final answer!” The rest was history!
Coachella Party
Photo Booth- AV Irvine comes with Halo Photo Booths so I didn’t care to have any other photo stations but our amazing friends over at Coachella Party have the most unique photo booth in town! Check out their vintage airstream trailer! They gutted it out and turned it into a photo station!!! I wish I could live in this thing!!! Special thanks to Laurent and Tatiana!
Please reach out to them because they now have a vintage VW Bus for their photo booth!
The Food Trucks - You know what you don’t want to happen at your crazy Asian wedding? Your Asian family members complaining that their American cuisine dinner didn’t fill them up because they’re used to eating an 8 course meal. Well guess what? I’m going to feed you MORE! We hired the Boba Truck because...it’s BOBA! The Burnt Truck because Tony and I love burgers and fries! Tony and I started off with a lot of ice cream dates after work, so it only made sense to have 2 ice cream vendors...lol! Afters Ice Cream and Archie’s Ice Cream truck was a hit!
Portrait station by JD Renes
This is a MUST at your wedding! The 5 hours at your wedding will go by SO SO SO SO SO fast. This is a great way to have professional photos taken with your guests. They also have a printing station so your guests can have a copy of the photo on the spot and the best part, you can text or email yourself a copy of the JPG file so you can share on social media!!!
We also left this station open all night so guests can take photos with their families!
