Traditions 102: Meet the Parents

Both sides' our parents, the "matchmaker", Cliff & I met over lunch on 8/22~ So, I learned about the tradition that Cliff's parents have to formally come over and ask my parents to marry me off, with the assistance of the "matchmaker"... sounds strange to me.

We didn't meet via a "matchmaker" and I did kind of say yes, after the proposal...

I figured, if Cliff came over and ask for my dad's permission, that should be fine~ but Nope, we followed traditions 102.

We met and had lunch at 鴻廚 ~a restaurant instead of meeting at my parent's. There was nothing special other than daily conversations and slight discussions of tradition 101: wedding date, locations...etc

3 hours of lunch and off we went shopping for the wedding band. My parents have finally realized that some support should be shown via wedding planning, and to take some stress off my shoulders. We made a visit to potential wedding locations the very next day at 1) Grand Victoria 2) Grace Hill.

My mum in front of G.H

Wedding Studio Package

Wedding shoot (2 sets of gown+ evening dresses+ instudio make-up+ fresh flower bouquet)
Outdoor & studio shoots will be taken within a day starting from 8am~~hopefully 7pm
Date: 12/4/09 ( Fri)

Engagement- 1 evening dress ( instead of the usual 2!), I'll rather enjoy my meal~

Wedding day-Bridal Gown & 2 evening dresses
I'm also planning on 1 gown & just 1 evening dress for the night, but we'll see if it'll be ok to break the regular taiwanese wedding traditions that the bride walks the red carpet 3 times in 3 dresses!

Traditions 101: Choosing a Wedding Date

Choosing a wedding date is a major decision in all cultures. Mywedding.com suggested couples to consider the summer/winter breaks in order for the convenience of friends/familiy's to travel over.

According to chinese traditions, choosing the wedding date involves combining the couple's (lunar calendar) birth-dates + birth-time, usually sent in to a "master" to select the "best" date for marriage. There's a high chance that if we followed this tradition, the "master" might give a wedding date for 2009 instead of our plans for our wedding in 2010! I've also heard that the date might even be on a weekday, rather than a weekend...

So it's decided, we'll not follow the entire chinese tradition. Choosing a relatively suitable date for marriage on the lunar calendar ( most calendars have detailed descriptions of - whether it's a good day for moving/ travel/ wedding/...etc). Various versions of the calendar are online, making it a lot more accessible.

Parents from both sides agreed, however, they are still contraditory when it comes to deciding a date. So, we've finalized.....In addition to selecting a "suitable date", we'll have to make sure our birth-year ( Year of the Rooster ) does not clash with the lunar calendar!

Western Design Studio~

Being recommended to visit a wedding studio with an "experienced" friend, someone who's married and knows the hooks on photography packages..etc. Emily was going to meet me at Chung-Shan North Rd (where the string of wedding studios are located in Taipei). Appointments were made but long story short, I didn't get to go with Emily.

While poodle spent time at the SPA, getting her full body scrub & hair cut, Cliff and I found time to check out one place~ Western Design: famous for british hand-made wedding gowns (英國手工婚紗) . OK, I didn't pin much hopes, as I'm still debating between the value placed between photography techniques V.S Choice of dresses. CH's photography style was common, so to speak, dresses are well liked by most taiwanese ladies (baroque, princess-like). Bridesmaid dresses from CH are only cream-colored, the common trend in Taiwan.... my 1st reaction was "gee what?!" since I promised my bridesmaids that some color- either pink/lilac/tiffany blue would be ideal.

Western studio on the other hand, has beautiful gowns, as for dresses.. I've been worried with the lack of choice. Photography: unique, with a focus on people, and the scenery as a backdrop. Sales: Emma offered to allow 2 dresses for try-ons right when we walked in, but I was in aw,"ok, so let's view the albums 1st, i said." After glancing photos on the computer screen, we went upstairs to view dresses and curtains closed as Emma helped me put on the "poof" gown, and then the 2nd gown "lace" with intricate gems~ and then to the 3rd "simple" gown, I requested. Gee, the dresses got tighter one after another, I'm wondering how I'm going to enjoy my wedding meal >_<" Also, bridesmaid dresses do have colors, but I haven't seen them. So, almost 3 hours was spent, and after coming down to details, it was a time for negotiation. Since Cliff liked most of the photographers' style, with one in particular that I really liked, we made our final decision! This particular photographer has been booked all the way till Nov'09.
*Our date has been set on 12/4/09~ weather will be perfect, cool, with autumn in the air~

Blings & Wedding Studio: C.H Wedding

Thanks to the Typhoon Holiday this past friday, meetings were cancelled and we drove back to Taipei in spite of the pouring rain and blazing winds, and had a stay-home-lazy afternoon off. Sat was 8/8- Father's Day, where P2oodle's spa was closed from Typhoon day-off and we both sent my dad off @ the bus terminal to the airport.

From Cartier, George Jensen, Tifanny's, to Hearts On Fire. We've shopped and looked around for a wedding band, wedding ring & necklace throughout Taipei. We've learned a great deal about diamond cuts...basic 4C's Clarity, Carat, Color, Carat weight.

Hopped on the yellow cab, and off we went on to our 1st visit at C.H wedding studio, closeby Cliff's home in Taipei. After being introduced by a sales lady, served with a cup of tea, we glanced through 8 large albums, were given a briefing on studio packages, taken upstairs for a peek at the wedding and evening dresses. The sales lady tried figuring out my style and taste for dresses, which deemed as a major challenge.

http://www.c-hwedding.com/

2nd & 3rd spot- visited

Travelling up Yang Ming Mt to visit wedding locations were called off as a result of inconvenience, so we narrowed our search to Taipei-Neihu area. So, 2nd & 3rd Grand Victoria Hotel & Denwell banquet. We've ruled out Denwell right after we saw it.

Our visit to grand Victoria Hotel was on a hot sunny afternoon, just when the lobby was over crowded with guests saying good-byes after the wedding banquet. It was an auspicious day to get married. Couples in Taiwan usually picks a suitable wedding date that are matched between their birthdays and the lunar calendar.

Grand Victoria, one of the contemporary hotels offers 2 banquet halls to which one of which parents will prefer, as it is a hotel (grand ambience) offering up to 450 guests ( 38 tables) ! The garden & patio, plus convenience for foreign guests makes it hard for me to decide between Grace Hill and Victoria. Another concern with Victoria, are the negative reviews online: poor service & snobbish attitude, in comparison to Grace Hill. Our initial contact was with sales, they seemed somehow less professional in comparison to other sites we've visited. It's simply a struggle trying to find the perfect location: to please guests of all ages, parents..!