Photo credits: Mrs. Eggplant unless otherwise specified

I am not a tiara type of girl. In my mind, a tiara was one of those accessories that screamed, "princess!" Early during my planning, I decided that it would be a snowy day in July before I'd wear a tiara at my wedding.

Of course, I ended up wearing a tiara at my wedding. I like to call it a headpiece so it sounds less princess-y.  You see, it started with the dress. I fell in love with a gorgeous satin dress with rhinestones lining the bust. Then, I discovered Thomas Knoell, designer of couture accessories, and it was love at first click.

Thomas Knoell creates accessories that are carefully hand crafted in various metals and adorned with Swarovski crystals. I loved so many things about his pieces, but mostly, I loved that the silver had an antique feel and finish. The jewelry was elegant enough to make a statement, yet subdued enough to complement my bridal attire rather than compete with it.

I ordered my headpiece through Jin Wang, a San Francisco bridal atelier that carries Thomas Knoell. When I learned of the price, I did a double take. But, I bit the bullet and cut back on spending in other areas of the wedding (e.g. our programs and invitations). Surprisingly, the price that Jin Wang charged was slightly less than what it would've cost to purchase directly from Thomas Knoell. I custom designed my headpiece, choosing antique silver for the metal with accents of light pink crystals.

Although the headpiece looks thick and sturdy, it was feather-light and delicate. The pink crystals were barely noticeable while I was wearing the piece. They just added a touch of interest and a hint of color. I loved that the crystals sparkled like crazy and reflected pretty, colored light.

And now, some pictures of the hairpiece in action:

Photo credit: Apertura Photography 

Here it is, paired up with my gown.

Photo credit: Apertura Photography 

And here's a closer look. Thomas Knoell can also customize the piece to be longer (if you want it like a headband behind your ears) or shorter (if you want to wrap it around a bun).

Photo credit: Apertura Photography

Although the hairpiece was pricey, I take comfort in knowing that my future sister-in-law loved the piece as much as I did, and she'll be wearing it next year during her nuptials. I highly recommend Thomas Knoell to other brides that are looking for elegant, yet subtle hair accessories. He also makes beautiful earrings, bracelets, and other jewelry. The hair pins and combs can be a less expensive option to the band style pieces. Check the website out for more.

Ahh, the wedding reception details. I think happy thoughts when I see these photos. It's so satisfying to see nine months of planning come to fruition. The projects weren't Martha Stewart perfect, but they were special to me; it was the blood, sweat, and tears of myself and my closest family and friends that helped to pull this event off. I'm also deeply indebted to our floral designer/DOC/life saver, Stacey Miller. She handled a few emergencies without mentioning a single word to me and she made our day utterly fabulous!

Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcharoo
Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel!
Part V: Meet 'n Greet
Part VI: Ceremoniously Wed
Part VII: Wedding Portraits

All photographs are property of the awesome Apertura Photography.

While Erwin was finishing up or portrait session at Stanford University campus, Ray headed back to take awesome pictures of our wedding details: 

 
For escort cards, I made the flowered creations above. My cousin created three amazing ribbon boards that complimented perfectly. I'll write a full post on the project soon, I promise. For now, let me say that the cards were a huge pain in the you-know-what. I punch each borders by hand until my palms were crying bloody murder and my Martha Stewart punch cracked.

I made special place cards for Mr. Eggplant and me. Obviously, we knew where we'd be sitting. But, these make for a good photo op, don't they?

Guests commented on our table numbers and told us they really liked them. Some even took them home!

Stacey designed a mix of high and low centerpieces. These balls were the flowers from our ceremony, re-purposed as tall table decor. 

Our low centerpieces were elegantly wrapped roses in a clear vase. Simple, yet pretty.

Thankfully, the banquet room lights were dim for this photo. In real life, our wedding cake was not as beautiful as this picture. The fondant was a faded green color that didn't quite match the ribbon that I provided to the bakery. However, at $2.77 a slice, I'm not complaining.

My cousin gifted me with these initials to decorate our cake table. The letters were purchased from Paper Source and she painted them in pretty shades of pink and brown.

Ray took a pretty photo of our Wang Love Knots cake servers. I've already used these a few times since the wedding, so I consider them a good purchase.

Candy buffets may be played out, but ours was a HUGE hit with everyone. Our emcee had trouble convincing people to stay seated during dinner. They were constantly mulling around the candy table.

For 180 guests, I purchased one third of a pound of candy per person. I limited the amount of sweets that each person could take home by providing compact Chinese take out cartons. These proved to be useful when Grandma Eggplant grabbed one and stuffed her leftover prime rib into it!

These were our Ferrero Rocher table favors and dinner menus, which I promise to write about soon.

Stacey decorated the sweetheart table with the bridesmaid bouquets. They looked stunning and it saved us money.

As guests trickled into cocktail hour, they were handed a guestbook page by my sister-in-law and and Mr. Eggplant's cousin, who also watched over the wedding gifts.

Stacey created tall centerpieces for the check-in table using floating orchids and water. Pictures of the Eggplant parents also decorated the space.

Garden Court Hotel served everyone with yummy hors d'oeuvres.  

                

Mr. Eggplant thought up our specialty cocktails: A Marry Me-hito and a Raspberry Sweetini.

  

I was ecstatic that people took the time out to complete the guestbook pages. They came up with some pretty creative responses. I'll share a few once I finish compiling the album.   

We had lots of babies and kids at our event. All of them were angels throughout the night and I didn't hear a single cry.

We gave goodie bags to all the kids at our event which included coloring books, crayons, and other fun gifts. They were a hit and I recommend this small gesture to everyone who is inviting young 'uns to the wedding. 

We had the entire courtyard to ourselves during cocktail hour. Here's a view from our hotel suite above.

Erwin/Ray caught a photo of us spying on the festivities below from our hotel suite, right before we headed down to join everyone.

Next up: The football that almost killed our cake and the best man that almost stole my groom!

Hi Folks! I'm back from my trip to France and Spain with the hubs and it was amazing. Mr. Eggplant and I ate lots of tapas, took lots of metro trains, and even spoke some French and Spanish. Now that I've returned, it's time to hurry and finish up the wedding recaps before our first wedding anniversary approaches.

Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcharoo
Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel!
Part V: Meet 'n Greet
Part VI: Ceremoniously Wed

All photographs are property of the awesome Apertura Photography.

   

If I could change one thing about our wedding, it wouldn't be the bridesmaid dress fiasco. No, I would've left that well enough alone. The only thing I wish I had was more time for portraits. We set aside two hours and it still seemed so short. But, I'm extremely happy with our photos so I have no complaints.

After our family formals in the sanctuary, we took photos with the bridal party in the church's backyard.

  
I don't remember what we were laughing about, but it could've been the fact that I tripped and fell on my face during the wedding rehearsal.  I am truly a klutzball.

      

Next, Mr. Eggplant and I headed over to Stanford University campus for some one-on-one time with our photographers. Stanford has a gorgeous campus and it was only five minutes from our church and reception venue. Admittedly, I was still a little shy in front of camera. I don't think I'll ever get used to being photographed while trying not to look like a total turd.

 

 
I've mentioned it before, but I love long veils. They can be so much fun on a windy summer day.

 

Mmmm. Old Spice or Teen Spirit?

No peeking, folks. This is a private kiss.

I was surprised that my veil didn't fly clear off my head. It was quite windy on our wedding day. The fabric floated up like a kite as Mr. Eggplant and I wandered around the campus.

This picture was a two-page spread in our wedding album. So pretty!

 
Photoshop, I bow down to you. I wish my skin looked like this in real life!

 
This is one of Mr. Eggplant's favorite photos of the whole wedding. At this point, Ray took off to photograph our wedding reception details while Erwin stayed with us to take a few more pictures. Somewhere around this time, my bustle busted, which is why Mr. Eggplant is holding up my dress in the picture. Luckily, I had a safety pin in the hotel room, which I used to pin the train up during the rest of the night.

 
This is my favorite photo of the wedding. It was also taken on Stanford campus. When I finally get around to decorating our home, I plan to blow this up and frame it. I love that it's a picture from our wedding, but it doesn't look "wedding-y."

 
We tried hard to look cool and nonchalant in our pics. I'm not so sure that it worked.

  

 
After our photo session was over, we scurried down the stairs and headed back to our reception, still right on schedule.

Next up: The wedding details!

Dear readers, I will be on a blogging hiatus for a bit. I've been a busy bee lately; I'm going on a Europe anniversary trip with Mr. Eggplant next week! Fourteen days in Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona. The only thing is, I haven't touched our itinerary yet—yikes! If anyone has suggestions for must-see sights in these three cities, feel free to help a procrastinating Eggplant out and comment below. I would be incredibly grateful.

Now, onto our ceremony recap before my blogging break starts!

Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcharoo
Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel!
Part V: Meet 'n Greet

We arrived at the church right on time with zero minutes to spare. In fact, I had no time to be nervous because it was go, go, go. In hindsight, this was probably a good thing.

All photographs are property of the awesome Apertura Photography. Please provide credit if you repost their photos.

My flower girls were a-dor-able. They kept whispering, "I wike your dwess!" They apparently thought I resembled Cinderella with my wedding gown. I had them give me a kiss for good luck.

Our floral designer, Stacey Miller, did a fabulous job with the flowers. We ended up repurposing the tall flower balls (for lack of better words) as centerpieces for our reception.   

My MOH was so sweet. She really took care of me the entire day. I thought she looked absolutely beautiful too.

I was so proud of our flower girls. They were not nervous at all. Total opposite of me. As a child, I was terrified of everything, especially being the center of attention. Not much has changed since.

Our usher passed out the wedding programs that we worked so hard on. They were definitely imperfect: stamps weren't centered, paper was sticking out of the ends, and ribbons were frayed. But guess what? No one noticed.

Mr. Eggplant had a personal moment with his guys before he took the stage, where they said a short prayer for him. He later told me that this was one of his favorite wedding moments because he felt so loved. Mr. Eggplant is a huge softie, but don't tell him I told you that.

I love the expression on his face. He won't admit it publicly, but he teared up a little. Hey, wait a minute. He shed a few tears for the guys, but didn't water his eyes even once for me! Humph.

Our flower girls held pomander balls instead of flower baskets. I originally thought that the balls were too small, but once I held one in my hand, I understood why our flral designer made them mini sized. They were surprisingly heavy! 

This was one of my favorite pictures of the whole wedding. Way to frame a shot! 

Before the ceremony started, my brother and Mr. Eggplant's sister did the honors and lit the candles on the altar. 

Our hired musicians (a.k.a. our talented friends) played the Feather Theme from the Forrest Gump soundtrack for our families to start the procession. Our musicians put together a really amazing musical program that I still receive compliments about. We were incredibly lucky to have such talented and generous friends take part in our day; it meant the world to us. 

My grandfather was escorted by my little cousin (who is really not that little... she's 5'7" or so). 

Mr. Eggplant's parents were next. 

Brother Eggplant walked my mom in...

... while we all waited for our turn.

My one-year old cousin was our ring bearer. In lieu of a ring pillow, I gave him a tuxedo bear from Build-a-Bear so that he could keep it after the wedding. The red wagon was purchsed in case he was being finicky and didn't want to walk down the aisle.   

All of the groomsmen entered the church. During the rehearsal, they were instructed to hold their hands like that. Good thing someone remembered to tell them, because I never thought about details like that!

Next up: the bridesmaids. My cousin smiled the entire way down the aisle. 

If I ever have daughters, I hope they are as cute (and as well behaved) as my cousins. I love the paparazzi of cameras taking photos of them.

This munchkin refused to walk down the aisle and also refused his red wagon. Poor little guy. It was way past his naptime.  

Finally, it was my turn. By this time, I had blocked out eveyone in the room. In my mind, it was just me, walking to my future husband. The one tip I did remember was to walk very slowly. It's so easy to speed down the aisle like a race horse. I took my time and savored in the moment—one of the best decisions ever. If you take away one small piece of advice from my wedding recap, I hope it will be to walk slowly and drink everything in.

Have you seen the movie 27 Dresses? There's a part where Katherine Heigl's character explains that while everyone is looking at the bride during a wedding, she looks at the expression on the groom's face because it says everything. Well, I'm really glad our photographers were able to capture Mr. Eggplant's expression. It speaks volumes to me.  

I haven't shared much about the church we were married at. It was absolutely stunning. I always wanted a garden wedding, but once I stepped into this building with its stained glass ceilings and cement walls, it took my breath away. I knew I was going to be married in it.

Our wedding was the first nuptials that our pastor ever officiated. He did a fantastic job. His words were touching, personal, and funny. Many a family member came up to me and told me how surprised they were that they enjoyed the formalities so much. This meant a lot since our ceremony was pretty long (one hour) and I was worried about boring folks. 

Mr. Eggplant's vows were awesome. I laughed out loud... 

... and then I cried while saying my own vows.

I just had to post this picture because it cracks me up. Take a peek at Grandma Eggplant on the right. Perhaps I should've shortened the ceremony. 

Finally, we said our vows and exchanged our rings. 

And we lit the unity candle together. 

Flowers of appreciation were presented to our parents. And then finally.....       

The Kiss! I don't know if I have a photo of it, but Mr. Eggplant actually picked me up off the ground.  

Our pastor officially announced us, "For the very first time, I'd introduce Mr. and Mrs. Eggplant!" 

And we retreated!

The emotion of the day was joyous. I was filled with incredible joy and gratitude and it hasn't stopped since. Being married is awesome and I recommend it to everyone!

Have a wonderful two weeks, everyone! I'll be back to conclude the recaps soon!

Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcharoo
Part IV: The Threads, and How They Unravel!

To continue the Eggplant wedding story, where did I leave off? Oh yes, the ladies and I were dealing with our bridesmaid dress fiasco.

Meanwhile, back in the boys' camp...

All photographs are property of the fabulous Apertura Photography. Please provide credit if you repost their photos.

Mr. Eggplant and his guys made a trip down to the banquet room to set up the A/V. Mr. Eggplant wanted to make sure everything was set up perfectly and he insisted on doing it himself during the morning of the wedding.

It didn't take long before they finished and started goofing off in the hotel courtyard.

I loved the Mediterranean style courtyard of our hotel. It was decorated with red tile floors, a small fountain, and white Christmas lights strung over all the bushes. It was perfect for an intimate celebration.

Mr. finally took his crocs off and replaced them with tuxedo shoes.

Mr. Eggplant changed out of his non-wedding appropriate shoes just in time for Ray to snag his portrait. I'm really glad that he had time to do these, because grooms are often forgotten when it comes to wedding pictures.  

Mr. Eggplant will be the first to tell you that he's gained a few pounds in his squishy cheeks since the wedding. It must be my fabulous home cookin'.

 
Chinese pop stars unite. Oh yeaah. 

 

 
While Mr. Eggplant was busy playing cool with da fellas, the girls and I were heading down the elevator to meet them.

I know this picture looks like Monica and I were sharing a girls only secret. In reality, Monica was double checking my teeth to make sure my lipstick was in place. I also remember that I was no longer nervous. Nope, I was as calm as a cucumber. Or is it as cool as a cucumber?. Anyway, I was just so excited and wrapped up in the moment. I didn't care that we were a little late for the ceremony or that I had spent the last hour sewing instead of taking pictures with the girls.

I almost decided not to have a veil for the wedding. I'm so glad I changed my mind. Veils make cool photos like this one.

Our photographers set up the Eggplant meeting in the courtyard. They placed Mr. Eggplant on one side with his back turned to me. As I approached him, Mr. Eggplant clasped his hands in eager anticipation. I love how this picture captures the moment.

I tapped Mr. Eggplant on the shoulder...

Finally, the big reveal! Mr. Eggplant was so cute. His jaw dropped open and he didn't even come over to hug me. He just stared and stared. I thought he was the most adorable thing in the world.

I, on the other hand, was not so adorable. Mr. Eggplant turned me around to take a long, hard look at my butt, while I decided to purse my lips like a baby eating a lemon.

Finally, Mr. Eggplant gave me a hug. And it was a big, juicy hug, not one of those flimsy, pat your back hugs.

However, I wouldn't let Mr. Eggplant give me a big kiss, because I had to keep my lip gloss on for the ceremony. He settled for a small peck instead.

We headed straight for the church, which was conveniently one block from our hotel.

Next up: Miss Eggplant becomes Mrs. Eggplant!

Part I: Primped and Prettied
Part II: The Dashing Gents
Part III: The Wedding Duds + A Suite Switcharoo

As the morning prep progressed, all seemed well and fine. Erwin proceeded to take photographs of my wedding threads while the females and I continued to ready ourselves.

All photographs are property of the fabulous Apertura Photography. Please provide credit if you repost their photos.

One last shot of my gown before I slipped it on.

It took a hoard of hands to attach those tiny buttons down my dress. I packed a crochet hook in my luggage, but during the mad rush of dressing, I completely forgot about it.

Five minutes later, the girls were still buttoning.

This was one of my favorite pictures of the set. It captures all that I was feeling at that moment: I was incredibly excited, a little nervous, and overflowing with joy and gratitude. I also think I was in denial about getting married. I couldn't believe that nine long months of planning were about to be realized in one glorious day.

I was sooo happy to finally put on my Choos! They fit like a glove and were surprisingly comfy. 

I fell in love this picture for two reasons: the angle of the photo makes me look:
1. like I have a butt (in reality, it's flatter than a lukewarm Pepsi).
2. taller and thinner than I really am.
Thanks, Ray + Erwin! You rock!

 
Finally, it was time to put on my remaining jewelry and head out the door.

But wait!... Something was going down in the bathroom...

My girlfriends thoughtfully attempted to hide "the situation" from me because they didn't want me to worry. I knew something was wrong when I heard them whispering in hushed voices. They eventually told me that the zipper on my cousin's dress had fallen off its track and she couldn't get it back on. You see, the cheap bridal store that I purchased the dresses from hadn't bothered to sew up the bottom of the zippers. Grrrrr.  It still annoys me that I gave them so much business, yet they took thoughtless shortcuts on my dresses.

Kathy illustrated the fiasco to Jane, and Erwin caught the moment on camera.

While my friends attempted to resolve the situation, Erwin asked to take a few bridal portraits on the hotel balcony. I tried very hard to look calm and poised. Do you think it worked?

Nope. Erwin said, "relax," but I was only able to muster up a constipated expression.

I tried again to relax. Mostly I just took photos that looked nervous.

Finally, a was able to let go a bit for this shot.

I was also quite nervous about walking down the aisle. 360 eyeballs would be focused entirely on me and that was a very scary thought for this introvert.

After twenty minutes, the girls had exhausted their fingers and concluded that they could not get Monica's zipper to work. Our last resort was to sew the dress closed onto my cousin. Out of six women, I was the only one who knew how to sew, so I did the honors.

One of the ladies found some pink thread and I got to work. Yoona held the dress closed while I carefully made stitches up the bodice.

Sewing Monica's dress really helped to calm my anxious nerves. As I weaved the metal needle in and out, I felt myself relaxing until I was laughing and smiling again. No more nervous bride! It helped that I had padded our schedule with an extra hour and a half, so I wasn't concerned about time.

My cousin, on the other hand, was quite teary eyed and emotional. She thought she had ruined my wedding! Silly girl. I love her to death and I would never change a thing with her broken zipper, even if I had the option. One of my fondest memories was sewing her up in the bathroom.

Ray left the guys by themselves for a minute to check up on our delay. While he was updated on the happenings, he took this hilarious picture. I love it because it shows the madness that was my wedding: Monica, applying deodorant, Christine, holding Monica's dress, and me, sewing up the dress. Classic.

Finally, I tied the last knot of thread and made a mad dash for my veil.

Jen helped secure it to my hair.

Several hands and bobby pins later, we were ready to go—for real this time!

I took one last look in the mirror before I hurried out the door to meet my future hubby...

Next up: Groom meets Bride! (And Groom stares long and hard at Bride's butt!)

Part 1: Primped & Prettied
Part 2: The Dashing Gents

While the guys were dressed in minutes, back in the girl's camp we were still fussing and pruning. Erwin snapped up pictures of my wedding threads as he waited for us.

All photographs are property of Apertura Photography. Please credit them if you repost their photos.

I promise this picture isn't proof of the ghost of weddings past. My gown was still stuffed with tissue paper from the seamstress so that it wouldn't wrinkle. As it hung on the canopy bed, Erwin took an eerie photograph.

Later, Erwin asked if he could remove the stuffing from the dress to take another picture. Here she is, merrily waiting for me to slip in and zip up.

I loved these Choos something fierce. The silver silk matched my gown perfectly, in non matchy-matchy sort of way. They were an eBay steal and almost too pretty to wear.

 
My cousin and bridesmaid, Monica, brought her pretty pink iPod to our hotel suite. We sang the tunes of Ne-yo as we got dressed.

Notice the paper her iPod is resting on? That, my friends, is an anal bride's wedding day schedule, neatly color-coded and planned to the minute. I also included phone numbers of all the vendors and bridal party. Everyone received a copy (with extras, in case someone should lose or forget it somewhere). As bridezilla-ish as it may seem, my well-planned timeline was a total blessing. No one asked me a single schedule-related question because it was all down on paper.

I also want to mention that although I planned every minute, I never intended to be a stickler about it. The schedule was merely a tool to keep us organized and ensure that we had room for all our activities. My wedding planning motto? Over plan and then let go!

Can anyone guess what the background for this ring shot was?

While Ray with the boys, he grabbed a shot of Mr. Eggplant's cufflinks.

Here is a photo of my beloved crown jewels. The earrings and bracelet were both from Haute Bride in SF and the headpiece was made by Thomas Knoell, but purchased from Jin Wang in SF. I LOVED the piece that Thomas Knoell created for me.

During my hunt for accessories, I had called the Thomas Knoell boutique in Long Island, thinking that I could get a better price through the company directly. I found the same headpiece at Jin Wang for significantly less, even after taxes. Go figure!

A few hours into getting ready, I had to check out of our hotel suite and check into our complementary honeymoon suite. You see, I only booked the extra suite for one night. At 1pm, the hotel had to clean the room for the next guests. Thankfully, they were very generous with the late checkout time and they also let me check into our honeymoon suite a few hours early.

Erwin snapped a photo as we trekked through the hallways with half-finished 'dos.

Elevator picture!

Once we arrived in our new suite, Jen set up shop and went to town on my hair.

I just love this picture because my hair NEVER looks like this. I don't know how Jen made my locks so full without the use of hair extensions.

While Jen finished styling, the girls chit chatted and patiently waited.

My MOH wrote her toast on adorable colored note cards. Later, she gave this to me as a wedding keepsake. 

 

I helped my cousin into a necklace right before I hopped into my gown...

I know I said I would write about our bridal emergency, but this post became quite picture-heavy. So, next up: The threads and how they unravel! 

On the wedding day, brides spend their morning meticulously primping and pruning for hours on end. Each eyebrow hair is diligently combed in place. Each lash, carefully coated with mascara. Conversely, a groom's job is easy. Rent tux. Show up. Remember to say "I do."

So, how DO those boys keep busy? 

All photos are property of Apertura Photography. Please do not repost without due credit.

On Mr. Eggplant's side of the camp, he took his guys out for morning brunch. Notice their relaxed demeanor. Oblivious to the wedding day maddness, these boys chugged OJ and chatted up fantasy sports. See Mr. Eggplant's Mets jersey? Needless to say, he picked out his own outfit. If he had his way with the wedding, we would've been married at Shea Stadium, dressed in jerseys and pinstripe baseball pants.

Mr. Eggplant is notorious for wearing Crocs. He wears them in the house, out to work, here, there, and EVERYWHERE. The only fitting gift for his groomsmen was a pair of Crocs for each of them. Here they are, neatly stuffed with post it labels, noting the names of their lucky new owners.

Even boys appreciate a pretty place to primp. I requested an early check in for my honeymoon suite so the guys could don their duds in style.

One of the groomsmen finally convinced Mr. Eggplant to remove that stinkin' Mets jersey and replace it with a proper jacket and tie.

Croc's, on the other hand... a small bribe might be in order.

Perhaps a pair of Mets cufflinks will do? This was my wedding day gift to Mr. Eggplant. I hid them in the pocket of his tux jacket. Something he'll probably never wear again, but it was worth the picture.

Here, Mr. Eggplant's groomsman is showing him some fly dance moves to use at the reception.

At around 1pm, Stacey, our floral designer and day-of-coordinator extraodinaire, showed up to deliver the flowers and help pin the corsages onto the helpless men.

While the gals woke up at 8am and proceeded to ready themselves for six long hours, it took all of half an hour for the boys to dress and go. They spent the remaining hours modeling for a GQ-inspired photo shoot and tinkering with the AV set up in our reception room (pictures to come).

Next up: A bridal emergency ensues while the guys turn GQ/Vanity Fair!

Hello, dear hive.

Long time, no blog! It's Mrs. Eggplant here, back from my sabbatical in the land of the married. Well, it has been nine months since the wedding and I have yet to post a recap of our wedding photos. Between nesting and working, I've been a negligent blogger. I do apologize!

I can't move on from my wedding without some closure, so over the next few weeks, I'll finally be posting our pro pictures from the amazingly talented Apertura, along with some of our wedding DIY projects. These posts are long overdue, but better late than never, right? Right. So off we go:

After seven months, I still smile when I revisit our wedding photos. People say that a wedding is just one day, merely a kickoff for a couple's lives together. But, boy, what a day it is. Our wedding was the most perfect 12 hours of my life—not because I perfectly executed my pre-wedding projects (believe me, I didn't!). The day was made perfect because I married my favorite person in the world and all of the people I cherish were there to celebrate with me, laughing, dancing, and having the time of their lives. I can't imagine what could possibly top that.

The day began at our reception venue, Garden Court Hotel. I reserved a room the night before so that the ladies and I would have a gorgeous room to pretty ourselves in. Garden Court is a four-star luxury boutique hotel with impeccable service. For the price of a discounted standard room, GC upgraded me to a two-room suite complete with a king size bed, fold-out sofa, and a vanity ($500 if I had paid out of pocket). The suite was gorgeous, with tons of natural light and decorated in pretty colors. I used the space to have one last single gal slumber party.

The morning of the wedding started off without a hitch. I woke up in my hotel suite at 8am, surrounded by my favorite women. My friends, the selfless gals that they are, walked down to the corner coffee shop and brought me back a cup of Peet's and a pastry. Coffee wasn't the best morning beverage for a jittery bride, especially on an empty stomach. As I sipped my warm latte, I could feel the butterflies multiplying in my tummy.

But there was no time to be nervous. By 10am, hair and makeup had arrived and we got busy primping. Jen, my awesome hairstylist, set my hair in rollers with a shocking amount of hairspray and shooed me off to Nam for a bridal makeup treatment...

All photos are property of Apertura Photography. Please do not repost without due credit. Click to enlarge.

I cannot sing enough praise about Nam Vo + team. She was everything I hoped for in a makeup artist: professional, efficient, and talented. I wish I had a "before" picture to show you the ashy skin on my cheeks and hideous dark circles under my eyes. I had high hopes for my makeup after a successful trial. Just as I expected, Nam nimbly performed her magic. My pale haggard face was transformed into a blushing, beaming bride. Amazing! Here she is in action:

Nam brought along the notes she had taken during my trial.

I was tickled pink as Nam gently applied the ever-so-popular blush color, Orgasm by Nars, on my cheeks.

Nam recently relocated to New York this summer, so if you live in the big apple and are looking for a makeup artist, I recommend her without hesitation!

While Nam was making me up, Jen finished styling the locks of my lovely ladies. They chose their own hairstyles and each of them looked stunning.

I kept a watchful eye on my cell phone clock. Luckily, I had planned a few hours of cushion time in case of emergency—hours that were a life saver during a bridal emergency later in the day.

A last, lone moment of reflection before the real craziness begins...

Next up: Those dashing gents + Mr. Eggplant opens my wedding day gift to him!

It has officially been six months since the wedding (happy half-year, Mr. Eggplant!). I thought I'd celebrate by sharing one of my most favorite parts of our wedding: Our slideshow. I've written about how we used media as an inexpensive means to make our wedding incredibly personal. You've already seen our entrance music video and heard our first dance songs. But the grand media finale was a thoughtful, embarrassing, and slightly cheesy slideshow that Mr. Eggplant created.

Slideshows usually aren't the main event at weddings. Some brides opt out of making one for fear of boring their guests. After all, who wants to inundate people with an endless barrage of baby pictures? Well, when our wedding was over, a comment I repeatedly received from our guests was how much they enjoyed our slideshow. Many even told me that it was their favorite event of the night. What? No one noticed my hand-punched place cards that took weeks to assemble? What about my color-coordinated jellybeans? Apparently, our slideshow received the most bang for our buck, in terms of wedding prep hours.

Putting together a slideshow is no small feat. It's not easy to dig through a lifetime of pictures and choose only a sampling that reflects your life story. But the end result is worth the work. With a few man-hours and a little personalization, a wedding slideshow can be an experience the people will enjoy and even remember. Your wedding will probably be the only time in your life that you can force a large, captive audience to watch ten minutes of footage all about you, so why not make it entertaining?  You may even get to watch your guests reacting like this:

Mr. Eggplant's cousin watching our slideshow.

Or like this:

My MOH during our slideshow.

Me, totally embarrassed from the tween-year pictures that Mr. Eggplant included in our slideshow.
*All images property of Apertura Photography

I can't believe I'm about to share my awful adolescent pictures on the internet. But for the sake of helping other brides, I will endure a little embarrassment.  If you happen to find our slideshow useful, you can thank Mr. Eggplant for the video. Without his help, I wouldn't have been able to post it for you guys. He went through the trouble of voicing over names to protect the privacy of our family members. He also has quite a few unflattering, nerd-o pictures in the video, so beware.

(Minutes 1:35 to 3:29 are all baby pics, so skip to minute 3:30 if you get bored.)

The slideshow project was Mr. Eggplant's baby from start to finish. As a mass communications major in college, Mr. Eggplant has always had a love for all things media-related. He really wanted our slideshow to be funny, entertaining, and illustrating of our story. Many long nights were spent pouring over video footage and scanning piles of baby pictures. Papa Eggplant gave us some videos of me as a toddler. The footage added an element that our guests really enjoyed. After everything was scanned and uploaded, we spent a few hours recording a narration of the video. Mr. Eggplant taught himself the tips and tricks of iMovie through various web resources. As a final touch, he thoughtfully paired the perfect songs with each video and photo montage. The tunes that he picked and the timing of the music made all the difference in the world (watch minute 6:50 of the slideshow if you're not sure what I'm talking about. ).

I hope you enjoyed our wedding slideshow. If you have any questions regarding Mr. Eggplant's process, leave 'em here and I'll send him on over to answer.