Ok, so we've been engaged for a while now, but the teaser pictures from our engagement shoot are here and I am thrilled beyond words with how they turned out!

We had SO much fun with Ray and Erwin, so don't mind if I rave about these guys nonstop. Seriously, I'm still giddy from the session, which was the highlight of the entire wedding planning process thus far, and I cannot wait to see the rest of the pictures!

For two hours we traversed the Embacadero area of San Francisco on the hunt for perfect lighting. We posed and Apertura clicked away. They asked us to kiss for the camera quite often, so Mr. Eggplant was pretty happy camper since he normally gets no lovin' from me.

Well, Mr. Eggplant wrote a commentary on our engagement shoot and he's much more entertaining than me, so I'll let him share our e-session from a groom's point of view:

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People.
(Written by Mr. Eggplant)


"Eternal Flame" or "Girl, You Smell Fine"
One of my groomsmen said this reminds him of a Korean soap opera.  I can see the resemblance if not for the fact that I'm not crying and have fobby hair.  This picture also reminds me of Phantom from POTO-- I'm lurking in the shadows... " Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation... Darkness wakes and stirs imagination..."

"Dreamland" or "Caught in Windows Pipes Screensaver"
I loved the location of this shot.  Growing up in the SF Bay Area, I had always seen these pipes from afar, but I never took the time to explore the square where this is located.  The water isn't exactly clear and pristine like the Carribbean Sea, but it's tolerable.  If you look really closely on the left side, you'll see feet in the background-- those belong to our admirers, hoping for their own "step" toward fame.  I don't know what I'm talking about.

"Merry Go Round" or "Where's the Bathroom?!?!"
The photographers had us walk around and around this pathway.  It was interesting to see how this turned out because I had imagined that we would be facing the camera.  Then again, who wants to see my face when you're trying to figure out how cool it would be to sled down this ramp?  Isn't that what all guys are thinking?

 
"From a Distance" or "Goodbye Kiss."
I like the texture on the ground.  It's like an ancient pattern I once saw in on a website somewhere.  Oh yeah, Potterybarn.com.  BTW, we kissed A LOT during this scene.  Ah, good times, good times.

"Yellow Sub" or "Thinking of Wii"
The photographers found this treasure right outside of the entrance to the Embarcadero Center.  It's amazing how they can find ordinary places and turn them into a magazine-shoot-like location.  Our pose reminds me of the Nickelodeon TV show, "David the Gnome."  It's a cartoon about gnomes that nuzzle their noses to show affection.  I'm just like David; except without the beard, beer belly, and funny hat.

"Walking on the Sun" or "Walk to Remember"
This wasn't really a walk to remember.  They had us walk no more than twenty steps, but I'm impressed with what they did with it.  One interesting tidbit: I am not looking at my fiancee.  Instead, I am looking past her into Slanted Door (a restaurant in the Ferry Building).  I was eyeing someone's crispy imperial rolls.  Yumm-O.

"Ferry to Marriageville" or "After 30 Years of Marriage"
This may be one of my favorites.  Not because it's black and white and that equals artsy.  But because I look so cool and unattached.  It's funny because I'm exactly the opposite!  Hah!  How's that for deception?!  My name should be Cool Guy and I'm a Decepticon that transforms into a cool Asian guy.  Seriously, this is one of my favorites because it looks like we belong on the cover of 7X7 magazine.

"Commitment"
Maybe one of my all-time favorite pictures.  I like the urban-feel of this shot accompanied by bridge in the background.  I think we will always remember where we came from.  San Francisco will always be very dear to our hearts and it's pretty cool that we are only one block from where it all started: Boulevard Restaurant.  And guess where that arrow is pointing to?  Boulevard Restaurant.  Coincidence?  I think not. =)

(Note from Miss Eggplant: Boulevard was our first date restaurant).

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Miss Eggplant here again! So, what do ya'll think?

I'm quite impressed with the teaser pictures because I really feel that Ray and Erwin captured the essence of my relationship with Mr. Eggplant: playful, affectionate, and really, just two people enjoying each others' company; like best friends! Well, best friends that make out in public.

Through the wedding planning process, I've found that my favorite vendors are the ones that I'd love to be friends with outside of wedding planning. Usually these are the people most passionate about their professions who invest themselves in building relationships with their clients. By spending just a few hours with the duo, I can tell that Erwin and Ray love meeting new people, care deeply about what they do, and will go the extra mile to get that one perfect shot (even if it means being a body contortionist).They even arrived at our meeting location before our scheduled time just to scope out prime photo locations. And the icing on the (wedding) cake? They are also extremely personable and simply a joy to hang out with. I'm sure I'll have more raves after the wedding, but I can confidently say they are worth Every. Single. Hard. Earned. Penny.

After our session was over and all was shot and done, the four of us had a chance to share a delicious Mediterranean meal together at Faz off the Embarcadero. This was my favorite part of the night because it's not often I get to chill with vendors on a personal level outside of all the wedding related stuff.

Thanks for the great company, guys! We enjoyed ourselves immensely. I can't wait until we hang out again in October!

(Check out more of Apertura's creative genius on their blog and website!)

Our engagement photographs were shot on Friday by the amazingly talented Ray and Erwin from Apertura! While I'm waiting to upload the pictures, I just thought I'd share some little takeaways from the session.

1) WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. I wore a pair of brand new patent leather pumps:

And while they indeed looked hot, my feet were killing me after trekking around the city. KILLING ME. Mr. Eggplant who usually doesn't care for heels told me, "I normally wouldn't say this, but this one time I'll tell you to suck it up for the sake of the picture ."

2) It's hard being a model! "Grab your left elbow with your right arm. Tilt your head. Look to the left. Angle your body 45 degrees. Do jumping jacks on your hands while reciting the alphabet backwards. Ok, now act natural!" Umm... yeah. I have much respect for models. Those poses that look so natural are actually pretty uncomfortable! Mr. Eggplant and I had an audience of strangers at  few points during the session, which was kind of weird because we were kissing in many of the photographs. Kissing in front of strangers = Too much PDA for this veggie-bee. Ray and Erwin were strapped full with multiple cameras plus many bags of equipment, so people must've thought we were shooting a magazine spread or something.

3) Leave as many your belongings in your car as you can. I arrived at the session from work so I was carrying a bunch of clothes to change into plus my heavy purse. All of these I lugged around from location to location. While I was making out with my fiance for the camera, I was also pretending to not to be worried that someone would snatch my wallet away. Not. Fun.

4) Get to know your photographers! It really helps with the comfort level. Coincidentally, Erwin and Ray shot a wedding that Mr. Eggplant attended in Orange County the week prior to our e-session, so we were fortunate to meet them briefly. I had no idea that Apertura was shooting our friend's wedding, but it helped to meet them because when it came our turn to pose, gone was the awkward feeling of making out with my fiance in front of strangers. The four of us also had a chance to enjoy dinner together after the shoot. I had so much fun that I can't wait to hang out with them again at our wedding and I know I'll be even more comfortable for the next photography session.

5) Groom your nails! We took plenty of close-up shots of my fingers against Mr. Eggplant's face, my hand on the collar of his shirt, my arm on his arm, his hands on my cheek... Bitten nails and flaky skin = not so cute in pictures.

6) If you decide to have your makeup done, go a makeup counter for application at a reasonable price. I scheduled an appointment at Shu Uemura in SF where they will do makeup application with a purchase of $50 or more in products. They did the works for me, starting from cleansing and toning to eyeshadow, bronzer, and blush. The best part is that I got $50 of great stuff to take home!

7) Check the times on the parking meters. Ok, so this one's not applicable for anyone but me. But I got a $50 ticket on Friday because I forgot that parking meter times by the Embarcadero area of SF end at 7pm. Sucky, but what can ya do.

Picture post coming soon!

Any SF bay area brides out there still looking for a gown?

Alexandra Bridal (where I purchased my gown) is having a major sample sale! Here are the details from their website:

END-OF-SUMMER SUPER FLOOR SAMPLE CLEARANCE

Selected couture designer wedding dresses MARKED DOWN TO $500!

Savings of up to 90% off their original prices! One week only!

Melissa Sweet :: Pricilla of Boston :: Ramona Keveza :: Amy Michaelson :: Bonapart NY :: Palazzo :: Janel Berte :: Domo Adami :: Model Novias :: Richard Tyler

Space is very limited so call or email to schedule your appointment in advance.

From my experience, samples sizes at Alexandra are mostly sizes 8-10 so if you fall in that size range and you're looking for a dress, give 'em ring!

Alexandra Bridal
415.951.0400
info@alexandrasalon.com

Do you think if I took naked engagement pictures, it would start a wedding trend?

Our engagement session is this Friday and I have Nothing. To. Wear.  It doesn't help that I'm immensely picky about my wardrobe already, let alone an outfit that will be forever cemented in JPEGs and passed down to my future grandkids.

"Mom, what are those funny looking shoes that grandma is wearing in her engagement pictures with grandpa?"

"They're called UGGs, honey, and they used to be in style back then."

"Oh. Ew. And what are those funny looking shoes that grandpa is wearing?"

"They're called crocs, dear. And they also used to be popular back in the early 2000's."

(Yes, Mr. Eggplant really does wear those shoes EVERYWHERE.)

I have a "backup" outfit for this Friday's engagement session in case I don't find anything in the next, oh, two days or so. But I'm not totally satisfied with it. The outfit is pretty simple so I'm hoping it won't look silly decades from now. I guess I'm not satisfied because it doesn't totally feel like "me."

Black and white dress from White House Black Market

With a cropped cardigan from Macys

And some black pumps, also from Macys

Or black espadrilles

I want to add some color to the outfit (like a yellow cardigan), but for the life of me, I can't find a sweater that isn't black and looks good with that dress. Any suggestions on how to spice it up?

Los Angeles is to Miss Eggplant as Vegas is to a gambling addict. It's like a bad habit I can't get away from. After living and working in LA for two years post-college, I have to admit that I fell prey to the nonstop nightlife and addicting shopping (oh my, such wonderful shopping). I shopped like a bandit, spent money that I didn't have, partied like crazy, and lived to regret every minute of it!

Finally, So-Cal living got too much for my poor easily influenced self. I packed my bags and said goodbye to LA, trading my "wild" days for a responsible lifestyle, a bit of maturity, and a wonderful relationship. Coincidentally, I have a love/hate relationship with that city. And, of course, my bridesmaids planned my bachelorette as a weekend getaway in the City of Angels. It's almost symbolic, really, like one last hoorah before officially closing the doors on those two crazy years of my life.

My MOH send me an email yesterday letting me know that she bought our plane tickets to LA. I was so touched!! She has been a starving student for the last two years and I did not expect her to pay for a dime's worth of anything so I was incredibly humbled by her generousity.

Well, this time around, my time in LA will be TAME. I want to eat well, dress up, and spend some QT with the girls... And I guess a little light shopping wouldn't hurt.

Since I haven't been back to LA in years, do any so-cal-ers know of a swanky martini bar or hot new nightclub to visit? Restaurant recommendations are appreciated as well. I'm looking for some places where we can dress up and have some "Sex and the City" fun! (Well, without the sex, of course )

Thanks!!

After months of searching, my momma *finally* found something to wear to the wedding.

Momma Eggplant always has a difficult time finding clothes that fit right because she's pretty petite (which is where I inherited my 5'2" genes). Usually the petite section of stores don't have much to offer, but she found a simple pink dress on sale at Nordstroms for $108. My mother isn't one who cares much for shopping or cutting edge fashion so for the wedding, she wanted to keep it simple and buy something off the rack. She's extremely practical when it comes to clothes. If it's comfortable, durable, appropriate, and  most of all, inexpensive, she'll wear it.

Now, where I inherited my awful shopping habit, I have no idea.

I call the dress her "mom dress." It looks very motherly and appropriate, no?

And here's a shot of her new shoes by Nina and evening bag she bought at Macy's for $17. She's planning to wear the entire outfit again on an upcoming cruise with my dad.

My mom needs a second dress for our Chinese banquet reception that will be hosted on the Sunday after our wedding. I tried looking through her closet to see if I could find something suitable. I didn't find anything, but instead I found a dress that Momma Eggplant owned when she was back in college. Then, I tried it on for kicks. The dress had a slit in the bust that cut all the way down to the empire waistline... I can't imagine that my momma ever wore something that revealing!

This weekend my bridesmaids and I helped throw an extra special birthday bash for our girlfriend. It was a smashing success! We had a pal that generously let us host the party in his loft/office space in SF, a perfect location with exposed brick walls and wooden rafters. All the guests were instructed to dress in classy black and white attire, while the birthday girl made her appearance a hot little red dress. The birthday girl, an at-home gourmet, created a menu of 5 different canapes and various other finger foods including: grilled asparagus with horseradish dresing wrapped in roast beef, smoked salmon over baguette slices topped with lemon and chives, white and dark chocolate dipped strawberries, and many more! YUM.

There was one take away that a I learned from this weekend's event: I'm so glad I invested in a day-of wedding coordinator. I recently found out that the original catering manager I was working with at our reception hotel left the company and our new coordinator will be "handing off the baton" to the banquet captain on the day of our wedding, which is less than ideal since we won't have much experience working with the banquet captain prior to the event. On Saturday, we had an hour and a half to set everything up for my friend's birthday shindig (the same amount of time that my vendors will have at my wedding) and even though the birthday girl had already instructed us with what to do, we were all still bombarding her with question after question: "Where do you want the tissue paper pom poms? Do they look ok? Which wine do you want opened first? Do you want the desserts before the canapes on the food tables? Do you want us to make more pom poms? Did we get ice? (No, we didn't so we had to make a grocery store run.) Where do you want the guestbook table set up?"

Thankfully, everything went without a hitch at the party. But afterwards I realized that I really don't want everyone bombarding me with questions on my wedding day. If I did not have a day-of coordinator or banquet captain that would be taking care of the event set-up, I would definitely assign a willing participant to be the point person for ALL questions, so that he/she can filter the inquiries. Only the most important ones should ever reach the bride or groom. The main reason why we were asking the birthday girl so many questions was because we wanted to ensure that she was happy with the way everything turned out on her special day, however I now see how it could've stressed her out even more. Anyway, here are some pics of the day!

Making lots of tissue paper pom poms (from Martha Stewart)

J & I signing the polaroid birthday guestbook. We used a blank guestbook, polaroid camera, and double sided tape. Simple, but everyone loved it!

Another shot of the sign-in table. Since it was an intimate gathering, the birthday girl also made stickers as conversation starters with a few questions like: How long have you known the birthday girl?

 
Very simple wine markers: a box of tags with a hole punched and a slit cut through the hole . Saved us from washing dishes during the party.

Just some of the yummies.

 
Self-serve beverage table.

 
Birthday gal looks gorgeous in red!

We surprised her with a cupcake tree with the same number of cupcakes as her birthday year.  Kara's Cupcakes in the Marina made them and they were FABULOUS. They also make cupcakes for weddings!

 
One last pic!

I fell in love with my dress again.

Anyone that knows me will say that I am about as decisive as a five year old in a toy store. I seriously change my mind about EVERYTHING and it has been quite stressful during wedding planning. Just today, I emailed Mr. Eggplant to ask him if it's too late to make changes on the invitations.... which have already been sent to the printer! Ack. So, you can imagine just how many times I questioned my choice for a wedding gown.... even after I made the non-refundable purchase!

Last Friday, I had an appointment at Alexandra to look at some accessories. While playing with the headpieces and hairclips, I also got a chance to try on the sample of my gown again! Once I lifted that dress over my head, all my doubts flew out the window.

Well, all except one... I'm still worried that the train isn't long enough, but it's too late for this indecisive girl to do anything about it now!

So here are a few shots of the dress! (Mr. Eggplant: Please do NOT read further! Thanks! [Heart] you!)

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A close up shot of the bustline. Lots of sparkle!

The back of the dress with lots of little buttons and a few silver embellishments down the train.

Close up of one of the adornments.

As much as I love my dress, I LOVE my veil even more. It's a cathedral length veil by Jennifer Leigh. The veil is cut to curl softly over the shoulders and it's soooo light and delicate. I would wear it to work if I could. Heh.

A few of the pieces that I tried on. Freshwater pearl tiara and silver bracelet by Christina Garcia, flower hair pin by Erica Koesler. I didn't end up purchasing any though.

I loved this bracelet by Christina Garcia! Sadly, out of my budget so I left it at the shop. (Please don't mind the hairy arms.)

I finished designing our wedding invites! The printer has my file and now I'm just sitting back and waiting for everything to be printed and cut.

My portion of the invite process was to design the invitation. Mr. Eggplant had the role of finding a reputable printing company and getting the pieces printed and cut to size. I wrote about Fong Brothers Printing in another entry, and I must say, their service is impeccable. I'm sure our print job is tiny compared to the jobs that FB typically runs, yet Mr. Eggplant still received top notch service from them.

They gave us two books filled with all different weights and shades of white paper.

I never knew there were soooo many shades of white!

Ivory/cream paper was much too yellow for our invites, so we chose Classic Crest Avon Brilliant White in 80lb cover stock which has a 93% brightness level. The reduced brightness made a noticeable difference in the color and gave the white a warm tone rather than the crisp look of 99% bright paper. I liked the 80lb cover stock weight because the paper felt thick and expensive.

For our order, we're having 160 sets of 4 cards printed:

• Formal invitation card - 4.5" x 6.5" (which will be matted on a 4.75" x 6.75" card)
• Direction card - 4.75" x 6.75"
• Reception card - 4.75" x 5.5"
• RSVP card (with instructions for online RSVP system only, not for mailing because it would be too small) - 4.75" x 4.25"

The final print job will cost us about $280 after tax, which is only $1.75 per invite (for printing and cutting to size). The cards will be mailed in a dark chocolate pocketfold from cards and pockets ($1 a piece plus about $20 for shipping costs) and wrapped in mint green ribbon. I'll write another post with the cost breakdown once everything is mailed out, but for those of you who are considering designing your own invitations, it's a very doable and affordable project!

Friday night, I spent the evening with my lovely ladies and they presented me with my bridal shower invitation. It's going to be an afternoon cocktail soiree. Fun!!

Embossed stamping on matted rectangles. The DIY bug is contagious within my circle of friends.

 
I love how they painstakenly pounded each invitation with an eyelette. Now that's love.

And to top it off, they took graphics from our wed site to coordinate with the wedding theme.

LOVE. IT.