Weddingbee Boards
He's a Dr. of Physical Therapy, and I am a TV and Video Producer. I am also the editor for this here blog you're looking at, Weddingbee! We live in Berkeley with our dog, Billie Jean. He loves IPAs, traveling, and watching sports year-round. I love blogging, weddings, and blogs about weddings! We love eating out, doing the crosswords, sports bars, the UCLA Bruins, and of course, Billie!
Mr. Peng and I met while in school at UCLA in 2001. We shared a passion for drinking and sleeping in until it was time to drink again. Mr. Peng was a nice Midwestern boy from Minnesota, who'd only read about Asians until he ventured out to California for college. I, on the other hand, was Asian, and therefore, interesting. He had a car; I did not have a car. It was a match made in heaven.
We hit it off, and shared many a romantic dinner at C&Os, Schlotzky's Deli (RIP dollar beers), and Benihana, as only high-class kids do.
Our love survived through 6 years, while he went to grad school in the OC and I moved back up to Sacramento to mooch off my parents. Eventually he graduated, and together we moved into a 460 sq foot apartment South of Market in San Francisco. Arguably, these were the best times in my life (so I like to say). We lived off of cheap wine, Cowgirl Creamery cheese, and Acme bread. As close to heaven as it gets. We eventually bought our own place in Berkeley, and married 2 years later.
Billie Jean amazingly walked down the aisle all by herself on our wedding day. Who knows what possessed her, other than her extreme attention whorieness. She wore a little pink pearl collar and ate filet mignon. Rough. If you stick a camera in her face she will look right into it. Good puppy!
I hated that there were no pictures of the front of this dress on the model on the website. Alas, she is 10 times hotter than me and wouldn't have done me much good anyway. I loved the ruching at the bust. I have an average chest, but I imagine this dress would do wonders for the ittiest of titties (if you're into hot boobs, which I totally am). Here is the dress on the model.
Our bridesmaids wore Bill Levkoff #455 from HouseofBrides.com. I loved the discount, we got the dresses for $125 each with free shipping, and they arrived in perfect condition and on time (in stores it's around $180). If you are a worry wart, I would definitely recommend ordering AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I bought at the 16 week mark, and they arrived in around 13. Don't slack on this one; I hear customer service is spotty, but I never had to contact them, and everything went smooth as silk. It was funny how differently the dress fell on my tall SIL vs my short friends, but I think they looked good at both heights!
We bought our flower girl's dress from good ol' Target for $20. Check around Easter, they have a ton of goodies that won't break the bank! Nimli.com has sashes in every color of the rainbow. The silk is super luxe and high quality for the price (I paid $20 during a sale).
We had a Thai water ceremony to honor my heritage. I had a dress custom made at a shop in Thai Town in LA, and Mr. Peng had a white jacket made as well. The quick change was stressful, but it was a fun way to greet our guests (in lieu of a receiving line).
I am so thankful to have found Lisa, recommended by my next door neighbor. She is an absolutely talented and nice person. You don't think about it much before the day, but you really do spend a large amount of time one on one the morning of your wedding with your MUA, and Lisa is a wonderful person to spend it with! She is the right amount of talkative and not... does that make sense? I think she can really gauge your feelings. She definitely put me at ease and did a great job on my makeup that lasted all day long! Plus she showed up with this honker of a makeup kit... check it out. It makes for some awesome photos!
(sorry that sounded so much like an ad... Lisa is rad... she also has done makeup for TV)
Lisa Deniz
Bobbi Brown Business Manager
Travels within the greater Sacramento Area (Contact for travel rates outside of the area)
336.848.0357
Mr. Penguin purchased my engagement ring as a surprise. I love the design he chose, it's very me! My wedding gift was this blue topaz ring, which has since been featured in Southern Weddings Magazine (the bottom most right-hand photo)! I've since lost my wedding ring, because I am a dumb doof. I really loved it, it was a simple diamond eternity band. Mr. Peng's ring is Palladium and white gold; he chose palladium over titanium for its heft. Titanium feels like plastic because it is so light! His ring looks brand new, even today.
Our florist, Karen of Huckleberry Karen Designs, worked with me to create simple centerpieces using banana-type leaves, glass I bought online, and orchids to create simple centerpieces on the cheap. Our friends and family set up the centerpieces on the day of, and it was more work than I'd anticipated it would be. Because there was water involved, we couldn't do much to prep the day before, and there was issues of schlepping water and water filled glasses around the winery. All in all, exhausting! Hire a Day of Coordinator or a helper monkey for this one! Don't press it on your friends and family!
I made the favors for our wedding. They were hand screenprinted coasters in our wedding motif, with jellybeans inside, and a tissue pom on top for decor. The poms added a nice pop of color on the otherwise white tablescape. It was definitely a cheap way to add color! Read the tutorial here.
Wedding cake by Ingrid Fraser Elegant Cakes, Amador City CA. My friend Jenny Lou made us the bird cake toppers, and we stood the cake on 8 square glass votives, each containing an orchid. The cake was chocolate with chocolate ganache and raspberries, and oh-so-good!
Groom's cake by The Crazy Cake Company, Davis CA. Mr. Peng and I both love our alma mater! I didn't have many ideas for the groom's cake, and Lien surprised me with this masterpiece. The entire bear is edible, and even the basketball net was made from sugar!
Villa Toscano has absolutely stunning grounds and a kind and friendly staff. My experience was neutral; PM me for specific details regarding my experience with their wedding service. Peak season rental costs (in 2008) were $6500 for venue, and includes exclusive use of grounds from 5-10PM, permanent tent, linens, tables, plates, silverware, all waitstaff. $100 a head per person (Max 120 guests) for all food, 1/2 bottle of wine per person, and food service staff. It is a very all-inclusive site, but still allows you flexibility wherever you want it, except for catering, which is done onsite.
Attire & Accessories
Paper
Day of Vendors
We honeymooned at Excellence Playa Mujeres, 20 minutes from Cancun, Mexico. The all inclusive resort definitely didn't skimp on anything, and we had a really great time! If you go, definitely book a couples' masage at the spa... well worth it! I found myself standing 2 inches taller after the massage, as I was able to let go of a lot of the wedding stress! So, book it earlier in your trip! This place is definitely for the couple who wants to RELAX. There are plenty of things to keep you entertained (or blissfully bored, in our case), and we only left the resort once to explore Cancun for a day. We sprung for a suite with a private rooftop pool, although didn't use it a ton because there was no drink service up there. :)
Pics of our room and view:
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