Unleashing the Bridal Beast

It's official. I've blown my first bridal-gasket. I erupted with earth-shattering, high-pitched screams and wails. Veins, pumped full of blood, stood out at my temples. My fists curled into tightly-clenched weapons of pure rage. Sak cowered in the background, creating a low undercurrent of pleas to calm the catastrophic living-room storm.

Can you guess what happened?

Italian soda. RED Italian soda. Bright red, read it -RED artificial coloring.

ON MY WEDDING DRESS.

Hell hath no fury like a woman with a stained wedding gown. I barked orders at Sak as he ran around the house like a chicken with his head cut off, yet somehow we got to the sink and the Woolite in time.

The better part of Sak's evening, spent scrubbing his soda out of my dress. Luckily, I think it came out, though you can still see faint pink stains on the underside of the gown. After it dries I'll be able to see if there's any lasting damage. I certainly hope not, because blowing one fuse was bad enough.

Chalk this up to another risk for DIY dress-making - fiance hazards. I think someone's getting a sippy cup soon.

Did your dress endure any battle stains, either pre or post wedding?

Manvites: Enveloped

Even though our main invitation card was a YUDU-fail, I still wanted to use the device for something. So I picked a bigger font, and Sak went to town squee-geeing our address to the response card envelope.

Then, once he finished, he went back and added a mon to the side. He first tried to do both the mon and the symbol at the same time, but they just weren't coming out at the same consistency. Either the mon would be over-saturated, or the words would be too light.

Luckily, YUDUing paper seems to be a faster process than fabric, since it only needs one swipe to transfer the image. It didn't take too long to do both the words and the image separately.

Pleased with how the response envelopes turned out, we decided to screen-print the main envelope as well. This time with just the mon design. The return address is computer-printed to the back envelope flap.


One tip Sak has for paper printing - use a magazine or cardboard or something to lift the paper closer to the YUDU screen. Since the YUDU is primarily designed for fabric printing, there's a little bit of a gap to account for fabric thickness. Paper, obviously, isn't as thick, so you might like to give it some padding for a more accurate transfer.

Next, we cut out some envelope liners from cheap red wrapping paper, and double-stick-taped them in. One note about white envelopes - I originally wanted to use the trick of half-sized liners to conserve paper, but with a white envelope, it was see-through! So the liners had to be full sized.


Penga-Mom did all the calligraphy on the front with a chisel-tip calligraphy pen, and we used both the 2010 Chinese New Year stamp and wedding band stamp for postage. Though we used $0.88 per envelope, we technically only needed $0.81 according to the postal worker.

It pains me to white-out parts of the envelope, since Penga-Mom did such an awesome job writing them!

I'm not really sure which part of Sak's manvite is my favorite. I'm thinking either the wax seal, or the shiny outer envelope with fancy calligraphy. But in any case, that's it! Time to send these manvites out! I hope they come back with many "yes" cards!


Final Cost Breakdown:

From Pocketfold building:

Black linen card stock: $42.26 for 250 sheets, or $22.65 for 134 sheets used.
white linen card stock: $32.79 for 250 sheets, or $3.28 for 25 sheets used.
double happiness stamp: $3.50
embossing gel: ~$4.00
embossing powder: ~$2.00
spray glue: ~$10.00
red washi paper: $3.00
Subtotal: $48.43

From Inserts:
White Linen Card Stock: $32.79 for 250 sheets, or $10.49 for 80 sheets used (Extra 20 account for spelling error)
White 4 Bar Envelopes: $13.94 for 250, or $8.36 for 150 used (Extra 50 account for YUDU errors)
RSVP Postage: $45.00 for 100 stamps ($1 for shipping and handling)
Subtotal: $63.85

From Wax Seals:
Wax Seal: $14.90 (with shipping)
Glue Sticks: ~$4
Ribbon: ~$18 for six spools
Subtotal: $36.90

From Outer Envelope:
White A-6 Envelopes: $43.40 for 250, or $21.70 for 125 used (Extra 25 account for YUDU errors)
Invite Postage: $88.00 for 200 stamps
Subtotal: $109.70

Grand Total: $258.88, or $2.58 per invitation. Not too shabby!

What was your favorite aspect of your invitation suite?

Tangling with the Tunes Track Two

{Note - this is more of a remix of my first music post, so please excuse some of the redundancy!}

Music. First, I had planned on going the iPod route. Why would I need more, when we were not going to be dancing anyway? Ambient background noise was more than sufficient.

Until the friendor was introduced. Saka-Dad did some sneaky dealing with a pal of his, and suddenly we found ourselves signed up for a sound system, projector and optional light show. Seriously. Light show.

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Well, honestly I did a little balking, and had a few not-so-pleasant flashbacks to senior prom. Some people loved their senior prom, but me? Missy Elliot, strobe lights and one awkward teenager on the dance floor did not mix.

But I appreciate Sak's family wanting to help. And I still hold the reigns to this party, right? We can make it what we want, and heck no, we don’t have to listen to techno.*

Only one problem. Sak and I, well – we don’t really have a wedding-appropriate music identity. Alt-rock, J-Pop and 80’s music are not the most cohesive mix. I could try to make it work, you know, a little Cake with your M-Flo and Queen? But I think it would be easier to just pick some guest-friendly middle ground.

Hawaiian Music. Cliché? Maybe, but we can avoid Don Ho and keep it a little more modern.


However, I not really familiar with modern Hawaiian music. Can you even dance to Hawaiian music? Island clubbing? And since when were we including dancing? Is that going to cut into our bingo time?

Sak assures me that you can dance to many modern Hawaiian songs, and that you can also dance and play bingo at the same time. I believe him (at least on the first part), but it still makes me queasy knowing I’m going in blind. The idea of not knowing any of the songs played at our reception also makes me feel a little weird. I think I need to do some serious research so I’ll have at least a couple good, memorable songs to recommend. We’ve also asked the DJ for some sample play list ideas.

In addition, they are sending us their promo DVD, so I can check out the light show before I throw it off the table completely. Seriously, no prom resemblance allowed, but who knows - I've been wrong plenty of times before, maybe it can be cool?

Do you know what’s going to be played at your wedding? Down to every last song, or do you have faith in your musician/DJ? And can you play bingo and dance at the same time?

*We don't actually hate techno, in fact, Sak is a big fan!

The Shooter's Hit List

One of the things our photographer requested was that we put together a list of must-have shots. I mean, ideally, I want to give her as much artistic freedom as possible, but I understand. Heaven forbid grand-poobah-what's-her-name miss out on her five minutes of paparazzi fame.

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"Whaaat?! Leave ME out of a picture? How dare you!"

Just kidding. But let's compile a list anyway, shall we? I'll start with the checklist on Real Simple's website, since it's fairly comprehensive. I'll cross off the one's I won't be needing.

-"Full-length shot of the bride in her gown, looking at herself in a mirror" - Ehh, not really necessary, but it could be fun if i'm making a weird face.

-"Close-up of groom’s expression while waiting for the bride" - Seeing as Sak is pretty expressionless, this might be a useless shot.

-"Newlyweds’ vehicle" - The parent's rental van? (And yes, we're renting a van.) Umm. Again, not necessary, but not a completely uninteresting picture.

After scrubbing the standard list, it's now time to add in my own:

-Silly bride and groom and both serious families.

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-Bride carrying groom. (Because I can!)


-Bridal party jumping (we tend to do a lot of that...)

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-Parents jumping. (Hey, if they'll wear super-bright aloha shirts, why not?)

(Penga-Mom and Dad practicing their flattering poses!)

-Groomsmen and their cufflinks.

-Bridesmaid holding train while making a face. (This one will come naturally, I'm sure. We're good at making faces.)


-Guest enjoying the chair-cover-bag-favor. (I don't care if it's a fake enjoyment, I didn't spend so much time on them for nothing!)

-The food, and guests with their mouths full. (Because everyone wants to remember how they gorged themselves at the poke buffet!)

-The Penga&Sak Signature Leg-Lift.



Am I missing anything interesting or strange? I'm a sucker for shots with "personality". And since personality is something that bubbles up rather than comes out posed, I think this list is more of a guideline than a necessity. I'll just really emphasize that I'd like creative shots - whatever creative might look like. And as long as we get a few standard family pictures in, I think the traditional family members would be satisfied.

Are you making a must-have list for your photographer? What's the most interesting shot you are requesting?

Woes of a Sunblock Snob

Spring is in full bloom, and summer approaches quickly from behind. What does this mean? Well it means us summer brides and grooms are getting married soon! But it also means we'll be needing more of this:

Ug, from Nickelodeon's Salute Your Shorts

Sunscreen. Sure, to protect my skin, I am supposed to wear it anytime I'm outdoors - but on a (hopefully) bright day, in a reflective white dress, closer to the equator than usual - I say sun-guard is required rather than recommended.

The only problem? I hate sunscreen. The smell, the oil, the chalky color. You know what I'm talking about, childhood tormentors:

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Mom or Dad would slap ten gallons of the white, greasy stuff to your face and arms, leaving your pores suffocating in the chemical bath. Then you'd jump into the pool, only to have it wash off and invade your eyes, a mixture of sunscreen and chlorine to burn out your retinas.

After complaining about the standard stock, Mom took pity on you and bought you some of the fancy spray-on kind.

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Only it burned like the plague after you applied it to your newly-shaved, 13 year old legs. And it left you looking like a well-oiled body builder, minus the muscles. And it still smelled.

So you went without. And ten minutes later, you transformed into a grade-A, boiled lobster.

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You were burnt so badly that boils started appearing on your shoulders, chest and back - depriving you of sleep since even breathing was an excruciating task.

I think it's safe to assume I will need some protection. But do I have to live with the sunblock smell in order to stay rare and not well-done?

First, what is needed to protect against sun damage? You can find a lot of information online, like this article from UCSF.

Basically, you want a sunblock that blocks both UV-A and UV-B rays, with a fairly high SPF. The SPF number isn't the number of minutes you can stay in the sun, however. Rather, it's a rough multiplier. If it takes you ten minutes to burn without sunblock, using an SPF 40 sunblock will increase the time it takes you to burn to 400 minutes. Roughly, I say. Because if you splash around in the pool or rub it off, obviously you will need to re-apply before 400 minutes. But generally speaking, the higher the SPF, the better. And in my case, it should be over 9,000!

I've tried a number of different lotions in order to find one that meets both the protection requirements as well as my own no-stinky-sunscreen wish. So far, my favorite has been Neutrogena's dry-touch sunblock.

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The smell isn't so bad, and it does a good job. It still gives my face the pallor of the undead, though, so I'm always on the look-out for something new.

What's your sun-guard of choice? Any recommendations of non-smelly types I could try?

Metal for Marriage

Flashback eight months ago:

Sak: "So, what kind of wedding band do you want with your ring?"
Me: "Plain and simple, I think."
Sak: "I saw these really cool stackable interlocking sets.."
Me: "Stackable? Nuu. That sounds like a lego. I don't want a lego ring. How hokey!"
Sak: "No really! They were pretty cool."
Me: "You say 'cool' like you say robots are cool, or how the part-oven at work is cool. I don't think I like that kind of cool on my finger for the rest of my life."
Sak: "Hey, don't hate it until you see what I'm talking about."

Well, *sheepish grin*, Sak was right. Ring sets can be kind of cool, and not as hokey as whatever strange lego-block image I had pictured in my mind. I found my desired plain and simple white gold ring, with a small twist - it's contoured to fit against my engagement ring.

Neato! Now, it looks pretty silly by itself, but since my e-ring is fairly unobtrusive, I plan on never wearing them apart anyway.

Sak opted for a matching band, minus the bending. He chose the comfort fit, which has more of a bevel on the inside. And interestingly enough, we both wear about the same size! If not for the little bend in mine, it would be hard to tell them apart!

Badges from our first convention together!

Combined, the rings were only about $130. To the raised eyebrows of the salesperson, we put our cheap rings on the payment plan for six months. Why? Because I didn't want to be responsible for holding onto them for a year. They are less likely to get lost if they aren't in our house. But after we were late for one of our $20 dollar payments, we decided that the whole thing was ridiculous and not worth the hassle. I asked the salesperson if I could just pay off the rings and leave them there, but she just gave me a blank stare and said no.

So now they sit at home amongst the other denizens of casa Penga, some of who were quite interested to play with the shiny metal objects...

Who needs gym badges?! Let's bribe the Elite Four with some bling!

Now it's two rings to rule them all?

DOMOOOOOOOO!

Take out that guy with the super-late RSVP? Bounty hunter, paid in full.

See why I wanted to keep them safely outside of the house? Let's hope that our little rings haven't been collected, cast into molten lava, eaten or traded for galactic credits in the next few months. I think Sak and I might need them at the wedding!

Where are you keeping your wedding bands prior to the wedding?

Grab Your Bonnet, It's Easter!

Does this dress make me look fat?

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Peep Sushi, anyone?

Hehe.

Anyway, on a more spiritual-rather-than-sugary note, I'll be rejoicing today with the rest of the world's believers for the amazing gift of life we have received through such huge sacrifice. Below is a prophesy from Isaiah, written some 700-odd years before Jesus. Simply amazing.

"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgement he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors."
-Isaiah 53

Happy Easter everyone!