~ Wedding Flowers from Lulu's Florist ~

I debated for a long time whether to use real flowers or fake flowers for my wedding bouquets.  I looked on a lot of websites for real touch calla lilies, but they are just as expensive as real ones!  I saw some really pretty silk flowers bouquet but I was afraid they look really fake in person.  So, about 2 months before the wedding,  I decided to just get real flowers and a friend recommended Lulu's Florist in Bethesda.

I made an appointment via the phone and went to there with my husband.  Liz, the owner, was super nice.  And the other guy, I think may have been her husband, was also very nice.  He gave us bottles of water and made us feel right at home when we got there.  Liz asked me what I wanted and explained to me what would work and what would not work for a June wedding.  I wanted only yellow and blue flowers, but she suggested some white roses and it worked out very well!  The white gave the bouquets more depth and interest.  And she was also very accommodating when I had a last minute color change from blue to purple.

Liz also worked with me on the budget.  The first estimate she gave me was over my budget so she suggested making some replacements and everything turned out so well!  All the estimates she gave me was detailed nad well written.  I knew exactly what I was getting.  I got beautiful flowers within my budget delivered on time.  I also appreciated how she was available on the phone and email.  

Even the boutonnière turned out better than I imagined.  The only issue was that a few of the flowers fell out of the bouquet.  And it was pretty heavy.  When I did the bouquet toss, I used one of the bridesmaid's bouquets 'cause I didn't want to hurt anyone.  But the flowers lasted very well!  Even 3 days later, the bouquet looked fine.

The photographers did a good job taking pictures of the flowers so I can remember them for the rest of my life.  The rings look so much better inside the flowers than on our hands!  Lulu's Florist has flowers for all kinds of occasions.  I am sure you'll enjoy your experience there.

~ Wedding Cupcakes from Cake Dreams ~

It was hard to decide between Georgetown Cupcakes and Cake Dreams for my wedding cupcakes. But, at the end, I picked Cake Dreams because it was just closer. The price was about the same. I got the cupcake tree on Save On Crafts.com. Here's my purple and yellow cupcake tree! I wish I have better pictures of the whole tree, but I don't know where I put them.


I spraypainted the cardboard tree with acrylic, non-toxic spray paint from Michaels. It took 2 bottles! Then, I used double sided tape to put ribbons around the circular disks. I didn't like the spray paint very much. It took a few coats and it was still uneven. I think putting wrapping paper on it would have had better results. By the way, if anyone wants this cupcake tree, let me know. It can be reused for sure.


I have a 8lb cake on top. I was going to put some organza flowers on top, but I forgot. There was space to put some around it though. One of the reasons I picked Cake Dreams was because they can make this cake for me to put on top. This way, we have a cake to cut. Though we actually didn't cut the cake. But that's another story. Can you tell there are 2 flavors?


This is lemon with regular yellow cake.


This is peanut butter with yellow cake. I love them both!


Everything was awesome! I had a lot left over though. I ate cupcakes every day for a week! That's right, the cupcakes still tasted awesome even after a week being in the fridge. So, if you want cupcakes for your special occasions, head over to Cake Dreams. The owner, Michele, is very nice. She sat down with me and found out exactly what I wanted. She even ordered special cupcake wrappers because I wanted yellow wrappers. I had to pay extra though. It was worth it. They look so cute! She's also very flexible. I had a last minute color and flavor change and she was very accommodating. She was also very clear with my order and provided a detailed invoice. Everything was great. Thanks Michele!

~ Back and Married! ~

Wow! It has been a month since I last blogged. Guess what I did!!


It's been a crazy month and there are a lot of food, and wedding stuff I would like to write about. But, first, a short post about the outfits I wore on my wedding day. First, my mom and my Auntie Tina said I have to wear a brand new red pajamas to bed the night before. Should I wear it every year for our anniversary?


Even though it was 90 degrees at 9:30am, I had to wear that red pj underneath this super traditional Chinese wedding dress. Good thing I only had to wear it for the Chinese tea ceremony! Also a Chinese tradition to walk underneath a red umbrella held by a woman with a good life (I think?). That was fun :)


Here's a sneak peak of some pictures the photographer took before we went to the church. The wedding dress was a rental, but it was brand new! I was the first to wear it so I felt special :)


This is a dress I changed into during the banquet. Another red Chinese dress. This one was custom made for me when I went to China a few months ago.


Last dress is just a lavender, sparkly, puffy evening gown for the cake, bouquet toss and saying thanks and good byes to the guests. Note how tired I looked. I had been up for 15 hours by then.


I have learned a lot from planning this wedding. I will be talking about the venues we chose, some DIY wedding projects this week. I know a few of you are planning weddings too! Let me just say that things go by quickly! First tip? Don't procrastinate! :)

~ Cava's Harissa Sauce and Bouquets at Whole Foods ~

One reason I love Cava is their Harissa sauce. It's sad that they are really pricey now. But, I have found the Harissa sauce at Whole Foods in Kentlands!! Now, I just buy some pita bread, pop them into the toaster oven, put the sauce in a pretty white plate, turn down the lights at my house and pretend I am at Cava.


This container is pretty big. It's 8.5 oz for about $6. It may seem expensive, but it's cheaper than going to Cava! The sauce has a kick to it for sure. Even my fiance thinks it's spicy! I keep eating it and drinking water and I just can't stop!


Next time you stop by Whole Foods, grab one! Speaking of Whole Foods, I was actually pretty mad at them a little while ago. I went to Whole Foods at Kentlands to ask about it. The customer service person told me to call the next day to talk to the florals department manager. I called and the person I talked to told me to go in at any time to talk to someone from florals or the marketing department. I went in again and they said no one can help me there and I have to call them. So, I called them again and finally talked to a person in florals and she said "Sorry, one of us is going on maternity leave so we can't handle a wedding order right now." Thanks for wasting my time Whole Foods! I ended up calling the ones in Bethesda and Rockville. They both can do it, but basically, you are just buying flowers from them. Then, they wrap them with a ribbon for you. Their flowers are very pretty, but I just don't want to bother with it anymore. Oh well, I will just have to pay for a real florist.

~ Cake Dreams in Rockville MD ~

In my search for my wedding cupcakes, I found this little bakery near Rockville Town Center called Cake Dreams. They do wedding cakes, cupcakes and mini cupcakes. So, I got half a dozen to check out the flavors.


They have a lot of flavors: Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Chocolate, Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Caramel, Chocolate Mocha, Yellow Lemon, Yellow Raspberry, Yellow Caramel, Yellow Chocolate, Red Velvet, Carrot, Pumpkin Spice, Peanut Butter Fudge, Double Coconut, Chocolate Coconut. I got the Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Raspberry, Yellow Lemon, Red Velvet, Chocolate Mocha and Peanut Butter Fudge.


I tried must say that I love the red velvet. Not because of the cake itself, but the cream cheese icing was pretty awesome. I am a big fan of cream cheese. It's not very sweet so that's perfect for me.


I didn't try this one, but I was told it's really good.


I love mocha icing and this icing was very good. But the cake itself was dryer than I expected. It was just ok.


The big surprise was this lemon one. The tartness is very refreshing!


So, I am still thinking whether I should order from them or not. I do like the mini cupcake idea so people can taste different flavors if they like. Maybe I should do big ones and small ones? For some reason, I keep thinking the Georgetown cupcakes are cuter. Is it the little decoration in the icing?


It's so hard to decide!!! Georgetown Cupcakes or Cake Dreams? Price is about the same. Cake Dreams is closer to the reception, can bake a matching 10 inch cake so we have a cake to cut, and has mini cupcakes. Georgetown Cupcakes looks nicer and taste better in general. What do you guys think? Either way, I need to get a cupcake tree. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

~ Engagement Pictures Session 1 Completed ~

As the wedding date creeps closer, I am slowly crossing things off my to-do list. Two major things were crossed off this weekend: invitations and the first session of engagement pictures. Ok, the invitations are not done. We still need to approve the draft, but we should have that within 2 weeks. The most exciting part this weekend were the engagement pictures. Those are so much fun! Well, fun for me. I got to play dress up all day long.


We started around 11:30am. We had 5 outfits and with each outfit, the stylist/makeup artist changed my hair. It was tough for my hair to go through all that curling and gel. She also had to put tape on my eyelids to make the crease look deeper and my eyes look bigger. But, it was all worth it. How many days do you get to wear 2 wedding gowns, an evening gown, a Chinese outfit and an kimono? It's so fun to be a princess!


Look at how she teased my hair. I was kind of worried when she started doing it. But, it turned out pretty cool.


I think the lipstick was a little too light though. We were waiting for the other couple to finish their session so we had time to take some of our own pictures. Can you tell that my fiance was getting tired?


I am actually pretty proud of him. 8 hours of pictures and he didn't really complain at all. He actually smiled in most of the pictures too!


Everything was pretty cool, except...well... basically, when the makeup artist did my eyebrows, she shaved off a little more than she should have on one side. I didn't even know till I took off the makeup on one eye and looked at myself. I was like "where the heck is my eye brow?" Then, I took the makeup off the other side and that eyebrow was fine. So, now my eye brows are uneven. I know it's not a big deal for most people, but I have never used a eye brow pencil in my life. I will just hide my eyebrows with my hair for a couple of weeks. For our next session, I will have to remember to tell the makeup artist to go easy on my eyebrows!

~ Wedding Cupcake Tower ~

I was looking for the wedding cake today. I needed motivation so I decided to check out Flickr. Wow! There are some awesome cakes out there!!! Check these out!!! You can click on the picture to go to the actual picture on Flickr. These are just some of my favorites. To see more, check out my gallery on Flickr.

Very simple. Love the calla lilies.


This one is just so gorgeous. Love how it flows and yes, the calla lilies too.


Frangipani!!! So pretty!!!


I think this is my favorite. So elegant! I love the texture in the white layers.


Love the colors on this one.



I think cakes like these runs about $5-$15 per person. Ouch. That's a little bit out of my budget. Besides, I feel like most people don't even eat the wedding cake. I see it go to waste all the time. So, what's a good solution? Cupcake towers! I know these are not new or very trendy. I read on a website that they are so "2008". Whatever! I like them! Check out these yellow ones I found on Flickr too.

I love the colors on these! Very nice display.


Look! More frangipani!!!


Love the display on this one too. I like how the cupcakes lie on the side and the flowers are so cute!


I think the cupcakes are also the wedding favors. Cool! Kill 2 birds with 1 stone!


Blue and yellow :)


This one is just adorable. The little wedding dress is so cute!


So, I am 95% sure that I will go with a cupcake tower. It's so much more convenient. If people are too full to eat the cake, they can easily take one home. Also, I already know that the servers at the banquet hall are going to butcher a regular cake. I have seen it. Usually, after the cake is cut, it ... doesn't look so nice.

Now, just need to find a place that will do it for the right price. I hope they will set it up too. 1st cake tasting on Saturday! This is the funnest part of wedding planning right?

~ Thinking about Frangipani Bouquets for My Wedding ~

I love Frangipani aka Plumeria! Frangipani sounds cooler to me, more exotic :) They are just so simple and pretty and...yellow! Let me share some pictures with you.

From flowerhawaii.com:

See? so simple!

From www.alohaislandweddings.co​m

From Wild Violet:

At first, I just love all the simple bouquets with only frangipani. But then, I saw these:

From lahianaflorist:

From plumeriasweddingflowerboutique:

I love calla lilies too! I think calla lillies and frangipani bouquet will be perfect. Now, I just need to find a local florist who can do it. Frangipani are tropical flowers after all. Most of the florist I see online that carries Frangipani bouquets are in Hawaii. Oh well, I will start calling around soon.

Another choice will be to use fake ones. plumeriasweddingflowerboutique.com seems to have a good collection. Too bad the website says they are can't fill any more orders before August 2010. I am ok with quality real touch silk flowers. This way, I can keep it forever right? If I go with fake ones, Hong Kong may be a good place to get some. Good thing I am going there for soon!

I did find a listings on Etsy from jdleggans. These are silk too.

I am thinking that my bouquet will have more yellow flowers and the bridesmaids will have more white. All with soft blue ribbons. So, what do you think? Is it too tropical for a Maryland wedding?