Thursday, October 18, 2012

Pre-wedding Engagement Ceremony | Gown by Yes I Do

As much as almost every modern, young couple would try to avoid having any traditions in their weddings, sometimes it is just inevitable. There will be bits and pieces of things that our elders would tell us it's a "Must-do" or "Must-have".

Having said that, traditions in weddings are actually pretty beautiful. Afterall, it is because of traditions that we do what we do in weddings these days!

If you search up the Internet about wedding traditions, there's a meaning for everything done in weddings. From the proposal to brides wearing white, cake-cutting to the first dance. Really interesting to know how what we do these days actually came about! :)

For example:

The Bridal Bouquet isn't just a beautiful accessory for the bride. The bridal bouquet and veil both originated as ways for the bride to ward off evil, as brides were regarded as vulnerable to enchantments. Brides in the past even carried garlic and dill as bouquets! Thank goodness that tradition is no longer practiced :')

As for the Engagement Ceremony, the bride groom is accompanied by his parents (with a total of six to ten people), when he delivers the red wooden box containing the betrothal gift to the bride's home. After the groom arrives, the gifts are properly arranged, and the bride is led by the "lucky woman" from her bedroom to the living room, and the whole tea ceremony begins.

Well, for our engagement ceremony, it was definitely not me & Boon's idea, as what we want is really just a simple and personal Holy Matrimony, dinner & dance & party the night away with our closest families and friends. But due to many requests from parents and grandparents, some things must be carried out...such as this. So instead of saying no and risk upsetting our elders, we said yes and here's where the story begins :)


On the 7th of October, 2012, Boon & his family came all the way to Malacca for the Delivery of Betrothal Gifts, known in Mandarin as 过大礼.


Here are the red gifts that both families trade. They include desserts, flowers, yam plant (?), angpows, dowry, etc. Each item signifies something. It's pretty amusing how anything can mean something!

For example, the bride's family needs to give the groom's family 2 bottles of carbonated drinks:

One F&N Orange- which represents giving birth to a girl
One 100 Plus- which represents giving birth to a boy

I mean...who came up with these things??? O.O
It's really pretty amusing. Hehe..


So my eldest aunt was my "Lucky woman" in this case, as she explained each and every gift and their significance. 


Look at all the red stuff!!!

Btw, these red stuff are not cheap man...everything was bought in one of those official, one-stop "Chinese Weddings Shop" in Malacca, where you can get ANYTHING you need in packages. They provide everything traditional chinese weddings require. My grandma spent thousands at that shop just to make sure I'm being married off presentably (in her terms). Talk about money-making business!


So of course, I had to wear something "red" for this to signify good luck and blessings. And thanks to Yes I Do for sponsoring me the beautiful dress, I don't have to look like an angpow for the occasion. 

Everyone including myself and also my relatives loved the dress. So it's a win-win situation for everybody :D


Hehe yours truly's baby photos.
On the left: Photo of me and my brother, Gladys :P

So after trading gifts, Boon and I paid respect to my late grandpa, and then proceeded to the hotel for a lunch buffet reception for all our Malacca relatives :)


Paparazzi shotz.


Boon cannot take paparazzi shots lah hahahahha :P


My soon-to-be sisters in law completely in our color theme :)
Check out lazy workers at the back hehe.


Groom is hungry.


Meet my wonderful soon-to-be parents :)


My pretty angels :)
Melody, Charity and Evangeline.


Am gonna miss them *cries*


Our pre-wedding photo album by Vincent Cheng. We love his work :)


Sisters :)
Gladys, Jasmine, Vern May.


Choc & Green Tea fondue!


Meet my cute, thoughtful and extremely loving grandma :)

Her clothes were specially custom-made by Wow-couture! She super loved it :)


The first, new family portrait. Love this picture :)


My sisters and their new and only (for now) brother.
My parents now have a son! :P



My man and I :)



My parents and Gladys specially went through all the trouble and hard work of sourcing for a designer and printer just to create a backdrop for the reception. Gladys kept Whatsapping me all the details to finalize so that I'll really love this backdrop :') *touched*



Our wonderful sister and Maid of Honor, Gladys.
No one else could be better than her at this :)


Love this pic!


A beautiful candid of my grandma :)


Another beautiful candid! She was so happy that day :)


Look at my gorgeous dress! Absolutely loved it!


My baby girl.





Yeah had enough of being prim and proper hehe.

Through this, I newly unite with so many of my cousins that I never knew we were related!


Meet my hot cousin, Cookies (that's her nickname).
We knew each other from the freelance world, but we JUST found out that our parents are cousins, so we're actually cousins! *GASP*

And another of my blog reader Facebook messaged me to tell me that he was at my lunch reception. *DOUBLE GASP* Such as small world! Our parents had such huge families that we have cousins everywhere!! O.O


The gown that everyone loved so much :) Especially my grandma cos it's a lucky color hehe.

I've always loved tube, full-laced, mermaid cut gowns, and so happened Yes I Do had one which fit all my preference and the best part is, it was Hot Pink baybee!


It was a pretty last minute thing that I had to get a gown, as I've been looking far and wide for something like this but to no avail. Something not too casual, not too grand, something which is just nice.

So I asked Shawn Wong from Yes I Do for help. We quickly scheduled for a meet up at her place to try on several ready made gowns she had in her collection, and viola! I found my missing piece! :D


Thanks Shawn for receiving me with open arms even at such a last minute! She made the whole gown-trying, and gown-choosing process (I can be pretty picky) so pleasant and a bliss. It was just like going to a buddy's place to try on her clothes from her closet! That's how she made me feel :)


Most of us are skeptical when it comes to ordering gowns from China. Being a person who is really particular about details and quality (especially on what I put on)), I have never trusted online shopping and custom-making dresses from China until I met Yes I Do, which was recommended by a friend. 

The dresses are all made in SuZhou, China, the place renown for bridal gown makers, and have exceptional skills in handling delicate details of dresses. Most of the dresses made in SuZhou are meant to be exported to European countries to be sold, where prices would sky-rocket like mad. 

When I first approached them, Shawn promptly replied my Facebook messages and made me feel so comfortable dealing with her, as she was not at all pushy (I cannot stand pushy people!). From then on, we started to become friends through this business encounter! :)


Loveeeeeeeee <3


A BIG THANK YOU to Shawn Wong from Yes I Do for being so superbly nice and sweet to me. Thanks for the gorgeous dress! Definitely quality assured. Fits me perfectly and shows off the curves at all the right places too ;)

If you're looking for custom-made or ready-made dresses for weddings, proms, dinners, and even rental of dresses, you can consider Yes I Do. From my experience with them, I can safely say that they really do focus on the needs of their clients and would go miles to make them happy. 

Plus, their prices are really reasonable, ranging from RM200-600 for custom made gowns! Highly recommended by me :) You can place an order with them simply by Facebook messaging them on their page, or email them at yesidogallery@gmail.com.

By the way, they'll be making my wedding evening gown too! Extremely excited and can't wait to put it on! :)

Next stop is the real deal! 
16 days left *ganjeongz*


love, careen

4 comments:

  1. Wish you happily ever after with your love one babe!

    christal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. very simple yet elegant engagement party in this....so charming and especially Engagement Rings are an enhancement
    of beauty, the beauty of a woman or a man is enhanced by wearing earrings or some other kind of jewelries.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Adorable party arrangements!! Thanks a ton for these photographs. Well, I am going to get engaged so want to have a grand engagement party. I need some help in finding affordable wedding venues for this party. Can you please help me?

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Capturing candid wedding moments skillfully requires anticipation, stealth, natural lighting, varied angles, and genuine emotion. Master these for timeless shots."

    ReplyDelete