Money business

Money. A sensitive issue. Although, it seems one of the first questions we're asked when we tell people we're planning a wedding in Hawaii is, "Who's paying for the wedding?". Well, we are. Although my dad generously offered to pay for our luau reception/dinner. Mr. Mek and I will be paying for everything else, the bulk of the trip.

A few months ago I applied at a few retail stores in hopes that having a part-time job (on top of my current full-time job) would bring in extra income. Well, during the summer-time, retail stores aren't exactly booming with new hirees. Now I'm relieved that I wasn't called for an interview. I've been doing sooo much free-lancing photography that I barely have time to myself (let alone Mr. Mek). I haven't had a free weekend since the end of August. Since September 1st, I've done 3 weddings, a "1-year anniversary shot (from a wedding I did last year), and an Officer's ball. Besides being able to build up my portfolio and gain more experience, I've been able to pocket a nice chunk of change!

I gotta admit, I was hoping the retail job would help when it came to holiday shopping (store discounts!), but I really think I got the better end of the deal!

Some of my most current work:

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A few of my favorite things...

Back to the OOT boxes...Contents!!

I talked earlier about the exterior of my out of town boxes, now for the fun stuff...the goodies! Majority of my guests have never been to Hawaii before, so I thought this would be a good way to introduce them to some of my island favorites. Hawaiian Sun (yum!), obviously macadamian nuts (Mauna Loa is actually a Hershey product now), Li Hing Mui covered candies, island inspired chips, to name a few.

Hawaiian Sun, Moana Loa, Li Hing Mui, Maui Style Chips

For the few Hawaii local guests that I will be in attendance, I thought maybe I should fill their bags with Pennsylvania treats. Whoopie pies! Hershey candies, Swiss Tea Cooler, and Utz chips. The Yuengling beer is there for fun, although that would be great if I could bring that to share too. :)

Martha Stewart, Hershey's, Swiss, Utz, Yuengling

Some other fun goodies I was thinking about was water guns, beach balls, water-proof disposable cameras, etc.

Oriental Trading Company

I'm also throwing in Oahu maps, Tylenol, postcards, and since these will be given out at the welcome BBQ, there will be map and directions to the wedding ceremony.

I'm also doing kiddie buckets! I only have a couple children that will be in attendance, so this will only cost a few dollars per kid. I found sand pails at Michael's for $1 each, great for sand castle making! Don't forget to check the Michael's & Target dollar bins! I found cute Hello Kitty coloring books for $1 a piece at Target that I plan to use in my kiddie buckets. I also found 24 pack of Crayola Crayons for 20 cents a piece. Keep your eye out for sales!

Image source, Target, Crayola (also a PA product!)

I am bringing the PA goodies, the boxes, buckets and such to Hawaii with me. The rest of the goddies (Hawaii snacks) will be bought once we get there.

What local items will your OOT bags have?

Wedding Day Jewelry.

I'm a very simple girl. While I do wear jewelry, I'm lazy and prefer to wear the same jewelry every day. I never take it off. I shower with it on, wash dishes with it on, I sleep with it on. But wedding day jewelry is supposed to be different, special even. I really didn't even search for jewelry. My mother is a jewelry fanatic. Most of the jewelry I have, she bought for me...from the time I was 6 till my early 20's. Some I've never even worn. Years ago my mom bought my grandmother a beautiful freshwater pearl bracelet. Last year it was given back to my mom and my mother handed it down to me. It's beautiful and I quickly and easily decided to wear it on my wedding day.

I decided to forgo a necklace (I'm keepin' it simple) but I am an earring whore and wanted some earrings to go along with the bracelet. I just didn't want to spend the money on more freshwater pearls, especially knowing I 'prolly won't wear them again. So random, I was shopping at Forever 21, totally NOT jewelry shopping and come across these... I bought them. And with needle nose pliers and wire cutters I transformed them to this:
While they don't totally match in color and shape, I think they are close enough. I don't think anyone else will notice unless I'm holding my wrist up to my ears the whole day. Which I don't plan on doing. :o) Here's what they look like together...
And the best part?! They cost me less than $4!! See for yourself!
Did you make or "fix" your jewelry?

Filipino Traditions

I've talked about a lot of different Japanese elements that will be in our wedding; sadly, I know more about the Japanese culture than my own. I'm assuming mother Mek had a rough childhood in the Philippines because she prefers not to talk about the Philippines unless asked, and even then it is pretty vague. The little I do know is from my time living in Hawaii. Mr. Mek (if at all possible) knows less than I do about Filipino culture. Although MIL Mek loves her country and is very open about it, Mr. Mek grew up in central PA farmland and just never showed much of an interest in his culture.

I would love to have our Filipino side represented, but I'm not exactly sure how to do that. First let me explain (the little I know) Filipino wedding traditions:

Traditional Filipino attire

Most of the Philippine's wedding traditions are similar to Spanish and Mexican traditions because of the influence of early 18th century Spanish missionaries where the presence and support of family and friends are important and are symbolized in different ways throughout the ceremony.

Sponsors

Most have special "sponsors" who act as witnesses to the marriage. The principal sponsors could be godparents, counselors, a favorite uncle and aunt, even a parent. Secondary sponsors handle special parts of the ceremony, such as the candle, cord and veil ceremonies.

Unity Coins
The groom gives the bride 13 coins, blessed by the priest, as a sign of his dedication to his wife’s well-being and the welfare of their future children. The priest dribbles the coins into the groom's open palms, trickling like a waterfall into the bride's hands and onto a plate. The trickling of the coins is a sign of fidelity bestowed irrevocably. The thirteen coins or arrhae (from the Spanish word Arras, "earnest money") traditionally symbolizes the groom’s ability of to support his bride and confirms his position as the breadwinner of their future family and represents the sharing of spiritual, emotional, and material wealth and prosperity for each month of the year with an extra to spare assuring luck for the newlyweds and their future family the whole year through and beyond.

Unity Coins

Candles
The candles, lit by the candle sponsors, is a call for enlightenment, a reminder of God's presence in the ceremony. The candle ceremony symbolizes the lighting of the way for the couple.

Veil
The veil sponsors drape and pin the veil (a long white tulle) on the groom’s shoulder and over the bride’s head. This symbolizes the union of two people ‘clothed’ as one, and the union in marriage as husband and wife and expresses the promise of purity, sanctity, faith, loyalty, health and protection as well as the unity of the two families into one.

Veil ceremony

Cord
The cord sponsors stand up with the cord (a silken rope, a string of flowers or links of coins) and entwines the cord loosely around the bride and groom in the form of a figure eight, placing each loop loosely around the neck/shoulder area of the couple. This symbolizes the infinite bond of marriage, a union that lasts a lifetime bound by mutual love.

Cord

Money Dance
The concept of "Money Dance" is that the male guests pay for the privilege of dancing with the bride, and by extension, female guests pay for the privilege of dancing with the groom. The money is to be used for the bride and groom's honeymoon or to give them a little extra money for starting their life together. Plus, it gives each guest a chance to spend a few private moments with the bride or groom.

monies, monies

Money Dance

sources for content: here and here

My issues:

• Most of these traditions are Catholic practiced. I am not religious (at all), let alone Catholic. Can I still pull these traditions off? Notice that in the images of the veil and cord ceremony the bride and groom are kneeling (most likely a Catholic ceremony), I am having an outdoor wedding and would prefer not to kneel in grass. Can I do these traditions standing? Can I do one ceremony without the other (aka, can I pick and choose which traditions I want to do)?
  
• We are having a VERY small, intimate wedding. As of now we know of about 6-8 family members who are attending. We are not having bridesmaids and groomsmen, let alone sponsors. In fact, as of now, besides my parents there will only be 1 other couple that is still married and they are my age (everyone else is either not married or divorced).
  
• Having a small wedding, we are not having a traditional reception (taking everyone to a casual luau dinner instead), so no money dance for us.

Filipina Brides, any suggestions? Did I miss anything?

For my Japanese inspired brides:

I came across these beautiful Japanese hair pieces by etsy seller AtelierKanawa. Her work speaks for itself.

Or how about these for your flower girl? I think these are a super cute way to add culture to any wedding.


How are you incorporating culture (whether it's your culture or someone else's) in your wedding?

Steal of a dress...

If I didn't already have a dress I would soooo consider this one:

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It's a steal at $360!

Color coordinating my non-bridal party

I lightly hit on our lack of a bridal party in a previous post.

I've been thinking and talking to my bestests who will be in attendance to our wedding and thought, well, just because they technically won't be my bridesmaids doesn't mean that I still don't want photos of them on my wedding day. As my best friends, they still plan on being there for me that morning and will be getting ready with me. The only thing that doesn't make them the traditional bridesmaid is they won't be walking down the aisle and they won't be wearing matching dresses. And in all reality, if I was having traditional bridesmaids, I really don't think I'd make them wear the matching dresses anyways. I really like the look of bridesmaids wearing the same colors, but different dresses; dresses that flatter them and are more their style.

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That being said, would it be totally bridezilla of me to ask (key word is ask, not demand) my bestests to wear dresses of their choosing with a tad of red in it? This could be a red dress, a white dress with a red pattern, a red dress with pattern. I really don't care, just as long as there is some red in it. I was thinking that it would be nice to get photos of my bestests and I on my wedding day and us be some what color coordinated, rather than someone wearing green and the person next to them wearing maroon. I'm looking for something like this:

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I ran the idea by 3 of my best friends and they all seem to be on board with the idea. Bestest A, went out and bought a dress the same day I told her about the idea. She found this dress at Forever 21 for less than $30!!
I'm hoping with the holidays right around the corner it will be easier to find red dresses/dresses with red in it. Got any leads for me?

What finger is it supposed to go on?

Mr. Mek and I had talked about our life together and marriage in the past, but I honestly never expected to receive a ring from Mr. Mek. I always thought we would just go and do it..no ring needed. Plus (no offence Mr. Mek!) Mr. Mek isn't exactly Mr. Romantic.


We had just bought a condo May 2007, so money was kinda tight. That Christmas we decided to put a $30 price cap on each other for Christmas gifts. Yes, $30! Thought it would be a good way to save money and get creative with trying to find a gift in that price range. Well..Mr. Mek went a lil' over his $30 limit by a few hundred dollars and got on down on his knee on Christmas. His mom helped him pick it out...although he had a hell of a time trying to explain to his mom that he was buying an engagement ring that wasn't a diamond. I had told him long, long ago that diamonds weren't really my thing. As pretty as they are, I like color.


There was a bit of confusion though on that fateful day. Picture this: Here I am opening a ring box to see a very pretty, blue sapphire ring. I pull it out of the box and before I could put on my finger (any finger), Mr Mek exclaims, "It's too big! It's too big!, in a very disappointed voice. This is my first notion that this might be an engagement ring. So here I am asking, "What finger is it supposed to go on?!" Only for him to finally realize he never asked me the notorious question and just points to my ring finger. That, my friends, is my proposal.

My bling.

Later that day we're chillin' at my 'rents house with most of my family and my aunt mentions that she really regrets not visiting us in Hawaii when we used to live there. She felt that she might never go there now because she didn't have a reason to visit the beautiful islands (who needs a reason?!). Without really thinking I say, "Maybe Mr. Mek and I will just have to get married there so you have a reason to go to Hawaii". Daddy Mek seemed real fond of this idea; He hadn't been back to the islands in 12 years. Later Mr. Mek and I talked about the possibility of Hawaii vs. good ol' Central Pa. Obviously we know what locale won. :o)

I leave you with photos...so you can put a face to the name.

*note: My $30 gift to Mr. Mek was a bottle of cologne.

How Mr. Mek and I became to be

I wish I had some romantic story to tell of Mr. Mek and I. I wish I could tell you that I knew he was the one right away and that it was love at first sight. It wasn't like that at all. First off, we met in a bar. And I'm pretty sure I was pretty tipsy. hehe.

It was Wednesday night (yea, call it my mid-week stress reliever) and my girlies and I headed to our usual Wednesday night locale at the local watering hole. I'm a happy drunk, so after throwin' back a few beers and some shots with the girls, I was being my friendly self and saying hi to random strangers at the bar. Mr. Mek crossed my path and I said, "hello".
Mr. Mek: What nationality are you?
Me: White & Filipino.
Mr. Mek: Me too!!
Me: No way! Here's my phone number.
Done.

I got the traditional 2 day call back and while I'd like to say the rest is history, it wasn't so easy. We "casually" dated for months and he would tell me he wanted to be "official", then take it back; he also took back the first two times he told me he loved me. LoL. Our first year was rocky. We dealt with insecurities, trust issues....we even broke up once for about 4 months. Then Mr. Mek got into some trouble. And I was there for him. For ALL of it. This gave him a whole new respect and appreciation for me. I forgave him for the past and after time we formed a new relationship, a more full-filling one. Two years after all the drama, our relationship now is stronger than ever.

Ever hear a song that brings you back to a specific time or reminds you of an event in your life? This song by Murs, Love and Appreciate, explains how our relationship went, in a nutshell.

What song explains your relationship?

"Aloha! Welcome to Hawaii" Bags

Or should I say boxes.

I've already talked about our Welcome BBQ, now I'm on to how to greet our guests with much aloha (love). Welcome bags! This has been done time and time again; Mrs. Lemon, Mrs. Hydrangea, Mrs. Onion, Mrs. Cream Puff, to name a few. If budget wasn't an issue I'd wow my guests with Lauhala Tote Bags to hold my welcome bag contents.

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But budget is an issue, so instead I'll wow them with much affordable, ever so popular, gable boxes. Now before the wonderful world of weddingbee and the knot, I had never in my life ever heard of a gable box or knew what hell a gable was. I was lucky enough to buy a knotties left over gable boxes and paid about .76 a box (that includes shipping).

Now for my "wow". Jon, who also did an illustration for my STDs, made these ohhh sooo cute "cut out" cartoons of Mr. Mek and I.

I love being clipart! I threw this illustration over an old postcard I had scanned in (I lowered the opacity of the postcard) and ta da...

Well..there was some ribbon added for pizazz.

Close up of illustration. It's about 4x5 in size and I printed 4 on 8x10 label sheets.

This photo is for aesthetics, I used double sided tape to attach the ribbon to the box.

Future Posts:
OOT box contents

Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...

~Susan Polis Shutz

I'm not a veil or tiara kind-of-a-gal. It's just not my cup of tea. I'm a hair flower kind-of-a-gal. And while I did ponder the thought of putting a real flower in my hair, I came across etsy seller, myrakim of Twigs and Honey. She does beautiful work! I contacted her right away (she's a very busy woman!), and 3 months later she custom made me this:

I love how it has red accents, pearls and some of the fabric used for the hair piece is the same type of fabric my dress is made out of. Love, love, love it!

Even the packaging was sweet!

Love the polka dotted tissue paperDirections on how to best secure the hair flower were included

This what the hair comb that is attached to the hair flower looks like

Here's my 2 minute trial. Don't mind my messy, knotty hair (it was up in a bun all day), or the toilet paper in the background. hehe.

Check out Myra's blog for more of her fabulous work: http://twigsandhoney.blogspot.com/