Suits & Scruffiness

Talk about procrastination, less than we week before we leave for Hawaii and only NOW did we get Mr. Mek's suit tailored. Better late than never. It was actually a good thing we waited because Mr. Mek has been in training mode and managed to gain over 20 pounds of muscle in 7 months. That determination and dedication, I do not have when it comes to working out. :oP 

Here the tailor is pinning Mr. Mek in. Mr. Mek brought his wedding day sneakers in too, to make sure the pants are hemmed correctly.

Even lil' B was there to make sure daddy looked good.

A sneak preview of Mr. Mek in his tailored to fit threads. 

*note: shoes and shirt do not go with ensemble, neither does his scruffiness. 

Please ignore his "why the hell are you taking a photo of me?!" look.

My cardigan search...

I looked high and low, but I guess I was just being picky. I either didn't like like the style, didn't like the price or they didn't have the colors I wanted. Honestly, I was being cheap. I didn't want to spend $$ on a cardigan that I might not wear again. And the ones I liked, that I would most likely wear again and again, were well over $60 (thanks Jcrew for the tease!).

While on the cardigan hunt, I came across these cute tops at 579. Don't they kind of remind you of these? They had them in white, purple and black. They best part, they were only $15!

excuse the poor cell phone camera

If they had other colors, I might have gone this route, but instead I went the funky, cardigan direction and scored this red and black polka doted cardigan for $16.90 from H&M. Almost as good as my $4 earrings. Not too bad, for something only intended to keep me warm later in the night.

And it's perfect length, I think anything longer would have made me look like a hump back with the obi sash.

Did you splurge or save on your wedding attire?

I support my local seamstress.

Two weeks ago I had my first (and only) dress fitting. sillyinphilly had recommended me her seamstress in Lititz and seriously girls, this woman is a godsend (and only gets work by word of mouth)! I literally was in and out of her hair in 15 minutes. The zipper on my dress kept sticking, to the point where I could not get out of my dress. Not at all. Karen, the seamstress, literally had to cut me out of my dress.

Unfortunately I don't have any before photos of me and my dress. Imagine this model is me. :o)

My dress on an itty bitty model, Jenny Yoo

Within' minutes of having my dress on, Karen was sticking my dress with needles. Literally 5 minutes later, she was done. I came back 2 weeks later, tried on my dress and that was it. I was done with alterations. I thought for sure I would have to come back again. Nope. She did it all in one shot. Besides putting in a new zipper, I had my dress hemmed, taken in an inch and I had the top made into a sweetheart top all for (roll drum roll, please) $53.

See my new sweetheart neckline? Don't mind the junk in the background...that's all wedding poop!

And since you girls asked, here's how much of my dress exposes my tattoo. My hair will be semi-down on wedding day.

For you Central PA girls:

Karen Chow

(717) 519-2458

Did you find a local seamstress or have your alterations done at a bridal store?

To keep me cozy and warm

If I could afford it, I would sooooo rock this:

Etsy seller: englishdept

or maybe this:

Etsy seller: Rohm

These are more my price range:

Etsy seller: maryandangelika

Etsy seller: maryandangelika

Looking for something with more funk?!

Esty seller: frenchsugarvintage

I wish I could knit!

Etsy seller: filofashion

Etsy seller: bonzie

But I after seeing Mrs. Shortcake's and Miss Glitter's posts about cardigans, I think I might follow suit and rock a cardigan to keep me cozy and warm in the evening.

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Now, a hunt for a cardigan...

Mr. Mek, The Shoe Pimp

Mr. Mek is a shoe fan. A Nike shoe fan. If I'm a shoe whore, then he's a shoe pimp.

Mr. Mek can be very picky when it comes to his shoes and clothes. Which made picking out an outfit for him to wear on our wedding day very difficult, but in the end you can definitely see his style in his "groom wear". I suggested that he rock some nice loafers like Mr. Sea Breeze, but he wasn't having it (I tried). Nope, he went the Nike sneaks route and who am I to tell him what to wear? It's not like he had the option of picking out my shoes. So, we went the custom route and he "designed" his own wedding shoes.

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The whole process is actually pretty easy. You just pick the shoe style you want, then you can click on certain parts of the shoe and change the color. You can even personalize the shoe with your name or slogan, if you like. Orders take up to 4 weeks for delivery; Mr. Mek got his in 2 weeks! These could also be great gifts for your groomsmen. What guy wouldn't like a pair of personalized, customized Nike sneakers?!

Instead of having the Nike brand name on the back of the shoes, we could have put any name in it's place.

The best part is, I can sooo see him wearing these again and again after wedding day.

How is your fiance relfecting his personality and style on your wedding day?

Sales!

Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale is going on right now (in stores till January 12th) and if you're looking for some great threads to wear on your wedding day, now is the time to check it out! Once upon a time, I worked for Vickis. While every store will be stocked with different sale items, they do receive new shipments every week, so their stock of sale items might be different week to week. I stopped in at my local Vickis last week and was surprised to see the abundance of "bridal" undies they had! Most of these were on sale for $5.99, rather than the original price of $14-$16. I, myself, scored a pair of undies with the ruffles (second photo). :o)

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Don't forget to check out Victoria's Secrets's website for cute dresses to wear on your honeymoon, or maybe even bridesmaid dresses for the "unbride". They also have some swim wear on sale if your going somewhere tropical after your wedding.

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Bath and Body Works (who is corporately linked to Victoria's Secret) Semi Annual Sale is going on too, which could be a great place to pick up favors for your shower or gifts for your wedding attendants. Like this lil' kit, $10 (originally $30).

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Have you been taking advantage of the after Holiday sales for your wedding or honeymoon? What sale suggestions do you have?

"Lets Get Married" Shoes

Welp, I did it again. Bought another pair of shoes, but in my defense, I bought 3 different pairs of shoes and still spent less that $100! This is it though, I swear!

Presenting my current "Lets Get Married" shoe....

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It's red, peeptoe, cute and less than 4 inches high! Perfect. No more looking for shoes. Seriously.

"Reduce the Flesh"

In case I don't lose an inch before the wedding day...

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I got me some Spanx!

Spanx

The "Higher Power" power panties to be exact. They totally give me flashbacks of the 80's (think spandex biker shorts).

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They are a lil' hard to get on, but once their on...wow, do they do wonders. Did I lose 5 pounds? No. But they totally sucked everything in and smoothed me out. No back rolls for me! This particular day I had a baby shower to attend and I wore them ALL day, just to see how they held up. I was taking lots of photos, running all over the room and kneeling a lot. I think I had to tug them up maybe once, but nothing major; they weren't rolling down or anything. Considering I was doing a lot of kneeling then standing, kneeling then standing, I think they did great.

You guys better love me for posting this photo. LoL. Just to prove that it really does suck fat and skin in, I had Mr. Mek take a photo of my Spanx semi rolled down (and pushing all my fat out)...

Wishin' I could wear this under a swim suit!

Are you sportin' the pretty undies on your wedding day or going granny panties and lookin' thin?!

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?

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!

Dressin' up da Groomie

In continuation on my wonderous Mr. Mek, we go on to discuss his attire.
Now, Mr. Mek and I have been back and forth on this. We've changed our colors and wedding ambiance soooo many times, that his attire has changed along with them. I would love for him to represent half of our ethnicity by wearing a barong. A barong is an embroidered formal garment of the Philippines. It is very lightweight and worn untucked (similar to a coat/dress shirt), over an undershirt. It is a common wedding and formal attire for Filipino men. But I know my hip-hop head of a fiance would not be feelin' it.

Barong

Originally we were thinking pants or slacks of some sort with a long sleeve button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. Sorda like this...

source: Macys', abercrombie and fitch, Island Importer

Then Mr. Mek decided that he wanted to wear a suit. A full suit. Jacket and all. I guess he figured he doesn't get to wear nice suits often so might as well take advantage. So, right after Easter, when all the spring sales are going on, we ventured out suit shopping. Mr. Mek must have thought he was Mr. Stylish or something because he was the pickiest shopper ever! At the time, we were leaning towards our colors being red and grey. He wanted a grey suit. I was thinking a light grey in a light fabric. Like this...

source: Macys, Macys, Macys

He didn't like linen suits; he said he didn't like the look of the textured fabric. All the suits he happened to like were heavy, dark grey, wool suits. A lil' much for a wedding in Hawaii. To humor him, since they were on sale anyways, we bought one.

source: my crappy cell phone camera

Now, he'd changed his mind again, but I feel for the better! Since we're mainly just doing red and there is no wedding party, just us, it makes sense for the attention to be on both of us, not just the one wearing the huge white dress. So....we're both going to be in white. And...get this...he'll be in a linen suit! We haven't ordered it yet (I figured we have plenty of time yet), but this is what we're leaning towards...

source: Island Importer

Did your groom change his mind as much as you did about your dress?!

Ebay finds me a wedding dress!

I got my wedding dress!!! The Jenny Yoo, Kayla dress is all mine! And even better, it only cost me $320 from Ebay! The dress is originally $750.

I did have some Ebay "drama" though. About once a week or so, I check Ebay, just in case someone happens to post the Jenny Yoo dress. Last week, low and behold, there it was. MY Jenny Yoo dress. Ivory, in my size, listed for $300 + $20 shipping. It was meant to be. The seller claimed she had bought the dress off Ebay herself and it didn't fit her, so she was re-listing it. I contacted her to make sure it was an ivory dress and not cream. Cream has a very yellow tint and knowing my luck, I'd buy this supposed ivory dress and get a cream dress. She emails me back to confirm that it was definitely ivory. So I bid on it. Two days later the seller takes the auction off of Ebay. You could not even imagine my disappointment. The seller sends me an email, apologizing for taking the auction off Ebay, but that she had tried the dress on again and the zipper was a lil' dysfunctional. She didn't feel right selling the dress if it was "damaged". Funny thing is, I had talked to another bride before who also had a Jenny Yoo dress and she told me the same thing; that the zipper stuck a lot. I think it's a manufacturer thing, so I email her back to tell her that I would still love to buy it, as is for $300, if she's willing to part with it. And that was that. Four days later, the dress is sitting in front of my door. And it is PERFECT! Correct color, right size....the zipper does stick, but that can easily be replaced. Especially since I just saved myself $450! Gotta love Ebay!!

Dress Shopping...Blah!

Let me start by saying I hate clothes shopping. I hate trying on clothes and I'm one of those people that can't buy any article of clothing without trying it on. I'm short, unporportionate, and have no arse.

So I begin shopping for a wedding dress. A task I was dreading. I did the whole internet search and was in awe of these dresses (*sorry for the small images, I'm still new at this whole blogging thing)...

Next task was to find which local stores carry them so I may try them on. I find out that Saeyoung Vu Couture was no longer in business. Of course her dresses were my favorite. That's usually my luck. Onward, I went to 2 dress shops in Philly; one supposedly carried the Jenny Yoo line. Only to get there and find out not only do they only have maybe 20 dresses in the whole store (which were yellowed and the lace had holes in it), but they carried the Jenny Yoo catalog. Yea, no dresses to try on. So I moved onto the 2nd bridal store in Philly and loved these on me:

While they were very form flattering on me, I felt that they were a lil' too dressy for my casual Hawaii wedding, so the search continued.

Last month I headed up to New York City with Mr. Mek in tow. I found my dress. No, I didn't have that "it" moment, but it's not too too much more than what I wanted to spend, it was flattering, appropriate for the wedding we're having, lightweight, and Mr. Mek approved. Yep, you heard me right. Mr. Mek saw me in the dress. And while I know most of you are shaking your heads in disapproval, I'm pleading my case.
1. Mr. Mek is a "typical" guy, who in 11mths from now won't remember what that dress looked like or how it looked on me.
2. On said wedding day, I will look totally different with dress on, hair did, makeup done, shoes and accessories.
3. We're nontraditional folk. Why start now?

So here it is...here's the dress I've decided on ::cue music::

Jenny Yoo "Kayla"

I apologize for not showing photos of moi in the dress..could you believe that this photographer totally didn't think of taking photos at the dress shop?!

On a totally different note, watch out for this girl at the 2008 Summer Olympics...She's my cousin! Jamie Beyerle