Wedding Invite Stuff Up!!!!! Oops

OK, so we had 54 invites to hand out, we had to make sure all the addresses, names and titles were correct...

Stuff up # 1 - Ryan Turner - We found ourselves roaming all around Farmborough Heights and Unanderra for a particular street. We were trying to personally deliver Ryan Turner's invitation. Hmmm.... I had been to his house before, but buggered if I could find the street.

We met a lady in Brendon Avenue - we asked her where 'Yellagong Street' was. She was puzzled as to where this street was - considering she had lived in Farmborough Heights for about 24 years...

Turns out there are too many people named 'Jo' in our lives. Joanna, Jovanka and Jo M. Yellagong Street is in West Wollongong and is the street of another Jo's house. Oops. All was sorted with a couple of phone calls in the end. Ryan - sorry mate. Your invite is in your letterbox miraculously with a different address on it.

Stuff up #2 - Dazza and Adele. We had Cripps Street - instead of Gipps Street - Wollongong. Lucky we dropped off that one! Quyen has just suggested that the incorrect street came from the handwriting recognition in her PDA - when she was typing in the address after talking with Dazza and Adele in Wollongong a couple of weeks ago. And Quyen always hassles me for the bad handwriting.... hmmm.... interesting!!!

Well, you guys are special. You made the blog.

These things are sent to try us.

One invitation caught fire

OK, so there is a funny story with every wedding. However, this one so far takes the cake for Quyen and I. As noted previously, we melted wax directly onto the invitation to fasten the transparencies to the cardboard. In the early stages of doing this, I was still learning, I practiced absolutely perfectly and was very proud. Cocky as I was as a result, I decided to move onto the real deal. BIG MISTAKE...

The third invitation I was on was my Uncle Terry's. I was holding the wax too high up into the flame and the wax started dripping on fire. Yep, each little drop of hot, melted wax was drops of fire. It kept building and building - almost a bonfire now. I persisted dropping wax on (now not drops of fire) thinking it would put out the flame. Stupid idea. Derrrrr....

Anyhoo, Uncle Terry ended up with a massive puddle of wax on one side of his invite - covering up the evidence of any fire.... I don't have a photo of this one. I was in too much of a panic with it catching fire.

Oh well.

Wax Seal

wax seal
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

On the inside of the invitation cover, we had the invitation wording and details of the day for our guests.

This was a transparent piece of paper and was attached to the card with wax. We melted wax on each of the sides of the paper. This photo is the seal we used. The symbol we used means 'Double Happiness' and is referenced in an earlier blog. It took us about three weeks to find this! Well worth the wait.

Quyen posting invites

Quyen posting invites
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

This is one of the invited being hand delivered. This is Dazza and Adele's invite being put in their letterbox - you know, the guys that had Cripps Street on their invite...instead of Gipps Street.

Doh... they got it in the end (I hope). We will know if they RSVP in time.

Completed Invitations

invitation with bow2
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

Here it is! The completed invitation.

There is a story with spiral that Quyen wanted me to share... it symbolises our relationship - we started on the outside and have worked into the middle where we are now ready to journey back out along the spiral and keep growing and growing the size! That's kind of it. I am sure you get the angle I am coming from, I do.

The leaf is from the tree I sat next to when I proposed to Quyen on 17 April 2004 at the top of Mt. Kembla, near Wollongong.

The two lady bugs are Quyen and myself. No guessing which one is me - I am the fat one.

Invitations Cover

Invitations 0006
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

Here is the invitation cover, the details were printed and stuck on the inside.

This was before the second lady bug was stuck on the leaf!

Winny at work

Invitations 0016
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

Here is Quyen at work... Again, she managed to take this photo herself. Top effort I say.

As you can see, this is my Nanna and Granddad's invitation in the making! I have posted this page to them so they can enjoy it too - they don't have access to the net, so a snail mail is the next best thing!

Invitations - is yours here?

Invitations 0018
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

Quyen took this photo while I was at the basketball with my flatmate, Michael... watching the Hawks get smashed for the third time by the Kings... anyway... moving on...

this looks pretty cool! If you look closely, your name might be there! This is about half the lot and includes friends and family. Click on the photo to see a larger pic.

Invitations

Invitations 0014
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

OK, call me pathetic...but i wanted to take photos along every step of the way!! So here is a photo of the invites being printed out :)

enjoy!

Invitations - Calligraphy work

Invitations 0026
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

This is Quyen's calligraphy pens and equipment. This was used to write names on each of the invites, as well as write on those envelopes that were personally delivered by Quyen's Mum to a few close friends. It is tradition for the parent of the Bride to personally deliver the invites to each person... (from what I understand)...

Chi Phuong - Star Helper!

Au Dai 0011
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

This is Chi Phuong - Quyen's cousin. Chi Phuong kindly helped us find our morning ceremony outfits in Cabramatta.

She and her daughter, Nhi, gave up her whole day to take us around.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Au Dai Service AAA+

Au Dai 0012
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

This is the lady that helped us choose our outfits. She was more than happy for us to take her photo as you can see. She is the same lady that did the alterations while we went and had bangers and mash. Well not really b&m, but the Vietnamese equivalent - a nice noodle and basil soup.

Aidan Wearing the Au Dai

Aidan ao dai
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

I am wearing the head piece in this photo - Quyen did not have her head piece on at the time of her photo. Quyen's head dress will be red, matching her Au Dai.

I have my other clothes on under the Au Dai in this photo - I have not whacked on 10KGs overnight!

Quyen Wearing Ao Dai

Quyen ao dai & coat
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

This is Quyen modelling the actual Au Dai that we ending up purchasing for her on the wedding day!

I told you the shop was small!

Wedding Day - Morning Ceremony

Our wedding day is broken up into three parts. The first is the traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony. This will be held at Quyen's house, in Fairy Meadow, Wollongong. As part of the ceremony Quyen and I will each be wearing the traditional outfit called an 'Ao Dai'.

The photos on the next few blog entries are photos of Quyen and I in these traditional outfits.
Wandering through Cabramatta (known as 'Little Vietnam' in Sydney!) for the outfits was plenty of fun last Sunday. Quyen's cousin, Phuong, and Phuong's daughter, Nhi joined us. Phuoung often shops in Cabramatta and was a great help in showing us the secret haunts of the locals when they require such attire!

The second shop we went into was about the size of the back of a mini-van - not that i know the size of the back of a mini-van from experience.

It was decked out in all sorts of weird and wonderful patterns and colours (more weird than wonderful). However, Quyen and I managed to find the most awesome outfits. Well under budget, the lady that served us altered the outfits while we went and had lunch. We came back and all was ironed and altered.

The only dissapointing part of the day was that when Quyen came home it turns out the lady had either gotten mixed up or done the Maxwell Smart switcharoo on the satin pants that go under the outfit - they had a big stain on them when we got them home. I will drop them in for dry cleaning in Newtown this week and hopefuly all will be good.

Enjoy the photos of me in a dress!

Wedding Cake

Hey,

We are now about to choose the wedding cake. The fantastic people that will be making the cake are Cavallaros...

http://www.cavallaros.com.au/wedding.html

We may or may not choose one of the cakes in the picture. One thing we can guarantee is that it won't be a fruit cake.. :) sorry to people born prior to 1960. :)

You will still enjoy it I am sure.

Bucks Day/Night Update

The bucks is in it's final stages of planning now... and, here is an email from Ian tonight to Paul and Paul and myself:

Hi guys, ok, if we're all still keen on the cruise thing for the afternoon of Aidan's Buck's Party, here's a few options.

* Do we try and get a boat for just ourselves?
* What time?
* How much?

I suppose it depends on what time we think we will make it up to the city...and also whether we want to go on a cruise where we can sort of do our own thing...rather than have to sit there drinking coffee and listening to commentary (unless that is what we want to do?)

Here's a couple of 'pre-organised' ones...

1. Captain Cook Cruises(a) Harbour Highlights Cruise -
The best value for money, first class cruise in Sydney, specially designed for those visitors with limited time. Relax in great style as you see all the Main Harbour points of interest, cruising past the Opera House to Double Bay, exclusive Point Piper, Bradley Head, under the Harbour Bridge to Balmain and Darling Harbour. - Adult AUD20.00- Departs No.6 Jetty, Circular Quay 9.30am*, 11am, 12.45pm,

Envelopes....too big...

Right now I am trying to print on the envelopes for the invitations... in doing so I am as frustrated as a pyromaniac in a petrified forest.

We have custom invitations that do not fit into our printer... aaarrrggghhh!!!! didn't think of that one when we decided on the size of the special envelopes! Hmmm... we may need to be very patient or purchase clear labels to print on.

All the addresses have been sorted out tonight. I was hoping to print on all of the envelopes.

Not to be.

I am grumpy now and I am going to bed.

Good night. Adios Amigos.

Top of the wedding cake

wedding_topper
Originally uploaded by Aidan & Quyen.

This is submission from Ryan Turner as a suggestion for the top of our wedding cake!

Let me know your thoughts - or make other submissions...!!

For those married people reading this blog, is there an element of truth to this?? hmmm...

The Photographer

I mentioned a while ago that we had chosen the photographer.

Pippin Walton is renowned in Sydney for her fantastic work at functions, as well as shoots for magazines. Pippin has been fantastic to deal with to date and both Quyen and I feel like we are her only clients. She is there for any questions that are asked - anytime! Her ideas and suggestions have been wonderful and very welcome to both Quyen and I.

Have a look at her website and if you are ever in search of a photographer, consider Pippin!

www.photographybypippin.com.au

Although now based in Sydney (Leichhardt), Pippin is originally from Wollongong and knows all of the perfect sites for both sunny and wet days. Looking through her work shows her fantastic skills and abilities and mirrors exactly the type of style that Quyen and I area after in the photography of our wedding.

My Speech

I have started to think about my speech alot lately. I keep thinking of things I plan on saying for the speech about family, thanking people, and all the other important stuff. One decision that has been made is that it will be written out for me to read... I am not jotting down points for elaborating on. This way, I can be sure that my composure shall remain the best it possibly can, under the circumstances.

Rest assured a copy of the speech will be posted on the blog after the wedding.

Other people making speeches include:

Arthur Devenish (my Dad!)
Paul Nghi (the best man)

and.... Quyen Le (the beautiful bride of course!)

3 Months to go (and a little restaurant review)

THREE MONTHS TO GO!

Up to now, the organising of the wedding has been at quite a relaxing pace and has been alot of fun for all involved!

From here on in though, we will be flat out like a lizard drinking - running here and there. All weekends are pretty much booked up now all the way to May.

It is still fun, but now it's all getting serious and we need to knuckle down.

So, that means one of two things.... there will be a heap of blogging of all of our exciting activities!!! Or, there will be none as we dissapear off the face of the Earth, having no time to blog. I am hedging my bets on the former.

So, stay tuned!!! Add this site to your favourite. Better still, make it your home page.

To celebrate the milestone of 3MTG, Quyen and I enjoyed a nice dinner at an Indian restaurant in Newtown. It was fantastic - the restaurant was called Indian Fantasy and can be found on King Street. I give it 7/10 for service and 7/10 for food...

Bridesmaid Dresses

OK, I am back on board now - full of energy and ready to blog!!!

As mentioned briefly a couple of blogs ago, the bridesmaids have purchased their dresses and shoes!!! They have also chosen the hair and make-up artists for the day.

Quyen, Josline and Patty left Wollongong at 10am determined to found their dresses! I stayed at my place in St. Peters - waiting in anticipation of a phone call to say the search was over.

They had a look at a shop in Corrimal... no phone call...
They travelled up the F6 Freeway from Wollongong to Miranda... no phone call...
1PM... the journer moves on closer to the city...

Arriving at Birkenhead Point, the girls were determined to find something at this place!!! And, they did! The dresses and the shoes were purchased at Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre. For those of you that don't know it, this centre is known as a warehouse outlet centre where chain stores put all of their remaining stock to sell far below regular prices.

It means alot for Quyen and I to save many details until the day. We don't want to give too much away about the wedding, but rest assured that we will post photos up as soon as we are able. We are happy to share hints of the day though!

The dresses were from purchased from Harts - a formal dress shop with a few stores all over Australia. They are all of a similar style. Josline's dress has beading, and the girls made the decision to purchase the other two similar dresses without the beading (they didn't have any others with beading :( so three weren't an option...). However, the lady to do the alterations is able to match the beading on the other two dresses to have them matching!! The girls were happy with this as they beading ties back to the shoes.

Needless to say, all is relaxed and calm now the dresses have been found, and the girls are no longer running around using up any valuable time so close to the wedding!

Bridesmaid Jewellery

Quyen and I purchased the jewellery for the girls today! We didn't get diamond encrusted gold bracelets or earrings... no such lavish expense by us!

All girls will wear matching silver earrings, bracelets and necklaces. All have been purchased from the eQuip store in Imperial Arcade, Sydney.

They have been packed away to be pulled out on the day for the girls to wear.

Another thing off the list!

100 DAYS TO GO!!!

100 DAYS TO GO....YEEE HAAAAA!!!!!

Checklist...

Here is a transcript of an email sent from Winny to myself today... still a little bit to do...

Hey Bubbles,
I know you will need other details too, but here is a rough check list of wedding stuff :
# Appointment with Pippen
# Appointment with Tiziana
# Appointment with Father Peter
# Call Mark to ask him about Peters involvement with the paper umbrellas
# Drop into shop selling/hiring bamboos near your work
Patty is good for seeing the dress maker this Saturday. Got to call Josline and confirm that she's free. It's all starting to happen bubbles :)
Love you
The Pooh :)
(AKA Quyen)