This is princess320842's Purple Wedding!

One more thing done! After looking all over St. Louis and only finding things we can’t afford, Victor suggested that we check with his sister-in-law who works at a restaurant that does weddings. It turns out that the place is really lovely and she is going to give us some sort of discount. Got to love that family connection.

Yea!!! We go the church booked. We had to change the date a few times (We originally wanted the end of the month) but it’s all over now.

Vistaprint is great. My save-the-dates came in and they look excellent. I can’t wait to send them out!

After working forever on these and getting nowhere, Victor came in and in no time fixed it just the way I wanted. We ordered them today and I can't wait to see how they look.

I found some typing paper at the dollar store and the to-do lists at Michaels. I think I will put the lists in my bridesmaids bags and maybe print weekend schedules on the typing paper.

I want to use tulips as my main flower but have some questions. Are tulips going to be available in June? Do you think they will get lost against a white dress? We really don’t have any other colors going in the wedding. I need some help.

I want to do something on my church pews but
A) I don’t know if it is allowed
B) I can’t find anything I like
C) I don’t want to spend a ton of money

Does anyone have some good ideas on how they are decorating the church? I am not liking the ideas of bows so what would be my other options?

Here is my beautiful ring. I picked out the setting and Victor's Mom helped choosing the diamond. It is just what I wanted.

I wanted to give the girls something that they might actually use and then someone (I think dd977chic) found some damask print bags that I loved. I was planning on ordering them online but the next day I went shopping at a local discount store and found just what I wanted and for only $15 each. Now I want to get each embroidered with their name and filled with stuff they will need for the day.

Victor has such a sweet tooth that I thought it would be nice to do a candy bar as our wedding favors. I am planning on using only back and white candies to match the theme. Also to incorporate his Asian background we are going to get small Chinese food takeout boxes for the candy to go in. Right now I am planning on stamping each box with a damask stamp but I guess we will see how much I actually have time for :)

I also found a picture of someone doing milk and cookies as a favor - something we completely love but where would we find the small bottles of milk?

I am so in love with this black and white damask print. I think I found a fabric store online that I can order from so I am planning on making table runners for each of my tables. Hopefully they will turn out ok. I am also planning on using that print on my save-the-dates and maybe on cocktail napkins or place cards. I just don’t want it to overwhelm the wedding.

I have found a centerpiece that I love and want to do for the wedding. It is tulips in a square vase wrapped with a ribbon and adorned with our monogram. I am so in love with this idea. Hopefully we can find the right vases and get our hands on some white tulips. Anyone else using white flowers? Are you having your bridesmaids carry the same flowers are you? I also found some confetti for the tables that I think might look neat…acrylic diamonds. What do you think?

Still planning what I want the tables to look like. I have stolen some pictures from various sites for some good ideas. Have a look and tell me what you think.

I love the idea of a very graphic black and white cake. Victor and I haven’t even met with a bakery yet but we sure do have some very specific ideas about what we want. I like the idea of using black fondant cutouts so hopefully that is something that our bakery can do and we can afford. I really want a chocolate chip cake but Victor said last night that he wants lemon (yuck!) Maybe we can do a lemon groom’s cake.

We finally settled on the church that I love, even though it is more expensive than I thought a church should be. We sent in our paperwork and deposit last Monday and they still haven’t contacted us back. We emailed them on Sun and still no response. This is driving me crazy! I don’t want to work on other things like invitations or save-the-dates because I don’t know if that is really going to be our date…this is so frustrating…and Victor just wants to sit and wait. If I don’t hear anything soon I don’t know what I’ll do.

We are just beginning to look for churches and I am amazed at how expensive they are to have a wedding at. The church I fell in love with is almost 1,000. If anyone is in St. Louis and knows of a small affordable church please let me know. Everyone else, what are you paying for your ceremony location?

I like the idea of a black invitation with big graphic damask print in white. Can I get some opinions on it? Also how can I do this the cheapest? Will Kinkos or Staples give me the best price or should I go through an invitation company? I don’t mind doing some DIY as I have over a year to plan and get ready. I just hate the thought of spending 200-300 on invitations that will just get thrown away eventually. Help!

Does anyone have any ideas on how to incorporate any type of Vietnamese traditions either in the ceremony or the reception? I would love some websites or books that someone has used in the past. I would talk to his mom but she doesn’t speak English very well and I kinda want to keep it a surprise for Victor.

Victor and I met in September of 07 and really hit it off. We had so much in common and really loved spending time with each other. The only problem was he said he would not be willing to think about marriage for at least two years. I said ok (even though I thought it was a long time) and we started dating and fell in love. After just nine months we had already gone ring shopping and started marriage planning. The two year thing kind of went by the wayside.

Anyway, Victor’s mom convinced him to get a new Asian style suit (which I love) and when it finally came in I said, “Lets go out to a nice dinner”. So I went and got a new dress and got all fixed up. Victor had never actually come to my house to pick me up for a proper date so he said he would come and “call on me” When he got there he handed me my favorite flowers (tulips) and we took some pictures. I put the flowers in some water and started to grab my stuff and then Victor said, “Wait, lets talk.” He said he loves me which I replied “I love you too” and that he was so glad we found each other and was thankful that we get along so well. By this time I was just like I know all this, lets go to dinner. Then he said, “I have something else for you” And me like the idiot I am said, “You already brought me flowers what else could you have?” Which is when he reached in his pocket, pulled out the ring, dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him.

I am sure he said some lovely things but as I was crying so hysterically I will just have to imagine. Of course I said yes and the sweetest thing was that he had originally planned to propose at the restaurant but he knew that I would cry and my mascara would run and so he did it at the house so that I could go and fix my makeup. After we went to dinner we went to a friend’s house and everyone congratulated us. When I called my parents, before I could say anything they congratulated us as well. It turns out that Victor went and asked permission about two months earlier.

I am newly engaged and already overwhelmed with the choices and decisions I have to make. I have decided on a black and white theme and was hoping for some help. We are on an extremely limited budget (I am a teacher) so the money isn't exactly rolling in. Any helpful hints would be appreciated. I really love the damask pattern and the idea of using our monogram wherever possible.