Deep Ellum Bridals

Today, I am excited to share my bridals on the blog, and reminisce over that cool September evening exactly one month before the big day; walking around Deep Ellum and taking pictures in my wedding dress. I know not everyone chooses to take bridals before their wedding, but it is really a fun way to get some cool pictures of you in your dress and spend time getting to know your photographer as well. I had a hair and make up trial the day of my photos, which I was helpful, because I ultimately decided to wear my hair down and I had my make up artist make a few changes for the wedding day. The weather was amazing, and I didn't sweat a drop! 

Pro tip: 

-Hold your dress up as you are walking around. I held my train up, but pretty much forgot about the front of my dress and let it drag all over downtown Dallas. It was pretty dirty by the time we were finished.

-Have a friend come with you to help you with your train and hold your flowers. Kristina was the perfect friend and helper that day! :) 

Photo credit: Tressie Zellner of Two Pair Photography.

XO, Connie

Our Wedding Planning Timeline

Wedding planning is an interesting process and endeavor. Yung and I learned a lot about one another and it was truly a growing experience for us. I could feel my somewhat suppressed Type A personality slowly creep out from hibernation mode when I began thriving on lists, timelines, and excel spreadsheets. I learned that I function systematically. I had trouble starting tasks before certain ones were complete. It didn't make sense in my head to start thinking about flowers when we didn't know what kind of food we would be serving. We were not immediately overwhelmed by the tasks and decisions that are inevitable when planning for such an event. We were cruising on a pretty good plan and were able to take plenty of breaks in between and enjoy regular life stuff that did not involve the wedding. 

My personal freak out and stress began after the RSVPs began flowing in, and I realized that people were actually wanting to come. Somehow, that made things more real. 

Here is our wedding planning timeline that I jotted down after all the big decisions were made. Every decision came with many arduous hours of research because we were starting from scratch. We more than appreciated referrals from our venue and friends, because it really helped jump start our search.

October 25, 2015: Get ENGAGED!!!!!
November 2015: Enjoy being engaged! Start looking at bridal magazines and living in shock and disbelief.
December 2015: More magazines and books! Decide to have a wedding in Texas (vs Louisiana)
January: Book our venue!
February: Start wedding dress shopping! Begin Premarital Counseling!
March: Book our PHOTOGRAPHER and VIDEOGRAPHER! Book DJ! Finalize bridal party!! Order WEDDING DRESS!
April: Wedding break! Continue research!
May: Catering and cake tastings! Book our cake baker!
June: Book caterer!!! Take ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS! Save the dates go out!
July: Book florist! Ordered cake topper! Ordered INVITATIONS! Yung finalizes wedding party! Order veil! Book hair/make up!
August: Alll about the details :) :)  Finish Premarital Counseling!
September: Mail INVITATIONS! Bachelorette party! Makeup/hair trial! Take BRIDALS!
October: Bachelor party! Finalize details and timelines!

October 29, 2016: Let's get married!

Pro tips: 

-Take breaks often when planning a wedding. It is doubtful that your future spouse, girlfriends, mom, and colleagues want to hear about your Pinterest board and current dilemmas about band vs DJ vs both 24/7. 

-Go with your gut, but take your time. Too many opinions can be confusing. 

-Celebrate and treat yourself to something when a big decision has been checked off the list. Because it is fun! 
-In the end, all that matters is you are married, because that, after all, is the point. And you get to have all of your family and friends by your side and make them take selfies at midnight, the night before your wedding <3

Happy planning! 
XO, Connie 

Honeymooners in Jamaica

Yung and I were lucky enough to spend 4 nights and 3 full days honeymooning in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We booked the trip on a whim, as our original plan was to delay our honeymoon until 2017. We are so very happy that we had a little getaway. Did you know that weddings are exhausting? It was nice to slow down and enjoy island life for a bit.

We flew directly from Dallas to Montego Bay, Jamaica and took a 2 hour bus ride to our home for a few days. I had been to Jamaica once before for a couple hours during a cruise, but this was the first time I have spent an extended amount of time on the island, and it reminded me a lot of Malaysia.

We decided to honeymoon at Couples Resort Tower Isle, and it did not disappoint. It was an all inclusive resort with plenty of fun activities, but also the opportunity to relax and do nothing if that is your desire.

About 30 seconds after we got settled in, we headed to a beach party, which included the most delicious Jamaican foods. It was also our first real meal of the day at 7pm, and we loved it! That's also the night that both Yung and I got pulled up on stage during their show. The things you will do during your honeymoon!

Our favorite parts of the week included: beach time, relaxing on our balcony, late night french fry runs, pan fried snapper, fruit & cheese, complimentary couples massages, and turn down service. Seriously the best massage we have ever gotten and who doesn't love coming back from dinner to a sparkly clean room?

We went on two excursions that were included with our stay, and put in plenty of beach naps as well. 

Excursion #1: Dunn's River Falls. Dunn's River Falls is a famous waterfall in Ocho Rios. We went with a group from our resort, and it was a lot of fun.

Pro tips:
-Climbing the waterfall is not really for the faint-hearted. I advise moderate athleticism to feel completely comfortable with the climb, but there were plenty of children there, so I guess it's kid friendly? I'm just a weenie. 
-You will get wet. I didn't think we would get that wet, but you do. Everyone in our group wore swim suits with cover ups which worked fine. The only thing was, I kept Yung's phone in my swim suit top, so I had to make sure my top half did not get submerged in water. What we will sacrifice for a few selfies!
-Wear water shoes. There are some slippery rocks, and it's good to have foot wear with with a good grip during the climb.
-Have fun! It's a beautiful destination and nothing like we've ever seen! We had a great morning!

Excursion #2: Catamaran Cruise. We took a cruise around the Ocho Rios harbor which was supposed to be romantic, but we found out that neither one of us is a big fan of boats going up and down in the water. Swimming in the Caribbean was very fun, but focusing on not getting sea sick was not that enjoyable. There was plenty of rum punch and reggae music to settle our stomachs though.

The waters were beautiful, and we loved sipping pina coladas while we were rained out for a couple hours.

Every meal was truly an exciting event. We kind of love food, just a little bit.

Yes, this picture is dark, but focus on the blue waters....... :)

We miss you, Jamaica! Thank you for a great time! 
Happy 2 week wedding anniversary to us! 
XO, Connie 

So...We Got Married

Once upon a time, a boy fell in love with a girl. He asked her to marry him and she said yes. They planned for a year long engagement and worked out the finite details of their wedding. Questions like 'Brown shoes or black shoes?' 'Should flowers go on the chairs for the ceremony?" "Where do we find an adorable, but slightly promiscuous cake topper?" and "Hair up or hair down?" invaded their minds for just over 365 days when that special magical night arrived at last. In the blink of an eye, the wedding flew by and they said adios to a week in Jamaica and married life began. 

And the end. 

Or really, the beginning!

So...yes! We got married! I am still adjusting to the idea of having a boy in my life permanently (it feels completely natural, yet surreal) and still getting used to the idea of our engagement. Somehow, time passed and we made it to our wedding day. 

We are seriously so excited and have already been planning what is next to come. I want to finish my 30 before 30 list and have a myriad of the goals in mind. I am mentally processing the fact that I turned 30 about a month ago, so my list may need some editing. 31 before 31? We have to consolidate our belongings and move in together. Our first holidays as a married couple are rapidly approaching. Christmas cards, anyone? We are getting started with our wedding thank you cards. We still can't believe people actually showed up at our wedding. It was truly unbelievable. 

In the meantime, I will be documenting details from the past year and sharing memories from wedding planning in all of its glory. I am also waiting for my next friend to get engaged ASAP so I can pass on my newfound wisdom and offer to make a timeline for them. Because who doesn't love a good timeline? 

Thank you for reading along! 

GIF credit: Aaron Lin

XO, Connie Lin Tsai 

He's For Keeps

Just like babies hit their developmental milestones, Yung and I are hitting wedding planning milestones left and right. We took our engagement photos on June 29, 2016 and anxiously waited 53 days to see them. We love our photographers and will be bragging on them and all of our amazing hand picked vendors post-wedding.

I was a little sick on photo day. I transmitted whatever I had to Yung and it mutated into a horrible prolonged fever and eventually pneumonia for him. Awful.

This was probably the moment that I spread my germs.

:(

It was also a very warm summer day, which made for an exhausting two hours of smiling. We changed outfits in our car, which is always an interesting feat. We had a great time exploring downtown and walking down streets and alleys that we have never encountered before.

We will always remember this season in our lives as the dreamer stage. Although we are grounded in our grown up lives, we also love to dream about the future and all of its possibilities. Hopefully that will never go away <3

Cheers to love and dreams~
xx
Connie

Photo Credit:
Two Pair Photography