Tuesday before the Wedding

We moved into the beach house today...it was definitely an interesting experience. Well, first of all Schrader's made a boo boo, and was overbooked. They apologized profusely and put us in several beachhouses along the water and comped out first night which was pretty amazing since it ended up being 4 houses that were pretty cool. We do have to do some shuffling tomorrow again to move into our real accommodations, but it all worked out in the end. Schrader's Inn is quite a location. There's a HUGE steep driveway that leads to the beachhouses. You really want to make sure the car has good breaks. It is in the middle of Kaneohe with some great views of the ocean and river that runs alongside the beachhouse. It is definitely the atmosphere I wanted to give our guests, hometown Hawaii. It's not glamorous like Waikiki, but you kind of feel like sitting on the lanai with a mudslide or something.

We had an impromptu BBQ at the Kalihi house because relatives from my dad's side also arrived. It was a lot of fun eating outside in the drizzling rain and singing karaoke (inside) of course.

Well, that's all for now. I am really beat. There's still quite a lot to do!

The boys are going to pick up their tuxes. I have to start prepping the table center pieces. There's a bridal shower tomorrow at 5 pm - 10 pm. That's when we'll see everyone that arrived by Wed. We're going to have a really busy day!

Monday before the Wedding

Monday was quite hectic with 3 rushes of people coming in, all of Paul's family including Paul himself who came at the end at 9 PM. There was a lot of shuffling back and forth between the airport and the hotel in Waikiki. I actually have a lot to tell, but it's getting late. Although, I am happy to report that everyone arrived safe and sound after a 5 hour + flight from Wisconsin and California. And so it finally begins! The pressure is on!

Bridal Shower Information

Here's the Bridal Shower Information:

Something Borrowed

I just talked to my Auntie Dely, and she's going to let us borrow her coins for the coin ceremony. Here's a little thing I found on the internet that will explain what the tradition is:

"In one Catholic wedding tradition, the groom gives the bride an Arras - a container of 13 coins. In addition to being a sort of dowry, the Arras symbolized the groom's promise (and ability) to support his family. In wealthy families, the Arras consisted of 13 gold or silver coins. Those less well off have used gold-plated small denomination coins, or tokens."



There's actually all sorts of traditions and meanings with arras. Sometimes the parents give it to the groom, etc. So we're kind of changing the tradition up a little bit. Since the whole wedding has been about combining Paul's culture and mine. We're going to do half American money and half Filipino money, to meld both cultures together. Also, my Aunties (Sponsors) on my mom side are going to help us out with presenting the coins. It should be an interesting addition to our wedding ceremony.

Thank you, Auntie Dely! It's going to be a great contribution to our wedding day.

Alterations DONE

Yesterday, I picked up my bridal gown from Alterations by Luz in Waipahu. I was kind of anxious to see how the hemming and bustling turned out. My dress is kind of special because it doesn't have a straight back. there's a flap that comes around and fastens to the other side, and so Luz had to do some special magic and pinning and buttonings to make it fall nicely. I tried on the dress, and first of all it fit perfectly. So far I haven't gained any extra weight since I've been in Hawaii which so hard being surrounded by so much good food and mom's cooking. We've been trying to go to Magic Island to run/walk every other day or so. And secondly, the bustle was really cute. It looked really elegant, and Luz did a really good job. My mom was there trying to figure out where to tie all the ribbons and snap all the clips so that she would be ready for the big day. I think Mom got it down. So that is one less thing to worry about. I can't post any photos yet, just in case Paul stumbles across this blog, but I'll post some later on.

Finalizing the Menu

Tomorrow is the day we set the final guest head count and finalize the menu. For all those who are curious, here it is:

We will be having a buffet style reception:

Chilled Items
1. Broccoli Florets with Crab Salad & Creamy Dressing
2. Baked Potato Salad with Chedar Cheese, Sour Cream & Onion, Bacon Bits
3. Island Style Potato & Macaroni Salad
4. Chinese Chicken Salad, Crispy Won Ton Pi, Peanuts & Cilantro, Soy Sesame Dressing
5. Cheese Tortellini Primavera Salad with Creamy Pesto

Starch
White Rice and Chow Mein Noodles

Hot Entrees
1. Chef Dwayne's famous Luana Hills Roasted Honey Hoisin Glazed Chicken
2. Local Style Teriyaki Beef (Chef Dwayne's Ono Teriyaki Sauce!)
3. Hawaiian Style Kalua Pig and Cabbage
4. Baked Soy Ginger Salmon with Garlic Olive Oil

Desserts:
1. Wedding cake: Strawberries & Creme
2. Luana Hills Bread Pudding with Creamy Caramel Sauce
3. Macadamia Nut Cream Pie
4. Double Chocolate Fudge Cake

We wanted to have a mix of American food with a touch of local style especially since we will have a lot of out-of-town guests and a lot of local guests. I think our menu will cater to all sorts of eaters even the picky ones.

Bamboo Harvesting

So I was talking to my dad about figuring out some decoration for the reception when I was in California. He mentioned to me that he had a ton of bamboo growing on the lot. He said that he could probably cut it up and make something with it for me. So I was able to visit this bamboo grove to see what he was talking about. It was actually quite a hike to get there. This is undeveloped land so we're talking about a Hawaiian rainforest (no trails) and on top of a mountain (the Ko'olau range). I had to wear long sleeves (there's tons of mosquitos), long pants, and heavy duty hiking shoes. We hiked about a half an hour lugging a chainsaw (I didn't have to carry the chainsaw), and I found out what my dad was talking about. There's this small grove of giant bamboos in the middle of the forest. The stalks thicker were than my arms and they grow about 20-30 ft high at least. It was incredible. I didn't know what harvesting this bamboo would entail, but it was still an amazing experience. We cut 2 stalks and into smaller manageable pieces, slide them down the mountain, and then we brought them home to cut into smaller pieces. I think I must have burned a 1000 calories that day. It was actually a lot of fun, and I got to spend some time with my dad. He talked to me about spirits in the mountains and because this was their home we should always acknowledge that they are there. There's lots of Hawaiian myths and burial grounds in this area, and Hawaiian lore and stories of bad luck pop up when they have been disturbed. It was really interesting. He also shared with me life in the Philippines, and how they used to plant tons of bamboo to prevent waters from flooding their homes. They harvested it for everything from building houses to bamboo shoots for food. There was a certain way and time to cut it. I really didn't know bamboo was so much of our culture, and after all this, I am really grateful that we were able to integrate this element in the wedding.

Here are some photos:

I didn't have a camera on me when we cut the bamboo in the rainforest, but here's a photo of us cutting the bamboo at home in smaller pieces.


Basically, how we will use these is to place them in random (yet good luck numbers) groupings on the table. Some will have candles in them, some will have nothing, some will have a flower bud inside or on the outside. We'll add some ribbon and such for accents. At least that is the plan...


These are photos from the lot:

Nothing but foliage


The view from the "base" of the lot

Photos of the Final Invitations...

By request in response to the blog about the final invitations, I've posted some photos. I hope that my camera skills give it justice.

Envelope and Invitation Front


When you Open up the Invitation: Enclosed is the Venue Information, Admit 1 tickets, and Bridal Party Information


This is the close up of the Bridal Party Information.


This is the close up of the map.


This is the close up of the Admit One tickets.


Hope you like it.