Can you relate to these weird nuances from your culture? Share with us!

The article trailer begins here:

Being part of many weddings, I’ve seen the unique differences among traditions, but some through funny cultural quirks. If you’re Korean but you hire a non-Korean wedding planner or coordinator, there are several things you may want to tell them, maybe even warn them about. If you’re not Korean but you can relate to these quirks, you can empathize with me….or maybe there’s some Korean in your blood, too.

Yes, Koreans are weird. Just admit it. But everyone has their own quirks. Hopefully this list doesn’t offend you, and if it does, you are part of the guilty party! But there’s no shame in it. And I say top 5 here because the list could go on and on. Share this list with your coordinator and you’ll be good to go!

1. Late start – Invitations say ceremony at 4pm? Try 4:30 or even 5:00. The larger the wedding, the later it starts. You cannot stop the large droves of people that will show up between 4:00-4:20. And if you try to stop them before the bride walks down, they will let themselves in and try to beat the bride down the aisle.  It’s difficult to argue with wedding guests that are on Seoul time.
2. Centerpiece thieves – Asian people love free. Did you say, “free?” These table centerpieces are better than gold. Don’t use items in the centerpiece that you will miss when they get snagged by all the tiger mom’s in the room. If the venue provides centerpieces, you may want to warn them that they won’t get all of their items back.

Photo Source: http://www.chinatraderonline.com

In certain cultures, the groom receives gifts of a watch and/or a suit. Because the watch and suit are more of a personal taste, many grooms are given the choice to select their own gift. I’ve been given the opportunity to choose a watch for myself, so I’ve been spending a lot of time learning about watches. Listed below are 3 things I’ve learned along the way that may help you in your search:

1. Watches are generally powered by battery, solar, motion, or by hand. Battery, solar, and some motion powered watches use electricity and quartz crystals to keep time. Seiko makes a line of “Kinetic” watches which convert motion into an electrical charge, stored in a rechargeable battery, allowing them to use a quartz movement. Other motion powered watches (also known as mechanical or automatic) tend to have no electrical components. The “reserve charge” is a spring that powers the watch even when the watch is not moved for a period. Hand wound watches need manual turning of the crown to wind the spring.

2. The following paragraphs from http://www.chronocentric.com/watches/accuracy.shtml#quartzvsmech explain how the accuracy and consistency of a quartz watch and a mechanical watch compare:

“The day-to-day performance of quartz is much more consistent than mechanical under identical conditions. Quartz performance is affected mainly by temperature changes and weakened batteries. So a quartz watch that you measured to gains 0.5 second yesterday will be consistently increasingly off correct time by about that amount. You can be pretty certain that in 60 days, it will be about 30 seconds off. At the end of a year, it would be likely be over 180 seconds off.”

“Compare that to a mechanical watch that you measured to gain 2 seconds yesterday. It would seem that our example quartz watch is 4 times more accurate than this. But while the daily measured daily variations seem much higher, they are not likely to be as consistent, so will have a dampening effect. You cannot accurately predict that this mechanical would therefore be off by 120 seconds at the end of the same 60 days. It might be right on time, or it may be 200 seconds off. That broader range of variations allows most mechanical watches to stay closer to correct time than the daily variation rate implies. Over a year, some mechanicals can on average stay closer to correct time without having to be reset than a quartz watch might.”

3. With cell phones and laptops, a watch is not as necessary for time keeping as in the past. Since cell phones can get the time automatically by signal, it can be more accurate than any quartz or mechanical watch. Buying a watch is not merely about accuracy in telling time but about personal style. To some, it can be a status symbol (e.g. Rolex has successfully marketed itself as a status symbol over the years).

Ok, so you might be thinking this is interesting but what watch did I choose? I haven’t yet, but I’ve narrowed it down to the Citizen Eco-Drive World Perpetual A-T, Mondaine Sport I Gents Chronograph, and the Orient Journeyman. Before my research, I never even heard of Mondaine or Orient, but here’s a short synopsis of each brand and where I’ve found has the best deal for each brand:

Photo Source: certifiedwatchstore.com

Citizen is one of the top three watch companies in Japan (along with Seiko and Orient). Their Eco-Drive watches are solar powered. The specific model I chose is an atomic watch (it receives a radio signal and automatically sets the time). It is also a world watch, meaning I can choose the city closest to my time zone and it will automatically set the time for that location. Their watches tend to be water resistant up to 200m. Basically, it’s the most technologically advanced watch of the bunch. The styling is simple and not too busy. The best price I found for this watch was at certifiedwatchstore.com . BUT, they are not an authorized dealer so you don’t get the manufacturer’s warranty. Instead, they offer their own warranty equal to the length of the manufacturer’s warranty. They are a wholesaler rather than a dealer, so that’s how they can offer those low prices. They got high ratings on resellerratings.com and I’ve also checked on them with the BBB in NY and they seem to have a good record. Factoring in that the only time you should need the warranty is for repairs or battery replacement (eco-drive watches don’t need battery replacement), this may be a great website to buy from.

Photo Source: http://www.mondaine.com

Mondaine is the official watch of the Swiss Railways. Their design prioritizes visibility and looks stylish at the same time. Although the model I chose is not the “classic” version, it is a very classic (and classy) looking watch which I would be glad to have commemorate my marriage. Various online stores sell Mondaine watches but my model was out of stock in most. I’d start with their website mondaine.com and check out their dealers because I’ve noticed that even the authorized dealers of Citizen watches (e.g. jewelry stores) offered a 20% discount from the MSRP.

Photo Source: http://www.orientwatchusa.com

Orient is a relatively unknown brand in the US. They focus mainly on mechanical watches and are now part of Seiko. Orient recently began targeting the US market using the website orientwatchusa.com . If you go on their website, it shows you a 30% coupon code (mardigras11), but I discovered through watching their video reviews that they have a 50% coupon code (Affordable50), and it works during checkout. I’ve checked reviews on Orient watches and it’s hard to find a negative review. I had a question about how mechanical watches handled dates (since months have different days) and I found it hard to contact the company. My emails haven’t been replied to and when I called their phone number, it went directly to voice mail with a greeting more like a personal mailbox than one for a business. So although the products seem to be great, I don’t know what their service would be like.

I hope that this has been an informative and interesting read. For most people, choosing a watch will not be a drawn out research project as mine has been, but I enjoyed it. Please feel free to share any insights or deals that you come across!

Close to 200 cards were hand done!

I went to a lovely multicultural wedding that was chock full of ideas to steal. The bride was an unusually talented woman of Chinese descent with a knack for DIY and a flower arranging class under her belt, and the groom was a patient man of Japanese descent who was good at following directions. In this case, the bride and groom had a theme of the color red and paper cranes follow throughout their ceremony and reception. This worked well with their cultural backgrounds, but even if this isn’t your culture, you can see how cute the results are. And, there really is nothing to stop you from incorporating some neat origami into your wedding.

Using florist wire, paper cranes were added to the centerpiece, looking almost as though they were flying. Additional cranes in different sizes were scattered on the tables in lieu of confetti.

For the DIY inclined, I’ll give you a few tips from this savvy bride so you can perhaps copy some of her grand ideas. 1) Take a flower arranging class. Just one will help a ton! 2) Plan in advance where you will order your flowers in bulk. Markets and also wholesale clubs can be good for this. 3) Do practice runs of your centerpieces; maybe do your bridal shower arrangements or the like. 4) Don’t do your own calligraphy, but rather, print everything on the computer and trace with metallic pens…no one will ever know! 5) For the overly enthusiastic and perhaps DIY disinclined, calculate costs. When you factor in your practicing, mistakes, and time, it may be cheaper to hire someone. 6) Have a plan B!

Tiny paper cranes were stapled on the corner of each cardstock escort card. The cards were first printed on the computer and then traced with metallic pen.

They began their reception in trendy American wedding attire. Photo Source: Baltazar Photography

They celebrated Jocelyn's Chinese heritage by wearing trendy traditional Chinese attire. Photo Source: Baltazar Photography

They changed into trendy traditional Korean clothing. Photo Source: Baltazar Photography

Then Jocelyn wore another Chinese dress with the traditional wedding red color which represents good luck, while David wore his suit. Photo Source: Baltazar Photography

When the dancing started, David flaunted his belt buckle and sneakers ........ (Photo Source: Baltazar Photography)

..... while Jocelyn rocked out in her party clothes and notice the shoes! (Photo Source: Baltazar Photography)

The couple was busy with the many wardrobe changes during the reception but it was worth it to celebrate and honor all three (American, Chinese, and Korean) traditions. Congratulations Jocelyn and David! Now newlyweds in NYC. :O)

More pictures of their wedding and reception to come!

presents

Celebrate Your Culture

by Amanda

When planning a wedding, some of our clients come to us with specific cultural tea ceremony requests from Chinese Tea Ceremony to Paebaek Ceremony (Korean ceremony) to many others.

Above is a collage of several Paebaek ceremonies that we helped produce. We love seeing the Paebaek ceremony unveil…. it’s full of color and eventful. From paying respect to the honorees and catching dates and chestnuts (symbolizing girls and boys that the couple will have).

A little background on the Paebaek Ceremony:
Paebaek ceremony is a traditional Korean ceremony usually performed at weddings. It takes place after the wedding ceremony and its an intimate event limited to family members. However, modern couples now do this in front of guests as well. For those who have not seen this tea ceremony before, its truly an eye opening experience.

About Our Guest Blogger

Amanda, co-owner of Fresh Events Company, is a talented wedding planner from the Los Angeles area. She delights in wow-ing her clients with her design talents and creating memorable weddings.

So where can you get one? Here are a few places to look:

1. Chinese wedding photo studios such as True Love Wedding (based in New York): these places provide packages that can include all or an a la carte of these services: photographer, videographer, limosine, hair/makeup, and dress rentals. The bride goes in a couple of weeks before the wedding day and pick out the dress.

2. Your mother’s closet…Or your future mother-in-law’s or even your aunties. I’m pretty sure they wore one of these form fitting beauties on their wedding day. Wouldn’t it be amazing to wear the same dress your mother wore 30 or so years ago?

3. Custom tailor shop. I have to admit, those are a bit scarce in the US. You can do some scouting at the Chinatown in your metropolitan area or pay a visit to Asia.  Lai’s Royal Tailoring (based in New York) has been making qipao’s for over thirty years.

Husband and Wife

Luckily for me, my parents were taking a vacation to Asia several months before my wedding.  They took my dimensions and got two dresses custom made for me in China.

Did you or are you going to wear a qipao on your wedding day? Where did you get your qipao?

One of the first and most important thing a couple has to decide on when planning a wedding is THE DATE. For me, that was the key to my continued happiness with… my mother. I have been cautiously warned by my sister (who got married 2 years ago) if there was anything she can replan, it was her date. Let me explain. She and her husband had picked the Fourth of July to join in matrimony. However, my mom was adamantly against that date because it was not an auspicious date. So now, everytime there is a small mishap in their household (like the toilet clogging) or some misunderstanding between husband and wife, my mother would remind my sister that its because she didn’t get married on an “auspicious” day.

So what are auspicious dates, where do they come from and how do we pick one?

Auspicious dates are precasted in the Chinese almanac call the Tong Shu, which a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years. This book was very popular among Chinese families since the Qing dynasty, but not so well known to younger generations nowadays. Other than the almanac, these dates are also printed on traditional Chinese calendars. My parents usually get them from Chinese grocery stores around the new year. For more traditional Chinese families, they would take the groom’s and bride’s dates of birth and times to a master. The master will than calculate a lucky day for the couple.

So after some review of the Chinese calendar with my parents, we picked out a few dates in the Fall of 2009 that fell on a Saturday. We started to venue search with these dates and came back extremely disappointed. Most of the venues have already been booked since it was less than a year away. So we went back and forth from the calendar to venues, and the final date turned out to be Friday, August 28th, 2009. It was glorious for a few reasons:

1. It was an auspicious date, which GT’s grandmother pointed out when we first mentioned it to her. I wonder if she memorized all the auspicious dates ever since our engagment. So both sides of the families were extremely happy.

2. The weather should be cooler by the end of summer.

3. We were able to negotiate a lot more with the caterer since it was a “non Saturday” event.

Bear in mind that although auspicious dates have been a long Chinese tradition, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitiously. GT and I are not too superstitious of many Chinese traditions but we wanted to do this mainly for our grandparents and parents who have strong beliefs about them. We realized that our wedding day is not just about the two of us but really about our two separate families joining as one.

Double Happiness Cake

Did you have your wedding on a lucky day? Or are you considering one?

Something Old:

This is a symbol for the bride’s family and her past before the marriage.  Jewelry is a common “something old”, but some other ideas are handkerchiefs, passed down wedding gowns, wedding veils or other parts from past generation’s wedding outfit.  As a bride, I am going to be wearing the diamond earrings that my dad gave my mom as a wedding gift more than 30 years ago.

Something New:

This is a symbol for the bride’s new life she will soon start. My “something new” is also a gift from my parents, which are the other pieces of jewelry that I’ll be wearing at the wedding– necklace and bracelet. Some other ideas are wedding gown, shoes, or lingerie.

Something Borrowed:

This is something that will remind the bride that her friends and family are there for her should she ever need their love and support. I borrowed a wedding veil from my good friend, Patty who is a recent newly wed.  She is blissfully married to her husband, so maybe some of her joy would be passed on.

Something Blue:

Blue symbolizes faithfulness and loyalty in some cultures. However, it doesn’t quite go with the color scheme of the modern bride’s white outfit. So the most common “something blue” is often the garter since it is well hidden under the dress.  Since we are not doing a garter toss, I bought a pair of lace panties from Victoria’s Secret.

What is your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue?

Elyse & Brad's Wedding

It’s all about destination weddings this year. In June it was San Francisco, then there was Honolulu! The thought of just going to Hawaii was a dream. Now having a wedding in Hawaii, this was heaven. The wedding was held at a beautiful hotel by the beach in Waikiki called Halekulani Hotel.

The ceremony was in the center courtyard of the hotel.  The bride wore a gorgeous flowing dress designed by the maid of honor, Jeny Lee.  The bridesmaids and she were also wearing a dress she designed.    It was a beautiful turquoise dress that had accompanied the bride’s dress very well.

I loved how the couple incorporated their different cultures during the reception.  Brad is Chinese and to celebrate his culture, there was a lion dance in the beginning of the party.  It is usually performed as a ceremony to summon luck and fortune. Spectators can hand feed “lucky money” in red envelopes into the lion’s mouth to provide the giver with luck. To get the lions started, each table had a dozen or so balloons, which the guests popped with toothpicks to imitate firecrackers.  The lion dance was one of my favorite highlights of the wedding.  I absolutely loved it!

Near, the end of the reception, they celebrated Elyse’s Korean culture with a tea ceremony.  Along with a series of events, tea was offered to both Elyse and Brad’s parents.  After all the formal gestures, Brad picked up Elyse on his back and carried her out! That was so much fun to watch.

Have you been to a wedding where they incorporated different cultures of the bride and groom? Have you ever been to a wedding in Hawaii? Tell me about it.