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  • And Now a Break from our Regularly Scheduled Programming....

    YAY! YAY! YAY! It's BOOKED!

    WE ARE GOING ON A 12-DAY BALTIC SEA CRUISE TO THE SCANDINAVIAN CAPITALS!

    After we were married, Roger and I didn't go on a honeymoon nor did we go on minimoon. We have just had a very busy summer which I will blog about after my wedding recap. We decided we could go somewhere in February or in April when I have a week off from work, but decided that wasn't going to work since there weren't any locations we liked to go to during that time. I feared that we would not end up going anywhere if we wait too long to book something. Roger suggested going somewhere in Scandinavia after he saw a travel commercial about it. I mentioned that idea to a co-worker, and she said she knew someone who went on a Baltic Sea cruise. I looked it up on Norwegian Cruise Lines to see when the cruise would be available. PERFECT! There was a cruise leaving at the end of June (right after the school year ends) and lasts till the beginning of July. We decided this would be our Late Honeymoon/One-Year Anniversary Trip since we will be on the trip on our anniversary.

    We'll be boarding the Norwegian Jewel and spending 12 glorious days cruising and traveling to 7 different countries (including the departure city). The Norwegian Jewel was built in 2005 and is 965 feet long. It can hold 2,376 guests with a crew of 1,122 people. There are 13 dining options, 13 bars/lounges, 2 swimming pools, 6 hot tubs, a casino, and spa & fitness center. What I like about Norwegian Cruise Lines is that they have Freestyle Cruising. NCL is the only cruise line that offers anything lke it. There are no fixed dining times, you never have to eat at the same restaurant twice, you don't have to sit with strangers either, you only dress up if you want to, and you can choose to do whatever you want on the boat whenever you're free.


    Yes, I'm highlighting the ship, but I'm really excited about all the places we're actually going to....

    Without further ado, here's the itinerary:

    Depart London (Dover), UK on Sat, 06/27/09 at 4:00 PM

    At Sea on Sun, 06/28/09
    Arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark on Mon, 06/29/09 at 9:00 AM and depart at 6:00 PM

    Arrive in Berlin (Warnemuende), Germany on Tue, 06/30/09 at 7:30 AM and depart at 10:00 PM

    At Sea on Wed, 07/01/09
    Arrive in Tallinn, Estonia on Thu, 07/02/09 at 9:00 AM and depart at 5:30 PM

    Arrive in St. Petersburg on Fri, 07/03/09 at 8:00 AM and stay overnight

    In St. Petersburg, Russia on Sat, 07/04/09 and depart at 7:00 PM
    Arrive in Helsinki on Sun, 07/05/09 at 8:00 AM and depart at 5:30 PM

    Arrive in Stockholm, Sweden on Mon, 07/06/09 at 8:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM

    At Sea on Tue, 07/07/09 and Wed, 07/08/09
    Arrive in London (Dover) on Thu, 07/09/09 at 5:00 AM

    So for the next few months, I'll be researching each location to plan on what we want to do when we get off the boat. NCL sells excursions, but I want to do my own research first before we book any of those. My cousin lives and works in London so, we're planning to stay through the weekend after we get back from the cruise. If you have suggestions on what we must see at any of those locations, please share!

    I AM SO EXCITED! WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

  • gan bei! gan BEI! GAN BEI!

    I almost forgot to mention our Best Man and Matron of Honor Speeches. These took place before I did my dress change. Daniel and Joyce were both very nervous and are similar in so many ways. They're both the "middle" child and are the ones who live the farthest away from their parents. They both also had their speech written down on a piece of paper and would get lost at times as they were reading. Daniel didn't mess up this time (haha) as he did in Michigan, but he talked about how much I make Roger happy and about the first time Roger and I went on a date on the chocolate tour. Joyce, on the other hand, complimented Roger and talked about what I mean to her - her support, her president of her fan club (haha), etc. They were both great, sweet, and funny.

    After the speeches, I quickly went into the side changing room the restaurant provided that is specifically used for Chinese weddings. My mother and sister quickly started taking off jewelry and putting on jewelry and the red flower for my hair. I believe I changed within 10 minutes before I was announced again in my qi pao. This was the same qi pao I wore in Michigan, but it was fun wearing it again since a lot of my guests had never seen me in one in person.

    At this time, we started doing the table toasts with our parents and Roger's grandmother. We had 26 tables to toast and we allotted 30 minutes for this. We started off with my parents' friends tables since they were the closest to the head tables. As we went from table to table, the guests started cheering louder and louder. I had so much fun. Yun did a great job taking great pictures of each table toast.


    By the way, I love how my hair looks in the second picture. I knew my curls would eventually fall out a little - the way I wanted it to.

    Of course, we all carried tea in our cups. Occasionally, we would get to a table (I believe it was my Gund Kwok sisters and a Brandeis table) and someone would actually make us drink real alcohol. I refused, but Roger drank. HAH! I just didn't want to end up drunk on my wedding day. As for Roger, he definitely can drink more. By the time we got towards the end, I remember there were people popping the champagnge bottles open and friends standing on chairs. It was crazy loud, but so. much. fun.

    After we finished at a whopping record time of 15 minutes (even my DJs were impressed), we were back on schedule. As we headed back to our table to get a few more bites in, Sweet Caroline started playing. We did not plan on having it played during dinner, but it did. When it got to the chorus line, everyone who knows Red Sox started singing along. It was great! It was such a nice touch during dinner...thanks to my DJs!

    Next, two of our friends made a speech - Ben who was one of Roger's groomsman and is a childhood friend and Anthony who was my bridesman. Anthony went first and although not everyone could hear him, I could and that's all that mattered. Anthony and I have known each other for 9 years now. We both have changed and grown because of the other. Ben added a little more comedy and talked about when Roger and he were little. Both were great speeches.

    By this time, it was around 9:15pm and it was time to do my second dress change. I previously blogged about how I wasn't sure if I was going to wear the same evening dress as the one in Michigan or if I was going to wear a shorter one. I definitely made the right decision.
    (All images copyright Yun Gen Yang)

  • Bring 'em Out! Bring 'em Out! Bring 'em Out!

    I've been a bad blogger, so here's another LONG post.

    Normally, for Chinese banquet weddings, Asian Time is very apparent. We all know that if you put 6pm on an invitation, most Chinese guests (at least your parents' friends) won't show until around 7:30pm - when they believe dinner begins. I decided that was not going to be the case. On the invitations, (at least on the Chinese written side), we wrote something along the lines of "Doors open at 6pm. Dinner served at 7pm". I know it sounds like an invite to a club night, but if I wanted all guests to be there before our bridal party introductions, I needed to be explicit. Little did they know, I really didn't start dinner until a little after 7:30pm after all the intro events. My DJs who normally do Chinese banquet weddings were quite impressed that almost all of my guests arrived by the time we lined up for introductions.

    This portion of the night was by far one of the most exciting parts of the night. I mean, there were many exciting times, but the time before dinner sticks out in my mind. My bridal party lined up and were introduced to Just Like Heaven by the Cure. As Roger and I were introduced Bring 'em Out by T.I. played. It was fun coming out from the front entrance of the restaurant into the main area dancing to this song. I could tell that my guests (especially BGC) were quite satisfied with my song choice. Check it out...


    (Video was taken by my friend, Kim.)

    The empty table you see in the video was actually where part of my lion dance troupe sat. They were not there because they were getting ready for one of my favorite "events" of the night. I've been a part of Gund Kwok for a little over 2 years now, and I'm just absolutely honored to be part of such an amazing group of women. I'm even more honored that they performed at my wedding. Shameless plug: By the way, we perform weddings and will travel in the New England area. You never know, I may perform at your wedding! Ok, back to the recap. Gund Kwok = awesomeness. I couldn't have asked for more.


    (All images copyright Yun Gen Yang)

    When I saw them running out, I was overwhelmed and got teary-eyed. Being on that side of the performance felt surreal. I've always been passionate about lion dancing, but I know I have definitely grown strength - not only physically, but mentally - since I've been a part of this troupe. I owe it all to them.

    Towards the end of the performance, I see one of the lions hunched over some peanuts and seeds. I had no idea what they were doing. The other lion seemed to be dancing around keeping the crowd engaged while the lion with the peanuts and seeds did her thing. Finally, the lion moves away, and there I saw the double happiness character written in peanuts and seeds. Unfortunately, I forgot the significance of the seeds and peanuts. I believe it has something to do with fertility (haha). I was very impressed.

    After the lion dance performance, my troupe leader - Cheng Imm Tan - introduced the next performance - a thunderdrum routine. There were 8 drums set up on the floor and everyone thought they were just going to see a performance by my troupe. What they did not know was that I was going to play lead drummer. Yes, after my troupe leader introduced our routine called - Wedding Song for a Woman Warrior - I kicked off my heels and stepped in back of a drum. This was a surprise to all my guests including Roger.


    (Left: Taken by Andy, Roger's cousin - Right: Taken by Andre, Cindy's fiance)

    I messed up a couple of times, but I don't think anyone noticed other than my troupe members. I thought I did pretty well though after only 2 practices that happened over a week before the wedding. My guests definitely enjoyed this and many came up to me afterwards telling me that was the best part of the wedding.

    After I played, my troupe did one more performance - a new percussion routine that involved drums, gongs, and cymbals. It involved some chanting of wedding wishes in Chinese as well. My troupe leader's husband, Ken, created this piece (actually he writes all our music pieces), and my guests especially my parents and their friends loved it.

    Finally, it was time for our first dance. We kept it light and simple. We danced to The Last Goodnight's Good Love. Roger and I actually saw this band live at the Sky Bar in Somerville about two years ago when they were called Renata. Right after we saw them, we kept checking their website to see when they'll come back to Boston (They're from Connecticut.), but no luck. Finally, they sent out an announcement saying they have signed on with Virgin Records and are now called The Last Goodnight. They're best known for their singles Pictures of You and Stay Beautiful. Anyway, since then we have seen them a few times in concert at various venues around Boston. We consider them our

    Afterwards, we headed over to our cake table to make our first cut. Our cake was actually made by Roger's father's cousin who owns a bakery in Chinatown. They offered to make our cake for a gift, and we couldn't say no. The cake was beautiful and included the two doves I purchased off Ebay as the cake topper. By the way, the cake was delicious and fluffy as well. I love Chinatown cakes. So after eating a little piece of cake, Roger popped the cork of a bottle of champagne. The cork actually hit the wall and popped back towards our guests. The champagne bubbled over all over his hands. HAH! It was funny though....


    (All images copyright Yun Gen Yang)

    During this time, I had the kitchen start bringing out food since we were already running a little late. I literally sat and ate for about 15 minutes before I had to get up again and do my first dress change....

  • Park Pictures and the 2.5 Hour Gap

    After the receiving line, there was plenty of time to take pictures of the family, friends, and of course Roger and me. I especially love the ones of us around the park with the swan boats in the background. Originally, I made reservations with the Swan Boats to take pictures on one, but I decided at the last minute, that I didn't want to do it. I thought it would be a hassle to cut everyone in line and stop business for a little bit while our photog took pictures of us just sitting on the boat. Pictures with the boats behind us were good enough for me. These following pictures were some of my favorites of the day.


    (All images copyright Yun Gen Yang)

    We were done so early that we were back at the reception venue way before our guests arrived. Before the wedding, I was worried there was too much time in between the ceremony and the reception. I worried about what our guests would do. I realized that making this change in my schedule was one of the best things we did since we took our time taking pictures, my DOC (Helen Fong - who was also my make-up artist) had plenty of time to set-up, and I could actually relax before I would see all the guests again. I actually don't know what all my guests did during the time. However, I know my co-workers caught a movie - Wall-E - hahah! I hope the gap wasn't a huge inconvenience on anyone.

    After I arrived at Hei La Moon, I got the chance to relax and SIT! My feet were already hurting a bit (since I rarely wear heels), but I could last for a few more hours. I also had the time to check out each table to see how everything was set up. Helen even touched up my make-up for me!

    By this time, everything was going as planned, and I was excited to start the night. I just couldn't wait for everyone to arrive and when people started showing up (early!) that's when the rest of the night flowed and the craziness ensued....

  • The Receiving Line

    Originally, Roger and I did not want to do a receiving line.  I didn't think it would work since we were in the middle of a park.  Our guests could disperse in any direction they want vs. a church or a room where they could only leave through one exit.  However, I think it was Yun, my photographer, who asked if we were planning to do one right after we got past the top of the aisle.  On a last minute decision, we decided we would do it.  We stood there while Yun immediately went back to the guests to let them know we were doing a receiving line.

    I don't know about Roger, but I really enjoyed this. Only Roger and I received our guests.  It was nice to see people right after the ceremony.  The joy I saw on their faces only  made me more happy.  It gave us some personal time with each of our guests even though it was only for a moment.  We ended up taking a bunch of pictures with friends as they went through the receving line.  Unfortunately, I don't have any professional picture of this saved on my computer, but here are a few that my friends and family took.


    (top left: Gund Kwok, top-right: Sandy and Andy - Roger's cousins from Canada, bottom: Deis! Deis! Deis!)

     I actually don't know how long this took, but we still had plenty of time to take pictures with family, friends, and of just us around the park.  After the receving line, Yun took some of my favorite pictures of the day.....

  • Tourists Welcomed!

    grass As we lined up ready to begin the ceremony, I was told that Roger's grandmother was in the vicinity, but didn't know where the ceremony was. Apparently, someone dropped her off in some random location and she didn't know where she was supposed to go. Yeah, I'm not even going to explain what happened to her since it's silly, but Waiman (Roger's youngest brother) came to the rescue by running around the park, finding her, and bringing her to the ceremony. YaaaY Waiman!

    The procession began. I actually never saw the musicians that day. I heard them, but I never actually saw them until I saw the professional pictures of them playing. I found the two musicians on Cragislist. They were students from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge. They cost me $100 per person. I requested that they play "Come What May" by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. In a perfect world, I would've had the actual recording of that song playing, but we were in the park, so a violinist and a cellist were suffice.

    parkshot Before I walked down, I didn't know what to expect. I think I was nervous about everyone who was there and to be honest, I didn't really look at Roger that much as I was walking down. In the middle of walking down the aisle, I noticed that the ceremony location was surrounded.....not by guests, but by TOURISTS who were just in the park that day. I was later told that the tourists were literally standing or sitting and waiting for the ceremony to begin. Many of them stayed for the whole ceremony as if they were guests at my wedding. I actually didn't mind that at all, and really I should've expected it. I just didn't expect that it would be so crowded. Seeing the tourists there actually made it more fun for everyone. Anyway, like I said I was too distracted the whole time walking down the aisle, I didn't even really look at Roger. I was too busy thinking about my parents (who both walked me down the aisle) and all of our guests who were there to witness our ceremony. Seeing everyone there made it overwhelming. At one point when I almost reached the end, I took a look at one of my good friends, Alisa, and that's when it started to happened. Tears started to well up in my eyes. Good thing tears did not fall because that wouldn't have been pretty for pictures. That was the only time that day that any tears were in my eyes surprisingly. I held them in, and I finally reached Roger.

    vows ceremony The ceremony was amazing thanks to my officiant and good friend, Jeff. For those who don't plan on getting married in a church, I highly recommend a friend be an officiant for your wedding. I think it was one of the best ideas we made for the whole wedding, and it was a great decision to ask Jeff. Not only did he make it very personal by bringing in our experience of teaching (a passion of mine), but he made us laugh and laugh. I will forever remember the ceremony for how special and personalized he made it. Unfortunately, my vow didn't go as I planned, but I don't think Roger really cared. I definitely wanted to say more, but I actually drew a blank towards the end and didn't know what to say. Honestly, we both don't even remember what the other one said. However, we both have what we wanted to say written down. HAH! I think that's good enough. After we were pronounced husband and wife, music started playing (Ode to Joy), we kissed, and it was back up the aisle for Mr. and Mrs. Liu!
    hug
    hand *sigh* It was so exciting. Everyone (including the tourists) were cheering and clapping. BGC was thunderclapping (hehe)! It was great. Our ushers actually divided the guests - bride and groom side - even though we didn't plan on that. It was a great decision on their part since when we walked back up the aisle, all of my friends were closest to me, and I loved just seeing everyone smiling back at me as I walked hand in hand with my new husband.

    When we got past everyone, we actually didn't know where to stop or even where to go. We didn't plan on doing a receiving line since we were just in the park, but then we made a last minute decision.....
    kiss
    photos by Yun Gen Yang

  • Hottest Bridal Party

    Hello from Seattle! As I have said before, I have the great honor of being the matron of honor at Cindy's wedding in the Dominican Republic this December. Yesterday, we went to the Paper Zone and purchased a lot of materials we're going to use to make her invitations this week Today, we're having her bridal shower, and tomorrow, she's going to get her dress altered! YaaaaY! Wedding planning is so much fun! I think I'm having more fun than Cindy is, but I'm glad I can be here to help with whatever she needs. So, let's continue the story....

    It was a great idea to get the bridal party pictures in before the actual ceremony. They not only got to relax after the ceremony, but we had more time to take pictures of friends, family, and ourselves. I do have to say that there were literally 4 other bridal parties in the park. I even went up to one bride and yelled out, "Congratulations!" I normally don't holler at strangers, but I thought this was an appropriate time to do it so people wouldn't think I was weird. I also must add that out of all the bridal parties in the park that day, we were totally the hottest! HAH! I'm not saying that because they were my bridal party. We really were the best looking!

    ducks I planned that we enter on the other side of the park so that man of our guests don't see us. We took almost all our pictures on this side of the park. When we first entered the park, I knew we would meet the famous Make Way for Ducklings ducks first. I couldn't pass up the picture and told my photographer I wanted a picture with the ducks. He thought it was a bit strange and said, "Um...OK...I've never done this before." HAH! There's a first for everything, Yun. The pictures with the ducks came out great though. Then we were off taking pictures of the group, then the girls, then the boys, then individual shots with each person in our bridal party, and then a few pictures of just Roger and me. It was a lot of fun, and I'm happy I got to spend that private picture time with the bridal party. Random strangers even wanted to come take pictures with us. So for the rest of time, tourists have pictures of Roger and me.

    groupgroupwalking

    boys girls

    melissaalan

    sittingwalking2

    bridge yang00049_1
    photos by Yun Gen Yang

    I thought this whole experience would actually bring my nerves down for the actual ceremony, but it didn't....

  • You Forgot Your WHAT?

    One of my favorite parts of the day was when we were on the Old Town Trolley.  Although we were on it for a short period of time, my photog was able to take some great pictures!  This time was also memorable because this was when we realized, Roger forgot to wear his wedding band.  Yes, for all of you who attended my wedding, the ring I used to put on Roger's hand actually belonged to one of his groomsmen, Ben, who got married a little over a year ago.  During all the bachelor party festivities - paintballing and strip club, Roger didn't want to lose it or have anything happen to it, so he took it off.  Of course, the boy forgot to put it back on his finger on the most important day of his life.  I think everyone was waiting on how I would react.  I think even he was worried, but I shrugged it off and said, "Oh well, let's not get married." (teehee) Seriously though, it wasn't something to get upset about, but now I joke and say I got married to Ben instead of Roger.

    We left the hotel a little later than I planned as well.  Apparently, while my trolley driver was waiting for us to get on board, he saw an ambulance side swipe another car by accident.  So he had to give a witness report.  At first I thought the trolley guy hit someone or someone hit the trolley, so I was a little frustrated with him, but I soon learned that wasn't the case.   

    Anyway, it was just so nice being on the trolley since Roger and I spent some time on one (same trolley company) on our first date.
    Don't you just love these pictures?

    Beautiful!


    I'm thinking, "What an idiot!"
    Roger is thinking, "I forgot the ring. I'm an idiot, but at least Joanne still loves me." 

    Isn't this cool that all of them are sitting in their own seat? That was not planned, but it looks great for pictures!
    While we were riding towards the Public Garden, my bridesmaid Celicia starts hollering hello to everyone on the street.  People would yell back, and then we all started hollering at people.  It was a lot of fun!

    Now, it was time for pictures in the park....

  • Worst Blogger Ever

    Yes, that's me. I apologize for my lack of blogging.  Things have picked up at work, and by the time I get home from my extracurricular activities, I'm exhausted.  So, here I am at work.  I only have 15 minutes before I need to be off on my next task, but I thought I would continue my blogging of the happiest day of my life.  So, as I was saying...the ladies and I were off to see Roger for the first time that day.

    So, after we got into the elevator and it was heading downstairs, someone says, "Where's Cindy?"  Apparently, she went off to her room to grab something.  So as the door opens downstairs, I said, "Wait! Wait! Wait! I need everyone here before we leave this elevator."  So my bridesman calls her phone, but her fiance picks up saying that Cindy should be with us.  We go back upstairs, look around, but don't see Cindy.  We then found out, she was already downstairs. HAH! So, there we go again, back downstairs where Roger and I met. 

    It actually wasn't the way I pictured it, but then again...I didn't give Roger instructions on how I wanted us to meet for the first time that day nor did I give thos instructions to my photographer.  I pictured us by ourselves with our photog of course, but as I was walked out of the elevator, he was standing right in the middle of all his boys.  So, I walked up to him, and we hugged.  The first meeting was definitely anti-climatic for me, but oh well...the best was yet to come.

    It was now time to head to the Boston Public Garden on the best thing we rented that day. 

  • Yun Gen Yang

    Since I haven't posted in awhile, I'd like to treat you all with this! My professional pictures are back! WooHoo! Our photographer, Yun Gen Yang, is seriously the best ever. He took some amazing photos! We loved them all!



    Click here for his blog about us.


    Click here for our wedding slideshow! You really can't miss this!