Notes

We were very happy to find that Lincoln Plaza Hotel had become available on our wedding date especially on such short notice.  We needed a place that can hold more than 300 guests without the extra costs other places were charging at the same time had the flexibiity and capacity to have our ceremony and reception all at the same place. 

Lincoln Plaza Hotel, though a bit old and shows some signs, is actually quite nice.  For the price you would pay at a Chinese restaurant, you can have it at a hotel.  I'm also really glad to hear so many positive reviews on their food from fellow relatives who've eaten there for other weddings they have attended.  Banquet menus range from $388 - $548 which includes coke, sprite, and club soda.  Dance floor and stage are at no charge.  Also, no corkage fees or cake cutting fees.   Free parking in structure which connects to the hotel. 

Notes

After going to bridal studios all over Temple City and bridal boutiques, I came across Amy Bridal.  I was surprised that they carried really nice name gowns such as Maggie Sottero, Casablanca, Mary's, etc.  You can buy or rent your gown there.  If you rent, the price is fantastic and the gowns are clean.  You can get gowns that have not even been worn before.  If you decided to rent, you get the entire package (veil, gloves, tiara, petticoat, etc) and she will alter it for you for FREE!   I love her selection in gowns as they are new and updated.  She also has bridesmaid dresses, tuxes, and flower girls dresses too. 

Notes

We were very elated when we found LKD for the thank you cards with photo.  It's the kind where the guest takes their pictures with the bride and groom and the guest get the photos back before the end of the wedding.  William's pictures were very good and his pricing is awesome!  He also gives the duplicates in a very nice album too.  He also takes very nice, clean, crisp, and sharp wedding day photos too.  He does try to get some candid shots in there, but his style is more Asian style basic photography.  We are very glad we made this choice.

Notes

I interviewed Howard with my fiance.  We both liked him immediately because he sounded pretty cool.  He speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.  We figured if we enjoyed talking to him, then people our age would take the same liking to as well.  We liked that he asked us questions and asked us if we have questions for him.  We asked us about our timeline and how many gowns I will change into.  He gave us suggestions.  For example, he asked us if we're having a photo montage.  We said no and he said that it may be a good idea to do so especially when we go and change our outfit, it gives guests something to focus on which we thought was a fantastic suggestion.  He asked us what kind of music we are looking for and though he wasn't too familiar with the songs we mentioned, he told us to give him a list of songs for him to get together.  I mentioned games and though games wasn't a big thing they do, he says that he'll research that for me.  He'll make sure that the guests are entertained.  Howard says that they normally do a run through and work on details of the timeline approx. one month before the wedding.   Also, he says that we don't need to feed them becuase they will be busy working which is nice to hear because some "singers, mc" I know sits and eat the wedding food.  I insist we do give them something to eat since they'll be there for our wedding from 2:30pm (to set up) til about 10:30pm (approx time our wedding will end).   We want him to have enough energy to speak.  The only thing that worries me is that he is soooooooooo relaxed that we don't even have to give them the deposit.  So, I will give him a deposit and insist he gives me a contract to acknowledge that he is hired to do our wedding as well as details promised.  I picked them because other MC/DJs were more interested in selling me other stuff instead of what I mainly contacted them for.  Howard stuck to the subject on hand and didn't talk about anything but that.  This was the only interview that MC/DJ was the only topic of conversation.  Also, Knottie Kiki gave him an A+ rating which pushed this decision forth for me.  Real reviews from a real bride.

Notes

I love the pricing at JC United Printing.  We heard from fellow Knottie & Chinabride (from Chinabridal) how great the pricing is.  What we didn't expect was the incredible choices we had.  There are lots of Chinese and Western style invitations.  We've been looking at several places and were quote almost $3 per invitation, but at JC, you get the invitation and response card for less than 1/2 of that.  Also, they will give etra blank envelopes for you too.  They have the tea ceremony cloth rentals and stuff for a Chinese wedding, like double happiness stickers.  They also have some really pretty modern red envelopes.  I gotta go back and get some.   The owners Ken and his wife speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Chaozhou, and English (quite well). 

We also booked our videography through JC United.  They are middleman for quite a few photographers.  We liked Wai Goh (Wai brother) because he work is steady, his effects are nice and the video isn't cheesy.  We liked how the added names for the cast -- bride, groom, parents, etc.  I've been told this videographer is located in Orange County.  He is very reasonable  and will cover your wedding for the entire day, not just 8 hours for one price.  It is only 1 camera though. 

I heard great things about Elaine, but since opinions are always relative....beauty is in the eye of the beholder right?  I decided to do a trial to make sure that she is what I am looking for.  She does beautiful work at the ever so popular Promise Wedding Studio in Temple City. 

I set an appointment for my trial for the morning to see how the makeup and hair stands throughout the entire day.  I left my beautiful look on til a little past midnight and it didn't even fade. 

The hardest thing about doing my makeup is my eye.  I have very uneven eyes, lid on one eye and no lid on the other.  She evened out my eyes and even gave me lids for BOTH eyes!  I snapped pictures....see tab titled "Photo Album".  The only thing I would have changed is the glitter.  I don't think the glitter is a good idea as it reflects and looks speckled when camera flash hits it.  Elaine's foundation isn't really heavy, so if you have scars or something that needs good coverage,  you may need to remind her for extra coverage. 

If you need to contact Elaine for hair and makeup, please try her cell.  I wouldn't contact her through Promise if you don't have your studio pictures taken there.  The studio won't pass you through to her if you don't use them.  So, the number listed is her mobile. 

Notes

I visited this place with my FI, his brother and sister in law (who were engaged at the time).  We visited a few studios around the Westminster area and didn't see much of what we liked until we saw Unqiue Photography.  They had these beautiful albums.  So the 4 of us said we'd like to book, so make us a deal and sure enough, Mike did.  This is the very first thing we did for our wedding.   We got 2 large albums (both different pictures), 2 parent albums (smaller ones for each parent to keep), 24 x 30 picture with frame, CD of pictures taken.  This also includes fresh flower bouquet, hair & makeup, pictures in studio and on location.  When my FI's brother in sister in law got their album back, it was soooooooo beautiful.  They did a fantastic job.  My only complaint is that they have very little selection in gowns for outfit changes.  I had to rent a second wedding dress just for my photo shoot because there was nothing there that would fit me.

We did our studio shoot on February 20th.  We could actually view our pictures right after the shoot but it was getting late and we were tired.  We were really anxious to see them, so we dropped by on Saturday to view our pictures and we loved them sooo much.  We can't stop staring at our pictures.  Yeah, we're pretty viain!  LOL!

Notes

I thought that qi paos (cheongsams) were easy to find and deal with, that there weren't that many styles.  I also figured they were pretty inexpensive.  After searching through many different places, I didn't come across one I like.  I wanted a qi pao with a train like my FSIL, but most of them looked so funky.  Fi drove across this store in Temple City that says Qi Pao in a big banner.  When we went in, my eyes widened to see sooooo many different qi paos.  This is like the qi pao central or something.  Nice brocade fabrics and many designs.  I originally was going to rent.  The rental price is pretty decent here.  But I wanted something to fit nicely, so after inquiring the price, I purchased my custom tailored qi pao.  It ended up being about $60-100 cheaper than other qi pao places I visited that custom tailor.  Helen asked me how soon I needed it.  I said about 3 months.  So, she didn't rush mines.  She asked me to come back in a month.  I can't wait to get it!  She also carries the Cantonese kwa too. 

Notes

Ever since I first laid eyes on this restaurant, I wanted to get married here.  The decor is elegant and classy unlike the common Chinese restaurants.  Aside from being beautifully decorated, the service is delightful with well dressed waiters who are attentive and polite.  The pricing for this restaurant is surprisingly reasonable compared to other Chinese restaurants in the greater LA area.

Notes

Sea Empress in Gardena and Empress Harbor in Monterey Park are actually the same restaurant.  They have 2 locations.  I visited the Sea Empress as it was right by work and it looked really nice the few times that we had dim sum there.  There is a moat (on along the front of the restaurant) with koi fishes and turtles.  This place holds a maximum of 25 tables in their main area.  The pricing is fairly reasonable.  Their dim sum is very good, so I would guess their banquet would be too.  The catering manager, I believe his name is Joseph.  He is very nice and seems easy to work with.  I believe they do have chair covers, but not sure if they are free or  you have to pay for them.  They have a pretty decent dressing room (really a closet with a mirror).  They do have a screen and projector to use for free.

Notes

When I saw Sheraton's photography book for the wedding day, I just had to ask pricing.  I always thought that Sheraton is expensive because it's sooo pretty and fancy inside, but they are not.  Their pricing for photo and video is extremely delightful.  I knew right away what I wanted.  I love the photographer's eye as it was very creative and the pictures were bright and at the right exposure level.  I create catalog sheets and I do a lot of product photography, so I didn't really need the magazine album (it's only $600 for 50-60...what a great price!  I've been quoted $1600 to $2300 elsewhere).  So, he quoted me this reasonable rate for photographer for unlimited pictures on disc.  Then I buy whatever pictures I need as originally I planned to have them printed through Costco or Sam's for 0.17 cents a picture and create my book through Costco as well.  They have digital albums where you can have your pictures printed onto a book bound album.  Charlie says I might consider quality.  So, I asked for 300 prints and it was like $1.25 a print or something.  Still with the price of photography and print, it's still affordable.

Notes

The main reason I looked into them was the DJ & MC service as they say that they have Chaozhou speaking MCs.  Then they asked me if I needed photography and videography service.  Since I was looking for those as well, I thought I'd inquire.  The pricing isn't bad, but I found that for the quality of work they do, I can get it for cheaper if I went to different places for for things.  I wasn't too impressed by their photography or videography (even though they tried to show me all the "special effects" they had on the video).  My main thing about video isn't all the digital graphics you can do it...I wanted a video that is completely romantic.  The one thing that I did love about their video is the ending which they end it with people saying little things while it's split screened with guests saying bye.  I also love the "love story" at the end and how it was in sepia.  As for their photography, it's very straight point and shoot, like something you could get from Unique for $500.  However they offer you this magazine album, 30 pages of stylized pictures which is cool.  However I wasn't looking for this as I want to create my own.  I wanted them to take nice photojournalistic pictures to begin with like the Bryan Chan or 4 Dimension Studios.

I was a little bothered when she added $250 more to my quote because I had a ceremony.  It's only on the 2nd floor of the restaurant and I only need the music and mics for about an hour.  I didn't like that if I went with the package with everything, she wouldn't work that in for me at no extra charge.  She didn't give me a breakdown of the charges and showed me how the package deal will save me money.  So, I didn't feel that it was a savings.  When I went to do my own breakdown from the places I've visited.  I found that they are $675 more expensive for photo, video, dj, and mc combined.

Notes

I met with Cherry Chan and thought that she is very nice and immediately thought positively of her because of the magazine that she puts out in circulation.  I really like the publications she puts out called SCA Brides (Southern Cali Brides).  It's a Chinese magazine with great articles on games, photographers, wedding guide, etc. 

I inquired her services for DJ and MC.  Her pricing is reasonable as I thought I would have to pay over $1000 for DJ and MC.  Cherry speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.  I hear that her games are really fun and involves the guests from posts on Chinabridal.  She would not tell me what her games are as she say that they are a surprise.  She says she will not use old games that have been overdone from wedding to wedding.  She told me that dresses appropriately for the event.  I've been to weddings wear the singers and MC wear jeans and a tank top.  So, hearing so made me feel like she could be a possibility. 

Well, after tonight after much research on Chinabridal and looking at old posts because it sounded fishy to me that all those raves I've been reading sounded like it came from the same person because there was nothing different about each rave.  I come to find out that it is indeed the same person under different name s posting those "Cherry Chan is the best MC and DJ and I'm happy I hired her" comment.  Later on the Chinabridal post, she tries to get others to believe that I am a vendor rather than an actual bride.  So, after this, my opinion of her is bleak.  I can understand self promotion, but try to get creative.  

Luckily I trusted my instincts and went with MC/DJ Howard before this whole Chinabridal post came about.  I wasn't dazzled by her and during our interview, she didn't try to "sell" me her MC/DJ.  She seem more interested in selling me invitations when I was mainly there to see her about her MC/DJ service.  We still need to get invitations, but that is secondary.   She seemed very uninterested in the whole MC/DJ thing.  Though she did tell me that her DJ is the DJ from the Cantonese radio station on AM1400. 

Hope this helps.

Chau came recommended by a fellow Knottie.  I was told that she does hair and makeup for Vietnamese beauty pageant contestants.  Figuring how goregous those girls normally look on stage, I scheduled for my trial.  I didn't get the reaction I was looking for.  It was obviously too dark.  It did show up beautifully in pictures, but I didn't want my guests to remember me as this bride with stage makeup.  I felt that the hair and makeup was wearing me and not the other way around.  It made me really appreciate my first hair/makeup trial with Elaine.