Continuing on from my last post is part 2 of our Hong Kong wedding! Featuring the tea ceremony with my in-laws, the extended family, as well as parts of our banquet. I have been over these photos a hundred times and as much as I want to post every single one, it's just not possible. Ah! 
After we had finished the tea ceremony with my parents and headed over to Kane's Grandma (who conveniently lives just around the block!) we were welcomed into her house by many family members - some who I'd met previously, and some I hadn't. Everyone was so lovely and welcoming and I felt truly like I had been given a place in this amazing family.
Once we arrived, we paid our respects to the ancestors. There is this gorgeous shine Kane's Grandma keeps with photos & tea cups and burning incense. We bowed, offered tea, and received red envelopes in return. (If you're not familiar with red envelopes, or red packet money, it's a Chinese tradition. They are a gift given during celebrations, weddings and CNY. The red symbolises good luck and wards of evil spirits. Usually its only married couples that offer them to you. )

We then performed the tea ceremony with Grandma, where she presented me with two gold bangles.  They are the most perfectly beautiful bracelets and I feel I had great honour in wearing them. We laughed as she gave her speech afterwards, hoping that we'll have good fortune, and make lots of babies!!

Kane's parents were next, and they surprised us with a few gifts. Kane received a medal, which was the 'Year Of The Dog'. Apparently they are quite hard to come by, so he was very happy with it! I received two more gold bangles from my mother in law and a pearl necklace which is so beautiful. I think it was my favourite thing I wore all night! We continued with the tea ceremony with a few other family members before stopping just before 12pm, & going back to Kane's parents apartment for lunch with the family and film crew. 

I finally had a bit of time to reply back to a few messages, and relax and have something to eat. It's funny how having a permanent smile plastered on your face for an hour can start to hurt, but I guarantee by the end of the night - we both had very sore faces! I had about an two hours to unwind and fill my tummy with yummy pizza, however Kane had to leave a bit earlier to go check into our hotel for the night at the Mira Hotel. 
Finally we headed to the banquet venue which was at the BP International Hotel, a family favourite as Kane's mother is a member there. We arrived to see the crew hanging decorations, and putting the final touches up on the stage. I can say, that I have never, in my life, seen anything that looked so regal and like it was from a different time. We decided to not go with the usual pretty backdrops that most couples use for their weddings- we went entirely different. 
The stage was a blaze of red and gold satin, and in the middle of the stage was a stand that held the 'Imperial Edict'. An Imperial Edict was something that was used back in the Chinese Dynasty's by the Emperor to make orders the law. This was basically a little bit of fun, and we opened the Edict up during our speeches and found both sets of parents had written well wishes for us. A very interesting and fun idea! We were also told our stage decorations was something the entire hotel staff had not seen before. So that was special, and kudos to all the crew for making it happen!

We made an exchange of rings, and finally got to eat a bit of food before I changed costumes numerous times during the course of the night. We spent a lot of time standing and taking photos on stage with all our family members, and I may have just got a bit clucky when gorgeous baby cousins were bought up on stage and would just stare at me. But lucky me even got a kiss, so I was happy!

The night finally came to a close at around 11pm, and it was so sad to see everyone go as it had been a truly amazing night. One I will remember always. But at the same time I was feeling for my face and feeling for my poor feet! Luckily it was a short walk to the Mira Hotel, but a refreshing one to be out in the night, with people still bustling around, and staring at me in my purple lace cheongsam and red and gold shoes.
The hotel was a good relief, and I found out the Kane, the sneaky thing, had upgraded up to a suite when he checked in earlier in the day! It was divine, and I spent a good amount of time soaking in the bubble bath! 
I have many many photos and video and memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life, and somehow I wish I could do it all again, but alas, once is enough :) It may not be a Chinese wedding in September, but it's the big one, and I can't wait for the day to arrive! Just under 6 months to go!

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Yep, it's here, my Hong Kong wedding blog post! I know I said I would blog during my holiday, but really, I didn't get a chance to sit down we were that incredibly busy. But I hope the wait has been worth it! I feel so happy when I look back our photos,(video coming soon) almost like I can't believe that was me on my wedding day! It was an amazing experience, and I'll remember it always as one of the happiest and exciting days of my life.
Another first was, the days before the wedding, I had my hair cut and colored at a salon in Festive Walk. I wasn't too sure on how the experience would go as I've heard a lot about Asian countries not really knowing how to deal with western hair. I should't have worried! 4 hours later and my hair was a perfect dark brown with lighter brown highlights and it was such a good result. I just hope my salon here in Australia can keep up with that reputation.
We picked up my traditional dress the day before, and did one last fitting before taking it home. It's such a beautifully crafted dress, the red and gold stitching together is just spectacular. At first I said I wasn't going to keep it (as I had the option to buy) but after putting it on, I decided right then and there it was coming home with me as this was now 'my dress' and had my 'memories' on it. I may not wear it again in my life, but it's one of those sentimental items you keep.
We woke up on Saturday the 15th at 6.45am, with Kane nudging me & saying 'wake up baby it's our wedding day!' which I thought was cute. I didn't really sleep during the night so I was quite tired but I had a long long day ahead of me. A shower and a cup of jasmine tea does wonders for relaxing though!  My hair & makeup started just before 8am, and all the while I was sitting there, there were two cameras and a video camera filming. The constant sound of the shutter clicking and the flash was enough to make me think I was starring in my own movie and I was the star!! The girls did a brilliant job with everything, and I was in love with my hair, it was just what I wanted, especially using the berry & flower combination so I felt a million dollars afterwards.

We had enough time to relax a little after getting ready, before I was helped into changing into my traditional dress which was SO exciting, I could not wipe the smile off my face the entire time! I think mum was just so proud & my dad cried when he saw me before he walked me out to give me away to Kane. It was a very special moment between us, and I'm so glad they were there with me. As you can see by the photos, I think they looked like very puffed up birds filled with pride!

I remember being so nervous performing the tea ceremony I was afraid I'd drop the cup! But Kane was whispering instructions along the way so I felt a little more comfortable. My dad was his usual self, cracking jokes - I scolded him saying 'Dad! Now's not the time!', but I think my parents were nervous, if not more than I was! But they did very well, and I was very proud to give respect to them like this.   After the tea ceremony, we were now heading around to the next building to give respect to our ancestors, and to perform the ceremony with Kane's Grandma. This was the really fun part, as not only were there cameras everywhere, people on the street stopped and looked and took photos, taxis pulled over to watch, it was all very exciting! (My parents told me the day after the wedding when they came for dinner, that whilst they were in the cab on their way to Kane's parent's house, the taxi driver asked if their daughter was the one getting married!)

My work colleague came all the way from Australia as well to be there for my big day, she has always said 'from day one of you dating Kane, we were already planning your wedding!' which is true because in a way, so was I! (But don't tell Kane I said that!) She was asked to be apart of the procession by throwing rice over the bride and groom. My mum pictured on the left below- held red umbrella and opened it whilst we were outside, this protects the bride from evil spirits before she's married, and the rice is somewhat a cleansing ritual. My work colleague was very honored to do this and she said thank you for having a wedding in Hong Kong!

I'm so happy with all the photos, Kane's brother and his team did an amazing job, and I can't wait to see the final video. They actually have company in HK and it's called C & Co Video, which you can check them out here. They do amazing work and the cutest music videos and wedding MV's for couples. I really do recommend them!
In my next blog I will upload more photos of the second tea ceremony with my In-Laws and Grandma, as well as our wedding banquet! Stay tuned!

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So! It's has finally come! This will be my last blog for a little while (or until I have sufficient time to update you all) before I head off to Hong Kong with my fiancé and family to get married! Gee, I can't tell you the emotions I'm feeling right now, but kind of in the middle of my heart coming out of my mouth with nervousness, and at the same time feeling so giddy because I'm SO excited!
Today was my last day at work until the end of the month when we arrive back. I tell you what, when you're wanting time to hit home time - it goes even slower, like it knows you want to get out of there! But as celebration, last night the work girls organised a get to together just to catch up. However it turned out to be a bit of a pre-wedding hens night complete with hot pink sash, fuzzy headgear and some rather obscene accessories! Apart from having an amazing meal at one of the local waterholes, we spent most of the time chatting about the 'real' hens party that will happen in September, and oh boy, it's going to be a big night! My work colleagues have delegated themselves as the 'party planners', and will sort it all out which is great! Always good to be surprised :D
I have a very busy weekend ahead before we go, I still have yet to complete my packing, and just making sure I have absolutely everything - though I'm sure if I miss something, I can always get it in HK. So....by this time next week, it'll be the night-before-the-wedding. It's just feels so surreal. Everything has been organised in HK, so all I have to do is turn up! 
So, here it begins!!

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Wowsers! I haven't done an update for sometime, and I apologise profusely! However, the last few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind which I'll go over below. Things have quietened back down (for now) but I expect this will reoccur again once we head off to HK in a few weeks. 
So I'll start from the start shall I?
Let me just say first off, the weather here has been absolutely HORRENDOUS. Hideous. Disgusting. Any other negative words you can think of, feel free to add them in! More than a week of consecutive days over over 38 degrees. Not to mention it's bushfire season, so there has been a lot of warnings going out lately, and some have been quite close to home. I hope mother nature can spare us some cooler weather very very soon. (Even the pooches have been so tired of it, see my furry puppy Trevor napping above!)
Starting from tomorrow, we have exactly ONE MONTH before we get married. A month. And gee, I can tell it's just going to fly by. We have still so much to do, and have a lot of little bits and pieces to purchase for my parents so they'll have a comfortable flight/holiday. Not to mention what I'm going to pack!
In amongst all the organising, the lists we've written down, the itineraries we've planned down to the last day - we've also been very busy with our September wedding. So far we've bought all our stationary, and wedding decoration supplies - and so far the small mountain hasn't moved from the corner of my room due to not having the spare time at the moment, so that will be waiting for me once we get back from overseas, when I can really get stuck into creating our DIY decorations.  I'm a little bit surprised my brain just hasn't gone completely bonkers from all the wedding prep, (which I admit it has gone a bit mushy lately) but I think it's all about time, and giving yourself some breathing space so that you're not completely and utterly overwhelmed - like I was beginning to be.
I am still a little nervous about next month and how it will go, but I'm gradually coming to terms with it and I know it will turn out to be absolutely amazing. Of course, I can't wait to see Hong Kong again, and I hope to come back with a lot more photos to share with you all.
In other BIG news. I bought another wedding dress. Well, okay, not me, but my mum for me - (she totally talked me into it!)
We decided my previous dress I bought last year - although very pretty and simple, it just wasn't....me. It did need a small amount of alteration which could have possibly either ruined the dress, OR the dress would end up to be to short. So in the end we said 'Hey, we only do this once in our lives, so the dress should be one of those memorable experiences!' But I'll write about more of that day on my Wedding Sunday post, so stay tuned :)
Another reason I haven't updated lately is more for personal reasons. I'd been waiting since last November for a letter from my hospital with a surgery date for my laproscopy. I can't tell you how many times I wrote all over my admission form and phoned them up to let them know this had to happen before March as I was getting married overseas. I guess they listened to my pleas and I had my surgery this past Monday. So very happy about that - not so happy about the recovery process!
(Please skip if TMI) I've been a long sufferer of painful, heavy periods since I was in my teens, and since there was a long family history of Endometriosis on my mums side, it made sense that I could have it. Previously to meeting K, although still bad - it wasn't high on my priorities list. I felt I had a high pain threshold, and could deal with my reproductive organs exploding in my body every month. 
However, it has progressively gotten worse with age, and since we're planning on having babies next year, now was the time to get it sorted and find out exactly what I was dealing with. It turns out I DO have endometriosis, and I'm just under the severe category. I had 3 cysts removed from my uterus and had a laser ablation. I am now the new owner of three incisions, one on my left and right side, and one in my bellybutton - which is the WORST place to have stitches, so much pulling when you move! But each day I am getting better and am able to move around a bit more. Today is the first day out of 4 that I can sit for some length of time at my computer without feeling like crap. So that's a bonus! 
I do hope I'll be a lot better on the weekend as we have our appointment with the cake maker on Saturday. We know pretty much what we're after and I'm hoping it'll look super super cute :D I'll let you all know how it goes, and try to update as regularly as I can!

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It's hard to believe in 2 months I will be jetting off with the love of my life and my parents for our wedding in Hong Kong. There have been a few ups and downs along the way, but mostly it has been easy flying, but now that it's sooooo close, I'm feeling a lot of emotions; happy, excited, nervous, anxious...I think that's totally normal, especially because its the 'unknown' of things to come. 
As K and I live on the other side of the world, it's been long distance planning with his parents, who've taken the time to do most of the groundwork, and organised everything for us. It's kind of like planning a wedding over Skype and photos sent by email. I'm positive his parents have done an awesome job and I can't wait to just walk into my wedding banquet and see how wonderful it is!
I'll be posting more of our Hong Kong wedding updates as the weeks pass, and I still have an enormous amount of packing to do for not only myself, but helping my parents as it's their first time overseas! Exciting!
In the meantime, I hope you like this little gem. This is my wedding band we bought last year in HK, so I could wear it on my other hand as a reminder of our first wedding!

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After the tea ceremony, K's family and relatives all went out for a Shanghai lunch at one of the plazas in Ma On Shan. I tried a lot of different food that I haven't eaten before, some very nice, some not so much! Although it was a really nice opportunity to meet with all the family again. 
We left at around 1.30pm from the restaurant to head home to get ready for part 2 of the day which was the church ceremony. We had about an hour to get dressed and ready, before being taken by car by one of K's relatives to the church. There was a session going on in the church when we got there so we had to wait around an hour in the holding room before we could go in. Once we got in, it was actually quite large. I don't know what I was expecting, but being in Hong Kong I expected something smaller! Haha. But it was decorated very nicely and I realized that it matched the Brides bouquet.
Once the official ceremony began, which was in Cantonese (I couldn't understand) so K translated all the important parts for me. Matthew wore a grey & black trimmed suit, and Blanche wore was really beautiful, and covered in tiny crystals. I did particularity love her veil, it suited her very very well! 
The whole ceremony was cute and they had a lot of praise for each other in their speeches. K & I also got a special thank you for coming all the way from Australia, so that was lovely to be included in their speech which was unexpected :)

Once the ceremony was completed and the happy couple were now 'husband & wife', most of the guests were loaded onto a bus that took us to the reception at the Langham hotel. I don't think I've ever seen such an elaborate reception venue before. There were 30 tables for over 300 guests, a Tiffany blue backdrop for photos, and the napkin holders were covered in rhinestones. Not to mention the TASTY snacks that were going around, I was definitely in food heaven!

The menu had about 10 different courses on it, I think by the 7th I was over food, but still tried as many as I could, even the really bad sounding ones, which I'm pretty proud of as I'm not a big seafood eater. K's brother bought along a flash light (which later that week I bought) and did some videography of the night. I've seen video clips of it and it's amazing what he does. (I'm pretty happy I bought the same flash light as him so now I can do more (and better!) photography! (It was used on these photos of K & me below!

The night went on until about 12.15am, which considering I'd been up since 7.30am and doing a lot of running around, I was SO tired by the time and thankful for a warm bed and a huggable fiance! I still think I was very lucky to be invited to such a great event, and I'm thankful I got to see it, and it know what I will experience in March next year, maybe not on such a grand scale but at least close to it. I have so many good memories of this day that I'm sure I will keep with me for the rest of my life as the first HK wedding I've been to!

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The whole purpose of our Hong Kong trip this year, was for us to not only wind down and relax a little from our jobs, but to attend K's cousin - Matthew, and his bride to be Blanche's wedding. I'd never seen a traditional Chinese wedding before, apart from what I'd seen on You Tube. The day was an early start, and a late night, so we were definitely ready for bed by the time we arrived home! We were able to take lots of photos of the days events which I'll explain below. I've broken this up into two parts, the traditional tea ceremony, and the church ceremony & reception :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our day started at 7.30am, we woke up and got ready, as we had to leave at 9.45am to go to Matthews parents house in Ma On Shan for the traditional tea ceremony. It was a high rise apartment and the view was amazing. A massive window of sea views and a great view of the water park that was close by! All the girls, including the Groom's mothers sisters wore flower armbands, which we wore all night. Must say it did go well with the dress I wore later on for the reception! I had photos with my mother in laws sisters which was nice, now I have something to put in my photo album :)

LTR: With my flower wristband / My gorgeous man! / Cute pic of us!

Me & my mother in laws sisters. My MIL is on the far right :)

The Bride & Groom arrived just after 11am, and they both wore traditional costumes, which were so beautiful! After greeting everyone, the ceremony began. I would imagine with conducting the tea ceremony with most of their relatives, kneeling for the long period of time would have hurt, or either, you'd have very good leg muscles! Fortunately for me, I will only have to kneel for a short time at our wedding in March, as my knees probably wouldn't hold up that long!

The Bride and Groom arriving for the tea ceremony

Giving of gifts (red envelopes) Should also mention this is my father in law!

The Bride and Groom with the Grooms parents

I'm very lucky to have been able to witness such a great event, and it makes me a bit less worried and more happier that I know roughly how the day will go for myself and K. (Which by the way in other news, my two custom made dresses are finally finished, and OMG, I cannot believe how BEAUTIFUL they are. Our tailor did a superior job and I'm absolutely elated!)
Stay tuned for Part II of Matthew & Blanche's wedding!

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Sorry everyone! I know I haven't updated in over a week, I'm currently in Hong Kong at the moment, and I haven't had a spare chance to post any updates. I'm using my old iPhone, instead of my usual one for safety reasons, but I'm really regretting it because the camera is just SO crap! So I haven't even updated my Instagram for that reason. 
The past few days have been an absolute blur trying to get everything organised for our Hong Kong wedding next March, so lots of dress fittings, shoe fittings, decoration scouring and dinners. I unfortunately fell sick early Monday morning - which could only be described as hell. But I am better now finally and am able to think of shopping adventures again! Yay!
Yesterday I had my makeup and hair trial with K's brothers lovely girlfriend and her friend. We were supposed to be doing the trial at K's parents house, however we ended up doing it at his brothers office, complete with studio lighting and filming which was interesting! I think they did a pretty good job on me, although there are a few little changes I'd like before settled on the 'look'. I have another trial coming up next week so I'll see how it goes! Meanwhile, here are some photos of the afternoon :)

I promise I will try and update more frequently over the next few days, I'm hoping to get some more camera gear and lighting so I can better improve the blogging experience!

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