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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The Christmas holidays have almost come to a end, I would like to say I did a whole bunch of cool things and went here and there - but really, this Christmas I did practically zilch. And you know what? I am totally fine with that. There were no early mornings (apart from the cat burring in our ears at 6am) no rushing around, we had no where to be that we didn't want to be. It was laziness at its worst and I can say in 100% certainty, I definitely needed to just do just that. The year has been quite a whirlwind so its was nice to give the brain some much needed recovery time!
I finished work on the 20th December so right after I headed to Melbourne to spend two glorious weeks with K. We did last minute Xmas shopping, and caught up on the newest films at the cinema (you all need to see Firestorm!), and prepared a list of groceries for our first attempt as a couple at making a roast on Christmas Day! I think we absolutely killed it, and it tasted so good, we ate the leftovers for dinner as well. Speaking of cooking - I got some awesome cook books from K's aunties family. Italian, Asian, and baking cookbooks. I can't wait to try them out!

On Christmas Eve we did our traditional going out in the evening to find the best Christmas lights in town. We went to about 7 houses, some were good others were overdone. But we got lots of good photos, and they looked so pretty!

Of course, the biggest perk of the Christmas holidays, is Boxing Day sales. We had originally planned to get up and be in the city at 6am, however we we couldn't be bothered! So we woke up reasonably early and went out for breakfast with a few friends at Pancake Parlour before braving the massive crowds that were around. We knew what we wanted to buy, so we got the important things first. One being 10% of lenses at Digi Direct, which was awesome as the lens I wanted was included in that sale. so I'm a very happy owner of a Macro 100mm! We continued shopping and bought a few kitchen items, some bakeware and a food processor. See below for our booty of the day!

The next few days we spent relaxing watching movies on the couch, cooking, or spending time with my family. We did have some time to go out to the city recently, and went to Crown Casino for dinner, took some photos and even did a little gambling on the pokie machines. We won big, meaning, we won a few more dollars than what we put in, $8.00! Haha but none the less, a good night out with my wonderful fiancé. 

New Years Eve, we were invited to a dinner by a few friends at a bar called Fathers Office, it was a set menu, however we got to choose what main we wanted which was a really nice change from the usual set menus you get else where.  It was supposed to be a 1920's night, some of us dressed up, some didn't, and some got halfway there, like us. The atmosphere was loud because everyone in the bar was excited, but that was to be expected. K and I were tired from 10.30pm onwards (because we are really old now haha!) but we made it to midnight, when everyone spilled out onto the streets of Melbourne to see the fireworks. Apparently approximately 600,000 people where on the streets which was just mid boggling! Overall, it was a great night out, and we throughly enjoyed bringing in the new year!

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They are hereeeeee! We only had our engagement shoot last Saturday and we thought it would take awhile to get them back, but we had them in our hands in record time!
We were told they were ready to be picked up, but as we had other commitments, we wouldn't be able to get them until next weekend. But K, the sneaky thing, surprised me last night when he came over! I can't believe how good they are, and Neiyo did an AMAZING job capturing us. I can't wait for her to do our wedding photography! 
We kept our photos simple, with limited decoration, so we only had vintage books, suitcases and a basket full of iced donuts and cupcakes. (and they were delicious by the way!) So what do you think? Don't we look like a totally loved up couple?!! Enjoy! :)

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Sorry I haven't blogged for a few days, I've been rather unwell, and I haven't had the energy to really get off the couch. Needless to say I have more doctors appointments coming up, so I am hoping I will have some answers by the end of the week. I'm feeling a lot better, but still not 100% so please don't hold it against me! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ K and I had decided a few weeks back that we'd do a day trip to Echuca, we hadn't been back there since last year, so it was a well deserved little road trip to take our minds off things. 
There was a Heritage Family Festival going on, and fire works later on in the night, so there were quite a few people around the town. Horse carriage rides, face painting, fairy floss vendors and a petting zoo were some of the family activities to do. It was actually a really sunny day, the best we've had yet and I think it got up to about 27'C, which was the kind of weather I like - not too hot and not too cold! It took us just under an hour to get to Echuca, and we arrived right on lunchtime and we were sooo hungry! One of the reasons we decided to do this road trip was to visit one of the best voted fish and chip shop in the state. We enjoyed it so much last time, we couldn't pass it up their fish are battered in beer batter! So after waiting about 20 minutes for our food, we went and sat on a park bench in the centre of the Port, and watched the festivities. 

We didn't go on any of the river cruises or on the paddle steamer boat, it would have been nice, but the attraction had definitely gone up in price since I last went on it, so we gave it a miss. However, I used this day to spend some quality time with my love, and improve on my photography skills by the time we go to Hong Kong in just over 2 weeks time. I think I've improved a lot in the last few months from not knowing how to use a Canon in the manual setting, to knowing how to use it has been pretty awesome. Though I have a very patient (and cute) teacher!

K took these photos of me in amoungst the flowers, I think they turned out quite pretty! Although I did get some funny ones of K when he least expected it, and his facial expressions are just hilarious!

We drove back mid afternoon, as we were making a stop to visit my Nan and my mum who is now her carer for the time being at her new unit, so mum hasn't been in some time. It was really good to see her, and catch up. Hopefully she'll be back at home with us by Christmas! 
Well that was my weekend, what did you guys get up to this weekend? :-)

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