A wedding proposal for photography geeks

Proposals generally consists of boy takes girl to nice place, boy says nice words, girl already knows what is going to happen, boy pops question, girl hopefully says yes. Whether this nice place is in Paris or at a favorite restaurant, it is mostly the same variation of the same basic principles. Yeah, all that stuff takes planning. You got to buy flowers (which I didn't), got to book flights (i did), pick out the spot (i did), order chocolates (hotel did), etc...

But what do you are a broke-ass sucka who poured all your dreams into that rock that is now going to be given to your dream girl (that is why they are called 'dream girls') and all you are left with is a bunch of time and a creative mind? You do something that is crazy kool and make people go "Whoa! Now that is a bad ass proposal!".

Well Derick did just that when he proposed to Emily. I don't know if Emily is wearing all of his dreams, but man this guy can dream big. Check out this proposal: Derick and Emily Proposal

It's War! CreekHiker vs. Alycia

The undercard fight tonight is....

CreekHiker aka "Haymaker Holly" vs Alycia aka "Thief and Liar"

5' 2" | HEIGHT | 5' 6"

108 CM | LENGTH | 120 CM

RIGHT JAB | SKILL | LOW BLOW

What is going on with this blog. There is a war of words going down in this post "Do not use Custom Caters and Catered Affairs" and I love it. I love the drama. It is like an online version of Gossip Girl, Melrose Place, 90210 or some other Aaron Spelling program. Like the soap opera in the middle of the day, but not on your tube (does anyone still have a tube?), but online.

Granted it is only 3 comments long, I am glad that CreekHiker came back and fought with words to get the last laugh. I so wish that I could somehow elevate that post to the top level so that Alycia can fight back and defend her name!

I love drama. I squirt my toothpaste from the top just to infuriate those bottom toothpaste people. I put non-matching socks to piss off those who think stripes shouldn't go with polkadots. I sing off key to tick off glee club members. All these things so I can feed my need for drama. It is like speed and I can't get enough of it!

As of now, I believe it is a TKO for CreekHiker!!!

We are married!

Yes, we are married. What to blog about now. Well, how about the wedding. Things went wrong, things went right, but things went smooth. That is the way it should be. I will be blogging about this later as I am probably on my honeymoon and just post randomly.

For those who are using Michael C. Events for your wedding, email me at baleong at gmail and I will have to tell you what to watch out for when you use him. Just some bewares which we found out first hand.

Woot woot, married and now it is honeymoon time!

How much time do I spend on my posts?

You may think that these posts are cleverly thought up and thought out. You may also notice that my grammer is poor and sometimes I have spelling mistakes. This is because when I post, it is like a lightbulb went off in my head and I essentially barfed all the sentences onto this site. The avg post time for me: 2 minutes. Yes, 2 minutes. Don't even go through it to see if it all makes sense. I don't realize I made mistakes until my fiancee corrects me. But otherwise, everything is shot from the hip onto this site. That is the way I like it.

All the things we could have at our wedding, but can't

You think your wedding can be a party? Well some people think it should be the biggest party in the world. If my wedding was to be one big party, what would I do?

I would dance down the aisle like these guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

And do my first dance like these folks:



Have a choreographed dance like:

Or like the one in She's All That.

Entertainment with the guests wouldn't stop with the dancing, but continue one with




or



I would also higher a Taco Lady and a Donut Lady. It would just be off the hook.

Too bad the bounce house got shot down at our venue. You thought I was joking huh?

The world is getting smaller and smaller

Ok this is a little freaky. The world is getting a little too small for me. So first I met Miss T. because she is friends with my fiancee's friend. Now I got my other friend telling me that her friend (who I actually had classes with) actually went to HS school with Miss T. and found out that I am blogging through her Facebook post.

WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF is going on here.

It is like the circle of life man. I feel like I am Simba and should be singing Hakuna Matata with Elton John.

Now where is that crazy monkey who can tell my future.

My dad is Mayor, beat that!

So you are the mayor and you want to give a unique gift, what do you give?
I can think of a couple crazy things you can do:
1) Name the day after me
2) Give me the key to the city
3) Void all my parking tickets

Pretty much that would make my day. I mean check it: how many people get a day named after them? Can you imagine, let's celebrate 's day. Awesome. Or getting a key to a city. I guess that isn't as important because every single American Idol contestant gets a key to the city. I want the KEY to the city. Yeah, give me like the master key to all the doors to city hall, accounting, treasury, and local banks. Spanks.

But I mean what do you give your kids when you are the mayor. You got all your political friends at the wedding, so its got to be something good. You get a certificate commemorating the day signed by no other but, YOU. It is kind of corny but very cool at the same time. It is definitely something you don't see all the time and just adds another memory that the guests go home with.

I'd rather still have the key to the bank though.

That wedding's a Scorcher!

One of the worst things to happen to a wedding is to have mother nature f with it. Rain and snow are probably the worst thing to happen, but I put scorching hot heat right next to it. Today in LA, it was mighty hot, like mid 90s heat. I mean seriously, how can you go from June gloom to June light my butt on fire. Ok, it wasn't triple digits, but it was not nice 80 degrees. Luckily the wedding was at 5:30, so it did cool down a fair bit. What is funny though is that when you go to a Chinese/Taiwanese wedding, all the mid to old 1st gen people are all allergic to the sun. You know the type. The ones that drive with the big all green visor big enough to block out 20 suns and wear the white gloves in case there is ever the need to not leave any prints behind. (Yeah, a bit stereotypical, but I am Chinese so I can say those things) So when you have that type of guests, of course the seats in the sun are going to be empty. So there were like 20 rows maybe and 15 were in the sun. People were sitting three to every three chair like the sun was their kyptonite. The only brave souls to venture into the hot steamy rays of sunlight were the young kids. The young kids are proud that they are brown and not a pasty like organic yogurt.

What is also funny is that you can always see the groom and groomsmen hating the heat. They walk outside and start sweating instantly. They are standing up at the front in the direct battering of rays and sweating like Shaq at the free throw line. Esp the groom man. Not like he isn't under enough pressure, but now you got to compete with the sun also? Damn you helper of life! Of course you got the photogs running around with their a billion megapixel cameras that can capture all those beads of sweat for you album. If you a lucky they will get that one that just drips off chin and splatters ont eh rose pedals below.

On a side not, a day like this is good when you don't have a suit. Yes that is me. I came down south and thought 100 trillion % that my suit was in LA, but in the morning when I tried to search for it was no where to be found. Crapperrific. Low and behold my suit is up north hanging on a rack. Good thing it is hot. Why u ask? Cuz I can get away with just pants. I am wearing a shirt too you pervs. Who wears a jacket when it is a billion and two degrees. Only if I want to turn my clothes into the next rain forest.

So yeah, heat sucks, wind sucks, rain sucks more, snow sucks just as much, but not having to buy a full suit rules. O yeah the wedding was bombastic too, great backdrop at Friendly Hills Country Club.

Never underestimate a good MOH

When you are looking to pick you MOH, what qualities do you look for? Good friend? Keeps secrets? Always there for you? Fun to hang out with? No, No, No, No and No. Ok, well maybe to some of them. What you should be looking for it party planner extraordinaire and chef. Well that is what my fiancee got. My fiancee's bridal shower was the 3rd one hosted at the MOH's house in 2 months. Fantastic. Means she got this stuff down pat right? Hell Yes.

Not only does she have it down pat, she is like pastry queen. Seriously. She knows how to rock everything sweet since that is her day job at an undisclosed 5 star hotel. What more could you ask for? More you say? How about more food than you can imagine. All homemade. All made during the week. All made for more than 20 people with enough to feed thirty. OH yes. Y-E-S! So much food that when I came back from exile, I was able to stuff my face to the nth degree.

A couple cream puffs, few cucumber sandwiches, about half a dozen smoke salmon sandwiches, some cheese and crackers, followed by a mini red velvet cupcake. Yeah, I ate all that and if u saw me, you would be asking where da heck did it all go. Yeah I am a twig, chopstick to be ethnically correct.

The sick thing was, I wasn't even hungry. Yet I made myself sick. Guess I deserved that. Here are some pictures I manage to snap AFTER the party was over and sort of before the scavengers starting planning their meals for the week.
p.s. the girl trying to eat my cream puff is not my fiancee, if you were wondering

It is a small world

So today I am talking to one of my fiancee's friends and found that it is truly a small world. One of the reader's of this blog is actually the fiancee or best friend or something to that effect of my fiancee's friend who getting married in a couple weeks. So that is really whacked. Like 2 degrees of separation. What is really whacked is first of all, there aren't that many readers of this mess. 2nd of all, what are the chances that 1 of those readers is going to be friends of a friend. Like 1 in a bajillionmillionzillion. Yeah crazyness. I should go buy a lotto ticket, win, and pay for this wedding.

Guess I will see you in a couple weeks at the their wedding. We can do the intros, chit chat, and shoot da shiznit. Oh yeah, I might be a little loud.

Where da heck the Tip Jar come from?

You ever go to a wedding and you see tip jars out? I went to one before with tons of tip jars. The band had a tip jar. It was a large plastic one, which I believe in its previous life was a container for martini olives. Tacky. The bar had a tip cup. Although it wasn't on top of the bar, it was slightly behind it where it catches you eye as you wait. You could see the carefully folded dollar bills hanging over the lip of the cup as to say "Tip me and I will make your drink stronger!!!!" Even the ushers had tip jars, which got you incentive to not be placed behind Aunt Joan with the hat that half the birds of the rain forest help make. The priest probably had one in his bible (tip him and the ceremony time gets cut in half!).

But seriously. The guests are invited to come spend a day with you, get free drinks and a free meal. They are technically paying for these things though if they buy you a gift or spend money in gas. But they are suppose to come and enjoy themselves, not worry if they bathroom doorman deserves a dollar b/c if you don't he won't give you soap.

If we have a tip jar at our wedding, it is going to be a clear bottle with a slit in the lid and on the bottle it was say "Please help pay off the credit cards that we used to fund your night."

Seriously MIA

So I have been seriously MIA from blogging. Do I have time? Yes. Why don't I blog? I don't know. Since we are on the cusp of the 3 month mark, I decided to blog. I think we are making progress but we aren't crazy ahead in terms of things we have left to do. Let see some things that we have finished:

Order tux
Booked Photographer
Booked engagement photographer
Went to more cake tastings that failed, so think we are sticking with original
Launched website

Things that are in motion:
Blocking off hotel rooms for out of towners
Getting quote for full bar (oh yes!)
Reviewing quote for flowers (might be orchid overkill)
Started buying stuff for invitations
Fiancee's hair trial was a total bust
Still working on website (looks like I broke it for IE, damn u microsoft!)

Still there is tons of crap to do. Finalize the rentals, find out where we are staying for the wedding, still got to book honeymoon flight (where are the deals!!!), videographer, rehersal lunch, etc..... etc.... etc.... This thing never ends. Why would anyone want to get into wedding planning business. It never ends!

Stressed? Should I be?

We hit the 5 month mark or just about to. Should I be stressed? Maybe, but I am not. Why not? Because stuff is going to get done. Stuff always gets done in the end anywayz. But hey if you are stressed, maybe you should take avantage of Spa Week. Good way to treat yourself to a little relaxation.

How many is too many?

I am looking at this stanger's wedding and I've got a question: "How many bridesmaids/groomsmen is too many?" This couple has got 13 couples on each side. Lucky 13? Really? Maybe they watched 21 Dresses with lead star of Chucky the Bride and thought "Hey, let's switch it up and go all Friday the 13th and jinx our marriage from the very beginning." I can just see myself if I was in that situation, "Great, should I get a lawyer to draw up the docs right now? Maybe we should make this a destination wedding so I don't have to give up half." But seriously, what do you do with 26 people? I don't even have 26 friends. Ok I lie, but still. They should put everyone at the head table. It would be like Knights of the Round times TWO!

I should go, "Honey, I think we should add 10 more groomsmen." Her immediate response would be, "Hell no! Love you though."

This Countdown Even Work?

I am looking at this countdown and it is such a big number, but when you break it down into months, it is not so big. So we are under the 6 month mark and still got stuff to do. What do we got to do? Lots of stuff. It is easier to recite the things that we have done (much shorter list) rather than the things we have to do. But like I said, it only takes like a week to pull this off, so 5.5 months or 179 days or something seems like an eternity. It is like how the final 2 minutes of a basketball game takes 20 minutes. AN ETERNITY!

Yeah, I don't know what to blog about since I haven't been doing anything since I got back from skiing. The only thing I did manage to do is to change the splash screen for our website and put a new song. I love being unproductive. Hmm..maybe working on the website would be a good idea...I wonder what's on TV.

What is your last name again?

We've hit a dilemma. The soon to be wifey is changing job in which she wears a lab coat. The new employer was gracious enough to embroider the lab coat with her name. What name should she put? Current or future? I say just embrace the future. It is inevitable, take my name forever!!!

MUAHAHAHA!

Not blogging

For those 9 people who read this blog, I haven't been blogging. Sorry. I suck. Yeah I am sucking wind right now. I am sick and I have work. Here are the past two weeks. Chinese new years dinner, then to Denver for two days, then full days at work firefighting, sitting on calls, writing up documentation, and then I get sick over Presidents and now I have a deadline by Friday to write up massive amounts of troubleshooting documentation so that we are ready for a GoLive of Monday. So no blogging till my hell is over.

HAHAHAHA

I just got back from Denver, and guess what I drove by...the Waffle house..lol

Be The Cheapass

If you are a serious cheap ass, how cheap can you have a wedding for 50 people not including license fees. How low can you go? Well you could do the Waffle House wedding or even have chili's cater it. Lets do the math:
1 Dress - $50 target, $20 at goodwill
1 Veil - $6.50 target
1 Shoes - fck shoes, wear sandals
Rehearsal - we do this on the fly
Officiant - that's mah Pa, ya'll hear
Meal for 50 - 50 Costco hot dogs coming right up, oh yeah free drink = $75
Drinks - h2o, that is why god put it on earth = free!!
Flowers - Free, pick them from the neighbor's garden
Bridesmaids - 0, who needs them, they'll just eat my waffles
Groomsmen - 0, they are still at the strip joint
Wedding Car - shopping cart from Safeway...honk honk
Cake - saltine cracker tower with free jelly as the filling, used to be my late night snack.
Rings - lifesavers or twisties from the super!
Venue - public park with fountains, just get someone to get out there early, they will think it is a bbq.
Honeymoon - 1 night outside of mama's house, maybe the toolshed, how romantical

The perfect wedding for 50 people for possibly under $100 bux. Beat that!

We're in a Recession, Good Time to get Married

Is this a good year to get married? Yes and No. For those who are already secured their date for this year, it don't matter. But for those who are anxious or just want some good reading, listen up. We are in a recession. Yes, R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N. Not even Obamarama can save us. From looking at his stimulus plan, it ain't going to do anyone any good. Why you may ask? Because credit has dried up. A lot of these companies run on credit. Here is an example. AMD. Advance Micro Devices. The competitor to Intel. They lose about 1 billion a quarter. They just had influx of 300 million of investments. Lose 1 billion. Add 300 million. Equal -700 million. Yes still surviving. And they plan to lose money till end of 3rd quarter. They only have like 1 billion in the bank maybe. How does that work. Credit. Credit is king for companies that live in the future instead of the now. So with us in a recession and possibly heading into a depression by the end of the year, why should or shouldn't you get married.

I do: Even if you get ripped off, at least it is going back into the economy. All those destination weddings outside the states..DIE!

I don't: Save your money in case the sh!t falls through the roof and your house is foreclosed and you lose your job. So dreary.

I do: Brings happiness to an otherwise bleak year.

I don't: For all those who are using this as a profit machine, your guests are probably going to no show, no gift, or just give you coals with love.

I do: You can negotiate the hell out of the vendors because they need money too!

I don't: You are probably still going to get ripped off.

I do: Honeymoons are going to be steals from flights to lodging to food.

I don't: Unless you go to Japan, in which case you are going to get raped even more than before.

I do: For all you big Vs out there, this is the year

I don't: Vendors still increased their prices from 2008, you got to be kidding me.

I do: You can get a good deal on a house after your married

I don't: I lost my money in the stock market, I need my wedding money to buy that house.

I do: There are tons of information on weddings to make your day the best it can be.

I don't: You realize that all stress to the nth degree is just not worth it.

I do: You make a blog like this one.

I don't: You make a blog like this one.

I do: You realize you're not the only one like this.

I don't: Damn, you really aren't the only like this.

I do: You love your partner. That is the only reason you need.