Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone, from the new Mr.& Mrs.K.!

...A kiss, and all was said.

How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said...

(Victor Hugo)

More formal pictures

(more to come!)

We got our wedding pictures!

After a sleepless night.., we were so ready to pick up the pictures from our photographers this afternoon. And whaddya know... We got around 1200 plus images from our wedding. All the pictures were beautifully presented in five BIG albums. When we looked at all of those pictures, it brought back all the good memories, the overwhelming feeling of love and joy that were indescribable. All of the images are the captured reflections of how we felt that day, the moments that we don't want to forget. Again, our BIG thank you goes to Jen and Stephen!
Although 1200 plus images seem a lot, yet we're craving for more! They're THAT good!

At this time, I have troubles in deciding which ones to be put up... We both so overwhelmed with all the beautiful pictures. All of the picture retold different stories, different point of view..

So, guys, be patience with me. I will post little by little to complete our wedding story.. so check back often!

My Three Moms

I always considered myself blessed to have such a fabulous Mom who like a sister to me! We both enjoy each other's company when it comes to shopping for clothing, shoes,... well, basically anything. Both of us also a fan of dining out, being adventurous in food. Everytime we visit each other, dining out is definitely things that we'd like to do. My Mom loves to cook, that's why I always call her to find out about recipes... then we'd just sms/text message each other for recipes. She has been so fabulous with all the wedding planning. She made my beautiful dress, the girls' dresses, and my Mom-in-law's dresses too!

(bride and groom and our beautiful Moms)

People said when you got married, you literally 'married' to the whole family. In other word, I gain another family. So, I got two moms now! My Mom-in-law is one fabulous lady too! Very fashionable, makes amazingly yummy mango pudding, and best of all, she's like "one-of-us." She is very easy to talk to, she's just like my own Mom!

(a kiss for Mom before we went for our photoshoot)

(with Pat and Judy, the bride's "Mom and Dad")

Then, I have to tell you about my "other" Mom, Judy. I was so blessed to be able to know her and her family. I met this awesome woman in December 1991. I was an exchange student at that time and they were so kind to open their home to a total stranger from Indonesia. I owe to this wonderful family a lot. Both of my "Mom" and Pat, my "Dad," had broadened my perspective about life, enriched my knowledge in many different ways, and I had gained a priceless experience that I can't never easily forget. I was honored when they said that they'd attend our wedding. It was so great to see them both again after 8 years we were parted... The experience were surreal as if we never haven't parted that long.... Pat and Judy, we love you!

"Scene+Heard" from the Reception

The wedding bash was held at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown. Many of our guests came from out of town as well as 'local' guests.

(l-r: Groom's Mom, Mrs.Soviany, Mr.Rudy Susilo, Pastor Sonny Mandagie, Pastor Gagan Gunawidjaja)

(Cousin Edith, showing off her snapshots to her Mom and cousin Liana)

(our friends Frans, Suryadi, and Dennis)

(getting ready to enter the reception as the new Mr.& Mrs. K.!)

The Wishing Tree

Again, the idea was directly stole from Martha Stewart Wedding. Our beautiful wishing tree was made by our talented family friend, Oom Heru. He hand-assembled the tree by himself and amazed us with how it looked the end. Funny thing was that the vase broke during transport and luckily my quick-wit Mom found a replacement vase that was just right for the tree!

Making the wishing cards was a little time-consuming, but luckily, again, Frances to the rescue!

And here are what people wrote and hung at the tree:

We're curious with who wrote this one for us which in Indonesian, it means "more children, more blessings." Hmmmmm................

The Reception Details

We fell in love with the Marriott Pinacle the minute we saw the ballroom! The grand staircase at the entrance, the elegant decor, and of course the high-ceiling! My Mother-in-law and I scouted on the venue since December of 2004 and we've been going from hotel to hotel to see the venue. Many of the places were booked for our wedding date as October is supposed to be a conference month for Vancouver. We even go ahead and booked our photographers before we secured our venue. When we were all in desperation in getting the venue, we found the Marriott Pinnacle! We had the most pleasant experience, from the event manager to the staffs.

We did the centerpiece by ourselves, again, stealing ideas from Martha Stewart Wedding... We had so much fun making the centerpieces at my Mom-in-law's place.
The banquet chairs were beautifully covered with the chair covers by Dream Decor. I'd never thought that a simple chair cover can make such a big difference. I found Julia through a talkboards and thank God I found her! She provided me with the best service from start to finish! Another thing that finished the whole elegant look were those table runners. The colors are just so beautiful together..!

A local jazz band quartet were ready to entertain our guests as they arrived at the reception area and during dinner. These four talented young fellows were introduced by a close friend of ours from church. One of our close friend used them for her wedding in 2004 and we were so impressed these talented young fellows and decided that we HAVE to have them!

Last but not least, this is the theme that we got going on for our wedding: our passion for TV. Well, after all our first of so many dates, consisted of X-files season and series finale and dinner! Our very creative and funny to no end relative (she's Margareth's cousin, and Margareth, one of our Bridesmaid is still Reza's cousin), made these "stories" for each table based of the TV shows that we watch. This is one of the many creative thing that she did:

(P.S. She photoshopped me there to stand there next to Sydney Bristow!)

The Formal Pictures

At this point, we only received about 50 images from our photographers duo. And the images that we're getting are from Stephen only (we can't wait to see Jen's camera point of view)! They were very nice to make a little presentation of that 50 images for my Mom to take home to Indonesia. We can't be happier with these guys! We absolutely love all of the images, we have too many favorites already although those images only a tiny bit of what's to come! We can't wait to see them all! We will be posting more of the images that we'll be getting soon...!

We did the photoshoot at Dundarave Beach in West Vancouver. We really want to incorporate of where we live, our playground, and the beautiful area of West Vancouver that we love so much in our wedding scene. There were some "snags" as there was an accident just as we're on the way to the Dundarave Beach via Lions Gate Bridge for the photoshoot. That didn't stop us to have fun, and keep our energy level high ("Hmmm... never notice that part of the bridge from this angle..")--we were way too excited! Though we're rushing through some of the shots, but our photographers were able to take these beautiful shots!

(I love this image of my husband as we went off to our photoshoot location in West Vancouver)

(I also love the black and white version of this picture)

We did another photoshoot right after the ceremony around the Roundhouse building in Yaletown in downtown Vancouver. Our photographers wanted to have an "urban look" for our wedding pictures. I love all of the emotions that our photographers were able to capture. And what do you know...all of the sudden, both of us were models!

Blissfully married!

We're finally got married on October 15, 2005. The day turned out to be a fantastic day! It was truly a blessed day that God Gave to us. The day turned to be better than what we expecting it to be. Who can expect a glorious day like that when the whole week before the wedding were nerve-wrecking: sunny one day, rained cats and dogs the next, and even storm was in the forecast!
The day before the wedding, Friday, the rain poured like mad, strong wind, et al. However, deep in our hearts we knew that it's going to be a gorgeous day as God Himself had gave us that particular date for us! It took us a while to finally finalize the wedding date. Lots of things that we have to put into considerations: my Mom's and my Aunt's busy schedules, our siblings' days off, and of course the photographer that we have fell in love with.

The day of the wedding, Saturday morning, Frances (my Maid of Honor) and I woke up at 6:00 am (we slept in! We had to finish some of the last minute details...) and the sky was still dark and the rain was still pouring. My Mom did my make up that morning (thanks Mom!). With prayers and praise and worship songs in the background, we began our day... and as we were busy with the make-up, the rain gradually subsided, the black clouds dissipated, and finally, the sky just turned out to an incredibly blue sky! The sun shines like it was one of the summer days! We can only give our praise and thanks to our Almighty God for the beautiful day!

Mom put on my cathedral-length veil:

My bridesmaids: Margareth, Tiana, and Anna came a little later that morning for their hair and makeup.

By 11 am we're ready to take some pictures! Mom did an awesome, awesome job in doing all the girls hair and make-up (hey, that's what she does for a living!).
Since we're going to take picture before the ceremony, Jen and Stephen arranged for us to meet for the first time at apartment's courtyard. As a result, beautiful pictures were captured: the anticipation, the waiting, the excitement, and the incredible joy...!

Getting Ready with Margareth!

My bridesmaid, Margareth helped me getting ready. She made funny comment how those little buttons at the back of my dress were so hard to be buttoned. I told my Mom that I want to have those little buttons at the back of my dress as I know it would look beautiful in the picture! Bad for Margareth, good for photos!

Putting on my beautiful shoes:

Getting the Groom ready!

He's definitely the most calm one during all of the preparation of the wedding. He got his suit in August, also for his beautiful shoes. He didn't have to wake up early either! The cufflinks were gift from the bride, custom made from her aunt's jewelry shop in Hongkong.
The groom got his 'little' brother, Assaf, to stand by him as his bestman, and the groom had her highschool buddies as his groomsmen!

(Assaf, the bestman, pinned the boutonniere)

(formal shot of the boys!)