Photos are coming soon!

photo via pinterest

Hi everyone!

We didn't forget about the blog! Pete and I have a couple things in the works right now for our future so hopefully we can share some of that with you sooooon! In the meantime, stay tuned for photos. We'll be sure to post on our Twitter and Facebook pages when we have photos of the wedding up on our blog. At that time, we'll reflect on the events of the day too!

To sum it up for you now, it was chaotic, but in the end, it was the best day of my life. Here's a teaser of what's to come:

photos via Sara Gray

We'll post again soon! Hope you're enjoying this beautiful weather! Lastly, thank you so much to everyone who were able to make it to our wedding. Thank you also for the love sent from afar. We totally felt it that day and you all made it nothing short of spectacular.

:):)

We're Married

It was Legend...




wait for it...




I hope you're not lactose intolerant...






DARY

Directions to the venues

TO THE CHURCH

1623 NW 19th Avenue

Portland, OR 97209

Coming from I-5 SB (from Seattle):

1. Take exit 302B for I-405 W/US-30 W towards Beaverton/St. Helens

2. Merge onto I-405 S/ US-30 W

3. Take exit 3 to merge onto US-30 W towards NW Industrial Area/ St Helens

4. Take the Vaughn Street exit

5. Essentially here, you'll be doing a U-turn at the light as if you're going back onto the freeway (but don't)

6. Take the very first exit at Thurman Street

7. Turn right onto NW 19th and the church will be on your right.

Coming from I-5 NB (from San Diego):

1. Take exit 299B on the left for I-405 W toward US-26 W/ City Center/Beaverton

2. Merge onto I-405 N

3. Take exit 3 on the left to merge onto US-30 W toward St Helens

4. Take the Vaughn Street exit

5. U-turn at the light as though you're going back onto the freeway (but don't)

6. Take the very first exit at Thurman Street

7. Turn right at NW 19th, and the church will be on your right.

Coming from US-26 E (from Beaverton):

1. Keep left heading into the tunnel towards I-405N/ Seattle/ St Helens and merge onto I-405N

2. Take exit 3 on the left to merge onto US-30W toward St Helens

3. Take Vaughn Street Exit

4. U-turn at the light as though you're going back onto the freeway (but don't)

5. Take the very first exit at Thurman Street

6. Turn right at NW 19th, and the church will be on your right.

PARKING: There is the lot to the left of the church that belongs to the church, but the bank across the street will allow us to park there without being towed as well so don't be afraid to park there. Otherwise, there is plenty of parking on the streets. All parking here is free.

TO VENUE PEARL

323 NW 13th Avenue

Portland, OR 97210

(between Everett and Flanders)

Coming from the church:

1. Head south on NW 19th Avenue towards NW Raleigh St

2. Turn left onto NW Lovejoy St

3. Turn right onto NW 13th Ave

4. Venue Pearl will be on the right in the same building as The Aveda Institute.

Coming from I-5 SB (Seattle):

1. Take exit 302B for I-405 W/US-30W toward Beaverton/ St Helens

2. Mergo onto I-405 S/US-30W and continue to follow I-405 S

3. Take exit 2B toward Everett St

4. Merge onto NW 16th Ave

5. Turn left onto NW Everett St

6. Turn left onto NW 13th Ave

7. Venue Pearl will be on the left in the same building as The Aveda Institute

Coming from I-5 NB (San Diego):

1. Take exit 299B on the left for I-405W toward US-26W/City Center/Beaverton

2. Merge onto I-405 N

3. Take exit 2B for Everett St

4. Merge onto NW 14th Ave

5. Turn right onto NW Everett St

6. Turn left onto NW 13th Ave

7. Venue Pearl will be on your left in the same building as The Aveda Institute.

Coming from US-26 E (Beaverton):

1. Keep left at the tunnel following signs for I-405N/Seattle/St Helens and merge onto I-405N

2. Take exit 2B for Everett St

3. Merge onto NW 14th Ave

4. Turn right onto NW Everett St

5. Turn left onto NW 13th Ave

6. Venue Pearl will be on your left in the same building as The Aveda Institute.

PARKING: There are a few lots near the venue if you choose not to park on the streets:

1. 421 NW 13th Avenue

2. NW 13th and Glisan

3. NW 15th and Everett

4. Pearl Garage (NW 11th and Davis)

5. Brewery Blocks (NW 13th and Couch)

Parking on the streets is $1.65/hour but after 7:00pm, street parking is free. The lots vary in prices anywhere from $5-10 for the evening.

See you tomorrow!!

p.s. :):)

Day-of Schedule (again)

10:00am our families will come together for the Vietnamese Ceremony (Ruoc Dau) at my parents' house.

2:30pm Peter and I will be at St. Patrick's Catholic Church to take pictures with guests.

3:30pm is when our Catholic Church Ceremony will begin.

5:30pm cocktail hour begins at Venue Pearl.

6:30pm dinner begins and is catered by Catering by Bo.

10:30pm is the end of reception at Venue Pearl, but please join us for the after party at Bar XV.

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been swamped. Can't wait to see everyone!

p.s. :):)

HOW MANY DAYS LEFT?!

Yes, it's true. There are only 18 days left until Pete and I get married!! We have a couple last minute projects we have to finish, and one project I'm still not sure I want to take on. It'll be a nice surprise if I get to it though.

This week, Pete and I are going to get our marriage certificate, and start writing out our name cards for guests. I made a test card already! Take a look:

YUP! We put a bird (actually 3) on it!! The birdie on the left represents YOU and the two on the right represent Peter and myself. We got the cards from Craft Warehouse for $0.79 for 50 cards and the string was $2.39 for 300 yards The paper cutter was $11.99 (and believe you me, I'll be using it to put birds on EVERYTHING I can!). We ALMOST ended up ordering some kraft hang tags online for much more than the $0.79 for 50, so this is awesome. We just needed to be a little bit creative. What do you think? The tags will be strung and tied around the mouth of mason jars set at each table as your drinking cup. Afterwards, the mason jar is for you to take home. PLEASE: if you don't want to re-use your mason cups, let us know, and we'd be more than happy to take it home with us. There's a lot you can do with them (ie store nuoc mam, kim chi, jam, etc.), but we can take it off your hands if you'd prefer. This is the look we're going for:

photo via Mon Tresor

In other news, we've almost contacted everyone who hasn't RSVP'd. We found that some guests didn't receive their invitations, and for that, we are SO SO SO sorry. Having so many family members who work for USPS, I can't exactly knock it, but there was a lot of frustration when we found out that more than a handful of invitations were lost. So again, we are so sorry to our family and friends who either received their invitations late or not at all. Please know that we genuinely wanted you to be with us on our day. We didn't invite anyone because we "had to" but because you have somehow impacted our lives. We can't speak for our parents, but I'm sure they felt the same way when they invited their guests. All in all, we're sad some of our loved ones can't be here with us, but we are just SO stoked to see and celebrate with everyone who can! Yay!

So I know this is an abrupt change of subject but one of my favorite football players is on one of my [secret] favorite shows! Dancing with the Stars!! I'm not a Steelers fan per se, I'm just a huge Hines Ward fan, and I think you should all tune in on Monday and Tuesday nights (or watch on Hulu.com like I do) to watch his performances. If Pete and I had more time, MAYBE we would have taken a dance class and have a choreographed dance as our first dance, but alas...

Anyhow, there's a lot of work to be done, but I promise we'll give you a better post soon. There are a lot of projects we still need to get done. Next time, I want to do a post about the things you can do in Portland the weekend of the wedding- food, shows, tax-free shopping, etc. Mike (Pete's younger brother) is fortunate to come in a week early and therefore gets to experience EAT MOBILE! I'll be sure to look out for events going on during the weekend you're all here. There's still the concert we're seeing on Sunday. Tickets are available online at ticketmaster.com OR you can gamble and get tickets at the door. The venue is pretty small, so I wouldn't take the chance of waiting, but it's totally up to you!

Until next time.

p.s. :):)

Day-of Schedule

We've had several loved ones ask questions about the schedule of events for the day of our wedding. We thought it'd be helpful for everyone if we post the schedule on the blog.

10:00am our families will come together for the Vietnamese Ceremony at my parents' house.

2:30pm Peter and I will be at St. Patrick's Catholic Church to take pictures with guests.

3:30pm is when our Catholic Church Ceremony will begin.

5:30pm cocktail hour begins at Venue Pearl.

6:30pm dinner begins and is catered by Catering by Bo.

10:30pm is the end of reception at Venue Pearl, but please join us for the after party. Location TBD.

The Vietnamese Ceremony is mostly a family affair, but if you'd like to attend, just let us know. What will happen is Pete and my families will be introduced to one another, and Pete and I will offer and pour tea for our elders. Afterwards, there's time to mingle, meet people, and eat lots of food. Pete and I, along with our wedding party, will leave my parents' house right after the Vietnamese Ceremony to take pictures, and we'll see everyone again around 2:30 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church for pictures with guests as they arrive. We'll be standing out there until around 3:10 to give everyone time to be seated, and then 3:30 the ceremony will begin. If you arrive late to mass, please be respectful. Mass, if nothing else, will begin on time, so we would really recommend you arrive early.

One of the things we'd like to try to orchestrate is a few family photos, and we figured after mass would be the best time to pull it off. It'll be four shots: my mom's side, my dad's side, Pete's mom's side, and Pete's dad's side. More on this later, just wanted to get it out there for now.

We'll update again at another time. Don't forget your Head and the Heart concert tickets!

Good night!

p.s. :):)

32 more days!!

I'm always surprised each time I look at the countdown app on my phone. I keep forgetting that the wedding is coming up so soon! Every time I come to this realization, I have a quick panic attack, but then I can't help but smile in relief that Pete and I will finally be married. The wedding scares the hell out of me, but the marriage itself is something I've been waiting so long for, and I could not be more excited for the day we can be introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Stephanie Nguyen. Wait... what?

ANYWAY, I wanted to let everyone who hasn't booked a hotel room know that The Benson Hotel is featured on Jetsetter.com right now with rooms for $95/night. Please, please, please reach out to others and share rooms- you'll save so much money if you do. Pete started the Facebook event page for this reason, so please take advantage of it if you're still looking for a room. The Benson Hotel is stunning, and allegedly every president since Taft has stayed there. Pete and I actually had dinner at their restaurant for my senior prom!

To book a room at The Benson Hotel off Jetsetter, just go to their site. If you don't have a jetsetter account, you can sign up with this link here and follow the steps. Jetsetter is a "members only" site which just means you need to get an invite from someone you know, but the membership is 100% free. You have to pay for your trips of course, but there's no annual fee to be a member, and you get access to some really extraordinary deals on hotels and international excursions.

Have you heard of The Head and the Heart? Well, they're a Seattle based band with music who's like a more youthful and energetic Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Remember them? Anyhow, Jessica introduced them to me, and I can't get enough. She described them as "folksy rock" and I couldn't agree with her more. They're playing at the Wonder Ballroom the day after our wedding so for anyone who will still be here, please come to the show! It's an all ages show and $15 per ticket. You can buy your ticket at ticketmaster.com OR you can buy your tickets for $15 at the door the day of as well. If you don't have anything planned for the day after our wedding, we'd love to hang out with you at the show!

p.s. :):)