Edwardson and Judith's Wedding

Congratulations, Edwardson and Judith! Edwardson is a very good friend of mine whom I have known for a long, long time! He and Judith have been through thick and thin and I am so excited that they finally tied the knot on Saturday, July 8, 2006 at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Lakewood, New Jersey. I had been waiting for that day to come for a long while.

In fact, they got engaged on May 28, 2005 during our wedding week in Honolulu! So we were able to celebrate their engagement as well. All of our closest friends were at their wedding and I think my hubby and I were the only ones who traveled the furthest for this joyous occasion - over 5,000 miles!

Kathy and Jonathan's Wedding

Congratulations Jonathan and Kathy! Jonathan is my hubby's cousin, and he got married just a month after we did on Sunday, July 24, 2005. Both their ceremony and reception were in Santa Clara, but we were only able to attend the ceremony because we just moved to Mau`i a month before that and my hubby just started his new job and didn't have any vacation time accrued yet.

So we took a red-eye flight on Saturday evening, arrived in the San Francisco bay area early Sunday morning, went to the ceremony at 2:00 pm and had to head back to the airport to fly back to Mau`i right afterwards. It was the shortest transpacific trip we had ever taken, but we were able to see the family for a few hours and it was a beautiful ceremony. Wish we could have stayed for dinner though!

MY Wedding!

Photo Credit: Eugene Kam Photography

After planning and attending so many beautiful weddings, it was finally my turn to have my own destination wedding on Thursday, June 2, 2005 at the Moana Surfrider on O`ahu!

We had such an awesome day but being the planner that I am, it was really hard for me to let go of all the details on the day of. I was setting up the wedding favors while my maid of honor was getting her hair and makeup done in our bridal suite! All of our family who was helping out literally had to kick me out of the ballroom because they just wanted me to enjoy the day.

A hundred of our closest family and friends were with us to share this very special day. They were from all over the world - Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Canada, U.S. (New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles)... We were so blessed to be surrounded by loved ones and it truly was an amazing wedding week. A huge mahalo to everyone who helped make this day possible. We love you all!

Juliet and Daryl's Wedding

Congratulations to Juliet and Daryl. I used to work with both the bride and groom at this dot-com in San Francisco. We remained friends even after the whole dot-com fiasco, but it was fun while it lasted.

Juliet and Daryl got married at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley, California on April 30, 2005, just a few weeks before my own wedding. Unfortunately, I missed the entire outdoor "Western" ceremony at 4:00 pm because I was finishing my class for the Wedding Consultation Program in Oakland, but luckily I was able to join in the traditional Korean "Paebek" ceremony at 5:00 pm and the reception afterwards.

Juliet is Korean and to honor her heritage, Juliet wore the traditional Wonsom while Daryl wore the Cheogori (coat) and paji (baggy pants) with the moja (black hat). The ceremony started out with the Gyobaerye (Bowing). With the aid of her helpers, the bride bowed twice to the groom. And with the aid of his helpers, the groom bowed back once to the bride. The bride then bowed two more times to the groom, who bowed back once more. They finished by kneeling down and facing each other. The bowing represented the promise of commitment to each other.

Then it was the Hapgeunrye (Drinking) portion. First, one of the helpers poured alcohol into a small cup for the groom, who then drank it. Another helper poured for the bride who sipped it or only pretended to drink. The groom's helper then poured into the cup again (or used the gourd in the other variation) and the groom drank again. The bride's helper poured again, with the bride sipping or pretending to drink again. Finally, the groom and bride joined together and bowed three times: once to their parents, once to their ancestors, and once to the guests.

Followed by the P'yebaek (Bowing to Husband's Parents). Immediately after the wedding, the bride met with her new parents-in-law. This ceremony took place in an area of the main room sectioned off with a folding screen. The groom's father sat in the east side, while the groom's mother sat in the west. The bride bowed to them four times, showing her respect to her husband's family and ancestors and expressing her loyalty. She often presented them with a small gift of food.

It was my first time attending a Korean ceremony and it was just fascinating. I love ethnic weddings and learning about all the different cultures. Juliet and Daryl changed back to their western wedding attire for the reception. It was a great day!

Muthoni and Mel's Wedding

Congratulations to Muthoni and Mel! Muthoni and I have been friends since we were working together at the former Wells Fargo Funds Management Group. Their wedding was held at the Officer's Club in the Presidio of San Francisco on Sunday, December 5, 2004. Muthoni's family is from Kenya, Africa. So it was really nice that we were able to witness some of the African wedding traditions where the bride and groom jumped over the broom, which represented the wife's commitment or willingness to clean the courtyard of the new home she had joined.

Muthoni wore a simple white gown and Mel looked sharp in his tuxedo. The cocktail reception and buffet dinner were lovely and the chocolate cake was just amazing! Everyone had such a great time.

Joanna and Joseph's Wedding

Congratulations to Joanna and Joseph. Joanna is my hubby's cousin and they got married on Saturday, July 10, 2004 at a church in Santa Monica, followed by a 400-person reception in the ballroom at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel.

It was wonderful to see all the family from across the country and it was such a fun day. Everybody was on the dance floor and we didn't leave till the DJ played the very last song. As you can see, Joanna really likes pink!

Welcome to the blog of Events by Evonne, LLC

Photo Credit: Dulce by Visionari

Throughout the years, I have planned a lot of weddings and have made tons of new friends during the planning process... but I have also been a guest in many of our friends and families' beautiful weddings as well, and I would love to share all those wonderful memories with all of you. Hopefully they will give you great inspirations as you plan your most special day.

If you need any help at all with the planning, please check out my website or send me an email. I would love to hear from you as to how I may be of assistance.

Best of luck to you and congratulations!