Meet the Parents

Today was the day Colin and I introduced our parents to each other. We figured it was about time that they met. ;) We thought the best way to do so was to invite them for dim sum at the Grand Chinese Cuisine restaurant, the restaurant that will also be catering our reception dinner. Unlike the Ben Stiller movie, both sets of parents seem to hit it off. Conversation ended up being in both Cantonese and English. Colin and I focused on eating while our parents talked to each other. (Food was delicious, by the way. So, we can expect an excellent reception dinner too). After lunch, Colin's parents invited my parents over their house for a little bit. And the Wongs and the Tom-Kuns continued getting to know one another until late in the afternoon. All in all, I would say the "Parents' Lunch" was a success!

Wedding Dress Shopping Continues

Today, I decided to do some wedding dress shopping at three bridal stores here in Ottawa. I was grateful to have my two best Ottawa girlfriends, Sandra and Erin, tag along. I won't go into any detail about the actual dresses that I tried on but I thought I would talk a little bit about the shopping experience itself.

Our first stop was a family-owned bridal store called, "Martino's Fashion and Bridal". It's a tiny little store in a tiny little plaza all the way down Bank Street. The store was small and crowded with lots of bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, and other formal gowns. A young lady was quite helpful and patient, allowing the three of us to pick several wedding dresses for me to try on. After having finished trying on about six gowns, she was kind enough to write down the style number, label, price, and even a brief description of the gowns that I was interested in.

Our second stop was a small place in Chinatown called, "Kim Lynn's Bridal and Flowers", which is run by this one Asian lady. This store was just as small as Martino's but had less selection of gowns. I tried on a few gowns, as well as some Chinese cheongsam. The lady was quite hands-off; she stayed behind the counter while I tried on the dresses. She was still nice though, offering me 20% off if I ordered a dress before December.

Our final stop was the "Baroness Bridal Boutique", where I had an appointment at 1pm. Because I made an appointment, a young lady was on hand to assist me. Like the first place we went to, she let us selected all sorts of gowns that I wanted to try on. This store carries higher end designer labels and I tried on lots of gorgeous gowns including one that was $6500!!! I even tried on "the perfect dress" that I fell in love with a few weeks back. All of the dresses I tried on were super-expensive. So really, we were just at this store to "play". Even if I was willing to pay a lot of money for a wedding dress, I don't think I would get it here. When I asked if they could write the style numbers and prices, they told me that they will just note the style numbers in their computer and if/when I return, they will pull up my file. I found this kind of snobbish. I'm sorry but a bride is entitled to do some comparison shopping, especially when it comes to her wedding dress. In this case, it doesn't matter because I found the style numbers for the dresses on the internet and I can inquire at other stores.

This second dress shopping experience made me realize that there are a lot of nice gowns out there and a lot of different styles that look nice on me. I am no longer obsessing over "my perfect dress". I know I can get a decent looking dress for under $1000...maybe even under $500. Price is definitely going to be a deciding factor. I'm probably going to go on one more shopping trip in Toronto. In particular, I am going to looking into renting a wedding dress. After that, I'll probably make a decision.

To Change or Not to Change?

The feminist in me always thought that whenever I got married, I would not even think of changing my name. In fact, I would convince my future husband to adopt my last name instead. However, ever since I got engaged, I have been asking myself whether I should change my last name or not. Colin has already said that he would not change his last name to Tom-Kun. (So, there goes that idea. :P). He also told me that the decision is mine to make. So, he's not pressuring me to adopt his last name. (He's such a sweetie.)

I'm finding that lots of recent newlywed brides that I know have adopted the last names of their husbands for various reasons. So, what gives and what should I do? Here is a short pro/con list for myself:

Pros
- I would have the same last name as our children
- People would actually be able to pronounce my "new" last name
- People would actually be able to spell my "new" last name

Cons
- Being a Tom-Kun has always been my identity
- I am the one and only Denise Tom-Kun in the whole wide world
- My last name is unique and a symbol of my Chinese-Trinidadian heritage

Here are the options I am considering:

1) Denise Tom-Kun (status quo)
2) Denise Wong (adopt his last name)
3) Denise Tom-Kun-Wong (hypenated last name)
4) Denise Tom-Wong (incorporates both of our last names and not too difficult to pronounce)
5) Denise Wong-Kun (pronounced "Wongkin" :P)

I'm still not sure what I am going to do yet. I would appreciate some input so, let me know what you think. :)

Chaplin Lined Up

Another accomplishment in our wedding planning: we have secured the services of resident Chaplin at Oakview Terrace. Now, all I have to remember is to get the marriage certificate from City Hall within 90 days of our wedding. After we have the marriage certificate, we will need to work with the Chaplin to plan the ceremonies... soooo exciting!

Going on Dates are Still Important

After a semi-stressful weekend, and past few weeks, Denise and I decided we should go to see a movie for some R&R. It was a brilliant idea... Good Luck Chuck is the perfect romance/comedy movie for guys :) and for 96 minutes, I forgot about the trials of wedding planning.

Don't worry, we are still aggressively saving up for the big day. We had a 2-for-1 coupon again, and just like at the Bridal Show, I paid for admission with change from my change box :)

Canada's Bridal Show

Colin and I went to Canada's Bridal Show at the Toronto Convention Centre this past Saturday. We went after 5pm with our 2 for 1 coupon. It was pretty overwhelming. Lots of different vendors for wedding cakes, photographers, DJs, invitations, decorators, wedding dresses etc. There was a fashion show going on while we were there but we decided not to watch because the aisles were practically empty. We picked up tons of information. Not sure if we are going to use it all. Nor am I sure if we'll bother to go to another bridal show. Maybe to take advantage of tuxedo rental offers, which were half-decent. But only if I can convince Colin that he can't wear the one and only suit he owns with his high school band tie.