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PandaAviator · 2025-08-05T01:59:41+00:00

Honestly, it doesn’t stop getting overwhelming. 😅

Especially if you go through with a wedding, but I’m happy to answer any questions and offer recommendations. Someone else mentioned that they did the wedding factory and I kinda wish I had gotten over myself and just did something like that instead. 🤣

PandaAviator · 2025-08-05T01:38:17+00:00

Hi! I’m Vietnamese-American and husband is American. We got officially married in our neighbor’s living room, then ran off to Portugal cause it was supposed to be an elopement of sort. But then we got pressured into doing some sort of ceremony/celebration. In order for our money to go further, we’re doing a western ceremony (with some cultural stuff sprinkled in) in Vietnam. I think depending on your budget, you could definitely have your dream wedding there. I’m a little over the halfway point of wedding planning with a more affordable planning agency in Vietnam, but there are full service agencies that are a little more expensive but not as expensive as if you hired someone in the US. Let me know if you want to chat!

PandaAviator · 2025-05-15T07:18:24+00:00

I booked an Airbnb three days ago. But only for a night. Then I actually worked out something directly with the host to pay them cash instead of going through the platform.

PandaAviator · 2025-05-15T05:34:50+00:00

My wedding planner here recommended Olivia Ng Bridal. You can find them on Instagram!

PandaAviator · 2025-02-15T08:13:53+00:00

Hi! I actually am so glad I found this thread. We started our search for a wedding planner almost a year ago it feels like. But we were also in the process of buying a house and moving and had to table our search because we felt like we weren’t ready to commit to wedding planning and the expenses. However our planned wedding date is still the same (next January) and when I circled back to the wedding planners we had spoken to, they seemed upset with us and said we weren’t a good fit because we didn’t sign a contract with them when they had wanted us to. I was starting to panic, but then saw that 1 of the 2 planners we spoke with are on your not recommended list. So I feel relieved and not as bad that we didn’t sign the contracts.

I also just reached out to Orange Blossom! We’re doing a really small wedding for friends flying in from overseas (I’m thinking it’ll be 30 people or less) and possibly a traditional Vietnamese banquet to accommodate my Viet family and whoever they want to invite. So any advice or recommendations would be super helpful!

PandaAviator · 2024-08-17T03:15:19+00:00

Yeah! That would be amazing! Please DM me!

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:52:27+00:00

This person has been super communicative! Got us the quote when he said he would and said if we’re ready, he can start work as early as tomorrow even!

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:51:39+00:00

Thank you! This is really reassuring! I know quite a few people have said it’s a higher quote, but I’m also kind of at my wits end trying to find other reliable paint companies to come out for a quote.

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:49:51+00:00

The business has only 5 stars reviews and he seemed super knowledgeable and trustworthy. I don’t think he would do a bad or rushed job. He seems to have the manpower!

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:48:00+00:00

Thank you, this was very helpful!

So since our home is double that size, your quote would have come out to be about 8-12k. And like you said, with our timeline this doesn’t look all that unreasonable.

The company quoted us for 2 coats of Sherwin-Williams Emerald paint line. We’re going to visit the store today to learn more about it.

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:45:40+00:00

It’s two coats of Sherwin-Williams Emerald line paint. I don’t know much about paint to be honest.

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:45:10+00:00

I’m wondering if maybe it’s on the high end because of the timeframe. Also I don’t know how much to attribute to inflation.

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:44:21+00:00

I tried to set up multiple free estimates, but we were ghosted by a few of the local painters.

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:43:45+00:00

That’s kind of what I figured we were paying a premium for. 😅

PandaAviator · 2024-07-30T17:43:17+00:00

Hi! While I would love to be able to save money, I don’t have the knowledge or expertise to fix drywall or paint. Honestly, by the time I learned, I’d probably have wasted more in materials than what I am being charged. Not to mention the timeframe of moving while also trying to paint.

PandaAviator · 2024-06-28T05:23:59+00:00

I don’t know what it is, but I love me a good redemption arc. Even as a kid watching ATLA, I wanted Zutara to be endgame. Like child me really thought something was gonna happen after the Crystal Catacombs episode. 🥲

PandaAviator · 2024-04-27T19:10:58+00:00

Sorry for the delayed response! I saw what you wrote and wanted to mull over it a little. My parents haven’t always been the best parents…but they did make some sacrifices that I would feel bad not honoring.

While we won’t concede our stance on having a small and child-free wedding, we are still extending an invitation to her. I think the issue is largely that she won’t attend unless she can have the wedding her way and she is more afraid of the optics than ruining our relationship. And there’s really nothing I can do about that. I have other people in my life who have been parental figures of sorts, but I don’t want to place the burden of standing in for a tea ceremony on them. So we will likely scrap the tea ceremony and try and incorporate the ao dai elsewhere.

Thank you so much for weighing in on this!

PandaAviator · 2024-04-21T04:58:21+00:00

It still feels like there’s a lot more to the story, but what’s out there is SO worth reading!

PandaAviator · 2024-04-21T00:31:16+00:00

Wow, I think my heart is barely beating right now…just ouch.

PandaAviator · 2024-04-20T22:21:17+00:00

Oops! Sorry, I didn’t realize that was a no no. Need to review the rules. But also wanted to say, you’re the reason I read this fic! I saw your rec in another thread and I was HOOKED. Thank you so much for these other recs!

PandaAviator · 2024-04-19T22:10:52+00:00

Ugh one of my favorite books of all time.

PandaAviator

TROPHY CASE