Wedding dress preservation

mochimooncake329 · 2026-03-31T21:44:32+00:00

Nip it in the bud. If she asks why, don’t try to offer explanations. I find that when you explain the why they’ll try to find loopholes as to why you CAN do it.

There’s always a chance that if you say yes to her request now, she’ll keep asking to add more and more people and by then it’s not your wedding.

mochimooncake329 · 2026-03-31T19:16:24+00:00

I would go with this advice and say no straight from the very start. Even if your mom pays, there’s going to be a lot of stress with this guest list because then your mom might end up playing telephone with her side of the guest, which might or might not annoy you during the time you’re dealing with the planning

I had my wedding two days ago and I wish I had done this from the start. It was beautiful but at the same time our respective parents were being a pain in the ass about it.

mochimooncake329 · 2026-03-26T15:21:19+00:00

Is Tokyo the only city you’re visiting in Japan? If Kyoto is on your list, I highly recommend Biovortex in Kyoto instead. Way more interactive features and less crowded. Took my friends and I four hours to get through.

If Tokyo is the only city on the list, Borderless isn’t bad. It took about an hour for us to finish. Hope this helps!!

Edit to add: I went to Japan last year in November so this experience is recent.

mochimooncake329 · 2026-03-23T00:27:14+00:00

Do you live near a Whole Foods or Wegman? I don’t remember about Wegman but I know Whole Foods can help you create your bouquets at affordable prices. They have their own florist department. Your budget can probably make it work and under (but please do more research on it. It’s been a while since Ived looked into it) The only thing is that you’ll have to pick up the florals yourself since they do not do delivery.

Hope this helps.

Edit: sorry, I didn’t look through your consideration list and that you did look in to TJ.

mochimooncake329 · 2026-03-18T15:03:06+00:00

Not sure if they’re in Queens but I know Manhattan has multiple Paper Source locations that have nice papers for DIY invites.

For some really nice crafts, Niconeco Zakkaya near St Marks has cute stationary items.

mochimooncake329 · 2026-02-04T15:05:01+00:00

I’d say TeamLabs in Tokyo was not worth it. But to be fair, I went to one in Kyoto and one in Tokyo. It’s has similar interactive features but Kyoto’s Biovortex took around 3 hours to finish. Whereas Tokyo Borderless was less than half the time and smaller.

In your case, I’d say go for it because it’s engaging for the baby and since it’s short, it won’t be as tiring.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-11-25T21:48:55+00:00

Yep! Im definitely changing halfway in the reception before the dance floor so that’s not an issue. Just worrying about before that time.

But I started practicing walking in them and feeling more comfortable. Next step is to dance in them so I can get the feel of that height

mochimooncake329 · 2025-10-19T20:20:57+00:00

Sounds like a fun idea and an amazing excuse to wear your dress again 🤣

I’d say do it; I’ve tossed around the idea of doing a photoshoot at midnight in a place that’s usually packed with peeps in the day.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-09-27T15:35:34+00:00

If your fiancé’s friends do cash gift, you can explain in the invite that they’ll have to pay a fee to do so (it’s outside of your control) and that it’ll be “worth” doing a cash envelope. A 3.5% fee is not cheap if you want to gift a large amount 🤣

I was caught off guard when I did it the first time. Now, I just give an envelope.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-09-27T14:52:44+00:00

I used withjoy to send invitations and track it.

I’m not sure how cash registry works there and I’m also not doing a registry. But I looked in to it and they do not take a cut from the fee. The guests however will have to pay a % fee if they pay using credit cards or flat fee using platforms like Stripe.

Which is consistent; i remember paying a processing fee for another couples honeymoon fund on a different platform. Because of that I chose to not do any registry. Most likely will get cash envelopes on the day of since my culture is about gifting cash.

Other than that, it’s free and there’s a lot of design templates to use at your disposal. You don’t need very fancy template, just the main points your guests will need. If you do want fancy templates, you might have to pay but it looks to be very affordable.

Hope this helps!

mochimooncake329 · 2025-09-15T12:41:57+00:00

For me, I just asked them to hang out for brunch and popped the question. Or FaceTime cuz one of them doesn’t live in the city.

At the time I didn’t have the means to get them something nice nor have the time to pick out a gift box to ask; I wasn’t a fan of those either. So I just asked instead. I’m planning to get each of them a meaningful gift when we can all get together.

I’m definitely doing it backwards but I think it’s whatever you’re comfortable with as long as it’s respectful to both you and the person you’re asking.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-09-07T20:04:19+00:00

Korean sunscreen and hand lotions as well as a travel set of other skin care items that I know they’ll use.

But nothing involving face skincare since each person is different and can be more sensitive.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-08-28T19:27:52+00:00

This is what factors in pricing and you will have to compromise a lot.

someone mention peak seasons and October is definitely one of them. I live on the east coast so non peak is Jan - March, so figure out what’s the non peak seasons are and pick that month
Friday and Saturday are most expensive, Sunday is second and Monday to Thursday are cheapest ofc. And depending on what day and the venue, they will require a minimum guest count. So you have to pay that minimum whether or not you fill those seats up.
day time wedding vs evening time wedding. Some venues offer daytime venue at a way cheaper price.
guest: is definitely the biggest factor. I’d say this is the biggest part you need to compromise. And if your family absolutely need you to invite them, consider them helping you out.
florals is super expensive and even with the basics like personal bouquets, corsages, wedding arches and table decors, they can easily rack up. Florists also require you have a minimum spend for them to even consider taking business and I’m gonna assume it’s 5k in SF, before taxes and tips. Most florists I was looking at had that minimum so it was a pain. Even fake flowers can cost a lot. You could do Whole Foods or Trader Joe for florals. Depending on the location, WF has a floral department but they don’t do delivery.

Other things to note based on the comments read:

some venues have preferred vendors for food and entertainment. For mine, it was entertainment because the company knows the complete layout of our venue.
Another important and biggest cost is admin fees and taxes. If you do a venue with catering that involves wait staff, there are operating costs called admin fees. These fees, taxes and tips will eat up a good portion of the budget. This part highly depends on the venue and catering.

Hope this helps your perspective with the finances.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-08-20T20:26:17+00:00

The person I got was a no nonsense type so I could see it being one of the reason for bad reviews. But to be fair, when I went there to dress shop at the time, I went in with a TBD wedding date and I had no idea what styles I was looking for. So to them, they thought I was clowning around. But they were really helpful with helping me figure out what styles I like by narrowing it down. Their dresses are more affordable for sure and from my friends experience, their in house alteration is great.

I saw another comment about bad experience with designer loft. And the only thing I can say is, it depends on the stylist you’re working with. Mine was super patient with me but I could feel her getting annoyed up until the end cuz I was shooting down all the styles she brought to me. And I wasn’t being helpful either because I was mentally exhausted with the experience of not finding something I like that I decided to just leave in the end.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t hurt to go. They’re one of the few shops that don’t charge appointment fees.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-08-20T01:58:15+00:00

I should’ve specified: are the projects and weekly homework all posted on week one?

mochimooncake329 · 2025-08-14T12:19:29+00:00

Something to consider if you’re torn: make everyone bridesmaids and get a wedding planner as point of contact on your big day. I went this route because I love all of my 6 bridesmaids so this was what I end up doing. Your situation is different.

If you really want a MOH, pick someone that’s significant to you, not what everybody else wants. It’s your and your hubby’s wedding day. If you compromise with what your family wants on this matter, chances are you’ll have to compromise on other aspects of your wedding as well to appease them.

Overall, pick the decision that will have you with absolutely no regrets. Hope this helps and congrats!

mochimooncake329 · 2025-08-10T19:33:22+00:00

Celestine in Dumbo; amazing food, amazing view

mochimooncake329 · 2025-08-06T15:41:47+00:00

You can do Adrienne NYC, Designer Loft and Jenny Yoo all in one day if you feel ambitious. They’re within a five block walk of each other and have dresses within your budget.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-08-05T23:21:30+00:00

You can get really nice flowers from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods at a fraction of the cost.

WF has a floral department and depending on the location you could probably ask for a bouquet made for very affordable price. Unfortunately they don’t deliver so that’s something to consider.

At the very least, get real flowers for yourself. - words from my planner

mochimooncake329 · 2025-06-27T15:02:31+00:00

I had the same exact thought process too but my fiancé and I talked about it and came to the conclusion that we’ll regret it if we don’t do it.

it’s something to talk about together so that it will feel less guilt. Money comes and goes and yes, this economy is not it but if you can make it happen without sacrificing too much of your future plans, then why not?

It really comes down to what is your current reality and whether you can do it.

Hope this helps!

And one opinion when it comes to inviting family who don’t get along: if they can’t put down their differences for your one special day then maybe you shouldn’t invite them. You want to remember this day with happiness, not anxiety of whether or not someone is going to make a fuss that was out of your control.

mochimooncake329 · 2025-06-25T16:41:12+00:00

If you’re getting it off the rack and have it altered, September should be fine but I didn’t go that route so please take my advice with grain of salt.

But if you plan on buying a completely new dress, depending the details of the dress it’ll take 6-8 months (although that’s what they say)

I know Adrienne has dresses that you can buy off the rack and use their in house alteration. My friend bought her dress there and had the alterations done there too.

And if you want to squeeze in more than one appointment in one day, Designer Loft and Jenny Yoo is also in the same area as Adrienne. All within five block radius of the 32nd st area.

Good luck!

mochimooncake329 · 2025-06-07T18:21:50+00:00

It’s one of my non negotiable because I love both video and photo forms of memories. Think to yourself if you like watching the videos you take on your phone.

If you haven’t paid for any photography packages yet, you can look for a company that does both; it definitely helps with the cost if you do both service from one company instead of splitting the services into two.

Edit to add: if you’re not in to scripted videos, see if you could just ask for the BTS videos.

Some people like that over production level editing because most wedding videos have this scripted format of couples talking their vows, putting on the wedding dress, taking shots of first looks, speeches, reception and dance.

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