Wo Ai Wai-Ching (translation: I love Wai-Ching!)

The bride's dress changes during a Chinese banquet is on of my favorite traditions. As a kid attending weddings, I'd eagerly await for the bride's next outfit. I guess this part definitely factored into my "wedding fantasy."

I'm so glad that I'm about 9 months away and I have all my dresses ready or at least picked out. I worked with such awesome vendors who were so helpful. Also, I found a few of my dresses in China, so it does feel like I went around to gather a trousseau. ;)

The tradition stems from merging of both cultures, East and West. White is usually considered a color for mourning in Chinese culture, but with such beautiful white wedding gowns, who can resist? Often, Chinese brides change into a red or other bright colored traditional-styled dress, either a cheongsam/qipao or hung kwa. Learn more here from the trusty Knot pages on Chinese weddings.

Usually, the bride also changes into a reception dress so that she can boogie down and dance!

I relished in a chance to collect a few dresses that really show different sides of my personality. I really love classic and vintage styles, but another side of me loves color and funky cuts, so this way, I really get to include all of that in my wedding!

So without further ado, I'll start with one of the most unique dress designers I found while living in Seattle... Chrissy Wai-Ching. I love this woman! She is so much fun to just chat with and really cares about your individual style as much as her designs. Chrissy started out as an artist and then forayed into dress design. All the pieces are hand dyed and made of silk. I think they're really art pieces. I discovered Chrissy while surfing the net and was drawn to her dresses immediately. At that point, I had already purchased my wedding gown and was definitely NOT having buyer's remorse, but still needed a reception dress. The beauty of a Wai-Ching dress is that they're all customizable in color and style and each piece really becomes an original because it's very hard to replicate the colors.

I picked the Bliss dress for the reception. In my wedding fantasy, I have two dream weddings.

• Scenario 1: I get married in a villa in Tuscany with a small party of friends and my closest family (which is so hard to choose because there are SO many people in my family). It would be a wine and tapas party, very organic, and the day would end with sunflowers and the perfect sunset. I would wear a beautiful yet simple flowy dress with my hair loose and no veil.
  
• Scenario 2: I have a big blowout in New York with my entire family and all our friends and a compromise between a Chinese banquet and standard reception. There would be tons of food and just grand partying.

Needless to say, I opted for number two and I'm happy with it! I don't think my special day would be as special if my entire family weren't there. Every person has had such an impact on my life and I'd want them to share my day with me. BUT, I'm going to get the best of both worlds, because I'll get my beautiful flowy dress too, a la The Bliss from Wai-Ching.

Before leaving Seattle, on my very last day, I met with Chrissy to try on a sample and discuss customization options. It was so much fun! I felt like I was back in high school, trying on outfits with my best friend. Chrissy is very laid back and not pushy. She's very modest about her work and is so willing to help to make a dress fit you perfectly. She's ready with pins, strap variations, and fabric swatches to make it as easy as possible. All the Wai-Ching dresses offer awesome and creative options for non-traditional wedding gowns (you can always opt for a colored dress to be white or ivory) and reception dresses.


My Wai-Ching Bliss. For color, I selected turquoise/aqua/blue. The top of the dress will be silk satin vs. chiffon, so it'll make it more dressy for our evening reception. I can't wait to get it (in November) and try it on.






Other beautiful Wai-Ching pieces...

The Cubana. So hot! I love this one, but the back was a bit too bare for me.


The Monaco. This would be perfect for a bridesmaid dress. I took BM Seattle with me and she just loved all of Chrissy's dresses too, but couldn't validate purchasing one without an invitation to some big event.

The Inca. This was a dress I considered ordering for the rehearsal dinner, except shortened to knee length, but instead I got the Symphony (see below) in a similar base color as above.


The Symphony. More streamlined and simple. I love the sweetheart neckline. I think it'll look smashing in red.

The Muse Bolero. I'm was also going to get a matching bolero for the rehearsal dinner dress but figured it would be too much, but this may be a great bolero option (they're so hot right now!) for a more modern wedding gown.

I'm definitely becoming a Wai-Ching junkie! If you're interested in ordering a dress either for the reception or wedding, don't worry that you're not there to meet Chrissy in person. She sends great instructions on how to take your measurements and is very responsive to email. Also, she will alter the dress if it doesn't fit correctly. She's also really good at articulating what you want, even if you don't quite know what it is. But call her at least 2 months in advance, especially in the summer when her orders begin to stack up. It's a one-woman operation: Chrissy, dyes, cuts, and sews everything herself.

More dress selections to come later!

{all images from www.wai-ching.com}