Going Bridal in Hong Kong (Part 1)

Well, I'm back from my fabulous trip to Asia. It was sort of a last minute decision to go on this trip with my mom and her extended family, which included my great aunt and her four adult children (my aunts and uncles). I have to admit that my ulterior motive for the trip was to get a lot of wedding shopping done along with getting some good family time. All I can say is I got a lot of both! I had a blast sightseeing through Guilin and Taiwan and I shopped my heart out in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a great place to shop for just about anything, from designer couture clothes at boutiques to street vendors selling fun knick-knacks-- you'll definitely find something you'll want to buy!

We had a lot on our wedding to do list for Hong Kong including:

• Find a dress for Mama Canary
• Find wedding jewelry for yours truly (namely dragon and phoenix bangles for the tea ceremony)
• Find wedding bands for me and Mr. Canary

On our first night in Hong Kong, we were directed by a very knowledgeable friend to Kimberley Road (and Observatory Road) in Tsim Sha Tsui for its plethora of wedding shops. The entire block is littered with wedding shop after wedding shop. Most brides often go to one of these shops to arrange for an entire package that often includes a studio photoshoot and clothing rental for the bride and the groom for the wedding day. Therefore, most brides never purchase their wedding gowns or evening attire. What's seen in the stores is almost always used for rental, which means if you plan on purchasing a gown and you're not the requisite petite size, you'll have to custom order, which unfortunately is much pricier than what most evening dresses cost in the US. Also, I really have to stress that the dress styles are much more elaborate in Hong Kong. Way more bells and whistles than I'm accustomed to! Imagine Cinderella type ball gowns in every color imaginable (yes, even lime green and bright orange!) The culture is completely different. For example, sometimes bridesmaids will even wear large ball gowns and mothers of both the bride and groom also change several times over the course of the evening.

Mama Canary and I didn't end up buying anything that night but learned about a Wedding Expo event happening the following day that would showcase a lot of the vendors and shops we wanted to visit anyway.


So the next day, we ended up at the 49th Christmas Wedding Expo. The entrance was only $21HK which is less than $3 US! It was fun if not overwhelming. The vendors were all super aggressive. But Mama Canary and I had a blast regardless and learned a lot about a few different type of vendors. But most importantly, we crossed one item off our list: wedding bands for Mr. Canary and me!

We purchased them at the show from two different vendors. Mama Canary and I had checked out some jewelry stores in the morning and couldn't find any rings that weren't either too gaudy or decorative. Again, the style preferences vary a lot and there were very few bands that were simple without too much decoration, especially for men's bands.

We purchased Mr. Canary's band from Tai Fook, which seemed to carry the most modern and classic wedding bands for men. Mr. Canary and I had done a bit of research and shopping before my trip so I got a sense of what he liked. His criteria was: 6 mm, no gemstones or diamonds, simple design, and not too modern, something that would be timeless. He also didn't have a preference for white gold or platinum. Platinum isn't as popular in Hong Kong, so we went with white gold.

So I present you with Mr. Canary's wedding band:


Usually, you can pick up standard Hong Kong ring sizes right at the shop, but since Mr. Canary size (10.5) is large by Hong Kong standards we had to custom order the ring. There was no additional charge for the custom order (which included engraving). The standard lead time is three weeks, but we were able to get it within 10 days. The ring cost us under $600 US, which was quite lower than what we had found in New York. And remember, the price is always negotiable at jewelry stores in Hong Kong.

I was so worried that it wouldn't fit and that Mr. Canary didn't like it, but when he finally tried it on, it fit like a dream and looked great! We both loved the slight inset edges of the band and that it was classic with a bit of a modern detailing.

Here are some other Tai Fook designs that I thought were also pretty nice. If you're in the Hong Kong area they have locations in Tuen Mun (Phone: 852-2457-2825), Tseun Wan (Phone: 852-2439-9683), and Tsim Sha Tsui (Phone: 852-2376-3889).



I didn't find anything that suited me at Tai Fook, but I stopped at another booth, Shoebridge which carried a lot of beautiful and simple designs as well. Their women's ring selection was considerable and I ended up finding something that fit really well with my engagement ring.


Shoebridge is also a much smaller jeweler (compared to the majors like Chow Tai Fook and Luk Fook) in Hong Kong, but I really liked their selection and service. They've got a mom and pop feel and they delivered on their promise. I had a channel set, eternity band in 18K white gold custom ordered within 10 days and for less than $1,000 US.

My ring next to Mr. Canary's

Shoebridge
Shop 128, 1st Floor, Peninsula Centre
No. 67 Mody Road
Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Phone: 852-2264-8295
Email: enquiry@shoebridge.com.hk
Web site: www.shoebridge.com.hk

Next stop: A dress for Mama Canary!