Yuna & Michael's WEDDING - Part VII - Rehearsal

Yuna Lee & Michael Thompson

WEDDING Part VI

Rehearsal - Keepin' it Country!

Hey Ya'll!

Bless our hearts, we decided to keep rehearsal good 'ol country!

Since Im a Southern Gal (South Korea, Virginia & Southern OH)

We kept it Southern & Country!

We wanted casual & low-key (opposite of our reception)

Our rehearsal BBQ Dinner was held at Benny's BBQ

which is the most amazing BBQ in central Virginia!

(must try bread pudding)

we had both Korean & American BBQ

and it was delicious!!!!!

It was also filled with beautiful speeches, lots of gifts & karaoke!

Thanks to one of my closest friends, Elisabeth, we have these beautiful photos!

I must take credit though for that beautiful green scarf that matches her beautiful eyes just perfectly!  I have good taste when it comes to gifts for other people =) dont'cha think ya'll?

Of course, dinner was after our entertaining rehearsal at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

thanks Rich! Benny's BBQ is a FANTASTIC intimate place for a rehearsal dinner! (don't forget, delish~!)

We love Benny's!

(if you like beer, gotta have the TRIPLE)

(if you like onion rings, Benny's has the BEST- and i mean it)

Yuna & Michael Wedding

I still have SEVERAL parts of our wedding to blog about!

Im mostly waiting for professional photos to be returned =)

BUT

I will tell you... Im most excited to blog about our wedding guests!

It was truly an event for our guests, all about our guests!

We couldnt have had a wedding without the ones we love =)

stay tuned!!!!!

meanwhile...

i will blog about other things!

FLORIDA - GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE 2012

Today is the Florida Primary...

Will one of these two men become the next President?

courtesy: CBS News

It's been a constant battle of who is more conservative...

Is it Mitt? Newt? Perhaps Rick?

and is Ron Paul still in the picture?

oops, pink fingers!

The thursday before my wedding, I wanted cupcakes.

As my co-workers at WHIO know, i LOVE cupcakes!

but I really wanted cheap cupcakes (cupcakes either have to be really cheap or really gourmet) for my taste...

strange, yes i know...

so my Maid of Honor took me to Kroger.

we bought the cheapest hot pink cupcakes.

i was eating them in the car in the dark.

we return to her house

and my TEETH were PINK

as were my fingers!

fortunately, the pink disappeared right before rehearsal dinner.

Yuna & Michael WEDDING Part VI - Staying at the Jefferson

Yuna Lee & Michael Thompson

WEDDING Part VI

Staying at the Jefferson

Since our wedding was a destination for most of our family & friends, we blocked dozens of rooms at the Jefferson Hotel.

My Maid of Honor also stayed with me over the weekend,

where we were greeted by Virginia Wines, Sparkling Water, Strawberries dipped in Chocolate, etc!

Mike & I were also given lots of treats in our Bridal Suite =)

The day after the wedding... we, of course, had to have family champaign brunch!  We ate even more spoonbread!

Mike's groomsmen & his parents never had Jefferson Brunch

so they were in for a treat!

I think Mike's mother, Giga (that's what we call her) loved the deserts!

Poor Boomie & Annette had the stomach flu

but the rest of us enjoyed even more southern cookin'!

Yuna & Michael WEDDING part V - Cocktail Hour

Yuna Lee & Michael Thompson

WEDDING Part V

Cocktail Hour 

After the ceremony, our guests were invited to a Cocktail Hour at the Jefferson Hotel's Rotunda.

After taking Bride/Groom photos, we walked down the Jefferson Hotel's Grand Staircase (inspiration for Gone with the Wind)

Our guests, with drinks in hand, greeted us =)

Our guests enjoyed an open bar

We served three signature drinks, beer, cocktails

and...

 Jefferson Hotel & Virginia Wines

 (from Monticello, where Jefferson owned a home)

We made sure our guests had butler-served and displayed 

Hors D'oeuvres

Chesapeake Bay Crab Balls,

Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce

Braised Shortrib Wellington

Coconut Shrimp with Honey Chili Glaze

Artichoke Basil and Sundried Tomato Bruschetta

Eggplant Caponata on Toasted Foccacia

Display
Display of Fresh Seasonal and Exotic Fruit, Fresh Vegetables,
Domestic and International Cheeses with Baguettes, Crackers and Appropriate Dips

Our guests were then piped by Tom MacLeod up the grand staircase and into the Empire Ballroom (where reception was held)

Yuna & Michael WEDDING part IV - Wedding Party

Yuna Lee & Michael Thompson

WEDDING Part IV

Wedding Party

Our wedding party consisted of our best friends from all over the country!  Mike's best man, Matt, flew in a few days early from New Mexico.  His brother Dan drove in from Cleveland, his groomsman Don drove from Williamsburg and his groomsman Matt is the only one who lives in Richmond!

My maid of honor, Mellie and bridesmaid Rachel live in Richmond.  My bridesmaid Rebekah flew in from San Francisco and my bridesmaid Melissa drove from Baltimore! 

Lots of traveling!

Our wedding party teared us up with speeches from the heart!

They were by our side the entire time (especially our bodyguard, Dan) who made sure we had everything we needed!

My girls did a fantastic job making sure I was not stressed!

My maid of honor even took me out to the spa to get a spa pedicure and manicure. Plus, she kept me calm the entire time!

She even made my bridesmaids' feathers! from scratch!

Most of our wedding party members stayed at The Jefferson Hotel!

A big slumber party!

It was just such a lovely night!

Thanks to everyone in our wedding party!!!!!!!

You truly were worker bees!

Still unsure how we ended up with such amazing friends!

=) we are truly blessed!

Oh! Let's not forget, the groomsmen & my maid of honor got us the BEST GIFT... two words...
pump... action...

Yuna & Michael WEDDING Part III - Gifts for Guests

Yuna Lee & Michael Thompson Wedding 

Part III

Gifts for Guests

Michael and I realize, we just spending money on others LOL

we had a blast with gifts for our wedding guests!

Our party favors consisted of magic berries, pecan jacks & cake.

First, Magic Berries.

We wrapped them in beautiful white paper, tied with a white satin bow & sealed with our monogram w white pearl wax

Inside the boxes were these "take me" magic berries

My beautiful bridesmaids received little Tiffany's boxes!

Who doesn't jewelry once in a while?

They all went home with beautiful monogrammed necklaces

personalized just for them!

(groomsmen were presented tux shirts, bow ties & tux hard wear)

Speaking of personalization..

These are just a few of the personalized menus & placecards

Our programs matched the wedding menus

embossed monogram on top

Everyone who participated in our rehearsal went home with gifts 

We hope they felt spoiled!

All guests who stayed at the recommended Jefferson Hotel

(we had about 36 rooms in our block!!!)

They received little gift boxes full of "stress reducing" kits

We hope they found our gift box useful!

all wrapped with a silver bow!

Just a few little things that we HOPE made a difference in our guests' experience on our special day

=)

Yuna & Michael WEDDING Part II - Reception

Yuna Lee & Michael Thompson Wedding

Part II

Reception @ the Jefferson Hotel

As soon as we got engaged, we had no doubt that we wanted our ceremony at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

Just as easily, did we choose the Jefferson Hotel for our reception!

Not only is Thomas Jefferson our favorite hotel, but we LOVE the food at the Jefferson Hotel, especially their SPOONBREAD!

We hired Blue Steel Lighting

 They helped our guests feel the "Winter Wonderland Magic" 

Our guests entered into blue lights & white sparkles everywhere

They were welcomed by personalized music.

 (yes, we spent hours editing our reception entrance theme)

We wanted our guests to truly feel the magic and hope our guests felt that with the personalized soundtrack =)

For dinner, Blue Steel Lighting added warmth to a cozy intimate dinner of our favorite Southern Dishes including individual bowls of spoonbread.  We provided a sit-down dinner with personalized menus (embossed with monograms of course!)

We served our favorite Virginia wines and had signature drinks (will blog more about cocktail hour & drinks later!)

We gave out two party favors 

Magic Berries (i'll explain in another blog) wrapped in white, with a silk white ribbon, sealed with our monogrammed wax seal

They also had personalized alcohol chocolate covered pecans from Pecan Jacks

I never really cared for flowers and only wanted to spend a teeny amount on floral arrangements.  Unfortunately, when I had a talk with Rick Lunsford from the Blooms at the Jefferson Hotel...

my mind completely changed.

I told him my wedding theme...

He presented a proposal full of pure white orchids & lillies

In the end...

We had the most beautiful flowers (fresh & absolutely stunning) from the Blooms.

Our photographer Emily Chastain asked us to pose for this photo.

She was recommended to me by my friend and former co-worker, Ted Alvis.  I couldn't have asked more from Emily. She is absolutely amazing.  I can't wait to see all of her photos!

Our 6 tier cake is from the Jefferson Hotel Bakery.

I wanted simple and delicious!

Michael and I chose three of our favorite flavors and ordered our cake to feed more than 450 people (that way, all of our guests could try all three flavors and take some home with them!)

Our cake was covered in buttercream & white chocolate shavings to make it look like snow...

Also, it was monogrammed (just like everything else!)

Our first dance was to "From this Moment" by Shania Twain and Bryan White.  Michael and I hate to be the center of attention 

(most people are surprised because of what we do for a living)

so we cut our First Dance song down to 2 minutes.

 We had a nice mix of songs thanks to Rodney from On Tour DJ Services.  We also had my Italian family start off the Tarantella

You know it was a good party... when the shoes go off!

They danced on the personalized monogrammed dance floor =)

 We really did not want the wedding to be about US... we wanted it to be more about our guests... so we left out many of the wedding traditions, but kept the bouquet toss for the girls =)

Rick was nice enough to give us another bouquet to toss so I could preserve my orchids bridal bouquet.

We truly want to thank our wedding coordinator, Ashton Hassan, for a beautiful stress-free wedding!  Everyone told me, something WILL go wrong... but in the end, NOTHING went wrong!

I know it's hard to believe,

but it was PERFECT!!!!

More than what I dreamed of!

oh! my husband was reading the Richmond Times Dispatch by the Jefferson Hotel pool on our wedding day.

One of the top stories?

How the Jefferson Hotel received a FIVE DIAMOND rating again!

the only one in the region!!!!

Yuna & Mike WEDDING Part I - Ceremony

Hi Friends =)

I will be blogging different parts of my wedding at a time =)

First,

My CEREMONY!!!!!

We held our wedding ceremony at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

Michael and I often attended mass at this beautiful church.

I was confirmed here and also am a member!

Father Patrick Golden is the most amazing priest and I had NO DOUBT I wanted him to marry us!!!!!  It was a beautiful full mass ceremony and it was absolutely difficult to not cry the entire time!!!!  I was focused on a crack in the marble and Michael told me he saw me as a solar eclipse... He sort of looked around and past me so he would not get too emotional and cry!

It was indeed a beautiful ceremony and I thank Father Patrick for such a moving personal homily!!!! Also, a big thanks for Dr. Patrick Carlin for the beautiful music/organ and Michele Orr for a beautiful performance!!!!  We couldn't have done it without our coordinators, Joyce & Kim. Plus, Tim MacLeod's bagpiping guests into the church was truly amazing!!!!!

Rehearsal at the Church

I was so happy and emotional, I had tears streaming down my cheeks.  Thanks to that crack in the marble, I was able to hold myself together for most of the ceremony!

We had my favorite versions of the Lamb of God.. and had Taste and See for our communion song, which also happens to be one of my favorites!  Overall, it was an amazing ceremony!

(Most photographs by Emily Chastain... help from Alvis Media... last photo taken by Elisabeth Romano Fancett)