I started the Mr & Mrs Hsu Youtube channel after our ‘honeymoon’ to Hokkaido as there were moments so sweet and fun we had to share with our beautiful family and friends.

Hope you’re all well xx

I feel so bad that I’ve neglected this blog of ours for so long since we tied the knot. But all is good, I’m back - hopefully on a more regular basis going forward.

So what has been happening? Well, a lot and not much. Life has treated us well and after we got back from the November trip, we bogged down to prepare for the huge Christmas retail season, which was, BUSY! Then, just when I thought we could relax, our wedding photographer kindly reminded us that we needed to pick photos for our wedding album. How hard can it be right? HOW WRONG!!

At first, I was an optimist, looking at the photos on the lappie and jotting down the ones I liked, my faves and must haves, before deciding that choosing every other photo when I should really only go for 60-70 was a no go! And after going only half way through and already chosen 150 or so photos, I thought there has got to be a better way. THERE HAD TO BE!

So what did I do? I went and printed out over 400 photos (after editing out another few hundred) and split them into the different segments of the day and worked from there. As you can see from the photo, it was one mammoth task and it took me a good 3-4 days to get through it.. you must think I’m crazy right? Well, maybe. But you’d be pleased to know, I am done!! Yay!! And I will slowly group the photos and give them out to guests - hit two birds with one stone huh. Yes, smart JJ! Ha!

Since then, Trish has sent back the designed album so now I just need to sit Ben down to get his ok. It’s not over till the fat lady sings…..

x

Looking back, we did/organised everything in 3 days! TOO GOOD! Either that, or the people we engaged have been very efficient (which is more likely the case!!).

There are two albums that we would like to share. Hope you enjoy them! First here and second here. xx

Thank you everyone xx

www.tealilyphotography.com

Thanks Trish!!
x

But if you ask me what is different, I can not really say. I suppose it’s that extra bit of connection, and as Mr Hsu likes to say “We are family now”.. the wedding band is making Mr Hsu’s finger tickle though - he will need some time to adjust!

Back to the big day. The day really sprung up on us rather quickly. I suppose it’s mainly because I was in Tokyo just a week before the big day; things were manic by the time I got back. Everyone wanted me, the florist needed to tell me the peonies we wanted didn’t grow because the weather wasn’t warm enough yet the sweet peas we wanted died because the weather was too warm… sighs… but on the big day, I must say the flowers turned out gorgeous and the orchids that we used for the button holes worked perfectly well with the bridesmaid dresses.

my bouquet

I spoke to the Watermark at least twice a day for a week. The DJ called, the videographer and the photographer emailed, I stuck the guest book together….. it was a long list of last-minute to-do’s. I think no matter how organised one is, the last week or at least the last few days are ALWAYS frantic.

In addition, the weather wasn’t so kind. From Monday, the weather forecast was predicting ‘rain’ for the Friday, and I became a little miserable, but later thought better of it and just left it to God to decide what he has planned for the day. Indeed, He was kind and gave us a day that looked like it would rain from noon but held off till 6pm (after all the photography) to POUR!

And the venue? Well, we found out the day after our big day from our florist that the Watermark was still working on the finishing touches when she rocked up at 2.30 on the day to do the flowers, but by the time we got there, around 5, everything was PERFECT!! Ok, maybe in hindsight there were way too many people and most do not look like wait staff when we rocked up but I was so pumped that day to really realise.. Thank you Watermark - we’ve always had faith in you though.. really, we did - we promise!! ^^

The Watermark

And at long last.. we’re married.

Bridal waltz to At Last by Etta James

Photos on post courtesy of Fontein.
More photos to come. I will try and upload Karen’s slideshow too!!
x

In the past couple of days, I have spoken with Monique from the Watermark quite a bit and we have exchanged a few emails. While there will be quite a bit of last minute scramble, I think we should be fine. To help with our seating, Monique sent through a floor plan of the new restaurant, a la carte style, so it was still a bit of a struggle to visualise everything but she patiently explained and offered options so I was somewhat comforted by her reassurance.

When I got home, I showed Ben the floor plan and ran him through a few things. The funny thing is, the first thing Ben wanted to know was not the floor plan per se, but who is doing the renovation - I think this is more so because we’ve done quite a number of shop fit outs ourselves and he’s super keen to know more interior designers. Anyhow, we found beneath the little logo sitting on the bottom left hand corner the firm’s web address so we hopped on.

The company Watermark has engaged is Hecker Phelan & Guthrie, a firm based in Melbourne that does residential, retail, hospitality and commercial projects. We were very impressed by the projects they’ve done (all amazing!!). The most well known out of the hospitality space is its collaborative work with Woods Bagot to create the ivy complex in Sydney (come to think of it, both the ivy and hp&g logos share a very similar, if not the same font type!), but they have also done quite a few projects in Brisbane as well.

ivy, Penthouse. Collaborative partners HP&G & Woods Bagot. Image: Trevor Mein

While we are worried about the progress of the renovation (just a bit!!), we are equally excited about being the first diners (for menu tasting) and the first party to host our function there after the facelift. I hope we don’t smell the paint! haha!

x

A colleague recommended the la prairie eye cream to me, claiming its effects are instantaneous and that it’s the best she’s ever, ever tried. Her mom invested in la prairie since she was in her 30’s and apparently she is often referred to as my colleague’s sister than her mom. (fyi – my colleague is roughly 35).

I must confess though, I had my doubts. After all, it is very costly and could magic really exist in a tiny jar from Switzerland? I gave it the benefit of the doubt though and googled for reviews on the product. To my surprise, despite the price, and every review I read talks about its cost, almost everyone said they wouldn’t use any other and that the results were almost immediate. I was almost moved by the level of devotion to this product.

It is also interesting to note that la prairie does have a top-of-line ‘caviar’ line (yes, caviar. I would prefer to eat it but I suppose some likes the caviar nutrition on their skin?!) but few reviews focus on the caviar line, probably because it’s almost inaccessible at its price point and those who can afford it can’t be bothered writing about it. Anyways, my point is that la prairie’s Cellular Eye Contour Cream appears to be their most popular and most classic line of eye cream that has been favoured and adored by many of my peers for many, many years.

Given the wedding is almost upon us, I allowed myself a bit of luxury and justified the purchase by saying I need to look gorgeous on my big day.. (I’ve been doing a lot of justification lately.. ha!) That was 12 days ago. Verdict? ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I am not someone who recommend something that doesn’t work or I have a personal bias towards so trust me, it is miraculous!

Its texture is luscious and it claims to “maintain (one’s) skin’s ideal moisture level, guarding against future dryness and dehydration”, and I really think it does. I noticed a distinct brightness under my eyes the next morning and the area under my eyes has certainly become more supple, the hydration is truly amazing, and even lines have slowly faded away. Honestly, I do not lie. Even Ben noticed!!

But don’t expect it to be wrinkle/fine line free. It’s not botox after all, but if you are after something to brighten your skin, keep the contour of your eyes beautifully moisturised and supple, I think you must, must give la prairie a try. It is expensive, $175! And the jar is tiny, but after using it 24 times (day & night), I’ve barely scratched the surface of the cream. My colleague said a jar lasts around 4-5 months.

No, la prairie doesn’t pay me to write this nor do I get any kind of perks from doing so, I just want to share my amazing find with you. And c’mon, we all need it… some more than others I guess. (Me being the ‘some’!)

x

This morning, my colleague told me he was at Balmoral Beach with his little girl yesterday and the Watermark is heavily under construction… sighs, is he trying to scare me? He made up for it by saying that Rockpool looked far worse a week before its opening. Well, I guess at least we’ve a month! Lovely.

But yes, the big day is fast approaching. It is quite noticeable really. Ben has been super keen to make sure his diet is right (and trying very hard to avoid all kinds of carb) and went cycling around Centennial Park on Sunday morning while I slept. It is equally obvious how close the big day is when we see money moving out of our bank accounts at a very rapid speed. Of course, the fact that I run around like a headless chook should be an indication that things are frantic. And when my matron of honour told me she’s preparing for her speech yesterday it became apparent that everyone has become ‘happily’ nervous! Jitters….

And tonight, we will meet up with our lovely MCs to go through the reception schedule, which, on paper, looks perfectly straightforward — We hope!

I know, I know, this post is full of subtle worries and me trying to sound calm but actually really nervious. But don’t worry, things are fine. We’re fine. All’s well. Or do you think we should consider investing in one of these “Everything’s OK” kits? Yes, satire in a box but maybe it may really work! ^^

Anyways, the first thing we found out is that the song we chose to dance to is verrrrrry slow and that the slower the song, the slower (and harder) the waltz. Great!

Basically, the waltz consists of a ‘box’, whether you stand still and dance the box, or you travel with the box or you turn with the box so as long as you move your feet, it’s not overly difficult (at least that’s what Natalie, our dance instructor, tells us). Keeping to beat is also critical, esp when the music is super slow, like ours.

This is a clip I found on youtube, which teaches you how to dance the “box” - very good because these are exactly what we did in our first lesson (this clip is worth $85 an hour!) Warning: the clip can get tedious with him saying “one, two, three.. one, two, three” all the time, but they teach you quite clearly (and simply) the very basic steps you need to dance a good waltz.

Till next time.
x