Check out Style Me Pretty's feature of this beautiful couple's wedding here!
Over here on the East Coast, we get all types of crazy weather and many couples often worry if their day will be sun-soaked or drowned in torrential downpour.
Enter Tracy and Dave's lake wedding! They got sun and rain and their wedding was still awesome. Like, really awesome. Although the day started with comfortable conditions, the mid-day thunderstorm happened to fall at the same time as the ceremony. Through some executive decision making, the wedding coordinator (Kaitlin - Cheers Darling) switched the cocktail and ceremony times to and everything worked out perfectly. In fact, I felt the rain made things look so much cooler since moisture has the ability to saturate colors and give texture to photos.
The weather did not affect Tracy and Dave one bit. I don't think anything could have. They were just the happiest and most cheerful couple ever. They even had a getaway boat!
(Credits at Bottom of Post)
Planner and Coordination by Cheers Darling Events // Flowers by Floral and Bloom Designs // Hair and Makeup by Modern Bridal Studio // Day of Paper Goods by Paperzest // Invitations by Minted // Day of Calligraphy by Wink // Prep and Hotel: Lorien Hotel // Cake by Fluffy Thoughts // Deserts by // Photography by Clarence Chan Assistance by Keri Tan
I've never heard of Nara until my wife, being the animal lover she is, insisted that we go pay deer park a visit. It turned out a lot more fun (and scarier) than I thought it would! The deer at the park are very small, yet vicious when they know you have food. People (thankfully, not me) have gotten bruises from painful deer bites! The key is to never be the first person to purchase deer food--or else you will end up like my friend over here:
This lady was being chased by a horde of deer, in case you couldn't tell. With her distracting most of the deer, the rest of us felt safe to purchase deer food. Later on, we discovered that we didn't even need to spend our money buying food for them; they were perfectly happy eating the leaves that we helped them reach! A few of our friends also tried to feed the deer "lady and the tramp" style, if you get what I mean.
This was definitely a unique experience, and although I do not understand Japanese people's obsession with animals (cat cafe, owl cafe, hedgehog cafe, deer park, cat island, fox island, and bunny island), I am thankful that they enjoy these furry creatures.
On our February trip to Japan, we visited Kyoto. If you'd like to experience what Kyoto was like back in the day, before electricity, Sannenzaka is the place. Technically, Kiyomizu temple, Sannenzaka, and Ninenzaka are all one big place. People usually start the tour by beginning at the temple, then meandering through the ancient streets of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka. The little shops along the streets sell snacks and souvenirs, and everything in between. My favorite ones were this cinnamon green tea cream puff shop and a Totoro shop.
My wife rented kimonos for us and it was like we were transported back in time! We started out at the Kiyomizu temple, which was a must-see according to many travel blogs--but honestly, all the temples started looking the same after visiting a few of them. I'd say only visit 2-3 temples when visiting Japan.
Special thanks to my friend and fellow photographer, Justin, for taking some of these couple-y photos of us!
We also visited Fushimi Inari Taisha, also known as the 1,000 Gates. The key is to visit early in the morning, before other tourists start flooding in. We were tired, but able to get some sweet shots!
Last but not least, we visited a famous bamboo forest called Arashiyama. I felt like I was on the set of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when I was there. Too bad I do not know kungfu.
Back in February, my friends and my wife and I went on an epic trip to Japan. The first place we hit up was Tokyo, which is definitely one of my favorite places in the world. My experience can be summarized by the following pictures and blurbs below.
1. Mario Kart in Tokyo: the most terrifying and satisfying experience of my life. I knew it would be fun, but I wasn't quite prepared for the scary experience. You will see why as you read on (and watch the video at the end).
We booked our experience on maricar.com and chose their 2-hour experience tour, which took us from Shinagawa to Tokyo Tower, Roppongi, and Shibuya Crossing. This trip was long, but allowed us to sightsee as we drove. Our driver also allowed us to stop and take pictures at each of the sites. So, if you would like to hit all the sight-seeing spots quickly while doing something unconventional (and attention-grabbing), the Mario Kart tour is the way to go.
Anyway, we showed up at 1:45 PM for our 2 PM booking. We brought our international driver's licenses with us (this is a MUST; we saw a couple get turned away because they did not have international driver's licenses), signed our waivers, and began picking our costumes. The store divided their costumes into two racks, one for Disney characters and one for Mario characters. I ended up choosing Luigi to match with my friend who chose the Mario costume. All the little kids on the street wanted to wave to us and one even ran up to my wife (who dressed up as Yoshi) to take pictures with me!
2. The Robot Restaurant: the perennial tourist trap. You know it may not be worth the money, yet you feel your trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to the establishment. So you go. And feel super weirded out by the mishmash of random costumes, themes, music, and storylines. I never knew so many paradoxes could coexist in one show. A comment I heard from another visitor (while waiting in line) sufficiently sums up my experience: Have you ever done LSD? If not, this is what it's like!
3. Shinjuku/Harajuku: a place filled with animal cafes, yummy snacks, and interesting stores. We visited a cat cafe and an owl cafe here, as well as purchased some Japanese snacks. This is a must-see for first-time Tokyo visitors.
4. Meiji Temple: Our crew was tired after walking around Shinjuku/Harajuku, so we look things slow at Meiji Temple.
5. Shibuya Crossing: the Japanese equivalent of Times Square. It is also a must see, as is the statue of Hachiko, a dog known for his loyalty. His owner passed away, yet he continued to faithfully wait at the train station for his owner to get home from work everyday. Of course, he never saw his owner again. Richard Gere made a movie about it, but I recommend having tissues ready if you watch it!
6. Park Hyatt Tokyo: is one of the swankiest hotel I've ever stayed at! The movie, Lost in Translation, was also filmed here. Naturally, we woke up at the crack of dawn the next day to reenact the famous scene from the movie!