Look What I Found on My iPad

Locked .png Inspiration For My Wedding Website

I recently completed the Thank You page for my wedding website, which consists of 80+ Fujifilm Instax photos compiled on my wedding day. The intent of the Instax photos was for the guest book, but I'm so happy that someone decided to pass around the camera and take shots during the wedding because some of these are #priceless.

Before the wedding, I hadn't thought about how I wanted to share these Instax photos except that I would scan and post them onto the site. This weekend, my husband Sean scanned all the photos and I brainstormed and sketched ideas on how I wanted to present them. I've been wanting to experiment with a locked .png design for websites and thought this Thank You page was the perfect opportunity.

After 3 or 4 different designs, I ended up designing a simple semi-transparent heart frame that served as a viewfinder for the Instax photos as you scrolled through. I'm particularly proud and happy with the way the page turned out, especially since it is consistent with the pink and heart theme from my wedding and captures the joy and fun of the day.

Check it out here:

Thank You page on seanandzeny.com

The inspiration to use a locked .png came from the websites below which all feel simple (an adjective from my wedding mood board). What I like about the floating locked .png and the scrolling movement behind it is that it makes the experience feel playful and tangible by providing layers.

ProenzaSchouler.com

WeSeeBeauty.tumblr.com

The Making of Zeny and Sean's DIY Wedding

I'M MARRIED. Which also means I'm done wedding planning! I have been noticeably absent on the blog for the last 7 months due to the need to spend most of my free time planning my wedding website, invitations, decorations, food, music, attire, hair, makeup, hotel, transportation... and the list goes on. My wedding was last Friday, July 26 and it turned out to be the most beautiful and happiest wedding I could have asked for. I did not have a wedding planner because of cost and preferred to do everything myself (because I'm a control freak), but I did have the help of my now husband and many amazing and talented family members and friends.

I'm sharing some details and tips on my personal wedding process, hoping it will help future DIY brides:

1. Before you plan anything, create a mood board 
Back in September of 2012, the first thing I forced myself to do was create a mood board for my wedding that would guide all the decisions I made moving forward. The mood board consisted of images and adjectives that captured the vibe, attitude and look and feel of the wedding. At that time I had just watched two movies Like Crazy and Celeste and Jesse Forever which took place in Los Angeles and inspired the laid-back, surfer/skater, minimalist route. Also, our budgets were tight so "simple" and "clean" felt like a good decision.

2. Figure out your budget and make a list of priorities

According to theknot.com the average American wedding in 2012 cost $28,427. My recommendation is to do some research with vendors in your wedding location to make an intelligent guest but be honest with yourself and your partner about what is a comfortable number. 

Once you decide on a budget, prioritize what is important to you. These were our priorities:

1. Venue - We wanted outdoor, views, space, water but no sand
2. Photographer - We wanted beautiful, un-posed pictures 
3. Alcohol - Open bar, the whole time

These were less important:

1. Dress - I just needed to look nice
2. Flowers - Our venue was a ranch so ornate flower arrangements wasn't necessary
3. Food - Catering outdoors is always tough so we accepted that we weren't going to get restaurant/bistro quality food

3. Choose your wedding colors 

I uploaded my mood board to a tool on kuler.adobe.com and selected the colors that went well together. I avoided green, even though it's my favorite color, because I knew the venue would be lush with grass and trees.

4. Secure your venue and send your Save the Dates

Since I live in New York, the only opportunity to visit venues was in December when I went home to Hawaii to visit my family. I had a hunch I wanted to have my wedding at Sunset Ranch from the photos I had seen on its Facebook page and when I went for a site visit, I instantly knew this was the right place. The next day, I emailed my guests a Save the Date, giving them 7 months lead time. 

6. Maximize use of your wedding website

I spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to visualize and tell our story on our wedding website seanandzeny.com and decided on a chronological visual slideshow that allowed people to scroll and see how we grew up together as a couple. My awesome friend Dmitriy developed the site to be responsive for table and mobile so it displays beautifully on any screen. I used the site for my RSVPs to save money on stamps and printing and to house wedding details and engagement photos.

7. Create secret boards on Pinterest

This is a no brainer but the downside is you can only create 3 secret boards of your own. One of my bridesmaids shared her secret Pinterest board with me so I could see what dresses and shoes she was selecting.

8. Choose common colors for bridesmaid dresses

I found a beautiful rose arrangement on Pinterest and wanted my bridesmaids to find dresses in those hues; however, not everyone had an easy time finding their color due to the shade being out of season or just too uncommon, so I had to adjust two of the shades (Ruchy and Melodee's). See below for the initial photo I sent with their shade assignments: 

Final bridesmaid dresses below:

9. DIY decorations aren't always cheaper but it does make it more personal

I started serious wedding planning in late January but didn't actually execute any of the decorations until 2-3 months before the wedding. The reasoning is DIY takes a lot of time, specifically preparation, delegation and sourcing materials. With work and a life, it's tough to find time to cut, glue, trace, etc. so I had many friends and family who graciously offered to help me make flags, flower arrangements and favors. 

My favorite wedding blogs for inspiration are: Green Wedding Shoes, Style Me Pretty, Rock My Wedding and Snippet and Ink; however, I recommend brainstorming on ways to make things personal to you and your partner to add a special touch and don't forget to reference the MOOD BOARD.

Two weeks before the wedding, I sketched all the decorations and sent it to my mom and aunt to execute on the day of. They did an amazing job bringing my vision to life and I'm so grateful for everyone who helped set up. 

*My brother made these amazing light-up "Z" and "S" letters

My close high school friend Jenn bakes as a hobby and I knew I wanted her to make my wedding cake, so I sent her a few photos I found online...

And she created this beyond amazing ombre pink two-tier cake! Thank you Jenn!

10. Dopplegangers help with hair and makeup
I couldn't decide on my hair and makeup because I was torn as to what would look good on me and the options were infinite--hair up? hair down? So I googled "Jamie Chung" who I've often been told I look like (I don't see the resemblance) and it helped me make a decision to do my hair down curled with a side part. Thanks Jamie!

11. The small details matter

No matter what it is you need to buy--the weddings bands, groomsmen socks, bridesmaid gifts, garter, heels--make sure it stays true to your mood board and vision or at minimum reflects you and your partner. Weddings aren't cheap so every dollar spent should be worthwhile.

The last piece of advice is to expect the unexpected. It rained heavily on my wedding, my cake melted, the vases kept falling off the tables and I stained the entire bottom of my dress--but nevertheless, it was the best day ever thanks to all my friends and family who joined me to celebrate. All the effort and work the last 7 months has been worth it.

Brooklyn Botanical Garden Photo Shoot

Sean and I typically aren't the photo-taking-type, and so, as you can imagine our engagement photo session was filled with wisecracks, awkward faces and too much silliness. But thank goodness Pat Furey Photography is an amazing photographer with Dumbledore-level wizardry skills because the photos came out beautifully. Thanks so much Pat! xx

Everything You Wanted to Know About My Engagement

I usually don't blog about my personal life but a recent turn of events has convinced me that this is a moment where blogging would be appropriate. Meaning all your questions about my engagement to Sean will be answered in honest detail and true NY Mag Absolute Moron-style.

You're engaged?!

Yep! Crazy, I know.

To who? I didn't even know you had a boyfriend.

I do, I mean, I did (he's my biancé now = boyfriend + fiance). His name is Sean. He works for Random House. 6'2'', used to skateboard and loves milk and cookies. We've been together for over 8 years.

No shit, that's cray.

Yeah, here's some pictures to prove it:

This is literally the first time we met at Punahou Carnival on February 6, 2004

And here we are on the night of our engagement on June 17, 2012

You're so young. What are you like 21?

Age is just a number, not a measure of character. And, no I'm not 21... but I'll take it as a complement.

Who knew you'd get married a 100 months later.

Sean did. Even after being with Sean for so long, this was very unexpected for me. I really had no idea he was going to propose on Sunday. But since day one, he's been sure of "us" and I love him for always knowing. His stubborn dedication reminds me of Adam from Girls or Ryan Gosling from The Notebook, you can't help but find that commitment attractive and endearing. He's been a huge part of my adult life and I wouldn't change any part of it. Plus, he cooks a mean lasagna.

So, back to the engagement. After it happened, did you update your Facebook relationship status?

Ha. I thought about it but realized I don't even have my relationship status filled out on Facebook. I didn't want to be that girl who changes her relationship status from 'In a Relationship' to 'Engaged' and have the entire world respond to it. So instead I thought it'd be more subtle if I tweeted about it...

Wow 184 likes and 74 comments. Real subtle.

I KNOW! I was totally shocked. I might as well have changed my relationship status. I was overwhelmed by all the love I received on facebook, text message and phone calls--it made me realize how awesome my friends are and all the wonderful people I have met over the years. Really, thanks guys. 

Whoa, wait. You didn't know how to ride a bike?

Nope. I can't drive either. Learning how to ride a bike was one of my New Year's resolutions, and since it was so nice out this weekend, Sean decided to teach me.

Pics or it didn't happen.

So how'd he do it?

It was at the East River Park in Williamsburg, my absolute favorite view of NYC. Every time I come to this park, I fall in love with the city all over again because it feels like home, like the place I belong. I can name many instances where I've come to this park with Sean post-Smorgasburg, my family and friends for photo-ops and often by myself to think. 

We just finished my second bicycling session at Brooklyn Bridge Park (Sean said that I can't say I know how to ride a bike until I've done it twice) and took the East River Ferry back to Williamsburg. It was about 7pm when we got off and he suggested we stop at the park to watch the sunset. 

The park was more crowded than usual, probably because it was a Sunday and so nice out. Sean was being picky about where we sat (this is when I started to get a feeling something was up) and he finally settled for a log on the sand near the water. Not gonna lie, I was super tired at this point and kind of wanted to just go home (but then, I thought to myself, if something was up... I couldn't ruin it by being a whiny turd). Then, Sean started to say things. Really sweet things. Things I already knew, like how I make him the happiest person in the world, how we've had our ups and downs--it was at this point, I knew he was going to propose and instantly froze. THIS IS HAPPENING. 

He got down on one knee and pulled out a velvet blue box. STILL IN SHOCK. He may have asked me a question, something about having a future together--I don't remember because the moment was a blur and I sat there speechless. When I realized it was my turn to give an answer, I told him he knew my answer. Yes, of course. I then proceeded to ball like a baby, because 1) this was unexpected, 2) the ring was beautiful and 3) I am finally growing up.

The view from where Sean proposed

Did people see you? Did they clap?

No, we were on the secluded side surrounded by high bushes so no one saw. I prefer it that way. But we did ask a stranger to take a picture with our cell phone:

OooOOoo, can I see the ring?

It's a vintage ring. To be honest, I didn't have a specific ring in mind. I think all I've hinted at was "vintage", "square", "art deco" and "moon rock". No joke, I told Sean I wanted a moon rock. But I guess a diamond will do. Just kidding. When I saw the ring, I realized how well Sean knew me, often times better than I knew myself. I love the little details like the two triangle diamonds on each side that remind me of the rays on top of the Chrysler building and the elevated square setting which accentuates the rock e.g. makes it look bigger!

You should really get a manicure before you show people your ring.

...

WHEN'S THE WEDDING?!

... 

I'm giving myself time for the engagement to soak in before I think about wedding planning.

Are you getting married in Hawaii?

Yes, both of our families are from there so it would make the most sense.

Am I invited?!

Reference two questions back. 

How does it feel to be engaged?

Weird. But good weird. The type of weird that makes me think I'm finally comfortable being in my late 20s. The good weird where you know things are going to be great because you're beginning a new adventure with someone who makes you really happy. The good weird where you accept all the mistakes you've made as a teenager and in your early 20s and move on from them knowing you're wiser because of it.

The good weird knowing someone is crazy enough to love you this much.