Web Presence!

Dude! The KitanJi save-the-dates have been featured on 2 websites already! HAHA!

http://www.make-your-own-invitations.com/patriotic-save-the-date.html

http://bklynbride.blogspot.com/2008/11/ji-yuns-save-dates.html

Thank you Shepard Fairey!

I need to take this time to say "THANK YOU!" to Shepard Fairey -- the graphic designer who brought us the Barack Obama "HOPE" portrait:

As an homage to our 4th of July-patriotic theme, here are the KitanJi spoofs that we're going to use as our "save-the-dates":






Of course there are a bajillion spoofs out there (although I haven't seen any wedding related spoofs...) so here are some of the ones I like the best. They're collected on the Capn Wacky and Rene Wanner's poster page (click on the pictures to go to original creator's site):


Bob Hope; Soup Nazi


Bill Clinton; Pope Benedict 16


Kim Jong-il (HAHAHAHA); Vladimir Putin


Anthony Bourdain; Obama "the intellectual"


Yoda; Paris Hilton


Jesus Christ

Accessories... for boyz...

So in regards to this whole patriotic theme, I admit I have a tendency to go a little nuts. So one thing that KitanJi wants to do is scrap boutonnieres and just have RED-WHITE-&-BLUE buttons! Dave's will say something like, "YES, I DO!" and maybe his groomsmen's buttons will say... "YES HE CAN!" or "YES HE DOES" or "WE SUPPORT DAVE" or maybe just a big button with our faces on them...

(studio306.com/weblog)

And in lieu of a traditional vest&tie look, I thought maybe they can have some patriotic action going on in the tie area as well! My dress is cream and my bridesmaid dresses (found by iliketatertots - the interweb bridesmaid) are dark red/maroon/bing cherry/burgandy/deoxygenated blood colored:

($31.99 on sale at http://www.target.com/ -- although they seem to be regular priced now!)

So I'm now looking for some navy blue/dark red tie options... Maybe we should go U.S.A.-all-the-way (from http://www.ties.com):





(I sorta like the red one on the left, http://www.tieguys.com)

I almost want to make the guys wear the crazy statue of liberty or eagle ties (pictured below) as revenge for all the ugly bridesmaid dresses out there... guys should have a chance to be humiliated in support of their friend's wedding. HAHA, isn't the eagle one freaky??? I have a half a mind to make the groomsmen wear these...



Or perhaps we should go more international (one of the tenets of our wedding doctrine is to incorporate Korea/Japan/USA into our wedding):



I'm actually sort of partial to this navy blue international tie above! It's subtle enough where it won't overwhelm everyone, but the people in the bridal party will know how secretly funny and thematic it is!


The other option is to go with a nice preppy navy/cherry striped tie... Do you think it'll work with a plain black suit?


If DK vetoes everything (he has the ultimate power of veto in our wedding plans -- he's the executive branch of our relationship), then maybe we'll go with plain navy or plain crimson groomsmen stuff and then get them funky shoes...


(www.amelialyon.net/weddings/3.html)


The boys are back in town (echo: boys are back in town)!!!

People are so creative!

I've always wanted to use these envelopes with the little clear window... I love the whole "TELEGRAM" stamp idea too. 'Vonderful.


(www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog)


And these "Chewing the Cud" people are just plain brilliant...






(www.chewingthecudweddings.com)


And finally, my friend (who knows my passion for gelato creation) sent me this link...


(store.papercupdesign.com/wu5.html)


Too bad we're not really having ice cream at our wedding! We might -- but we're still working it out...

The Joy of Paper

There are few things I have control over in life. But somehow, paper makes me feel safe.


(www.leighmillerphotography.com/blog/page/4)


...and although my friend Joyce-the-graphic-designer is super-duper against labels on a wedding invite -- I am lazy. I really really want to print out addresses rather than writing them all out... So I'm trying to figure out some cute ways to have little laser-printed labels. Hooray for technology.

(jinsoojung.blogspot.com)
Pray tell, what is the point of having cute labels if one is simply going to handwrite on it anyway?


I love this patriotic theme. So many funny things we could do with the invites and programs! But really -- what Martha-Stewart-freak-of-nature sends out a greeting card on voting day? Wow, truly patriotic.

(parcelpost.wordpress.com)


What a great idea... They had their wedding at a zoo! Hence the wonderful magical animal themes...



(http://www.flickr.com/photos/momopeche)


I want to do something like stamp "[OFFICIAL INVITATION ENCLOSED]" on the outside of our red invitation envelopes... to give it that extra governmental feeling! I wonder if staples has something like that...

The Proposal (as told on my xanga, 9/17/08)

I'm a jerk. This is important. I've been a real jerk to David-Kitani.

A few weeks ago, we went engagement/wedding ring shopping so I knew that an engagement was coming... but I totally made fun of Dave, taunting him, saying that he could NEVER surprise me. Every move he made, I would say -- OOH OOH! You're gonna ask me to marry you eh??? Are there going to be rose petals? If there are rose petals i'm going to barf! Omg! Hey, why not propose to me there! That's a good place! Oh what about next week at that dinner!!! How about at church? Come on, why don't you just send me an evite? How neat and simple eh? "Will you marry me?" -- Yes. No. Maybe. How many guests. Any comments?

Yes. I was a jerk. Even on the day of my birthday (9/13), a chill day watching harry potter, swimming, going to a noodle joint in a strip mall, as he gave me a present to unwrap after dinner -- I said -- "Oh, it's probably going to be a photo album where you are pictured with a ring at the very end! Oh I know it." Imagine DKitani rolling his eyes...

We had a wonderful meal, with tempura fried mochi in soy broth with grated daikon, ginger, and mushrooms, and I chose that moment to say, "This is the best birthday ever!!!" Haha, so foolish in hindsight. But it was REALLY REALLY DELICIOUS. Then I unwrapped the present... and David-Kitani showed me, how he takes my foolishness and transforms it into something truly meaningful!

(photo by kjp)

HE ACTUALLY GAVE ME AN EVITE!!!! A framed screenshot of an evite!!! And sang our song, "Wouldn't it be nice" by the Beach Boys!!! IN A JAPANESE NOODLE JOINT! IN A STRIP MALL!!! and, I gotta hand it to him, HE ACTUALLY SURPRISED ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm crying and laughing and CRACKING UP
as he's singing and presenting me with a box... from Cartier, the renowned french jeweller...

(photo by kjp)

And guess what it is? It's a rock.

No, really! It's a rock!!!! Like a stone!

(photo by kjp)

Three meanings to the rock: (1) DKit's an english teacher and is pun-ny; (2) watch this (poor quality) clip from "a bug's life"; (3) Luke 6:48, He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. So I'm crying and laughing in the middle of this noodle restaurant (where I'm pretty sure no one has ever gotten engaged there before) and before I say yes, I tell him -- dude, if you sent me an evite, I should RESPOND on an evite. But of course I said a tentative yes!

So after I responded on laptop, I'm overjoyed and calling/texting friends and family...

(photo by kjp)

So we get back to my apartment and I open the apt door to this...

(photos by kjp)


(photo by julie park/jon yip)

ALL MY FRIENDS ARE THERE!!!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!! This is my reaction...






(photos by julie park/jon yip)


(photo by kjp)

Needless to say. I was a wee bit surprised.

It was an election themed bonanza replete with signs, waving supporters, chanting for change, a platform, a speech, a presentation of a check and more!!!




(photo by kjp)

DKitani gave a lovely speech, basically reenacting the proposal (from his more stressed out point of view) while explaining to everyone about the rock, my anti-diamond stance, and then presenting the check...


(photo by kjp)

If you want to know more about the plastic ring i'm also wearing, check out this old post.

the video (taken by jon yip/julie park)

So David-Kitani knows that I am a woman who is all about process. In my Christianity, in my cognitive science stuff, in my food creation, I'm always going on and on about process. So he knows how important that is to me. And he and I have talked about how the saving of the 3 months wages (typically for a diamond ring) is important because it helps the guy really think about getting married and making such a commitment by basically helping him put "his money where is mouth/heart is." So David-Kitani actually presented me with a check for three months wages.

(photo by kjp)

OKAY. That's the loooooooong detailed allusion-filled story. To all our friends and family (which is the bulk of my readers), thanks for sticking with this long post, sticking with DKit&me, and supporting us through our relationship. Only with your support and help have we made it this far and only with your help can we make it to... the WHITE HOUSE!!! ROCK THE VOTE! and as all politicians say, GOD BLESS YOU!!!! (and try to save the date for July 4th, 2009!!! hahaha, if we can get a church on independence day that is...)

For more photos, check out kjp's flickr or mine.
For the preparation perspective, check out muppets take burbank blvd post by bahkerjuls.