תִּקּוּן בֵּית פִילִיפִּינִים : RUSSIAN FILIPINA JEWS

||Our wedding was held at the Ambassador Mansion in Pasadena, CA on July 21, 2013. When I first got engaged, I searched online for many ideas, but felt that a lot of weddings were too trendy for me. I knew that I wanted my wedding to be classic and romantic. Green is my favorite color and was considering that for my color palette, but after falling in love with the venue, which has a lot of green landscaping, I knew I had to forego that and pick something else. It was either going to be champagne or blush, I went with blush. What's romance without a whole lot of blush, right? I decided on a gray/ pewter and blush theme, and I couldn't have been happier with my choice as it all came together beautifully. I remember being so excited to see my bridesmaids in their dresses! More than I was excited to see myself in my dress, to be honest. I am Filipino, my husband is Russian and Jewish. We had a Jewish ceremony, and incorporated a Filipino tradition into the ceremony: the passing of the prosperity coins. What made it special is we used my parents' custom made gold prosperity coins from their wedding 40-something years ago in 1972. Prosperity coins represent what a chuppah does for the Jewish: for the husband to provide a home for his wife and the family. My favorite moment of the wedding was the Horah. I did not want it to end, but I'm sure the ones lifting us up and down had a totally different sentiment. What I loved most about my wedding day was seeing my vision come together, I remember coming down to take pictures and saw the venue set-up for the very first time, and I remember feeling like a giddy little girl- it was so pretty to me! And of course, being married to my now husband and having our nearest and dearest by our sides. Funny moments from the wedding was my husband brothers speech and the maid of honor speech. For the best man speech lets just say filter, tact and vodka make for a bad combination. And my maid of honor had a very cute and witty speech, along with a loooong list of highly classified information she chose to divulge at the wedding.|| - R@D

Vendors:

Photographer: Maria Longhi || Venue: Ambassador Mansion || Wedding Gown: Alfred Angelo || Grooms Suit: Vera Wang || Bridesmaids Dresses: Alfred Angelo || Florist: Funtasia Flowers || Hair Stylist: Travis Vu || Make-up: Val at Icon Image || Invitations: Laura Vandagriff on Etsy || Wedding Cake: Hansen Bakery || Hotel: The Langham || Wedding Coordinator: H. White Special Events || Caterer and Rentals: Are You Getting Married? || Band: Kalama Brothers