Asian Theme Wedding Ideas

Our August 2001 wedding had an Asian flair to it. Looking back, the theme rose out of two things: our love for Asian cuisine - Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai - and my husband's unwillingness to place flower centerpieces on each table. He said we should go for "Zen."

It turned out lovely! We were able to have a very untraditional wedding with a Far-Eastern flair.

The Dress
Your dress doesn't have to be Oriental or Asian in appearance. Think fabrics - silks, brocades. Your accessories can add just the right touch of Asian elegance.

Hair Accessories
Rather than romantic and curly, think dramatic lines. Pull your hair back straight and attach with chopsticks, or a pear dragon fly comb.

Jewelry
Pearls go well with an Asian themed wedding. Also, brightly colored enamel jewelry.

Flowers
Orchids! Bamboo, bear grass, and curly willow also look very exotic. Large lilies and colorful tropical flowers work well. My bouquet was made of 40 orchids in white, mauve and sage green. The bridesmaids carried smaller versions in green and pink.

Food and Beverage
Teriyaki chicken, potstickers, won-ton soup. Serve hot tea instead of coffee. Sapporo and Kirin are excellent Japanese beers.

Centerpieces
We used traditional Shoji style lanterns. Each lantern had a candle inside and sat in a stoneware saucer with floating orchids, candles and river rock. The lanterns were handmade.

Invitations
We purchased regular invitations - the type that fold with nothing inside. We folded them opposite so that the wording was inside the card. We used Japanese rice papers in different designs to create the front collage. A rubber stamp with the Chinese symbol for "love" was stamped on the front. We used our authentic Chinese chop to sign the backs in red for good luck.

Favors
Good luck bamboo stalks were placed in tiny stoneware bowls and packed with gravel. Pretty chopsticks would work well, too.

I love those orchids in your bouquet! I'm stealing that for sure.

Anyone know where to get Asian Lanterns?

this is Japaness stle, what about thai, loa etc other asian themes?

Origami paper can be used on your invites too. For more of a Chinese theme, use golds and reds. Dragon decor.

Great minds think alike! I was thinking of doing something along these lines for my wedding next year. Looks like it turned out nicely.

That picture of the handmade lantern is exactly what I am looking for! Could someone tell me either where to find it or how to make it? I'm getting desperate!

My parents spent 3-4 months creating the lanterns by hand. I purchased the rice paper from a Japanese store online. We bought the candles at IKEA.

loved running across your wedding ideas! we're getting married this june and i couldn't believe how similar our ideas are. we're doing the chopsticks with rice in a chinese to-go box for the favors, hanging lanterns with orchids for centerpieces, and have an embossed chinese love symbol on our invitations too. (i used a lot of origami paper for the invitations.) i purchased the lanterns in chinatown for $1.50 each! very afordable centerpieces. when looking for supplies, chinatown and japantown seemed to be the best resource if avalible.

I JUST LOVE YOUR CENTERPIECE! PLS TELL ME HOW U MADE THE SHOJI STYLE LANTERN.

anyone know where i can order orchids in november?

i think an asian wedding is great keep up with the good work

We bought rice bowls for 1.50 each off of e-bay to float orchids in on the table for an eye level view, then potted orchids to add height.and for place cards we are making oragami crane's.for wedding favor's were handing out sandle wood fans tied with a ribbon. Our flower girl will carry a basket made from bamboo. To much to list! Good luck!

I love the lanterns!!! Could you please tell me how your parents made them? I am getting married next April and would love to use these lanterns as my centerpieces. Thanks!

Hi I also love the lanterns your parents made.Could you let me know how they were made? Thanks alot!

Great ideas. I am getting married in 2 weeks and our wedding is also asian themed. My bridesmaids are carrying colored paper fans instead of flowers and our we got takeout boxes and put 2 fortune cookies inside with chopsticks on top. we purchased our lanterns online at terrysvillage.com and wedthings.com has all different oriental items for the wedding. Our invitations were from ashtonweddinginvitations.com and had the chinese love symbol on them.

Another good place for Asian wedding supplies is japaneseweddingfavors.com

I live in florida and am planning my sisters wedding, she would absoulutely love this. I don't think that we have a local chinatown, could Lily please tell me where she found them so that I could order them. Thanks for all of your help.

My sister is getting married in September. I would love to make the shoji style lantern that your parents made as an center piece. Could you please tell me how to made them. Thanks

Use hobby balsa wood, rice paper and glue. Paint the balsa wood black or stain in a dark brown.

Hi,I was wondering if you could give the measurements of the lanterns.Also where did you purchase the dish which the lantern is sitting in ? Thanks alot

What did you do for your cake? Our wedding has subtle Asian details and I'm looking for something to do for the cake that is a little Asian in theme but not over the top.

I am having an asian themed wedding on June 28th-some of my suggestions: yes red and gold are beautiful colors; use fans instead of flowers; order chinese symbol cuff links from wedthings.com; order chinese symbol fans for favors from oriental trading co.; order brocade print flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow from weddingshowergifts.com; as centerpieces use tbe red satin take out boxes from pier one_I got a steal at the end of the Christmas season; use take out boxes (you can get from local chinese restaurant) to serve your wedding cake; go to pearl river mart.com to get chinese print lipstick cases that you can use for bridal shower gifts, you can also get chinese lanterns from this site; also check out A1 discounts to get a chinese/english picture frame to hold your wedding picture when your big day is finished!

The measurements of the lanterns:

They are about 1 foot tall and about 8 inches square. Make sure the base is tall enough to stay out of the water.

The saucers beneath were purchased at a pottery story that sells large pots for outdoor plants - they are the saucers. They had them in all kinds of earty high fired glazes.

Your ideas are very appealing. Can you give me some ideas for Pakistani weddings?

I, too, am planning an oriental theme wedding and you ideas are wonderful. A website that offers many styles of oriental dresses is chinabridal.com. Another website that has lots of asian inspired favors and decorations is shindigz.com.

Hi, I was wondering if you can tell me how you placed the candle in the lantern?

My son is getting married and his wife is Polynesian. I would like them to have the same centrepieces as you had. She is very handy and imaginative but she needs specific details on what supplies are needed and the details of how you made the lanterns(centrepieces) We have been looking for a long time and these are exactly what we have been looking for. Please help. Appreciate.

i really like ur shoji lantern. can u teach me how to make them. is it okey to put the candle inside. thanks

I am also doing an asian-theme wedding. We are using asian parasol picks in the drinks, serving plum wine instead of champagne for the toast and had our bridesmids dresses custom made at china-tailor.com.

They also have matching fabric and pillow covers for the ringbearer pillow and coordinating ties for the groomsmen. Our flower girl will carry a antique cricket cage or bamboo basket.

Instead of tossing flower petals on the table, we are scattering earth-toned rocks for a "zen" feel. We used the Jade invitation from ashton wedding invitations and the Asian unity candle from The Knot superstore.

I wanted to make your centerpieces idea cause I am getting married in Sept. next year and your idea is way better then mine was. For the clay saucers though I was wondering if you could tell me how big they where and how much you paid a piece for them? Thanks.

I wanted to make your centerpieces idea cause I am getting married in Sept. next year and your idea is way better then mine was. For the clay saucers though I was wondering if you could tell me how big they where and how much you paid a piece for them? Thanks.

Yes, there is a candle in each lantern. I had to use glasses because of the potential fire issue with the rice paper.

We made these from scratch out of hobby balsa wood and Japanese rice paper. They were inexpensive yet difficult to make.

The saucers were the largest ones available - I want to say 16" in diameter.

Hope that helps!

We are planning an oriental themed wedding. The bridesmaids are going to have stargazer lily hand corsages and will carry white silk and sandalwood fans. They will have pink gown with pink/white/silver oriental brocade wraps. The bride's gown will have white satin fabric with a white cherry blossom brocade overlay. The guests will each receive a white takeout box, a set of chopsticks with love, happiness and other inscriptions, a personalized wedding fortune cookie, a colored fan, and a silver plated fortune cookie business card holder. The centerpieces are going to be silver lanterns with florals including lily of the valley, stargazer lily, ivy and ferns. Email me for any questions or ideas you might have to improve! VIDEL154@yahoo.com.

How did you make the lanterns and what is needed to make them? If anyone could send me any kind of directions, thank you.....

bnrwedding@yahoo.com

I have been searching high and low for reasonably priced lanterns like the one shown, but I've only been able to find shoji lanterns that are lamps which make them about $25 a piece. I really want to use this for my centerpieces and am looking for detailed directions on how to make them or where to find some like them for a good price. Such a great idea! I can be reached at kds_24@yahoo.com Thank you!

Your laterns are a great idea! How do you make them. You can email me @ katmac808@msn.com

Love the lanterns. For favors, my guests will each recieve a 4" bamboo stalk planted in a little glass jar. I found them reasonably priced at planetbonsai.com. Are the flowers in the centerpieces real or silk? And where did you find the straw mats that the saucers are sitting on? Thanks :)

your advitisement was under oragami art and this does't say anything about oragami art.

Advertisement? What advertisement.

Hello,

I'm getting engaged next month and I really love the shoji style lantern centrepiece. Can you please give me the instructions to make them.

Hi there,

Like everyone else, I love the centerpieces you had made. I was wondering, approximately, how much did it cost to make each one?

My fiance and I met in South Korea while we were both teaching. We are having an asian theme also. We decided to put vases on the tables as centerpieces with orchids and peonies. I found the vases at www.maileesorientalgifts.com. I picked vases that were blue and white and then chose matching chopsticks at fantes.com/chopsticks.htm. Because it's an outside wedding we're putting white fans on everyone's chair at the ceremony.

Hello, My fiance and I are getting married next summer 7/04 and were having a asian themed wedding.I really loved the shoji style lantern centerpieces. How can I make them and approximatly how much would they cost. Also, were looking for a unique asian style wedding invitation. We were thing of something like a hand bamboo fan with the sroll invitation attached. Can you help.

Hi, we're planning a monsoon wedding in Darwin and I want to have a lot of asian influence in the reception, I love the sandalwood folding fans and want to give all my female guests one as a souvenir, does anybody know where to get them in Australia.

You can email me at dragonflys@bigpond.com

i really love the shoji lanterns, could you send me the instructions on how to make them? imestic808@yahoo.com Thank you!

I too loved your shoji lanters! Could you please send me instructions as well on how to make them?

My email address is principessa800@hotmail.com

Thank you!

Thought I'd share my ideas...I found a place which sells acrylic fortune cookies. Which I thought was a great favor idea. On the curved part of the cookie the symbol for double happiness in chinese is printed. I also found you can order engraved chopsticks in differnt colors. For place settings I found that silk fortune cookies will look very pretty.

I am getting married next May, would like to have an Asian flavor to the reception, and I love the Shoji lanterns? Could you send detailed instructions on how you made these? My e-mail address is jodie12@earthlink.net. Thanks!

Your shoji lanterns were beautiful. I was wondering if you could send me instructions on how to make them also.

My email is - shinyee@d2.com

Thanks!

I love the lantern. My fiance and I are also planning an asian themed wedding (he's Chinese, I'm Japanese) and are trying to incorporate both cultures into our reception. PLEASE send me how to make this lantern! thanks so much! crazy_sweets@hotmail.com

I love the Shoji lanterns that you made. Could you place give me step by step instructions on how I could make these. Thank you so much. h8rzmagnet@hotmail.com

the centre peices are wonderful, ne1 knw wher ican get them from? Food sounds great, definatly my idea

Can someone help me out...How did they make those centerpieces (Shoji style lanterns)? I am planning an Oriental themed wedding, and need some ideas.

Thanks

Can someone help me out...How did they make those centerpieces (Shoji style lanterns)? I am planning an Oriental themed wedding, and need some ideas.

Thanks pembrokepines@hotmail.com

I would also like to know how to make those centerpieces. I'm half Japanese and am looking for unique ideas specifically for a JAPANESE only themed wedding. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thank you... erina_wedding@hotmail.com

I was wondering where you found the tiny pots for the bamboo favors.

I love the lanterns, I am just not sure how to make them or where to get all the supplies?? Can anyone e-mail me some directions on how to make them, and also where I can find Rice Paper?? Thank You Keli0325@aol.com

I need to purchase some rice paper parasols for my brother's wedding in July. I need lilac parasols. Every site i see only have white with designs on them. I don't mind the designs because especially the floral ones but the papasols must be lilac. Can you please help me. You can email me at ryanavh@yahoo.com

Like the others I am interested in the lanterns and would like detailed instructions on how to make them. Could you send them to aqt21@yahoo.com. Thank you.

My future sister-in-law is Taiwanese. I am going to be the maid-of-honor. We are trying to locate bridal botiques in the New York Metro area to look for Oriental wedding gowns. I can wear any kind of dress I like. It is my choice. I don't want to make any mistakes and go against tradition. Can you tell me what would be appropriate for me to wear as well as what color? Would you happen to know of any stores in the New York Metro area? You can readh me at: Hunnicut4077@aol.com. I would really appreciate you help. (P.S. I am about 8 inches taller than the bride. I want to make sure that I don't overpower her.)

Your boquet was definately gorgeous!! I would like to do something similiar and i liked the centerpeice themes. I am looking to get customized chopsticks as favors for our guests. Can you tell me where I might be able to find a place that does this? I cant seem to locate anyone that will customize them for me. happilyeverafter215@yahoo.com

Thanks!!! Harmony & Jay

I happen to be part japanese and am having my wedding ceremony at a japanese house and garden. I dont want to over do it with the oriental theme (my fiancee is african american). Where can I find reseasonable invitations and favors. I only seem to be finding chinese theme invites and favors.

Thanks! Kimiko & Rashaan

HI LOVE YOUR IDEAS. I'M HELPING A GIRLFRIEND AND I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND THE LATERNS. CAN YOU HELP PLEASE! ivyrojo@hotmail.com

Hi, Love your ideas!! Can I also have the instructions for your shoji lantern?

Thanks, Coleen cvsuan@hawaii.rr.com

I think these ideas are wonderful. The whole wedding thing became too stressful so we decided to go to the justice of the peace. This is something I was definantly thinking of for our reception.

Please also email specific directions on how to make laterns. (drmly@hotmail.com)

THANKS!

if you are a non-asian couple hosting this, this is seriously offensive. stop appropriating someone else's culture! If neither you or your husband is Asian, then you really don't have a right to appropriate someone else's "traditions". Sticking chopsticks in gravel?! are you kidding? "Sticking" chopsticks in anything is offensive. and to whomever used chinese take-out boxes as wedding favors...if i were your guest i'd wonder how you lost any sense of class. then again, i'm not white. so I don't know.

I'm so glad you posted a picture of an idea that i was thinking about for my friend Betty's wedding. She's going to be ecstatic to see it. I wanted her to have a japanese theme, and this will help with the planning. Thank you so much!!

I love the Shoji style lanterns and so does my fiance... Could someone please email us the directions to them... That would be great...

Thanks a lot! asianturtle@yahoo.com

Sorry, I gave the wrong email address... I provided the right one now...

Sorry again... Please could someone email me the directions to the Shoji style lanterns...

Thanks a lot... asianturtle

you suck

Hi,

Love the lantern idea also. could you email me the directions?

tvu227@yahoo.com

can you send me the directions on how to make the lanterns as well. your appriciated- antilipgloss@hotmail.com

I a desperate to know how to make the shoji lanterns for my wedding in May. I would appreciate if you can send me detailed instrucctions. This is very popular and maybe you should put it on this website.pls email me at sdivany1@yahoo.com

I have a question about the lanters. I am wondering how you got the candle in the lantern. I just wonder how you kept it in the lantern. Beautiful!!!

The lantern is great! Please forward me the directions on making the lantern!! meoinks@hotmail.com Thank you.

asian theme wedding april 10 of this year. the dressing are being custom made and i'm having problems ordering more material. i purschased a gold brocade fabric with a blessing symbal. it only come's in 30 width and it's also has oriental wrinting on it. i've tried several site but can't find the exact pattern, help. i have everything else in place. my decorations consist's of buddahs, oriental porcelan dolls, and bambo stalks. cesyj1@aol.com

Linens and Things has black metal windowpane candle lanterns that I think will work to immitate this centerpiece. Pier One has the bamboo mats on sale either plane for $1 each or with black border for $2 each. Now I'm on the search for the saucers. Haven't been able to find them in black. May have to buy terracota and paint.

i love your centerpiece!!! just what i'm looking for. please e-mail me the exact directions to make those shoji lanterns. i'm southeast asian and my husband to be is pure canadian. i want to add a little touch of my culture to our wedding. thanks and i'll be waiting. leng06@hotmail.com

I am having an asian inspired wedding, and I really want to have asian food at my reception. I am having a difficult time finding a reception site where I can have asian food. Most sites don't offer asian style food. For the sites where they allow you to bring in your own food, I am having a hard time finding a person/business to cater with asian food, any suggestions?

Love the lantern. Please email me the directions? stham99@hotmail.com

Love the lantern. Please email me the directions? stham99@hotmail.com

Love the lantern. Please email me the directions? stham99@hotmail.com

Love the lantern centerpiece. Could you please email me the directions on how to make one? sauncylass@netscape.net

I am part Japanese and I am looking to having a oriental theme wedding also, I love your idea..... can you please give me your instructions for the lanterns? I believe when you put all your effort and work into your own wedding, it makes it more realistic and unique! Please email me with the lantern instructions. THANKS!

Ooops.... I forgot to include my email address for the handmade lanterns: aiyaiyai@netpci.com I can't wait to start!

everyone wants to know how to make the lanterns and I am no exception! I am having a zen inspired theme at my weddign in June and would love the "blueprint" on those lanterns and any other suggestions you may have! Thanks- email at:sagey519@aol.com

I am getting married in June & would love to use the shoji lanterns as centerpieces. Can you please send me the directions.Thanks! aggiegirl03@msn.com

Are you giving out instructions on the handmade Lanterns?? If you are could you email me! Thanks! rkjh@mtco.com I understand if you are not giving them out but you could probably make a fortune on selling those instructions. THanks!

is there a way you could post the directions how to make those shoji lanterns? thanks

I love your asian inspired ideas. If you could email me the directions on how to make the shoji lanterns for my centerpieces-- I would be so thankful. satoc012@hawaii.rr.com.

yuor website is not very helpfull as i need to know the tradition behind asian wedding make up but theur is nothing

I loved the centerpiece. I am having difficulty finding something that I like. Please, email me the directions on how you made your centerpieces. dmbilbrew@hotmail.com

I absolutely loved your site....it gave me ideas for my wedding that I would have never thought of!! I am definitely going to try out the Shoji lantern idea...before I was really unsure about my centerpieces. Thank you so much!!!

Yep, love the lantern. Please email instructions to hvang@ucsc.edu Thanks.

The lanterns are great. Please email instructions to centralchurchofc@sbcglobal.net

YOUR LANTERN IS SOMETHING I WAS LOOKING FOR IN MAKING CENTERPIECES FOR MY FRIENDS ORIENTAL THEMED BRIDAL SHOWER. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO SEND ME INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE THEM. PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT MADETONJOY@AOL.COM. THANKS

The lantern is exactly what ae are looking for, please email me instructions on how to make at jade_desire@excite.com

The lanterns are great! Can you please e-mail me the instructions at chloekitty@hawaii.rr.com.

Your ideas are amazing!!! Would you please email me the directions on how you made the centerpieces/lanterns??? Also, I am interested in giving out bamboo as favors as well....where did you find yours??

Thank you

kelleria@hotmail.com

Kelly :)

Great ideas! Please send instructions for making the lanterns to fshankle@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

I love your bouquet! I was also wanting to incorporate orchids into my bouquet and I didn;t know how to do it. Please send me information on the florist that made your bouquet. I also love the lantern that you used for the centerpiece. Where can I find the lanterns?

Thanks you for the inspiration and wonderful ideas. It will really help for my asian them wedding!

Samantha

By the way- please email me the florist and where to get the lanterns at kittysam23@yahoo.com.

Again, thank you :)

By the way- please email me the florist and where to get the lanterns at kittysam23@yahoo.com.

Again, thank you :)

Are these all of the instructions: Where did you purchased the rice paper? From what Japanese store online.

Materials: Hobby balsa wood, rice paper and glue. Paint the balsa wood black or stain in a dark brown.

The measurements of the lanterns:

They are about 1 foot tall and about 8 inches square. Make sure the base is tall enough to stay out of the water.

The saucers beneath were purchased at a pottery story that sells large pots for outdoor plants - they are the saucers. They had them in all kinds of earty high fired glazes. The saucers were the largest ones available - I want to say 16" in diameter.

There is a candle in each lantern. I had to use glasses because of the potential fire issue with the rice paper.

Level of difficulty: They were inexpensive yet difficult to make.

My Korean daughter is marrying a Chinese American and we, too, love the lanterns. I have search everywhere online for them and have come up empty-handed, also. If there are plans available for these lanterns we would desparately apprecaite them. Wow, someone could get rich making and selling these at a god price since I believe most of us need at least 20 of them. Thanks!

I'm a florist/decorator and happened to come across this page by accident. I read a few of the comments above. There's a store in New York that sells lanterns very similar to the one pictured above. Copy and paste the link below into your web browser. They ship via FedEx if you are out of state and if you're local to NYC, you can have it shipped by messenger or just come into the store. They are located on 28th Street corner of 7th.

Hope this helps!!

http://www.jamaligarden.com/viewCategoryAll.as p?catID=8&subC=c

I am copying your idea with metal black lanterns I bought at Linens and Things and round plastic saucers I bought in garden section of Walmart and painted with black spray paint. I bought bamboo mats with black fabric borders on sale at Pier 1.If you've done this, could you tell me whether orchids are real? Wasn't sure of silk would float or just soak up water. Thanks.

My daughter is getting married in January, and wants to use an Asian theme. Please send me the instructions to make the lanterns. They are beautiful!

Hi could you please email me the instructions for the japanese lanterns? They are so beautiful!!!! Thanks. Yemiagb@aol.com

Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas!! Could you please email me the directions for the lanterns also!!! I loved them!!! tkmatsub@yahoo.com

The lanterns are great! Could you email me the instruction on putting it together? Thanks! hiyaned@msn.com

The lanterns are beautiful. Where would I go to purchase them? noni@plpt.net Thanks

I'm truly distressed by the person who feels only people of Asian background may celebrate the Asian culture. While I agree the take out food boxes and chopsticks are inexcusable, many of the other ideas expressed here are lovely. Isn't it about time we all quit labeling ourselves and others. I would simply celebrate the fact my culture was recognized for the beauty and artistic contribution it holds. I will forgive your intolerance if you will forgive theirs.

Here's a website that sells beautiful Asian and tropical-themed wedding invitations: www.leighswishingwell.com. Also, look at www.icatchingcards.com. See www.japaneseweddingfavors.com for a good source for wedding favors. For the person who wrote about searching for lavendar parasols, I saw some at www.asianideas.com. Hope this information helps.

You can go to www.askginka.com and she has a long list of links to different websites that will help with the Asian theme. It's helped me a great deal. The shoji style lantern centerpiece you have is the inspiration for our centerpieces. Beautiful!! Also, the colors of your bouquet are the exact colors of my wedding.

Could someone who has obtained the directions on making the lanters, please email to me - much appreciated !

tampintina@yahoo.com

Tina.

Could you please let me know the directions on making the lanters, please email to me - much thanks ! suyantiti@yahoo.com

I love the lantern centerpieces! Can you please email me the instructions? cpruitt8269@aol.com THANKS

Chen,

I have been emailed you to yahoo and it keeps rejecting. Just tried again from my own yahoo account to see if that would work.

In case not, my email add is : tampintina@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Tina.

I would like to know if there is anywhere I can get bambo place mats either in the normal wood colour or the green colour in Sydney?

I am Korean and I am having that as my theme to my wedding and I want to find plastic cups and plates for my wedding with that in mind, I can sette with just an asian theme to it. If anyone knows where I can purchase these online please e-mail me at julietpae@yahoo.com. Also what kind of ideas are there for gifts for the wedding party??

Can you please let me know how to do the centerpiece lanterns? I am having an asian theme bridal shower and love the way the lanterns look.

Please email me at jenniferc928@yahoo.com

Love the lantern Please send instructions heidisharris@aol.com Thanks!!!

Love the lantern - please send me instructions on how to make it. Thanks

Hello, Your ideas were wonderful! Can you please send me instuctions on how to make the lanterns? Thanks.

cpn333@unm.edu

Please also send me instructions on how to make the wooden lanterns: karen79@rogers.com

Thanks Karen

I am making these lanterns for my nephews wedding. They are very time consuming. I am not using place mats, I am going to use Bamboo sushi mats instead. They are cheaper and give the same effect.

Hello, the lanterns look great as centerpieces! Can you please send me instructions on how to make them? Thanks!

franklyfrankled@yahoo.com

Lovin' the idea as well. Can you please email me the instructions at txkdphi@yahoo.com ? I would surely appreciate it! I need all the help I can possible get. Thanks!

We are using corner moldings found at Lowes. My husband is cutting them to 8" long pieces. We are using a very thin plywood and cutting 5-1/2" x 5-1/2" squares. Attach them together with a very small nail. We are using balsa wood for the rice paper frame. Make sure you paint them with Acrylic paint or spray paint them before attaching rice paper frame. The frame we made a square and glued them together. Dont forget to make your design with your balsa wood. Wether it be a window design or two lines going across and two lines down. You can be creative at this. Attach rice paper with double sided tape (found in Scrapbooking section of AC Moore or Michaels) or use glue. I am rubber stamping the inner side of the rice paper with a bamboo design. It looks very nice with the candle inside. I found the bamboo mats at Pier one. There were 4 in a pack for $5. I am spraying them black. I also purchased river rocks at Michaels this week. (I got a few bags of white ones and black ones) They were normally $2.29/bag and I got them on sale for .80 cents! I got the rice paper at AcMoore and Michaels has it. Its $9.99/roll. You find it in the Art dept by the Artist supplies, drawing tablets etc. Make sure you ask for your 40% coupon off!!! I also found it cheaper to go to lowes and buy the black paint in a quart or gallon size instead of using those little Americana or other brand found at Michaels or AC moore. Michaels also in there candle dept has glass votive cups with white candles in them. 12/$7.99 (Again, use your coupons!! and they will be 40% off). You MUST use candles in glass cups as not to start any fires!!! Make sure you trim the wicks down so you dont have long flames on the candles. We are debating wether to use the terra cotta pot. The large ones at Lowes are $5 each. I think we may just put the lantern on the mat... with river rocks spread around and a few fresh flowers to match the bridesmaids flowers thrown around. (As shown in the pic above with the metal lantern).

Any questions... email me anytime. Turtletoes63@aol.com

I have these for sale!!!!! Made of lightweight metal....not wood!! Email me for prices and a picture!

RoniReichle@aol.com

Here is a pic of the lanterns I have for sale:

http://hometown.aol.com/ronireichle/myhomepage /profile.html

I married last October and had an asian-themed wedding. Consider these ideas: Flowers: orchids or peonies, somewhat pricey, but simple/elegant; Add personal touch & take a japanese water-color painting class a few weeks before your big day and paint your own entrance signs for your ceremony and reception sites w/ hummingbirds and cherry blossoms; Invitations: Peace/love/happiness symbols (ashtonweddinginvitations.com) or red shanghai (themepartiesnmore.com); Ringbearer pillow: opt to tie 2 sticks of bamboo together and decorate w/ a banana leaf & orchid, same w/ flowergirl baskets-just buy bamboo; Reception: My cake was shaped like a pagoda-opt for 1" strips of rice paper and fresh orchid stems for decoration (rice paper sticks to icing perfectly); Guest book: opt for a square black laquer tray (Pottery Barn-$19) and have guests sign w/ gold metallic permanent marker; Centerpieces: potted orchids or make bamboo & orchid basket (michaels.com)...for red theme, place 3 black lacquer rectangular/square boxes on tables (3-4" high), fill one w/ red jelly beans (nice treat until dinner) or personalized fortune cookies (weddingthings.com), fill another w/ red roses and the last w/ red fresh asian fruit (also a nice treat); Wedding party gifts: I gave a porcelain sake pitcher to my matron of honor (bluerice.com) w/ an accompanied recipe for mandarin-orange green tea; for female family members and wedding party-rice paper wallets or silk asian purses(siamese-dream.com); teapots and cups for grandparents (chinasprout.com); inlaws and parents-chinese wedding baskets (fill w/ what you want); Wedding favors:sandlewood fans (asianideas.com) or wrap a few green tea leaf bags in banana leaves and tie w/ raffia...for kids, paper dragons or chinese yo-yo's (houserice.com); Leftover cake: use take-out boxes for guests; Table numbers: buy cheap black plastic frames (Michael's), slip in colored parchment paper, stamp asian symbols on edges of paper w/ black ink and in center, trace table numbers in black ink; Reception food: serve sushi or asian-contemporary stirfry, opt for hot tea and have guests use chopsticks (if anything, it might be fun); Splurging for wedding favors...buy zori sandels (rubber soles) or bamboo slippers for guests to wear at reception; Champagne flutes: bride/groom asian and bamboo (eye4gifts.com); other cool sites (japaneseweddingfavors.com, pearlriver.com, uncommongoods.com, bridestuff.com and chinabridal.com). Good luck and happy shopping!

Did anyone actually get directions on how to make these? There are quite a few email addresses, but no one thanking anyone for receiving the directions. Has anyone figured it out on their own?

Jennifer.... I have tried making them out of wood.. but it was very hard. I sell ones made of lightweight metal. (Looking at them you would never know they werent wood!) Check out my website and email me if you need prices.

http://hometown.aol.com/ronireichle/myhomepage /profile.html

The lanterns and overall theme is awesome! I have a Zen themed wedding as well and this gives me the much needed inspiration. Thanks.

I love the lantern on picture #1 (the metal one), I looked all over china town in Los Angeles and could not find them. Any clue as to where I can find them? Please help

Just as a note to everyone, using the word "oriental" is out-dated. It's amazing how many websites that sell Asian inspired products use this word. I know that it's not usually meant to be offensive and objectifying, but it is. Thanks.

I think the lantern centerpieces are lovely. I couldn't find any similiar ones in my area but I did find at K-mart on clearance ,black metal pagoda style laterns. They were in the garden shop section. They are about a foot tall and made by the Martha Stewart line. The picture shows them with a large candle inside. They are supposed to be for outdoors so for safety, I am choosing not to put a candle inside but rather an ikebana style flower arrangment inside with votive candles around the latern. Our local Target stores also have some interesting Asian inspired candle holders if you don"t need a large amount (some are pricey) One paticular style made out of wicker looks like an inverted arc (I think it is supposed to be a bridge) and has three clear glass votive holders wired to the top of the arc. Target also had on clearance some black dinnerware the also could be used for Ikebana style flower arrangements, candle groupings or food.

I think the lantern centerpieces are lovely. I couldn't find any similiar ones in my area but I did find at K-mart on clearance ,black metal pagoda style lanterns. They were in the garden shop section. They are about a foot tall and made by the Martha Stewart line. The picture shows them with a large candle inside. They are supposed to be for outdoors so for safety, I am choosing not to put a candle inside but rather an ikebana style flower arrangment inside with votive candles around the lantern. Our local Target stores also have some interesting Asian inspired candle holders if you don"t need a large amount (some are pricey) One paticular style made out of wicker looks like an inverted arc (I think it is supposed to be a bridge) and has three clear glass votive holders wired to the top of the arc. Target also had on clearance some black dinnerware the also could be used for Ikebana style flower arrangements, candle groupings or food.

In reply to LX's post from February... I realise that the appropriation of other people's culture may be offensive to some, but that doesn't mean we don't have the right. What about those couples who (wether Asian or not) have a legitimate reason for having Japanese-themed weddings. My fiance and I met in Tokyo, and both agree a theme wedding would be very appropriate. Nobody ever complains about the Christian-theme weddings that have become popular among young Japanese couples, do they?

I was wondering if at possible, would you be able to email instructions on how to build my own shoji style lantern. datru808flava@aol.com

I agree with TetsuwanAtoms comment to LX. That person should be glad that people aren't closed-minded to other cultures and want to explore them. There's nothing wrong with it. Even though I'm not Asian, I grew up in Japan and met my fiance there. And we're having an asian style wedding next year, so for us it makes sense. Not to mention my father in law is Japanese. Many young Japanese people have typical American style weddings, but I guess that was forgotten to mention. So LX, stop being a HATER!!

My sister'n'law is planning her asian style wedding reception in November. I think she would LOVE the lanter centerpiece. I saw the notes from turtletoes, but I would love to get the official instructions on how to make them... also, about how much it costs for each one? Email them to me at: debibonham@yahoo.com. Thanks a lot! This is a great site with great ideas! :)

I have tried making them out of wood.. but it was very hard. I sell ones made of lightweight metal. (Looking at them you would never know they werent wood!) Check out my website and email me if you need prices.

http://hometown.aol.com/ronireichle/myhomepage /profile.html

ronireichle where are you. i need some estimates on those lanterns you were talking about. email me soon evangelib003@hawaii.rr.com

I am having a wedding in December and my husband is philipino and i am half japanese and danish. I am having a hard time choosing my theme and colors any suggestions

I am having a wedding in December and my husband is philipino and i am half japanese and danish. I am having a hard time choosing my theme and colors any suggestions

I am posting this in hopes of answering alot of questions people have. Like myself, many people feel that this centerpiece is a great idea. I think the original poster falsely got many people's hope up by not providing enough information. I've built my own lanterns and here's what I learned from the experience.

1. Many people seem to have a misconception about the cost of building one of these lanterns. For a 12 inch tall and 8 inch square lantern, you are looking at a cost of close to $20 per lantern for the materials alone. So, if you are looking to purchase a premade one, please don't expect to pay $20 each for them as that won't even cover the material cost plus shipping, much less the person's time and labor.

2. Unless you are extremely handy, these lanterns are not easy to make. I see many people asking for instructions and wondering why no one has posted any. The reason is because there's quite a bit of detail involved to making the lantern. The making of these lanterns require precision so general instructions will not do. Precise measurements and tips are necessary for someone to build the lantern from instructions.

3. Even if you are extremely handy, do not expect these lanterns to turn out well unless you have precision woodworking equipment. The simplicity and cleanness of the design means that everything must be cut precisely and one must be meticuluous in the assembly.

4. If you lack the things in 2 & 3 above, you will end up with a lantern that is a sore sight. I don't know about you but I am not willing to spend $20 for materials per lantern and then have it come out looking unprofessional. Also, having something of that unprofessional quality on open display as a centerpiece is not my idea of a classy wedding. My lanterns all turned out looking absolutely professional. I don't mind the fact they cost close to $25 in materials (I used dowels for additional strenght, and stained and varnished mine). The reason I don't mind is because they will be given away as gifts to close family and friends after the wedding.

5. Carefully read the comments of the people who made or tried making these lanterns. These lanterns really are hard to make. Even if you are handy and have the right tools, expect to spend a good chunk of time making each lantern. To give you an idea, after overcoming the initial trial and error, I can now make the wooden portion of the lantern and have it sanded in about half an hour. Then another 1/2 hour for priming and painting of the wood. Then another 15 minutes for adding the rice paper.

Hope this is helpful for everyone. Feel free to email me with questions. chenchain@yahoo.com

Chen

Chen.... very good explaining. That is why my husband decided to make them out of metal. They are positivily beautiful and I sell them for less than $20 each! Granted, shipping on these are not that cheap but he is a weldor by trade and has been doing it for over 30 years and I will tell you the quality on them are perfect! My nephew too gave them away to family members and we also received orders from some people who were not that lucky. I use on them authentic rice paper and they are painted flat black. Very nice... if you would like to see a picture of them... check out my site.

http://hometown.aol.com/ronireichle/myhomepage /profile.html

I'm getting married in August and found the ultimate place to get parasols, bridesmaids gifts, fans, and all sorts of awesome stuff!!! I went to asianideas.com. THE BEST!!!! Congrats to all of you!!! best wishes!!

I would really love if someone could send me the instructions on how to make these lovely lanterns. I think they would look incredible at my reception hall and would be eternally grateful to anyone who may be able to help me find these directions

my email is Lolita82299@hotmail.com

Hi ,please can you tell me where a can get the lanterns, they are really nice . As well can you tell me if you deliver international like in cancun mexico...??? or just in the States.

Thanks isisamortz2001@hotmail.com

This web site stinks

This site has great ideas that I need! Thanks!!

If anyone has access to Fred Meyer stores (Pacific Northwest) I saw some black metal pagoda style lanterns (about one foot tall) in the seasonal aisle (not the regular lighting or garden area but close to the barbecue stuff ) They were reduced to eight dollars apiece. Very Asian and very pretty. They may also work as part of an Asian centerpiece.

I am having an asian theme wedding too. November is quickly approaching and I am desperately seeking center piece ideas. Can someone please send me instructions on how to make these lanterns. so_feeb@yahoo.com. If anyone has lanterns they want to sell please let me know.

I've been keeping an eye out for centerpieces and found it in IKEA. If you want to save some time and put your efforts elsewhere, check out IKEA. IKEA's FJÄRRAN tealight lantern is $5.99 and very Zen like.

I've been keeping an eye out for centerpieces and found it in IKEA. If you want to save some time and put your efforts elsewhere, check out IKEA. IKEA's FJÄRRAN tealight lantern is $5.99 and very Zen like.

This is a helpful website for some ideas but I can also see where LX is coming from ... I'm Japanese-american and am looking for ideas to use but not over-the top, "let's put chopsticks in the brides hair" kind of themes. I'm looking more for ideas like where can you get cheap ikebana containers, good prices on san san kudo sets, what kind of sake is best to use for the ceremony, what kind of wording did people use in explaining some of these customs to non-Japanese guests. The theme idea is a bit strange for me to see if people aren't Asian, have no interest in Asia beyond the "exoticness" of it, etc. The appropriation of it without really being careful can be offensive...one should be quite careful with the the placement of chopsticks, or the use of certain flowers for funerals, etc. And because many Asian countries are very symbolic in their gift giving, it's impt. to know if your gift is considered a bad omen... For some reason, people think Asians are less likely to be offended by this stuff but maybe if I use Native Americans as an ex. it might be more visible. Can you imagine a bunch of non Native Americans dressing up "like Natives" and having a pow wow, having mini totem poles as centerpieces...kind of tacky. It's hard to see b/c Asian/zen/feng shui is trendy now but believe me, for SOME of us asians, it's weird...so all this just to say you shouldn't knock LX's comments. Athough a bit unsophisticated in the way she posted it, I can see where she's coming from...

My husband to be is Japanese. For the reception in the US I want to incorporate some Japanese customs, centerpieces etc...I was actually interested in having an Ikebana centerpiece and "japanese" inspired favors, bouqette (the flowers pictured are beautiful), and cake. Any advice on florists, vendors, and shops that can assist me in the Boston area or online would be great.

I am 1/4 Japanese and rather proud of my culture. Unfortunately I was not brought up Japanese and I'm not familiar with the customs and what is and is not appropriate. I will be getting married next year and I'm hoping that someone who is Japanese such as NT might be able to helpl me out. I would like to make my Batchan (not sure how it is spelled but I know I've called her that since I was born)proud. I'd like to have a traditional american wedding with slight asian themes. I was thinking of using chopstics as favors with little notes with mine and my husband to be's names and wedding dates on them. If someone could tell me what ways chopsticks are used offensively I'd REALLY appreciate it as I would hate to offend my grandmother. I'd also like some ideas for bouqets. I'd like to use red peonies because I understand they are good luck? But I'd like to mix them with some red roses. I'd like to do the tight small bunch style. Also, some center piece ideas would be great. I'd really like to incorporate more flowers in the arrangement. My colors will be red with slight accents of gold. HELP!!!! I just got engaged yesterday and I don't have a clue about ANYTHING! :o)

Thanks, ddemetre@comcast.net

Hey there, I'm really glad I found this site!

I'm planning my own asian-themed wedding for the coming May, and I've had a heck of a time locating the things I want.

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and there is a very rich asian culture here, but for some reason it's been near impossible for me to find the things I am looking for.

I've found ebay to be VERY helpful in having spacial papers and stamps delivered to me.

I found a dressmaker in the Greater Toronto Area, who will design an asian-american style dress for me. I am willing to email anyone interested the sketch she made for me.

I found a gorgeous picture online of the cake I will have a bakery make for me. It was called "East Meets West" and it's a beautiful mesch of american and asian, without being over the top or anything like that.

I found black iron lanterns at Canadian Tire (which is practically a hardware store) and they have inserts of a plastic material that looks like rice paper and there is a 3-tier tea light holder inside the lantern. They were $12.00 each CDN funds, and they measure approx 5" x 5" by 7"high. (maybe slightly larger) We will be doing something similar to the centerpieces pictured here, with riverrocks and flowers, but I was thinking sand instead of water maybe for more of a "zen garden" effect.

Michael's Craft Store is great for river rocks and silk flowers. Also, cardstock for invitations and other blank ready-made type things you can add stamping to.

Pier 1 Imports is great they have a fairly large asian section, and often have a few styles of lantern-type things that could be used.

Pier 1 Imports also had asian-modern picture holders. Not a frame, but an asian outfit made of wood, on a stick, with a coil coming out the top to place a picture. I purchased those as table number marker holders, instead of the plain ones.

I am in the process of making all my own invitations and reply/thank you cards. I am happy to help anyone interested in using my ideas.

For favours, we went to the local Chinese supermarket and puchased several sets of nice chopsticks with Geishas printed on them. We are currently looking for an easy way to add our names and wedding date to one chopstick of each pair, and we'll be attaching perhaps some bamboo or sushi candies to the chopstick sets.

I was lucky enough to find a location outside Toronto that has a complete asian decor, so I do not need to decorate anything other than the centrepieces.

Also, as an idea, I know Wal-Mart has a plant section indoors and they have small bonsai trees, for those interested in using those as centerpieces, or decorations.

Asian supermarkets often have small decorative pots and accessories that can be used as an inexpensive way to decorate your wedding.

If anyone is interested I can be reached at amanda@signplus.ca or soulsinger@hotmail.com

Thanks everyone and happy hunting!

Hey there, I'm really glad I found this site!

I'm planning my own asian-themed wedding for the coming May, and I've had a heck of a time locating the things I want.

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and there is a very rich asian culture here, but for some reason it's been near impossible for me to find the things I am looking for.

I've found ebay to be VERY helpful in having spacial papers and stamps delivered to me.

I found a dressmaker in the Greater Toronto Area, who will design an asian-american style dress for me. I am willing to email anyone interested the sketch she made for me.

I found a gorgeous picture online of the cake I will have a bakery make for me. It was called "East Meets West" and it's a beautiful mesch of american and asian, without being over the top or anything like that.

I found black iron lanterns at Canadian Tire (which is practically a hardware store) and they have inserts of a plastic material that looks like rice paper and there is a 3-tier tea light holder inside the lantern. They were $12.00 each CDN funds, and they measure approx 5" x 5" by 7"high. (maybe slightly larger) We will be doing something similar to the centerpieces pictured here, with riverrocks and flowers, but I was thinking sand instead of water maybe for more of a "zen garden" effect.

Michael's Craft Store is great for river rocks and silk flowers. Also, cardstock for invitations and other blank ready-made type things you can add stamping to.

Pier 1 Imports is great they have a fairly large asian section, and often have a few styles of lantern-type things that could be used.

Pier 1 Imports also had asian-modern picture holders. Not a frame, but an asian outfit made of wood, on a stick, with a coil coming out the top to place a picture. I purchased those as table number marker holders, instead of the plain ones.

I am in the process of making all my own invitations and reply/thank you cards. I am happy to help anyone interested in using my ideas.

For favours, we went to the local Chinese supermarket and puchased several sets of nice chopsticks with Geishas printed on them. We are currently looking for an easy way to add our names and wedding date to one chopstick of each pair, and we'll be attaching perhaps some bamboo or sushi candies to the chopstick sets.

I was lucky enough to find a location outside Toronto that has a complete asian decor, so I do not need to decorate anything other than the centrepieces.

Also, as an idea, I know Wal-Mart has a plant section indoors and they have small bonsai trees, for those interested in using those as centerpieces, or decorations.

Asian supermarkets often have small decorative pots and accessories that can be used as an inexpensive way to decorate your wedding.

If anyone is interested I can be reached at amanda@signplus.ca or soulsinger@hotmail.com

Thanks everyone and happy hunting!

I just want to say to those who are planning an asian themed wedding i do agree that it is beautifull and pricless. I have spent a long time in China and have returned with such a love and understanding of the culture. Being african-american and listening to those of asian decent being offended i can unerstnad to a certain extent b/c in asian culture, most everything has a meaning. So please if you are not sure about something...ask so that you can learn more and definately not offened anyone, even someone who may come to your wedding. I am getting married in January and being that i spent so much time in China i am having an asian themed wedding being that it is now apart of the woman i have become. I really enjoyed your posts and many of your ideas are great. If you have the opportunity you really should travel there, it is SO beautiful! Good luck Everyone and Congratulations

Please send me the instructions and directions for the Japanese lantern centerpiece... I LOVE IT.. I am getting married next year and I would love to make the lanterns! hashkt@yahoo.com

thank you

My fiancee and I are having an outdoor thai-themed wedding and have decided to hang lanterns in the trees and throughout the garden. There is a lake in my backyard (the wedding site) as well and I am looking for floating lanterns. Any ideas where to buy these? All I can find is information on floating lantern festivals. Please email me at slma79@yahoo.com or post to this site. Thank you.

I've read through some of these posts and I've noticed that some of you are offended that non-asians want to have a theme wedding.

What you should understand, is that in countries such as Canada and the USA there is such a mix of cultures, that it's only natural (and hopeful) for different people to adopt and accept other cultures. Certainly this is not done in an attempt to insult people, but to embrace the new and interesting cultures.

As a world we are moving towards a future where religious and cultural lines are blurred. There are many inter-racial/inter-religious couples these days, and it's very common to see people who are of mixed race.

What we should remember is that this is not a bad thing. It's a sign that there is still acceptance in the world and I think that's pretty important.

Life is about tolerance and acceptance. Perhaps a better approach would be to offer to answer questions people might have about any culture you belong to and/or are knowledgeable about, instead of passing judgement on people and criticizing them.

And if you are still offended that people are interested in having a theme wedding that involves your particular culture, be it asian or any other culture, then perhaps it is a good idea for you to move someplace that is less culturally diverse so that you do not have to expose yourself to such things.

very amusing seeing people so fascinated by the "exotic" "oriental" culture. by the way, "oriental" is a very outdated word that is not used by asian americans. might get you a nice punch in the eye.

My fiance and I both practic the Muso Jikiden Eishen Ryu form of Iaijutsu (Japanese sword fighting) as well as the newly formed Shimizu Ryu school of naginatajutsu (formerly the Jikishinkage Ryu). Because of our love of the Japanese culture we want to have a Japanese themed wedding. Unfortunately, because we don't want to upset people in my church, most of the theme will only appear in our reception. I want to know if anyone can tell me what kind of flowers are appropriate for a wedding (I know orchids and the like are acceptable, but I am a bride on an extreme budget). We are using a blank make mono scroll as our guest book and we want to use bonsai trees for center pieces, but they are too expensive. Any ideas? I also would like to know what colors are appropriate for a Japanese wedding. And what gifts are deemed appropriate to give as favors since we will have some Japanese guests. We don't want to offend them. We want them to see how much we appreciate and admire their culture and how much we have learned from them about their ways of life. I would appreciate any help. My sincerest thanks! antnerva@hotmail.com

For our wedding, our colours our simple but elegant: white, grean and dark brown. For our centerpiece at our reception, we are having a glass vase filled with white lillies, lucky bamboo stalks and brown rocks. Each bamboo stalk will have a ribbon on it with a guest's name as each guest will take one home as a party favour. We are also giving nice dark brown wooden chopsticks as a gift. Anyways, all of this stuff is quite inexpensive and can be purchased at your local Chinatown or even Ikea. You can even buy the vases at the Loonie Store I'm sure. Anyways, I hope that helps!

WE are planning a zen-theme wedding on our june wedding next year, i really dont have any idea how a zen-theme flower decorations woudl look like, from church to the reception area.

My sister is having a wedding and I'm in charge of the receptions. She loves this shoji style lantern. Can you please tell me how to make and where to get the supplies. Thanks

lei.chanthapraseut@hrbmc.com lei_chanthapraseut@yahoo.com

I am thinking of an oriental theme wedding and have pretty much everything planned out exept the one major thing. The DRESS!!! I would like something white with red or black accents.Something traditional yet a tad oriental. Does anyone have any ideas? PLEASE HELP!!! Winge7@aol.com

i absolutely LOVE your bouquet..just wondering, i haven't canvassed around yet, but how much did u pay for ur bouquet? u can email me at aml716@rogers.com.

thanks!

I love your lantern centerpiece. My wedding is September 2005 & I will need 300 of these centerpieces. Can you give me instructions on how to make this & the estimated cost & time to make 1 lantern? You can emailme at raelene_ifuku@hotmail.com.

Thank you very much!

Im glad I found an asian wedding site. Hmmm...I'm getting married in May of next year and have purchased handmade invitations from www.thepulpstudio.com. They have a good selection of asian style wedding invitations, everything else I found was too bland. I have so far one wedding favor: Japanese botan rice candy (we're taking these out of the box) filled in glassine bags (EBAY.com - buy the long bookmark style, sealed shut with origami paper and hanging them on cherry branches. The branches are placed in a large white ceramic vase and placed on a bamboo runner. Guestbook is a large asian brocade journal. We're also making special kits for the kids - colored pencil chopsticks (found these in NY - pearlriver), mini coloring books and an assortment of japanese candy. Centerpieces are curled bamboo in a glass vase, which the guests will be able to take home afterwards. Bridesmaids will be carrying paper parasols in fuschia. I want to give out more favors to show appreciation. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

Reply to Tammy: If you're worried about making a faux pas with chopsticks, just remember these two important rules... Don't stick them point-down into food, and don't pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks. Both of these actions are traditionally used in Japanese funerals. Hope that helps.

I think this is a great website!! I am 1/2 Chinese and would love to incorporate a little of my culture into my upcoming wedding. I have gotten some great ideas after reading people's comments and plans for their own weddings. Thank you for passing on the info!! If anyone has ideas for incorporating the Asian-theme for an outdoor wedding, please e-mail me at tanya_chin-fatt@mastercard.com. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated :-)

For my wedding I have decided on incorporating a great deal of origami. I am making little white origami boxes with the love kanji stamped in red on the lid. Inside I will be placing a piece or two of rice candy and either an origami crane or lilly. With the cost of wedding favors this seemed the most inexpensive albeit time consuming. I am making 200 boxes. What I have done is bought a ream of white cardstock, and cut it in half. I have then used both halves (one a little smaller than the other) to make the box and lids. The ream of cardstock only cost about $5.00. I have also decided to use origami roses for the wedding flowers. I am NOT talented to do this myself. I have tried and can't quite master the trick, but if anyone is interested there are a few sites on the internet which sell paper rose bouquets and what not. www.bloom4ever.com and www.papercelebrations.com are only two sites I have visited. For pew markers I have taken sandalwood fans and placed a small bouquet of origami lillys (in different patterns, but all with the same colors) on the fans with a white ribboned bow at the bottom. These are just a few of my ideas. Hope this helps someone.

This has been the most helpful website that I have encountered in the past few months. My june 05' outdoor wedding is asian inspired. I received a multitude of great ideas from most who contributed their plans/ideas. My bridesmaids are wearing red and my overall color theme is red with gold accents. I plan to decorate outdoors with paper lanterns. I was also thinking about making oragami swans and cranes to suspend from trees or inside of the tent with fishing line, so they appear to be floating. I like the idea of using oragami for place cards and even for my boquet. I plan to use either a sandalwood fan or parasols for the bridesmaids to carry. www.cherryblossomgardens.com offers a wide variety of designs. Another helpful website for favors is www.favorsandflowers.com. Also try http://weddingthings.com/oriental_wedding_favo rs.htm for similar things. I was contemplating giving away a lucky chinese coin (can get at www.cherryblossomgardens.com) For my bridal shower, I will be serving sushi, and this site also has really cute cocktail napkins with little pictures of sushi on them. The local asian supermarket sells cheap sake cups. These could be filled with candy and used as favors, too. Another idea for a centerpiece is to float a lotus blossom along with floating candles in a pretty bowl filled with water. A small satin drawstring pouch (easy to make, choose fabric from craft section in store) can be used to hold rice, and given to guests to use after the ceremony. www.theamericanwedding.com has nice red invitations w/ gold symbol for love.

I'd like to add, that although most of the comments I read were helpful and light hearted, I was perturbed to read the negativity in a few of the comments. I respect asian culture, as I respect every culture. I do not doubt that every woman who enters this site feels the same way. Why would anyone choose to have the most important day of their life revolving around a culture that they did not like or respect? Come on, think about your comments...Are you saying that people who are from other cultures should not have traditional American weddings? That is absurd!! As for L.X., you are racist, get a life. By the way, every single bridal/wedding magazine shows take-out containers and the like in their pages. I thought it was a cute idea. I also like to wear chopsticks in my hair. Just about every accessory store sells them. In the United States, especially........don't you think that they would be taken off the shelves and the stores sued, if they really offended people?????????????

Hey ladies,

I have instructions for how to make fortune cookie place cards out of origami-style paper, if anyone is interested.

They were featured in Martha Stewart's wedding magazine in Fall of 2003.

http://www.hankodesigns.com/MarthaStewartFortu neCookie031100.htm

As well the invitations I've designed and made are well on their way to being finished for those who are interested in swopping ideas.

Thanks to all those who have contacted me and best of luck to all of you! :)

~ Amanda soulsinger@hotmail.com

hello, can anyone email me the directions to make the shoji style lantern ? and also, if anyone can email me where they got the stoneware saucer??? it's a great idea and i would LOVE to use it in my wedding in august. 2005. i'm also planning to use paper fans as one of the favors. thanks. ahreumhan79@yahoo.com

i am getting married in 2008...i know its a long time... but it gives us a long time to plan becuz i want it to be perfect... anyways im commenting on the comments about using asian inspired themes for weddings... i am white my fiance is white... we both are born and raised in canada we have no relations to any asian countries but i love asian beliefs and their culture... they are amazing people with amazing ideas and amazing beliefs. i really want a zen theme but i do not want to offend asian people who will be at the wedding... i am going to do alot of research on more of their traditions towards weddings so if anyone has ANY comments to me... please email me at crazy_beautiful83@hotmail.com

thank you so much ashley

If anyone is interested I bought some beautiful glass lanterns with chinese characters on them for my wedding at a website: www.allgiftsandjewelry.com These aren't shoji lanterns--they're similar to the one in the picture at the very top and I paid about $6 dollars each for 18 of them. All I had to do afterwards was buy votive candles to put inside and I spread rose petals around them (althought the rock and lotus design was really pretty). If you search for "chinese lantern" on the website, they'll pop up. They say they're $10 a piece now, but maybe they'll go on sale again.

stephanie, thanks for the website. i went onto the site to see what the lanterns looked like and i typed in the search box for "chinese lantern" and it didn't pop up. maybe i typed it in wrong.

every one should be able to have what ever wedding they want, it shows they aren't arrogant, they also shouldn't be afraid of others or stress what they may be thinking,afterall we do live in a democratic society, don't we???

I agree with Faith. If chopsticks worn in hair were truly offensive then they wouldn't be sold in stores. Not to mention there are many Asian people that do it themselves. I don't think they'd go out of their way to disrespect their own culture. I'm African-American and I grew up in Japan . And I have seen many Japanese women go around with chopsticks in their hair. They're the same type of decoration you can get from Claires, only they're called kanzashi. So ladies that's what you should search for that type of hair decoration. But anyway- besides from that, I have a suggestion with my table centerpieces. I found the picture at like japaneseweddingfavors.com or something like that. What I've come up with so far is a soba tray, and on top I have pillar candles (that I'll make myself because it's cheaper), riverstones, and lotus flowers. I found the soba tray at ekitron.com, it's 2 for 13.00. The best way to find all decorations needed is to just surf the web. I found so many sites this way it's unreal. You just need the time and patience to do it. I had the time because besides from work, at the time my fiancee was on TDY so I had noting else better to do. One site that's pretty good is askginka.com.

what a fantastic website! it was so nice to get so many new ideas for my chinese themed wedding in august 05. So i thought i just share a few of our wedding plans with you. we are haveing our reception at springwater chinese retaurant in nottingham, where they have a beautiful fountain and plenty of gardens for photos. I have gone for cerise pink, gold and creame for my colours,which have been incorportated in the chinese bridesmaind dresses and parasols. my hubby to be has made our invitations out of bamboo scrolls and paper. we have incorporated lots of laterns and orchids in the garden and for our place settings we have got paper fans which we have painted our guests names translated in chinese (thought we would keep our guests occupied whilst we haveing the photos) from a chinese-english website.

Being chinese myself i am truelly flattered by the fact that so many people want to incorporate my culture on their special day. as for those who have posted comments about being offended about others stealing ides from the chinese culture when they are not of asian origion they should be pleased that so may people want to be part of it especially on their wedding day.

I have figured out most of everything needed in my wedding, but now I am stuck on an appropriate cake topper. Please will someone give me some ideas on something appropriate for a Japanese themed wedding?

I am also trying to incorporate an asian theme into my wedding. I am hispanic and my fiance is half-Vietnamese and half- white. I want to incorporate both our cultures and traditions witout having the wedding look tacky. I think I decided to decorate the reception hall with more of an asian influence instead of both. However, both of our traditions will be introduced throughout the whole wedding. I bought chinese take out pails and filled them w/ pretty filler and then going to add some chocalate. They are tied w/ a pretty ribbon. I am going to have the waiters pass out edible personalized fortune cookies to every guest after dinner. I bought small plain silver photo frames but aren't too sure of how to adorn them. Any ideas?

You can just post your reply on here or email me at alma_ag@hotmail.com. Thoughts, ideas, advice, opinions, and constructive criticism appreciated.

I agree that your lanterns are spectacular. I have been looking around and will continue to look for reasonably priced lanterns for centerpieces. I have not thrown out the idea of making them myself if needed. It would seem that your parents could go into business making these!!! I chose a asian themed wedding based on the hall we are using which is a Japanese Pagoda with surrounding Japanese Garden which is very beautiful!

In reply to Naginata Girl -- Tuesday, January 4 2005:

My own cake topper will be two pieces of bamboo made of chocolate, surrounded by my chosen flowers cascading down the layers of cake. The flowers will be made of fondant.

Essentially, it will look like a bouquet on top of the cake with bamboo sticking out the middle/top.

One bamboo will be taller than the other to symbolize my fiance and I.

Hope this helps :D

Where is the webmaster? hahahahhah

do you have a picture of your invitation?

My fiance and I are both Asians and we love the idea of Shoji lantern placing on the stoneware saucer to serve as our center piece. Could you give us the instruction on how to make the lantern and where I can buy the stoneware saucer? My email address is: minime614@hotmail.com Thanks

Where can I buy or how do I make the paper rice lanterns.

Could someone tell right away.

Thanks

I am trying to put together an asian themed wedding. I have no idea where to begin. I want red gold and ivory as the main colors. if you have any iedas please email me your ideas and links if possible to

shortstop@anonymous.to Thank you very much, Sparkle B.

I am trying to put together an asian themed wedding. I have no idea where to begin. I want red gold and ivory as the main colors. if you have any iedas please email me your ideas and links if possible to

shortstop@anonymous.to Thank you very much, Sparkle B.

I just finished a Japanese themed wedding anniversary. The ideas I used would be excellent for an asian wedding. Plus I live in Japan now and have access to tons of ideas!

Deanna,

Perhaps you could share some of your ideas? Or leave us with some way to contact you to find out from you privately if you do not wish to list them publically.

I made the lanterns and it was not as hard as everyone thinks it is. It cost next to nothing too.

Fi did a great job with cutting the balsa woods to exact size that we need. I think the hardest part was the gluing part but other then that it looked great.

Gwen, Can you please explain how you made the lanterns? Thanks!

Does anyone know where to get a cute asian inspired shawl or wrap???? My sister has a huge tattoo on her back that needs to be hidden. Thanks

Faith, If you can not find a shawl you could go to your local fabric store to find asian fabric and have a shawl made.

Faith what part of the world are you in? That might help us help you?

Also, have you tried ebay?

gwen can you tell me how you made the lantern? i could use the help. thanx. you can email me at karen_chon@hotmail.com

It's hard to explain but I will get my FI to write the instructions down then I'll post it for everyone.

gwen, i'd also appreciate it if you can email me your instructions at narayoon76@aol.com...thanx! also, other quest: is anyone using scroll invitations or scroll program?? is anyone using cherryblossom branches for centerpiece? i'm having a fall wedding and know that the cherryblossom is not in season but would love to use that for half of my tables and the latern idea for the other half. any help would be appreciated. thanx!

Thanks for the ideas, guys! I'm in NJ - I'm going to check ebay and the fabric store for the shawl. I found a really cute centerpiece idea: Go to the www.bedbathandbeyond.com and go to the candle section. There is a great centerpiece that I will probably most definately use. It is a round tray with five different size pillar candles (red, green, brown, etc. - each representing one of the elements ie/fire, earth, etc.). There is a piece of raffia on the tallest candle with a token that resembles a chinese coin. The tray also comes with rocks to fill the tray around the bases of the candles. Check it out - there's a picture - each set is $20. I think that is pretty good, considering the tray, rocks and 5 decent size candles are included. I need 25 of them, so it will be around $500, BUT...the beauty of it is.....you can use those coupons that they always send in the mail and in newspapers for 20% off. So each one will really be about $15.

Does anyone know a good web site on how to decorate lace bridesmaids fans?

Jennifer, I saw a photo of a lace bridesmaid fan a while back. The fan was white lace, and there was a small clump of roses fastened in the front. Then there was long satin ribbon hanging from the fan. It looked like a boquet but w/ the fan in the back. I'm thinking about doing something similar - but I don't know of any websites yet.

I too am having an Asian Theme wedding. My fiance and I would really love to use the shoji lanterns as center pieces instead of flowers. Unfortunately I'm not very handy. If you are able to make the lanterns, could I purchase them from you? I only need 7.

Thank you =)

Hi my fiance and I are getting married in August 2005. I was wondering if someone could help me out. we want to have an asian theme but at the same time we want to have mini "message in a bottle" bottles as guest favors. could someone please give me a suggestion as to how i can tie these two together it would be greatly appreciated. if possible email your suggestions to fayth_03@hotmail.com because chances are i may never find this site again. all help is appreciated, thanks.

Gwen ~ My fiance and I are really in to Thailand and just the Thai culture all together. We are going backpacking across Thailand for 4 weeks for our honeymoon. I also am very interested on how you made your lanterns. Please email me the instructions once you get them at gods7thangel@yahoo.com

Thanks.

Tabbie, maybe you could have the message in the bottle written in an asian style font. At www.cherryblossoms.com there are these cute chinese coins that you may be able to incorporate by tying them w/ ribbon around the neck of the bottle - I'll keep thinking.........

i think your website is good but you should have a section on hair and instructions on how yo do it thank you man respect

does anyone know any good websites on how to do an asian brdes hair

my sister is getting married on saturday and she wants me to do her hair and the thing is i do not know what to do so can you please please help me or my sisters hair will look boring on her wedding day and i do not want that to happen. so please help

qwot wot up dog

You could decorate her hair with an asian lily (this pink and white one's are pretty). Maybe use one of those asian combs - they have pretty chop sticks in all of the accessory stores w/ little rhinestones, etc. on them (but, according to this website - that can be offensive?)- any way - hope your sis's wedding is a success.

Target.com also has some nice lanterns for those who wish to follow an asian theme for their wedding or any other special event.

When my cousin get married, she had put her hair in a french braid, which goes very well with asian theme weddings or yet modern weddings. Wishing you & your sister an enjoyable day.

This is the most helpful page I have come across in months. Thank you all so much for the helpful wedsites and ideas. My asian theme wedding is in August, and the only problem I am having is with the dress, any suggestions?

I wanted to know where I can find or order those Shoji Style Lanterns, I have been looking all over for them.

Tabbie,

I am not sure if you are still looking for the miniature bottles but I got married to my English husband in December and we had a Japanese/English ceremony, for which I made several Japanese related items, including mini bottle with Japanese calligraphy on.

If you would like some help with this please contact me at ayascards@gmail.com

Kind Regards,

Ayako

If Alissa is still following this thread... would you please give how-to instructions on the 'invitations out of bamboo scrolls and paper'. I want to do my invitations that way but don't know where to start. pics would be great if you can. please post instructions so we can share. For pics email seasquared@iname.com. Thanks to all for sharing info and links - it is so helpful. IF anyone else has similar scroll invitation ideas, please share.

Does anyone have any good ideas for ceremony programs? I'm making a canopy, which we will stand under during the ceremony out of very large bamboo posts (got them in Michael's for about $10 each). We'll probably drape it with a white gauze-like material...also, I'm getting my wedding invitations from www.ashtonweddinginvitations.com - (1.)click on "wedding invitations", 2.)click on "Contemporary", then 3.)scroll down to the design "JADE")... they are priced pretty good (it's going to cost $300 for 125 invitations) - but if anyone can help me out with program design, I'd appreciate the help!!

thanks a lot faith and bobo your ideas were really helpful to me and my sister and her hair looked amazing on saturday all thanks to you two.

Christine, Glad to help...what did she wind up doing to her hair?

faith thanks for replying she just went to the hairdressers and they they this complicated french twist thingy too hard for me to do. please reply to this message it is so great talking to you.

Hey Christine, I'm still looking for a hairstyle...so they did a french twist...did they add anything like flowers to it?? Let me know, thanks Faith

to faith they added some white and yellow roses and put diamond swirls in and added a bit of glitter an pulled out some strands talk to you soon.

I am interested in making the lanterns please help thanks

I love your flowers with all the orchids. Do you have any more pictures that you could post. I was going to go with a red bouquet to match my color scheme of red but your flowers looked so nice. Also, did you freeze dry your bouquet, if so how did the flowes come out since orchids are so delicate. Thanks!

can anyone tell me if giving black chopsticks is a bad thing. They would match my deco, but I don't want to offend anyone. Thanks!

I love the shoji style lantern centerpiece. I'm getting married in Sept. 2005 and I need to make about 40 centerpieces. Can someone please send me the instructions to mdpatel413@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Tracy, I'd give the black chopsticks if they match your decor. I don't think anyone will be offended - good luck to you!

I love the shoji style lantern/floating orchid centerpiece. Please tell me where I can purchase or create this gorgeous centerpiece. Please email me at BabiBirdie@yahoo.com. Thank you.

Gwen, I tried to make one, but it is really hard to attach/glue them together. Mine has gap between each side. How do you attach each side and shows no gap?

m_sylvi_k@yahoo.com

Gwen, your lanterns look great!!! Can you please send me some kind of instructions as to how you made them. mdpatel413@yahoo.com Thanks!

http://hometown.aol.com/ronireichle/myhomepage /profile.html

These are the ones we make... email me for prices and shipping

Hey, Tracy! I too was having a heck of a time finding a dress to go with my asian theme. Here's a link to the one I finally chose http://www.chinesetailor.com/index.html

Help!!! I just read on a website (http://www.weddingzone.net/px-pl089.htm) that the color white symboloizes death in the Chinese culture. Does anyone know of any other sites that list cultural etiquette? Both my fiance and I are white however, we have a close mutual friend that is from Taiwan, and she is the one that suggested our wedding be Asian themed but she's never mentioned anything about the color white. I've planned for my colors to be beige and sage, does anyone know if those colors are "bad"??

Help!!! I just read on a website (http://www.weddingzone.net/px-pl089.htm) that the color white symboloizes death in the Chinese culture. Does anyone know of any other sites that list cultural etiquette? Both my fiance and I are white however, we have a close mutual friend that is from Taiwan, and she is the one that suggested our wedding be Asian themed but she's never mentioned anything about the color white. I've planned for my colors to be beige and sage, does anyone know if those colors are "bad"??

Do you really think anyone is going to care or think this deeply into a color - use whatever you want - I doubt anyone is going to be truly offended if you wear white or green or beige...............................

I agree, wear whatever you want - I don't think when you walk down the aisle in white, looking beautiful - that anyone will be thinking a negative thought

April, my friend from Taiwan, told me that there is one thing that is an absolute must for any Chinese themed wedding and that is a red and gold banner with the "double happiness" symbol. She recently forwarded me the history behind that symbol and I thought I'd share it with ya'll:

Double Happiness

A large Chinese character, Double Happiness, on a red piece of paper or in paper cut is always put where it must strike the eyes on a young couple's wedding. It has a story behind it.

In the ancient Tang Dynasty, there was a student who was on the way to the capital to attend the national final examination, in which the top learners would be selected as the ministers in the court. Unfortunately, he fell ill halfway when he passed through a mountain village. Thanks to a herbalist doctor and his daughter, he was taken to their house and treated well. He recovered quickly due to the father and the daughter's good care. Well, when he had to leave, he found it hard to say good-bye to the pretty girl, and so did she. They fell in love. So the girl wrote down the right hand part of an antithetical couplet for the student to match:

"Green trees against the sky in the spring rain while the sky set off the spring trees in the obscuration."

"Well, I can make it though it is not easy. But you'll have to wait till I have finished the examination." replied the student. The young girl nodded in significance.

In the examination the young man won the first place, who was appreciated by the emperor. Also the winners were interviewed and tested by the emperor. As luck would have it, he was asked by the emperor to finish a couplet, which would need a right part as the answer. The emperor wrote:

"Red flowers dot the land in the breeze's chase while the land colored up in red after the kiss."

The young man realized immediately the right part of the couplet by the girl was the perfect fit to the emperor's couplet, so he took the girl's part as the answer without hesitation. The emperor was delighted to see the matching half of his couplet was so talent and harmonious that he authorized the young man's identity as Minister in the court and allowed him to pay a visit to his hometown first before holding the post. The young man met the girl happily at home and told her the emperor's couplet. They soon got married. For the wedding, the couple DOUBLED the Chinese character, HAPPY, together, on a red piece of paper and put it on the wall to express the happiness for the two events. And from then on, it has been taken on and became a social custom.

im thinking of doing an asian inspired wedding theme for my wedding next year... can you give me instructions on how to make the lanterns? thanks email it to michelleuy23@yahoo.com

I need help!! My wedding is in 6 months and I havn't ironed out my decorations or favors. If you have any ideas please email me @ sbeam2005@yahoo.com

Gwen,

I have been searching the internet for lanterns and haven't found any that compare to yours. I am getting married next May and would love to hear how you made yours! PLEASE email me at tdawns79@yahoo.com

THANKS in advance!

Hey everyone. I've been planning my asian themed wedding for about a year and a half, and its coming together for this July 2nd. I've found some good ideas, and hope this helps all of you. My theme colors are Red and Gold. For my wedding invitations, I chose The Jade from Ashton Wedding invitations-simple and classy For my centerpeices on the tables, I was going to float lotus flowers and use votive candles, but I've decided to wrap my favors (my own homemade soap in scents of jasmine and lavendar) with tissue paper, put it into chinese take out boxes and decorate those with red ribbon, and pyramid them in the center of the table. These will be combined with fortune cookies. I found the best price for the take out boxes on ebay (200 for $20) and fortune cookies at: https://www.forteconnections.com/specialfortun ecookies/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=16134&cat=&PHP SESSID=14f41b11a0980b7891b754c716640829 they were $40 for 250 and three of my own messages. The ringbearers are carrying down pillows that I've covered with a gold bamboo print silk from joann fabrics. We have a gong to announce all the imporant events (cake cutting, first dance, dinner...) I'll be carrying red lillies and orchids in a cascading bouquet My junior bridesmaid is wearing a red chinese dress with gold bamboo. I almost had the girls carry chinese fans, but decided to go with flowers because I couldn't find any fans I really liked for a reasonable price. And my cake is a 3 tiered square cake, with piping on the edges that look like bamboo, and orchids on the top. We are decorating the hall with red and gold shimmer tulle on the ceiling with white christmas lights, and red and ivory chinese lanterns hanging at varying heights. And I found some metal lanterns that we are ALL looking for at a decent price. ($6.75 each) http://www.homedecodirect.com/Metal_Chinese_La ntern_p/hd30683.htm I still don't have all the details worked out, but I hope that this helps some of you. Feel free to email me with any questions, or send me ideas....I'm down to two months!!! Good luck everyone! Lolita82299@hotmail.com

i love your centerpiece. could you tell me where you bought it? im thinking of using that for my wedding... thanks :)

can you email me where you got you centerpiece? the one with the lanter and orchids... michelleuy@pacific.net.ph

Kristen, I'm also down to 2 months (holy crap) - and have the Jade invites from Ashton - they are great!!! Can you please let me know a rough estimate of how much your red lily/orchid boquet is costing? Just curious - I'm trying to figure out my own and that sounds like a nice combo - since my color is also red. For our gift envelopes, I'm using an asian inspired bird cage on the cake table to slide the envelopes thru the slots. I also contemplated my girls carrying fans - but I'm going with parasols now. My shower was last weekend in a Chinese restaurant - it was great! I was thinking about handing out red enveloped filled with rice for after the ceremony. Please keep me posted of any new ideas you may have - since we seem to have similar ideas. Thank - you!

My wedding is in 33 more days!!! I've been planning for almost 2 years now.

I'm in the middle of creating a website with all my wedding ideas, so it will hopefully help some of you out once it's finished. I will post the address when it's complete.

Invitations: I made my own invitations and I've received MANY compliments on my work. I used cardstock, cheogami paper, gold shimmer paper, gold ribbon and asian fonts. I sealed each invitation with chinese frog closures, purchased from www.buttons4you.com

My dress was designed by Alice Ko. She's a locally famous Chinese designer. www.aliceko.com

Bride's attendants: Wearing cheongsam gowns of various styles and colours. We purchased them at a local chinese mall. They will carry fans, which I purchased off ebay. Each fan is different and co-ordinates with each girl's dress. The fans are being embellished by swarovski crystal beads to match.

Groomsmen: Wearing mandarin style tuxedos with a modern collar shirt and gold vests.

Bouquet: An elaborate custom design. I will post photos on the site I'm creating.

Bomboniers: Purchased from Les Maries Bridal. Engraved black chopsticks in a red brocade pouch. The chopsticks are sealed at the top with an embossed gold double happiness sticker. There is a matching red linen napkin and a brocade place mat, all bound together by a red napkin ring with a pan chang knot. $4 CDN/piece including engraving.

Centrepieces: metal japanese style lantern on a red brocade place mat with dragons embroidered on it, to match the bomboniers. Cheongsam dress wine bottle covers in red (for red wine) and gold (for white wine) $2 CDN/ piece. There will also be a small menu card with a Chinese marriage blessing on the back in Chinese characters. Each card has a pan chang knot tassel.

Place cards: I made my own based on instructions from a Martha Stewart bridal magazine from a year or two ago. They are made of origami paper and in the shape of fortune cookies. A 'fortune' sticks out of each side of the cookie and contains the person's name and table number. They're really cute and many people have already contacted me for instructions.

I've also made all my own thank you notes from card stock, origami paper and stamping.

I purchased a Chinese signing book from a local shop for $5 CDN. The pages are red, and the covers are padded with embroidered brocade. It says "signing book" in Chinese characters on the front.

I also purchased red pan chang knot tassels for the decorator to use at the head table between the swags of fabric, and one large ornamental tassel with a fake jade and dragon and phoenix medallion for the centre of the head table.

Our decorator will be using shoji screens, antherium in red and green, calla lilies, various greens/bamboo and 8' silk cherry blossom trees to decorate our ceremony room.

I'm sure I'm forgetting details right now, but everything will be on my upcoming site. Please email me soulsinger@hotmail.com with any questions. I'm happy to help. I have a decent selection of asian music, fonts etc.

Amanda, I am truly impressed!! Everything sounds great - good luck to you. I am thinking about using your ideas for the place cards and menu cards. Thanks for your help. Faith

I'm getting married in a few months and I need the detailed instructions on how to make the lanterns and also where to get the dishes that sit in them. I was considering buying the lanterns, but I understand that the paper will catch fire unless I apply some type of spray to it. Please write back soon. press411@aol.com

place card holders/ favors..

A friend of mine has an Asian shop in the mall and she was clearancing out coin charms and tiny jade ring charms. We bought her out of those, bought some ribbon in our colors and some generic bamboo chopsticks from Wal-mart we strung the charms on the ribbon and tied the ribbon around the chopsticks. Place cards fit nicely between the chopsticks.

Where are the swans and oragami things

LX:

I think that imitation is a great form of flattery!!! It shows love & respect for different cultures. When people copy our culture no one thinks anything of it, whats the difference? No one here is trying to be offensive. By the way I loved the idea of take-out boxes for fortune cookies!!! So did Martha Stewert Now thats a good thing!!!

My wedding is the first weekend in August. We are having a Japanese style wedding. For favors I bought a ream of white cardstock and cut each piecein half, using an origami book I made a box with a lid. On the lid I used a hanko stamp with the love kanji and stamped it in the middle. Fore the inside favors I used Bottan Rice candy and again folded small origami cranes and lilys. For the "send off" I, again took out the origami book, and made paper cups of different colors and patterns. There were two flaps, one of which I glued down. I place bird seed inside the cup and then folded the other flap over the opening and placed a bead of hot glue which I then covered with the same love kanji stamped on a small square of card stock. I have made the thank you notes out of Avery brand stationary bought from Office Max. You get 60 cards and 60 envelopes. I then bought foil kanji stickers with the symbol for thank you on them and will be placing these in the center of the front of each card. These cards were meant to be printed on, but this was the most inexpensive option I had for finding plain white cards. I have received many complements. I also designed my own invitations which we printed out on the computer. We bought on sale 4 boxes of 100 invitations/100 response cards from Michaels craft store. I then worded the invitations the way I wanted in Microsoft Word and found a suitable kanji for love on the internet. I did some reconfiguring with the symbol and then placed it behind the invitation wording in light red. I did this for the invitations, announcement, and response cards. They are very pretty. Hope this gives someone some ideas. I really think this is a great site. Thanks to everyone for all of their helpfull ideas.

Over the weekend I purchased 2 free standing artificial orchid plants in wooden planters - they are awesome!! They look real and I will use them as decorations in my house after the wedding. They stand about 5 feet tall and I will place them on either side of my bamboo canopy during the ceremony and will have them brought inside for the reception (maybe by the cake table) - I got them in the RagShop - they were $60 each, but I got them for about $40 each with the discount coupons that come in the newspaper. They do not look cheesy at all - I love them!

I can understand where people may be offended if you have an asian themed wedding if you aren't asian but the zen look/feel is very trendy right now. I think one can incorporate aspects of a culture they are not affiliated with into a wedding and still make it look classy. For example, the Shoji paper lanterns are gorgeous no matter what culture your from. I know I am going to use a variation of them in my wedding next year even though I'm not asian. They add a whimsical feel to the table which is a tribute to the original designers. Now, I wouldn't go all out and dress in the traditional clothes but a slight "east-meets-west" reception shouldn't be deemed offensive. I know I wouldn't be offended if someone from another culture had a western/colonial themed wedding.

I agree 100%

I will be getting married in a couple of years so i have plenty of time to plan my wedding i catered a wedding for my bestfriend's sister and her wedding had an asian theme and it was so beautiful since traditional is just that ( traditional) i thougt i would steal her ideas actually she will be helping me coordinate my wedding since i catered for her she had lanterns hanging from the ceilings and red glass lanterns surrounding the table that she and her husband sat at she had sweet and sour chicken and some other seafood items well good luck to everyone hope your day is beautiful

I'm getting married in 4 months, and I have also incorporated a lantern into my japanese style wedding. I've actually been planning for almost 3 years, and the lanters were one of the first ideas I had..along with setting it on top of a soba tray surrounded by origami cranes. I did find some tealight lantern on a website www.100candles.com. Hope this helps some of you! And congrats to everyone!

This is kinda off topic... I was wondering what everyone is doing for music? I don't want the typical "Here Comes the Bride" I want something different, but I don't know what! I was thinking of Ave Maria. Any suggestions?

RXTech@cableone.net

Jessica,

I'm having my friend sing, "A Moment Like This" from Kelly Clarkson. I didn't want the typical wedding march either.

Just because things are sold in stores or are shown in magazines or used by Martha Stewart does NOT make them okay. There are lots of racist things everywhere still. This is evident from racist t-shirts at Abercrombie and Finch to racist comments from radio d.j.'s to exploitation of ethnic cultures by corporations. You are ignorant fools living in a sheltered privileged world if you're not aware of this.

Take out boxes and fortune cookies are offensive because they are caricatures of our culture. Fortune cookies are also an american white invention. If you don't know enough about the culture to know what is offensive or what is "wrong" (i.e. wearing white), don't do it!!!!

This website has inspired me to have a white people wedding with MacDonalds as my caterer and happy meal boxes with plastic sporks as wedding favors.

You go LX.

Dear Angry and Offended: What kind of wedding are YOU having???? Why are you looking on an "asian theme wedding" website if you know so much about "your" culture??? Don't be a hater

Can somebody please give me instructions to make the lanterns??

Angry & Offended, why are you so mad??? 1.) Why do you assume that everyone posting comments is white?? Do you have a problem with white people?? Sounds like you're a tad bit racist...hmmmmm...

2.) Your little antecdote about McDonalds was geared at "white" people, but you are actually offending Americans (aren't you American??)

3.) Do you really think "American's" would be offended if you chomped your big mac, with spork in tow??? Do you think anyone gives two flying shits???

Think before you comment, because you sound like the ignorant asshole, not us:)

Angry & Offended,

I have NO IDEA what you are talking about. This thread is about asian "theme" wedding. People who are interested in applying asian representation in their wedding...not become asian!

If you want to use McDonald's and sporks..go for it! But I don't see where you are coming from when you refer to sporks and McDonald's as "white people" then accusing people who want an asian "theme" as ignorant fools?

I am 100% japanese, born in Japan, and I grew up with japanese culture, pride, and traditions instilled into me. I am proud of my culture and want to share it with everyone on my special day.

If other people want to use "asian inspired" themes in their wedding, that's fine. It only spreads the influence of asian cultures, and the melding of two backgrounds.

If you don't like the mixing of cultures and ideas, then don't go to baseball games and eat hotdogs, or wear American brand names/logos, drive Chevy trucks, and don't eat at McDonalds. Because you will then be participating in the explotation of american cultures as an asian person.

Question... I am scrambling because my wedding is next month and my fiance is Japanese. I pulled together a couple things I read were traditions, but now can not seem to find anything to confirm this???? I wanted to type up a little something for the guests to understand these subtle hints I am putting througout such as: red carnation in the bottom of their wine glass to symbolize wealth and prosperity, I had a wire tree made so the guests could hang best wishes and notes of sentiments on it (I can't find anything on this now, and I know I pulled it off of the internet). If you can offer any help, please email me at canchaser14@hotmail.com thank you!

Jessica,

If I remember correctly, it was a chrysanthemum (spl?) petal placed into the bottom of a wine glass to have a long and healthy life..not a red carnation. I hope this helps.

I am having an "asian" themed vow renewal ceremony. I found some little kimono bottle covers and they are darling but my church does not allow alcohol in the sanctuary - but I would love to incorporate the kimonos into some type of centerpiece - has anyone seen/done something like this or have any ideas?? I'm part thai and chinese but I'm just calling it "asian" themed because I spent a lot of time in Japan so I am incorporating a little of everything. Thanks in advance for your help!!!

To the comments of Angry and Offended I must say that I never write on these message boards but I was so offended at your comments as a white person. I lived in Japan for 2 years and now speak the language. Is that considered offensive to you also? I learned to appreciate the culture and learned to love it so much that I consider it my second home. I am celebrating that love with my family and my fiance at my wedding. Maybe you should learn to appreciate other cultures beyond your own instead of ripping them apart. I feel sorry for you.

What kind of bottles do they cover? What size is it?

Have you thought of using them on apple cider bottles, Water bottles, or some other non-alcoholic drink? Or even a bottle used as a flower holder centerpiece?

I'm sure there are different ways to use them. If they are small..could they be used as silverware holders? I dunno...just throwing out suggestions :)

Oops! The comment above was FOR tish, not BY Tish!

where can i buy chinese chops or wax seals in toronto, canada?

Yuki -

The kimonos cover a standard wine bottle (or sparkling cider bottle). Me and my party "committee" decided that it might be better to just use them to cover bottles and have them wheeled out when we do the toast. They would have looked so cute on the table but I think I should just use them as they were intended. We decided to do a candle centerpiece with 3 candles, polished stones, and red/yellow lilies. It's going to be very easy and (the best part) inexpensive! I was just so surprised at how good it will look with just a few items.

Thanks for the ideas Yuki! I appreciate it!!!

Hugs - Tish

First; thank you everyone for your wonderful ideas and imput. I myself have a year and a half to plan yet have two inquiries I was hoping someone could anwser. Does any one know of any Thai traditions? My fiance (no I can't spell) is half Chinese and half Thai. I myself am engrossed in anything Japanese and have been my entire life growing up in the Hawaiian islands. I would very much like to incorporate something very "Thai traditional", out of respect and appriciation towards my future mother in law. It is inappropriate to address her with these questions, please help.

2nd Where may one find a wedding dress that is somewhat traditional with a slight asian flair. I am having the most difficult time with a dress that is elegant and traditional white with a simple asian decoration. I found a wonderful asian taylor but she won't sew onto a dress she didn't make. GRRR!

Thanx in advance for any useful advice and/or direction.

I am incorporating certain asian themed items into my wedding, lanterns, oragami, etc....because it is regal, colorful and beautiful....not as an insult. Not everyone can know everything about every culture...No one here seems malicious to me. In fact everyone is talking about incorporating an asian theme into one of the most important days of their lives! That alone should show the esteme whith which these people view asian culture. Information is OK, but chastisement makes YOU the biggot!

I love your laterns. Will you please send me instructions on how to make them? spencerdg@sbcglobal.net

I am Asian, and I have a lot of important things to say about lanterns. I read the entire Asian racism thread, and I think it's necessary for all of you to cool down a minute and think about the meaning of race and culture and what you want to say with your weddings. Weddings are supposed to be *meaningful* and have symbolism. You should realize that a wedding says more and means more than the style of your table decorations. We don't marry just in order to display our good (or bad) taste. What that means is....

First of all, people, "Asian" isn't a culture. Asia includes Iraq, Siberia, Cambodia, and Pakistan. If you refer to something as Asian-themed, and you're referring exclusively to any region's culture (even such a large region as East Asia--by which we mean Japan and Korea and China and so forth), then you're being ignorant. I realize it's a catch-all shorthand. Would you use catch-all shorthand to conduct any other aspect of your wedding, like the vows? Have some respect, if you think you're paying tribute to the "culture."

The previous poster just said there was no "malice" from white brides on this site. That was either deceitful or dumb. Her own comment was rather malicious, I thought. There are Asian racists on this site. There are also many white racists. Some are saying hurtful things because they feel criticized (and God knows that brides aren't exactly the least touchy people in the world). But calling the critical Asians all racists, without adequately addressing their criticisms, is stupid: it's saying, "I'm not racist, YOU're racist, and I'm right because I'm white and I know more about respecting Asia than you do." And the point about the McDonald's wedding was *meant* to be racist, people. It is called *satire*. How can you say, seriously, that that writer was being racist about white people, when what she was doing was parodying you? She did exactly what you did--and now you have the gall to turn around and accuse HER of racism? What that girl was doing was showing you how it feels to have your life and your culture reduced to a consumer item, in the name of "appreciation." I can't believe you fell for it. Over and over on this site, Asians are logging in to say that they feel hurt and stereotyped by this "appreciation" of yours. And there are only a few people here (good people) who try to address those feelings, before they go on to prattle about the damn lanterns again.

Appreciation is a difficult subject, because it goes hand in hand with fetishization. Some white women don't understand this: here's an example--you meet a man who tells you the perfect woman because you're passive. That's what's at stake here--prejudice being praised as appreciative. Maybe some of you don't understand how racism fits into something as simple as a lantern. More on that here...No one seems here to have addressed the very good point about Native Americans, and what it means to appropriate culture. It is Of Course important to learn about other cultures, and to incorporate new traditions into our own. That, as some of you have mentioned, is a good thing about America. It is NOT a good thing about America for a white woman to tell an Asian woman who feels she has witnessed racist behavior that she should leave the country if she doesn't like being treated that way. (Go back and read that post, and maybe you'll want to think twice.) What kind of tolerance or appreciation is it to tell somone to "go home" if she disagrees? That's fucking ugly, and it is, definitely, racist. Any of you white brides who are ragging on the Asian brides but didn't notice that line should feel ashamed of yourselves. The malice was on this site early on, and yes, it definitely started to come from both sides--but think about numbers--a couple dozen white women ganging up on 3 or 4 Asian women doesn't sound very pretty. It sounds neurotic and insecure and bridezillian.

I like lanterns and cheongsams and Thai takeout as much as the next person. I even have white girlfriends who like them too, and I don't think that that's racist. What's racist is saying that your token consumer appreciation of stereotypical items is showing how much you love our "culture," or how you're showing how valuable we are to you. Culture is more complicated than that. You white brides who are planning "Asian-themed" weddings will NEVER go on a job interview and have your prospective boss make a joke about your wearing chopsticks in your hair making you more authentic. You will never be walking down the street and have a white man ask you where your kimono is, geisha-girl. You will never carry a box of takeout Chinese into the office and have somebody assume that you work for the restaurant. This is not to say that white women don't suffer sexism--of course you do. What you don't understand is that what you consider to be the beauty of "our" culture is used *against* those of us who have the faces that supposedly go with that culture. And to see white women borrowing these things, that have been used against us by whites, and that we would wish to share with you and encourage you to buy for your own receptions if the issues weren't made so difficult for us *by white racists*, can be incredibly painful. Consumer items are part of culture, but they're not all, and culture isn't just Buddhism and great minimalist design and flower arranging--it is how we choose to live our lives in this country and others, faced with problems like racism and sexism and rampant consumerism. And on top of all that, that we have to give advice on not sticking the chopsticks into the food bowls to white women who tell us to go back where we came from!

I don't hold it against white women that they like lotuses or lanterns or whatever, because I like them too. I hold it against white *racist* brides--not all of you, but definitely some--that they think that their design schemes and their nasty comments to Asian brides on wedding web sites are making the world a better, more "tolerant" place.

Of course, some Asian women go through their whole lives without experiencing this racism. Others of us experience it every day. Some of us aren't very smart, and some of us like to fetishize ourselves. So you WILL find Asian women on this site who want to do their table designs just like you and don't mind your questions. That doesn't make it okay, or right, in any universal way. We are individuals too, you know, and we deserve to be treated on the same terms as each of you does, instead of as a class of "Asians," and we may all disagree with each other--but that's our right as humans.

You can't stop racism by leaving out your black chopsticks or whatever. And you are entitled to have a beautiful wedding that pays tribute to whatever cultures you best appreciate. Of course, you may love watermelon and fried chicken, but having them at your reception doesn't make you black, and doesn't mean you're helping black people by appreciating "their culture." (I am very consciously borrowing a racist stereotype of black people, to show you how it feels. Those of you who were hurt by the McDonald's comment should think about this, and how it feels to us to see the word "Asian" used over and over again to refer to design schemes, while the Asian brides are being marginalized.)

Love the lantern idea. Where do I purchase them or how do I make them? You can reach me ASAP at JennieJackson@comcast.net. Our original center pieces fell through and the wedding is in thirty days. Groom is Korean so Asian theme is appropriate.

In regards to Asian June Bride:

Thank you for bringing up some very important and critical points in regards to the overall behavior of this site. Hopefully your comments have hit home to some of those who were previously so judgmental of others who were expressing their thoughts and feelings and only focused on how those comments made them feel rather than taking into consideration the overall meaning.

It is unfortunate to see the ugliness that is rearing its head on this website. I used to come to this site to see other people's beautiful and artful ideas for their celebrations. I am sorry to those of you that are offended on this website, but this isn't the place for any of us to be lecturing or preaching our ideas. Let this place be what it is supposed to be, an idea site. I don't believe it was started to hurt anyone. It was a place for brides to share ideas. The racism that is being shown, whether "white" or "asian" is disturbing either way.

Can anyone tell me where can I buy cambodian wedding dress or rent them?

I absolutely love the idea of the Shoji style lanterns as centerpieces. My fiancee and I were actually going to try making them before I saw your website! Did you use a candle votive for the inside so the rice paper didn't catch fire? Is there any way you could e-mail me step by step instructions and where one might find the rice paper? Thanks so much! afogliatti@yahoo.com

love, love, love the lanterns!!! i know i am the billionth person to ask...but how do you make them??? thanks so much, you have great ideas!!!

oops...my email is mlp56@msn.com

I also love your lantern idea please send me the step by step instructions when you are able. i really appreciate it. email address is sophia_1@charter.net

Like everyone else, I have the same request about the lanterns, my e-mail is raines_kim_wedding@yahoo.com. You're Awesome!! Thanks!

I love your lantern centerpieces as well! Pretty please send me the instructions on how to make them. thamazingace@gmail.com Thank you!!!!

oops - sorry got so excited about your centerpieces that I typed my email incorrectly... theamazingace@gmail.com

HI, Very nice wedding ideas you got. Looks like a beutiful wedding. I also love your laterns. They are so beutiful. If you can, also pls send me the instructions if you have them. Thanks so much.

An b1withgod@yahoo.com

Well I'm all married now and the wedding went beautifully!

I'm still checking this site though in case I can offer help to anyone who needs it.

I still have the instructions on how to make the origami fortune cookie place cards. (Thanks and best wishes to all those of you who have already emailed me regarding these)

My wedding site is up and running. Please email me for the site address if you are interested in viewing my site.

Cheers!

Hi, I am planning an Asian style wedding for my daughter for next April. I would like anything you have to share. I would also like to see your site and congratulate you on your marriage! Thanks, Tamra

I forgot to leave my email address oops! ninn96@yahoo.com Thanks, Tamra

As for the person that has a problem with other cultures using an asian theme for their wedding, that is ridiculous. I am African American and hope to have some Asian style at my wedding. I have always been into collecting Japanese Swords and taking Hakido. My entire home is decorated as such. I would think it was very cool if a someone of a different culture had an African themed wedding although I've never seen that. I love asian style everything and ended up living in an asian community which I love. I have always loved the beauty and artwork since I was 6 years old.

Sorry I didn't capitalize every "asian", no disrespect, I'm just typing a light hearted email.

OOps! I suppose it might help if I reposted my email address so people don't have to go searching through this site to find it.

soulsinger@hotmail.com

Cheers!

I am getting married next July. My husband is in the army and has spent time in Korea. We would like to incorporate it into our wedding by having a oriental themed wedding. I have no clue where to begin. If anyone has any suggestions please e-mail me at nijeepatience@hotmail.com thank you so much.

hi im getting married end of this year and im planning to have the shoji lantens as my centerpeice can you tell me how you made it? and what size it is? it looks perfect but dont know what size it is

please email me at michelleuy@pacific.net.ph

Could you please email me the instructions for the shoji lantern I am getting married in December 2005. Thanks Again for the idea.

Email:mossy87@hotmail.com

wow i love the flowers and the pots, they were totaly cool man.

i love the pink and yellow flowers, i want them on my ponk wedding man, and also not for getting the blown and green pink and sliver dress as well, i love them and the shoes as well, they were black and organge, sorry i can't spell properly, anyways all you guy are invisted to my ponk ass wedding man, wow or wat people. Clo

It is such a great idea! Can you please e-mail me the stey by step how to make the lantern to twentytwoladybugs@hotmail.com? Thank you very much!

Please email me the directions on how to make the shoji lanterns. I would like to find out where you purchaced the stoneware saucer. my wedding is Auguest 7th I need to get started on them right away. I think everything that you came up with is beutiful. email address is cassie.johnson@northtrailrv.com i would really appreciate it thank you very much.

I love the laterns and I would like to make them for a bridal shower I think the bride-to-be will adore.

Could you please send deatiled instructions of how they are made to ku2002@hotmail.com. Thank you they would be very appreciated.

can anyone help me decide whether to put little buddha statues as party favors at a rehearsal dinner for an korean american bride and an american groom.?

Kathryn,

I used little laughing Buddha statues as the favors for my wedding. They were small and red and I wrapped each in tulle with a red ribbon. I received countless praises on them. I would recommend using them. I also included a little write-up on the legend of the laughing Buddha and if you rub his belly, it's good luck. Alot of people said that they put them in their cars as good luck charms. You should go for it:)

Faith

My wedding was in June and it was great. My placecard table was so cute and I received alot of very nice complements on it. I had the red contemplation fountain from pier 1 already, so I brought it to the reception and it was placed in the center of the table with the water running. Smooth black stones were scattered around it. I stamped each placecard with the Chinese character for 'love', in red ink. It was simple and pretty.

I love those lanterns! Can you email me the directions on how to make them? I've been looking for an asian touch to my wedding and those are perfect! My email is moganeku@hotmail.com Thanks!

Some of you are complete morons! My fiancee is Japanese, and I live in Japan on a US air base. Our wedding will be in Japan, but it will be a traditional Christian wedding, on the base. We want to incorporate Japanese nuances wherever possible and this site is GREAT! We were having trouble finding items and got a ton of great info here. Keep up the good work everyone, we love the site!

Hi - I bought these iron lanterns and replaced the glass with japanese rice paper. Now, i wanted to do 3 lanterns but i need to stagger them somehow (i have 2 same sized and 1 small one). Anybody have an idea of how to do this inexpensively?

Surprisingly i got the lanterns at a nearby grocery store for 97cents each. They had glass inserts of snowmen and santa's.

i luv the iron laterns!ther are soooo cute!and im doing a chinese themed wedding any tips to make my day perfect?

UR ALL SO SAD FAITH,TRACY N DA REST OF U!HAHA OHH LUK AT DIS LATERN I MADE ISNT IT CUTE?WIERDOS!!!

I would love to get the instructions on how to make the origami fortune cookies from anyone who's got them. Please contact me at jessicawong@sbcglobal.net. Thanks!

Hi. My wedding is on March 2006 and I need some advice on centerpieces. Your ideas were amazing. Can you email me the instructions on how to make the shoji lanterns above? Thank you. You can email it at zidney617@yahoo.com.

Some of you take this site too personally - you act as though you are being personally attacked???!!!!! Stop getting angry and suck on a big shlong!

I want to use that exact traditional style shoji lanterns for my centerpiece on each table w/ the tealight inside. Where can I find those? I have looked and looked and can't find them. Please write me back @ aduong25@midsouth.rr.com

~An Duong

Hello everybody, I had a look at this site about a year ago because my husband and I also wanted to have a wedding in asian style. We got married on July 16 2005 and organized most of it ourselves. Part of the wedding was rather traditional like City Hall and Church. We made our invitations ourselves. We took pictures of us wearing chinese clothing and used these to put on the invitations. On our wedding day my husband wore a Chinese (Mandarin) long gown. (black with a red ribbon) and I wore a Vietnamese white Ao Dai. Our reception was at a Chinese restaurant. The food was excellent. To give our wedding pictures a more asian touch we took them at the Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Tower in Brussels (Belgium) As a surprise for my husband and our guests I invited a group that the traditional Chinese Lion Dance with live music. The Lion Dance is supposed to bring luck to the married couple. The evening party we held in a beautiful whit tent in the garden which we decorated ourselves with Chinese lanterns, dragons, red fabric, etc... In China red is the color of luck and often used for marriages. We kept the decoration of the tables rather simple. Red tablecloth and golden tablerunners. Gold is the color for wealth. On the tables we put scented colored candles (with a lucky coin) on small round mirrors. For dinner we had 2 chefs who made live 3 different wok dishes and a friend of ours made an excellent Peking Soup. For dessert we had buffet of small desserts which got a touch of asia, some extra uncommon flavours etc... Plus, I had another surprise for my husband. I designed a special cake with a Dragon (my husbands sign) and a Tiger (my sign). The backery did a wonderful job and our guests were amazed. They loved the cake. As gifts for our guests we gave a pair of lovely shopsticks (tied together with a golden ) and small white boxes with a silver luck sign. Inside the boxes we put fortune cookies with our own message/blessing. Our guestbook was an original Chinese red velvet Wedding Guestbook. You can have a look on: www.vleugjeazie.be It's a Belgian website so some of it is in Dutch. We did make some trasnlations though. We are on holiday as of August 8 but will be back in September. So any questions aferwards are welcome. Take care! Regards, Leni De Goeyse - Europe/Belgium

Does anyone have photos of orchid arrangements? It sounds like everyone wants Shoji lantern centerpieces, but what about flowers? Any ideas??

Hi, Can someone please email me the Martha Stewart paper fortune cookie instructions. I can't find them online. Would greatly appreciate it: jensicha@hotmail.com Thanks

Hello,

I'm planning to get married in the spring of 2006. The pictures on this site of the zen center pieces, would anyone know where I can get those? I can be emailed at monicaogawa@yahoo.com Thank you.

hi everyone. i am getting married october 30th 2005 and i am looking for an asian style hair do. could anyone help me, please? i am desperate. you can e-mail me at sparkyswife2004@aol.com

hi everyone. i am getting married october 30th 2005 and i am looking for an asian style hair do. could anyone help me, please? i am desperate. you can e-mail me at sparkyswife2004@aol.com

Hello everyone! I am getting married June 2006. I am looking forward to having an Asian style wedding. I live close to a chinatown so I know I should be able to get alot of asian articles for pretty cheap. I really, really love those lantern centerpieces, and I would love to know how they are made. Please anyone with the instructions, email them to me at Meli2427@aol.com. And ANYONE with any more ideas please email them to me. Thanks!!!! :-)

Hello to all I'll be having my asian theme wedding next July but need new ideas on centerpeices other then the lanterns. Hope to hear your ideas soon.

Hello everyone! I'm getting married next year and I'm planning to have a Chinese theme reception. All the ideas I read in this site are great and I appreciate all the suggestions gives by everyone. You can find more ideas for a Chinese wedding, such as decoration and favor at chinabridal.com, invitations at icatchingcards.com. Thanks

hey shatzi i am too planning for my wedding in sept 2006...if you are looking for a asian theme centerpiece try at www.blissezine.com/brideideas/sep2000.asp..there is a wonderful centerpiece with lilies or orchids. hope this helps you

Hello everyone and I hope you are having a great day. Right now I am looking for an asian inspired wedding cake if anyone has any pictures please email to jwarnke1976@yahoo.com. Since we are going over asian inspired weddings we are having one 2/06. The theme will be Chinese New Year specifically lantern festival. We are going to incorporate some traditions into the wedding. We plan to begin our procession by having all the children attendants parade down the aisle and then aound and back to their seats. Each child will recieve a special lantern and a bag of goodies. If anyone has a good idea to light the lanterns please email it to me. The decorations we have consist of paper fans lanterns lots of lanterns gongs. Our tables will be round with long black tableclothes and then a small red square tablecloth. The centerpieces will alternate. On 1/2 will be a zen rock garden a black medal bowl on leg with rocks and 3 candles. We are adding dry ice under the rocks for effect. The other 1/2 of the tables will have an asian symbol vase with flower. We don't meet with the florist until 9/10 so I'm not sure what flowers to use. Our colors are red and black any ideas email me. Each table will also have a bottle of wine in a special Chinese dress wine bottle cover. For favors we took designer laquer chopsticks and wrapped them in ribbon and tied asian symbol beads on. We are also making our own fortune cookies with a fortune cookie making kit I found on ebay. Hope they turn out ok knock on wood. The bridesmaid are wearing beautiful chinese doll dresses also purchased very reasonably on ebay the store name is periwing. The sizing is very very different from american sizing to let you know the 3xxx is like our size 14. They have mens clothing there too and was wanting the men to wear noble chinese suits but they opted for Tuxedo's. My dress is a basic a line dress with about a three in red trim on the sweetheart neckline and bottom. We are serving Chinese food. It is hard to find chinese catering so we found a local grocery store to cater who has a quite impressive chinese kitchen. If someone wishes to be upset regarding the reasons behind the Chinese themed wedding here are the reasons we have choosen this type of event. We are going to China shanghai and Bangkok for out honeymoon and unfortunately we are not able to take our friends and family with us. So we wanted to recreated a little piece of China in our wedding for our guests. In the same manner we learn about Chinese customs and traditions in planning the wedding. I am looking for some asian music to play during the proccession if anyone please email me.

Thanks excited in IA,

Hi i don't know if any one still reads these posts.... i'm curious what everyone used as cake toppers and also if u wore a chinese dress what did u wear in ur hair..... please email me with comments or suggestions..... mylittlemela@yahoo.com thanks and congrats to all of you.

HI .. also happy to find this site. I am looking for Zen themed wedding invitations that I won't have to mortgage my house to buy. I found a few, but they are all in $4 each range and I am trying to keep the cost down. Any help would be much appreciated.

PeaceAndLight...

Hey Ivoone, Thanks for informing of the web page for the asian themed centerpiece that was other then the lamps. Best of luck on planning for your asian theme wedding for next year.

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Hi again everyone.

Thanks so much to the many many women who have emailed me asking for origami fortune cookie instructions and for my wedding website address.

I had no idea that so many people would email asking for the instructions so I think it would be easier if I just post the instructions on here.

Here are the instructions from the Martha Stewart magazine, fall 2003:

To prepare the 'fortunes', on one side of the 8.5" x 11" paper, print messages or quotations, oriented horizontally. Then, turn the page over and print names/table numbers. Notch ends, if desired. Cut into strips.

To make the 'cookie':

Start by cutting 6" circles into your chosen paper. (I did mine at 5.5" because I used 6" x 6" origami paper, so it was the biggest I could get.)

Roll circle into a loose tube. Overlap ends about 1/2" and secure with double sided tape. Hold the tube so that the top flap is pointing down and facing away from you. Slip 'fortune' into the tube with the name facing toward you. Fold tube inward and secure with double sided tape.

Voila! Paper fortune cookie place cards!

I have asian-style computer fonts for PC that I will send you, if you'd like. Just let me know :) I cannot upload them to this site.

I can still be reached at soulsinger@hotmail.com if you have any questions, want the fonts, or to see my wedding website.

Best wishes,

Amanda

Hmm, I'm asian and thinking of having my wedding in traditional "american" theme. Maybe cowboy outfits for the men and southern belle dresses for the women with forks and spoons as hair dressing. The invitations will be "traditional" Hallmark cards with those dumb but funny cartoon characters. Appetizers of mini hamburgers and pot pies to capture the true essence of a tasteless "american" meal. And of course meatloaf and potatoes for the main course. Full bar of michelob, coors and bud. For the heavy drinkers "traditional" boxed wine in a variety of colors. For entertainment we found a great band to play "traditonal american music" or banjo music. I especially like the song from the movie Deliverance. We will have a raffle to make things fun. Raffling items like Jenny Craig gift certificates since we all know most americans are overweight, certificate from the local japanese sushi bar owned by koreans (but you wouldn't know the difference) for all you can eat California Rolls (fake crab meat, avocado and rice) since thats the only "sushi" americans eat. Oh, they don't make CA rolls or chicken teriyaki in Japan fyi. For an ethnic twist and for laughs and giggles we will have an asian themed dance troupe. I'm hoping they will wear those silk "china doll" outfits that most asian laugh at when they see anyone (asian and non-asian) wear except to a Halloween party. And the chopsticks in the hair which most asians wonder why someone is wearing in their hair and not on the dinner table. Should be a good laugh. I've been trying to think of how to stuff little messages in Oreo cookes as a take-off to the "traditional" fortune cookie. Oh, but there are no fortune cookies in asia. That was made up here in the USA also. Oh well. Hmm maybe messages like, "your not dumb, just misinformed" or "you should take a long journey overseas for a real asian experience instead of listening to other dumb oops i mean misinformed people". Well I hope we can pull this off. We watched enough John Wayne movies to know what "traditional" elements we want in our ceremony. And I hope I don't offend anyone by having a lack of respect for culture even though I'm positive that this will be "traditional". But what the heck, this country is all about me, myself and I anyways. Wish me luck!

It was very unkind of you to piss all over these women's plans.

I'm sure you feel much better about your holier-than-thou self now that you've been so sarcastic and horrible.

If you don't like what you see here, feel free to move on. There's no need to be so rude and hurtful.

If you dare try to claim that you said what you said in some attempt to educate the women on this site, then I'd suggest you take a sip of your own sour grapes.

Inform the so-called "misinformed" with kindness and tollerance.

Did no one teach you that you will catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?

Cami,

Not sure if you received my reply about helping you with the Japanese themes for your wedding.

If you haven't received a reply please do not hesitate to get in touch again at ayascards@gmail.com

Looking forward to providing you with as many ideas/suggestions as I can to make your wedding day as unique and special to you as possible.

Kind Regards,

Ayako

Hi,

You all can visit www.aboutshaadi.com for wedding arrangements in India.

actually, i am thinking of including some "asian" themes into my wedding, as i have traveled abroad, living in china last summer. where do you get off acting like you are so much better then everyone else on here who is excitedly planning a wedding? as if asians don't butcher american themes as well (every friggin person i met there had a mickey mouse shirt on that said random english words that made no sense, but i didn't make fun of them for attempting to pull from western culture.) the bold reds of asian weddings and the simplistic beauty is what the core of this is about, and yes fortune cookies are an american invention, and terriyaki is just plain disgusting, but they are not attacking your culture. this is there way of having something a little different on their day. maybe you should back off.

by the way, if anybody here is doing an asian themed wedding, do a search for kanji symbols that mean "double happiness." in china, (i can't say for sure with the rest of asia) double happiness is closely tied with weddings, it is a good thing to have once you are married. when i was in china, my friends who knew they could not make it to my wedding gave me gifts that all had this symbol on it, and they all stressed the importance of including it on my special day. congratulations to all the excited brides to be!

I am not going to even bother explaining whether I am Asian or not..to prove whether I am good or knowledgeable enough to post something on this site.

Kudos to all the brides...the best to you all. For the racist comments on this site--I just couldn't believe this was such an issue. If people want to use a certain culture or tradition into their wedding because they like it, it really is a compliment since this is such an important day for them. Whether they do it "correctly"--well, maybe they do and maybe they don't. Even if they do end up doing something wrong and offensive, on their WEDDING day of all days, I don't think it was meant to offend anyone. People who engage other traditions into their day meant well, but if there are tips to help them do it less offensively, then by all means...this is the site to explain the differences. Offending people "right back at them" for either culture is immature and downright cowardly. Telling people to go home would have everyone but Native Americans on the first flight back to whichever country they came from.

Simply put, mistakes are mistakes and it's part of being human. Culture and racism are all tough things to discuss, but aesthetically, it's all a compliment. Giving a little grace to each culture, ignorant seeming or not, perhaps would be the better choice.

Abundant blessings to all the brides.

Hello there,

I would like to offer an exchange of links between your website and ours, which have excellent Google rankings. If you find such a proposal interesting then please send me details of your sites. However, if you are not interested please accept my apologies for taking your time.

Best regards, Lidia Sadlowski

sadlowski_lidia@o2.pl

Anyone have any luck finding those stoneware saucers that are pictured in the lantern centerpieces? I am having a heck of a time finding them! I am planning my Asian-style wedding for June 3, 2006. I'm half Vietnamese, and am really excited to bring back some of my culture. (I think my Dad is super honored too!) I'd love to see this page get up and running again!

My son and his fiancee are planning their wedding for later this year and are trying to find decorative chopsticks which can be used as the wedding favours. Does anone know where we could find such things? At a resonable price of course. I love the laterns and the lucky bamboo ideas . My email address is kulanleeaffonso@hotmail.co.uk

Helloooooooo all. Getting married in April 2007 . I saw the lanterns (and just like everyone else) want to get the instructions on how to make them! If anyone did get the instructions or made them themselves can you please email me! Pretty pretty please!

please email to linnyleer@yahoo.com.au

Ni Hao!

I haven't read all the listings here, but sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh everything in life includes drama, especially when it comes to brides lol... anyways by society I am an african-american and I love chinese culture, my man is african american also and he loves both japanese and chinese cultures. The chinese women carry so much grace, and beauty, and throughout history the way that they carry themselves. wow! I admire your strength, courage and grace, it amazes me how the chinese people as a family unit and people stick together... but all cultures have something amazing or awe striking abo. them whether it is good or bad. I still want to learn mandarin pinyin (chinese) They deserve more respect than they are given! anyways enough of that... lalalalala errrr...in a traditional chinese wedding I do know that RED is the way to go. it is very prominent color, and white is frowned upon. My Mother is very important to me, and when I told her I was thinking abo. wearing a red dress to my wedding, she said she would refuse to come! Our wedding colors are white, dark purple (like a dark amethyst), periwinkle and red is and accent color. and since I am not a skinny person... my mom is making my dress and this is the dress she's recreating isn't it georgious!!! a cheongsam inspired wedding dress http://www.emmascottdesign.com/le_orient_2.htm well it's not going to be exaclty like that and my bridesmaids my mom's making their dress too, but this is the stlye we're going for http://www.orienttouch.com/popup_image.php?pID =722 and my fiance wants this style http://www.orienttouch.com/product_info.php?pr oducts_id=380 my mom is going to make that too. having trouble finding the black chinese brocade fabric with dragon design in it. we're going to check at a local store and see if they rent or sell either a mandarin collar suit that would look great with our attire or... http://www.orienttouch.com/popup_image.php?pID =956 this is a bad picture but a tai chi uniform is what he wants them to wear. for decorations we're thinking about chinese parasols, fans, plain lanterns, and the ones that are decorated with cherry blossoms or either geisha girls; instead of carrying flowers I'm thinking abo. having my Matron and Maid of honor carry either a fan, or parasol down the isle. for food oh boy... well my aunt said that she would cook the food, but I would like some simple chinese dishes like lo mein, or beef with broccoli. those are safe choices, I don't want to spend money on food that no one will eat, that would be a waste! not everyone in my family loves chinese food.

I live in Florida and there are lots of chinese, vietnamese, korean, Thai restaurants, cafes, and stores, there aren't alot of japanese places though.

I found several sites online for invitations and decorations, cheongsams "Qi pao"

I'm also thinking abo. the tea ceremony at the reception. when the bride and groom serves their Parents, and Grandparents tea.

If I said too much or offended anyone I'm sorry! Take care! Best Wishes!

zai jian

Hi it's me again... I forgot to add that I'm getting married May 20, 06, and that I am going to use a red signature cloth for my guests to sign instead of the usual guest book... I've been searching online like I always do for wedding stuff... and since no one has responded to instructions on how to make these lanterns... this was the best i could do... this is for floating lanterns though...but i figure if you look at the pic above...you can find some heavier material to make a base with, and just be creative...get some cheaper material for a test drive and just go for it. well anyways here's the link, (HOW TO MAKE LANTERN SHADES http://www.progressiveportal.org/lanterns/shad emaking.html) & (HOW TO MAKE LANTERN BASES http://www.progressiveportal.org/lanterns/base making.html) I hope it helps, and I will continue to search for something better, and will try to email, the others this same link.

Kind Regards,

Lady J

I love the Lanterns does anyone know how to make them or a good place to buy them? Please e-mail me choffma1@hawaii.edu Thanks

I sell Chinese style wine bottle covers and dresses and vests for anyone interested. They are great to decorate your "greet in" table or as centerpieces or as favors for the wedding reception or bridal parties. They are also very nice to decorate your own home or as gifts. It can be used for any bottles (liquor bottles, water bottles, vinegar, small vases with the flowers coming out from the neck part of the dress, etc) Please email me if you are intereted and I can send pictures. I also have some great ideas for inexpensive Asian themed favors for any occasions. inquiry@itsopretty.com I hope all the brides the best.

I forgot to mention I also have rhinestone jewelry and other accessories. Thnx.

Amanda I would like to see your wedding site.

KWIND59115@aol.com

I am "asian" and I think it's quite flattering to see that such a large number of people want to do their weddings, such an important event in one's life, in an Asian theme. How is that racist? I'm tryin to take ideas off of this website to help out for an Asian-party theme of my own. Does that make me racist against myself? I'm planning to use fortune cookies as well...I hope I don't offend my own people. haha

asianideas.com - has a 10" stilt lantern made with rice paper and has a glass enclosed candle inside for only $9.50. They are the closest thing that I have found to an affordable lantern for the centerpiece without having to make them. As for the stoneware, Michaels stores has a 13" clay saucer ($4) (for flowerpots) that can be spraypainted with a glossy black paint. I found the river rocks and floating candles there also. the overall effect is the same, then entire piece was extremely affordable. Good luck everyone!!

Hey guys, did you get to read the post for the place that you can order these type of lantern? *poke* *poke* I'll repost it for everyone...

http://www.asianlampcompany.com

Thank you everyone for the great ideas. I am having an asian themed wedding in November and if anyone has more ideas, please email me at hevenp79@hotmail.com Thanks!

Hello,

Does anyone know what dragonflies symbolize in the Asian culture? I would like to use them as an accent in my wedding. I know I've seen them on beautiful brocades and such, and was curious.

Thanks, Emily Mai

please e-mail me back about where you purchased the stuff for your centerpieces, ex. like the lanterns and plates under the lanterns, they are gorgeous. My e-mail is robinm_55@yahoo.com

Thank You, Robin Moran

It's nice to see that everyone loves the shoji-style lanterns here. My fiancee makes them as a hobby/side job and you have a fair amount of time until your wedding I'm sure he would love to fill a few small orders. He made me a large one for our anniversary and it's really lovely! It helps that we both know kanji and chinese characters so we can also personalize!

Hi everyone, I am filippino and my fiance is chiniese. We are having our ceremony in a catholic church and the reception at a chiniese restaurant. My bridesmaid dresses and also my gown has the peridot(sage like color) on it. The decor in the restaurant is mainly red and gold. Do not want to spend any more money in changing my outfit or asking my attendants to do the same. Do anyone have any idea how I can pull it off with maybe an asian theme. Love the idea of having an asian theme but it is too late to change my colors. Can someone please give me some good advice. I am getting married in August of this year and it is really stressing me out. Help....thank you

Hi everyone, I am filippino and my fiance is chiniese. We are having our ceremony in a catholic church and the reception at a chiniese restaurant. My bridesmaid dresses and also my gown has the peridot(sage like color) on it. The decor in the restaurant is mainly red and gold. Do not want to spend any more money in changing my outfit or asking my attendants to do the same. Do anyone have any idea how I can pull it off with maybe an asian theme. Love the idea of having an asian theme but it is too late to change my colors. Can someone please give me some good advice. I am getting married in August of this year and it is really stressing me out. Help....thank you

Hi everyone, I am filippino and my fiance is chiniese. We are having our ceremony in a catholic church and the reception at a chiniese restaurant. My bridesmaid dresses and also my gown has the peridot(sage like color) on it. The decor in the restaurant is mainly red and gold. Do not want to spend any more money in changing my outfit or asking my attendants to do the same. Do anyone have any idea how I can pull it off with maybe an asian theme. Love the idea of having an asian theme but it is too late to change my colors. Can someone please give me some good advice. I am getting married in August of this year and it is really stressing me out. Help....thank you

I'm curious if anyone has ever gotten any instructions on making the shoji lanterns. All I read is requests. I would love for someone to email them to me- I decided on an Asian theme due to we're both black belts! blackbeltbride@aol.com

Need Advice from anyone. My wedding attendants color is peridot(like sage) and my wedding gown also have this color. Our reception is at a chiniese restaurant so a lot of red and gold. Anyone have any suggestions on how to decorate the reception since I am not planning to change and also our wedding attendants. Do not want to spend more more on a different outfit just to match the asian theme color of red and gold. I was told that this will look just fine but thought maybe someone out there have a unique way to put the colors together. If you have any suggestions please email me at mchristina_65@hotmail.com. Thanks again

I have inadvertantly created an Asian theme in my wedding just by picking decorations that seemed to come together. I am not sticking with traditional red because I picked my colors before the decorations. What we have done is used things like paper lanterns (in white and different colors) and things like colored bamboo sticks (check out ikea.com, they are actually quite attractive). So Christina, I'd suggest to just incorporate your colors as much as you can with flowers or extra little touches (colored take out boxes with favors? colored fortune cookies? enameled chopsticks with patterns in both colors?).

I have inadvertantly created an Asian theme in my wedding just by picking decorations that seemed to come together. I am not sticking with traditional red because I picked my colors before the decorations. What we have done is used things like paper lanterns (in white and different colors) and things like colored bamboo sticks (check out ikea.com, they are actually quite attractive). So Christina, I'd suggest to just incorporate your colors as much as you can with flowers or extra little touches (colored take out boxes with favors? colored fortune cookies? enameled chopsticks with patterns in both colors?).

My sister is getting married in florida this year. Her fiance is in china and she is trying to plan the wedding on her own, any suggestions on where to find asian themed wedding decor and or a asian themed reception hall.

well for mi assignment (school assignment) i hab to start mi own business so cud som1 help me create a chinese themed business?

hades.chaos@gmail.com

hi! im from nj and im wondering what place would you suggest for a asian-themed wedding here in new jersey? ive seen most receptions but they all have the same formal setting. i want something unique. please email me @ tinpineda_20@yahoo.com thanks

i am getting married this summer and i was wondering if you could give me the instructions to make the shoji style lanterns

We are having a very small, asian themed wedding with cocktail reception only, and would like some ideas too. Website links would be great. Also..invitations? I'd love something simple with maybe a 1/2 inch patterned border.

amanda,

i would like to see your wedding website.. please email me at tinpineda_20@yahoo.com thanks!

where can i find a cambodian wedding dress? I am in California.

please contact me christswarriors@yahoo.com

Hi there! Gosh, your wedding sounds like it will be a lot of fun, perfect for an important day in your life. I hope that you have a great time picking everything out! However, one thing you didn't mention including was the traditional American sense of fun and celebration! Maybe that will help your party!

Just curious if anyone know of a place or website I can get asian inspire wedding guest book. My fiance and I would like something different but not something we just store in a box. I have seen the wedding matte frame but not really my thing. Also, just wondering if anyone have any suggestions on having a bamboo stalks for favors. We were thinking of doing this but we have people who are from a different state so do not know if we should put it in a vase or something else. Anyone have good suggestions can you please email me at christina@cpscrystalcity.com Thanks in advance for the help and suggestions.

filipino is the right spelling.. thanks! and congratulations on your wedding!

Ehmm..m. Sehr gut Seite! Ich sage innig..!:) bmw

Could you please send me the instructions for the laterns Thanks Heaps moanahowe@iprimus.com.au

Hi, My fiance and I are also both balck belts, which is how this Asian theme has come about for our reception. I see a lot of people asking for the instructions on the lanterns. Can someone email them to me as well? I was hoping it would be posted on this site, but not so far...:) Thanks! stacy.stedman@qg.com

amanda.. can i view your wedding website? im really curious and i might get some helpful tips in my wedding.. thanks!

Just find these 2 piece favor boxes (with lid separate) in chocolate brown color, pastel blue, pastel pink at www.aperfectfavor.com. I also got some sandalwood fans