“The Enchanted Oasis” – our official wedding film!

You guys…Sam and I are SOOOOOOOOO excited to invite you to The Enchanted Oasis. Watch our wedding film above and come relive the magic that happened in the desert on October 6th, 2018! Eeeeee!

I’ve been meaning to do a wedding recap for a LONG LONG time, but things got super crazy after the wedding. (I mean, we still haven’t gone on our honeymoon yet!) We are still getting used to calling each other “husband” and “wife” – but every time we do it, we can’t help but smile and say “Can you believe…!!??” 2 months into our marriage and over 10 years into our relationship you guys! I’m grateful that everything still feels super fresh!

Okay, ready for our wedding photo story? Let’s begin!

The morning began with me getting ready in the Master Suite at the Solomon Estate in Rancho Mirage, CA. I felt like a princess in a modern day castle! I mean, there’s a palm tree growing in the master bath for goodness sake! A PALM TREE. Oh there’s a jacuzzi, a sauna, and 2 toilets in there too. The bathroom alone is like the size of my ENTIRE first apartment x 3. Ha!

Here’s my sister Jackelyn and I taking a moment to Instagram Story our Tieks! I mean, gotta capture every moment! We’re using my Galia Lahav veil as a backdrop.

This is when I sat my mom, sister, and Sam’s mom down to give them personal cards, hand carved hangers, and robes to wear for the getting ready part of the day! Apparently I’m a really good writer because everyone is crying.

Jackelyn got these wooden hangers hand made from a vendor on Etsy! How cool right?

I love this shot. It’s me, mom and sis having a special moment before we put on our dresses.

Perspective. The train is REALLY long on my Galia Lahav dress, but you really don’t understand HOW long until you see it next to the other non-bridal dresses. There’s enough tulle for me to live in for the rest of my life.

These are my wedding shoes from Badgely Mischka! They have platform on them too, so they’re not THAT uncomfortable. There are rhinestones all around the shoe which made them SUPER glamorous (plus I love the rose gold sole which matches my ring), however, I did not know that rhinestones + tulle was going to be the worst idea ever for walking. The stones kept catching onto the inside tulle of my dress and made it nearly impossible to walk down the stairs and then down the aisle! It even ripped part of my dress. But oh well! Whatcha gonna do!?

The ceremony dress. This is the Ms. Elle from Galia Lahav, custom designed to have a deep v cut in the front as well as side cut outs.

It’s always so cool to see something go from concept to completion.

THAT TRAIN THO.

Didn’t think I was extra? Well now you know!

Meanwhile, Sam and Sir George played in their matching tuxedos!

Sam’s dad, his best man, Sam, and my dad getting ready for the big moment! Doesn’t everyone look so dapper?

Yes, Sir George sure thinks so, while posing all casual on top of a medieval leather bound book.

Here was the entry way with the welcome sign I wrote! If you get satisfaction from watching people write calligraphy, check out this video I hastily made just hours before we headed out to the venue!

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💍 PART 13: The Calligraphy. 🖊 My personal goal for 2018 was to learn how to do calligraphy! But, I did not anticipate doing it for our wedding! Last minute the person who I thought was going to do the calligraphy for us bailed out, so I had to up my game! 👊 I watched countless YouTube videos, attended a live calligraphy tutorial, and practiced with all sorts of pens until I felt comfortable enough to take on all the signage for our wedding! I’m still in my learning phase and am trying to develop my own style. Though at times I get frustrated with my lack of experience, I’m truly enjoying the feeling of not being an expert – of knowing there’s a lot more potential!!! It’s humbling and beautiful. ☺️ (PS: The frames you see here I constructed to emulate the invitation. There’s real moss glued piece by piece onto the background – which took wayyyyyy longer and was wayyyyy messier than I thought!) 🌿 What hobby are you currently enjoying right now? 🎶 Music: “I Got a Girl” by Philip E. Morris. #EnchantedOasis #diybride #weddingcalligraphy #calligraphyvideo

A post shared by Cassey Ho (@blogilates) on Oct 13, 2018 at 10:08am PDT

Did you notice that the frame matches the invitation!? DIY’d it all to make sure we would be ON THEME with “enchanted oasis”!

On the entry way table, we added a nice touch to honor our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. Golden frames with pictures! I took a chalk paint pen and wrote on top of the glass. If you plan on doing this, get a chalk paint pen that is permanent, or else it will rub off. This one from Amazon is the one I used and I highly recommend it.

My sister, the Maid of Honor. OMG she looked STUNNING in her Galia Lahav. She went for Old Hollywood Glam with her look and she served it!

Here’s my mom putting on my veil! I’m about to walk down the aisle!

Speaking of aisle, we had it lined with gorgeous blooms to give the ceremony a “secret garden” feel.

Most enchanted chuppah ever. All florals by Lovesome Blossoms.

The aisle.

This was honestly the highlight of the entire wedding I must say. The moment Sir George drove down the aisle.

Here’s Nola, our flower girl! And Sam’s niece.

When my dad walked me down the aisle!

The ceremony. We began with the lighting of the unity candle. Our love story was written by my sister. We also had a guided meditation that I wrote, which was requested by Sam. We also had family members chime in and give advice on marriage! It was a very unique ceremony that blended both the Vietnamese/Chinese and Jewish cultures!

“You may kiss the bride!”

Walking hand in hand for the first time as husband and wife!!! AHH!!!

Next, the guests were surprised with a carousel that we had built on site just for them! Each horse was brought in one by one BY HAND. Why? Cuz…#ENCHANTEDOASIS. DUH!

Makes for a great Instagram photo 🙂

FRIENDS LOOKING SO FINE.

The signature drinks.

We also had a matcha bar because Sam and I are matcha FANATICS! Custom blended drinks by Midora Matcha with golden straws to matcha our theme!

The seating chart that took me a FEW tries to get right. It was SO HARD to fit all the names on there.

My 2nd dress! A whimsical gown with custom drop sleeves from Galia Lahav. It’s the Lydia.

The reception tent – made up of thousands of twinkle lights!

Me and Sam doing the Horah! SO SCARY! Also our live band Christien Anthony KILLED IT. They learned how to sing Hebrew in 2 days. WHAT!??? And their music was ON POINT! They brought all the energy onto the dance floor!