Our Wedding: September 18, 2010
About: Wedding Photo Gallery
Blog Category: Wedding
January, 2010
Stephanie and I are getting married! We got engaged in Hawaii in December and we're just getting started with the wedding planning.
We just decided on a place this past week and it's going to be at the Japanese Friendship Garden
in San Diego (Balboa Park) on Saturday, September 18th, 2010.
I wish we could invite everyone we want to, but the place is limited to 200 people. I don't know how we're going to manage this, but
unfortunately, we're going to have to do it somehow.
The Japanese garden looks great in pictures, but it's not quite as great in person. Here's the link to the site:
http://www.niwa.org
It's relatively new and is only a quarter of the size of what it's going to be. We really liked the El Prado next door, but it's booked 16 months in advance!
Balboa Park is awesome though.
Anyhow, I hope everyone will have a good time in San Diego!
Here's a song provided by Stephanie for you to enjoy.
Alternative content
| 3:00 |
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4:00 |
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Wedding party pictures |
| 4:00 |
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5:00 |
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Immediate family pictures |
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| 4:00 |
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5:00 |
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Guests Arrive |
| 5:00 |
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5:30 |
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Ceremony |
| 5:30 |
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6:45 |
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Cocktail Hour |
| 6:45 |
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10:00 |
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Seated Dinner and Reception |
| 10:00 |
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11:00 |
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Social Hour |
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| 11:00 |
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1:00 |
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After party at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel |
Wedding Info, Map and Parking ⇓
Japanese Friendship Garden
2215 Pan American Road
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 232-2721
When to Arrive at the Wedding:
On Saturday, we are encouraging everyone to show up to the park early. There are lots of museums in the park and places to eat as well. It's
a real relaxing place so it's easy to spend a lot of time there.
We'd like the wedding party to be there by 3 PM and the immediate family be there by 4 PM to take pictures.
If you are driving from the LA area, we'd suggest that you leave no later than 1 PM. It doesn't usually take that long but there can be lots of traffic.
If you are flying, you might want to get in by 2 PM in case the flight is delayed. However, the airport is only 10-15 minutes away from downtown and Balboa Park.
Parking at the Garden:
The parking is free and the closest lot is the one next to the Organ Pavilion (You can switch to the satellite view to see the parking lots easier).
Unfortunately, they may have an event during our wedding so the parking lot
may fill up and we may get some extra music. There are other lots in the area, but they are farther away.
Wedding Colors:
Black and white
Stephanie is asking that you do not wear red (if possible).
Wedding Theme:
Japanese Cranes.
Attire:
Formal - No jeans and t-shirts please.
Traveling Info for Out of Town Guests ⇓
The San Diego airport (SAN) is very small and is located just outside of downtown San Diego.
It's about 10-15 minutes by car from the airport to the Hilton and Balboa Park. Balboa Park is also only about 10 minutes away from the Hilton as well.
Southwest Flights
If you haven't booked your flight already, Southwest has flights starting from $49.
Do You Need to Rent a Car?
That's completely up to you, but you will be able to get around by Taxi for relatively cheap.
Here's a breakdown of the cost:
Taxi Cab Fees:
Taxi from airport to the Hilton: $15
Taxi from Hilton to Balboa Park: $12
Return Taxi from Balboa Park to Hilton: $15
Return Taxi from Hilton to the Airport: $12
Total: $54
Rental Car Fees:
Rental car: $40
Self Parking: $21
Total: $65
It may be cheaper if you don't go anywhere else except to and from the wedding, but we're hoping people make the most out of the weekend.
There's so much to do in San Diego, so hopefully you'll be able to experience some of the great attractions in the area.
UPDATE (8/11/2010): The reserved rooms have been booked and the Hilton and Indigo are completely sold out. We do not have
arrangements with any other hotels, but there are still rooms available at nearby places.
Here are some other hotels near the Hilton:
3+ blocks
Omni
Marriot - Marina
5+ blocks
Grand Hyatt
Hotel Solamar
These ones are a little farther, but are less expensive:
The Sofia Hotel
Bristol Hotel
We have reserved 25 rooms at the:
San Diego Bayfront Hilton
1 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 564-3333
Check-in: 3 PM
Check-out: 12 PM
Self parking is $21 per day
Valet parking is $32 per day
We have arranged for a group rate at the Hilton for $139 per night. We were only able to reserve 25 rooms at this rate,
so I'd suggest you book the rooms as soon as you can using this personalized site they created for us:
Click Here for the Group Rate
If you're not familiar with San Diego, most hotels in downtown usually start at
$200 - $250 per night and can easily go up over $400 per night, so this is a very good rate.
It's located in between the San Diego convention center and Petco park and is very hard to miss.
Note: There are a few Hiltons in San Diego, so please make sure it's for the Bayfront Hilton in downtown.
We'd like to have an after party in one of the bars on the first floor of the hotel. The Odysea seems very relaxed and there's lots of places
to hang out around there. If it's busy, there's the Fox Sports Grill downstairs as well.
Alternate Hotel:
Hotel Indigo
509 9th Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 727-4000
Check-in: 3 PM
Check-out: 11 AM
Valet parking (no self parking) is $32 per day
We don't have any rooms blocked off at this hotel, but we try to stay at the Hotel Indigo whenever we're in town.
It's also very new and it is 100% pet friendly, so there's no charge for pets. It's a short walk to the Hilton and
is just on the other side of Petco Park. It's currently (3/7/) coming up at $225 per night on Expedia.
Tray Passed Hors D'oeuvres
Marinated, Seared Ahi
Grilled Shrimp Pops
3 more to be selected
Starters
Caesar Salad
Main Course
Choice of:
Beef Tenderloin
Set in a pool of Balsamic Butter Sauce Topped With Crumbled Bleu Cheese and Crispy Apple Wood Smoked Bacon
or
Marinated Chicken Breast
With Artichoke Hearts, Capers, Orange Segments in a Sauce of Lemon Juice, Orange Juice, Garlic, Olive Oil, Parsley, Basil, Cilantro and Sherry Vinaigrette
Sides
Grilled Asparagus Bundle
Mashed Potato Demi Cup
Kid's Menu:
Mini Burgers and French Fries
Coffee and Deserts
European Coffee and Tea service
Assorted Sweets
Wedding Cake
Bar/Alcohol:
The catering company will provide multiple bars, but the alcohol is BYOB (Wine and Beer only, no hard alcohol). We will be providing beer, wine and soft drinks but you are also free to bring your own alcohol if you like!
Here are some pictures from the tasting. I kept eating everything first and remembered to take pictures afterwards...
Tuxes for Groomsmen:
The tux rentals will be from Men's Wearhouse. It's going to be a
modern style tux like this one and I think it was made by Calvin Klein. It's a simple black tux with a silver herringbone vest and tie.
The groomsmen will need to get their measurements taken by August 15th. I'll pick all of them up and bring them to San Diego and return them afterwards.
Also, it will all be taken care of so you don't have to pay for anything.
Group Name: Yamoto/Liu
Group Number: 2503507
Fitting Deadline: 8/1/2010
Pick up: Lake Forest Store (#2721)
Bridesmaid Dresses:
Stephanie has the designs picked out and is talking to the bridesmaids directly. Please wear silver shoes. Hair, make-up and accessories
will be provided by Stephanie.
When to Arrive:
We'd like everyone in the wedding party to be at the garden by 3 PM on Saturday. We are not going to have a formal
rehearsal dinner so you don't have to come to San Diego until Saturday morning for the bridesmaids and afternoon for
the groomsmen.
Sunday Breakfast:
We are also considering having a Sunday brunch at the hotel for immediate family and the wedding party only.
We are registered at:
We really didn't want to do a registry, but we spent the day at the mall and added stuff to the registries today (3/8).
The stuff I picked out at Williams Sonoma is very expensive so please
do not feel obligated to buy us any of these things.
We hope you can all make a small vacation out of this weekend and can visit some of the great attractions around
San Diego. It's a very small
area and most things are relatively close to the Hilton.
Downtown - 5 Minutes
Balboa Park - 10 Minutes
Coronado Island - 10 Minutes
Mission Bay - 15 Minutes
Mission Valley - 15 Minutes
La Jolla - 20 Minutes
Del Mar - 25 Minutes
Carlsbad - 40 Minutes
Escondido - 45 Minutes
Discounts
I'm able to get a small corporate discount through my work for some of the attractions. Please let me
know if you're interested in any of these tickets.
San Diego Zoo - Adult $31.95, Child $23.95
San Diego Wild Animal Park - Adult $31.95, Child $23.95
Sea World - Free Child's ticket with adult (enter code SWCMySeaWorld2010)
Legoland - Adult $51.95, 2nd day free
San Diego Harbor Excursion - 1 hour tour $12.50, 2 hour tour - $16.00