For the western ceremony, Puja wore a classic white, strapless, sweet heart neck gown complete with a string of pearls and a bouquet full of white phalaenopsis orchids. She’s the epitome of what every little girl dreams of being on her wedding day. Stephen looked pretty dapper himself in a tuxedo and the beautiful love knot cuff links from Tiffany & Co. that Puja gave him before the wedding. Six bridesmaids in beautiful pale blue-grey dresses surrounded Puja. This wedding looks like it was an editorial spread for a magazine. Does it get any sexier than this shot?

Holy Hotness! This wedding party is smokin'! There is not a single hair out of place on this crowd. I love the girl on the right - sassafrass!

Stephen gets ready for the ceremony while practicing his GQ poses.

Every detail was flawless. The wedding party prepared at the Raffles Hotel and headed off to the outdoor ceremony at the Capella (which is just stupid beautiful). The reception featured a round six-tier cake  (um, yum!) and 2nd, beautiful strapless beaded sheath dress that Puja changed into before she danced the night away.

This picture chokes me up so much. Puja looks elated and you can tell how happy her father is for her.

This picture looks so old hollywood. A wedding named desire.

The bride and groom rode to the after party on the beach in a vintage Volkswagen beetle. How kick ass is that?! I love vintage rides at weddings and I really love that instead of the traditional big ol’ vintage rolls or limo, Puja and Stephen opted for a car perfectly fit for two! And the double bonus are those sexy car shots.  But oh man, can that compare to this shiz?

Sometimes I lounge in the sand in my beaded gown too... I wish!

Puja looks like a cover model in her beaded evening gown, lounging in a beach chair in the sand. The couple looks so relaxed as their guests surround them, you can almost feel like you are right there with them with your own toes buried in the sand. That’s one of my favorite things about Dan’s work, his photos absolutely transport you from just sitting at your desk looking at the photo, into actually feeling like you are there and part of the action.

Now THAT's what I call a party, yo!

Sometimes the perfect backdrop is what nature has to offer.

Dan was sure to capture even the little details from the reception so that the couple could vividly re-live their big day

How could these guests now have a memorable and beautiful experience with Puja and Stephen? My favorite thing about the fact that they had two weddings, was that they chose to honor both the bride and grooms cultures instead of blending the two and compromising any traditions.

Are you freaking kidding me? So effortlessly chic and so deeply in love.

If you want to go look at more wedding porn and drool over gorgeous pictures (and if you’re like me, lose hours of your life clicking through wedding after wedding of eye candy) visit chennergy.com,

But fear not, Broke-Ass Masses – you may not be able to afford two destination weddings in Singapore, but it is possible to have photos like these for your wedding (heck, I did!) – Dan offers one pro-bono RENT wedding annually, and has just introduced a name-your-own-price option for couples involved in public service or nonprofit arenas. His heart is as big as his talent – truly a rare and generous dude. But then again, we’re a little biased.

We hope you loved our first real wedding feature as much as we did! We’ve got some really great features coming up, so keep an eye out, and your drool-bibs handy!

Puja + Stephen, Part I
Puja + Stephen, Part 2

It’s quite possible that Puja and Stephen may be one of the most adorable couples of all time. The photos I sifted through of their wedding are breathtaking and I was literally wiping the drool from my mouth, and tears from my eyes, with every click of the mouse… as is usually the case with weddings shot by the one and only Dan Chen of Chennergy.

Puja and Stephen actually had two ceremonies, a traditional western ceremony and an Indian ceremony, both of which took place in Singapore. I think what I love most about this wedding marathon is the vast difference between the ceremonies. The western ceremony was simplistic, elegant, and clean cut while the Indian ceremony was bursting with colors and flair.

Puja and her mom show off their intricate henna designs. This makes me want henna too! It's so beautiful!

A view of the city of Singapore from the hotel. This looks like Paradise!

Day one of the wedding marathon was the Indian ceremony. While Puja was busy prepping, Stephen and the boys were having a blast in the Fullerton Hotel pool overlooking the city.

Puja had beautiful menhdi (henna designs) on her hands accented by several bracelets that adorned each arm. Traditionally found on the hands and feet of Indian brides, it’s application has a ceremony all its own. It is believed that the deeper of the henna, the stronger the bride’s love is for her husband. In some Indian cultures, the bride is not expected to do any housework until the henna fades. (Can someone put henna on my hands and feet? I have a huge pile of laundry I’d really like to avoid. Please?)

The colors in the Indian ceremony are magnificent; deep reds, pinks, and gold that seemed to light up all the space around them.

Puja looks so calm and serene while gettin' her glam on. She is a bombshell!

Lets talk about this dress though for a second. This beaded two-piece gown looked like a dream, especially on a bride as beautiful as this one. It’s so stunning how every part of Puja is decorated…. a vision in dozens of bangles, henna, a beautiful sari, and even jewels on her forehead. Regal, breathtaking, and luminous – she is absolutely a dream.

Here's the dress now! Can we say STUNNING?! Puja looks like royalty here.

As is tradition with Indian weddings, the groom is escorted to meet the bride with drums, music, and dancing. This truly was a ceremony fit for a king! You’ll notice that Stephen rocking a traditional turban and a brocade white top (and he looks pretty darn snazzy in them)!

I love the expression Dan captured on everyone’s faces….. the laughter and smiles and the emotions from peoples faces all the way down to the dance steps of their feet. He positively transports you into these images. You can almost hear the banging of the drums and the laughter and emotion.

This picture makes me want to get up and dance! Or play the drums...or wear really bright colors... or all three!

The ceremony was very intimate. Looking at the pictures, I hardly notice anyone other than Puja and Stephen. It’s so moving to see how in love they are and elated to be committing their lives to one and other.

So happy and truly in love.

If you’re like us, and just can’t get enough… then hang in there – part 3 of this real wedding (the western ceremony) is coming right up! Missed part 1? Grab a kleenex and click here.

The rules are simple and pretty fun. Heck, I would play even if I didn’t want to win any diamonds, but who doesn’t want to win diamonds? I just like saying it DIIIIIAMOOOOOOONDS! ooooh that feels good! All you have to do is find the diamond set items from Whiteflash.com that are hidden in the 3 pictures below. Once you have found them, head over to Whiteflash.com to find and identify each item’s name. Then send an email to contest@BrokeAssBride.com with the names of the three items you have discovered on your hunt. From the correct answers we will randomly select a winner and tadah the winner will  have DIIIIIIIAAAAAAMMMMMOOOOOOONNNNNDDDDS in their hand. Or more likely on their wrist, since they will have won the Flash-tastic  bangle hidden below.

"What up Dog!? I can't be grouchy when I'm rocking this bling?"

I wonder if there is an article on the Bangles in this issue?

"Ya mess with me yer gonna see stars. No bull."

So get hunting, because this contest ends exactly one week from… now. LET THE TREASURE HUNT BEGIN!!!

I’m popping it off with this feat of artistic badassery in the form of Puja & Stephen’s wedding video, by videographer Sarah Krusen-Chen (who also happens to be Dan’s gorgeous and insanely talented wife), which will wet your palate for what delights are to come with the rest of our tasty feature.  Warning: the following video may blind you with its beauty.

Stay tuned for our feature of the Indian Ceremony, coming up in our next installment of Puja + Stephen’s real wedding. Next stop, Singapore, yo!

The countdown begins to money saving drooliness

Gilt Groupe, one of my favorite online fashion sale stores, is celebrating love birds everywhere, and as soon as I heard about it, I knew it was for you! I always say good taste is a right, not a privilege – so here’s some hot designer duds at deep discounts, yo!

Teaming up with Martha Stewart Magazine, Gilt Groupe is offering brides a special sale for Wedding Weekend, March 12-14….  chock full of the stunning styles you want at the prices you’d never thought could be possible. Whenever I’ve made a purchase with them I always feel like that Ikea Lady who looks at her receipt and then runs out of the store yelling, “Start the car, Honey! Start the car!”

A sneak peak at some the sexiness available

Get your something blue and your something new from this fabulous sale with designers such as Carolina Herrera, Vera Wang Lavender Label, and Judith Leiber just to name a few. Is this too much fabulousness for you to handle? Fear not, ‘cuz Darcy Miller, editorial director at Martha Stewart Weddings (aka my hero), has sifted through the glitz and the glam to show you some of her favorite seasonal offerings. Always a bridesmaid? Gilt Groupe has your dress, your wedding gift and even your man covered too.

Everyone loves a little extra green in their wallets…especially when those wallets are made by a fantastic designer and you got them for a steal! You can even earn credit for recommending this awesome find to others. I’m telling you, this is a  fashionistas best kept secret, so sign up for your free membership to the Gilt Groupe. The sale only lasts one weekend so get shopping!

The event space looked amazing, thanks to Beth Helmstetter’s hardworking team. One of my favorite details was these Origami Cranes hanging from the rafters.

Origami cranes by Michelle Chang.

The Dollhouse Hair & Makeup team was on hand to do glittery and bedazzled bad-ass cupcake tattoos, or chopstick accessorizing for the ladies’ hair.

I kinda love it. PS: my dress cost all of $12 thanks to a sale at Tulle!

They also dolled up our Alfred Angelo wedding gown models from NTA Talent – and those ladies were looking super lovely!

The models loved their Alfred Angelo gowns!

We love photo booths, but wanted something unexpected and quirky to match the kitschy Japanese inspired theme… and Oh, Snap! Studios was the perfect find! They brought in a freaking adorable Japanese tea house setup and some of the craziest props I’ve ever seen! The silly poses people came up with kept me laughing every time I walked past their station. I loved it! Check out more of our funny photos on the Oh, Snap! website gallery!

I love the hamburger helper hands!

As a couple of serious foodies, we know there’s nothing worse than being at a party and leaving hungry, so we had food and drink coming out the wazoo, yo. Not only were there sweets enough to send a nation into diabetic shock from Fantasy Frostings stunningly gorgeous dessert display, but delicious savory bites from The Food Matters, yummy and healthy cocktails from O.N.E. beverages, and a Pinkberry yogurt bar on the way out the door at the end of the night. If that wasn’t enough, we sent home Kick Ass Cake Bash cookies from Weddingish in the gift bags, along with issues of The Bride & Bloom magazine, lipgloss tins from e.l.f. cosmetics, and a few other goodies.  Yeah, we like our guests fat and happy. And who could resist the adorable “maids” of Royal/T Cafe?

The waitresses at Royal/T Cafe dress in these adorable outfits!

Speaking of the dessert display, Leslie had a stroke of brilliance when she invited her girlfriends from The Bachelor to create inspiration boards from which she then designed the cakes and displays. DeAnna Pappas, Amanda Rantuccio, Holly Durst, and one of our intrepid photographers, Holly Steen from Cakes and Kisses Photography created diverse and dreamy inspirations that we hung next to the confections so our guests would understand that each cake in the Fantasy Frostings’ Broke-Ass Cake Collection is custom designed with the bride and groom with the same full-service attention that their celebrity clients love so much.

Holly's was pink, feminine and romantic.

....And her cake was just as girlie and delicate as she is.

DeAnna’s was my favorite, and they designed the whole dessert table after hers – all pink lemonade-y and refreshing.

A mouthwatering feast for the senses.

A flavor party in your mouth!

Holly Flora’s work was a huge influence on our wedding flowers, so when Beth suggested having her create a work of floral art for the event, I was so hyped! The floral mural she created was unbelievably luscious and exquisite. The guys from Aspect Lighting came in and made this mural absolutely glow in an ethereal warmth. It was stunning!  They made the party spaces so much warmer and sexier, and projected some ultra trippy and cool effect onto the dance floor.

I just wanted to lay on it and roll around.

As broke-asses, we’re suckers for free swag, and we definitely wanted to give our partying buddies something to remember the night by, so having Family Industries on hand to do on-demand custom screen printing of Broke-Ass T-shirts was ridiculously awesome. The guys who run Family Industries are straight up rad dudes, the kind you want to grab a beer with, and so creative and nice. They brought 4 screens and let guests choose which artwork they wanted and where to place it. Most popular style? Strategically placed boobie cupcakes.  They also printed a cuppie onto Hunter’s tie so he was the most stylin’ (and sweet) hubby in the room.  I smell a new wedding trend… how dope would it be to go to a friend’s wedding and get a cool tie or t-shirt as a favor?

Guerilla fashion.

Gives new meaning to the nickname "sweet tits"

Then of course, we had the amazing, the radical badical, the ever-jamtastic Flashdance DJ spinning beats all night. I can’t count how many compliments we got on the DJ that night, and it just proved once again, that Michael is the only DJ for us. As Hunter so eloquently put it during our (spastic and ineloquent thank you’s) when recalling the time I sprained my ankle dancing my face off at our wedding – “Michael is the only man who ever hurt my wife, and I thanked him for it”. Not only a totally genius musical ninja, but a good friend that I love partying with whether its over beers at a neighborhood haunt, or in a room with 400 caked-up revelers.

Spinning beats like a freak!

And my favorite entertainment moment of the evening, when after our thank you’s, Hunter and our friend K.U. performed a rap they had composed especially for the occasion, surprising everyone in attendance and showing off their mad skillz.  There are few things sexier than a husband who writes raps for his wife, I’ll tell ya…. I love to watch him perform!

"Rock your Broke-Ass"

I really have to give it up to Beth Helmstetter, without who’s planning prowess and flawless execution of the evening, we’d have been utterly lost. She brought some amazing ideas to the table, and made our vision for the evening come to life in unexpected and wonderful ways. I can’t imagine doing it without her, she was a lifesaver of awesomeness.

We also want to give major props to our sponsors The Bride & Bloom magazine and NTA Talent. Without their support and generosity, none of this would have been possible. We are so proud to have had them be such a major part of the evening – and loved getting to celebrate all together!

All in all, it was a totally memorable and unique event, and so nice to get to host all our friends with fun and interactive elements, lots of delicious food and drink, and all the broke-ass love in our hearts.

All photos by the fabulous Shannon Lee.

On a speaker. In a tiara. No shame.

So when Michael asked us to compose a playlist for his monthly Rad Influence series, we were thrilled to throw down some of our favorite jams to share with the internets. In this mix you’ll hear the music the played during our wedding processional, our first dance song, and lots of happy favorites that have nothing to do with our wedding. So, go check it out. Download it, even. It may not get you dancing on a speaker, but it will definitely get your toes tappin’.

Rad, man.

Unbelievably Luscious Floral Mural by Holly Flora

A Wonderland of Decadent Desserts

A Disco Dusted Mosaic Feast

O.N.E Drinks provided the healthy cocktails

Models rocking gorgeous Alfred Angelo Gowns

Cupcakes Nearly Too Cute To Eat

Me and our Partner Leslie Maynor of Fantasy Frostings! But where is her main man, Earl?

Oh THERE he is! Hm, do those girls look familiar? Oh snap , its DeAnna Pappas and Holly Durst!

The Flashdance, yo! We don't know how to party without him.

Weddingbee Love! Glitter, Moonbeam, Me, Sprinkle and Poodle!

A surprise rap performance by K.U. and.....

...The Fresh Hubby! Performing a broke-ass rap they wrote together! Get Broke!

What a rockstar! Le Swoooooon!

All photos by the amazing Holly Steen of Cakes and Kisses Photography!