Shanghai Collected

Peony Rice - Part II

Remember my first visit to Peony Rice's studio last year? Since then, the ethically conscious brand has grown to include not only accessories but also cocktail dresses and a bridal collection.

Shanghai Portraits - Don Yap

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Welcome back! I hope you all had a great and relaxing holiday! I stayed mostly in Shanghai and got this interview ready for you. If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you're already familiar with Don's work :) He is the photographer behind the beautiful shots of Marion's Hat Lab. Can you believe those pictures were shots near Moganshan Road?!

LOVA Weddings

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I'm guessing a few of you are going to get married soon because the wedding section of this blog gets more hits everyday. Even if I'm done getting married, I'll keep on covering any related news, hoping it will help in preparing your big day.

Zio Bridal

[I got married in Shanghai in 2011 and shared tips and useful contacts with you as I was planning this event. To read all the wedding related posts, click on the "wedding" category in the right column.]

Getting to the perfect wedding dress was a painful process: I visited a fair share of shops, with some highs and some very lows (remember this?) but thankfully a friend found Safia, founder of Zio. Now beware, that didn't go smoothly either.

Safia owns a shop located in the wedding dress market near Yu Garden (address at the end of the article). She is a native Shanghainese but has spent more than 15 years in the US so her english is good and she has had some exposure to western taste.

Her shop showcases her own collection (I would say about 50 wedding dresses, 30 evening dresses, a few dresses for flower girls) mostly catering to Chinese brides (puffy dresses with bling-bling Swarovski details) but there are also a few more subtle designs. All dresses can be rented (RMB1500-2000) or made-to-measure (RMB2500-4000) for a very reasonable price. All  details such as beading or embroidery are handmade, which is why prices may vary.

Peony Rice

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Having spent few years in China, I've had my share of cheap-low-quality trinkets, or expensive-low-quality-but-well-marketed crap, which is why it was all the more refreshing to discover Peony Rice,  a line of accessories that is the result of dedicated work, great attention to detail, and most importantly passion.

Getting married in Shanghai - Part 4: The vendors list

Fête accomplie!

 

Married!

Wedding favors designed by Ed Ruscha, printed and die-cut at Aardvark Letterpress

Getting married in Shanghai - Part 3: finding foreign designer dresses in Shanghai

[I will be getting married in Shanghai in September and will be sharing tips and useful contacts with you as I plan this event. To read all the wedding related posts, click on the "wedding" category in the right column.]

There are plenty of wedding dress shops in Shanghai but only a few offer imported foreign designers dresses. To my knowledge, there are only three of them: Sinclair Bridal, Vera Wang and Yumi Katsura.

Of all the bridal shops I have visited, I can honestly say that the best "experience" was at Sinclair Bridal. In a nicely renovated lane house tucked away in the French Concession, my friend and I were received by two very friendly ladies who showed us a selection of about 30 dresses and bridal accessories (hair band, veils,…) imported mostly from the US and Spain. Both of them could speak English and were very knowledgeable and passionate about wedding dresses.

The pictures above were not taken at the Sinclair Bridal boutique but at the Garden Style Wedding Party 2011 organized at Park Hyatt in july 2011.

Girls night out: make-up class at Mirage M

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A girls night out in Shanghai often starts with drinks, then dinner, then more drinks, sometimes a manicure, a spa? This time, two friends and I tried something new: a make-up class.

For two hours, Mandy, the owner of the Mirage M explained to us the basics of skincare and how to do a full formal makeup. Her approach to the class is very hands-on, she asked us to bring our own make-up and showed us how to use it step by step. She would draw one side of your face and let you do the other side. My friends and I all learned a lot and realized we had been doing things the wrong  way for the last 10 years: Do you know how to wash your face? In which order to apply make-up? Or how to use a concealer?   

Getting married in Shanghai - Part 2: Finding THE venue

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[I got married in Shanghai in 2011 and shared tips and useful contacts with you as I planned this event. To read all the wedding related posts, click on the "wedding" category in the right column. ]

Although Shanghai has a great restaurant scene, finding the right venue is definitely not an easy task.

Also, if you haven't already noticed, organizing a wedding in Shanghai is NOT cheaper that in your home country (it is definitely not cheaper than in France). You already know the price of a western restaurant in Shanghai but you still have to add the wine, corkage fee, decoration, accommodation for family, make-up artist, rental of other equipments (marquee, speakers, lightning...). If you are looking to work with reliable professionals, chances are that it will cost you.

Back to the wedding venue, my husband and I are both picky when it comes to food and wanted western food so we quickly eliminated most venues. To add more challenge, we were looking for more than just a restaurant and definitely not a big hotel chain. There weren’t that many choices left and here are the few places we shortlisted for the wedding reception:

 

-          URBN Hotel

Photos from URBN Hotel