Honeymoon

Thailand
In September, we travelled for 18 days in Thailand and ended off in Hong Kong. It was an amazing trip!

The people are so friendly, food is great (although a bit too spicy for me), beautiful temples, powder sand beaches. Each city was so different. We started in Bangkok, very crowded, big city, crazy traffic - took a tour of the old city and at night we met up with some friends for a homecooked Thai meal. Our next stop was Chiang Mia, which is located in the mountains - think rainforest and rural. Here, we rode on elephants, an ox cart too, had a picnic in a raft, ate at the Mandarin Hotel (the best thai food i've had), got $10 massages, saw waterfalls , visited some old villages and even took an all day cooking class. After a few days of what I call the "rugged" part of the trip, we were off to Koh Samui. I really loved the beaches, relaxed vibe, and our villa. The weather was beautiful, sand was so fine and soft and the water was warm. Our last stop in Thailand was Phuket, where we went on a boat cruise, james bond island, canoed around the rock formations, and attended our friend's Hedda & Leonard's beautiful wedding. In Hong Kong we met up with my parents and basically ate and shopped for 2 days before heading back to San Francisco.

Click here for Thailand Pics 1

Click here for Thailand Pics 2

Hawaii


A couple weeks after, we were off to Oahu to attend Pat's wedding (one of Todd's groomsmen). We called this our honeymoon part 2. We stayed in the North Shore, snorkeled and just hung out on the beach. Pat's wedding was at Wamaie Falls, a beautiful lush and tropical part of the North Shore.

Click here for pics

Wedding Pics & About Us

Wedding Day Pictures
Here are a few taken by friends. See Wedding Events section for photos from other events, ie Rehearsal Dinner, Showers, Engagement Party.

Leonard Kho - Guys Getting Ready, Tea Ceremony
Maurice Li - Album 1 , Album 2

Diana Woo - Click here
Chris Tran - Click here
Ann Boustead - Click here
Cynthia Hwang - Click here

Myra Jung - Click here

Cheryl Bergman - Click here

Jennifer Shiu - Click here

About Alisa...
Alisa was born and raised in Vancouver, and graduated from the University of British Columbia. After graduating, she spent some time in Taiwan studying mandarin, and when she got back, she was bitten by the travel bug. She then moved to San Francisco for work and that's where she met Todd. For the past 3 years she's been living and working in California, marketing for dot com's like eBay, Walmart and Expedia. She values her family and friends, loves food, travelling (with Todd of course!), and karate.

About Todd...
Todd was born and raised in San Jose, California and graduated from the California Polytechnic State University, SLO. Todd grew up designing, first with hand-drawn Transformers comics and now with Friendster, a global social-networking website. Todd's first journey to Asia with Alisa sparked his love for travel and adventure (with Alisa of course!) and has since visited Europe as well. Todd loves to eat food and to cook it, hear records and mix them, and spend time with family and friends.

Paris, France

Venice, Italy

Barcelona, Spain

The Proposal

November 12, 2005

We flew into Vancouver for the weekend to celebrate my grandmother's 95th birthday. The next day, Todd had planned a surprise dinner out. I wasn't feeling so well from taking a flu shot that day and asked Todd to cancel, but he insisted on taking me out for dinner so I went along with it. I'm glad I did, because he took me to Lumiere, a fabulous French restaurant who's chef beat out Mori Moto, an Iron Chef. We enjoyed a 10 course, 3 hour meal and they kept bringing out amazing dishes one after the other. My tastebuds were in heaven, but our stomaches were stuffed silly. We almost didn't make it through the entire dinner.

After dinner, we went back to our room at the Sutton Place Hotel. When we got back, Todd had another surpise - an ipod NANO which I was so excited about. He asked me to close my eyes and listen to a song he had downloaded to the NANO. When I opened my eyes, there were rose petals scattered throughout the room and it smelled so nice. He started talking and I could tell he was nervous, and continued on with his touching speech. He finally got down on his knee and proposed and I said YES! The ring was beautiful, and something that he had personally designed. He even had champagne and chocolates waiting.

He told me that before dinner he had gone out with my parents for coffee and asked them for their blessing. He was very nervous, but got through it and made some promises to them. He did this over nachos and pumpkin pie at Dennys, of all places :-) He also asked his own parents for their blessing before he came out to Vancouver. So he scored a hatrix - 3 yeses in a row!
--Alisa

The Wedding Party

Introducing our wedding party...

Bridal Party

Myra Jung - Maid of Honor
We have known each other since Grade 8 and I'm glad we've remained great friends since then. Not only can we laugh our heads off together, she keeps my hair looking great (She's a hair technician). We are so happy she's a part of our wedding.

Jennifer Shiu &
Juliet Dong - Bridesmaids
I've known both Jen and Jul (twin sisters) for 24 years and we've shared every special event together, from birthdays, holidays, family vacations, graduation, to most recently Jul's wedding. Here's another one to our list.

Hedda Cheuck - Bridesmaid
We shared the same babysitter in our preschool years, and by fate we were reunited again when I moved to San Francisco. We've become great friends living in the city by the bay and she's been there for both Todd and I.


Virginia Wong - Bridesmaid
We met in grade 4 and have been great friends ever since. We grew up together sharing childhood, teenage and now adulthood memories. She's been there for me through all the years. I'm looking forward to both our weddings in 2007!

The Groomsmen: Brian, Hugh, Henry



Hugh Parker - Best Man
My older brother, my mentor and my friend. He's always been there to point out when I'm doing something stupid, and occasionally something right, like marrying Alisa. I was there for his wedding and I'm glad he'll be there for mine. Hugh's an avid motocross fan and rider, a killer cook and the best story teller I know, hands down.

Bryan Harris - Groomsman
Bryan, or Shams as we call him, and I go way back. Back to 5th grade, nicknames like "Chopperhead," bmx bikes and midnight surfing. No one really knows you like the people you grow up with and I count myself very lucky to have grown up with Shams... He was the first of us to get married and now it's my turn - thanks for paving the way Shams!

Henry Perez - Groomsman
Ah Henry, the artist in my life. I met this photographer and comedian in college and quickly learned that he is also a great and true friend. Since going to college together in California, Henry has since moved to New York to persue his career. Soon he'll be in Vancouver with me as I enter the next stage of life...

Pat Aldrich - Groomsman
Pat and I've been friends since kindergarden. We've learned about everything together and he taught me much of what I know about the ladies (thanks Pat!). He currently lives and works in Hawaii saving and studying animals and insects most of us will never hear of. A brilliant scientist, a brilliant friend, my boy Pat...

Leonard Kho - Groomsman
And the best part is we probably swapped tax strategies the next evening... He's devilish good fun, with stories of fascinating feats of mechanical engineering - Leonard is a great friend and fellow adventurer on our road of life here in the City. It's going to be a huge year for both of us, we'll keep each other straight, and get a little sideways along the way.

Hotel Info & About Vancouver

Hotels
Here are some suggestions in downtown Vancouver and Richmond.

Downtown Vancouver
Greater than $150/night
Terminal City Club Hotel – Reception Venue
Please reference the Chan/Berliner wedding for the rates below. You can make your reservation by contacting Kelly Bontje 604-488-8606, KBontje@TCClub.com

Standard room with King Bed: $229 Cdn/night
Standard room with 2 beds: $245 Cdn/night
Deluxe King Guestroom $245 Cdn/night
Deluxe Skyline Suites: $275 Cdn/night
Executive Harbourview Suite: $345 Cdn/night

Cancellation policy for the reservations is 24 hrs prior to arrival – and a credit card number with expiry date is required at time of booking.

Carmana Plaza
This is a great all suite hotel. I’ve arranged special rates for the 1 and 2 bedroom suites with kitchen. It’s located 2 blocks from Robson Street (downtown shopping and restaurants). Contact Sidney Chan 604-683-1399 ext 323 and reference Chan-Berliner Wedding for rates below.

1 Bedroom standard suite $160 Cnd/night
1 Bedroom executive suite $170 Cnd/night
2 Bedroom premium suite $240 Cnd/night

Rates include local calls, parking, high speed internet access and $5 discount per day on dry cleaning services. Standard floor comes with a pull out sofa. Based on double occupancy.

4-Star Hotels - Across the street from the reception
Pan Pacific Hotel
The Fairmont Waterfront

Less than $150/night
Days Inn Vancouver Downtown (A few blocks from the reception venue)
Ramada Limited Downtown Vancouver (A few blocks from the reception venue)
YWCA of Vancouver Avg $60/night Great budget hotel

Richmond

Richmond is a suburb of Vancouver, and is where the airport is located, just 15-20 mins away from downtown Vancouver. If you rent a car, this will work fine as it's just a bridge away from Vancouver. The hotels here are more reasonable and it's easy to get into Vancouver.

Holiday Inn Express Airport

Hampton Inn Vancouver Airport

Marriot Vancouver Airport

Getting Around
The best way to get around is by renting a car. The ceremony location is at Queen Elizabeth Park which is located 15 minute drive from downtown Vancouver. We can arrange rides if you do not plan on renting a car. Try searching on http://www.hotwire.com/ for car rental rates, as they usually have the best rates.

We talk about how much we love Vancouver, and we’re excited that our out of town guests will experience the best city in Canada (ok we are biased).

About Vancouver
Vancouver was voted the "Best City in the Americas" by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, and is also one of the top places in the World to live. The city is a dynamic and multicultural, set in a spectacular natural environment. There are indoor and outdoor activities for everyone. Vancouver will be hosting the Winter Olympics in 2010 in Whistler.

For ideas about things to do, places to see, dine, take a look at the sites below. Also, you can always ask us for our recommendations.

Tourism Vancouver – click here for guide

Yahoo Travel Guide - Vancouver

Length of Stay
Vancouver is just a 2 hour flight from San Francisco, so a weekend getaway is great for those with just a few days. If you can, we recommend visiting longer as there’s so much to see.

How to Get There:
From San Francisco, check out direct flights to Vancouver on Alaska Air, Quantas, United, Air Canada.

You can also fly from San Jose/Oakland on Southwest to Seattle, and rent a car to drive up to Vancouver which is about a 2 hour drive on highway 99.

For those who have the time and like road trips, it’s a 16 hour drive through Northern California, Oregon, Washington and finally British Columbia (Vancouver). I’ve been on the drive several times, and it’s a great roadtrip.

Weather – Is it cold in Canada?
No, this is western Canada not to be confused with Eastern Canada where its super hot and super cold. Summer months in Vancouver are the nicest, July and August averages 25 degrees C or 74 degrees F. Also in the Summer, the sun doesn’t set until 8pm.

Passport Info:
New regulations require a passport to enter into Canada. Make sure you get your passport in time. http://travel.state.gov/

Wedding Events & Photos

Wedding Events

May 27 - Bridal Shower in Vancouver
Thank you to Myra and my Mom for being great hosts.
Click here to see photos.

June 23-25 Bachelorette Weekend SF
It was a weekend full of surprise upon surprise....Thank you Hedda & Myra, planners extaordinaires and my bridesmaids for flying in for the weekend.

July 7 - Bridal Shower in Bay Area
Thank you to Cheryl & Diana for hosting the shindig.
Click here to see photos.

Bachelor Party (sorry no pics, apparently top secret)

July 26 - Ceremony Rehearsal

July 27
Tea Ceremony at Chan House
Tea Ceremony Pic 1
Album 2

Rehearsal Dinner at Gala Seafood Restaurant
Click here to see pictures

July 28 - Wedding Day!
Ceremony: 3pm Queen Elizabeth Park
Reception: 6:00pm Terminal City Club


July 29
10:30am Post Wedding Brunch at Dockside in Granville Island

Wedding Registry
We honor the Chinese tradition of red envelopes.

If you prefer, we are also registered at Crate & Barrel and Macys.


Engagement Party - July 1st, 2006
Berliner backyard garden, San Jose, CA




It was such a memorable afternoon, celebrating with family and friends. Todd's parents hosted the party in their beautiful garden. The theme was fusion: fusion of family, fusion of friends, and fusion of food. Alisa's parents, aunt, uncle and cousin flew in from Canada to meet Todd's family for the first time. We were happy everyone hit it off so well.

Click here to see photo album