Dangwa and Quiapo

I was meaning to write this entry last weekend but never had the time. Seems like I'm supposed to be doing so many things (and I'm not only talking about wedding preps) and not accomplishing anything. Well, I guess it's not that we are not moving forward with the preps, but more of us not moving forward quickly. We've got barely six months to go and we still have no invitation, string quartet, favors, complete entourage list, rings, registries, and many other things! *Sigh*

Ok, maybe six months is still a lot of time. They say you can actually plan your whole wedding in that time. I even have an officemate who just got married this month and did just that! I guess my worry is that our date, January 7, 2006, seems to be a pretty popular choice for a wedding date and suppliers are getting booked pretty fast. Why, I know atleast 7 who have that date (three in Tagaytay)! If we don't act fast, we'll not be able to book good suppliers anymore. Haaay...

Well, enough of that. I should probably focus more on our accomplishments, right? I mean, thinking negative will only stress me more, and we don't want that, right? So here goes...

Accomplishment 1: We booked Mang Boy Mahusay of Dangwa for the entourage flowers. Actually, my mom and my sister did the booking for me (awww, aren't they sweet? Thanks thanks! :D). And we got him for a pretty good rate too :) Let's see... we have 1 bride, 1 maid of honor, 3 bridesmaids, 3 secondaries, 2 jr bridesmaids, 2 moms, and 10 ninangs. I think all of those mentioned above will carry a bouquet (or do you call them handheld?). Then there are 5 flower wands and headpieces (like flower crowns, i think. Oh my, I don't know anything!) for the flowergirls. Then some boutonnieres for the males. And I think we also have 1 for the car. And I'm trying to remember if we also have a throw away bouquet --- All for 6,000 pesos! Don't you think it's a good price? ;) I mean, it's a much much better rate than the 17,000 that Flowers of May quoted for us! So I guess I'm pretty happy with that :) You know what also made me smile? It's our contract with Mang Boy -- handwritten on a yellow paper. Hehehe, isn't that cute? :D You know, it's actually really making me happy that a guy like him is doing very well with his business :)

Accomplishment 2: Ok, so this one's not really an accomplishment since it was not really fruitful. Leo and I (along with our faithful and very helpful MOH, LA, and groomsman, Bernard), went to Quiapo last saturday to visit this paper(++) shop recommended by a friend. We were looking for some matarials for our invitation, as well as favor ideas. Well, when we got to the shop, it was already closed. And to make the long story short, we were not able to find anything. Hmmm, let me rephrase that, we actually found a store where they sell picture frames that we can use as give-aways. Medieval picture frame (with the guest's picture inside) is actually one of the options we are considering. We're still going to look further though cause I'm not really that impressed with the designs shown to us.

Accomplishment 3: What accomplishment 3???

Ok, so that's it, I guess. Haaay... only 2 accomplishments. And 1 is not even a real one! Oh well, atleast we are still moving forward, right? Maybe I'll have more to write about next week... I'd better!

Wini's News

Got a call from Wini last night. Well actually, she texted me first, asking if she could call me. I was pretty sure it was about Alex Franco so I called her immediately. Yup, it was about Alex alright -- and it was not good news :( I'm not sure if you remember, but Alex waitlisted us cause he already had 2 confirmed bookings and 1 tentative on our date. At first he didn't even want to waitlist us anymore, but I asked Wini if she could talk to Alex. So he waitlisted us, and promised to reserve us if his tentative backed out.

His tentative confirmed.

Oh well, I guess we weren't meant to have his delicious cake on our wedding. *gloom*

Anyway, Leo and I decided to just have the cake that comes with Juan Carlo's package. We'll just ask them to decorate it to fit our theme. Haaay... I really wanted to get Alex's cake :( Well atleast we are able to save some money.

Or not.

Hehehe, now we're thinking -- or atleast I'm trying to make Leo start thinking -- of getting a chocolate fountain instead. How ARTE am I, right??! Hahaha... But we'll see. Leo doesn't seem to be too open to that suggestion yet, so it's mostly wishful thinking on my part for now :D

Will keep you posted!

BK and David's Birthday

Yesterday, we met Ronald and Tish of Balay Kandila at the NBC Tent. They've set-up the place for David's (of David's Salon) 50th birthday party. Wow, 600 guests! Well, I guess they've already cut down the guest list cause the first time Ronald mentioned it, it was for a thousand guests. His theme was also medieval and that was actually the reason why we were there. Since we are having a similar set-up on January, Balay Kandila wanted us to see what they've done for David's before we do the detailing for our contract.

Ok, what did we see? First thing I really noticed were the guests' attires. Alright, I know Balay didn't have anything to do with that. But the clothes were really eye catching, and I noticed it right away cause most of the guests were still outside the tent and we could see them from the parking lot. Wow, talk about game! Kinareer! Hehehe. The ladies were wearing ballgowns, and some even had crowns to boot! Others wore their hair in flowing curls, just like in the movies. Come to think of it, I shouldn't have been surprised since they were in the "styling" business afterall. They looked really nice. Now if only I can make our own guests do the same... Nah, that seems impossible. I'm not even sure everyone will follow the "strictly formal" dress code!

So going inside the tent, we saw BK's work. Nice! Ok, so at first it didn't really blow me away. But that's because the place was so big and it was hard to create an intimate effect with all those tables everywhere. Plus it was still bright outside and the lighting effects are not fully in place yet.

Two things I loved...

First is the entrance. There was a wooden gate, which was made of styro according to Tish, but looked quite authentic. It was movable too. Nice, hehehe. Above it, hanging on the arc, was a crest. Really nice. The gate was open when we saw it, and just inside it stood a knight! You know those knight statues you see in castles from movies? Those in full armor and battle weapons? Yup, that's it. Really really nice, hehehe.

The other area that was eye catching was the stage -- as expected. There were columns (or pillars) and a castle wall behind the set-up for the band. There was another knight too, this time in a different position. The thing that really made it great though was the lighting. BK is really great at lighting effects.

Other decors... On both sides of the tent were more pillars with banners hanging on each side, and of course all with the supposedly family crest. Banners were also set-up on the ceiling.

I can totally imagine now how our reception can look like on our wedding. I think it will be more lovely, given that the place is already beautiful as it is. It's more intimate too. Plus we'll have nicer centerpieces than at the NBC. There, they only used banners on the tables, while I believe Ronald is thinking Cantelabra for ours. We're using marble tables too, courtesy of Villa de Oro. Balay will be coordinating with our caterer, Juan Carlo (who is also reputed to create great set-ups) for the centerpieces. Oh, I can really imagine it now! *Sigh*

So that's it for the updates. Hopefully we will have more in the coming week. We've got 6 months to go, oh no! Panic panic panic!

Oh, and just a shameless advertising, hehehe... if you are feeling bored and is looking for some nonsense reading (as if you haven't had enough from this blog, hehehe), you can visit my baby's blog from here. (I'm not referring to Leo, by the way, hehehe *wink*)

Happy Happy Happy!

Happy 81st Monthsary Love!

I
LOVE
YOU!
Can't wait to start forever with you baby!

Why A Medieval Wedding

Nowadays, more and more theme parties are being given. Zen, Arabian Nights, Celestial, Moroccan, Fairytales... these are just a few of the themes that I've heard used in weddings, proms and debuts. Ours, the medieval theme, is actually a pretty popular one, or so it seemed, based on some talks with suppliers.

Some people actually find it corny to have these themed events. Others think it's quite unique. For Leo and I, we just want to make our wedding something that will be remembered.

A wedding, no matter how simple or grand, will always be memorable to the bride and groom. It's a celebration of their love, afterall. So it's already a given that the day will be special to us no matter what happens. What we want is to make it memorable to our guests as well. Just like what my production designer/event stylist said, the success of their service will be determined by the words of the guests -- not by us -- from the time they arrived until days after. We want to create something that can be talked about even after the party's over. Hopefully, through our theme, this can happen.

Of course, not everybody will appreciate the theme. In fact, I can already think of some people who will downright criticize it. Some might even say we're just wasting money. Oh well, it's our money to spend, right? **grins** But we really do hope that not everybody will think that way. We're spending money for their enjoyment afterall.

So why medieval? I must admit that the idea really came from me. I love stories about knights and kings and ladies and princesses. I read about them all the time in romance novels (which Leo hates, by the way, hehehe), and watch movies like First Knight, Robinhood: Prince of Thieves, Musketeers, even that spoof movie - A knight's Tale. These stories seem to transport me. I often wonder how it must be like living in that time and place... I daydream about them all the time when I was a kid. Oh alright, I will admit that I still daydream about them even now, hahaha. Anyhoo... that is the why of it.

But just to manage your expectations, we're still not sure if we can or will make it medieval all the way. First of all, we don't have bottomless bank accounts and, of course, the effect of authenticity will cost some. I originally planned to do some DIY stuff, but I am worried now that I will not have the time to do them. We also didn't want the party to be too old fashioned as we are not certain how receptive our guests will be about it. For example, I originally wanted to have dance cards (though I'm not sure if they are from the medieval or victorian time) that will contain a list of formal dances, and all the ladies will have one. The men will then need to write their names on the dance cards opposite the song that they want to dance. Traditionally, the ladies are not allowed to reject a partner. There will then be a part of the program where the musicians will start playing all the dances in order. Nice huh, hehe? But like I said, the guests may not be receptive to it.

Our wish is that all the guests will have fun on our wedding. Of course, a part of it must also come from them. You can't really make someone enjoy if he has his heart set on being negative from the start. All we can do is provide the venue, the food, and the program. Themed or not, the energy and the willingness to enjoy must come from the guests.