Starting Our Forever (Our Wedding)

Wedding, Birthdays, and Baby

2006-10-19T16:57:00.000+08:00

This entry is not about our wedding. But since it is about a wedding too, I'm posting it here

Leo and I went to Haya and Jay's wedding last October 15. The ceremony was held at the Parish of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Quezon City and the reception was held at Blue Gardens at Commonwealth. That was convenient for us since it was near our place - relatively. Blue Gardens was originally a big house converted into a function venue.

The ceremony was simple and elegant - very Haya :) Even her gown and HMU was so her! I could imagine how much work (and stress) she has put into the preparations and I am happy that it turned out so well. And to think she didn't even have a coordinator! But her family and friends helped out so everything went smoothly :) I especially love the taho and sorbetes stations at the reception, yum yum! And of course it was good to see the barkada there - all dressed up with their partners (and babies!). My, but we're growing! ;) CONGRATULATIONS and BEST WISHES to Haya and Jay!

It was also my sister's birthday last saturday but she celebrated her special day at Boracay with friends. They availed of the airline promo early on and got their round-trip tickets for only 1,600 pesos! Good deal huh ;) Hmmm, maybe I'll do an out-of-town birthday too someday :) BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LA (and BERNARD too)!

By the way, Kalli is now 2.28 kilograms at 35 weeks in the womb according to the ultrasound. What's that, around 5 lbs? Doctor said that was normal so all is good with baby and me :) They said I can give birth as early as 2 weeks from now. Yikes, I'm scared! Hehehe... I'll endure :)

Here are some more pics from the wedding...

Well that's it. Until next post!

Supplier Ratings Part I

2006-06-05T13:04:00.000+08:00

First of all, let me apologize for this very, very, very late supplier rating. I got married last January 7, but, obviously, I only had time to do this now. A lot of things have been happening to me lately. So many changes... new name, new home, new status. First I became a wife. Soon I'm going to be a mommy too :)

Anyway, back to the ratings... You will notice below that there are only a few with a rating of 10. That's just because I didn't want to give 10++ scores. However, let me just say that I am happy with pretty much all of my suppliers (with the exception of 1) and HIGHLY recommends most of them.
So here goes... (comments and questions are always welcome)

Church: Chapel of Transfiguration, Caleruega
Rating: 10, Highly Recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

(photos by various photographers)

This church was the very first we visited when we got engaged, and we never looked for another. For me, it was love at first sight. Even though there were a lot of factors that should have swayed us to find another, I just stubbornly ignored all of them. For one thing, we had to change our wedding date to January 2006 instead of last quarter of 2005. We also knew all our guests couldn't possibly fit inside the church. Almost all of our guests were also coming from Manila. Add to that, planning an out-of-town wedding was really hard - and I realized a little more expensive. Still, we have no regret whatsoever. For me, it made our wedding a little more special and memorable.

Tip - if there is something that you really really want for your wedding and you think will make all the difference for you - even though others can't seem to understand - go for it girl! ;)

Reception venue: Villa de Oro, Tagaytay City
Rating: 8.5, Recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

I really wanted to have a medieval wedding, and when I saw Villa de Oro, I knew it was the perfect venue. Well ok, maybe not really so perfect for us since I had to put some guests inside the function hall and others in the garden. But I knew that from the start and it turned out ok since Balay Kandila took care of making the dining area look like one unit. The place was so big, it even had a chapel inside. It was so beautiful - specially after BK arranged it. It was really too bad the rain prevented us from having cocktails in the garden as originally planned. I also love the mansion inside the villa. Some of our guests actually stayed there overnight after the party.

Jing, the account exec, was also very nice and accomodating. Though I would say the price was a little on the high side, she gave us a lot of freebies and waived some of the fees - so it turned out ok. She also allowed BK and Juan Carlo to set up the day before the event.

The only problem I had was the power. We've been warned by other suppliers that when you light the garden as well as the 2 function halls in VDO, the power overloads. This was a concern for us since we were using practically the whole villa and BK was setting up lights all over. We mentioned this concern to Jing a lot of times, and she assured us that the power problem has already been fixed. Well, as you can guess, it still tripped during our wedding. Luckily it was restored back after around 15-20 minutes.

Oh and the place is a little hard to find. A lot of our guests got lost :(

Photographer: Lee Llamas
Rating: 9, Highly Recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

Though we don't have the album yet, we already have the pictures, and we are really, really happy with them. Even our prenup pics are great. Lee and his crew were very professional too and their equipment are top-of-the-line (that's according to my hubby since he knows much more about these things than I, hehehe). We also booked Lee during a bridal fair and got a very good package.

One thing that saddens me though is the fact that we didn't have a lot of creative shots in Tagaytay because of the rain. Lee doesn't shoot when there's a chance his cameras might get wet - understandably since his cameras are quite expensive. Still, there were some shots that I wished we could have had.

OTD Coordinator: Wini Sanchez, Witty Jobs Party Team
Rating: 9.5, Highly Recommended

Wini is a mommy! She really takes care of you and does everything to ensure you have a wonderful, stress-free wedding. We hired her for on-the-day coordination, but she delivered so much more than that. I really felt like she was with me from the start. Most of the time, she was with us during meetings with major suppliers - negotiating for us, checking and drafting contracts, taking notes, giving ideas. She was really great.

There were a lot of stressful incidents that happened during our wedding. First, I forgot to give Caleruega the full payment - and it was a requirement before we can get married there. Then there was the on and off rain shower. Then the AVP not working. Then the power failure. You can imagine how stressed I would have been if I didn't have Wini there. But honestly, I wasn't stressed at all!
I would have given her a 10, except that we forgot to release the doves, which was supposed to be part of the cocktail event. It was during the on and off rain so I guess she was feeling quite stressed that time. I didn't mind so much, but my mom really wanted that dove release...

All in all, we highly recommend Witty jobs. The rates are reasonable. They deliver quality work. And they are all quite likable. A lot of my friends getting married this year booked her too after our wedding.

Production Designer / Event Stylist: Balay Kandila
Rating: 9, Highly Recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

Balay Kandila "WOW"ed me from the start. They're actually my "luho" because, technically, we didn't "need" a stylist. However, I couldn't resist, specially after I approached their booth one bridal fair and talked to Ronald. I actually just wanted to get some ideas for villa de oro since I was having problems with the lay-out for the event format that I wanted. I also mentioned I'm thinking of having a medieval theme. Ronald started visualizing and drawing his ideas then and there and I was really impressed! He immediately understood what I wanted. Ronald and Tisha were so easy to get along with. The rates they quoted for me were a little high, but they're pretty flexible and you can negotiate with them.

A lot of our guests were really impressed with what they did with the place. Even Lee, our photographer, commented on it. I specially love the long tables with the fruits and bread and candles for centerpieces. I also liked the arrangements of luminaries in the gargen - though I'm not sure a lot noticed because of the rain :( Most of the guests took pictures of the wooden gate with the knights and banners and the pumpkin carriage.

I would have given BK a 10, except that they were also in-charged of the sound system (I believe they subcontracted Sound Syndrome) and I was quite disappointed with them. The band had major trouble with them, and I almost thought they were not going to be able to play.

Florist for Church: Amor Verdad (Carlo Verdadero)
Rating: 8, Recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

Carlo was recommended by Balay Kandila, and he was really nice. He's also very artistic since he was part of the creative team that designed our reception venue and centerpieces. I was not so impressed with the church flowers and arrangements though. I guess it was ok, but I thought they were a little too simple. And I also couldn't help comparing the flowers with what Mang Boy delivered for our bouquets. The latter were much fresher than the church flowers - and cheaper too. Still, Carlo is a good supplier to work with - very chirpy and a hard worker.

Florist for Bride bouquet, Entourage and Bridal Car: Boy Mahusay
Rating: 10, Highly recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

I did not have any problem with Mang Boy. Infact I thought he was the ideal supplier. It was so easy to talk to him. "Walang ere" whatsoever! His price was very, very reasonable and the flowers were so fresh! I highly, highly recommend this guy :)

Chocolate Fountain: Josiah's
Rating: 9, Highly recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

The chocolate fountain was delicious. Ok, so we didn't actually taste it during the wedding. But we got to taste it when we booked it and it was better than all the others we tasted during that bridal fair. The price was reasonable too.

Caterer: Juan Carlo
Rating: 8.5, Highly recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

(photos by Lee Llamas)

Just like the chocolate fountain, we were not able to taste much of the food during the reception. We only tasted the soup and the salad - and that was it. According to my dad, the soup was a little salty, but I didn't really noticed it. Some guests expressed their appreciation for the food - specially the cooked-on-the-spot Blue Marlin in Lemon Butter Sauce and the Stir Fried Mixed Vegetable in Oyster Sauce. We had 2 food tasting sessions with them prior to the wedding, and I thought the food was delicious then.

Alex was also easy to talk to and negotiate with. Since we had Balay Kandila doing the styling and the centerpieces, we were able to get some freebies from Alex like free crew meals and other stuff. He was also willing to implement some of my weird ideas like serving soup on champagne glasses during pre-dinner cocktails :) He worked well with the other suppliers - giving ideas and volunteering materials that Balay could use for decorating the place.

There was basically one major glitch that prevented me from giving them a rating of 10. They failed to serve my grandmother properly - which I specifically mentioned since she was already 92 years old. I heard that she was only served soup and salad. I guess it was because it started raining outside and most of the crew had to move tables and they probably forgot about it. Some guests also started moving into the VIP tables, which probably added to the confusion. Still, hearing about it made me really sad.

Invitation - DIY
Rating: 10

(photos by Lee Llamas)

The invitations were great - if I say so myself, ahahaha. Of course they were so very tedious to do, specially since we were not professionals and were only working with low-tech equipment. Some even suggested we make a business out of it. That's probably not such a good idea right now though since we could only do at most 5 invitations a day :( Well, I still have to think about it... hehehe

Invitation Box: A-Box
Rating: 4

Out of all my suppliers, this was the one that really disappointed me the most. I was very particular with the boxes since we were using them for the invitation - and we planned to make them really unique. We even bought the materials for the boxes in divisoria since A-Box couldn't find the paper we wanted. Farah (from A-Box) made a prototype of the box and I really liked what she showed me. So we asked her to make around 100 pieces - initially. When she delivered the boxes, they were nowhere near the prototype that she made! Almost all of them wouldn't open properly and the paper covering the cardboard were tearing at the edges. The closing flaps of the boxes were curved instead of flat - and that was a big problem for us since we were putting wax seals on the flaps. It was really, really bad :( So I asked her to take everything back and fix them. I actually wanted her to start all over again and replace everything since I couldn't imagine how she could fix them. But then I thought that was just too mean. After a week or 2, she delivered the "fixed" boxes - though there wasn't really that much improvement. Since we were running out of time, we had no choice but to use them. We ended up not having enough boxes because some ended up rejects and because I initially thought we would still order additional boxes. But I just couldn't make myself order from A-Box again, so we ended up using baskets we bought at papemelroti for the other invitations.

Band: DBO's Lunchbox
Rating: 8.5

(photos by Lee Llamas)

DBO's performance was very good. A lot of our friends told us too. My cousin even did a song with them - thought I didn't really see it cause I had to meet with a supplier outside. Tsk tsk tsk, I wish I saw it.

The only problem I had with the band was the fact that they played late. They were tuning their instruments a long time. They said they were having some problems with the sound system - and that probably was the root cause. It was just too bad that most of our guests went home already during the time they were tuning up.

String Quartet: Concertino
Rating: 9, Highly Recommended

Toks team was very professional and they're great at what they do. The music was lovely during the reception, and, although I didn't get a singer from them, I know from their demo CD that they have great singers too. Toks also had the initiative to call me (and meet me at my house, which was very far) when the wedding date was getting near and I have not finalized the details with him yet. He was also willing to work and practice with my choir - though that did not happen anymore cause, well.. long story, but it was our fault. Their team is pretty much flexible - just give them enough time to prepare for whatever it is you want them to do.

Gowns: Bengie "Vangie" Agustin
Rating: 8.5

(photos by Lee Llamas)

Tita Vangie has been doing dresses and gowns for the family every since I could remember. She's a fast worker and the fitting was always great. Naturally she was the choice for doing my bridal gown (and all the entourage gowns), specially since I already knew the design I wanted. And I'm quite happy with that decision - though I must confess there was a moment when I was afraid the tube and backless top of my gown wouldn't work. Well, she made it work in the end. I loved my gown!
Why didn't I give her a 10? Well, there were a couple of glitches that happened. First, the design for the MOH top was not followed. Instead of making it haltered as originally planned, she made it into a tube. It was still beautiful though - so I guess that was ok. We were copying a design from a magazine, altering the top part. However, she did it exactly as it was in the picture. I think she forgot about the changes we discussed. Another thing is that there was a mix-up with the flowergirl gowns. The names got scrambled and there was a confusion with matching the gowns with the girls. But having fixed that, I must say that the flowergirls really looked adorable in their fairy gowns and wings :)

HMU: Ross Regala
Rating: 9.5, Highly Recommended

(photos by Lee Llamas)

Ross is the only one I had trial with, and I liked what he did with my make-up then. I didn't like the hair that much, though they were pretty impressive how he did them - I just didn't think they fitted me and my medieval theme. Still, I booked him cause he seemed very talented and very efficient. He works fast (as in!) and - I've proven this a lot of times - very, very, very punctual!

When I scheduled the trial make-up with him, his name was very popular here at w@wie - in a negative way. I think he had a problem with a client or something, but the feedback then wasn't so good. I was a bit worried, naturally. But after meeting him and seeing him work, I thought he was quite misunderstood and unfairly judged by some. Anyway, I was very, very happy with my decision of booking him. I really liked my make-up and hairdo during the wedding. I looked beautiful - if I say so myself (hehehe)! And every bride should feel that way - don't you think? :)

Bridal Shoes: Le Donne
Rating: 9

(photos by Lee Llamas)

I love my boots! They are unique. They are very comfortable (since I got a pair 1 size bigger). And they're very me! :)

Choir: Mary Immaculate Choir
Rating: 10, Highly Recommended

(photos by Raymond Cabalquinto)

One of the very few suppliers I gave a 10 to. And very well deserved too! Ok, so they are my friends and they actually did not charge me for their service. But that was just the icing on the cake. If I take out those facts and just focus on their voices and their songs, I'd still give them a 10. They gave me goosebumps during the ceremony. For me they made the ceremony more special.

Preparation Venue: Taal Vista Hotel
Rating: 9

The hotel was great. I even had an upgrade from the Junior Suite to the Premiere Suite! It's just too bad we didn't get any pictures in their beautiful lobby and the viewing deck. We were running late and didn't have time. We also stayed the night here after the wedding, and the breakfast buffet was alright.

The only thing I didn't like is the fact that there was a wall right outside my window. Taal Vista is not a very high hotel and the premiere suite was on the 3rd floor. You can see the wall in most of my prep pictures :(

Ross also didn't like the fact that the only big mirror they have in the room was near the restroom. It was a bit cramp when we were doing hair and make-up.

Honeymoon: Miniloc, El Nido
Rating: 9.5, Highly Recommended

(photos by Leo and Iya)

We loved El Nido! It was a bit expensive compared to other Palawan resorts, but for us it was so worth it. We stayed at a water cottage and, what can I say, it was very minimalistic. There was no TV, no mini-bar, no tub. Nothing of the basic amenities in a hotel. Lagen probably had those. But Miniloc didn't. Still, we didn't miss them at all. We went snorkling, diving, island hopping, kayaking, cave exploring, hiking, boating, had a private beach, watched the perfect sunset, spa, and gorging on food! All the way buffet! And it was beautiful everywhere! Too bad we were only there for 3 days. There were still a lot of things we could have done. I wanted to go ride the hobbycat, or do an early morning fishing, or climb the famous amazing race wall. Oh well, it was quite a memorable honeymoon.

You can view more of our pictures here:
http://iyaleo.zoto.com/galleries/elnido
http://community.webshots.com/album/551082867ATdMWF

Rainy Day Pictorial

2005-12-16T12:55:00.000+08:00

We're finally done with our prenup pictorial - finally! Imagine, we initially planned to do it as early as May, but ended up doing it last Dec 13 instead. There's a story there that I don't really have time to go into right now... maybe next time. For the moment, here's the link

Updates - DIY Invitations

2005-12-12T12:54:00.000+08:00

So it's been a long time since I've posted anything here. Been really busy with the preps and work and other stuff. Well, mostly with preps, I guess. Been trying to finish all our invitations ASAP. Thing is, we have decided to do our invitations ourselves but truth is we haven't got that much time for it since Leo and I are both working and we only have time in the evenings after work. That shouldn't be so bad if we are out of the office around 5pm and we live just 10 minutes away. But oftentimes we get home around 11pm :( Oh well... Good thing we have LA helping us! Atleast now we are down to our last 15 invitations, yohooo! Then next are misalettes.... Darn, but there are so much to do!

So here are our DIY invitations (which we are quite proud of, if I may say so ;b)...

upper left: The contents of our invitation box - invitation scroll, entourage, map, reception card, rsvp card, tagaytay tidbits
upper right: Our family crest on our wax seal
lower right: our inivitation scroll
lower left: The invitation package

And here's the map to Mordor ... este Caleruaga pala, hehehe.... (the final version of our map)

So there... that's our invitation. We haven't really distributed half of it yet, but we're getting there.

Well, that's it for now. I'll post our other updates later. Right now I need to catch some sleep. Have to wake-up early tomorrow to fix our prenup pictorial venue.

Until next time...

Invitation Box

2005-10-15T12:48:00.000+08:00

We finally found a box supplier for our invitation. Well, technically, we already contacted A-BOX around 2 weeks ago. We just couldn't find the correct material to use. We wanted a deep red textured paper. Almost like black red. We scouted the different paper suppliers in divisoria while Farah (from A-BOX) searched in Binondo and her usual suppliers, but we couldn't find one with the correct thickness. Finally, we just decided to pick one from those we found... different shades of red, but lighter than what we originally wanted. We chose 2 and A-Box made a prototype from it. And here it is...

This is not exactly how it's gonna look like since we haven't finalized the materials inside yet. Goodness, we've still got so many things to do! Anyhoo, you get the concept. Comments and suggestions are always welcome :)

On a different note, it's my sister's birthday today. Happy birthday to the bestest-best maid-of-honor ever! We love you LA!

Let's Take a Break

2005-10-13T12:46:00.000+08:00

We've been moving along quite well with our wedding preps, though I've not been updating this blog with our accomplishments lately. Truth is, now that we've decided to speed things up a little, I couldn't seem to find the time nor the energy to blog anymore. Well, I guess that's so much better than not accomplishing anything and having all the time to blog (in other words, complain) about it, right?

Anyhoo, I'm still not gonna tell you the stories now since it's already almost 1am and I have work tomorrow. What I just want to do now is post these pictures of Leo and Me during our trip to Avilon Zoo last Sunday. Hehehe, talk about vanity right? Well, it's our blog, so...

Let me just say that the place was lovely. It was clean and landscaped, and very rich in animals too (syempre naman, zoo nga e) -- although they don't have the big animals yet. Leo and I thought about doing our prenuptial pictorials there. We still haven't decided though. I should probably ask Lee if it's a good idea. Our original plan is to have it at Tagaytay Highlands - and we're still leaning more towards that. But it's always good to have a second plan.

Anyway, here's the link to more of our pictures in Avilon (just in case you want to see the place) -> Click Me.

Well, that's it for me tonight. Goodnight world...

Happy Anniversary Love!

2005-10-05T12:45:00.000+08:00

It's our 7th year anniversary! Imagine that, 7 years. Has it been that long? Sometimes it feels like it was only yesterday when Leo asked me to be his girl, right there inside the karag-karag Philcoa-Lagro jeepney, on my way home from school. How UNromantic can you get, right? Hehehe... but that's just Leo. It's kinda cute actually. I also remember that first time he told me he loved me one early early morning, watching the sunrise from the steps of UP Admin building. O di ba, he can be romantic din? ;) We have so many stories and memories. 7 years. Ika nga sa "Story of Us", there's a history there. And we'll still be building more memories and adding to our story. I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with Leo. I can't wait to build a family with him. I can't wait to experience life with him, embark on this journey that is new - and yet familiar, because it's him with me. I know it'll be great. We'll be great.

Haaaay... imagine that, 7 years.

I love you baby. Thanks for loving me.

Slowly Falling into Place

2005-10-02T12:44:00.000+08:00

Met with Tish of BK and Wini, my coordinator, yesterday at Starbucks 6750 to do the detailing for the BK contract. It was a very productive meeting indeed. I must admit, I was a little worried before that BK might forget some of the things that we've discussed during our previous meetings. I know I did. Thing is, meeting with Tish and Ronald - especially Ronald - usually left me feeling, uhm, how do I say it... quite unreal and dreamy and hazy. Like my head is on the cloud full of ideas, concepts and vision, and yet nothing seems solid. Everything seems to be just floating out there. So at the end of each conceptualization and brainstorming session, I go home happy and hopeful, but not really knowing what will be delivered or not. Hahaha, I guess that's what you call trusting your supplier :D

Well, as I've said, the meeting was productive, and now I have no worries at all. I'm quite confident that BK will deliver. It's a good thing too that Wini has been involved with the BK discussions from the start. We've finally laid out the details, and I'm happy with what we've agreed on. Now I can't wait too see the final look of Villa de Oro, hehehe.

Anyhoo, we also met with Puto, a choirmate, to discuss their line up for the wedding. It was really sad that we had to set a limit to the number of singers, given the fact that they are all friends. But that can't be helped. Still, I'm sure they'll sing well even with limited singers.

Lastly, we're going food tasting with the parents later at Fernwood. Leo and I have already gone to 1 before and we're happy with the food. Now we want the family's opinion on the menu. We also want them to see Juan Carlo's set up as well. Yum yum yum :D

Yum yum yum :D

Got Some Medieval Flair?

2005-09-29T12:38:00.000+08:00

Haven't blogged in a while - atleast not here. But that's not cause of lack of update. Yep, finally we're moving along. Finally. But we still got tons to do! I'm already in panic mode. Honestly I couldn't even sleep last night thinking and worrying about the wedding! Haaaay... I can't seem to find the time.

Anyhoo, since I've already mentioned I don't have much time, let me just post some pictures here instead.

Remember we're doing a medieval theme? Well, here are some of things we've started doing. Feel free to comment or give suggestions :)

Our Give-aways...

Hand-painted medieval picture frames. They were lovingly (nax) painted by our ever-reliable maid-of-honor and groomsman, LA and Bernard :D

Our very own coat-of-arms....

The Lion is actually the Conti (my family name) coat-of-arms, while the Sword is, well, uhm... almost the Lim's (Leo's family name), hehehe.

And finally, Our Invitation... well, not yet actually... We've just been working on the content....

That's it for now. So whatchathink?

Finally, an Update!

2005-09-04T12:37:00.000+08:00

Yup, I've got some news to share. We finally started moving again after a long, long, long "vacation" from preps. As I've mentioned in my previous post, we sort of got derailed a bit these past few months. But, thankfully, we've made some progress since that last post.

So what progress am I talking about here? Ok, let me start of with last week (hehehe, sorry I was too lazy to update the blog sooner). Last Sunday, we (Leo, LA, Bernard, mommy and me) went to divisoria to scout for give-aways and invitation materials. We got there at around 8:30-9am and left at around 3pm. We didn't really see much except for those nice wall decors we're eyeing for sponsor gifts. I must say, they're really "great deals" if you compare the prices with those in the department stores. Divisoria is really the place to look for bargains and wholesales.

Anyway, on our way home from divisoria, we also passed by Dapitan for more scouting and looking. We found this supplier of metalcraft who was willing to make a prototype of the medieval picture frame we had in mind. We're going back there 2 weeks from now to see the prototype. We also passed by Dangwa to buy some fresh flowers since it was on our way anyway. While there, we got to finally meet our florist Mang Boy Mahusay (remember it was La and mommy who booked him for us). We even got a picture of him for this blog :D

Even at the time we saw him, he and his team were arranging flowers for another wedding. I don't think they even open their stall anymore cause of the big business they get from wedding bookings. Well, good for Mang Boy.

Anyhoo, that was it for that Sunday.

Next prep news happened yesterday, saturday. Guess where? Well, for those of you who knew about the Wedding Expo, we went to NBC tent last saturday to attend the bridal fair sponsored by Themes and Motiffs (see my logo below?). From my experience of last March's Expo, I knew it was a must-attend event, specially for those who are still looking for suppliers. They give out great discounts and promos during the Expo. I even booked my photographer, Lee, during last March's expo, and my coordinator Wini kept on saying what a "good deal" I got :) Anyway, we already planned to book our strings and chocolate fountain at this September Expo. And guess what? We did! We got Concertino for our string quartet, and I'm really happy with that cause Concertino is Toks new group. Toks Antonio was originally from Da Capo, which is a really well-recommended strings ensemble. We tried to get them before but they already had a booking on our date. Hopefully (and I've got really high hopes) this new group will be as good as the original one. From their demo cd, they sounded quite good.

I've mentioned a while ago that we were also able to book our chocolate fountain, and we got Josiah's Catering for that. Yummy yummy yummy chocolate! There were a lot of choco fountains set-up at the Expo, and in my opinion (and others as well), Josiah's chocolate was the yummiest of them all. They were also the ones who gave us the best deal, so yeah, I'm quite happy with that :D Here's a picture that will probably make your mouth water, hehehe...

So there, that's 2 more items in the list of TO-DOs that we can finally cross out, woohoo! We were also able to meet with Alex of Juan Carlo and Tish and Ronald of Balay to schedule the next meetings with them. We also saw Lee and wanted to schedule our prenuptial pictorial, but he didn't have his calendar with him that time. I'll just call him in his office this week to schedule it, hopefully, on October 1.

Last agenda of that day... we went to Bhleippz Bar and watched DBO's Lunchbox perform. Finally, we were able to hear them and see them live! I can imagine now how they will be at our wedding and I'm really excited. Amiel was really good, and I really liked the flute and the percussions. Too bad we didn't get to see John play the sax. One thing though, their new vocalist had a very soft voice. Nice voice, but soft. She was getting drowned by the instruments at times. It's probably because she's new. I guess she'll still improve in the coming months. We'll see.

Lastly, this afternoon, we also met with Wini (our coordinator) to discuss some more wedding preparation details and to ask her if she'll be able to come with us in our supplier meetings with Juan Carlo and Balay. She readily agreed, bless her, so it looks like we're all set - atleast for the next couple of weeks. Actually, there's still so much to do looking at the calendar that we created (I'll tell you about the calendar some other time cause the making of it is a story on its own, hehe). But atleast we made some solid progress, don't you think so? :D Hopefully we'll have more in the following weeks to come.

Where's That Second Wind?

2005-08-15T12:31:00.000+08:00

I have nothing to report. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Null. Zilch. Zip. Now don't let the colors distract you. They all still mean the same - zero.

Alright, let me search my memory a little here... well, there was that time last saturday night when we attempted to listen to our band play at this local bar. Then again, that wasn't so fruitful as we still ended up not hearing them because of a scary, will-piss-you-off, unfortunate event that happened that forced us to go home almost immediately after we got there.

Aside from that? Nothing.

Nada. Nil. Null. Zilch. Zip. Zero.

Why is it that I can't seem to pull my energy up and be excited? I started preparing September last year, and I was in 5th gear. I couldn't even sleep sometimes cause there were so many ideas in my head. Now I can't even start the engine. Did I burn myself out with the first wave of prep? Maybe the expenses are starting to overwhelm me. Is it my personality - that I get bored very easily? Is it because Leo's not really that excited and his attitude has rubbed on me? Is it because I lost some suppliers that I really wanted to get? Is it because I'm too busy at work? Is it because I'm more excited of the life after wedding now?

I really don't know the answer. It's probably a combination of all those mentioned above. One thing I know - I have to get out of this phase. This nothingness. This stage of stillness and no progress. I've gotta find my second wind. If I don't start moving, I don't think anyone will. Then Christmas time will be here and I'd be in super super panic.

*Haaaaaayyyyy*

The One

2005-08-03T12:31:00.000+08:00

Got this from a friend's blog...

The One

Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot,
who calls you back when you hang up on him,
who will stay awake just to watch you sleep.

Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead,
who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats,
who holds your hand in front of his friends.

Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you
and how lucky he is to have you.
Wait for the one who turns to his friends and says, "...that's her."

-anonymous

...and it hit me... how lucky I am to have found him - my ONE

P.S. "Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot" - hmmm... though he calls me beautiful, I believe he finds me "hot" as well... ahahaha

Dangwa and Quiapo

2005-07-20T11:52:00.000+08:00

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

2005-07-14T11:51:00.000+08:00

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

2005-07-09T11:50:00.000+08:00

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!

2005-07-05T11:50:00.000+08:00

Happy 81st Monthsary Love!

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

Why A Medieval Wedding

2005-07-03T11:49:00.000+08:00

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.

Wedding Gown Design --- Check!

2005-06-27T11:41:00.000+08:00

Last week's accomplishments? Not much, really. Saturday morning, I got a text from tita Vangie (my cotourier) saying that she'll be heading for Bangkok and Indonesia tentative tuesday or wednesday. We needed to finalize the designs that weekend, at least for my gown, since she'll be looking for materials on her trip. We heard that it's a lot cheaper there so we may be able to save a few pesos. We also had to re-quote and talk about budget since there are some changes in the initial designs and materials. Yikes, we're soooo over-budget now! **sigh**

Anyway, Pupay, who is also one of my secondary sponsors, was also available that saturday morning for her "sukat-sukat" session (hehehe, don't really know how you call it). I was planning to schedule her session with Cammy, Vero's little angel. But since Pupay was already available that saturday, and knowing her really hectic sched, we went ahead and had her measurements taken. Didn't have a chance to talk to tita Vangie about the budget though since she had a prior appointment and couldn't talk long. It's just as well since I really wanted to have Leo with me when I talk to her about money (so he wouldn't complain.. ssshhhh, hehehe). So we just resched the meeting for sunday instead. It's a good thing her place is in the same subdivision as ours. It's actually walking distance from my house :)

Sunday, Leo and I went back to tita Vangie's place to talk. Before going there, I told Leo that we should be tough about the budget -- you know, incase we need to haggle or something *wink*. But it turned out to be unnecessary since tita Vangie was really very easy to talk to. Well, I guess she should be since she's been making clothes for my whole family ever since I can remember!

So everything's settled now with the designs and the quote. We need to give a big down payment tomorrow so that she can already buy the materials incase she finds them on her trip. We still went a little over the original budget, but that was expected since the designs changed and they're eating up more cloth. Atleast the price will not be moving anymore and we can focus on other things now.

I'll try to post some pics of the designs when I get some :)

199 Days Left

2005-06-22T11:41:00.000+08:00

... and still so many things to do. We've slipped into the relax mode again, not realizing that we barely have 7 months left for the preps. I am hoping to have a 2 month prep freeze since november and december will probably be focused on the holiday events, and suppliers will also be very hectic those months since it's the wedding peak season. So that'll leave us barely 5 months! Oh no, I think I'm moving now into panic mode! Breathe... breathe...

Ok, so what are our pending items?

Balay Kandila... we still haven't finished the detailing yet. Leo already contacted Ronald and they've agreed that we will first look at their set-up at NBC Tent this July 8 before we finalize the details. We might get some more ideas from there.

Quartet... no supplier for this yet! We're trying to find a cheaper group... but also good and will be able to do medieval (or maybe just victorian) music.

Cake... still waitlisted with Alex Franco. I really hope we get this one. I've been dying to have a taste of his cake! If we can't get him, we'll probably push through with the castle cake instead.

Invitations... no specific design yet. Just some ideas that we found in the bridal fair. I think I might have to let go of my boxed invitation concept. We are leaning more towards the "Count of Monte Cristo" invitation.

Giveaways... no idea yet. Well, actually we have a few... but nothing solid.

Designer... well atleast we have a little progress here. Some of the entourage members have already been measured. Some... well, hehehe, we haven't told them yet.

*sigh* Writing all these pending things is depressing me :( Time to shift gear now and make some progress. Hopefully we'll accomplish more this week. I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Birthday Love!

2005-06-15T11:40:00.000+08:00

20 things I love about my baby... I love...

1. his eyes
2. his strength
3. the way he hugs me... making me feel all warm and safe and loved
4. the way he makes me laugh
5. his little boy attitude when he is having fun
6. his intelligent mind
7. the way he takes care of his family
8. the way he takes care of me
9. his patience and understanding
10. his kisses
11. his skill in chess and computer games -- how geeky, haha
12. the way he takes away all my doubts and insecurities
13. his loyalty and commitment
14. his ambition
15. his smile that melts my heart and makes me feel overwhelming love
16. his acceptance of me, with all my faults and shortcomings
17. his poetry and creativity
18. his passion
19. how he inspires me to be better
20. how we share dreams together

Originally I was supposed to do 10, but I kept going on and on... and still there's so much more... how blessed am I...

Happy Birthday Love! I love you so much!
Thank you for loving me...

On Discovery Weekend

2005-06-09T11:39:00.000+08:00

NOTE: Some spoilers here for those who haven't attended yet.

I know this post is kinda late, considering it's already thursday and the Discovery Weekend was (obviously) last weekend. Been a little busy with work lately, plus add to that, my laptop seemed to be infected with a spyware/virus and it kept rebooting everytime I tried to connect to the internet. Haaay... you'd think the stress of the wedding preps is not enough, hehehe.

Ok, so going back to friday last week... Flashback!

As I mentioned before, we took the day off. Finished all errands for the day. Paid the bills. Went to the bank to deposit mandatory savings for the wedding. Had the car washed. Ate halo-halo at Chowking. Hehehe, so the last one is not an errand. It has become a regular thing for us though since it has been so hot the past few weeks and Leo gets "bugnot" so easily because of the heat. Anyweyz... we arrived at OMI at around 6:30pm. There were already a lot of couples there ahead of us. Didn't expect to see so many! I believe there were 26 couples all in all. We did the registration thing, got our keys to the rooms and deposited our bags. Soon enough, dinner started. Got to talk to some w@wies who were also there. Then session started. It was a light evening. Lots of laughter.

Highlight of the evening? We had this exercise on empathy, and after reflection, the chaplain asked who among us was able to empathize. The girl he called on (gosh, hope she doesn't get offended if she reads this!) said she wasn't actually able to empathize since it was so late and she couldn't think anymore. She then proceeded to tell the chaplain that, even though we were not allowed watches in the sessions, she knew that it was already 11pm and that everybody was tired. It was a really funny scene, the way she delivered it -- all honesty and frankness. The class laughed, but I guess a lot of them were also feeling sleepy and tired at that point. Anyway, that added to the lightness of mood of the evening.

Saturday was a day of sessions. Presentation, Reflection, then Dialogues. That was the rythm of the sessions. A lot of singing too. I must say, I found the sessions informative and helpful. There were things that Leo and I got to talk about that we usually just took for granted or assumed about each other. It was also nice being there with each other without having to think of anything else except us. No work. No family influence. No friends or barkada (atleast the old ones). Just us. Well, technically there were also other couples. But during dialogues, it was just you and your partner, so that's cool. And anyway, everyone seemed to have this mutual goal of making each of our relationships stronger in preparation for marriage, and there's a feeling of love everywhere... nax! Hehehe. Highlight of the evening was the reconcilation in the evening. Made me feel really closer to Leo then. Felt cleansed, happy, and more ready for our marriage. Felt lighter somehow.

Sunday was almost the same as Saturday, except shorter. More sessions. Some sharing was done. Some cleansing tears for some. Then the mass and graduation. I really liked the homily of the priest. Leo and I are even considering if he can do the ceremony for our wedding.

All in all, I highly recommend the DW for soon-to-wed couples. I especially recommend it for those who haven't been together long and hasn't really talked and planned much about their life after the wedding. But even long-term couples like us will definitely benefit from it. I know we have. Marriage is not always a bed of roses afterall, and any help we can get in making ours stronger is always welcome. That's commitment. And that's love.

Discovering Us

2005-06-02T11:38:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow, and for the whole weekend, Leo and I are attending the Discovery Weekend Seminar at OMI retreat house in Mapayapa Village, QC. "It's a program intended to enrich and deepen a couple's relationship to better prepare them for marriage"... if I may quote the description from the weddingsatwork website. From the reviews that I read from fellow w@wies, this seminar seems highly recommended. Even my previous officemate Thirdie, who is also getting married this coming november, and who has attended the seminar already, said that it's a must attend program. Plus, it's an alternative to the PRE CANA seminar required by the church, so it's really not a question for us whether to attend or not. Hopefully though, after the seminar, Leo and I will be more closer and committed to each other than ever. A lot are saying that it's a make or break thing - that things could go either way after the seminar. Some soon-to-wed couples ended up not getting married because of what they have discovered from it. Hmmm, sounds scary? Nah, I'm not worried.

At this point in our relationship, I'm pretty sure Leo and I are meant to be together for the rest of our lives. Now, that doesn't mean that we are so compatible and that we are not prone to arguments and quarrels. On the contrary, we still get those sometimes. Who doesn't, right? But throughout the six years (almost seven) that we've been together, we've learned to accept and be more tolerant and understanding of each other's differences. Oh, you should have seen us during our first 2 years! It was like a rollercoaster ride then. Fights every other day. Me walking out all the time. Leo following and wooing for the first few walk-outs, then finally just letting me walk away. Then me feeling indignant that he didn't follow me. And then the tables were turned and I had to follow and woo him instead! Hehehe, it's funny now looking back at those moments. We were both a little immature then. Atleast I know I was. One time I even dropped all my things on the ground -- take note, while crossing the streets! -- then running away from Leo (acting ba of totally giving up, hehehe). Leo had to pick up all my things and run after me. Yikes, I'm such a drama queen, hahaha! Oh well, that was then. But we still get some of those fights once in a while. We are very different from each other afterall. It's true. We try to learn to compliment each other though, and be understanding.

Hmmmm, I didn't intend to write so much about us, but I guess I got carried away, hehe. Now where was I? Ah yes, the Discovery Weekend. So yup, we are going tomorrow at 5:30pm. We've decided to take the day off since we will not be able to make it at 5:30pm coming from Makati. Seminar rules say that there should be no watches, phones and beepers. Sounds like a typical retreat. That's fine with me. Leo, on the other hand, says he might not survive without his gadgets, hahaha. And he's also having a problem accepting the fact that he has to share a room with someone he doesn't know. I can almost hear what he's thinking in his head. "What am I going to say to him?", "Should I make small talks?", "I am not good at talking to friends, let alone strangers!"... Haay, my anti-social baby, hahaha. Well, he doesn't have a choice, so... I'll let you know what happens :)

Updates? What Updates?

2005-05-22T11:10:00.000+08:00

Not much progress in prep world. Didn't even do anything this week for the wedding. Forgot to write about last sunday though, so I'm writing about it now...

Last May 15, we went back to Tagaytay for a meeting with Balay Kandila. Wini, our super-bait Day (take note)Coordinator, was also there, as well as LA and Bernard. We were supposed to do the detailing, but since everybody was in a hurry to leave, it was agreed that we'll just have another meeting to finalize the details and to sign the contract. Ronald had some good news for us which he shared immediately when they arrived. He said that he might be getting another account - a very big one - that will be having a similar theme as ours. Since the event will be held before our wedding (I think it's this July already), we might be able to reuse some of the props and decors there. That would really be wonderful if that's the case. Though I'm pretty confident that Villa de Oro already has it's own charm even with minimal decors, additional props can definitely add more to the medieval effect and will set the mood better. So that night, we all prayed that BK will be awarded the contract the following day. Hmmm, I wonder how it went? Ronald was pretty confident though, so they probably got it. I hope.

Anyway, there's still so many things that we need to do and the clock is ticking. Can't seem to get off the relax mode though. This weekend we just watched a play in RCBC, watched Star Wars at Gateway (lazy boy cinema - which was wonderful by the way), went shopping, and pigged out (there goes my diet). Nothing for preps though. But that's ok, got us some pretty good quality time anyway. Hopefully next week we'll be able to shift gear and make more progress.

Sweet and Talented Baby!

2005-05-19T11:10:00.000+08:00

Leo wrote this six years ago when we just started becoming us. I've always carried a copy of this poem in my wallet. Made me smile when I was feeling down and insecure. Hope you enjoy it...

In all things that encompass me

You alone have bewildered this naked soul

And as the lonely sky daunts me

In its cold and lonely embrace

Leaving me lost and vulnerable

Only in the fall of your subtle voice

Visions of peace, of solemnity, once again I hold

Even in chains that provoke me still

You alone have freed me from this desolate state

Once in your caressing hold and comforting smile

Unconquerable, unquestioned, will I face my fate

On Ninongs, Ninangs, and Accidental Dinners

2005-05-02T11:08:00.000+08:00

Ok, so this will just be a short post since I don't really have much time to write tonight. I just want to log in our accomplishments for the day. So here goes...

First, I woke up around 9:30 this morning cause, as I've said in my earlier post, I planned to visit my designer at 10am. Well, for those of you who know me, I'm sure you've already guessed that I didn't make it at 10 as I planned --- Miss Bagal as I am. Instead, me, my sister, and her boyfriend went to tita Vangie's place at around 11am. We stayed there until 12 noon, but most of our visit was just chickas and chismis about family and friends. We didn't really accomplish much except to discuss how we can incorporate the medieval theme in my gown. We are leaning towards detachable puffy sleeves (forgot what they were called) that can be removed during the wedding ceremony and just attached back for the themed reception.

Next, Leo and I, along with Leo's dad, went to visit a couple of our sponsors in Valenzuela. We first visited Ninong Lito Chua who was a client and a long time friend of Leo's dad. I didn't expect him to look so young. All the while that Leo has been mentioning him to me before, I kept picturing this late fifty-ish chinese guy. Instead, he and his wife looked around late thirty-ish to early forties. They were also quite nice. Not so much the talkative type, but very kind and obviously very fond of Leo's dad. Before we met them, I told Leo that I was happy cause, finally, it was going to be his turn to do the conversing and chickahan since he's the one who knew them. So when we entered their office (we met them at their factory of assorted snacks in Valenzuela), I planned to just be quiet and let him do all the talking. Now, let me just say that Leo did try his best to keep the conversation flowing. However, the Chuas were really more of the quiet type, and, for lack of things to say, Leo ended up inviting our new ninong (and ninang) to an all-sponsor dinner! Now if you can recall, I've already mentioned this dinner in an earlier post, and I also mentioned that this is still a tentative plan since it will mean additional expenses. Well now it looks like we are pushing with it afterall, hehehe. Oh well.

And last on our list of today's accomplishments is our visit to another ninang. My apologies for not writing her full name here. You see, even now that I've already met her, I still only know her as "Aling Pining". It's really embarassing, but, well, Leo doesn't know her full name either. Oh well, that's his assignment for tomorrow, so hopefully we'd know it then. Now this sponsor was a lot more talkative than the first. We met her at her home, and from the moment we arrived until we left, she kept up the conversation. She even gave us a few advices on married life. And just like Lito, she seemed very fond of Leo's dad as well. It was really nice hearing them say how hard-working Leo's dad is. Make's one feel proud of becoming part of their family :)

Ok, that's it - our progess for the day. Hmmm, looks like I've written more than I first intended to. Oh well...

Till my next post!

We Got 'em!

2005-05-01T11:07:00.000+08:00

Yup, finally we have a band! Just finished talking to DBO's Lunchbox and I'm glad that we've settled on the price and arrangements. We still need to talk about their transporation to Tagaytay on the wedding day, but that discussion can be put aside for now. What's important is that they've committed to be there on our date (at a reasonable price). So now I'm happy :) That's one major line on my to do list that I can finally cross out. Still so many lines left though. Oh well... one at a time...

Tomorrow we are meeting with our ninong, Lito Chua. We've originally scheduled that for today, but moved it to tomorrow afternoon instead so that we wouldn't have to leave the house today. I'll have my workshop tomorrow evening anyway so we'll just schedule the visit before my workshop. I am also planning to meet with my designer tomorrow morning. I still haven't made a decision whether to go medieval with the gown or not. Hopefully tita Vangie can help me decide.

Hmmm, looks like tomorrow's going to be a hectic day. It's a good thing we've already done some R&R yesterday. We went swimming in Laguna in the afternoon and did some party-ing in the evening (til morning, hehehe). Don't have pictures though cause I thought Leo was going to be bringing his camera, and I forgot that he was using his memory card on his phone :( Oh well, you'd just have to take my word that it was fun, hehehe.

Now it's back to preps, and hopefully we'll be able to cross off some more lines in the to-do list. I'll let you know how it goes...

Can't wait to be your wife baby...

Tempting Fate

2005-04-30T10:50:00.000+08:00

It's friday, and so far we haven't really done much preparations this whole week. All I've actually done is tried to call String Minstrels to inquire about their quartet services, and even that wasn't fruitful at all since the contact person was out that day and there wasn't anybody I could talk to. I emailed them instead, but, well, until now there's no response. So I must say that we have zero progress since last week. But hopefully that will change this weekend.

Well actually, the week wasn't so bad. We've had some good news afterall. Early this week (I think that was tuesday or wednesday), my sister called me and told me that we may be able to book DBO's Lunchbox afterall. She didn't go into details of how and why, but she said that she just talked to Amiel and he said that they can still sing at our wedding. Yey, that's great news indeed! Honestly, I've already accepted that we may have to get another band. We were even thinking of asking Leo's friend, or even my officemate's band to play. But I still prefer DBO's since they were highly recommended (by LA and Bernard and Clar, ofcourse, hehehe). I've heard their demo cd and they sounded good. Plus they're from Ascension Parish, so I'm a little proud :) Love you're own, right?

Wait... here I go tempting fate again... We haven't even booked them yet but I am acting as though we have. We still need to talk to them to discuss pricing and arrangements, and to confirm that they are really available to play on our date. For all I know, LA could just be playing a joke on me (though she wouldn't be so cruel!). I just hope we can have an agreement soon. We are planning to meet them on Sunday after mass. I just pray that their rates are not so steep.... (crossing my fingers).

Aside from meeting with DBO's, we are also planning on meeting one of our Ninongs on Sunday morning. Leo's dad has been wanting us to visit his friend and client, Lito Chua, since last month, but we've been busy with other things. Hopefully we can accomplish this task on Sunday. I am also thinking of setting up a dinner with all the ninongs and ninangs one night so that we can get to know them better (and vise versa). But that would mean additional expense though, so...welll, we'll see...

Time to start moving again...

How do I love thee..

2005-04-24T10:50:00.000+08:00

(warning: mushy contents... don't read on if you are mush-intolerant, hehehe)

Today I attended another one of my workshops. Now don't ask me what it is, cause I'm not saying. It's just something that I felt I had to do... something that I really wanted to do (hehe, is that vague enough for you?). The schedule of my sessions are mondays, wednesdays and fridays at 7-9:30pm, and these past three weeks that I've been attending it, Leo has been waiting up for me, either in his office - doing unnecessary OT, or at Shangrila - malling aimlessly. For someone who initially didn't want me to register for the workshop, he has really shown so much support and done a lot of sacrificing in terms of time and rest. Since we go to work together in the mornings, he has to wake up very early too so that I'd be in the office early enough for me to be able to get off work in time for my workshop. And if my MWF hectic schedule is not enough, I also have late night meetings every tuesdays and thursdays that I have to take in the office. So from mondays to fridays, Leo drives me in the morning and waits up for me very late at night.

So why am I writing this, you might ask. Why am I telling you about our schedule and all that? It's because this post is not really for you (though you may read it if you want)... It's because I want to say thank you... thank you to my baby who has been so generous with his love... thank you to that special person who has made me feel so blessed to have him in my life. This is for you, love... to let you know I appreciate all your sacrifices for me... that I appreciate you... I love you.

...Let me count the ways...

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death

SHMILY...

Going Medieval?

2005-04-22T11:49:00.000+08:00

We are having a medieval theme for our wedding, complete with family crests and some formal dancing. Balay Kandila will be in-charged of the styling so I am confident that it will be beautiful and authentic-looking. If you haven't seen Balay's work, you can view their website at www.balaykandila.com.

Anyway, my problem is that I am not sure if I should stick to the theme for our outfits. Surprisingly, Leo wanted to go all-out with the theme, wearing costumes and all. I, on the other hand, am not really keen on wearing long puffy sleeves for my (and our entourage) gown and wearing my hair down and flowing. Now I know this "look" is very nice on movies like LOTR and Star Wars. They even have head dresses and the likes. I am not sure though if it would still look nice in real life, given that it could be very windy in Tagaytay. I also worry that the gowns will be more expensive since they will eat more cloth than the usual "almost-nothing-on-top" look. Hehehe, well maybe not "almost-nothing", my ento will kill me if they read this. Just the common spaghetti strap, off-shoulder, halter.... you know, the sexy looking gowns. On the other hand, wearing costumes could add to the "on a different time and place" effect, right? This is the main reason why we are having a theme wedding in the first place. It's so that they would feel transported and different... something to remember... Hmmm, now if only everyone will be game about it...

Well, I still have a lot of months to decide. Hmm... come to think of it, I guess I don't really have much time anymore since I have to finalize the gowns with the designer soon :( Oh well...

Feel free to comment below if you have suggestions and ideas :)

Meeting With Jing

2005-04-22T10:48:00.000+08:00

We had a meeting with Jing Almeda-Guiua of Villa de Oro the other day. It was originally scheduled for Saturday at Southmall, but I got a call from Jing last monday and she offered to move the meeting on Tuesday in Makati instead so that it would be nearer for us. So on tuesday 11:30am, we met her at Shakeys Glorietta for the contract signing and our 50% down. We had pizza, potatoes and chicken (hehehe, so who's on a diet again?). I must say, Jing wasn't at all what I was expecting. I don't know why but I expected to see this really sophisticated "sossy" person. Maybe because of the voice. She has this deep strong authoritative voice on the phone. I was half expecting to be intimidated by her. It was therefore a nice surprise to find out she is actually very approachable and easy to talk to - not at all intimidating. She gave us some discounts and waved some corkage fees (though I must say that despite that, the rental of the place is still a bit on the high side - though I believe worth it, of course :b), and she even gave us a copy of the floorplan and map of Villa de Oro.

After the meeting, Leo and I got to talking about our suppliers. We really do have great suppliers, if I must say so myself. Not just for the actual services contracted (some of them I still have yet to see of course), but for the good customer relationship. Everyone's so nice and accomodating. But then I guess they have to be to stay in business, since the wedding biz is fast becoming crowded. Still, it's nice to see suppliers who are not only there for the money, but more for the love of their work.

Breaking New Ground

2005-04-17T10:41:00.000+08:00

I realized that we've been a little too relaxed with our wedding preparations lately. I guess I didn't really want to overwhelm Leo yet with all the things that we have to do, and at the same time I also wanted to have a little break from all the stress of the first wave of preps. But now, Leo and I decided that it is just about time to resume the preparations again. Time really flies too fast for us to relax too long. Before we know it, it'll be ber-months and then everybody will be hectic (specially suppliers since that's the start of the wedding peak season).

So today, Leo and I spent saturday at my house, trying to break new ground in the wedding preps. Ok, so we really didn't cover a lot. Most of our day was actually spent playing PS2 instead of planning. Still, we were atleast able to accomplish some tasks, minor as they may. So these are what we have accomplished:

Finished "almost-final" entourage list. Unless there are people in the list who cannot make it to the wedding, then that will be the final entourage. We're still needing a couple of ninongs and a ninang though. We're leaving that buffer incase our parents suddenly decide to add a ninong or ninang. Our ento will consist of 1 maid-of-honor, 1 bestman, 3 pairs of secondary sponsors, 4 bridesmaids, 4 groomsmen, 2 junior bridesmaids, 2 junior groomsmen, 5 flowergirls, 3 bearers, and 10 pairs of sponsors. Yeah, I know the list is kinda long. Most are relatives though and will be in the wedding anyway, so why not give them roles to play, right?

Organized Leo's guest list. I've been bugging him about this a long time now, so it's great to finally have atleast a realistic list from him. Now my problem is how I will be able to bring down my guest list since now I can see that I need to cut down atleast 50 heads ("off with their heads", hehehe). I have to start working on that again this week... *sigh* such an impossible task :(

Called Leggiero and inquired about their out-of-town quartet services. Ok, so their local rate seems reasonable at 10K for the quartet. What's killing me is their out-of-town rate since they charge double their local rate for that. Double! That'll make it 20K - and that's over our budget for the strings. We may be able to pool the excess, but my worry is that, since we are having problems booking DBO's Lunchbox, we might (very possibly) go overbudget with our band as well. Add the choir fee (even if it's just minimal) and that would really bloat our budget for entertainment :( But Leo and I are still deciding though, since most of the good strings are already booked on our date.

Set an appointment with Jing of Villa de Oro for the contract signing. We've set the meeting for saturday, April 23, at 2pm. Hopefully we'll be able to ask and clear out all our questions regarding the generator and the hotel being contructed in the villa.

List down to-do tasks. We started doing this, but Leo wanted to do it in MS Projects (talk about OC!). We just discussed some of the tasks needed and then I promptly got overwhelmed with it all. I guess I started panicking. Because of that, we stopped discussing and Leo just said that he'll do it at home (hehehe, I get a little "mataray" and so OC when I'm in panic mode that we often end up fighting).

So far, those are our accomplishments for the day. We also tried to call and register for the Discovery Weekend, but no one was picking up so we just decided to call again on monday. Next step would be to finalize the menu with Juan Carlo, and to draft the contact with them. Also, we need to set a date for the prenuptial pictorials with Lee so that we can acquire the endorsement for Tagaytay Highlands early on. Oh there's really still so much to do! Wait, I have to stop now before I stress myself all over again, hehehe.

I'll post again when we have more progress :)

One Step at a Time

2005-04-11T10:40:00.000+08:00

Finally, we have a blog for our wedding preps! Hehehe, not that it's hard to do. The hard part is in filling it up. Well, I guess we'll just do it...

...one step a time. That's the attitude that we are trying to have with all these wedding preparations. Otherwise, we'll be overwhelmed with all the things that we have to finish! It's a good thing that we started early - ah, I meant I started early, hehehe. September 2004 (yes, I started this early even when our wedding is still on January 2006) to March 2005, Leo was in the US and was pretty much in the background while me and my sister (and her boyfriend, and my cousins, and my mom) did the nitty gritty part of scouting venues and attending bridal fairs and booking suppliers. Of course, Leo had to approve everything that we decided on. Well, now that he is here, he has readily jumped in the preps (note that readily for us involves dragging and nagging, hahaha).

So far these are our accomplishments:

Church Venue

Booked Caleruega for the afternoon of January 7, 2006 (paid reservation fee of 5,000 pesos)
Site visit with both our families
TO DO: Site visit with coordinator and production designer. Check the travel time from church to reception venue on a saturday afternoon.

Reception Venue

Booked Villa de Oro for the reception venue (paid reservation fee)
Site visit with both our families
First site visit with Coordinator and Production Designer
TO DO: Call Jing and ask about provisions for power (generators). Also verify if there is a hotel that will be built inside the Villa.
TO DO: Measuring of the ground area
TO DO: Contract signing

Caterer

Booked Juan Carlo the Caterer (paid reservation fee)
Had initial food tasting at ferwood - food was delicious but serving is a little small (though this shouldn't matter since we are getting the buffet dinner). Set-up is nice.
TO DO: Detailing and drafting of contract

Designer

First meeting with Tita Vangie to discuss quotation and initial design
TO DO: Second meeting and more detailing

Photographer

Booked Lee Llamas Photography for Package A
Paid reservation fee and 50%
TO DO: Set date for prenuptial pictorial on May
TO DO: Get endorsement for Tagaytay Highlands for prenup

Production Designer (Event Stylist)

Booked Balay Kandila (contact is Ronald)
Discussed design for medieval theme
First site visit at Villa de Oro
Paid reservation fee and 50%
TO DO: Second site visit at Villa de Oro and Caleruega. Detailing and drafting of contract.

Florist

Initial quotation from Mang Boy Mahusay for entourage flowers
TO DO: Book florist for Church and Reception

Coordinator

Booked Wini Sanchez of Witty Jobs Party Team for OTD services (paid reservation fee)
TO DO: Discuss program flow
TO DO: Contract signing

Hair and Make-up Artist

Booked Ross Regala (paid reservation fee)
Finished trial hair and make-up (make-up is nice, but hairdo should be changed to conform to the theme - needs to be softer looking)